[BRLTTY] Pneumatic braille based on balls in a tube

[timothyhobbs at seznam.cz]

Dear list,

First off, brltty currently has API for dealing with multi-row braille 
displays. Is this tested yet? Within the coming decade I hope to build a 
multi-row open source braille display and I hope that within 5 to 7 years 
the software will not hold me up.

I apologize if this is mis-use of the list, however, I would like to 
describe here how I plan to accomplish my task. My main reason for writing 
this email is to fulfill the condition of disclosure in order to prevent 
patentability. That is, if I talk about my idea publicly then the idea can 
no longer be patented, which is good.

How will the pneumatic braille system work? If you place a ball in a straw, 
and blow through the straw, then the ball moves. If you then feel the straw,
the straw squishes, and you can feel where the ball is. If you use two small
straws, you can blow braille letters into the straw, by blowing multiple 
balls into the straw. You can refresh such a display, by blowing the balls 
through the straws. It is important that the diameter of the balls be 
similar to the internal diameter of the straw, That way the air will not 
flow around the ball but push the ball in a way which is precisely related 
to the amount of air blown into the straw.

If you were to have a large number of such straws lined up in a sheet, then 
you could display multiple lines of braille text and/or images.

If you use a flexible tubing rather than straws, you can arrange the tubing 
into an S curve, and then you only have to have one pump which blows air 
through the system.

If you use a peristaltic pump, to push air through your tubes then the air 
will flow at a constant rate.

You can use a variety of mechanisms for inserting the balls into the tube. 
For example, you can use standard 1mm stainless steel ball bearings as your 
balls, and you can use electromagnetic coils to push the ball bearings into 
the tube.

If you wish the ball material to be the same as the tube material, then you 
can use plastic balls. In that case, you would use a gear to push the balls 
into the tube, or any form of linear actuator, or a second pneumatic pump, 
or a wheel, or a phase change system, or static electricity (either holding 
or pushing), or a system which changes the surface tension of a fluid, or a 
laser system, or a thermonuclear reactor etc.

Rather than using tubes, however, you could use a sheet of corrigated 
laminated material similar to cardboard. This sheet could be made of paper 
or plastic, or any other suitable material. In this case, it would be nice 
if the sheet was removable from the display. This would reqire sealing the 
holes, so what air pressure would hold the balls in place. Then you could 
use multiple sheets, take a sheet to read later, or have a sheet with lists 
of email messages or menu items for reference while at the computer.

The holes at the edge of the sheeting may be sealed using a variety of 
mechanisms. I would break down these methods into two main subcategories. 
You can sqeeze the tube ends or you can plug them. There is a wide variety 
of ways you could sqeeze the ends; you could have a flexible plastic(or 
other material) extrusion that would be propped open and snap closed, or you
could us a spring system. In order to plug the holes; you could have 
individual plugs; a sliding sheet with holes in it such that in one 
possition the airways were open and in one possition closed, or you could 
have a detachable single long plug etc.

I haven't yet developed this system very far, but as I am currently working 
on another Braille system which is further along which uses self moving keys
on a chorded keyboard to allow you to both read and write, I wanted to get 
this one off my chest so that I know no one can patent it.

Tim
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