Abstract:
This is an entirely new type of tactile display based upon cuneiform writing concepts which is an alternative to Braille. This invention uses electromechanical components to display a tactile coding of letters, numbers and symbols using rotating linear components and pointer variations of these. These pointer parts rotate on the surface of the device. A user places fingers or skin on the surface and by feeling the direction in which the components are pointing determines the coded symbol.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
                                       2891324   June 1959   Zuk       3395247   July 1968   Fieldgate       3510967   May 1970   King et al.       3592965   July 1971   Dies       3987438   October 1976   Lindenmueller et al.       4033053   July 1977   Engler       4044350   August 1977   Tretiakoff et al.       4178586   December 1979   Schonherr       4191945   March 1980   Hannon et al.       4194190   March 1980   Bareau       4215490   August 1980   Fewell       4266936   May 1981   Rose et al.       4445871   May 1984   Becker       4473356   September 1984   Fernando et al.       4500293   February 1985   Eltgen       4586903   May 1986   Burchart       4586904   May 1986   Chlumsky       4871992   October 1989   Petersen       5086287   February 1992   Nutzel       5453012   September 1995   Hudecek       5466154   November 1995   Thompson       5546784   August 1996   Haas et al.       5583478   December 1996   Renzi       5717423   February 1998   Parker       5736978   April 1998   Hasser et al.       5766014   June 1998   Ida et al.       5772440   June 1998   Ida       6012314   January 2000   Sullivan et al.       6209380   April 2001   Papazian et al.       6462840   October 2002   Kravtsov       6734785   May 2004   Petersen                    
A number of patents intended for three dimensional or tactile displays are listed above. These patents contain pin, rod and other vertically moving elements for producing tactile display. The current patent improves on this prior art by using rotational and horizontal movement of otherwise fixed elements. This patent improves on these patents by making a simpler system of rotating and horizontally sliding tactile elements of modules which do not primarily travel in the Y axis perpendicular to the display surface but primarily in the X-Z plane of the surface.
 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not Applicable 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not Applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   1. Field of Invention 
   This invention relates to the application of electromechanical techniques to tactile display, with sets of directionally pointing elements moving in the X-Z plane for use by people in tactile reading of symbols, characters and numbers, by rotating the tactile pointer elements. 
   2. Prior Art 
   The genesis of this invention came with the observation of a problem that blind people have. The vast majority of the blind or seriously visually impaired cannot read Braille. There are approximately 10 million people in the USA today classified as blind or visually impaired. Braille readers may total as many as a hundred thousand, but most estimates put the Braille reading population at 45,000 to 50,000 people in the USA. That total is between 0.5% and 1% of the 10 million blind and visually impaired, and it is 4% to 8% of the roughly 1.5 million legally blind who reside in the USA, depending on which figure is used. This is very poor coverage of the need. Even among those who cannot read with some visual aid, or can do so with extreme difficulty, the percentage of those that use Braille remains extremely low. When looking at employment figures compiled by organizations for the blind, this problem stands out even more, since most blind people who read Braille are employed, and very few who do not read Braille are employed. The ability to read seems to be crucial to employment for blind people. 
   There are good reasons why so few people read Braille. Primary among them is the difficulty of learning it. A person with normal tactile sensitivity can learn Braille with intense study over months. Their proficiency grows over years. However, for those who do not learn it when young, it is rare for the person to ever become proficient enough to read it quickly for long periods of time. For those with less than normal tactile sensitivity, it is simply impossible to learn Braille. Virtually all of those whose blindness is a result of diabetes are physically incapable of learning Braille. 
   The problem which emerges when looking at these issues is: How can one make a tactile system which is useable by the majority of the blind or visually impaired for whom Braille is impractical or impossible? This rotating pointer tactile display fulfills that need. 
   There are alternative tactile codes to Braille. The two most common are Moon code, invented in 1845, which is still supported by the RNIB of England, having books in 471 languages based on the Moon roman alphabet, and Fishburne code, invented in 1975 and protected by copyright, currently supported by the inventor&#39;s son. Both of these codes have proven much easier to learn to read than Braille, and are in common use, primarily by those who become blind later in life. Moon code in particular has withstood the test of time. A sighted person can easily see why Moon code has remained, since it is possible to figure out many words by looking at the raised characters. This makes it easy for those who learned the Roman alphabet when they were young to read it, and minimizes the problems associated with sighted teachers, since anyone who can read English can learn to read Moon by sight in a few days. Fishburne looks quite promising for posterity as well, due to its vastly superior ease of tactile discrimination over both Braille and Moon, although, to date, Fishburne has mainly been used for simple tasks like labeling. 
   There are other embossed tactile codes produced by intelligent people who have helped their friends and relatives, unaware that the problem has been solved before. For example, there is such a code from India, which is hammered out with small blocks, that is quite suitable for persons who are poverty stricken. However, all of these alternative codes have a serious problem in the electronic age. They may be as easy to emboss as Braille is by a large printing press style of machine, a specialized label-maker, or a hand held stylus, but they are impractical to adapt for use with computers in a personal tactile display due to the complexity of the symbols. Thus, to date, Braille remains the only viable tactile display code which can be adapted to electronic display. 
   In addition, the technology for producing Braille electronic displays is quite expensive. A typical price today for an 80 character display for Braille is $10,000. A good quality 40 character display will cost more than $4,000 today, and prices are not going down. The current invention uses older, simpler, components to achieve a less expensive display. 
   This invention solves the problems described above, using a new method which can be adapted to encoding characters that has most of the strengths of Fishburne and Moon in terms of learning and tactile definition, yet is cheaper to manufacture than current Braille tactile displays. I developed this by thinking backwards from what would be the least expensive components for a tactile display, and then I looked at how one could adapt these to a code that has the virtues of Moon and Fishburne. For a time, I attempted to develop a design that would display Fishburne code precisely, but realized that this was probably futile. Key to the invention is that a space character can be represented by a specific tactile symbol which is not smooth. Like the symbol for zero in mathematics, tactile coding for this device requires allocation of a symbol to represent a blank space. Significant sources of inspiration for this invention were the ancient written languages of Linear A and B. More important than these, however, were the cuneiform scripts which evolved from the older pictographic forms to an abstract system based on wedge shapes. Cuneiform writing developed roughly 3100 BC; however the roots of this form of writing extend back to the 9 th  millennium BC, roughly 11,000 years ago. I noted many years ago that cuneiform scripts are readable by feel alone, and had observed some years ago, in passing, that with cuneiform script in particular, blind scribes would have been quite practical. 
   This patent uses linear pointed elements or wedge shapes that draw in general concept on cuneiform writing, with the linear pointed elements collated into symbols which improves upon prior art in several ways. In this patent, symbols are greatly regularized and simplified compared to cuneiform script. Linear and cuneiform scripts are incised or impressed into clay. In this patent, the primary embodiment of the tactile elements are present in raised relief above the panel instead of impressed into the panel, although an impressed embodiment could occur. This patent uses movable elements to allow an electronic device to change what is written, instead of wet clay which is allowed to harden; by making the pointing elements movable this patent improves upon this ancient prior art again. 
   The hand held reading device of  FIG. 5  also harks back to ancient times in some respects. There are conical clay tablets with cuneiform writing on their surface, which are of a size convenient to hold in one hand. I have noted for some years that such conical clay tablets are very convenient for reading by feel while held in one hand. This would have left the eyes of warehouse, tax or customs personnel of the time free to look at what is around them while reading. However, as noted above, this form of script is impressed into the surface and is also immobile, whereas, the current invention has moveable elements that in their primary embodiment are raised, although they could also be impressed as with Cuneiform, together with a new symbol system different from Cuneiform alphabets. This hand held device in its primary embodiment also allows the tactile characters to be present on keys which can be pressed. 
   This invention is an integration of existing components and art in a new way, combined with specially shaped tactile elements which allow the blind person to feel the symbol they represent. Accordingly, there these unique, rotational, pointers and other aspects of this invention are novel and not obvious within the field of tactile displays. 
   OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
   The overall object of the invention is to provide a means for allowing those who are blind to read, and by extension, to write by means of a keyboard, which enables them to enter society in a more productive way. The invention is an electromechanical panel which positions character representation elements so that they can be read by tactile means alone. The overall advantages are primarily—provision of a means of reading that is much easier to learn than Braille, and that requires less tactile sensitivity. The device is also flexible and reconfigurable so that it can represent different alphabets as well as specialized mathematical symbols. The script which is represented is also relatively easy for a sighted person to learn to read, which is not true for Braille. 
   Summary Advantages: 
   
       
       
         
           (a) To provide a system using modules containing rotating elements which are grouped in sets, typically of 2 and 4, to encode meaningful symbols in a tactile manner. 
           (b) To provide a set of tactile codes that can be produced at different sizes without significantly changing recognizability, to allow users to read who have widely varying tactile sensitivity. 
           (c) To connect this device to a computer or other electronic signaling device that will send signals for letters and symbols to display. 
           (d) To make possible a less expensive tactile display for use with computers and other electronic media. 
           (e) To make possible a tactile display which is practical for sighted readers to learn. 
           (f) To make possible a tactile display that can be potentially used as a keyboard. 
           (g) To make possible a tactile display that can potentially be used to create a new type of cell phone and/or PDA device. 
         
       
     
  
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, a container with a top panel, that contains electronics and small motors or other actuators which make it possible for the tactile code elements to rotate or slide in a controlled manner to positions that are read by the sense of touch as text, numbers, and other special symbols making up language and mathematics or other grammar. The panel contains electronics, mechanical hardware, software and algorithms that combine to convert binary coded character sets into tactile output. Depending on the method of engineering the device, it may use different mechanical technologies. For example, the panel may use pneumatic actuators controlled by a set of valves to position the elements instead of small electrical motors and/or electromagnet assemblies. 

   
     DRAWINGS 
     Figures 
     FIG.  1 —Schematic cutaway view of one tactile element module. 
     FIG.  2 —Schematic of 8 of the most common positions that one tactile element module can take. 
     FIG.  3 —Schematic of alternative shapes which a module tactile element may take. 
     FIG.  4 —Schematic of a display device, assembled, consisting of 2 rows of 20 vertically paired tactile element modules. 
     FIG.  5 —Orthogonal view of a hand held chord keying display device. 
     FIG.  6 —Schematic of a fully assembled standalone display with all features. 
     FIG.  7 —Orthogonal and schematic views of pointing elements 
     FIG.  8 —Schematic views of cam arrangements for raising and lowering 
     FIG.  9 —Schematic view of alternative keyboard. 
     FIG.  10 —Integrated device orthogonal view 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   FIGS.  1 ,  2 ,  4 ,  6   
   Preferred Embodiment 
   The device contains modules,  FIG. 1  composed of a rotating motor  2 , which steps the rotatable tactile element  1  circularly, like the hand of a clock, in either clockwise of counter-clockwise manner, usually be means of a shaft,  2 A. In this schematic, the tactile element is a simple rod shape with a nub on one end,  1 A to indicate direction. 
   The device has tactile elements,  FIG. 2  which are clearly directional from one end to the other. In this diagram is shown how the tactile element can take multiple rotational positions. Most commonly, each element would only take 8 possible positions out of the circle of angular possibilities, with directionality shown by the round nub on one end,  4 - 11 . 
   The device panel,  FIG. 4 , shows two rows of 20 vertically paired tactile display elements  21 . This panel could be made as large as desired,  22 . The panel would usually incorporate buttons or some equivalent control for scrolling content left and right,  16  and  20 , as well as up and down,  17  and  19 . A kind of cursor, mouse click could be provided by means of a button or touch sensitive area  18 . 
   FIGS.  3 ,  5  and  6   
   Alternative Embodiments 
   The invention can have alternative embodiments. The fundamental configuration could have variation in the precise shape of the tactile elements shown in these diagrams so as to improve tactile usability  FIG. 3 ,  12 - 15 . The tactile elements of the device,  FIG. 3 , can vary in shape, as long as they are clearly directional from one end to the other. In this diagram, the shape is an acute isosceles triangle as seen in the isometric view,  12 ,  13 ,  14 , which has a clear direction. The tactile element has nubs of different size on each of its three acute angles,  12 , to further clarify the tactile sensation. This diagram also shows a simple triangular pointer  13 , with a nub at the acute angle, and a form with a mild domed rise along the short side  14 , which, together with the knurled nub at the acute angle, further clarifies the direction it is pointing. 
   The device may have pointing elements  FIG. 7  which are recessed instead of raised,  35 ,  36 . The tactile element may be mounted somewhat off-center to further improve the tactile differentiation of each position,  37 . The characters may be set on raised,  38 , or recessed,  39 , areas of the panel instead of being mounted on areas which are flush with the surface,  FIG. 4 ,  21 , as in the primary embodiment. 
   The device may be shaped to fit ergonomically into a person&#39;s hand,  FIG. 5 ,  23 , presenting the tactile display elements on the surface of keys  25 , which can also be pressed to use as input devices. The device may allow data entry through pressing of chords using tactile display keys  25  and/or simple keys,  24 . 
   The device may come together with an LCD  FIG. 6 ,  32  or other type of standard visual display and a hinged lid,  26 , which may be a detachable option. The device may incorporate a speaker  30 , or audio output jack  28 , which may be used to provide a secondary audio channel together with the tactile display. This audio channel could be used, for example, as part of a training system. The device could have buttons,  27  for controlling scrolling of text. Audio on/off/volume control  29  would normally be provided. 
   The display panel,  FIG. 6 , may be composed of display elements, all or some of which are placed on press-able keys, or equivalent touch sensitive surface. This can allow the manufacture of a device which is both a display and a keyboard. Most commonly, since this is a device for the blind, the panel would contain a subset of display elements which were chord keys  31 . The device could also have keys which are arranged separately from the display area  FIG. 9 ,  46 . Since chord keys do not require the user to move their fingers, they are often easier for a blind person to locate and type with. 
   Also alternatively, the surface of the panel could be made up of some type of transparent or visible touch sensitive material  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 9 , to allow the system to automatically track the progress of the reader&#39;s skin across its surface,  31 A. 
   In an alternative embodiment, pointer elements could raise and lower to some degree,  FIG. 8 , up and down as they rotate, by means of a cam arrangement, to improve tactile readability. In one possible embodiment of the cam, the upper cam  42  slides so that it rises up and down as the pointing elements turn because of the teeth on the lower cam,  43 . Similarly, in a different cam system, the upper cam,  44 , raises up and down as it turns across crossed rollers  44 . 
   In an alternative embodiment, some or all pointing elements  FIG. 1  could have a vibrator  2 B to enhance tactile sensation. 
   There could be a set of raised nubs or lines  FIG. 7  surrounding the pointing element to make it easier in the beginning to differentiate what direction the display element  35 ,  36  is pointing. The roughly circular arrangement could consist entirely of nubs, entirely of lines, or some combination. A tactile nub is shown in  41 A; a tactile line is shown in  40 A. These could be arranged on the surface of the panel, or on a ring,  40  and  41 . 
   The invention could also have an embodiment  FIG. 10  which integrated a cell phone, PDA, radio or some computing device in a case  47 , which may incorporate: an antenna  55 , sound/data/voice jack  49 , volume control  50 , tactile display  63 , LCD panel  48 , control buttons  51 , microphone  52 , speaker  54 . 
   Operation 
   Operation of the device will be simple from a user&#39;s viewpoint. The user will move an area of skin, typically hand and fingers, over the surface, deciphering each group of pointers to represent a symbol. The user will press a button, turn a wheel, or rest their fingers on some touch sensitive surface to signal for the next set of symbols to be displayed. The device will rotate each module accordingly to a position so as to represent the new symbols. 
   Description and Operation of Alternative Embodiments 
   The user of the device may listen to a speaker or through headphones as he reads, listening to each character as he reads it with his fingers. Alternatively, the user could listen to the device speak each word as he begins or completes reading it. This would normally be a training mode. 
   The user may make use of keys on the keyboard which are also displaying tactile symbols, to enter data. The user may make use of separate keys or controls on the keyboard to enter data which are single use, embedded into the display. These keys may operate like a standard typewriter keyboard, but would typically be chord key style of operation. 
   The user of the device may be holding the hand-held embodiment of the device in his hand with his fingers positioned on keys which also have tactile character displays on them. 
   CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE OF INVENTION 
   The invention has wide application for reading in a tactile manner by those who are blind or visually impaired. The invention also has possible application to specialized situations among people who can see. 
   Hand held devices—This invention is applicable to hand held applications where the user needs to be able to read some amount of information while keeping his eyes on something else, when audio methods are not practical. This could be applied to cell phone instant messaging, allowing students in school to converse with each other with their hands in their pockets at all times. This could also be useful in certain industrial or white collar situations as well. Blind attorneys, for example, have long used Braille notes in their pockets to appear to have memorized amazing amounts of material in the courtroom. 
   Combined with chord key devices—Chord keys allow typing to take place without a full keyboard by defining chords to symbols. Typically, chord key devices allocate one key per finger, although this is not a hard and fast rule. If each chord key also becomes a tactile display, then rapid typing, can occur together with rapid reading without changing position. 
   Since the outstanding difference between the blind who are employable and those who are not, appears to be an ability to read and write, (via reading by Braille), this invention will have a positive effect on the ability of the blind and visually impaired to function successfully in society by extending the benefits of tactile reading through Braille to those for whom Braille is impractical. Additionally, it is expected that this invention will be significantly cheaper to manufacture than Braille tactile displays are.