US 4,305,067 A · Electromechanical transducer for relief display panel

Abstract

A reading plate has an array of holes in its surface. Rounded ends of rods project selectively through these holes by the action of a set of bimorphous piezoelectric reeds, to which they are coupled. Each reed is connected to a source of electric voltage which can assume two distinct values as a function of an electrical control signal in order to make the piezoelectric reeds bend in one direction or the other. The reading rods are distributed in groups of six and arranged in each group according to the conventional arrangement of dots of a braille character. The transducer can thus provide a relief read-out panel for a pocket electronic calculator for the blind. Methods of using these transducers for recording and readout of magnetic tape with data in Braille-generable form and equipment incorporating them are disclosed.

Claims17

Dependent claims

In an electromechanical transducer device comprising:

a bimorphous piezoelectric reed bendable around an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the reed on the application of a DC voltage;
support means for each end of said reed;
coupling means supported on said reed;
a rod arranged transversely to said piezoelectric reed and coupled to said coupling means;
and means for applying a DC voltage to said reed whereby on the application of said voltage the bending of the reed causes displacement of said rod in the direction of its own longitudinal axis from a first static position to a second static position, the improvement wherein said coupling means for coupling the rod with the piezoelectric reed comprises a generally rectangular tablet of insulating material, said tablet having a plurality of holes traversing the tablet perpendicular to its largest surface, one of said holes being tapped to engage a corresponding thread formed on said rod, the rest of said holes being freely traversible by other rods, and a slot communicating the tapped hole with one of the smaller surfaces of the tablet so as to provide a gripping effect by the periphery of the tapped hole on the threaded rod.

2 more elements

Apparatus for transferring and recording written or printed information characters to or from a relief read-out panel and a magnetic tape comprising

means monitoring the information characters and generating a signal output,
means sending signals generated from said characters adapted for recording on the magnetic tape to a relief display device,
a support housing including a tactually scanable plate having a plurality of holes therethrough arranged in an array;
a plurality of electromechanical transducer devices having a longitudinal axis housed in said housing,
each electromechanical transducer device comprising a bimorphous piezoelectric reed bendable around an axis perpendicular to its longitudinal axis on an application of a d.c. voltage,
coupling means supported on said reed including a slot extending from an aperture to an edge thereof, and
a rod arranged transversely to said piezoelectric reed and coupled to said coupling means, said rod having an end traversing slidably a respective corresponding one of said holes between a first static position in which said rod end projects a tactually detectable distance from its hole and a second static position in which said rod end does not project from its hole by the application of said d.c. voltage to said piezoelectric reed.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electromechanical transducer for relief display panel

Life of this patent

Electromechanical transducer for relief display panel

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17