GB1444711A - Electronic visual aid for the deaf - Google Patents

Abstract

1444711 Communicating with the deaf F J WOOD 23 July 1973 [25 April 1972] 19037/72 Heading G5G [Also in Division G2] Electrical waveforms corresponding to speech sounds and derived, for example, from domestic or business sound reproducing apparatus or telephone equipment, are applied to a plurality of resonant circuits each of which is tuned to a particular portion of the speech frequency spectrum and each circuit being connected to one or more of an array of light emitting diodes such that each phoneme of spoken speech produces a distinctive pattern of illumination on the array, whereby a deaf person can interpret what is being said. One suitable array, Fig. 1A, comprises a seven segment numeric display responding to consonants and surrounded by eight displays which respond to the vowel sounds, typical patterns produced by various sounds being described with reference to Fig. 2 (not shown). The array may take the form of wheel-and-spoke arrangements Figs. 7 and 8 (not shown). Other suitable arrays are described with reference to Figs. 3, 11 and 13 (not shown). An integrated circuit light array may be associated with a pair of spectacles or a pair of binoculars Figs. 6A, 6B (not shown) so that a user may at the same time observe both the array and an image of the facial expression of the speaker.