Mechanism for Embossing Braille Characters on Paper: Conceptual Design
This work addresses affordability issues in Braille embossing for visually impaired users, but it is incremental as it builds on existing embosser concepts with a new actuation idea.
The paper tackled the problem of high-cost Braille embossers by designing a low-cost printer head using rotary cam-follower mechanisms actuated by a single servomotor, resulting in a system that quickly embosses Braille characters by column.
This paper presents the conceptual design of a low-cost simple printer head for Braille embossers. Such device consists of a set of three rotary cam-follower mechanisms that, upon actuation, produce deformation on paper. The set of cam-followers is actuated by a single servomotor which rotation determines which cam-follower strikes the paper. Braille characters are quickly embossed by column using the proposed system. The aim of this research is to provide new actuation ideas for making Braille embossers more affordable.