Hyundai Electronics America, Inc.

Martin McCaslin

Brad A Johnson

An apparatus for the dynamic positioning of an objective lens in an optical disk drive comprises a housing, a lens unit movable in a focusing and a tracking direction, a magnetic circuit mounted to the lens unit for creating a first magnetic field, a pair of current conducting coils mounted to the housing and arranged orthogonal to the first magnetic field, and a flexure for flexibly supporting the lens unit in the housing. An active region comprising at least half of the coil creates the second magnetic field in response to current passing therethrough to interact with the first magnetic field and apply a force to the lens unit. This efficient coil arrangement allows for a small, lightweight dual-purpose magnetic circuit which substantially reduces the weight of the lens positioning apparatus. The housing is a one-piece injection molded ceramic component which maximizes stiffness and minimizes weight to improve the performance of the apparatus.

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Pleasanton, CA, United States of America

Martin McCaslin