Patent Publication Number: US-2015084880-A1

Title: Functional fingertip sleeve

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The disclosure generally relates to fingertip sleeves, and particularly to a fingertip sleeve which is capable of outputting an audio signal of information displayed on a screen. 
     2. Background 
     Digital devices using touch screens such as computers and mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular. The touch screens can be manually operated by a finger of a user. However, oil from the skin of the finger may leave a greasy print on the touch panel screen. Therefore, a fingertip sleeve can be used to touch the panel screen. However, the fingertip sleeve merely has a single function as a stylus used to touch the screen. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a functional fingertip sleeve, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the fingertip sleeve of  FIG. 1  put on a finger to touch a screen. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the fingertip sleeve of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a functional fingertip sleeve  10 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. The fingertip sleeve  10  is used to operate a touch screen  100  (shown in  FIG. 2 ) and output an audio (e.g. playing a voice) of information displayed (such as characters) on the screen  100 .  FIGS. 1-3  illustrate that the fingertip sleeve  10  can include a sleeve  11 , a touch region  13 , a speaker  15 , a scanner  19 , and a data processing unit  21 . 
     The sleeve  11  is made of elastic material and defines an opening  12 . The opening  12  is used for sleeving the sleeve  11  on a finger of a user. A through hole  111  is defined in the sleeve  10  adjacent to the opening  12 . The hole  111  is configured to hang a decoration such as a necklace or bracelet, so that the sleeve  11  can be conveniently carried. In addition, the sleeve  10  can be colored to serve as a decoration for an electronic device such as a mobile phone. 
     The touch region  13  is positioned on an outer surface of the sleeve  10  and protrudes from the sleeve  10  so that the touch screen  100  can be accurately touched. The touch region  13  may be made of flexible conductive material such as conductive rubber and fabric. 
     The scanner  19 , the data processing unit  21 , and the speaker  15  are positioned in the sleeve  11  and are electronically connected in series. The scanner  19  scans information displayed on the screen  100  and converts the displayed information into corresponding digital signals. The data processing unit  21  obtains the digital signals and converts the digital signals into corresponding audio signals. The speaker  15  outputs the audio signals from the data processing unit  21  for the user. In this embodiment, the scanner  19  and the touch region  13  are opposite to each other. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the data processing unit  21  includes a microprocessor  211 , a transmission module  212 , and a power supply  213 . The microprocessor  211  is electronically connected to the scanner  19  via the transmission module  212  and is directly connected to the speaker  15 . The microprocessor  211  obtains the digital signal from the scanner  19  via the transmission module  212  and converts the digital signal into the corresponding audio signal. The power supply  213  is electronically connected to the scanner  19  and the microprocessor  211  to provide electric power to the scanner  19  and the microprocessor  211 . 
     In use, the sleeve  10  is positioned over the finger of the user through the opening  12 . Contact with the touch screen  100  can be made by the user with the touch region  13  to create a touch point. In addition, the sleeve  11  may be rotated so that the scanner  19  can scan the information displayed on the screen  100  and convert the displayed information into digital signals. The microprocessor  211  obtains the digital signals from the scanner  19  via the transmission module  212  and converts the digital signals into the corresponding audio signals. The speaker  15  outputs the corresponding audio signals for the user. Therefore, the user can conveniently obtain an audio of the displayed information; this is particularly advantageous for people with visual impairments. 
     In other embodiments, the scanner  19  can be positioned in the sleeve  10  adjacent to the touch region  13  so that the scanner  19  can scan the information when the touch region  13  contacts with or approaches the screen  100 . In addition, the scanner  19  can scan the information displayed on the screen  100  with a slight position adjustment by rotating the sleeve  11 . 
     The fingertip sleeve  10  coverts the information displayed on the screen  100  to the audio signals so that the user can conveniently obtain an audio of the displayed information. The illustrated embodiment has particular advantages for people with visual impairments. 
     The exemplary embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.