Braille cell and associated pin support and pin actuation assemblies

A pin actuation unit for actuating a set of braille pins, the pin actuation unit comprising:

• a motor having a motor shaft configured to rotate about a motor axis;
• a set of cams mounted on the motor shaft, each cam being engaged with a respective one of the braille pins to move the respective braille pin between a raised position and a lowered position thereof, the cams being oriented relative to one another so that upon rotation of the motor shaft the braille pins are sequentially raised and lowered into a series of distinct braille pin configurations, each braille pin configuration representing a different arrangement of the braille pins in the raised and lowered positions thereof;
• and
• an angular position sensing system configured to monitor a rotational motion of the motor shaft about the motor axis and generate an output signal indicative of a passage of the motor shaft through a reference angular position during the rotational motion thereof.

A braille cell comprising:

• a frame including an upper cover having a plurality of apertures therein;
• a plurality of braille pins, each braille pin extending along a longitudinal pin axis and being engaged with a respective one of the apertures and movable therein along the longitudinal pin axis between a raised position and a lowered position thereof;
• and
• a pin actuation assembly including pin actuation units, each pin actuation unit for actuating a respective set of braille pins among the plurality of braille pins, each pin actuation unit comprising:
• a motor having a motor shaft configured to rotate about a motor axis;
• a set of cams mounted on the motor shaft, each cam being engaged with a respective one of the braille pins in the respective set to move the respective braille pin between the raised position and the lowered position, the cams being oriented relative to one another so that upon rotation of the motor shaft the braille pins are sequentially raised and lowered into a series of distinct braille pin configurations, each braille pin configuration representing a different arrangement of the braille pins in the raised and lowered positions thereof;
• and
• an angular position sensing system configured to monitor a rotational motion of the motor shaft about the motor axis and generate an output signal indicative of a passage of the motor shaft through a reference angular position during the rotational motion thereof.

A braille cell comprising:

• a frame including an upper cover having a plurality of apertures therein;
• a plurality of braille pins, each braille pin extending along a longitudinal pin axis and being engaged with a respective one of the apertures and movable therein along the longitudinal pin axis between a raised position and a lowered position thereof;
• a pin actuation assembly configured to move each braille pin between the raised position and the lowered position thereof, wherein the pin actuation assembly includes a pin actuation unit for actuating a subset of braille pins among the plurality of braille pins, the pin actuation unit comprising:
• a motor having a motor shaft configured to rotate about a motor axis;
• and
• a set of cams mounted on the motor shaft, each cam being engaged with a respective one of the braille pins in the respective set to selectively move the respective braille pin between the raised position and the lowered position thereof, the cams being oriented relative to one another so that upon rotation of the motor shaft the braille pins are sequentially raised and lowered into a series of distinct braille pin configurations, each braille pin configuration representing a different arrangement of the braille pins in the raised and lowered positions thereof;
• a pin support assembly including a plurality of support arms holding the plurality of braille pins, each support arm having a base end connected to the frame and a pin end connected to and following a motion of a respective one of the braille pins as the respective braille pin is moved between the raised and lowered positions thereof by the pin actuation assembly;
• and
• an angular position sensing system configured to monitor a rotational motion of the motor shaft about the motor axis and generate an output signal indicative of a passage of the motor shaft through a reference angular position during the rotational motion thereof.