Audible Menu Navigation via Dedicated Acoustic Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Information presentation devices, such as cellular phones, pose navigation challenges for users who are blind or unable to view the display, as their menu systems are primarily visual, limiting accessibility and usability in situations where visual feedback is not possible or desirable.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an audible feedback system that associates each menu item with a dedicated sound, using different frequencies, tones, or voice to indicate direction and position within the menu structure, allowing users to navigate without visual information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a visual menu system is used, then the menu structure is easy to locate and navigate for sighted users, but blind users or users in situations without visual feedback cannot easily navigate the menu structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the feedback channel by separating visual feedback (display) from acoustic feedback (speaker). By implementing dedicated acoustic signals for different menu navigation states and actions, the system creates an independent feedback pathway that operates without requiring visual display, thus enabling accessibility for blind users while maintaining the original visual menu structure for sighted users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic signals as an intermediary between the menu system and the user. These acoustic signals serve as a mediator that conveys menu navigation information (such as current position, available options, and selection confirmation) to users who cannot rely on visual feedback, thereby bridging the gap between the visual menu system and accessibility requirements.
2Loss of information
If visual feedback is provided for menu navigation, then navigation direction and position are clearly indicated, but the system becomes dependent on the user viewing a display
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes the visual feedback mechanism (display showing menu items and navigation state) with an acoustic feedback mechanism (speaker emitting sounds indicating navigation direction and position). This substitution replaces the mechanical/optical information delivery system with an acoustic one, enabling the system to function independently of visual display while maintaining comprehensive navigation information delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension of information delivery by introducing acoustic signals alongside the existing visual display. This dimensional expansion allows the system to provide navigation information through multiple senses (visual and acoustic), thereby reducing dependency on the visual display dimension while enhancing overall information delivery effectiveness.
3Loss of information
If dedicated sounds are assigned to each menu item, then audible feedback provides detailed navigation information, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the acoustic domain (such as frequency, tone pattern, and sound duration) to encode different navigation information. By varying these acoustic parameters systematically, the system can convey detailed navigation feedback (current position, available options, selection status) without requiring a complex structural framework, thus managing information completeness while controlling system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A menu structure in an information presentation device enables navigation in the menu structure. The information presentation device may include a sound generating unit, at least one first user input unit, and a control unit that provides selectable items in the menu structure. The items may be related to functions, applications or settings of the information presentation device. Each item may be associated with at least one dedicated sound. Upon detection of selection of a specific item via a user input unit, the presentation device may control the sound generating unit to generate the sound associated with the selected item.