RU43161U1 - DEVICE FOR ORIENTATION OF THE BLIND - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to medical equipment, in particular to devices for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired, and can be used to orient and inform the visually impaired and blind people when they move around the territory with known infrastructure. The device comprises an information unit installed at the facility, including a radio transmitter equipped with an antenna with a narrow radiation pattern, a digital storage device, a timer and a control circuit, and a wearable voice alert unit including a radio receiver and memory device, a decoder, a digital-to-analog converter loaded with an electro-acoustic transducer, and control scheme. The device provides a blind subject with the opportunity for independent movement in urban areas.

Description

The utility model relates to medical equipment, in particular to devices for the rehabilitation of the visually impaired, and can be used to orient and inform the visually impaired and blind people when they move around the territory with known infrastructure.

A known orientation system (A. St. No. 1454458, IPC A 61 F 9/08, 1989), comprising metal strips embedded in the road surface along the subject’s path, and a portable metal detector equipped with a sound indicator placed on the subject.

The disadvantages of the known system are its low information content and noise immunity, as well as complexity, high cost and, in some cases, the impossibility of practical implementation.

A device is known for orienting the blind to (A. St. No. 2071304, IPC A 61 F 9/08, 1993), including a geomagnetic angle sensor placed on the subject’s body, loaded on a two-channel processing unit, controlling sound indicators that autonomously act on the ears of the subject.

The specified device is intended to adjust the direction of movement in free space and, being in essence a "sound compass", has a limited scope.

A device for orienting the blind is known (A. St. No. 2049455, IPC A 61 F 9/08, 1995), which is a type of radar and containing a pulse radio transmitter and a radio receiver covered by a feedback system, loaded onto an electro-acoustic transducer with a tactile or sound indicator . In the process, the transmitter of the device emits radio pulses into the space in front of the subject with a given frequency. The radio signal reflected from the obstacle along the path of the subject is detected by the receiver, converted into an audio (or tactile) signal, which, directly acting on the subject, signals the presence of an obstacle. The presence of feedback between the receiver and

the transmitter of the device causes, as you approach the obstacle, an increase in the frequency of the signal, the value of which serves as a subjective assessment of the distance to the obstacle. Upon reaching a predetermined threshold frequency value, the device generates an audible (or tactile) signal warning the person about the danger of collision with an obstacle.

The main disadvantage of the known device is its low information content, due to the fact that the device provides only a simple detection of obstacles without indicating their type, purpose, location relative to other objects, etc.

Another disadvantage of the known locator, due to the principle of its action (registration of reflected radiation), is low noise immunity, which practically excludes the possibility of using the device in conditions of developed (for example, urban) infrastructure and other cramped conditions.

The disadvantages of the device can also be attributed to the difficulty of identifying information signals, as a result of which its successful use is possible only after preliminary user training, which, in turn, creates certain inconveniences for the latter.

The objective of the proposed utility model is the creation of a highly informative device for orienting and informing blind people when they move around a territory with developed infrastructure, for example, in urban conditions.

The technical results achieved using the proposed utility model are to provide blind people with information about the environment in an amount sufficient for their independent movement in urban environments. high level of noise immunity of the device, availability and natural perception of the information provided.

The problem is solved due to the fact that two digital memory devices, two control circuits, a timer, a decoder and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), loaded through an amplifier to an electro-acoustic converter, are introduced into the device for orientation of the blind, containing a radio transmitter, radio receiver and electro-acoustic transducer the radio transmitter associated with the first storage device, the timer and the first control circuit form an information unit installed on the object, and the last connected quently radio, a second memory, the decoder, DAC,

the amplifier and the electro-acoustic transducer together with the second control circuit form a wearable voice alert unit.

In addition, the antenna of the radio transmitter has a narrow radiation pattern.

Figure 1 shows the structural diagram of the proposed device, figure 2 is a variant of the placement of information blocks on the object (for example, a traffic light rack).

The device comprises an information unit 2 installed on the object 1, including a radio transmitter 3, a digital storage device 4, a timer 5 and a control circuit 6, and a wearable voice alert unit 7, including a radio receiver 8, a storage device 9, a decoder 10, a DAC 11, an amplifier 12 , electro-acoustic transducer 13 and control circuit 14.

The device operates as follows.

In the storage device 4 of the information block 2 installed on the object 1, digital information contains information about the object, the environment, the distance to the object, and other information useful to the subject. The radio transmitter 3 with a frequency set by the timer 5 sends an encoded message containing the indicated information to the air.

The transmitted message is received by the radio receiver 8 of the wearable voice announcement unit 7 and is recorded in the storage device 9, after which the reception is blocked and the subject receives an attention signal through the electro-acoustic transducer 13. Then the message code is extracted from the storage device 9, decoded by the decoder 10, converted into an analog signal by the DAC 11 and through the amplifier 12 is fed to the Converter 13, which is reproduced as a voice message, listened to by a person in real time. At the end of the sound of the voice message, the cycle of its reception, recording, decoding and transmission to the subject is automatically repeated. In variants of the device, it is possible to repeat the specified cycle at the command of the subject.

Modern means of digital communication (for example, built on the basis of modules of the Bluetooth standard) provide a data transfer rate of up to 1 Mb / s at an operating frequency of 2.4 GHz. At the above transmission speed, a message with a volume of 10 kb (≈1 page of printed text) can be transmitted over the air for a time of ≈0.01 s, i.e. message transmission time is negligible compared to the time of its sounding. In practice, this means that the subject, as it approaches the object, in real time listens to a periodically repeating voice message about the object and

environment, which allows him to navigate independently in the environment.

The high working frequency of the communication channel (several GHz) makes it possible to use an antenna with a narrow radiation pattern in the transmitter, which, in turn, allows you to localize the information reception zone in a given direction. The need and usefulness of this localization is illustrated in figure 2, which shows schematically placement at the traffic lights of the intersection of information blocks sending messages in those directions from which a potential recipient of information may appear. Moreover, in each direction, if necessary, various information can be transmitted.

The use in the proposed device of stationary information blocks permanently placed on urban infrastructure facilities that continuously send coded messages to the air, together with a personal wearable unit that receives these messages and then converts them into live speech, makes it possible for a blind person to provide sufficiently complete information about any objects on its route, inform about the features of the route, warn of possible dangers and provide other useful information which significantly expands the possibilities for its independent movement in urban areas.

The use of antennas with a narrow radiation pattern in radio transmitting devices provides noise immunity of the communication channel, and the device’s ability to receive messages in the form of a voice message provides the simplicity and comfort of perceiving information, which eliminates the need for prior user training.

It should also be noted that the main components and elements of the claimed device can be made on the basis of widespread and inexpensive hybrid assemblies and integrated circuits, which ensures high manufacturability and relatively low cost of the product during its mass production.

Claims (2)

1. A device for orienting the blind, comprising a radio transmitter, a radio receiver and an electro-acoustic transducer, characterized in that two digital storage devices, two control circuits, a timer, a decoder and a digital-to-analog transducer (DAC) are loaded into the electro-acoustic transducer through the amplifier, the radio transmitter, the first storage device associated with it, the timer and the first control circuit form an information unit installed on the object, and opriemnik, the second memory, the decoder, DAC, an amplifier and an electroacoustic transducer together with a second control circuit form a unit wearable speech notification. 2. The device for orienting the blind according to claim 1, characterized in that the antenna of the radio transmitter has a narrow radiation pattern.