Linear positioner for magnetic transducer

Claim 2

A linear positioner for transducers comprising: a. a guide having a pair of parallel ways, each having a rail portion of circular segment cross-section, said rail portions being parallel to each other; b. a carriage disposed between the ways and having sides adjacent to the ways; c. two spaced wheels on one side of the carriage engaging the rail portions of the adjacent way, and each having an axis of rotation; d. and at least one wheel on the other side of the carriage disposed between lines passing through the other two wheels normal to the ways, characterized by said wheels having at least one surface of contact with the rail portion that is a circular segment in cross-section of different radius than the rail portion crosssection.

Claim 3

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rail portion is a groove and the wheel surface of contact has a radius less than that of the groove.

Claim 4

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein the rail portion is a projection and the wheel surface of contact has a cross-section radius greater than the projection cross-section radius.

Claim 5

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein each wheel has two surfaces of contact with the rail portion to stabilize the carriage against movement along the wheel axes.

Claim 6

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one wheel is spring loaded to give a tight contact of all three wheels with the rail portions and to accommodate minor irregularities of the rail portions.

Claim 7

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein at least one wheel is mounted on a post having a reduced portion of rectangular cross-section and the lengthwise dimension of the rectangle is aligned with the parallel ways, said reduced portion acting as a spring to press the wheel against the rail portion.

Claim 8

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein the carriage has a deck, a bottom plate and substantial body thickness between the deck and plate, and the body is webbed and filled with adherent lightweight material to aid in stiffening the carriage body and reducing vibration, and a bottom plate is mechanically connected to the lightweight material and the ribs.

Claim 9

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 1 wherein the carriage extending between the ways is provided with means for receiving the transducers in operative position.

Claim 10

A linear positioner for transducers comprising: a. a pair of spaced parallel ways each having a rail portion of circular segment cross section; b. a carriage in the form of a transducer post to which transducers are secured in operative position, said carriage being disposed between the ways and having sides adjacent to the ways; c. a pair of spaced wheels having rotation axes mounted on one side of the carriage for engagement with the rail portion of the adjacent way; d. and a wheel mounted on the other side of the carriage for engagement of the rail portion of the other way, and disposed between lines passing through the wheEl axes of the wheel pair at right angles to the ways, characterized by said wheels having at least one surface of contact with the rail circular segment that is a wheel circular segment in cross section of different radius than the rail segment, whereby said transducer post is accurately guided by rails at each end to obtain great accuracy of transducer positioning.

Claim 11

A linear positioner for transducers comprising: a. a pair of spaced parallel ways each having a rail portion of circular segment cross section; b. a carriage in the form of a transducer post to which transducers are secured in operative position, said carriage being disposed between the ways and having sides adjacent to the ways; c. a pair of spaced wheels having rotation axes mounted on one side of the carriage for engagement with the rail portion of the adjacent way; d. and a wheel mounted on the other side of the carriage for engagement of the rail portion of the other way, and disposed between lines passing through the wheEl axes of the wheel pair at right angles to the ways, characterized by said wheels having at least one surface of contact with the rail circular segment that is a wheel circular segment in cross section of different radius than the rail segment, whereby said transducer post is accurately guided by rails at each end to obtain great accuracy of transducer positioning.

Claim 12

A linear positioner as set forth in claim 9 wherein the spaced ways are in a vertical plane and the post is vertical for supporting transducers that can operate on generally horizontal data media.