An Improved Apparatus to be Used by Blind or Short-sighted Persons to Assist them in Writing.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 2nd Feb., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus to be Used by Blind or Short-sighted
Persons to Assist them in Writing.
1, Dr. JULIUS NORD, of No. 165, Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, in the Kingdom
of Holland, Military Physician, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and
in what manner the same 18 to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in aud by the following statement
-
The subject of this invention is a writing apparatus or instrument for the blind,
and also for persons suffering from pronounced myopy, which apparatus or
instrument it is intended shall be known by the term "Shotograph," its object
being to enable sufferers from blindness or myopy to write in a proper manner, ie,
to give each letter o character its normal shape, and to form capitals and such
letters or characters as are usually extended above or below the line, with the
requisite long strokes or loops
It is well known that the instruments which have hitherto existed for facilitating
the process of writing by the blind, have proved unsatisfactory. They consisted of
a finme comprising gid and firmly secured parallel 1ods, and adapted to be
placed over the paper or slate The blind person was thus enabled slowly to
write with his hand moving along the said rods. He was, however, unable to
shape properly those letters which have strokes extending below the line, nor was
there any thing to guide him in the observance of the required limits of the depth
or height of the writing. It was therefore practically impossible for him to wiite
legibly.
Now the instrument or apparatus herein described enables blind persons to white
quickly, to give each lettei its proper shape, and to assign to each the exact
position it should occupy amongst, or in relation to, the other letters.
In addition
to this, the blind person using the present improved apparatus is afforded the
means of knowing when a line is completed and a fresh one is to be commenced.
Dis waiting will therefore appear in regular lines arranged at equal, though
optionally variable, distances apart
Should it be necessary for the writer to discontinue writing, in the middle of
a sentence, for example, facilities are provided for his marking the spot where he
has left off, and starting therefrom when he next resumes writing
A person who has become blind at any period of life may in a very short tune
acquie the necessary skill in using the apparatus, and accordingly continue to
carry on his own correspondence without any assistance But even those who
were born blind will be able very quickly to learn to write by means of this
improved instrument.
The main features of the improved instrument or apparatus are a line-guide or
guide for the pencil or pen, the said pencil or pen being interposed between two
thin flexible rods, arranged parallel to each other and the bending capacity of such
rods enabling the blind person to form the capitals and the longstroke letters, such
as "g," "f," as easily as the others.
The space between the two parallel rods serves to determine the height or depth
of the small letters of uniform size.
The flexible rods are connected on each side and are movably and adjustably
arranged upon the writing frame, the parallelogram or line-guide formed by the
pair of rods being moved over the paper, by means of a feeding device provided
for the purpose, through a predetermined uniform space for each new line.

page_text: One form of the improved writing instrument or apparatus is illustrated, by way
of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a plan or top view, partly in horizontal section, of the improved
instrument,
Figures 2 and 3 are vertical sections thereof on the lines VW and X-Y,
respectively, and
Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 are detail views of the adjusting mechanism, line-guide and
other parts.
The apparatus A, in the present example, is supposed to have the shape of a
desk provided with a lid B and with a spring clamp C for retaining the
paper in
position on the desk. In the two longitudinal sides of the lid are provided elongated
slots D, through each of which a feeding chain E, 18 passed. The feeding chains E
are geared with small chain-wheels a a, b, of corresponding shape, mounted
upon spindles cc arranged, respectively, close to the upper and lower sides or back
and front of the desh. These spindles are parallel to each other, and are situated
below, and in connection with, the lid, so that, when the lid is raised, the whole of
the mechanism is lifted along with it
The parallelogram or line-guide is formed of a pair of parallel flexible rods d, d'
extending a considerable distance beyond the edges of the paper on either side,
their ends being secured in slides or unners e, e
The runners e, e are adapted to slide over the surface of the lid, unmediately
over the slots D and are connected with the feeding-chains E, E therein by means
of the pins or studs in then under side-
j
Each stud fits into one of the spaces or interstices between the links or teeth
of the corresponding chain; or they may be retained in the chains by other
well-known means. By the movement of the said feeding-chains the parallelogram
or line-guide is slowly moved step by step, or from line to line, along the desk; and
in order to prevent any lateral displacement thereof, suitable projections or stops g
are provided on the lower sides of the runners e, e
Stops are furthermore provided close to the upper edge of the lid in order
to limit the extent of motion or adjustability of the line-guide in the upward
direction.
'In notches provided in the lid nie fitted adjustable pegs, similar in shape to
the fixed stops h; these are adjusted according to the varying lengths of the
paper, and, when placed in the proper position, serve to limit the downward
movement of the line-guide
As before mentioned, the feeding-chains pass over chain-wheels mounted on
the spindles, and as these wheels turn, the line-guide moves along the paper
with the said chams.
A handle or key F is hitted to the left end of the spindle cand the peripheries
and pitch of the chair-wheels are so proportioned that a quarter of a revolution of
the spindle, to produce which the haudle or key F 18 turned from the horizontal to
the vertical position or ice reisa, is sufficient to provide for the necessary distance
between two successive lines
and
m,
Upon the shaft c¹ there is also mounted a roller / provided with two grooves
and a spring-controlled rod G, pivoted to the lid (Figures 1 and 2), engages
by means of a pin or stud n (Figure 2) in one or the other of apertures l', m' of the
said grooves and miespectively.
The groove is provided with four apertures ', so that, according as the handle
or key is turned into its horizontal, or to its vertical position, the said pin n will
enter one or other of the apertures of the groove 1, thereby arresting or locking
the spindle. As the spindle turns the resistance of the spring controlling the
rod G, as aforesaid, 18 over come.
By moving such rod G to the night, the pin n 18 made to engage in the groove m
and as this groove has five or more openings m', a narrower spacing between the
limes may be provided for, if required
The rod G is extended beyond the lower edge of the desk, and its position in the

page_text: right or left notch or slot r, rl (as the case may be) in the plate H secured to the
lid b (Figures 2 and 4) corresponds to either one or the other of the two line-
spacings for which the apparatus 18 arranged The audible click with which the
pin springs into one of the openings in the grooves and m notifies to the blind
writer in each case that the apparatus is so adjusted as to permit another line to be
started at the proper distance from the preceding one.
In order to enable the line-gunde to be moved back in the upward direction, a
crank-handle K is fitted to the right-hand end of the spindle c. The rod G is then
brought to an intermediate po-ition between the notches and r¹ and consequently
thrown out of gear.
Upon the rods dd' of the line-guides there are arranged two adjustable stops,
secured to the rod d, whereby the length of the lines may be determined. Figure 5
shows the right-hand stop s drawn to an enlarged scale. This stop is arranged
so that it free to slide to and fro through a limited distance on the rod d and
between this sliding stop and a fixed stop there are interposed spiral springs of
small resistance.
Should it so happen that the pencil or pen, when approaching the end of a line,
meets the stops before a syllable is completed, the said spiral springs vield to the
pressure and perinit the said stop to be moved along by the pencil, so that the writer
is enabled to add a few more letters to finish the syllable.
In making use of this apparatus for writing, the sheet of paper is first secured in
position by means of the clamp or clasp C, the line-guide is moved up against the
stops and the line-adjusting stops, s', & are adjusted according to the width of
the paper, whilst the stops or pegs 1, A' are adjusted according to the length of the
paper.
In writing, the height or depth of the small letters (without any strokes or loops
projecting above or below the line) is determined by the space between the
rods dd, and while letters of this description are being written, the said rods are
not bout or caused to yield, when, however, it is desired to wiite capitals, or long
letters such as "f," "g" etc., having strokes or loops extending above or below the line,
the upper or lower rod, or both as the case may be, yield to the pressure of the pencil
or pen to a sufficient extent to enable those letters to be readily formed, without in
any way interfering with the speed of writing.
When a line is completed, the handle or key F is made to descube a quarter of a
revolution, whereby the line-guide is moved one line-space lower down, and so on,
until the bottom of the page is reached.
Should the water be obliged to interrupt his work bofore completing the line,
he may so adjust the stops s, s', s' as to be able, whenever he may desire to continue
writing, to readily find again the place where he last stopped.
The rods d d will bend and yield under the action of the pencil or pen more
readily and to a greater extent in the centre than towards either end, or either
edge of the paper, it is therefore advisable to make the desk considerably wider
than the paper that 18 employed. This circumstance is, however, also provided
for by combining the rods with the slide or runners e, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.
The ends of tho said rods are here flattened out, so that they slide in the piece e, in
addition to which they are pressed against each other by springs v, wo of a very
yielding nature.
In the normal or intermediate position the flat-ends of the said rods lie closely
together, when, however, either of the rods is bent or displaced upwardly or
downwardly by the pencil, the corresponding spring, or is compressed and
the rod in question accordingly yields to a sufficient extent to permit the formation
of the required capital, or the small letter that should be extended above or below
the line.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7, the runner or slide e is made in
the form of a box the lid of which is held in place by screws or pins p. In the lid
or cover of the said box is a slut in which wo.kins y fixed in the flat ends of the
rods d. d'
12

page_text: These pins serve to retain the rods in the box or runner e. Moreover by means
of screw-nuts y' on the said pins y the rods may be firmly secured in the runners
or shides e, as in the arrangement shown in Figure 1, so that only the bending of the
rods is depended upon for permitting the making of the strokes above and below
the line.
Having now particularly descubed and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim 18-
First. Awiting apparatus for blind and short-sighted persons, consisting
mainly of two parallel flexible or yielding rods fitted in unners or slides and
between which the writer is to move his pencil or pen, the normal distance between
the said rods determining the height or depth of the small letters extending
neither above nor below the line, whilst to permit the formation of capitals or
of such small letters as extend beyond the line, upwardly or downwardly or in
both duections, the sand rods are made capable of bending on yielding to the
required extent
Second. In a writing apparatus, the feeders or conveyors connected with the
slides or unners of the line-guide, and situated on both sides within the lid
or top of the apparatus, whereby the said line-guide may be shifted upon the
paper and may be adjusted and retained at the requied distance from its pievious
position, so as to provide for the proper spacing between the lines, substantially as
described.
Third In a writing apparatus, the yielding line-finishing stop adjustably arranged
upon the line-guide and capable of yielding sufficiently. when the end of a line is
reached, to enable a limited number of letters to be added thereto, 50 as, if necessary,
to complete a syllable, substantially as described.
Fourth In a writing apparatus, the parallel 1ods connected with the slides or
Tunners and combined with springs adapted to facilitate the upward and downward
displacement of the rods in the said slides or iunners, while capitals, or small letters
with strokes or loops extending above or below the line, are being formed,
substantially as described
Fifth. The improved witing apparatus constructed substantially as described
with reference to the accompanying drawing and ananged to be operated as and for
the purposes above specified.
Dated the 27th day of December 1894.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.