Method and system for accessing interactive multimedia information or services from braille documents

• US 20040091842A1
• Filed: 08/20/2003
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Carro, Fernando Incertis
• Granted Patent: US 7,316,566 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/112
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/001 Teaching or communicating with blind persons G09B21/02 - G09B21/06 take precedence

Abstract

System and method to enable blind people to detect and access hyperlinks within Braille documents. A proximity sensing foil placed under a Braille page senses the position of a reader'"'"'s fingertips and provides coordinates of the sensed position. A workstation computes the distance between the sensed position and the predefined positions hyperlinks the page is known to contain, which are initially stored in a hyperlink table. When the user'"'"'s fingertips are positioned over a hyperlink, the computed distance is less than a threshold value, in which case an acoustic signal alerts the user that a hyperlink is present. The user may then access the hyperlink.

Claims

1. A method for use in a user system (104, 606) of creating hyperlinks for accessing information or services from a Braille document (101, 601) comprising one or a plurality of pages, comprising the steps of:

identifying and selecting (902) one or a plurality of pages;

for each selected page of the Braille document (601);

detecting (908) by means of a proximity sensed foil (104, 604) placed and aligned (905) under the page, items touched by user on the surface of the page;

for each touched item on the page;

determining the physical position of said touched item an the page by means of the proximity sense foil (104, 604);

a storing in an hyperink table (608) an identification of said touched item based on the physical position on the proximity sense foil of said touched item;

creating (904) in said hyperlink table (608) an hyperlink from said touched item to information and/or service.

2. The method of creating hyperlinks according to the preceding claim comprising the preliminary steps of:

identifying (901) the Braille document (101, 601), the Braille document comprising an identifying means, preferably a reference number (201) or optionally a bar code (302).

3. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said stop of identifying (901) the Braille document, comprises the further step of:

creating the hyperlink table (608);

associating said hyperlink table with the Braille document;

storing in said hyperlink table said means (201, 302) for identifying the Braille document.

4. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of storing in said hyperlink table (608) said means (201) for co identifying the Braille document (101, 601), comprises the further step of:

storing in the hyperlink table (608) means for identifying each page of the Braille document, preferably a page number (303) or optionally a bar code (102, 301).

5. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a page of the Braille document is defined as a portion of said Braille document.

6. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said detected items (603) are engraved or embossed item, preferably Braille characters or Braille words.

7. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of storing in said hyperlink table (605) the identifying means of the Braille document, comprises the further step of:

storing in said hyperlink table additional Information related to the Braille document such as title, author, ISBN (International Standard Book Number), date.

8. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of creating the hyperlink table (608) comprises the further step of:

storing said hyperlink table within the user system or in an external memory accessible from the user system.

9. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the proximity sense foil (104, 602) communicates with the user system (108, 600).

10. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the step of creating (904) in said hyperlink table an hyperlink from said touched item to an information and for service, comprises the further step of:

associating an information and/or service with said touched item;

storing in said hyperlink table means for identifying and locating said associated information and/or service.

13. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the information and/or services associated with a touched item is located on the user system (606).

14. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims wherein:

said communication network (611) is an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

said servers (607) are Web servers;

said user system (606) comprises a Web browser;

said address is an Uniform Resource Locator (URL address);

said information and/or service are Web pages.

15. A user system (150, 606) comprising means adapted for carrying out the steps of the method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A system for creating hyperlinks comprising:

a user system (105, 606) according to claim 15;

a proximity sense foil to be placed (104, 604) under a Braille document (101, 601),

a connection between said proximity sense foil and the user system; and

optionally, a bar code reader (103) connected to said user system (105, 605) for reading the bar codes on pages of the Braille document.

17. The system according to the preceding claim wherein the proximity sense foil (104, 604) is sensible to the pressure exercised over any point of its surface.

18. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the steps of the method according to claims 1 to 14 when said computer program is executed in the user system (105, 605) according to claim 15.

20. The method of determining (1003) whether or not the identified page comprises one or a plurality of hyperlinked items referring to an hyperlink table (608) associated with the Braille document, said hyperlink table comprising for each identified page a list of hyperlinked items, according to the preceding claim comprising the preliminary steps of:

creating the hyperlink table according to the method according to claims 1 to 14;

associating said hyperlink table with the Braille document.

11. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any ode of the preceding claims wherein the user system (606) is connected to a communication network (611) comprising one or plurality of servers (607), and wherein the information and/or service associated with a touched item is located on said one or plurality of servers (607).

12. The method of creating hyperlinks according to any one of the preceding claims 0 wherein the step of storing in said hyperlink table means for identifying and locating Lu said associated information and/or service, comprises the further steps of:

storing an address in the communication network where the information and/or service associated with the hyperlinked item can be accessed.

19. A method for use in a user system (105, 606) for accessing information and/or services from one or a plurality of hyperlinked items located in a Braille document (101, 601) comprising one or a plurality of pages, comprising the steps of:

identifying (1001) a Braille document (101, 601);

identifying (1002) a page of the Braille document;

determining (1003) whether or not the identified page comprises one or a plurality of hyperlinked items referring to an hyperlink table (608) associated with the Braille document, said hyperlink table comprising for each identified page a L list of hyperlinked items;

determining (1005) by means of a proximity sensing foil (104, 604) placed and aligned (1004) under the selected page, the position of the users fingertips (602) on the surface of the page;

warning (1006) the user (605) when his fingertips (502) are positioned over or in the proximity of an hyperlinked item (603);

detecting (1007) the selection by the user of an hyperlinked item (603);

identifying (1008) said selected hyperlinked item (603) in the hyperlink table from its position on the selected page, said hyperlink table comprising an indication of the position of each hyperlinked item on the selected page;

identifying (1009) the information or/and the service associated with the selected hyperlinked item referring to the hyperlink table, the hyperlink table comprising for each hyperlinked item of the selected page an identification of an information and/or service;

accessing (1010) the information and/or service.

21. The method of accessing information and/or services according to claim 19 comprising the preliminary steps of

creating the hyperlink table (508);

associating said hyperlink table with the Braille document,

storing in said hyperlink table;

a means (201) for identifying the Braille document (101, 601);

means for identifying each page of the Braille document, preferably a page number (303) or optionally a bar code (102, 301);

optionally additional information related to the Braille document such as title, author, ISBN (International Standard Book Number), date;

an indication of the position of each hyperlinked item on each page of the Braille document;

means for identifying and accessing information and/or service associated with each hyperlinked item.

22. The method of accessing information and/for services according to any one of claims 19 to 21 wherein the step of warning (1006) the user (605) when his fingertips (602) are positioned over or in the proximity of an hyperlinked item (603), comprises the further step of:

generating a perceptible signal (605) preferably an acoustic signal.

23. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 22 wherein the step of determining (1003) whether or not the identified page comprises one or a plurality of hyperlinked items comprises the further step of:

warning the user when the identified page comprises one or a plurality of hyperlinked items.

24. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 23 wherein the Braille document (101, 601) comprises identifying means;

preferably a reference number (201) or optionally a bar code (302).

25. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 24 wherein said step of identifying (1001) the Braille document, comprises the further step of:

identifying the hyperlink table (608) associated with the Braille document.

26. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 25 wherein a page of the Braille document is defined as a portion of said Braille document.

27. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 26 wherein said hyperlinked items (603) are engraved or embossed items, preferably Braille characters or Braille words.

28. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 27 wherein the step of creating the hyperlink table (608) comprises the further step of:

storing said hyperlink table within the user system or in an external memory accessible from the user system.

29. The method of accessing information and/for services according to any one of claims 19 to 28 wherein the proximity sense foil (104, 602) communicates with the user system (108, 606).

30. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 29 wherein the user system (606) is connected to a communication network (611) comprising one or plurality of servers (607), and wherein the information and/or services associated with hyperlinked Items are located on said one or plurality of servers (507).

31. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 30 wherein the information and/or services associated with hyperlinked items are located on the user system (606).

32. The method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 31 wherein:

said communication network (611) is an Internet Protocol (IP) network;

said servers (607) are Web servers;

said user system (606) comprises a Web browser,

said address is an Uniform Resource Locator (URL address);

said information and/or service are Web pages.

33. A user system (105, 606) for carrying out the method of accessing information and/or services according to any one of claims 19 to 32.

34. A system for accessing information and/or services comprising:

a user system (105, 606) according to claim 33;

a proximity sense foil to be placed (104, 604) under a Braille document (101, 601),

a connection between said proximity sense fall and the user system; and

optionally, a bar code reader (103) connected to said user system (105, 606) for reading the bar codes on pages of the Braille document.

35. The system according to the preceding claim wherein the proximity sense foil (104, 604) is sensible to the pressure exercised over any point of its surface.

36. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the steps of the method according to claims 19 to 32 when said computer program is executed in the user system (105, 606) according to claim 34.