Moving magnet actuation of tape head
US7649710B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 8, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jan 19, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 4, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B5/584
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In one embodiment, a tape read/write head supported by a lever is biased in a first position, using magnetic attraction between a magnet supported by the lever, and a return path structure of magnetically permeable material. In the illustrated embodiment, the magnet centers itself, in the absence of a coil generated magnetic field, in the middle of a gap of the magnetic return path structure. In one aspect, the mass of the read/write head and one side of the lever may be balanced by the mass of the magnet and the other side of the lever. The lever and hence the tape read/write head carried by the lever, may be pivoted by conducting current through a coil to generate a magnetic field which is conducted by the return path structure to interact with the magnetic field of the magnet. As a consequence, the lever pivots on a pivot axis as a function of the magnitude and direction of the current through the coil. The face of the magnet may be divided into portions of opposite magnetic polarity to facilitate a relatively pure torque to be developed substantially without a net force. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.