Tactile display apparatus

• US 6,703,924 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 03/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Haas, William Robert, Tecu, Kirk
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US10/027,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20030117490A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 340/407.1, 340/407.2, 340/825.19, 345/157, 345/163, 345/173, 345/174, 343/112, 343/113, 343/114
• US Class Current: 340/407.1
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/003 using tactile presentation of the information, e.g. Braille displays

Abstract

A tactile display reads out information corresponding to at least a portion of an image appearing on a computer screen comprising a 2-dimensional array of pixels. The tactile display comprises at least one array of tactile output elements, each element corresponding to at least one pixel of the computer screen image and movable, in response to an input representative of a value of a property of the at least one pixel, to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely-recognizable positions. The positions of the plurality of tactile output elements provide a tactilely-recognizable pattern representative of the information on the screen. A touch sensor may be operatively associated with at least one of the tactile output elements to provide an output in response to a user'"'"'s touch of the associated tactile output element.

Claims

1. A tactile display for reading out information corresponding to at least a portion of an image appearing on a computer screen comprising a 2-dimensional array of pixels, the tactile display comprising:

a plurality of tactile output elements arranged in an array, each of the plurality of output elements corresponding to at least one pixel of the computer screen and being movable, in response to an input representative of a value of a property of the at least one pixel, to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely-recognizable positions, the positions of the plurality of tactile output elements providing a tactilely-recognizable pattern representative of said information; and

a touch sensor operatively associated with at least one of the plurality of tactile output elements, said at least one touch sensor providing an output in response to a user'"'"'s touch of the associated tactile output element.

2. The tactile display of claim 1 in which:

said at least one touch sensor comprises a pressure responsive transducer.

3. The tactile display of claims 1 in which:

each of the said tactile output elements comprises an extendible plunger movable to said plurality of discrete positions, and wherein each of the tactile output elements is coupled to a corresponding touch sensor.

4. The tactile display of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of touch sensors, said plurality of touch sensors comprising a pad of pressure sensitive piezoelectric areas underneath said array of tactile output elements.

5. The tactile display of claim 1 in which:

said output of said at least one touch sensor comprises a signal representative of the location of the associated tactile output element in said array.

6. The tactile display of claim 1 in which:

said value of said property comprises gray scale intensity.

7. The tactile display of claim 1 in which:

each of said plurality of tactile output elements corresponds to a subarray of pixels.

8. The tactile display of claim 7 in which:

each of said plurality of positions of each of said plurality of tactile output elements is representative of an n-bit gray scale value, said n-bit gray scale value being an average of the n-bit gray scale values of the pixels comprising said subarray.

9. The tactile display of claim 1 further comprising:

a second plurality of tactile output elements, each of said second plurality of tactile output elements being movable to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely recognizable positions in response to a value of a second property of the at least one pixel and to said touch sensor output.

10. The tactile display of claim 9 in which:

the first mentioned property of the at least one pixel comprises gray scale intensity; and

said second property of the at least one pixel comprises color.

11. A tactile display for reading out information corresponding to at least a portion of an image appearing on a computer screen comprising a 2-dimensional array of pixels, the tactile display comprising:

a first array of tactile output elements, each element of said first array corresponding to at least one pixel of the computer screen and being movable, in response to an input representative of a value of a first property of the at least one pixel, to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely-recognizable positions, the positions of the plurality of tactile output elements providing a tactilely-recognizable pattern representative of said information; and

a second array of tactile output elements, each element of said second array being movable to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely recognizable positions in response to a value of a second property of the at least one pixel.

12. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

each of the said tactile output elements comprises an extendible plunger movable to said plurality of discrete positions.

13. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

at least said first array of tactile output elements comprises a 2-dimensional array.

14. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

the first property comprises gray scale intensity.

15. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

said plurality of discrete positions of each of the movable output elements of said first array are indicative of an n-bit gray scale intensity of the corresponding at least one computer screen pixel, where n=at least 2.

16. The tactile display of claim 15 in which:

n=4.

17. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

each of the tactile output elements of at least one of the arrays corresponds to a plurality of pixels of the computer screen image.

18. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

each of the plurality of tactile output elements of at least one of the arrays corresponds to a subarray of pixels of the computer screen image.

19. The tactile display of claim 18 in which:

the value of the first property of the pixel subarray comprises an average of the values of the first property of the individual pixels comprising the subarray.

20. The tactile display of claim 11 in which:

the second property comprises color.

21. A method of using a tactile display comprising an array of movable tactile elements, each element corresponding to at least one pixel of a computer screen and movable in response to an input to a predetermined one of a plurality of discrete, tactilely-recognizable positions, the method comprising the steps of:

driving at least one of the tactile elements to a tactilely-recognizable position representative of a value of a property of the at least one pixel;

tactilely sensing said position of said at least one tactile element; and

generating an output in response to the tactile sensing of the position of said at least one tactile element.

22. The method of claim 21 in which:

the property of said at least one pixel comprises gray scale intensity.

23. The method of claim 21 in which:

said output comprises a signal representative of the address of said at least one tactile element.

24. The method of claim 21 further comprising the steps of:

providing a second array of movable tactile element;

driving at least one of the movable tactile elements of the second array in response to said output to a tactilely-recognizable position representative of the value of a second property of the at least one pixel; and

tactilely sensing the position of said at least one tactile element of the second array.

25. The method of claim 24, in which:

the second property is color.