Abacus for blind people
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This abacus is a modification of the standard Chinese suan pan.
The main difference is that here are not movable beads on rods but a lot
of small levers like switches. The switches are pushable in two different
positons and therefore blind users are able to identify the displayed values
unambiguously by touching the switches by their fingers. This is very functional
for the blinds because the switches cannot modify their initial position
without any impact from outside. This item is from Shanghai and was produced
by a Chinese teaching aid manufacturer.
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Dieser Abakus entspricht dem äußeren Erscheinungsbild nach
dem normalen japanischen Soroban, unterscheidet sich von ihm aber in zwei
Punkten:
Um die Funktionalität speziell für Sehbehinderte und Blinde
sicherzustellen, sind die Perlen auf den Drähten nur gegen einen gewissen
Reibungswiderstand zu bewegen. Dadurch können sie sich bei Berührung
nicht unabsichtlich von selbst verschieben. Außerdem sind die Abstände
der Perlenreihen größer als gewöhnlich. Günstig wirkt
sich für Sehbehinderte auch der große Helligkeitskontrast zwischen
den weißen Perlen und dem schwarzen Hintergrund aus. Auf dem Rahmen
sind die Positionen der Perlenreihen mit Braille-Punkten markiert und alle
drei Reihen sind zusätzlich mit einem Strich gekennzeichnet. Material:
Rahmen, Gehäuse und Perlen aus Kunststoff. Abmessungen: 155 x 82 mm.
Special abacus for blind people from the USA
Here comes the discription from the website of The American Printing House For The Blind (APH) in Louisville, Kentucky; USA:
The Cranmer Abacus is a self-contained, pocket-sized calculating device similar to those used for centuries in Japan. It can be used for such functions as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and calculating square and cube roots. The Cranmer Abacus is a variation of the standard Japanese soroban. It has two modifications which make it more functional for users who are visually impaired. First, the beads are mounted with a friction fit against a dark felt backing so that they will not slip easily. This enables the operator to read the abacus by touch without changing the settings. Second, the rods are spaced further apart than those of a standard abacus, which makes for more convenient finger access to the beads. This abacus frame measures 6 1/8 x 3 1/4 x 7/16 inches. It is marked along the bottom edge and the crossbar with one tactile dot for each rod and, starting with the second rod from the left, a tactile dash for every three rods. The frame is made of black, high-impact plastic, while the beads are formed of rigid white plastic. The beads of the abacus are approximately 5/16 inch thick and slide along 13 metal rods. Each rod has one bead above the crossbar and four below.
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notice on copyright |
© Prof. Dr. Jörn Lütjens, April 2010