Rotary actuator having cantilevered rotational axis
OwnerDonald L. Ekhoffinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An actuator having a rotary arm having a read/write head on one side of an axis of rotation and a drive mechanism for defining the axis of rotation, with the drive mechanism being on the side of the axis opposite to the read/write head. The rotary arm has a supported portion and a cantilevered portion. Along the supported portion is an arcuate bearing surface that determines the location of the axis of rotation. The axis is beyond the extent of the supported portion and is spaced apart from any pivot-defining structure. A stepper motor is coupled to the arcuate bearing surface in a manner to frictionally drive the supported portion of the rotary arm. In addition to rotational movement, the arm is mounted for linear movement.
Claims17
An actuator for use with a data disk comprising,
- a rotary arm having a supported portion and having a cantilevered portion,
- mounting means coupled to said supported portion of said arm to secure said arm for rotation about a virtual rotational axis, said mounting means being stationary with respect to said arm as said arm undergoes said rotational motion, said virtual axis being located within a region spanned by said cantilevered portion, said region being defined along said cantilevered portion, and
- means for coupling a transducer to said cantilevered portion of said arm, thereby securing said transducer for displacement along an arcuate path when said arm is moved about said virtual rotational axis.
An actuator for use with a data disk comprising,
- a support assembly having an arcuate bearing surface, said arcuate bearing surface having a curvature about an axis of rotation,
- drive means in contact with said arcuate bearing surface for swinging said support assembly about said axis of rotation,
- a read/write head coupled to an end of said support assembly for displacement about said axis of rotation, and
- said read/write head and said drive means being diametrically disposed along said support assembly such that said axis of rotation lies therebetween.
An actuator for use with a data disk comprising,
- a stepper motor,
- a support member having a first arcuate bearing surface coupled to said stepper motor to be frictionally driven thereby, said support member having a second bearing surface, said first and second bearing surfaces each having a substantially constant radius of curvature, said first arcuate bearing surface having a first diameter, said second arcuate bearing surface having a second diameter, said first diameter being greater than said second diameter,
- a head load means cantilevered from said support member for fixing a read/write head, said support member being mounted to rotate about a virtual axis of rotation when driven by said stepper motor, said virtual axis of rotation being located within a region delimited by said head load means, said first and second arcuate bearing surfaces defining concentric circles, said virtual axis of rotation being the center of said concentric circles, said head load means substantially disposed within an area bounded by said concentric circles.
An actuator for use with a data disk comprising,
- a support assembly having an arcuate bearing surface having a curvature about an axis of rotation,
- drive means in contact with said arcuate bearing surface for swinging said support assembly about said axis of rotation,
- a read/write head coupled to an end of said support assembly for displacement about said axis of rotation,
- said read/write head and said drive means being diametrically disposed along said support assembly so that said axis of rotation lies therebetween, and
- said support assembly is floated between a pair of pinch rollers to suspend a portion of said support assembly positionally corresponding to said axis of rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.