Positioning device for magnetic head and disk tester with rotating tool support

A positioning device for a magnetic head and disc tester, comprising:

• a base plate,
• at least one guide element rigidly attached to said base plate and oriented in one direction,
• a moveable housing guided by said guide element in said one direction,
• a rotatable platform rotatably supported by said moveable housing, said rotatable platform having a geometrical center of rotation,
• a first drive means for linearly displacing said moveable housing along said guide element in said one direction, said first drive means being supported by said base plate,
• a second drive means supported by said moveable housing for rotating said rotatable platform around said geometrical center of rotation of said rotatable platform,
• a rotary spindle rotatably supported by said base plate within a circumference of said rotatable platform,
• said rotary spindle arranged to support at least one magnetic disk by which rotates therewith, said disk having a plurality of read-write tracks for interaction with a read-write head to be tested,
• a tool support supported by said rotatable platform, said tool support having a center of rotation,
• at least one magnetic head and attaching means for releasably attaching said magnetic head to said tool support, said attaching means comprising a mechanical arm releasably connected to said tool support, said mechanical arm supporting said magnetic head,
• pivot means for enabling said tool support to pivot with respect to said rotatable platform from (a) a working position in which said head is located in said center of rotation of said rotatable platform to (b) a head-replacement position in which said tool support is pivoted away from said working position to a position where said head is located away from said rotatable platform, and
• locking means for (a) locking said tool support in said working position, or (b) releasing said tool support so that it can be pivoted to said head-replacement position.

A positioning device for a magnetic head and disk tester comprising:

• a base plate,
• a slide mechanism supported by said base plate and having a slide for enabling said slide mechanism to slide on said base plate in one direction,
• a moveable housing supported by said slide mechanism and moveable with said slide mechanism;
• said slide mechanism having a first drive motor supported by said base plate for linearly displacing said moveable housing in said one direction,
• a rotatable platform rotatably supported by said moveable housing, said rotatable platform having a geometrical center of rotation,
• a second drive motor supported by said moveable housing for rotating said rotatable platform around said geometrical center of rotation of said rotatable platform,
• a rotary spindle rotatably supported by said base plate within the circumference of said rotatable platform,
• said rotary spindle arranged to hold at least one magnetic disk for rotating with said spindle, said disk being of the type which has a plurality of read-write tracks for interaction with a plurality of read-write heads to be tested,
• a tool support supported by said rotatable platform, said tool support having a center of rotation,
• at least one magnetic head and an attachment mechanism for releasably attaching said magnetic head to said tool support,
• a pivot for enabling said tool support to pivot with respect to said rotatable platform from (a) a working position in which said head is located in said center of rotation of said rotatable platform to (b) a head-replacement position in which said tool support is pivoted away from said working position to a position where said head is located away from said rotatable platform, and
• a releasable lock means for (a) locking said tool support in said working position, or (b) releasing said tool support so that it can be pivoted to said head-replacement position.