Communication system and associated apparatus

• US 6,056,549 A
• Filed: 05/01/1998
• Issued: 05/02/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fletcher, Cheri
• Original Assignee: Fletcher, Cheri
• Inventors: Fletcher, Cheri
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirsch, Paul J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Priddy, Michael B.
• Application Number:
  US09/070,902
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 434/112, 434/156, 434/167, 434/170, 434/185, 434/236, 434/322, 434/433, 446/147, 446/149, 446/901, 281/15.1, 281/29, 281/37, 283/46, 283/117
• US Class Current: 434/112
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/38 Picture books with additional toy effects, e.g. pop-up or slide displays picture books B42D1/00
• 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

Abstract

A communication and teaching aid for increasing the communication skills of a nonverbal, speech and/or language impaired individual comprising a collection assembly preferably in the form of a book structure having a plurality of movably mounted pages each of which serves as a support structure for a plurality of demonstration pieces. Informative indicia is formed on an exposed surface of each of the demonstration pieces either in the form of an alpha-numeric display or a pictorial representation with a word or phrase label, wherein the informative indicia is representative of subject related categories of common objects, activities, statements, phrases, questions, answers, etc. A coding system is utilized to identify each of the plurality of demonstration pieces by category so as to facilitate their accessibility and identity when at least one demonstration piece of a given category is desired to be used either by the individual or one communicating with or teaching the individual. In use, the impaired individual or one communicating with or teaching that individual, chooses one or more of the demonstration pieces so as to create an expressive communication. The collected demonstration pieces are then removably attached in a cooperative array on a primary display portion of the collection assembly, wherein the cooperative array defines a question or statement intended by either the individual or the one communicating with him/her.

Claims

1. A communication aid for an impaired individual comprising:

a) a collection assembly including a plurality of support structures segregated into a plurality of categories, each category representative of a different subject matter,

b) a plurality of demonstration pieces each having an exposed surface including informative indicia formed thereon,

c) each of said support structures comprising a display surface formed thereon which is structured and disposed to removably mount a number of subject related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon, each of said subject related demonstration pieces oriented to display said exposed surface thereof for viewing of said informative indicia thereon,

d) each of said display surfaces of said support structures comprising a plurality of at least partially segregated areas each dimensioned and configured to receive one of said subject related demonstration pieces;

said segregated areas collectively arranged to display said subject related demonstration pieces on said display surface in a predetermined, organized manner,

e) said collection assembly including at least one primary display portion structured to removably support at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon in a cooperative array,

f) said informative indicia of at least one demonstration piece which comprises said cooperative array defining a communication created at least in part by the impaired individual, and

g) each of said plurality of support structures including code means for identifying a number of said plurality of subject related demonstration pieces, as being representative of one grouping of subject related demonstration pieces.

2. A communication aid as recited in claim 1 wherein said plurality of support structures are secured to said collection assembly in movable relation to one another and are cooperatively structured to have said display surface thereof selectively exposed for viewing of said subject-related demonstration pieces thereon.

3. A communication aid for an impaired individual comprising:

a) a collection assembly including a plurality of support structures segregated into a plurality of categories, each category representative of a different subject matter,

b) a plurality of demonstration pieces each having an exposed surface including informative indicia formed thereon,

c) each of said support structures comprising a display surface formed thereon which is structured and disposed to removably mount a number of subject-related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon, each of said subject-related demonstration pieces oriented to display said exposed surface thereof for viewing of said informative indicia thereon,

d) said collection assembly including at least one primary display portion structured to removably support at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon in a cooperative array,

e) said informative indicia of said at least one demonstration piece which comprises said cooperative array defining a communication created at least in part by the impaired individual,

f) said informative indicia on at least some of said plurality of demonstration pieces comprising alphanumeric displays and said alphanumeric displays on said subject related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces all being representative of one of said plurality of categories, and

g) each of said plurality of support structures including code means for identifying a number of said plurality of subject-related demonstration pieces as being representative of one grouping of subject-related demonstration pieces.

4. A communication aid as recited in claim 3 wherein said code means is additionally formed on said plurality of demonstration pieces for identifying each of said number of subject-related demonstration pieces as being representative of one of said plurality of categories.

5. A communication aid as recited in claim 4 wherein said plurality of support structures and said number of subject-related demonstration pieces have equivalent code means formed thereon which are representative of a common one of said plurality of categories.

6. A communication aid as recited in claim 5 wherein said code means comprises color coding of said plurality of support structures and said plurality of demonstration pieces.

7. A communication aid as recited in claim 5 wherein said code means comprises symbol coding of said plurality of support structures and said plurality of demonstration pieces.

8. A communication aid as recited in claim 3 wherein said informative indicia on at least some of said plurality of demonstration pieces comprises pictorial representations and said pictorial representations on said subject-related ones of said plurality of the demonstration pieces are all representative of one of said plurality of categories.

9. A communication aid as recited in claim 3 further including a plurality of first mounting components attached to said plurality of support structures and a plurality of second mounting components each being attached to a different one of said demonstration pieces, said first and second mounting components cooperatively structured to permit removable attachment of said plurality of said demonstration pieces to said plurality of support structures.

10. A communication aid as recited in claim 3 further comprising a second collection assembly having a plurality of support structures for additional demonstration pieces.

11. A communication aid as recited in claim 3 wherein said collection assembly further comprises at least one holding area structured and disposed for storage of a relatively small number of demonstration pieces.

12. A communication aid for an impaired individual comprising:

a) a collection assembly including a plurality of support structures segregated into a plurality of categories, each category representative of a different subject matter,

b) a plurality of demonstration pieces each having an exposed surface including informative indicia formed thereon,

c) each of said support structures comprising a display surface formed thereon which is structured and disposed to removably mount a number of subject-related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon, each of said subject-related demonstration pieces oriented to display said exposed surface thereof for viewing of said informative indicia thereon,

d) said collection assembly including at least one primary display portion structured to removably support at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon in a cooperative array,

e) said informative indicia of said at least one demonstration piece which comprises said cooperative array defining a communication created at least in part by the impaired individual,

f) each of said plurality of support structures including code means for identifying a number of said plurality of subject-related demonstration pieces as being representative of one grouping of subject-related demonstration pieces, and

g) said primary display portion of said collection assembly including a separately designated response segment formed thereon and structured to removably support at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces having informative indicia thereon.

13. A communication and teaching aid for a non-verbal, speech and/or language impaired individual comprising:

a) a collection assembly at least partially defined by a note-book structure including a plurality of pages removably mounted to said note-book structure and movably mounted relative to one another and segregated into a plurality of categories,

b) a plurality of demonstration pieces each having an exposed surface with informative indicia formed thereon,

c) each of said pages defining a support structure for art least some of said plurality of demonstration pieces and including at least one display surface structured to removably support a number of subject-related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon,

d) said informative indicia on at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces comprising alphanumeric displays and said alphanumeric displays on said subject related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces all being representative of one of said plurality of categories,

e) said note-book structure including at least one primary display portion structured to removably support at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces thereon in a cooperative array so as to expose said informative indicia thereon,

f) said informative indicia of said at least one of said demonstration pieces which comprise said cooperative array defining an expressive communication created at least in part by the individual, and

g) code means formed on said plurality of pages for identifying each of said plurality of pages as being representative of one of said plurality of categories.

14. A communication and teaching aid as recited in claim 13 wherein said informative indicia on at least one of said plurality of demonstrative pieces comprises pictorial representations and said pictorial representations on said subject-related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces are all representative of one of said plurality of categories.

15. A communication and teaching aid as recited in claim 14 wherein said informative indicia on others of said plurality of demonstration pieces further comprises alpha-numeric displays, said alpha-numeric displays on said subject-related ones of said plurality of demonstration pieces are all representative of one of said plurality of categories.

16. A communication and teaching aid as recited in claim 13 wherein said code means is formed on said plurality of demonstration pieces for identifying each of said subject-related demonstration pieces as being representative of one of said plurality of categories.

17. A communication aid as recited in claim 16 wherein said plurality of pages and said plurality of demonstration pieces have equivalent code means formed thereon and are representative of a common one of a said plurality of categories.

18. A communication aid as recited in claim 17 wherein said code means comprises color coding of said plurality of pages and said plurality of demonstration pieces.

19. A method of improving the communication skills of a nonverbal, speech and/or language impaired individual comprising the steps of:

a) creating a plurality of demonstration pieces each having informative indicia formed on an exposed portion thereof,

b) grouping each of said plurality of demonstration pieces into a plurality of categories based on said informative indicia thereof being subject-related,

c) identifying the plurality of demonstration pieces by category by coding each of said plurality of demonstration pieces having the same subject-related informative indicia thereon with the same code,

d) storing said plurality of demonstration pieces by segregated category and providing visual and physical access to each of the plurality of demonstration pieces of each category by the individual,

e) allowing the individual to select and display at least one of the plurality of demonstration pieces in a cooperative array, and

f) creating an expressive communication at least in part by the individual by utilizing the informative indicia of said at least one of the plurality of demonstration pieces in it the cooperative array.

20. A method as recited in claim 19 further comprising the step of coding the plurality of demonstration pieces by using colors.

21. A method as recited in claim 20 further comprising the step of defining the informative indicia on at least one of said plurality of demonstration pieces by pictorial representations.

22. A method as in recited in claim 21 further comprising the step of defining the informative indicia of other of said plurality of demonstration pieces by alpha-numeric display.