White cane navigational device for the visually impaired
OwnerEric J. Alexanderinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An improved white cane includes an elongate body having a proximal end adapted to be held by or secured to a human user and a distal tip, and a noise generator located proximate the distal tip, the noise generator being configured to generate sound within a range of frequencies audible to humans. The user is able to interpret differences in reflected sound as the white cane is moved about the user's surroundings to obtain more information about the surroundings than could be obtained using a normal white cane. Additionally, the information about the surroundings may become available to the user before that information might otherwise have been available to the user using a standard white cane.
Claims20
A white cane comprising:
- an elongate body having a proximal end adapted to be held by or secured to a human user, and a distal tip;
- a signal generator configured to generate an audio signal adapted for use in acoustic wayfinding;
- and
- a noise generator comprising a transducer operatively connected to the signal generator and located proximate the distal tip, the noise generator being configured to generate sound within a range of frequencies audible to humans.
A white cane comprising:
- an elongate body having a proximal end adapted to be held by or secured to a human user, and a distal tip;
- and
- a noise generator located proximate the distal tip, the noise generator being configured to emit noise within a range of frequencies audible to humans and selected from the group consisting of white noise, pink noise, red or Brownian noise, and grey noise.
A white cane comprising:
- an elongate body having a proximal end adapted to be held by or secured to a human user, and a distal tip;
- a noise generator located proximate the distal tip, the noise generator being configured to emit noise within a range of frequencies audible to humans and selected from the group consisting of white noise, pink noise, red or Brownian noise, and grey noise;
- a power source;
- and
- a power switch;
- wherein the power source, power switch, and noise generator are operatively connected so as to allow a user of the white cane to operate the power switch to turn the noise generator on and off.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.