Patent ID: 8573979

Claim:
A tactile display, comprising: an array of pins comprising a first pin and a top plate and a bottom plate separated by a space between the top plate and the bottom plate, the top plate having a first hole and the bottom plate having a second hole, the first hole and the second hole aligned with each other, wherein the first pin passes through the first hole and the second hole; a control device communicatively coupled to the array of pins and configured to receive a colored graphic image and to convert the colored graphic image to a black and white image and to determine brightness values of the black and white image; a plurality of actuators, each of the plurality of actuators configured to move one of the array of pins to a height relative to other pins in the array, wherein the relative heights are based on the brightness values of the black and white image, wherein one of the plurality of actuators is located under the first pin; a plurality of vibrating devices, each of the plurality of vibrating devices configured to vibrate one of the array of pins at a frequency associated with a color at a location of the colored graphic image corresponding to the one of the array of pins, wherein one of the plurality of vibrating devices is located under the first pin; a thermal electric cooler (TEC) configured to heat the first pin when the first pin is representing a warm color at the location of the colored graphic image corresponding to the first pin and to cool the first pin when it is representing a cool color at the location of the colored graphic image corresponding to the first pin; and a current source configured to pass current through the first pin based on the color at the location of the colored graphic image corresponding to the first pin.