WO2013137757A1

WO2013137757A1 - Colour code for visually impaired people

Info

Publication number: WO2013137757A1
Application number: PCT/PT2013/000014
Authority: WO
Inventors: Filipa SANTOS NOGUEIRA AZEVEDO PIRES
Original assignee: Faculdade De Arquitectura
Priority date: 2012-03-14
Filing date: 2013-03-13
Publication date: 2013-09-19
Also published as: PT106211A

Abstract

The colour code for visually impaired people was developed to aid the visually impaired, whether fully blind, with subnormal vision, colour blind or with any other eye related disabilities or limitations, consisting of a process of understanding and recognition of colours through the association of simple and universal geometrical shapes (Fig.1). These shapes can be applied in almost every material, thus enhancing the autonomy of visually impaired people. Its main characteristics are the easy memorization and the effortless recognition of the shapes that, aggregated in accordance with a logical and simple reasoning - just like the association of colours in the Additive Synthesis of Colour -, are always presented in high relief, to allow for a better tactile recognition. The great advantage of this invention is that it makes the recognition of colours and their respective tones possible anywhere in the world, through their correspondence with certain geometric shapes and lines that may be added to them.

Description

DESCRIPTION Colour Code for Visually Impaired People

Technical field of the invention:

- Colour Codes

Previous technique:

Braille, the most well-known of the several systems developed to aid people with visual limitations, allows for the apprehension of words and thoughts through the touch of the fingers on representative signs composed by one to six dots in high relief, with each written word being formed by the number of signs that correspond to the letters of the same word in the Latin writing.

However, despite its vast diffusion, the intensive and permanent practice that Braille requires has not been conceived to allow the immediate perception of visual concepts such as colours .

With the aforementioned system and in the case of a colour circumvented drawing, several successive signs should be affixed so that it may be recognized, which may entail minor or greater consequences, depending on the existence of one or more colours in the drawing.

There are other colour codes, such as the Method for

Simulation of Colours and Associated Articles for Blind by FIECH

PAUL J DIPL ING [DE] and Tactile Symbols for Colour Recognition by Blind or Visually Impaired Persons by VANKRINKELVELDT, MARK 1652 ALSEMBERG [BE], however common to all of them is the complexity of the colour recognition process.

There is also the ColorAdd code that, besides being more complex, was designed only for use by colour blind.

The current invention was thus developed to aid the visually impaired, whether fully blind, with subnormal vision, colour blind or with any other eye related disabilities or limitations, aiming precisely to overcome the aforementioned inconveniences of the Braille code and the other colour codes, merely by associating colours to simple geometric shapes, of immediate recognition .

The main characteristics of this invention are the easy memorization, due to its universality, and the effortless recognition of the geometrical shapes regardless of their dimension .

The great advantage of this invention - which is equally applicable as a technical and industrial drawing -, is that it makes the recognition of colours possible anywhere in the world, regardless of language, through its association with a specific geometrical shape.

Figure description:

Fig. 1 - represents the Colour Palette possible to be recognized with the application of the Code for visually impaired people, as well as their tones and shades.

Fig. 2 - represents the primary colour Red, identified by the simple geometric shape square. Fig. 3 - represents the primary colour Yellow, identified by the simple geometric shape triangle.

Fig. 4 - represents the primary colour Blue, identified by the simple geometric shape circle.

Fig. 5 - represents the secondary colour Green, identified by the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes circle (Fig. 4) and triangle (Fig. 3).

Fig. 6 represents the secondary colour Orange, identified by the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes square (Fig. 2) and triangle (Fig. 3).

Fig. 7 - represents the secondary colour Purple, identified by the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes circle (Fig. 4) and square (Fig. 2).

Fig. 8 - represents the tertiary colour Brown, identified by the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes associated with the secondary colours Purple (Fig.7) and Orange (6.), yielding a new geometric shape.

Fig. 9 - represents Black, identified by three parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch.

Fig. 10 - represents Gray, identified by two parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch.

Fig. 11 - represents White, identified by one line with enough thickness to be recognized by touch.

Fig. 12 - represents the lighter tones of colours, identified by the affixing of a line on the outside of the geometric shape corresponding to the primary, secondary or tertiary colour.

Fig. 13 - represents the darker tones of colours, identified by the affixing of two lines on the inside of the geometric shape corresponding to the primary, secondary or tertiary colour. Detailed description of the invention:

The colour code for the visually impaired consists of a process of understanding and recognition of colours through the association of those colours to simple and universal geometrical shapes, present from an early age on the primary teachings of all individuals, having as base the geometric figures that represent the primary colours (Fig.l) .

The geometric shapes that represent the colours can be applied in any medium - including plastic, metal, wood, or others -, thus enhancing the autonomy of visually impaired people. For such, they will always be presented in high relief, to allow for a better tactile recognition, and are put together following a logical and simple reasoning - just like the association of colours in the Additive Synthesis of Colour.

This, at a level of higher excellence, allows for any person with visual limitations, to learn, through touch, the colours of an artwork and, even to have the possibility of creating a piece of art with colours, making them perceptible, only by touch, to people with visual limitations.

Thus, under the Code for visually impaired people:

- Red is the colour associated with the simple geometric shape square (Fig.2);

- Yellow is the colour associated with the simple geometric shape triangle (Fig.3);

- Blue is the colour associated with the simple geometric shape circle (Fig.4); - Green is the colour associated with the geometric shape composed of the simple geometric shapes circle and triangle (Fig.5); ^'

- Orange is the colour associated with the geometric shape composed of the simple geometric shapes square and triangle (Fig.6) ;

- Purple is the colour associated with the geometric shape composed of the simple geometric shapes circle and square (Fig.7) ;

- Brown is the colour associated with the compound geometric shape that combines the compound geometric shapes associated with Purple and Orange (Fig.8);

- Black is the colour associated with three parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch (Fig.9);

- Gray is the colour associated with two parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch ( Fig.10);

- White is the colour associated with one line with enough thickness to be recognized by touch (Fig.11);

- The tint of a colour is identified by one line outside that geometric shape (Fig.12);

- The dark tones of a colour is identified by two lines inside that geometric shape (Fig.13) .

Claims

1. FO.CO, a colour code for visually impaired people, characterized by the fact that it consists on a process of understanding and recognition of colours through the association of simple and universal geometrical shapes applied in high relief, from which result primary colours, by associating the primary colour Red with the simple geometric shape square (Fig.2), Yellow with the simple geometric shape triangle (Fig.3), Blue with the simple geometric shape circle (Fig.4) as well as secondary colours (Fig.5, Fig.6, Fig.7), tertiary colours (Fig.8), achromatism (Fig.9, Fig.10, Fig.11), light tones (Fig.12) and dark, tones (Fig.13) through the association of simple geometric shapes (Fig.l) .

2. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating the secondary colour Green to the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes circle and triangle (Fig.5) .

3. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating the secondary colour Orange to the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes square and triangle (Fig.6) .

4. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating the secondary colour Purple to the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes circle and square (Fig.7) .

5. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claims 1, 3 and 4 is characterized by associating the tertiary colour Brown to the geometric shape composed by the fusion of the geometric shapes associated with the secondary colours Purple (Fig.7) and Orange (Fig.6), yielding a new geometric shape ( Fig .8 ) .

6. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating Black with three parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch (Fig.9) .

7. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating Gray with two parallel lines with enough thickness to be recognized by touch (Fig.10).

8. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claim 1 is characterized by associating White with one line with enough thickness to be recognized by touch (Fig.11).

9. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claims 1 through 8 is characterized by identifying the lighter tone of a colour through the affixing of a line on the outside of the geometric shape corresponding to the colour (Fig.12).

10. A colour code for visually impaired people that according to claims 1 through 8 is characterized by identifying the darker tone of a colour through the affixing of two lines on the inside of the geometric shape corresponding to the colour (Fig.13).