Patent US 6,230,135

The invention is a tactile communication system which provides a method and apparatus for presenting tactile communications in real time to people who lack the senses of sight, hearing, or both, but who have a functional tactile sense. To facilitate real-time communications, a new Phonetic Braille Code is provided which replaces the existing alphabet-based braille codes. The Phonetic Braille Code uses braille symbols which represent word sounds or phonemes, rather than letters. There is also provided an apparatus which enables the user to change from one-finger braille reading to two-finger or multiple-finger braille reading. The two-finger braille reading method facilitates the simultaneous perception of two-letter phonemes. By reading phonemes using a two finger method, rather than reading letter-by-letter with a single finger, communication speed can be increased to the point of real time. The apparatus of the invention includes several embodiments of portable tactile communication devices. These devices include a computer controller which receives electrical signals, such as from a microphone, and which converts the electrical signals to the Phonetic Braille Code. The controller activates one or more refreshable braille displays to transmit these translated signals to the user. The apparatus preferably uses conventional voice recognition software for receiving verbal communications and for translating the verbal communications into phonemes. The phonemes are then displayed tactilely to the user in the Phonetic Braille Code provided herein.