System and method to enable blind people to have access to information printed on a physical document

• US 20050022108A1
• Filed: 04/15/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated (Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carro, Fernando Incertis, Trewin, Sharon M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,165,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/256
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/001 Teaching or communicating with blind persons G09B21/02 - G09B21/06 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a user system, a method for use in a user system, and a computer program for accessing information related to a physical document. The method comprises the steps of: identifying a physical document; identifying and locating an electronic copy of said identified document; identifying one or a plurality of pages of said physical document and identifying a part of the identified physical document using the position of points pressed on a touch foil successively placed and aligned over or under said identified pages; retrieving from the electronic copy of the physical document, data related to the selected part of the document; presenting said retrieved data visually or orally on the user workstation.

Claims

1. A method for use in a user system, for accessing information related to a physical document, said method comprising the steps of:

identifying a physical document;

identifying and locating an electronic copy of said identified document;

identifying one or a plurality of pages of said physical document and identifying a part of the identified physical document using the position of points on said identified pages;

retrieving from the electronic copy of the physical document, data related to the selected part of the document;

presenting said retrieved data visually or orally on the user system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying one or a plurality of pages of said physical document and identifying a part of the identified physical document using the position of points on said identified pages further comprises pressing said points on a touch foil successively placed and aligned over or under said identified pages.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said physical document and pages in said physical document are selected by a user.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a point on a touch foil is pressed with a fingertip or a pen.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying one or a plurality of pages of said physical document and identifying a selected part of the identified physical document using the position of points pressed on a touch foil successively placed and aligned over or under said identified pages, comprises the further steps of:

identifying a first page in said physical document;

determining the position of a first point pressed on the touch foil placed and aligned over or under the identified first page, said first point corresponding to the start point of a part selected in said identified document;

if start point and end point of the selected part are on a same page;

determining the position of a second point pressed on the touch foil placed and aligned over or under the identified page of said document, said second point corresponding to the end point of said selected part;

if start point and end point are not on a same page;

identifying a second page in said physical document;

determining the position of a second point pressed on the touch foil placed and aligned over or under the identified second page of said document, said second point corresponding to the end point of said selected part.

identifying the selected part of the identified physical document using the position of the start point and the end point.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of presenting said retrieved data orally, comprises the further steps of:

extracting text data from said data;

converting said text data into data that can be electronically read.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of converting said text data into data that can be electronically read, comprises the further step of:

audibly reading said text data by means of a text-to-speech system.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of presenting said retrieved data visually, comprises the further step of:

magnifying the retrieved data on a screen.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of magnifying the retrieved data on a screen, comprises the step of:

magnifying on a screen the electronic copy of the selected part of the physical document.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic copy of the document is an exact replica of the physical document.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the document identifier is an address to access the electronic copy of the physical document.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of presenting the retrieved data visually, comprises the step of:

enhancing on a screen the electronic copy of the selected part of the physical document to match the user'"'"'s preferred reading view.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying a physical document, comprises the further step of:

reading, by means of a barcode reader, a document identifier printed on said physical document at a predefined position.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of identifying a page in said physical document, comprises the step of:

reading, by means of a barcode reader, a page identifier printed on said page at a predefined position.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of retrieving from the electronic copy of the document, data related to the selected part of the document;

comprises the further steps of;

identifying and locating information and/or services associated with the selected part of the document; and

retrieving said information and/or services;

reading or magnifying or playing or displaying said information and/or services on the user workstation.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said information associated with the selected part of the document, comprises:

a speech description of graphical data related to the selected part of the document.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of identifying and locating an electronic copy of the identified document, comprises the further steps of:

identifying and locating information and/or services associated with the physical document; and

retrieving said information and/or services;

reading or magnifying or playing or displaying said information and/or services on the user workstation.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the information associated with the physical document, comprises:

a speech description of the physical document; and

/or

speech instructions related to the physical document.

19. The method according to claim 18, comprising the preliminary steps of:

creating an electronic copy of the physical document;

associating information and/or services with said electronic copy.

20. The method according, to claim 1, wherein said user system is connected to a communication network comprising one or plurality of servers, and wherein the electronic copy of the physical document is located on one of said plurality of servers.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic copy of the physical document is located on the user system.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user system is connected to a communication network comprising one or plurality of servers, and wherein the information and/or services associated with said physical document are located on one or a plurality of said servers.

23. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electronic copy of the physical document and the information and/or services associated with said physical document are located on the user system.

24. The method according to claim 1 wherein:

the communication network is an Internet network;

the one or plurality of servers are Web servers; and

the document identifier is an internet address.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein said physical document comprises Braille indications.

26. A user system comprising means adapted for carrying out the steps of the method according to claim 1.

27. A system comprising:

a user system according to claim 26, optionally connected to a communication network;

a touch foil to be placed over or under a page of a physical document for;

detecting a pressure exercised over one or a plurality of point of its surface; and

determining the coordinates of said one or plurality of points; and

a connection between said touch foil and the user system.

28. The system according to claim 27 further comprising a bar code reader connected to said user system for reading bar codes on the physical document.

29. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the steps of the method according to claim 1, when said computer program is executed on the user system according to claim 26.