JPH0251509B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a drive mechanism and a drive method for a braille display device for blind people.

In general, Braille is configured to represent character information such as kana, numbers, and alphabets by a combination of six pins located in two rows and three rows or one set of eight pins located in two rows and four rows. Conventionally, these have been configured in Braille books, but recently, in combination with a personal computer etc., a Braille matrix with convex Braille pins that is variably displayed on a single display panel has been formed, and the protrusion of the Braille pins and The descending movement is controlled by a computer,
Braille display devices that change character information one after another have been proposed. By using a tape recorder or a floppy disk for the storage section of this device, the amount of information can be greatly increased, and it can also be made more compact, allowing it to be used in the same way as a display on a cathode ray tube in a terminal. However, in conventional devices, the driving force of the drive solenoid coil is required to be high due to the relationship between the vertical movement of the rod having the Braille pin portion and the protrusion holding force of the Braille pin, and therefore the size of the solenoid coil in this case is also required. Due to the increased size, considering the ergonomically required braille pin spacing, the mechanism becomes complicated and large because the solenoid coil is driven by a lever, or the text information that can be expressed on the display panel is greatly limited. There were flaws.

The present invention takes this point into consideration and provides a drive mechanism for a Braille device and a drive method that saves current by improving the vertical driving force and protrusion holding force even though the solenoid coil is miniaturized. With the goal.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. Regarding the drive mechanism, which is one of the aspects of the present invention, the diameter of the solenoid coil is reduced to a size that fits within the space of one Braille character, and the entire structure is made into one unit.
The lack of driving force and holding force of the coil is compensated for by the attraction force of the magnet or iron piece fixed to the rod.
On the other hand, when rewriting the Braille display, it is proposed that the holding state be released using another solenoid coil and a magnet, and the protruding Braille pin be lowered. As shown in FIG. 1, its structure is divided into an upper drive section and a lower drive section, with the upper section serving as the drive section for ejecting the Braille pin and the lower section serving as the drive section for lowering the Braille pin. Now, the upper drive part has a braille pin 2 on one end on the display panel 1.
A rod 4 formed of a magnetic material 3 is movably arranged in the first driving solenoid coil 5 at the other end, and a rod protrusion holding means is provided by the attraction action of a magnet. Specifically, as an example, as shown in the drawing, a magnet 6 that holds the rod protrusion is fixed to the rod 4,
It is arranged between the magnet holder 7 and the spacer.As another embodiment, a structure has been proposed in which a rod is movably arranged between fixed magnets and stoppers made of magnetic material are fixed to the rods at predetermined intervals. Ru. On the other hand, the lower drive section has a magnet 8 at one end large enough to attract the ends of the rods, and a rod 11 with a ring 10 into which a return spring 9 is inserted at the other end, and a second drive solenoid. It is movably arranged in the coil 12. The structure described above operates as shown in Fig. 2. When a current is turned on to the first driving solenoid coil 5 of each Braille pin 2 corresponding to a character pattern to display an arbitrary character, the rod 4 is pulled up by the suction force, and when it is pulled up to a certain extent, the suction force between the magnet holder 7 and the magnet 6 becomes stronger, and the upward driving force increases. By turning off the current when the magnet holder 7 and the magnet 6 are in close contact with each other, the rod 4 is held as a Braille pin 2 with its upper part protruding above the display panel 1 (Fig. 2A). . Next, when rewriting the braille display, lower all the rods 4, turn on the current to the predetermined first drive solenoid coil 5 for any character information, and then raise the rod 4 to rewrite the display panel. It is displayed as Braille on 1. The mechanism for lowering the rod 4 is shown in the lower drive part in FIG.
The magnet 8 placed at the top rises together with the rod 11 and attracts the rod end 3 (FIG. 2b).
When the current is turned off at this point, the magnet 8 is pulled back by the return spring 9, and at the same time the rod 4 is also lowered, so that the Braille pin 2 on the display panel 1 is retracted (FIG. 2C). Then, the upper drive section of this device performs a new braille pin display operation, and the rewriting operation is completed. The above operations can be performed very rationally because the microcomputer controls ON/OFF of the current to the first and second solenoid coils. In these mechanisms, the holding force of the Braille pin can be adjusted by selecting the volume of the magnet, the contact surface area, and the thickness of the magnet holder. Next, regarding another driving method of the present invention, by supplying driving pulses to the respective driving solenoid coils at different driving timings, the rod whose end is the Braille pin is lowered and raised. This is what we propose.
The method is performed by first erasing all previously displayed Braille character patterns, and then supplying a drive pulse to the second drive solenoid coil 12 of the lower drive section to lower all the Braille pins. Next, drive pulses are supplied to the first drive solenoid coils of the Braille pins corresponding to arbitrary characters at different drive timings, thereby completing the formation of the Braille character pattern. However, in the subsequent display state, the character information formed by the Braille pin is read by the tactile sensation of the finger, so if the pressing force of the finger is large, the Braille pin may be partially pushed in and the character information may be unclear. In such a situation, a drive pulse is intermittently supplied to the first drive solenoid coil of the Braille pin corresponding to the character pattern, with the drive timings staggered in the same way as above. By doing so, the corresponding Braille pin can be restored.

As described above, the present invention is characterized in that a magnet is used in conjunction with a drive system using a solenoid coil to drive and hold the rod up and down, and that drive pulses are supplied to the drive solenoid coil at different timings. By reducing the diameter of the solenoid coil, the braille capacity is increased, and since the adsorption action of the magnet is also used, the driving force of the solenoid coil can be reduced to one-fifth, contributing to current savings and heat generation prevention. In addition, since the driving solenoids are not driven at the same time, it contributes to a reduction in current capacity, and it is possible to realize miniaturization of the device and diversification of displays.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1: Display panel, 2: Braille pin, 3: Magnetic material,
4, 11: rod, 5: first driving solenoid coil, 6, 8: magnet, 7: magnetic holder, 9: return spring, 10: ring, 12: second driving solenoid coil.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a drive mechanism in which a Braille pin for Braille display is variably configured, the upper drive part has one end protruding onto the display panel as a Braille pin, and the other end having a rod formed of a magnetic material, and a second end. The rod is provided with a rod protruding holding means which is movably disposed in the first driving solenoid coil and which uses the attraction action of a magnet, while the lower drive section has a magnet at one end that is large enough to attract a set of said rod ends. A braille display device characterized in that a rod having a stopper at the other end with a return spring inserted therein is movably arranged in a second driving solenoid coil. 2. In a drive mechanism in which a Braille pin for Braille display is variably configured, the upper drive part has one end protruding onto the display panel as a Braille pin, and the other end of which is a rod made of a magnetic material, which is connected to the first driving solenoid coil. The rod is provided with a rod protruding holding means which is movably disposed inside the rod and uses the attraction action of a magnet, while the lower drive section has a magnet sized to attract a set of said rod ends, and a return spring is inserted at one end. In a braille display device in which a rod with a stopper disposed at the other end is movably disposed in a second drive solenoid coil, all the braille pins are moved by supplying a drive pulse to the second drive solenoid coil. Then, a Braille character pattern is formed by supplying drive pulses to the first driving solenoid coil of the Braille pin corresponding to an arbitrary character pattern at different drive timings, and the character pattern is displayed in the display state. A method for driving a Braille display device, comprising intermittently supplying drive pulses to a first drive solenoid coil of a Braille pin corresponding to a Braille pin with staggered drive timings.