Dynamic auto-advance feature for refreshable braille displays

1. A method of dynamically advancing a refreshable braille display, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a braille display in communication with a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for outputting an electronic document;

setting a default auto-update interval for the braille display;

outputting a portion of the electronic document onto the braille display as a current line of braille characters;

determining whether the current line ends with a blank braille cell;

responsive to determining that the current line ends with the blank braille cell, calculating a current auto-advance interval for the current line as a function of a number of used cells within the current line and the default auto-update interval; and

automatically outputting a next line of braille characters after the current auto-advance interval has lapsed.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

establishing a minimum auto-advance interval;

comparing the current auto-advance interval against the minimum auto-advance interval; and

responsive to the current auto-advance interval being greater than zero but less than the minimum auto-advance interval, outputting the next line of braille characters after the minimum auto-advance interval has lapsed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein responsive to the current auto-advance interval being equal to zero, skipping the current line and outputting the next line of braille characters.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of responsive to a determination that the current line ends with a used cell, outputting the next line after the default auto-advance interval has lapsed.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the default auto-advance interval is user-adjustable.

6. One or more non-transitory tangible computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for outputting alphanumerical characters onto a refreshable braille display, the instructions comprising:

accessing an electronic document;

setting a default auto-update interval for the braille display;

outputting a portion of the electronic document onto the braille display as a current line of braille characters;

determining whether the current line ends with a blank braille cell;

responsive to determining that the current line ends with the blank braille cell, calculating a current auto-advance interval for the current line as a function of a number of used cells within the current line and the default auto-update interval; and

automatically outputting a next line of braille characters after the current auto-advance interval has lapsed.

7. The media of claim 6 , wherein calculating the current auto-advance interval comprises the steps of:

identifying a last used braille cell in the current line;

calculating a ratio of a number of cells preceding and including the last used cell to a total number of cells within the braille display; and

multiplying the ratio by the default auto-advance interval to obtain the current auto-advance interval for the current line.

8. The media of claim 7 , further comprising the steps of:

establishing a minimum auto-advance interval;

comparing the current auto-advance interval against the minimum auto-advance interval; and

responsive to the current auto-advance interval being greater than zero but less than the minimum auto-advance interval, outputting the next line of braille characters after the minimum auto-advance interval has lapsed.

9. The media of claim 6 , wherein responsive to the current auto-advance interval being equal to zero, skipping the current line and outputting the next line of braille characters.

10. The media of claim 6 , further comprising the step of responsive to a determination that the current line ends with a used cell, outputting the next line after the default auto-advance interval has lapsed.

11. The media of claim 6 , wherein the default auto-advance interval is user-adjustable.

12. A method of dynamically advancing a refreshable braille display, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a braille display in communication with a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for outputting an electronic document;

setting a default auto-update interval for the braille display;

outputting a portion of the electronic document onto the braille display as a current line of braille characters;

determining whether the current line ends with a blank braille cell;

responsive to determining that the current line ends with the blank braille cell, identifying a last used braille cell in the current line;

calculating a ratio of a number of cells preceding and including the last used cell to a total number of cells within the braille display;

multiplying the default auto-advance interval by the ratio to obtain a current auto-advance interval for the current line; and

automatically outputting a next line of braille characters after the current auto-advance interval has lapsed.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:

establishing a minimum auto-advance interval;

comparing the current auto-advance interval against the minimum auto-advance interval; and

responsive to the current auto-advance interval being greater than zero but less than the minimum auto-advance interval, outputting the next line of braille characters after the minimum auto-advance interval has lapsed.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein responsive to the current auto-advance interval being equal to zero, skipping the current line and outputting the next line of braille characters.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the step of responsive to a determination that the current line ends with a used cell, outputting the next line after the default auto-advance interval has lapsed.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the default auto-advance interval is user-adjustable.