Self-scrolling braille

A method of self-scrolling Braille for an electronic Braille display, comprising:

• electronically actuating serially disposed pins or pin sets between lowered and raised states in preprogrammed succession within one or more tracks disposed on a substrate to produce one or more Braille dots traveling along the one or more tracks in a manner of one or more laterally propagating transverse waves of pins or pin sets, wherein individual Braille dots are configured to being formed by one or more contiguous pins or pin sets in the raised state, wherein the one or more tracks are configured to respectively form one or more rows of a Braille cell, and wherein the one or more traveling Braille dots are configured to form at least one Braille character, whereby the traveling Braille dots exhibit a scrolling motion relative to a portion of a user's body resting on the substrate in contact with the raised state of the pins or pin sets to read Braille, wherein the pins or pin sets are not in contact with the user's body in the lowered state, but when actuated are allowed to accelerate freely within a void region disposed within the substrate until they tap against said portion of the user's body resting on the substrate to signify the raised state of the pins or pin sets.

A method of self-scrolling Braille for an electronic Braille display, comprising:

• electronically actuating serially disposed pins or pin sets between lowered and raised states in preprogrammed succession within one or more tracks disposed on a substrate to produce one or more Braille dots traveling along the one or more tracks in a manner of one or more laterally propagating transverse waves of pins or pin sets, wherein individual Braille dots are configured to being formed by one or more contiguous pins or pin sets in the raised state, wherein the one or more tracks are configured to respectively form one or more rows of a Braille cell, and wherein the one or more traveling Braille dots are configured to form at least one Braille character, whereby the traveling Braille dots exhibit a scrolling motion relative to a portion of a user's body resting on the substrate in contact with at least the raised state of the pins or pin sets to read Braille.

A children's Braille computer tablet, comprising:

• a computer tablet having a display panel including at least one self-scrolling Braille hotspot disposed on a stationary substrate forming part of the display panel, the stationary substrate having electronically refreshable Braille dots disposed thereon, wherein the display panel is adapted to presenting a preprogrammed succession of the electronically refreshable Braille dots configured for traveling across the hotspot as Braille, whereby Braille is read from the hotspot by a user employing a stationary finger resting on the stationary substrate to sense the traveling Braille without the finger or substrate having to move.

A display panel for a self-scrolling Braille display, comprising:

• a substrate, an array of Braille pins disposed in the substrate in hydraulic communication with a corresponding array of droplet channels disposed in the substrate, and control electrodes disposed on the droplet channels, wherein each droplet channel is disposed to producing electrowetting forces under selectable electronic controls via the control electrodes, each droplet channel containing one or more droplets which are actuated by the electrowetting forces to provide hydraulic pressure to raise and lower the corresponding Braille pin, and wherein electrical traces and contacts are disposed in the substrate to provide electrical communication for the electronic controls via an external electronics system, whereby the hydraulic raising and lowering of the Braille pins is selectably controlled without having to employ any microvalves.