US Patent 10431119 Braille cells and assemblies for single-line braille displays

Braille cells and assemblies include an actuator that engages and makes readable a Braille dot by moving a shaft on a base to engage the dot. An electro-permanent magnet and a separate magnetic plate on the shaft can cause the rotation. By running an electric pulse through the electro-permanent magnet, it will rotate the shaft about a pivot under attraction to the magnetic plate. The shaft then engages tactile with the Braille dot to make it and potentially other dots form a Braille character. An electric pulse in an opposite direction may cause the magnetic field to cease and the tactile pin to disengage. The electro-permanent magnet may be coupled a mesh of rows and columns each with a P-channel MOSFET and N-channel MOSFET on opposite ends. The magnet may be at an intersection of a row and a column with diodes, which may be Zenner diodes.