Patent ID: 7744372

Claim:
A refreshable Braille display device comprising, a Braille character display assembly comprising: a lower rotary plate defining a plurality of lower bearing wells, each lower bearing well configured to house a bearing; an upper rotary plate having a substantially planar reading surface and defining a plurality of upper bearing wells configured to receive a bearing, the upper rotary plate being positioned in overlying registration with and connected to the lower rotary plate such that each upper bearing well is in overlying registration with one of the plurality of lower bearing wells to provide a plurality of bearing chambers, wherein the plurality of bearing chambers each have a bearing disposed therein and form at least one Braille character cell array configured to rotate about, and in a plane substantially perpendicular to, a rotary axis; and a stationary plate disposed between the lower and upper rotary plates and defining a plurality of apertures configured to selectively allow communication between the respective bearing wells when a lower bearing well and an upper bearing well are each positioned in registration with one of the plurality of apertures; and a means for selectively positioning the bearing in at least one bearing chamber in the respective upper or lower bearing wells of the character cell array when communication between the respective bearing wells is selectively allowed.