JPH10187025A - Mouse type touch display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a visually handicapped person to easily operate a display device by transmitting contents of information by means of a static indication by up-and-down movements of a plurality of touch pins arranged in a matrix form, a dynamic indication by means of up-and-down movements of vibrations with different frequencies, and a combination of them. SOLUTION: A plurality of touch pins 2 are arranged on an operation plane 1a, which are two-dimensionally arrayed for allowing a visually handicapped person to feel a shape, etc., by his forefinger, middle finger, and ring finger. Each touch pin 2 is independently driven by piezo-electric elements provided in a casing 1. In this case, contents of information are transmitted by a static display by up-and-down movements of a touch pins, a dynamic display by means of up-and-down movements of vibrations with different frequencies, and a combination of them. A signal cable including driving wires for driving the touch pins 2, signal transmission switches 3, and signal wiring for a loudspeaker and a rotary encoder is connected to a bottom part of the frontmost of the casing 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouse-type tactile display device which converts a required portion of image information into a point graphic and converts position information of a mouse into a vertical movement of a tactile pin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent personal computers, word processors, and the like use a mouse as a means for instructing an operator to select a menu by displaying the menu by displaying a plurality of pictograms or the like on a display. In many cases, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is used to select one of these pictograms or the like that is required.

Several studies have been published to make this GUI system available to visually impaired persons, that is, tactile displays for transmitting graphic information to visually impaired persons. One of them is the 20th Sensory Act Symbolium (19
A research paper "Mouse-type tactile display with a small number of display dots using virtual reality" was published in the paper "Influence of Information Display Area on Mouse-Type Display" published on December 5, 6th, 1994). ing. However, the only means of expressing dots on the tactile display in this research is the unevenness on the screen, and not only simple figures and pictograms, but complex image information similar to figures and pictograms that are expressed on actual computers, It was difficult to express it for the visually impaired.

As a practical technique for visually impaired persons to access the GUI, there is a method of using a cursor button on a keyboard to convert an icon or the like on which a cursor is located on a computer screen into voice and notify the user. In addition, visual information such as icons on the computer screen is displayed in a number of vertical and horizontal directions corresponding to the screen, for example, 100 × 100 tactile pins are arranged, and the entire required screen is represented by dot figures or braille in dot display by unevenness. That is, there has been proposed a graphic pin display capable of replacing display information with tactile information. Further, in order to increase the resolution of such a graphic pin display, means for detecting a tactile position by a sensor and notifying information of the tactile position by voice has been proposed. However, it is difficult for the visually impaired person to grasp the whole image by the method of notifying the icons and the like by voice by specifying the cursor, and in the above-described graphic pin display for displaying the entire screen, the display dot and the display dot are not displayed. However, there is a problem that the cost is increased due to the increase in the number of actuators for driving the motor, and the maintenance work is not easy. In addition, since the graphic pin display has a large space when displaying the entirety, the range of movement of fingers and arms is widened when tactile reading is performed, and there is a disadvantage that fatigue is increased.

[0005] In addition, the visually impaired person and the sighted person can share the meeting life by using the mouse for the visually impaired person without changing the personal computer or word processor used by the sighted person on a daily basis. it can. Furthermore, it is necessary to make these devices available on a daily basis without placing an economic burden on the visually impaired.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can be easily operated by a visually impaired person and can grasp the entire display image on a screen having a required area. It is intended to provide a mouse type tactile display device.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a mouse-type tactile display device comprising: a position on a computer display screen of the device; a moving direction necessary for a mouse; moving distance information; and information on a required portion displayed by a computer. As a means of notifying the visually impaired via a tactile pin, a static display by up and down movement of a plurality of tactile pins arranged in a matrix on a plane and a dynamic display of up and down movement by vibration at different frequencies Information contents are transmitted by a combination of display and up / down operations. Further, the present invention is provided with a signal transmitting means for reading out a command or the like for an operation instruction of the computer. The computer can receive the signal from the signal sending means and send information required by the operator to the display device. Further, the present invention is provided with a speaker for directly receiving an operation instruction from a computer or the above-mentioned information content by voice. This facilitates operation because the operation method is directly notified by voice. In addition, by providing an encoder for transmitting the direction of movement and distance information in the mouse type display device, the position of the information source required for the display device can be quickly displayed on the display screen of the computer with a slight movement of the hand. It can be moved to the required position. Further, the display device of the present invention is provided with an arrangement surface of the tactile pin at the tip of the mouse so that the tactile pin can be tactilely sensed by the index finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger. In order to further reduce hand fatigue, the arrangement surface of the tactile pin group is provided to be inclined downward by a predetermined angle.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) are a plan view and a side view illustrating an embodiment of a mouse-type tactile display device according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a mouse-shaped casing molded of a synthetic resin, and a left front portion of the casing 1 forms an operation surface 1a inclined at an appropriate angle in the front direction. A plurality of tactile pins 2 are two-dimensionally arranged on the operation surface 1a so that a figure or the like can be touched by the index finger, the middle finger, and the ring finger of a visually impaired person. Each tactile pin 2 is independently driven by a piezoelectric element (not shown) provided in the housing 1. The reason why the tactile pins 2 are arranged two-dimensionally is to display a figure such as a pattern or a two-dimensional symbol as represented on a Windows screen of a computer. One or a plurality of signal transmission switches 3 for transmitting transmission instruction signals to a computer in order to receive signals required for the operation from a computer (not shown) are provided at positions on both sides of the housing 1 where the operation can be performed with a thumb or a little finger. Have been. Further, a speaker 4 for receiving an operation instruction by voice from an external device including a computer to an operator is incorporated in one side surface of the housing 1. Furthermore, on the lower surface of the housing 1, like a normal mouse,
A spherical driving ball 5 for driving a rotary encoder (not shown) provided inside the housing 1 is provided.
The output of the rotary encoder (not shown) is sent to the computer to notify the movement of the mouse-type tactile display device. From this computer, the position information of the mouse determined from the output of the rotary encoder is transmitted via the movement of the tactile pin 2 and the like. , Can be configured to notify the operator.

In the lower part of the foremost part of the casing 1 having such a structure, a signal line 6 for driving the tactile pin 2 and a signal transmission switch 3, a signal transmission switch 3, a speaker 4, and a signal line of a rotary encoder (not shown) are provided. The other end of the signal code 6 is connected to the computer.

The operation of the tactile pin 2 in the mouse-type tactile display device thus configured will be described with reference to the driving waveform diagram of FIG. As is well known, the piezoelectric element for driving the tactile pin 2 is curved in a required direction depending on the polarity of the applied voltage, and the tactile pin 2 is projected on the display surface as necessary to express Braille or a dot diagram. Thus, not only a DC static operation but also a vibration operation at several Hz to several tens Hz is possible.

FIG. 1A shows a static operation of the tactile pin 2, which is used for displaying, for example, ordinary Braille or a dot diagram.
Figure (b) shows a low-frequency vibration form of about several Hz, and (c) shows a high-frequency vibration form of about several tens of Hz. The operator distinguishes the signal expression content by the difference in the vibration frequency transmitted through a finger. can do. It is possible for a normal person to distinguish between three or four types of vibration frequencies, and the expression content of the signal can be broadened within the distinguishable range. The driving waveforms shown in (d) to (f) are obtained by further complicating the driving mode of the tactile pin 2 and expanding the expression range. These vibration modes are vibration modes that are repeated at a certain cycle, for example, every two seconds.

The signals of the vibration type shown in FIGS. 2B to 2F are mainly used for control information, and are sent from the computer to the tactile pins 2 at a specific position. For example, it is preferable to use a few tactile pins 2 from the front row and the left and right sides of the tactile pin 2 group for exclusive display of control information. By fixing the control information display position in this way, the operator can easily receive the control information, and can quickly learn how to use the mouse-type tactile display device.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified and implemented without changing the gist. For example, the vibration format of the tactile pin and the position of the tactile pin in the control information display described in the above embodiment are examples, and can be freely changed depending on the purpose of use.

[0014]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be expected. (1) With a relatively small number of tactile pins, a wide range of image information can be accurately recognized by a visually impaired person, and software such as windows can be handled in the same manner as a sighted person. (2) Since the signal transmitting means and the speaker for receiving the voice information are provided, information unknown in operation can be received by the vibration form of the tactile pin or the speaker, and the operation becomes easy. (3) By providing an encoder that sends information on the direction and distance of mouse movement, it is possible to move closer to an information source with necessary information by hand movement. (4) By providing the tactile pin placement surface at the tip of the mouse, tactile sensation can be sensed with a sensitive fingertip, and the tactile pin placement surface is inclined downward by a predetermined angle. With this arrangement, it is possible to maintain the fingers in a natural body and reduce hand fatigue.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a side view of a mouse-type tactile display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a drive waveform diagram of a tactile pin in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ...-Housing 1a ... Operation surface 2 ... Tactile pin 3 ... Signal transmission switch 4 ... Speaker 5 ... Driving ball (for rotary encoder) 6 ... Signal code

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A dynamic display by static display or a vertical display by vibrations having different frequencies by a vertical operation of a plurality of tactile pins arranged in a matrix in a plane, and a dynamic display by a static display and vibration. A mouse-type tactile display device that displays or transmits information content by a combination of displays. 2. The mouse-type tactile display device according to claim 1, further comprising signal transmitting means for transmitting a required signal. 3. The mouse-type tactile display device according to claim 1, further comprising a speaker for receiving voice operation instruction information. 4. The mouse-type tactile display device according to claim 1, further comprising an encoder for transmitting information on a moving direction and a distance of the mouse. 5. The mouse according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement surface of the tactile pin is provided near the tip of the mouse, and the arrangement surface is inclined downward by a predetermined angle. A mouse-type tactile display device as described.