Slate and stylus

The Slate and stylus are tools used by blind persons to write text that they can read without assistance. Invented by Louis Braille as the tool for "writing" braille.

Design

The basic design of the slate consists of two pieces of metal, plastic or wood fastened together with a hinge at one side.

The back of the slate is solid with slight depressions spaced in braille cells of 6 raised dots arranged in a grid of two dots horizontally by three dots vertically. In the shape of inverted braille dot of approximately 0.02 inches (0.5 mm); the horizontal and vertical spacing between dot centers within a braille cell is approximately 0.1 inches (2.5 mm); the blank space between dots on adjacent cells is approximately 0.15 inches (3.75 mm) horizontally and 0.2 inches (5.0 mm) vertically.

The front of the slate has a corresponding rectangular cells with indications in the side of the cell, over the depressions in the back so the blind user can properly position the stylus and press to form a dot.

There are pins or posts in the back of the slate positioned in non-cell areas to hold paper in place and keep the top properly positioned over the back. The pins align with matching depressions on the inner side of the front. A slate has designed for a normal 8.5 inch piece of paper has 28 cells. It can have any number of rows, usually at least four.

The stylus is a short blunted awl with a handle to comfortably fit the hand of the user.

Writting

Writing is accomplished by placing a piece of heavy paper in the slate, aligning it correctly and closing the slate. The pins in the back of the slate puncture or pinch the paper securely between the two halves of the slate.

The person writing begins in the upper right, each cell has to be completed backward. The awl is positioned and pressed to form a depression in the paper. The writer moves to one of the other dots in the cell or to the next cell as appropriate.

The slate is repositioned as needed to continue writing on the paper. When completed the writer removes the slate and turns the paper over to read the braille by feeling the dots that were pushed up from the back.

See also

• Perkins Brailler

References

• Alpha Chi Omega (1908). The Lyre of Alpha Chi Omega; Teaching the blind. Original from the New York Public Library: Alpha Chi Omega. pp. page 285. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Dodge, Mary Mapes Dodge (1920). St. Nicholas; Chapter XI, the nine gifts. Original from the University of Michigan: Scribner & Co. pp. page 910. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Perkins School for the Blind (1907). Report. Original from Harvard University: Perkins School for the Blind. pp. page 69. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Medical Record. Original from Harvard University: W. Wood. 1902. pp. page 621. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Harry Houdini Collection (1888). The Popular Science Monthly; Writing machines for the blind. Original from the New York Public Library: D. Appleton. pp. page 645. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Oregon Education Department (1897). Biennial Report. Original from the New York Public Library: Oregon Education Department. pp. page 164. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

• The Literature of Philanthropy. Original from Harvard University: Harper & Brothers. 1893. pp. page 187. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Wisconsin State Board of Control (1904). Biennial Report. Original from the University of Wisconsin - Madison: Wisconsin State Board of Control,. pp. page 222. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)