Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable Braille printer system consisting of hardware and software components and enables the automation of the manual creation process of the embossed marks that are formed by pressing the Braille pen on the paper laid on the Braille plate and that is understood by the visually impaired people.

State of the Art

The Braille alphabet is an alphabet invented by Louis Braille, who is also a visually impaired individual, and used by visually impaired people for reading and writing. In this alphabet, each letter is formed using a 6 (six) dot matrix with 3 (three) rows and 2 (two) columns in each row. Therefore, the Braille alphabet contains 63 different letters or characters that can be formed with different combinations of 6 dots.

Visually impaired people can read texts created in the form of embossed marks on paper with any technique by touching them with their fingertips. One of the methods used to create embossed marks on paper utilizes components called Braille plate (tablet) and Braille pen. There are tiny pits at regular intervals on the Braille plate. These pits are designed as independent rectangles to form the characters of the Braille alphabet. Each rectangle is in the form of a 6-dot matrix mentioned in the previous paragraph. The Braille pen consists of a rounded metal tip and a plastic holding cap. In this technique, the paper is laid on the plate, and then the tip of the Braille pen is pressed vertically onto the paper. This process allows the paper to enter the tiny pit on the plate, and thus creates an embossed mark on the paper. Currently, this process is carried out by manually creating each embossed mark representing a letter in each rectangular region on the plate by hand and one by one.

In the state of the art, Braille typewriters, printing machines and special printers developed for this purpose are used to create embossed marks on paper. However, since all these instruments are produced less frequently than normal printing tools, their costs are high, and thus they are quite expensive. As a result of the research carried out on the subject, the application numbered TR2016/16125 with the title PRINTING MACHINE WITH DOUBLE-SIDED AND COOPERATIVE DRUM DESIGN SUITABLE FOR BRAILLE ALPHABET PRINTING was encountered. In this application, a complex printing machine that enables the creation of Braille text is mentioned. The printing machine described here consists of large drums, is costly, and is not portable.

Another document found as a result of the research on the subject was the application numbered TR2017/23170 with the title PRINTER THAT PRINTS USAGE LABEL WITH THE BRAILLE ALPHABET. Only drug labels can be printed (technical specifications of the printer are not given in the description) with the printer disclosed in this application, and it is also a costly and not portable solution for the problem at hand.

As a result of the researches conducted on the subject, documents TR2019/10096, CN106671630B, EP1892096B2, EP1932657B1 , EP2070721 B1 , JP05246009A, JP2000127602A, US8549998B2, US20020009318A1 , US20120304875A1 and W02007093330A3 were encountered. 3D printers, printing machines and complex systems that can create embossed text are mentioned in these applications. All of these structures are large and costly.

As a result, due to the above-mentioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, an improvement is required to be made in the relevant technical field.

Aim of the Invention

The present invention is inspired by the current solutions and aims to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

The main aim of the invention is to provide a portable and cost-effective Braille printer system. The present invention is about the size of a Braille typewriter, and is thus portable. It also has a very low cost due to its simple design.

Another aim of the invention is to present an automatic Braille printing system, contrary to the existing manual operation.

Another aim of the invention is to reduce the costs paid for an imported product, thanks to a domestic and national equivalent. In addition, the aim is to create a product with easy access to technical support and spare parts. In this way, the widespread use of this printer will be possible, and the lives of visually impaired individuals will become easier.

The present invention, designed to fulfil the above-mentioned aims, is a portable Braille printer system that enables the automatic creation of embossed marks used by visually impaired people, and comprises the following:

- the first shaft positioned along the x-axis on the main body,

- the Braille plate that has the paper laid on it and is positioned on the first shafts,

- the first belt positioned along the x-axis to coincide with the lower middle part of the Braille plate on the main body,

- the carrier body perpendicularly positioned to the main body on the z-axis,

- the second belt positioned along the y-axis on the carrier body,

- the PVC part that is positioned on the second belt and has a Braille pen and servo motor providing the movement of the Braille pen up and down in the z-axis,

- the step motors that enable the Braille plate and the PVC part to be moved by means of the first belt and the second belt,

- the step motor drivers and servo motor driver that enable step motors and servo motors to be driven,

- the computer and related computer software that transmits the plaintext to the Braille printer by dividing it into its characters,

- the microcontroller that determines which of the independent rectangles in the Braille plate will be used to print the characters sent by the computer, that sends commands to the step motor driver and the servo motor driver to ensure that the Braille plate and the PVC part move to the appropriate position on the main body and the carrier body and that Braille pen moves up and down to create embossed marks on the paper. The structural and characteristic features of the present invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly thanks to the figures given below and the detailed description with reference to these figures, and therefore the evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed description into account.

Figures Clarifying the Invention

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the inventive system.

Figure 2 is the side (right) perspective view of the inventive system.

Figure 3 is a top perspective view of the inventive system.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the limit switch.

Figure 5 is a general view (a) and an enlarged view (b) of the Braille tip and the Braille plate.

Figure 6 is the circuit connection diagram view that includes the microcontroller, motor drivers and transformer.

Description of the Part References

1 . Main body

1.1. Braille plate (tablet)

1 .2. First shaft

1 .3. First belt

1 .4. Step motor

2. Carrier body

2.1. PVC part

2.1.1. Braille pen

2.1.2. Servo motor

2.2. Second shaft 2.3. Second belt

2.4. Limit switch

3. Microcontroller

4. Step motor driver

5. Servo motor driver

6. Transformer

7. Computer

X. X-axis

Y. Y-axis

Z. Z-axis

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the inventive portable Braille printer system for visually impaired people are described by means of examples only for clarifying the subject matter.

In Figure 1 , Figure 2, and Figure 3, front, side, and top views of the inventive portable Braille printer system for visually impaired people are given, respectively. Thanks to this system, automatic and portable embossing printing is achieved.

The user saves the text to be printed in a plaintext file and transfers this file to the computer (7) by means of the software which is a part of the present invention with the help of the relevant menu. The computer (7) first separates the text into its characters and then transmits each character successively to a microcontroller (3) over the USB port via the serial communication protocol.

The microcontroller (3) generates the necessary signals for the creation of an embossed mark in the relevant region on the Braille plate (1.1 ) for each character delivered to it via the USB port of the computer (7), and these signals are transmitted to the step motor driver (4) and the servo motor driver (5) to control at least one step motor (1 .4) and servo motor (2.1.2).

In order for the Braille plate (1.1 ) to move along the x-axis (X), it (1.1 ) is mounted on at least two smooth first shafts (1.2) positioned on the main body (1 ) from its right and left sides. At least one first belt (1 .3) is connected to the middle part of the main body (1 ) on which the Braille plate (1.1 ) is placed. This first belt (1.3) is moved by means of a step motor (1.4) and is positioned on the main body (1 ).

A carrier body (2), which extends perpendicular to the main body (1 ) along the x-axis (X), is mounted on the main body (1 ). This carrier body (2) has a PVC part (2.1 ) that moves on the y-axis (Y) and has a servo motor (2.1.2) on it. The Braille pen (2.1 .1 ) is connected to the shaft of this servo motor (2.1.2). The PVC part (2.1 ) moves on at least two smooth second shafts (2.2) mounted on the carrier body (2) by means of at least one second timer belt (2.3) and step motor (1 .4).

A transformer (6) is used to supply energy to all electronic components of the Braille printer.

The Operating Principle of the Present Invention:

The computer software (7) separates the text to be printed into its characters and transmits it to the microcontroller (3). The microcontroller (3) sends commands to at least one step motor driver (4) and servo motor driver (5) for the movement of the Braille plate (1.1 ) and the Braille pen (2.1 .1 ) depending on each received character. Step motor driver (4) and servo motor driver (5) drive the step motor (1.4) and servo motor (2.1.2) according to the received commands.

Braille pen (2.1.1 ) fixed to the shaft of the servo motor (2.1.2) moves up or down in the z-axis (Z) with the angular orientation change of the servo motor (2.1.2) shaft, thus an embossed mark is created on the paper laid on the Braille plate (1.1 ). Two limit switches (2.4) are preferably used to control whether the movements in the x-axis (X) and y-axis (Y) are within the movement limits of the system. This limit switch (2.4) is positioned on the carrier body (2) where the second belt (2.3) ends.

Embossed marks of any letter of the Braille alphabet are created on paper in three steps with the present Braille printer. In the first step, the microcontroller (3) determines which of the independent rectangles in the Braille plate (1.1 ) will be used to print the character, and in order to adjust the Braille plate (1 .1 ) to the corresponding rectangle, the step motor (1.4) is moved on the x-axis (X), and thus the Braille plate (1 .1 ) is brought to the current embossing point. In the second step, the PVC part (2.1 ) is moved on the y-axis (Y) with the help of a step motor (1.4) so that the embossing point of the matrix in the corresponding rectangle can be matched with the Braille pen (2.1 .1 ). In the third step, an embossed mark is created on the paper by moving the Braille pen (2.1.1 ) up and down in the z-axis (Z) by means of the servo motor (2.1.2).