Tactile Timer Setter With Braille Time Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing timers are impractical for visually impaired individuals as they cannot adequately set the timer due to the inability to read numbers on the face, making it difficult to determine the correct time setting.
Innovation Solution
A timer with a rotatable colored disk and Braille characters that allows visually impaired users to set the time by manually positioning a setter, which rotates with the disk, and features a background member with numerical indicia in Braille to indicate elapsed time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a timer uses a rotating disk with numerical indicia to display elapsed time, then the timer provides visual feedback on time remaining, but visually impaired users cannot read the numbers to set the correct time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a setter mechanism with tactile features (protrusions, ridges, or Braille characters) that serves as an intermediary between the user and the time setting function. This tactile interface allows visually impaired users to locate and adjust time settings without needing to read numerical indicia on the timer face, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining visual display functionality and improving accessibility for setting the timer
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of time setting from visual-only interaction to multi-sensory interaction by incorporating tactile feedback mechanisms. The setter provides detectable positional feedback through tactile features, enabling users to set time based on touch rather than sight, thus improving ease of operation without sacrificing time setting accuracy
2Loss of information
If a timer provides visual display of time remaining through a rotating disk, then time monitoring is clear and visible, but visually impaired users cannot independently set or monitor the time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the timer interface into distinct functional zones: a visual display area for sighted users and a tactile interaction area with Braille characters and raised features for visually impaired users. This segmentation allows both user groups to access the timer independently using their preferred sensory modality, resolving the contradiction between maintaining clear visual feedback and improving adaptability for visually impaired users
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal timer interface that serves multiple user needs simultaneously. The combination of visual display elements and tactile feedback mechanisms (Braille characters, raised ridges, protrusions) enables the timer to be effectively used by both sighted and visually impaired individuals, achieving versatility across different user abilities while maintaining accurate time information display
3Device complexity
If the timer face contains only numerical indicia for time setting, then the design is simple and clear, but it becomes unusable for visually impaired individuals
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges visual and tactile information channels by incorporating Braille characters and raised tactile features alongside or integrated with the numerical indicia on the timer face. This combination maintains the simplicity and clarity of the original design while adding accessibility features, allowing visually impaired users to set time through touch without significantly increasing overall device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A timer teaches time in a simple manner. The timer rotates a shaft which rotates a colored disk attached to the shaft. The initial position of the colored disk is manually set by an operator using an arm, the arm moving the colored disk in a counter-clockwise direction to its initial position. As time elapses, the colored disk rotates in a clockwise direction in front of a background member with numbers.