Conveying the importance of display screen data using audible indicators
First Claim
1. A method for conveying the importance of display screen data, comprising the steps of:
- identifying a data element selected by a user on a visual display screen;
determining the importance of the identified data element; and
providing an audible indicator to convey the importance of the identified data element to the users;
wherein the audible indicator is selected from the set of audible indicators that consists of an audio tone whose pitch varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, a periodic train of audible clicks with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, an audio signal that varies between a plurality of audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element, and an audio signal that varies between two audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element wherein one of the two tones is essentially silent and the other is not, so as to convey a periodic train of audible beeps to the user with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the data element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An audible indicator such as an audio tone is associated with the importance of data elements displayed on a visual display screen of data processing apparatus such as a personal computer or work station. At least one characteristic of the audible indicator, for example its pitch or frequence of a tone, is associated with the importance of the data elements. When a user selects a particular date element on the screen, for example using a computer mouse, the audible indicator conveys the importance of the selected data element to the user. This enables visually impaired users to readily locate important data elements on a display screen without reading the entire screen using a screen reader.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for conveying the importance of display screen data, comprising the steps of:
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identifying a data element selected by a user on a visual display screen; determining the importance of the identified data element; and providing an audible indicator to convey the importance of the identified data element to the users; wherein the audible indicator is selected from the set of audible indicators that consists of an audio tone whose pitch varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, a periodic train of audible clicks with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, an audio signal that varies between a plurality of audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element, and an audio signal that varies between two audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element wherein one of the two tones is essentially silent and the other is not, so as to convey a periodic train of audible beeps to the user with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the data element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A program storage device readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executed by the computer to impart functionality to the computer to perform method steps for conveying the importance of display screen data, said method steps comprising:
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identifying a data element selected by a user on a visual display screen; determining the importance of the identified data element; and providing an audible indicator to convey the importance of the identified data element to the user; wherein the audible indicator is selected from the set of audible indicators that consists of an audio tone whose pitch varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, a periodic train of audible clicks with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the identified data element, an audio signal that varies between a plurality of audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element, and an audio signal that varies between two audible tones at a rate that depends upon the importance of the identified data element wherein one of the two tones is essentially silent and the other is not, so as to convey a periodic train of audible beeps to the user with a period that varies in dependence upon the importance of the data element. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification