Transaction Terminal Adaptor for Tactile Touch Screen Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional touch screens are difficult for vision-impaired, dexterity-challenged, and hearing-impaired individuals to use due to their reliance on visual and tactile feedback, which can be inaccessible for those with impaired vision or dexterity.
Innovation Solution
A transaction terminal with a touch screen and an adaptable interface that includes a deck with discrete openings and a keypad, where the keypad has raised indicia in Braille and dome-shaped contacts, allowing users to input information through tactile means, facilitating use by vision-impaired and dexterity-challenged individuals, and potentially providing auditory feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional touch screen is used, then the device has a simple interface and is easy to manufacture, but it is difficult or impossible for vision-impaired individuals to use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device positioned between the user and the touch screen. This intermediary includes tactile indicators (such as raised dots or Braille patterns) that map to specific regions on the touch screen, allowing vision-impaired users to locate and activate touch targets through tactile sensation rather than visual perception. The intermediary translates the visual interface into a tactile interface without modifying the touch screen itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch screen interface is segmented into distinct tactile zones or regions, each corresponding to specific functional areas or input targets. The intermediary device divides the continuous touch surface into discrete, identifiable segments through physical markers or raised indicators, enabling users to navigate and interact with the interface through tactile differentiation of these segmented regions.
2Ease of operation
If a conventional touch screen is used, then the device structure is simple, but it is difficult for dexterity-challenged persons to use
Solution Approach 1:
The touch screen is divided into larger, more widely spaced tactile zones that are easier to locate and activate with limited dexterity. The intermediary device creates distinct tactile boundaries between functional areas, allowing users with motor impairments to navigate the interface without requiring precise finger movements or small target acquisition skills.
Solution Approach 2:
Specific regions of the touch screen are enhanced with localized tactile features (such as raised borders, textured areas, or varying pressure zones) that provide sensory feedback and define interaction boundaries. These local quality modifications create identifiable zones that are easier to locate and activate, accommodating users with reduced manual dexterity.
3Ease of operation
If a conventional touch screen is used, then the device is simple and cost-effective, but it provides no auditory feedback for hearing-impaired persons
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that provide sensory confirmation of user interactions. For hearing-impaired persons, this may include visual feedback (such as highlighted regions or animated indicators) that confirm when a touch target is selected or activated. The feedback loop ensures that users receive immediate confirmation of their actions through their primary sensory modality.
Data Source
AI summary
A transaction terminal (10) having a touch screen (20) disposed in a recess (30) in the terminal housing (12) includes an adaptor (25) for facilitating use of the touch screen by persons that are vision-impaired, hearing-impaired or dexterity-challenged. The adaptor (25) is selectively positionable in operative engagement with the touch screen (20). The adaptor (25) includes an insert (50) and a keypad (60, 160, 260). The insert (50) is supported on terminal housing (12) with deck (52) disposed over and in spaced relationship to the touch screen. The deck (52) has at least one discrete opening therethrough. The keypad includes at least one key juxtaposed relative to said least one discrete opening in said deck of the insert. Upon depression of the key, contact is made with a selected portion of the touch screen (20).