Technique for enabling color blind persons to distinguish between various colors

• US 20040085327A1
• Filed: 03/13/2003
• Published: 05/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Perception Data, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tenebraex Corporation
• Inventors: Purcell, Dennis W., Jones, Peter W. J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,145,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/591
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/066 for testing colour vision
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/08 Devices or methods enabling eye-patients to replace direct visual perception by another kind of perception
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/003 Maps
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/006 Representation of non-cartographic information on maps, e.g. population distribution, wind direction, radiation levels, air and sea routes
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/02 sectional

Abstract

Systems and methods for processing data representative of a full color image. Such systems may comprise the steps of assisting a color blind person to indicate portions of an image which to their color-deficient vision are indistinguishable, and altering the image to cause those portions to become distinguisable and identifiable.

Claims

1. A method for processing data representative of a full color image, comprising the steps of

identifying a color space associated with the data,

identifying a first portion of the color space,

identifying a perceptual space for the user, and

processing the data to map the first portion of the color space to a portion of the perceptual space of the user.

2. A method according to claim 1, including the further step of

providing a user control for allowing the user to initiate the mapping of the first portion of the color space to a portion of the perceptual space.

3. A method according to claim 2, including the further step of

providing a user control for selecting the perceptual space.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein selecting a perceptual space includes

selecting an alternative color set, a pseudo color space in which different colors are represented by different hatching patterns, a grey scale, a set of audio tones, a set of textures, and a set of vibrations.

5. A method according to claim 3, wherein selecting the perceptual space includes assigning a hatching pattern to each component that defines the color space.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the assigned hatching pattern is a scaled pattern that varies in respect to the magnitude of the color component.

7. A method according to claim 5, including the further step of superimposing the component hatching patterns to generate a hatching pattern associated with the color.

8. A method according to claim 1, including the further step of

identifying a second portion of the color space representative of a set of colors substantially absent from the full color image and within a perceptual color space for the user.

9. A method according to claim 1, including the further step of

allowing the user to rotate a color space employed in the full color image to select an alternate palette for the full color display.

10. A method according to claim 9, including the further step of

allowing the user to designate the alternate palette for displaying subsequent color images.

11. A method according to claim 9, including the further step of

providing a user control representative of a rotation wheel for spinning the color space to select the alternate palette.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein

the color space comprises a color space selected from the group of LAB color space, HSL color space, CMYK color space.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein

the color space comprises a three dimensional space defined as the red, green, blue color space.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein

identifying a first portion of the color space includes identifying a portion of the color space having hues containing red or green.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein

identifying a first portion of the color space includes identifying a portion of the color space having hues containing blue or yellow.

16. A method according to claim 1, wherein

processing includes selecting a color in the color space and determining as a function of the red or green in the selected color a darkness value representative of an amount of red or green in the color.

17. A method according to claim 16, further including

flashing the selected color at a rate determined by the amount of red or green in that color.

18. A method according to claim 16, further including

allowing the user to select between whether darkness will be determined as a function of the red or green hue in the selected color.

19. A method according to claim 16, wherein

selecting a color comprises one of selecting a color name from a list of color names, placing a cursor over a color in an image, and placing a cursor over a color in a key table.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein

processing includes selecting a color in the color space and determining as a function of the blue or yellow in the selected color a darkness value representative of an amount of blue or yellow in the selected color.

21. A method according to claim 16, further including

flashing the selected color at a rate determined by the amount of blue or yellow in that color.

22. A method according to claim 20, wherein

selecting a color comprises one of selecting a color name from a list of color names, placing a cursor over a color in an image, and placing a cursor over a color in a key table.

23. Apparatus for flashing a color having a selected hue, comprising

a panel through which light can pass,

an optical filter disposed over the panel and capable of reducing an amount of a selected hue passing through the panel,

a controller for intermittently activating the optical filter, whereby light of a selected hue is caused to flash.

24. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein

the optical filter comprises an electronic optical filter formed as a pattern of lines across the surface of the panel.

25. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein

the optical filter comprises a mechanically driven optical filter.

26. Apparatus for allowing a driver of a vehicle to identify a selected hue, comprising

a panel mounted to the vehicle and disposed between the driver and a wind shield, the panel being capable of passing light,

an optical filter disposed over the filter and being capable of reducing an amount of the selected hue and being formed in a pattern for causing motion of the vehicle relative to the driver to achieve a flashing effect for objects of the selected hue viewed through the panel.

27. A method for processing color image data to be presented on a computer display, comprising

identifying a color space associated with the data,

identifying a first portion of the color space being indistinguishable to color blind individuals,

processing the data to identify a second portion of the color space perceptible to color blind individuals,

creating a translated color space by mapping the first portion of the color space into the second portion of the color space, and

modifying video image data associated with the color image as a function of the translated color space.

28. A video driver capable of processing image data for display on a color display, comprising

a data memory having stored therein a color space associated with the data, and data representative of a first portion of the color space being indistinguishable to color blind individuals,

means for processing the data to identify a second portion of the color space perceptible to color blind individuals,

means for creating a translated color space by mapping the first portion of the color space onto the second portion of the color space, and

means for modifying video image data associated with the color image as a function of the translated color space.

29. A video driver according to claim 28, further comprising

means for identifying portions of the color space having colors that are absent from the image data.

30. A method for allowing a colorblind user to control a display of color-coded information, comprising the steps of

presenting a display having color-coded information,

allowing the user to select a color range,

identifying color-coded information in the display that is associated with the selected color range, and

processing the identified portions of the display to generate a modified image of the color-coded information.

31. A method according to claim 30, wherein

processing the identified portions of the display includes altering the colors in the display to a set of colors more perceptible to a color-blind user.

32. A method according to claim 30, wherein

processing the identified portions of the display includes reformatting color-coded information into a hatch pattern.

33. A method according to claim 30, wherein

selecting a range of colors includes manipulating a graphical tool that allows for selecting one or more ranges of colors.

34. A method according to claim 30, wherein

selecting a range of colors includes moving a cursor over a color on the display.

35. A method according to claim 30, wherein

processing identified portions of an image includes processing data in video memory and a data file.

36. A method according to claim 30, wherein

presenting a display having color-coded information includes presenting an image on a computer display, a television display, a cellular telephone display, a personal digital assistant display, an instrumentation panel, and a video game display.

37. A method according to claim 30, wherein

processing the identified portions of the display to generate a modified image of the color-coded information includes processing hypertext links to indicate status changes in a format perceptible by color blind users.

38. A method according to claim 37, wherein

processing hypertext links includes altering the color of the links, adding a temporal variation to the link, and altering the texture of the link.

39. A method according to claim 37, wherein

processing hypertext links includes altering a characteristic of the font of the links.

40. A method according to claim 37, wherein

processing the identified portions of the display to generate a modified image of the color-coded information, includes enhancing the visual appearance of the identified portions relative to other portions of the display.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein

enhancing the visual appearance of the identified portions relative to other portions of the display includes causing other portions of the display to be represented as a grey-scale image.

42. A method according to claim 38, wherein

enhancing the identified portions includes causing other portions of the display to become less saturated

43. A method according to claim 38, wherein

enhancing the identified portions includes altering the darkness characteristic of the selected portion relative to the other portions.

44. A method according to claim 30, wherein

processing the identified portions includes translating colors in the display to respective hatch patterns.

45. A method according to claim 44, wherein generating a modified image includes printing the image as an image formed of hatch patterns.