US Patent 7226291 Refreshable tactile computer display

A method and apparatus for refreshable tactile output of information from a computer, includes using a movement actuator to move in unison along a first dimension a plurality of tactile elements that can be touched by a user of the tactile output. Based on data received from a computer processor, a particular tactile element of the plurality of tactile elements is locked with a corresponding lock actuator of a corresponding plurality of lock actuators different from the movement actuator. The method and apparatus allow a low cost, highly reliable movement actuator to be employed that does not substantially exceed the size of the tactile output area.