US3032164A - Typewriter for braille dots and/or visual letters - Google Patents

Description

y 1962 MASAHARU WATARl 3,032,164

TYPEWRITER FOR BRAILLE DOTS AND/OR VISUAL LETTERS Filed Feb. 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F 'ql 7 1 Y 6 3 4 m TX s M. 0 a

y 1962 MASAHARU WATARI 3,032,164

TYPEWRITER FOR BRAILLE DOTS AND/OR VISUAL LETTERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 19, 1958 United States Patent Ofifice 3,032,164 Patented May 1, 1962 3,032,164 TYPEWRITER FOR BRAILLE DOTS AND/R VISUAL LETTERS Masaharu Watari, No. 1, Kaehidokibashi l-choine, Tokushimashi, Japan Filed Feb. 19, 1958, Ser. No. 716,137 7 Claims. (Cl. 197--6.1)

The present invention relates to a typewriter for writing Braille dots and/or visual letters.

Hitherto Braille characters represented by raised dots have been used primarily by a blind person, and correspondence between the blind person and a person with vision who was unaware of Braille was not possible. Now it is possible with the present invention for the blind person to communicate in writing with a person who has vision and yet who is unable to understand Braille.

The object of the present invention is to provide a typewriter by means of which Braille dots and/or visual letters are typewritten simply and freely so that the blind person can communicate with others by means of the ordinary typewriter characters.

According to the present invention such typewriter is provided with a carriage which is adapted to be displaced each time a key is struck, and the improvement comprises the provision of a displaceable U-shaped plate adjacent to said carriage and movable with respect thereto by any suitable means, said plate fixedly supporting a tangible dot forming member which comprises six projecting pins for engagement with complementary through holes in said member, said projecting pins being resiliently supported by saiddot forming member and a resiliently supported pad element being displaceable in the slot of said member.

An embodiment according to the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all figures:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typewriter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 and showing the details of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective View of the tangible dot forming member and associated parts shown in an enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the tangible dot forming member shown in an enlarged scale.

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the tangible dot forming member.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the pad element.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 1 designates the typewriter casing, in which a type unit having keys 2 is provided and coupled thereto are rockably mounted key-bars 3 which are hung by resilient springs 4. As will be seen from FIG. 2, movement of one of the keys 2 after striking it is adapted to transmit such striking action to a carriage feed mechanism 6 (not shown in detail). The element designated by the numeral 5 in FIG. 2 is an operating rod which is connected to the carriage feed mechanism 6 and serves as a transmitting member for the carriage feed mechanism 6 after the type bar has been struck. One end of a rockably mounted L-shaped crank 7 is attached to the key-bar 3, and provided at the other end of crank 7 is a pin 8 which engages with a curved slot 10 provided in a rockably mounted type bar 9. On the other end which is the free end of said type bar is fixed a type member 11 having on the outer side thereof recesses 12 for a Braille character and a corresponding letter type element 13 arranged in a row. A U-shaped plate 14 is provided on which a tangible dot forming member 15 is fixed and through an intermediate space of which a paper 16 capable of being typewritten on is passed and can be displaced relative to the typewriter casing 1. U-shaped plate 14 is slidably coupled to casing 1 by any suitable means, such as a tongue and groove, slideway, channel and bar, etc. so that the plate 14 will have two operative positions as explained infra, one to write Braille dots and the other not to write Braille dots. As shown in FIG. 2 a channel 40 is provided between casing 1 and typewriter carriage 24 to permit movement of plate 14. As is shown in FTGS. 4 and 5, the tangible dot forming member 15 includes six pins 17 arranged in two vertical rows, three high and two wide, which are placed in six through holes on said member, and the pins of each row are supported by three parallel resilient pieces 18. Said pieces are also supported by plate spring 19 which is afiixed to dot forming member 15. Thus the pin ends of the six pins 17 project from member 15. Therefore when the type member 11 strikes the pin ends, the paper 16 between the type member 11 and the pin ends is raised by six pins 17 in cooperation with the corresponding recesses 12 provIded in the type member 11, but when there is no corresponding recess the paper is not raised because the rounded head of a pin 17 is pressed against the resilient piece 18 and plate spring 19 as shown in FIG. 4. The tangible dot forming member 15 also includes a pad element 21 which is arranged below the six pins 17, and can be moved in slot 20 of said member and corresponds to and is aligned with the letter type element 13 of the type member 11 (shown FIG. 5). The pad element 21 is provided with two supporting springs 30 at its back and an operating arm 31 on its side (shown in FIG. 6). The carriage 24, on which the paper to be typewritten is held between rollers 22 and on the paper shelf 23, is adapted to be fed by means of the carriage feed mechanism 6 each time the key 2 is struck. The ink ribbon 26 from its enclosures 25 is caused to pass through the portion to be typewritten in a well known manner. On the rear side of the dot forming member 15, there is formed a recessed space as shown in FIG. 5, in which the springs support the pad element 21 against the U-shaped plate 14 when the element 21 is displaced in the slot 20 by means of the operating arm 31 in order to typewrite Braille dots only.

When the pad element 21 of the tangible dot forming member 15 is located below the six projecting pins 17 and the U-shaped plate 14 is arranged to correspond with the type member 11, Braille dots and visual typewritten letters can be typewritten in known manner. Further when said element 21 is displaced from below said pins 17 and only said pins 17 are caused to correspond with recesses 12 of the type member 11, only Braille dots are typewritten. Furthermore, when said element 21 is dis placed from below said pins 17 and said plate 14 is displaced so that said element 21 is caused to correspond with a letter type element 13 of said member 11, only visual typewritten letters are typewritten. During typewriting, the U-shaped plate 14 is adapted to be stationary relative to the typewriter casing 1, and when only visual letters are typewritten, the plate 14 is displaced relative to the typewriter casing, and the pad element is moved by the operating arm 31 by hand and retained in position when struck by the type bar 9, in the slot 20 of member 15. Thus, the recesses 12 of the type bar 9 strike the flat surface part of the member 15 adjacent to the six pins 17 therein so that a tangible dot is not formed on the paper, and the letter type element of the type bar 9 strikes the pad element 21 in its displaced position so that only visual typewritten letters are typewritten.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described and shown in the accompanying drawings, said embodiment being susccpt'ble of various mod fications with respect to its details, without departing from the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A typewriter including a casing, keys, a carriage capasmegma ble of being displaced each time a key is struck, type bars each having recesses for Braille dots and a letter type element on its end, a U-shaped plate coupled to said casing and displaceable relative thereto, a dot forming member being fixed to said U-shaped plate and provided with six through holes, six projecting pins provided on said dot forming member for engagement with said through holes and cooperating with said recesses for said Braille dots, a resilient member for each said projecting pin and coupled to said dot forming member, a pad element cooperating with said letter type element and means controlling the engagement of said letter type element with said pad element.

2. A typewriter as claimed in claim 1 in which the controlling means includes an operating arm coupled to said pad element for moving it out of engagement with said letter type element permitting printing of Braille dots only.

3. A typewriter as claimed in claim 1 in which the U- shaped plate is movable to carry said projecting pins out of position for engaging with said recesses, and said pad element is movable relative to said U-shaped plate for engagement with said letter type element for printing typewritten letters only.

4. In a typewriter having a carriage which is adapted to be displaced when a key of said typewriter is struck, the improvement comprising the provision of a displaceable U-shaped plate adjacent said carriage, a tangible dot forming member having a slot therein and being fixed to said plate, said member having through holes, six projecting pins resiliently supported in said through holes, and a resiliently supported pad element which is displaceable in the slot of said member, a type-bar having recesses for Braille dots, a letter type element coupled to an end of said type-bar, said recesses cooperating with said pins to write solely Braille dots and said letter type element cooperating with said pad element to Write solely typewritten letters, and means to displace said pad element in said slot for effecting alignment of said pins and said pad element to write simultaneously Braille dots and typewritten letters.

5. The improvement as claimed in claim 4 including three pairs of parallel resilient pieces supporting said six pins and plate springs supporting said resilient pieces.

6. A typewriter comprising a casing, keys, a carriage displaceable each time one of said keys is struck, type bars each having recesses for Braille dots and a letter type element on its end, a U-shaped plate coupled to said casing and displaceable relative thereto, a dot forming member fixed to said U-shaped plate and provided with six through holes and a slot, six projecting pin provided on said dot forming member for engagement with said through holes and cooperating with said recesses for said Braille dots, a resilient member for each said projecting pin and coupled to said dot forming member, and a pad element displaceable in said slot and cooperating with said letter type element, said projecting pins being positioned to engage with said recesses for said Braille dots and said pad element with said letter type element for printing Braille dots and typewritten letters, said pad element being moved out of engagement with said letter element for printing solely Braille dots and said U-shaped plate being displaced relative to said casing to move said projecting pins out of engagement with said recesses and said pad element being positioned to engage with said letter type element for printing solely typewritten letters.

7. A typewriter as claimed in claim 6 including a pair of plate springs coupled to said dot forming member for supporting said resilient members, one of said plate springs being provided for each set of three resilient members.

References lited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,414,229 Steinkraus Apr. 25, 1922

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