Interface for electronic devices providing improved access for people with disabilities

• US 6,624,803 B1
• Filed: 03/16/2000
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (University of Wisconsin System)
• Original Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (University of Wisconsin System)
• Inventors: Kelso, David P., Vanderheiden, Gregg C., Law, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Dennis-Doon
• Application Number:
  US09/527,509
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/727, 345/157, 345/172-174, 345/177, 345/701-710, 345/168, 345/169, 340/825.19, 340/407.1, 341/21, 341/22
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• 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 21/001 Teaching or communicating with blind persons G09B21/02 - G09B21/06 take precedence

Abstract

A reduced button set control panel provides control of electronic devices in parallel with standard controls of the device. This permits improved access to the functions of the electronic devices for users who may be disabled. Functions invocable by conventional controls are mapped to one or more lists which may be navigated through by means of up and down arrows or enabled by means of an access control button of the reduced button set control panel. Thus as few as three buttons may allow a wide variety of control of different pieces of equipment. The access button may be further invoked to activate a second modality to the conventional controls in which their functions are not invoked when these controls are pressed but instead descriptions of the operations of the controls is provided. These descriptions may be layered so that as successive invocations occur, additional information is provided to the user but not to users who do not require it.

Claims

1. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a first set of electronic controls;

a second set of electronic controls including an access switch, an up switch and a down switch;

an electronic computer communicating with the first and second set of electronic controls and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of ones of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device;

(ii) respond to activation of ones of the first set of electronic controls with activation of the access switch to provide information about the function invoked by the activated one of the first set of electronic controls;

(iii) mapping the functions of the electronic device invocable by the first set of electronic controls to list elements of a virtual list such that the functions invocable by the first set of electronic controls can be invoked using the second set of electronic controls by selecting the desired function directly from said virtual list;

(iv) respond to activation of the up switch to change a selected function of the virtual list upward by one list element;

(v) respond to activation of the down switch to change the selected function of the virtual list downward by one list element;

(vi) respond to a deactivation of the access switch to invoke the selected function of the virtual list.

2. The interface system of claim 1 wherein the electronic computer further operates to respond to activation of the up switch and down switch to notify the user of the changed selected function.

3. The interface system of claim 2 wherein the electronic computer communicates with an audio system and wherein the information about the selected function of the virtual list and the notification of the user of the changed selected function is in the form of spoken words.

4. The interface system of claim 1 wherein the access switch is a pushbutton and wherein the electronic computer further operates to define activation of the access switch as pressing of the pushbutton.

5. The interface system of claim 1 wherein the virtual list includes at least one menu element, and wherein the electronic computer further operates such that the menu element is:

not invocable by the first set of controls, and

invocable by the access switch when selected to provide functions related to access of the electronic device for those with disabilities.

6. The interface system of claim 1 wherein the menu item provides a persistent operating state of the electronic device so that information about the selected function of the virtual list is provided after activation of the access switch.

7. The interface system of claim 1 wherein the virtual list includes sub lists linked in a hierarchical fashion and wherein at least one function moves the selection between sub lists in the hierarchy.

8. The interface system of claim 7 wherein the second set of electronic controls further includes a back switch and wherein the electronic computer further operates to move the selection upward in the hierarchy when the back switch is selected.

9. The interface system of claim 8 wherein activating the access switch provides an acknowledgement signal.

10. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a first set of electronic controls;

a second set of electronic controls including an access switch, an up switch and a down switch;

an electronic computer communicating with the first and second set of electronic controls and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of ones of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device;

(ii) respond to activation of ones of the first set of electronic controls with activation of the access switch to provide information about the function invoked by the activated one of the first set of electronic controls;

(iii) mapping the functions of the electronic device invocable by the first set of electronic controls to list elements of a virtual list;

(iv) respond to activation of the up switch to change a selected function of the virtual list upward by one list element;

(v) respond to activation of the down switch to change the selected function of the virtual list downward by one list element;

(vi) respond to a deactivation of the access switch to invoke the selected function of the virtual list;

wherein the virtual list includes at least one delimiter list element at an end of the virtual list, and wherein the electronic computer further operates such that the delimiter is;

not invocable by the first set of controls, and invocable by the access switch when selected to provide an indication of the location of the selection at the end of the virtual list.

11. The interface system of claim 10 wherein the electronic computer communicates with an audio system and wherein the indication of the location of the selection at the end of the virtual list is in the form of spoken words.

12. The interface system of claim 10 wherein the electronic computer further operates so that a pressing one of the up and down switches when the selection is at the end of the virtual list moves the selection to a beginning of the virtual list.

13. The interface system of claim 12 wherein the electronic computer further operates so that a pressing of the one of the up and down switches when the selection is at the end of the virtual list moves the selection to the beginning of the virtual list only after an acknowledgment signal by the user.

14. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a set of electronic controls;

an access switch;

an audio circuit;

an electronic computer communicating with the set of electronic controls, the access switch and the audio circuit and executing a stored program to;

(i) map the functions of the electronic device invocable by the set of electronic controls to list elements of a virtual list such that a function selected from said virtual list can be invoked using the access switch;

(ii) respond to activation of a control of the set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iii) respond to a primary activation of the control with concurrent activation of the access switch to provide to a user a first spoken text message indicating of the operations of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iv) respond to a secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the primary activation to provide to a user a second spoken text message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the first spoken text message.

15. The interface system of claim 14 wherein the electronic computer further operates to provide additional and different spoken messages of the operations associated with the activated electronic control with subsequent activations of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the secondary activation.

18. The interface system of claim 14, wherein the electronic computer further operates to provide a spoken message indicating to the user of the operation of the access switch when the access switch is activated without activation of a control of the electronic controls.

16. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a set of electronic controls;

an access switch;

an audio circuit;

an electronic computer communicating with the set of electronic controls, the access switch and the audio circuit and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of a control of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(ii) respond to a primary activation of the control with concurrent activation of the access switch to provide to a user a first spoken message indicating of the operations of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iii) respond to a secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the primary activation to provide to a user a second spoken message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the first spoken message;

wherein the electronic computer further operates so that the primary, secondary and subsequent activations are associated with spoken messages selected from the group of (1) a name of the activated control and summary state of the operations of the activated control;

(2) a function of the activated control and detailed state of the operation of the activated control;

(3) how the activated control is used;

(4) special instructions related to the activated control;

(5) related controls; and

(6) reference to a user manual page number.

17. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a set of electronic controls;

an access switch;

an audio circuit;

an electronic computer communicating with the set of electronic controls, the access switch and the audio circuit and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of a control of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(ii) respond to a primary activation of the control with concurrent activation of the access switch to provide to a user a first spoken message indicating of the operations of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iii) respond to a secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the primary activation to provide to a user a second spoken message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the first spoken message;

wherein the spoken message is selected in order from the group consisting of group of (1) a name of the activated control and summary state of the operations of the activated control;

(2) a function of the activated control and detailed state of the operation of the activated control;

(3) how the activated control is used;

(4) special instructions related to the activated control;

(5) related controls; and

(6) reference to a user manual page number.

19. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a set of electronic controls;

an access switch;

an audio circuit;

an electronic computer communicating with the set of electronic controls, the access switch and the audio circuit and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of a control of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(ii) respond to a primary activation of the control with concurrent activation of the access switch to provide to a user a first spoken message indicating of the operations of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iii) respond to a secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the primary activation to provide to a user a second spoken message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the first spoken message;

further including a down switch and wherein the electronic computer further operates so as to respond to an activation of the down switch after the secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch provide to the user a third spoken message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the second spoken message.

20. An interface system to an electronic device providing access for people with disabilities, the interface system comprising:

a set of electronic controls;

an access switch;

an audio circuit;

an electronic computer communicating with the set of electronic controls, the access switch and the audio circuit and executing a stored program to;

(i) respond to activation of a control of the first set of electronic controls without activation of the access switch to invoke functions of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(ii) respond to a primary activation of the control with concurrent activation of the access switch to provide to a user a first spoken message indicating of the operations of the electronic device associated with the activated control;

(iii) respond to a secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch after the primary activation to provide to a user a second spoken message indicating the operation associated with the activated control different from the first spoken message;

further including an up switch and wherein the electronic computer further operates so as to respond to an activation of the up switch after the secondary activation of the control prior to deactivation of the access switch provide to the user with the first spoken message again.