Method of communicating with a language deficient patient

• US 5,169,342 A
• Filed: 05/30/1990
• Issued: 12/08/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Maria K. Kleczewska, Michael Weinrich, Richard D. Steele, Young Harvill
• Original Assignee: Maria K. Kleczewska, Michael Weinrich, Richard D. Steele, Young Harvill
• Inventors: Harvill, Young, Steele, Richard D., Kleczewska, Maria K., Weinrich, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H.
• Application Number:
  US07/530,735
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• Field of Search: 434/112, 434/118, 434/167, 434/169, 434/307, 434/429, 340/712, 340/721, 340/825.19, 340/709, 364/518, 364/521, 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 273/1 E, 273/DIG. 28, 273/434, 273/437, 273/440, 273/454, 341/21, 341/22, 341/28
• US Class Current: 434/112
• 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 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/06 Foreign languages with audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/00 Teaching, or communicating with, the blind, deaf or mute audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04; devices or methods for replacing direct visual or auditory perception by another kind of perception A61F9/08, A61F11/04; audible indication of meter readings or of colour G01D7/12; watches for blind persons G04B25/02; speech analysis, speech recognition G10L; sound-recording or reproducing, per se G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation

Abstract

An interactive method of communicating with a language deficient user such as an aphasic patient is disclosed. The computer has a display with a pointing device for visually indicating a position through a cursor means on the display. In one example, a plurality of images with each image being a graphical representation of word oriented information or a component thereof is displayed. A plurality of tool-like icons is also displayed. The cursor can be positioned to one of the desired plurality of tool-like icons. When one of the plurality of tool-like icons is selected by the user, the cursor is changed into the image of the tool-like icon selected. The tool-like icon image selected for the cursor is then moved to one of a plurality of the images which represent word-oriented information or a component thereof. When the cursor is activated on the image, a display of information represented by the tool-like icon acting on the word-oriented image is then visually displayed by the computer.

Claims

1. A method of communicating language oriented information to and form a user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating an image, which is a graphical representation of the language oriented information, by the computer;

(b) displaying said image generated on the display;

(c) generating a plurality of icons, by the computer;

each of said icons is a graphical representation of an action to extract a type of language information;

(d) displaying said plurality of icons on the display with said image displayed in step (b);

(e) moving the cursor means on the display, by the user, through the use of the pointing device to a desired one of said plurality of icons;

(g) selecting one of said plurality of icons by the user;

(g) transforming the cursor means to the image of the icon selected, by the computer in response to the user selection;

(h) moving said icon selected image of the cursor means to said image, by the user;

(i) activating on said image by said icon selected image of the cursor means, by the user; and

(j) displaying information represented by said image acted upon by the icon selected image of the cursor means, by the computer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting step (f) comprises, activating the pointing device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the information displayed in step (j) is an animation.

4. A method of communicating language oriented information in a communication session, to and from an aphasic user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a plurality of original images;

which collectively represent prestored language information, appropriate for the communication session, by the computer;

(b) displaying said original images generated on the display;

(c) generating a plurality of replacement images for at least one of said display original images in response to the aphasic user activating the cursor means through the use of the points, device on the one displayed original image, by said computer;

each of said plurality of replacement images represents options for the one displayed original image; and

(d) displaying said plurality of replacement images atop on the display of said one displayed original image.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of:

(e) moving the cursor means, by the user to one of said replacement images; and

(f) activating said one of said replacement images, by the user, to replace the one displayed original image, to form a replaced image.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

(g) responding to said activation, by said computer, by generating a text language associated with said plurality of original images having at least one replaced image; and

(h) displaying said generated text language.

7. A method of communicating language oriented information in a communication session, to and from an aphasic user, by the user of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a plurality of original images;

which collectively represent prestored language information, appropriate for the communication session, by the computer;

(b) displaying said original images generated on the display;

(c) generating a plurality of replacement images for at least one of said displaced original images, by said computer;

each of said plurality of replacement images represents options for the associated one of the displayed original image;

(d) moving the cursor means on the display by the aphasic user, through the use of the pointing device to a desired one of said plurality of original images;

(e) selecting one of said plurality of original images, by the user; and

(f) displaying said plurality of replacement images in placed of said selected original image.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of:

(g) moving the cursor means, by said user to one of said replacement images; and

(h) activating said one of said replacement images, by said user, to use said replacement image in the communication session.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

(i) responding to said activation, by said computer, by generating the test language associated with said plurality of original images having at least one replaced image; and

(j) displaying said generated text language.

10. A method of communicating language oriented information in a communicating session, to and from an aphasic user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a first phrase of a plurality of images;

which collectively represent a set of sequence of pre-stored language information, appropriate for the communication session, by the computer;

(b) displaying said first phrase images on the display, by said computer;

(c) displaying a control icon is proximity to said first phrase images by said computer;

(d) activating said control icon through the cursor means by the aphasic user through the use of the pointing device;

(e) displaying a second phrase of a plurality of images, which is the sequential images to said first phrase images, in response to the aphasic user activating said control icon, by said computer; and

(f) repeating the steps of (d) through (e).

11. A method of communicating language oriented information from a first user, having language capability, to an aphasic user, by the use of a computer with a display, and an input means, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting textual language by the first user into the computer;

(d) converting said textual language by the computer into at least one icon, which is the graphical representation of the inputted textual language; and

(c) displaying said icon on the display to the aphasic user for communicating language information between said first user and said aphasic user.

12. A method of communicating language oriented information to and from a user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a plurality of images which collectively represent language information appropriate for the communication session, by the computer;

(b) displaying said images generated on the display;

(c) moving the cursor means, by the user through the use of the pointing devices to one of said plurality of images;

(d) activating said one image, by the user;

(e) responding to said activation, by the computer, by generating an explanatory display, said explanatory display being dependent on the part-of-speech of the word associated with said one image activated, wherein if said word is;

(i) a noun, said explanatory display being other images of nouns mounted on a facet of a solid geometric body, rotated to display images of other nouns;

(ii) a verb, said explanatory display being an image depicting only essentials of the action represented by the verb, and not the particular features of any identifiable word associated with the verb;

(iii) an adjective, said explanatory display being an image visually depicting a noun ranged through a plurality of values and then settling on an appropriate value depicted by the adjective;

(iv) a preposition, said explanatory image being extended to the side of said plurality of images to direct attention specifically to the nouns entering into the preposition al relationship; and

(v) a conjunction, said explanatory display being expanded to indicate neighboring key images conjoined and visually denoting the nature of the intended relationship.

13. A method of communicating language oriented information to and from a user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a plurality of images, which collectively represent language information appropriate for the communication session by the computer;

(b) displaying said images generated on the display;

(c) moving the cursor means, by the user through the use of the pointing devices to a position adjacent to one of said images;

(d) activating the cursor means and, while activated, dragging the cursor means to select at least two of said images which are adjacent to one another;

(e) responding to said activation, by the computer, by combining semantically appropriate images into a single unified image; and

(f) displaying said combined unified image.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said images are an image of a noun followed by an image of a verb and wherein the responding step (e) further comprising displaying a single unified image on a facet of a rotatable solid geometric body, of the image of the noun as a subject performing the image of the verb as a predicate, with alternative images of the verb being acted upon by the image of the noun displayed on other facts of the body.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein said images are an image of an adjective followed by an image of a noun and wherein the responding step (e) further comprising display a single unified image with a control and having the quality depicted by the adjective being adjustable by the user.

16. A method of communicating language oriented information to and from a user, by the use of a computer with a display having a pointing device for visually indicating a position, through a cursor means, on the display, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a plurality of images, which collectively represent language oriented information appropriate for the communication session, by the computer;

(b) displaying said first images generated on the display;

(c) moving the cursor means, by the user through the use of the pointing device to a position adjacent to one of the images;

(d) activating the cursor means and, while activated, dragging the cursor means in a substantially vertical direction, crossing said activated one image to the other side of said one image;

(e) responding to said activation, by the computer, by displaying in another portion of the display, and activated a plurality of replacement images displayed in a vertical direction atop said activated one image;

(f) moving the cursor means, by the user to one of the replacement images displayed in said another portion of the display;

(g) selecting and activating one of said replacement images displayed in said another portion of the display; and

(h) displaying only the selected one of the images in the position previously occupied by said activated one image activated by the user per step (d).