Subscribe to RSS

Home
RESNA 2015 Conference
Proposal Instructions
Supports for Student Design Projects
About this site

Automatic page turner (Padmasri Dr.B.V Raju Institute

of Technology)
BY RESNA1236SDC ON JUNE 13, 2012 IN 2012 PARTICIPANT, OTHER

V.Shravya & G.Swetha

ABSTRACT:
The primary goal of this project is to design a device to promote independence in
reading for individuals with disabilities and the elderly at their own pace. Individuals
with decreased hand functioning, as the result of diagnoses such as arthritis, cerebral
palsy, and stroke often have difficulties with fine motor activities. Reading, specifically
the act of page-turning, can be one such activity that is greatly affected. This design will
ultimately provide a capability to turn and hold the page using a mechanical structure
for people who need to read without assistance.
BACKGROUND:
Individuals with diagnoses such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke,
and acquired brain injury often experience difficulties with fine motor tasks due to poor
hand functioning, which may be a result of spasticity, contractures, joint subluxation, or
structural deformities in the hand. Reading is an example of a meaningful activity that
may be difficult for these people due to the requirement of fine motor skill to turn a
page. Reading books, magazines, or newspapers is important in various domains of daily
living, such as work, school, and leisure.
There are some limited commercially available options available to address this
problem, such as electronic book readers, and using a rubber-tipped rod in a universal
cuff. Though, electronic reader is portable, feedback from users indicate that eye strain
is a problematic issue. Although using a rubber-tipped rod in a universal cuff attached to
the palm of ones hand is an inexpensive and portable option, feedback from users and
occupational therapists note its inefficiency, as it often takes multiple tries to turn one
page.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:
With the worlds aging population, decreased hand functioning from arthritis or stroke
will increasingly become an issue affecting peoples abilities to engage in fine motor
tasks such as reading. Arthritis sufferers include men and women, children and adults.
It has dramatic effects on the function and well-being of hundreds of millions of people
worldwide. Approximately 350 million people worldwide have arthritis. It is estimated
that by 2031, the number of people living with arthritis will increase to 6.5 million.
Therefore, there exists a need for a portable, inexpensive page-turning device that
requires limited fine motor movement in order to assist the abovementioned
populations in being able to read bound material.
CLIENT:
Independence is important for many people, including individuals with disabilities. As a
part of our work, we have visited many NGOs like Sweekar-Upkaar where we were
moved by the problems suffered by an individual with cerebral palsy. She was a
university student and thus reading and studying from textbooks was a large part of her
daily life. She struggled with turning pages due to contractures and limited range of
motion.
METHODOLOGY:

The Automatic page turner has two main features:

A Mechanical Structure for holding the book

An Electronic Design which turns the pages based on the input from switches

Totally, it is an electronic device which facilitates the user to turn the pages of a book
and holds it for him to read. It will be simple to use, low-cost device which requires the
pressing of two buttons to flip a page forward and backward. These buttons can be
customized to embed in shoe, based on the patients requirements and physical
condition. Once a book is loaded into the page turner then it shall be easily operated by
the patient with the press of a button. Pressing the button will initiate the page to flip
forward or backward depending on selection. And also, it is proposed that the unit can
be conveniently activated with a large hand/foot pedal, sip-and-puff switch, and
accelerometer.

automatic page turner

block diagram

F: FORWARD SWITCH, R: REVERSE SWITCH:

The page-turner is normally operated from a Proximity switch. It is a battery operated
machine which operates by the use of 2 switches. One drives the motor forward and the
other backward.
Pages can therefore be turned forwards and backwards and also a page retainer operates
automatically. The clampers detect the input given and accordingly hold or get opened
up while the pages are being turned. When the motor is running, a roller moves across
the page and hits a stop when it means the end of the page. The roller continues to
rotate and this lifts the page. When the page is released, the reverse switch is operated
and the roller pushes the released page to the other side.

PROXIMITY SENSOR: A proximity sensor is a device that detects motion and

converts it into a signal that can be read by an instrument. A proximity switch is an

electronic device that, once motion is detected, interrupts or breaks an electrical circuit
in a device. A proximity sensor transmits an electrostatic or electromagnetic field. The
sensor detects the physical presence of an object without physical contact based on
changes in the field. A proximity sensor is divided into two parts, or halves. Detection of
the object causes the two parts to move away from each other, which results in the
activation of a signal.
ACCELEROMETER TWO AXES: One of the most common inertial sensors is
the accelerometer, a dynamic sensor capable of a vast range of sensing.
Accelerometers are available that can measure acceleration two axes. A system
consisting of two orthogonal sensors is capable of sensing pitch and roll. This is useful in
capturing head movements. For analog voltage output accelerometers, the signal can be
a positive or negative voltage, depending on the direction of the acceleration.
Location
Head

Usage
Tilt

Frequency
0-8 Hz

Acceleration
xx

MICROCONTROLLER: The microcontroller accepts the input parallely from

accelerometer and switch and determines the direction of rotation of motors for turning
the pages.
MOTOR DRIVER CIRCUIT: A motor driver circuit is a device or group of

devices that serves to govern in some predetermined manner the performance of

an electric motor. It might include a manual or automatic means for starting and
stopping the motor, selecting forward or reverse rotation, selecting and regulating the
speed, regulating or limiting the torque, and protecting against overloads and faults.
REGULATED POWER SUPPLY: A regulated power supply is an
embedded circuit, or standalone unit, the function of which is to supply a stable voltage
(or less often current), to a circuit or device that must be operated within certain power
supply limits.
The machine has been designed to accommodate all common sizes of books from
A3-A6:
A3
A4
A5
A6

420 x 297 mm
297 x 210 mm
210 x 148 mm
148 x 105 mm

16.5 x 11.7 in
11.7 x 8.3 in
8.3 x 5.8 in
5.8 x 4.1 in

Adjustments can be made up to suit variety of paper quality and thickness and book-rest
angle. This device will be useful for anyone with severe upper limb dysfunction;
examples are Quadriplegia, Multiple Sclerosis and Cerebral Palsy.

DISCUSSION:
Some of the ways of turning pages which might be difficult for whom reading books or
newspapers is a challenge due to weak muscle activity are described below:

The Sliding Lift

sliding lift

Force is applied downward (into the table) and across, allowing the finger(s) to grip the
top page through friction.The top page slides atop the stationary pages beneath.
Thepage-to-page coefficient of friction must be smaller thanthe finger-to-page
coefficient of friction, or multiple pageswill be lifted (since the normal force for all pages
is essentially the same).
o
o

The Ear Lift

ear lift

The finger barely touches the edge of the top page (and noother pages) by approaching
at an angle. The finger is pulled upand back to lift the pages corner. A slight force in the
xdirection produced the necessary friction with the pageedge and a vertical (+z)
movement of the finger lifts thepages corner, as seen in Figure . Additionally, the thumb
is placed on the page to restrict deformation to the corner only.
The Push Flip

push flip

The finger is behind the page and pushes it over thespine, possibly (but not
necessarily) sliding along itssurface. An important question is where the finger must be
placed to support the page (or what trajectory the fingermust make to continuously
support the page). However, in practice, if the page is assumed to be perfectly
rectangular and ofuniform density, any trajectory maintaining the finger between the
spine and center of mass (in the radial direction out from the spine) that ends directly
above the spine should work. The assumption offlatness requires a placement of the
finger near the middle of the page in the spine axis.

The Tension Flip

tension flip

The page is gripped by a finger on either side; it is held tautly (perfectly rectangular) by
the fingers pulling with aslight centrifugal force (away from the line of rotation). The
finger configuration required for this flip
Can be easily achieved after an ear lift by rolling the lifting finger behind the page and
then sliding both fingers alongthe page to the desired position to begin this flip.

The Sandwich Flip

sandwich flip

The page is sandwiched between the finger and the spine, resultingin it deforming and
bowing out across the spine. At somepoint, the majority of the pages mass has crossed
the spine and releasing the grip will cause this weight to fall andcarry the rest of the
page to the other side; any pending deformations caused by stored potential energy in
the bend should not affect the critical point at which the page will fall to the other side,

since the net effect of these forces onthe page will cancel (in accordance with Newtons
ThirdLaw).

CONCLUSION:
Books can serve many purposes, from providing an escape from reality to satisfying
ones thirst for knowledge. Disabled people should also be able to indulge in reading
without any restrictions.With the usage of Automatic page turner the client can work
independently without the help of others to read a book. This device not only benefits
students it greatly increase the amount of time a teacher can spend with other students,
making better use of the teachers time. Once a book is loaded into the page turner then
it shall be easily operated by the client. The device can also be applied for musicians,
avid readers, priests, speakers etc.To most people, page turner may never replace pages
completely, but it certainly improves the situation by turning the pages.

FUTURE AS A PRODUCT:
The long-term goal of this project is to develop an electromechanical page turner with
an advanced design that is superior in several respects, including reliability, portability,
ease of use and cost.

REFERENCES:
Celebral palsy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
Multiple Sclerosis: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_sclerosis
Spinal cord injuries: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_cord_injury
Motors: www.sunrom.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
This thesis would not have possible without the help of many people throughout the
year.
And we would like to take the opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to those who
have made invaluable contributions to this project.
We would like to thank Dr.I.A.Pasha Sir for his constant guidance and support.

I will bear in mind the knowledge that I have gained from him throughout the precious
time we have spent together during Meetings and discussions.
We would also like to thank Mr. Junaid Sir for for all of his direction and help along the
way towards completing the project.
Additionally, we would like to express thanks to an NGO named Sweekar-Upkaar which
helped us in knowing the problems suffered by disabled people and consultants who
provided relevant assistance and consultative advice when needed.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
V.Shravya
Address: Flat No: 11, Sai Bheema apartments, Sai Krishna Colony, Hasmathpet, Old
Bowenpally, Secunderabad-500011
Email id: shravyavanne@gmail.com

About resna1236sdc
View all posts by resna1236sdc

Subscribe
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.

Related Posts:

SnapCut, A Cutting Tool to Assist Users Who Have Limited Function of One of Their Hands
(Georgia Institute of Technology)
Snapcut to Assist People Who Have Lost the Function of One of their Hands (Georgia
Institute of Technology)

Enabling Independence in Reading with the Manual Page Turning Facilitative Device
design, hand, Page turner
Quicker Picker Upper (Duke University)
Med-Ease: Facilitating the Occupation of Opening Medicine Bottles (University of Toronto)

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply
Name (required)
Email (will not be published) (required)
Website

Submit Comment

2015 . All Rights Reserved.

Powered by WordPress. Designed by