Tactile Text and Graphics Printer

描述（由申请人提供）：ELIA Life Technology, Inc （ELT）旨在开发一种低成本的触觉打印机，TouchPrinter，它可以产生凸起的文本，图形和标签。TouchPrinter为盲人或有视觉障碍（B/VI）的社区成员服务；包括看护人、教育工作者和B/VI用户，因为输出可以通过触摸和视觉读取。第二阶段的努力将建立在第一阶段研究的成功基础上，在第一阶段的研究中，电子元件被集成在一起，产生符合美国国会图书馆为盲文设定的现行政府标准的触觉文本。ELT将与可用性团队（B/VI修复专家）合作，优化新TouchPrinter的设计和性能。工程团队将利用喷墨打印，与互补技术来实现目标。工程控制的专有方法将允许子系统组件为触觉印刷的具体应用一起工作。可用性研究的对象将定期参与设计迭代以满足用户需求。作为一个完全开发的产品，TouchPrinter将能够持续打印凸起输出，用于盲文、ELIA字母表和其他触觉字体的触觉文本生产。最终的产品应该是健壮的、可靠的，提供出色的打印分辨率，并提供一致的、愉快的用户体验。TouchPrinter的成功开发将开始弥合B/VI人群信息获取不平等的差距。国家低发病率残疾中心（National Center of Low-Incidence Disabilities） 2006年的一份报告指出，这将有助于提高识字率，而识字率是“获得社会和经济机会的关键”。ELT预计TouchPrinter将被用于家庭、办公室、学校和其他公共机构，因为它可以产生视觉和触觉可访问的文本和图形。TouchPrinter为公众健康带来的好处与多个NIH机构的使命直接相关，包括NEI、NIA和Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHHD。由失明或视力受损的老年人及其照顾者进行的日常生活活动（ADLs）和工具性日常生活活动（IADLs），如给药、准备饭菜等，可以通过TouchPrinter更容易地完成。此外，B/VI的孩子将提高他们的教育经验，因为他们将能够与以前无法接触的信息互动，如科学图纸，数学图表和图形。TouchPrinter的技术进步将为更广泛的受众带来可访问的图形。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): ELIA Life Technology, Inc (ELT) aims to develop a low-cost tactile printer, the TouchPrinter, which can produce raised text, graphics, and labels. The TouchPrinter serves members of the community of people who are blind/ or have a visual impairment (B/VI); including caretakers, educators, and users who are B/VI as the output can be read both by touch and sight. The Phase II efforts will build on the successful Phase I research, where electronic components were integrated to produce tactile text that meet current government standards set by the U.S. Library of Congress for braille. ELT will collaborate with the usability team (experts in B/VI rehabilitation) to optimize the design and performance of the new TouchPrinter. The engineering team will leverage ink-jet printing, with complementary technologies to achieve the aims. Proprietary methods of engineering controls will allow the subsystem components to work together for the specific application of tactile printing. The subjects in the usability study will be engaged on a regular basis to iterate the design to meet user needs. As a fully developed product, the TouchPrinter will be capable of consistently printing raised output for tactile text production of braille, the ELIA Alphabet and other tactile fonts. The final product is expected to be robust, reliable, offer excellent print resolution, and provide a consistent, pleasant user experience. The successful development of the TouchPrinter will begin to bridge the gap of inequality of information access for people who are B/VI. It will allow for increased literacy, which is "the key to social and economic opportunity," according to a 2006 report by the National Center of Low-Incidence Disabilities. ELT anticipates that the TouchPrinter will be utilized in the home, office, schools, and other public institutions s it can produce both visually and tactilely accessible text and graphics. The benefits to public health offered by the TouchPrinter are directly relevant to the mission of multiple NIH institutions, including the NEI, the NIA, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHHD. Activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) performed by the elderly who are blind or visually impaired and their caregivers, such as administering medicine, preparing meals, etc., can be performed more easily with the TouchPrinter. Additionally, children who are B/VI will enhance their educational experience as they will be able to interact with information previously inaccessible, such as scientific drawings, and mathematic charts and graphs. The technological advances in the TouchPrinter will bring accessible graphics to a wider audience than can currently be reached.