RU2644125C1 - Personal video guide - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine; electronic equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to information services for deaf people. Personal video guide includes information glasses with a color liquid crystal display and two infrared receivers operating simultaneously and synchronously with each other, it is further provided with a control unit including an exhibit strip code decoder; a separate infrared transmitter placed on the chest of a deaf person and connected by a flexible cable to the control unit; a beacon installed by means of a magnet in each exposure zone of the museum or exhibition area and serving to transfer the individual code of the exhibit strip to the infrared receiver of the control unit via the infrared beacon transmitter, with the magnet being mechanically fixed on the flat surface of the beacon base; an exhibit code of the exhibit, installed next to each exhibit and including the code area to which the exhibit code is displayed, and including a magnet mechanically fixed on the flat surface of the exhibit code indicator base.

EFFECT: technical result consists in the expansion of the functional and operational capabilities of a personal video guide.

1 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The invention relates to technical means of information services for deaf people in museums and in the territories of art, automobile and other exhibitions, as well as a personal prompter in theaters. Due to the impossibility of deaf people to perceive speech information, a personal video guide allows them to independently, through individual video information services, get acquainted with the informational support of each exhibit and listen to the performance in the theater. A personal video guide allows you to expand and make more accessible the living environment for the hearing impaired.

It is known that all exhibits in museums and at exhibitions are accompanied by individual information text tablets, which provide basic chronological, historical and technical information about the exhibit that is currently of interest to the museum visitor.

Information tablets are currently implemented as stationary terminals with liquid crystal displays [1].

However, stationary information terminals have significant drawbacks, since they cannot be displayed near each picture in the museum and, therefore, a deaf person cannot receive information about an exhibit of interest to him without leaving the terminal. There are mobile terminals that perform similar functions [2], [4].

As a prototype, the authors chose a mobile radiotelephone (RU No. 43707 V1, utility model), which acts as a guide [3] and has a display on which a city map is displayed and at the same time on the city map the location of the user (passer-by), guided by the terrain, is displayed. The disadvantage of this radiotelephone is that each time the user must be distracted from inspecting objects on the ground to point an optical sensor (camera) at surrounding objects, and then additionally, spending expensive time and again being distracted by examining only a city map on the display, determine his location on city map.

The use of a mobile radiotelephone (RU No. 43707 V1) to inspect exhibits in a museum causes the same significant drawbacks, since during a visual inspection of an exhibit, a museum visitor (deaf person) must be visually distracted each time from examining an exhibit, shifting his gaze to the display of a mobile radiotelephone from The goal is to consider the textual accompanying information about the exhibit.

The aim of the invention is to expand the functional and operational capabilities of a personal video guide while providing services to a deaf person in a museum.

The technical result achieved in this case is the transfer of useful textual information about the exhibit in the “running line” mode to the color display of information glasses [5] of the personal video guide (as opposed to the display of a mobile radiotelephone), which allows the deaf person to view the exhibit in the museum and at the same time not turning your head from the exhibit, visually receive all the useful textual information about the museum exhibit.

The specified technical result is achieved in that a personal video guide, including information glasses with a color liquid crystal display and two infrared receivers operating simultaneously and synchronously with each other, is characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a control unit including an exposure band code decoder;

a separate infrared transmitter placed on the chest of a deaf person and connected by a flexible cable to the control unit, which serves to transmit operational information about the exhibit from the control unit to two infrared receivers of information glasses;

a beacon installed by means of a magnet in each exposition band of the museum or exhibition zone and serving to transmit an individual code of the exposition band to the input of the infrared receiver of the control unit by means of an infrared transmitter of the beacon equipped with an attenuating infrared filter, the magnet being mechanically fixed on a flat surface of the base of the beacon;

an exhibit code indicator that is installed next to each exhibit and includes a code pad that is well visually perceived by the visitor to the exhibit, which displays the exhibit code in the form of a set of digital symbols or a code pad with a colored face of an individual color for each individual exhibit and includes a magnet that serves to attaching the exhibit code indicator next to the exhibit, the magnet being mechanically fixed to the flat surface of the base of the exhibit code indicator.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of a personal video guide. It includes information glasses 1, on the eyepiece of which a small-sized color liquid crystal display 2 is installed. The color image from the screen of the display 2 is examined as described in the description [5] through the lens 3 and the mirror 4. On the earhook of the glasses 1 there is a container 5 with a battery, electronic controls for the display 2 and the sound speaker 6. On the rim of the information glasses 1 to the right and left of the eyepieces are two infrared receivers 7, 8. For infrared receivers 7, 8, the cone sectors 9, 10 of the sensing zones The infrared flux is oriented downward towards the infrared flux 11, which is generated by a separate infrared transmitter 12 connected by a flexible wire to the housing of the control unit 13.

The control unit 13 and a separate infrared transmitter 12 are mounted separately on the chest of a museum visitor temporarily, for a period of visiting a museum or theater, on light clips such as ballpoint pen clips. Infrared receivers 7, 8 work synchronously and functionally duplicate each other, which allows them to receive the infrared stream 11 when turning the head of a person, since even when turning the head of a person, one of the infrared receivers 7 or 8 is always guaranteed to be in the coverage area of the separate infrared stream 11 infrared transmitter 12.

A separate infrared transmitter 12, infrared receivers 7, 8 and infrared stream 11 form an infrared channel for controlling information points 1, similar to how it is done when controlling TVs. This infrared control channel and, accordingly, all its links 7, 8, 11, 12 operate at one carrier frequency of 36 kHz. The infrared receiver 14 operates at a different carrier frequency of 38 kHz.

A separate infrared transmitter 12 emits an infrared information stream 11 upward towards the infrared receivers 7, 8.

On the front panel of the control unit 13 there are three touch buttons 15, 16, 17 and one mechanical button 18 for controlling the operation mode of the control unit 13. The touch button 15 (“start”, “stop”) serves to start the playback mode and stop the information tracking playback mode exhibit or program to accompany the performance on the display screen 2. Touch button 16 is used to enter the digital or color code of a single exhibit of the exhibition. The touch button 17 (“forward”) is used to set the speed of the text “creeping line” and to quickly scroll through the exhibit information program on the display screen 2 in order to quickly select or repeat a particular segment of the information program that interests him, as well as to synchronize information support a play with events on the stage of the theater. A mechanical button 18 is used to turn on and off the autonomous power supply of the control unit 13.

To ensure the work of a personal video guide, the exposition space of a museum or exhibition (Fig. 1) is conditionally divided into an arbitrary number of exposition bands EP1, EP2 ... and so on.

In FIG. 1, the exposure bands EP1, EP2 are conventionally divided by straight dashed lines. The exposition strip is a limited area of a museum or exhibition in which up to seven exhibits can be placed. As seen in FIG. 1, three exhibits 21, 22, 23 are placed in the exposure strip EP1, and two exhibits 24, 25 are placed in the exposure strip EP2.

The personal video guide has beacons 19, 20 installed for each of the exposure bands EP1, EP2 ... museum or exhibition. Lighthouses 19, 20, ... serve for automatic identification by means of a decoder of control unit 13 of the individual code of the exposition band (EP1, EP2 ...) that the visitor is currently entering during the inspection of the exhibits.

The visitor, in the process of choosing an exposition strip or a single exhibit for acquaintance, by turning his body directs the infrared receiver 14 together with the control unit 13 towards the lighthouse 19, 20 ... clearly visible on the floor or wall of the exhibition.

Lighthouses 19, 20 are small-sized devices that are fastened to a steel platform of the floor base (lighthouse 19) or walls (lighthouse 20) using magnets 26, 27.

The lighthouses 19, 20 have infrared transmitters 28, 29, respectively, which serve to provide information support for the exhibits and synchronize the information support of the performance with events taking place on the stage of the theater.

The infrared transmitters 28, 29 generate, with a predetermined frequency, the signals of the individual codes of the exposure bands, which are transmitted through the infrared streams 32, 33 towards the infrared receiver 14 located on the chest of the visitor. Suppose a visitor approached the exposure band EP1 and entered the coverage area of the infrared stream 32 of the beacon 19. In this case, the digital code received by the infrared receiver 14 from the beacon 19, which was previously assigned only to the exposure band EP1, is decrypted in the control unit 13 and thereby the code is guaranteed to be identified the exposure strip EP1 and, accordingly, the whole series of exhibits (art paintings) 21, 22, 23 located in this exposure strip EP1.

The same thing happens automatically when a visitor moves to another exposure band of EP2 and enters the coverage area of infrared stream 33 of beacon 20, which generates its own individual code. The beacons 19, 20 ... are installed so that their infrared streams 32, 33 ... in no case overlap and produce reflected secondary infrared streams. This is done in order to completely eliminate errors in the automatic identification of exposure band codes.

Infrared transmitters 28, 29 are mounted on ball bearings 30, 31, which allows you to correctly set the direction and exclude the intersection of infrared streams 32, 33 ... during the setup of beacons 19, 20 ....

Infrared transmitters 28, 29 have infrared filters to attenuate the intensity of infrared radiation and the diaphragm with holes, movable along the axis of the conical infrared radiation stream 32, 33, used to change the solid angle of the conical infrared flows 32, 33.

Diaphragms and infrared filters after their adjustment allow to exclude the intersection of infrared streams 32, 33 and to exclude errors due to the possible influence of stray reflected infrared radiation streams on the identification of codes of exposure bands. This is also achieved due to the maximum possible separation of the infrared transmitters 28, 29, by increasing the width of the exposure bands EP1, EP2 ....

To ensure the identification of each exhibit, exhibit code indicators 34, 35, 36 ... are used in each exposition strip, on the front panel of which there are code pads 38. An individual exhibit code that is well visually perceptible is displayed on the code pad (38) of each exhibit code as digital characters or as a color code. The digital code is executed in the form of dark digital symbols on a light background, and the color code is performed by painting the front surface of the code area with bright fluorescent paint of an individual color for each exhibit or by placing an individual color light illuminated by a light bulb.

The exhibit code indicators are actually carriers of visible individual digital or color codes and are intended for guaranteed identification of each exhibit individually.

The choice of a digital or color code as an individual exhibit code is determined by the feature of the exhibits. So for art exhibitions in museums it is preferable to choose color codes for indicators of exhibit codes in order not to violate the aesthetic atmosphere of perception.

For industrial, automobile, building exhibitions, it is preferable to choose digital codes for the exhibit code indicators in order to most visually recognize them with a significant distance from the visitor code indicator.

The exhibit code indicators 34, 35, 36 are small-sized tablets that are attached by means of magnets 37 around each exhibit 21, 22, 23, respectively. The museum visitor, choosing for familiarization the exhibit of interest (for example, exhibit 21), must fix it in memory, and then manually, by pressing the touch button 16, enter in the dedicated code window on the display screen 2 a digital or color code corresponding to the indicator code the code of the exhibit 34 located next to the exhibit 21. After releasing the touch button 16, the code of the exhibit 21 is automatically identified in the control unit 13 and, by the identification result, it is activated (being prepared for launch) exactly only that computer program that provides information support of the exhibit 21.

After pressing the “start” touch button 15, the information support computer program activated for exhibit 21 is launched in the form of a text “creeping line”, which is displayed on the color display 2 of information points 1. The visitor, reading this information support visually from the display screen 2, gets acquainted with the selected him a separate exhibit (exhibit 21).

In FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a control unit 13.

The control unit 13 includes: an infrared receiver 14, touch control buttons 15, 16, 17 and a mechanical control button 18; decoder 39 codes of expositional strips and individual exhibits; a memory unit 40, which stores all computer programs for information support for all museum exhibits or information programs for performances in the theater; matching device 41, stand-alone power supply 42 and a separate infrared transmitter 12.

The decoder 39 is designed to identify the exposure band and individual exhibits by introducing into the decoder 39 using the touch button 16 an individual digital or color code of a separate exhibit. The color code of an individual exhibit is entered manually by coloring the code window on the display screen 2. The code window is painted by the visitor using button 16. The color of the code window to be painted on display 2 must match the color of the code pad of the exhibit code indicator selected for review.

Matching device 41 is intended for matching signals according to electric voltage and power between the memory unit 40 and a separate infrared transmitter 12.

An infrared communication channel, including a separate infrared transmitter 12 and infrared receivers 7, 8, operates on a single carrier optical frequency of 36 kHz. The infrared communication channel, including infrared transmitters 28, 29, ... and infrared receiver 14, operates at a different carrier frequency of 38 kHz, different from the first one. This is done so that the infrared stream 11 and the numerous local, attenuated by the infrared filter, infrared streams 32, 33, ... do not interfere with information work while working simultaneously.

A personal video guide when serving a visitor in a museum operates as follows. A museum visitor at the entrance to the exposition hall receives information glasses 1, individually suitable for him according to ophthalmological indicators (intercenter distance, diopter indicator and so on ...) and control unit 13. Then he fixes a separate infrared on his clothes, on his chest, with clips the transmitter 12 and the control unit 13, and then, with the help of a consultant, adjusts the lens 3 and the position of the mirror 4 in order to provide a clear image on the display screen 2.

The adjustment of the lens 3 and mirror 4 is carried out according to special instructions and takes 3-5 minutes of time. Then, according to special instructions, the visitor, using button 17, selects the speed of movement of the text “creeping line” on the display 2, which is comfortable for the visitor.

In the memory block 40 of the control unit 13, all computer text programs of information support are pre-recorded.

A personal video guide can work in one of three possible modes: 1 - information support mode for the exhibition strip, 2 - information support mode for a separate exhibit, 3 - performance information support mode. In the “information support of the exposure band” mode, by means of the beacon 19 of the selected exposure band (for example, the exposure band EP1) and the decoder 39, the computer program of information tracking is sequentially activated for the entire group of exhibits 21, 22, 23 of the exposure band EP1 in the control unit 13.

In the “information support of an individual exhibit” mode by means of a beacon 19 and manipulation of a button 16, which provides the introduction of an individual code (digital or color) of an individual exhibit in a special code window on the display screen 2, a computer program of information support is individually activated for any of exhibits (21, 22, 23) of the exposure strip EP1.

In the mode of "informational support of the performance" by manipulating the button 16, the introduction of an individual digital code of the performance is provided in the code window on the display screen 2. Each computer program of informational support and its codes are recorded in advance in the memory unit 40.

Each information support program can be activated and displayed on the display 2 information points 1 in the form of text in the "running line" mode or for well-hearing people in the form of sound accompaniment on the sound speaker 6.

The activation of any computer information support program is carried out by means of a execution signal coming from the output of the decoder 39 to the input of the memory unit 40. The execution signal of the computer information support program, as was said earlier, is generated in the decoder 39 based on the exposure band code automatically received via the infrared channel communication from the lighthouse of a particular exposition strip (for example, from lighthouse 19), the code (digital or color) of an individual exhibit, dialed by hand key using button 16, or a performance code manually entered using button 16.

Before viewing the exposition, a visitor to a museum or exhibition sets up on his head information points received; fixes with a clip the control unit 13 on his chest, so that it is convenient to use the control buttons 15-18; fixes with a clip on his chest a separate infrared transmitter 12, so that its infrared stream 11 is directed towards the infrared receivers 7, 8; adjusts the lens 3, mirror 4, the speed of the text "running line" and begins to inspect the exhibits or view the performance.

For example, a visitor, having previously chosen the personal video guide operating mode under the name: “informational mode of the exposure band”, approaching the exposure band EP1, falls into the coverage area (Fig. 1) of lighthouse 19. This coverage area of lighthouse 19 is within the interval , separated from the lighthouse 19 by the amount of L = 2-3 meters. By turning the body, the visitor directs the infrared receiver 14 towards the beacon 19, while the infrared receiver 14 falls into the coverage area of the infrared stream 32 of the beacon 19, which is set up specifically to ensure identification of the code of the exposure band of EP1 only. In this case, the periodically operating infrared transmitter 28 of the beacon 19 provides the radiation of the infrared stream 32, by means of which a code signal assigned in advance only to the exposure band EP1 is transmitted.

Next, the code signal of the exposure band EP1 when the stream 32 enters the sensitive area of the infrared receiver 14 is automatically decoded by the decoder 39.

According to the result of decoding this code signal in the decoder 39, the execution signal (preparation for action) of the computer program of information support as a whole for the entire group of exhibits of the exposure band EP1 is formed. In this case, the execution signal from the output of the decoder 39 enters the input of the memory unit 40 and activates, prepares for launch, only that information computer program of information support from the entire set of information programs corresponding to the full group of exhibits (21, 22, 23) of only the exposure band EP1. Next, the visitor presses the start button 15, after which the computer program for information support of the entire group of exhibits of the exposure strip EP1 is launched.

The launched computer program of information support via the infrared communication channel, including a separate infrared transmitter 12 and synchronously operating infrared receivers 7, 8, enters the electronic unit 5 of information points 1, where, after decryption, it comes to display 2 in the form of a text “running line”. At the same time, on display 2 in text form in the “running line” mode, the full text version of the information support program is displayed sequentially for each exhibit 21, 22, 23 of the exposure strip EP1.

Inspecting exhibits 21, 22, 23 and reading this text line on display 2, the visitor receives exhaustive information sequentially about each exhibit 21, 22, 23 of the exposure strip EP1.

Passing to the second exposure band of EP2, the visitor falls into the coverage area of the infrared transmitter 29 of the beacon 20, while he orients the infrared receiver 14 towards the infrared transmitter 29. Then, the “start” is automatically prepared according to the same scheme, and then after pressing button 15 the action from the memory unit 40 is a computer program of information support sequentially for each of the exhibits 24, 25 of the exposure strip EP2.

At the same time, the visitor on the display screen 2 reads all the information sequentially about each exhibit 24, 25 of the exposure strip EP2 and so on. Thus, the exhibits are inspected and informational support of the exhibits of each exposition strip is provided. The personal video guide, when choosing the “information support of an individual exhibit” operating mode, operates as follows: the visitor, having selected the visual exposure band (for example, EP1 exposure band) and a separate exhibit (for example exhibit 21), wishing to familiarize themselves with this separate exhibit 21, goes into the infrared coverage area the transmitter 28 of the beacon 19, directing the infrared receiver 14 towards the infrared transmitter 28. In this case, the infrared receiver 14 automatically fixes, and the decoder 39 identifies and dividual code exposure EP1 band within which the artifact 21 is located.

Then, the museum visitor, choosing a particular exhibit of interest (for example, exhibit 21) for acquaintance, must fix it in memory, and then manually, using the touch button 16, enter the digital (or color) code in the selected code window on the display screen 2 according to the visually digital (or color) code from the code pad (38) of the exhibit code indicator 34.

At the same time, the code of exhibit 21 is identified in the decoder 39 and, based on the identification result, the decoder 39 generates a signal for executing a computer information support program specifically for the exhibit 21, which comes from the output of the decoder 39 to the input of the memory unit 40.

After pressing the “start” button 15, according to the execution signal, the selected informational support (for exhibit 21) in the form of a text “running” line is displayed on the color display 2 of information points 1. The visitor, reading visually from the display screen 2 this selected textual informational support, gets acquainted with selected individual exhibit (exhibit 21).

If a visitor has a desire to get acquainted not with one exhibit 21, but simultaneously with two exhibits 22 and 23, then by means of the touch button 16 two times in a row should sequentially enter into the code window on display 2 two digital (or color) codes that correspond to those read visually two digital (or color) codes from the code pads of the exhibit code indicators 35, 36, and then press the "start" button 15.

After that, on the screen of the display 2 in the form of a “running line” an information support program will be played sequentially for each of the two 22, 23 selected exhibits.

In a similar way, one can launch an information support program for three or more exhibits of the same exposition band.

If a visitor wants to review for a particular exhibit only a separate section of a selected information tracking program, then by launching this selected information tracking program, by long-term (2-3 sec) pressing the touch button 17, he can fast-forward the information tracking program until the desired section of the information tracking program appears on the display screen 2.

Then he releases the button 17, and further playback on the display 2 of the information support program will be performed at the usual speed, comfortable for perception.

Thus, with the help of a personal video guide, a deaf person gets acquainted independently with all the exhibits of a museum or exhibition.

The personal video guide when choosing the operating mode - “informational support of the performance” operates as follows: a deaf person, using button 16, in a special window on the display screen 2 dials a previously known digital code of the performance, goes into the theater hall, sits down and waits for the flash of a special signal lamp, ramp stage theater. The flash of the signal lamp indicates the moment the performance begins. At the moment of flashing the warning lamp, a deaf person presses button 15 (“start”). In this case, the program of informational support for the performance is launched and a deaf person, looking at the display screen, reads the dialogue of the actors of the performance in the “running line” mode, while fully understanding the meaning of what is happening on the stage of the theater. In this case, the personal video guide works as an electronic prompter. If a deaf person by the facial expressions and gestures of the actors notices that the text of the actor’s speech lags (is ahead) from the actor’s facial expressions, then using button 17 he can increase (slow down) the speed of the “running line” and thereby synchronize the scrolling of the text on the display 2 with events taking place on the stage of the theater.

Since this personal video guide has a sound speaker of 6 and has a sound information accompaniment as a duplicating function, it can be successfully used for healthy, well-hearing museum visitors.

List of figures

FIG. 1 is a general view of a personal video guide.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a personal video guide.

Information confirming the possibility of carrying out the invention.

The present invention relates to technical means providing personal information support for people with hearing impairment in museums, exhibitions or in the theater and can be implemented using a personal video guide, a general view of which is shown in FIG. 1 and the block diagram of which is shown in FIG. 2. Links and electronic elements of a personal video guide can be performed using standard analog and digital microcircuits, typical microprocessors, infrared receivers and transmitters, color liquid crystal displays, which are widely used in digital cameras, cell phones and televisions.

Information sources

1. Patent RU No. 1377624, V1, IPC G06F 17/40, published on 02.20.2014.

2. Patent RU No. 63630, V1, IPC Н04М 1/02, published on 05.27.2007.

3. Patent RU No. 43707, V1, IPC Н04М 1/21, published on January 27, 2005.

4. Patent RU No. 2471223, C2, IPC G06F 3/00, published April 10, 2012.

5. Patent RU No. 2452988, IPC G02C 1/00, published August 27, 2011.

6. Patent RU No. 2455700, C2, IPC G09B 21/00, published July 10, 2012.

Claims (4)

Personal video guide, including information glasses with a color liquid crystal display and two infrared receivers, operating simultaneously and synchronously with each other, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a control unit including an exposure band code decoder; a separate infrared transmitter placed on the chest of a deaf person and connected by a flexible cable to the control unit, which serves to transmit operational information about the exhibit from the control unit to two infrared receivers of information glasses; a beacon installed by means of a magnet in each exposition band of the museum or exhibition zone and serving to transmit an individual code of the exposition band to the input of the infrared receiver of the control unit by means of an infrared transmitter of the beacon equipped with an attenuating infrared filter, the magnet being mechanically fixed on a flat surface of the base of the beacon; an exhibit code indicator that is installed next to each exhibit and includes a code pad that is well visually perceived by the visitor to the exhibit, which displays the exhibit code in the form of a set of digital symbols or a code pad with a colored face of an individual color for each individual exhibit and includes a magnet that serves to attaching the exhibit code indicator next to the exhibit, the magnet being mechanically fixed to the flat surface of the base of the exhibit code indicator.

Images