Apparatus, method of manufacturing and method of using a linear actuator

1. A linear actuator system, comprising:

a rod having a first portion coupled to a first end of the linear actuator and a second portion coupled to a second end of the linear actuator;

a plurality of annular magnets with alternating polarity substantially surrounding the rod;

a housing generally surrounding the rod and the plurality of annular magnets;

a bobbin assembly generally surrounding the plurality of annular magnets, the bobbin assembly movable along a longitudinal axis extending through the plurality of annular magnets, the bobbin assembly comprising a coil system having coils arranged to, when energized, interface with at least one of the plurality of annular magnets to move the bobbin in a liner mode, the first end and the second end of the linear actuator defining a range of movement of the bobbin assembly; and

at least one stabilizing rod disposed outside of the housing and having a first section coupled to the first end and a second section coupled to the second end.

2. The system of claim 1 , the coils arranged to apply an axial force on the plurality of magnets to drive the bobbin assembly in a linear mode.

3. The system of claim 1 , the bobbin assembly having a first position and at least a second position, when in the first position the bobbin assembly is near the first end of the linear actuator and when in the at least a second position the bobbin assembly is near the second end of the linear actuator.

4. The system of claim 1 , each of the plurality of annular magnets comprising at least two parts.

5. The system of claim 1 , the rod comprising electrically conductive material.

6. The system of claim 1 , the rod comprising steel.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an optical pickup operative to sensing a position of the bobbin assembly having an encoder scale.

8. The system of claim 7 , the optical pickup providing a sensor signal indicative of the position of the linear actuator.

9. The system of claim 1 , a portion of the plurality of annular magnets having north poles oriented to point radially inward.

10. The system of claim 1 , each of the plurality of magnets has an arc angle in the range of about 45 degrees to about 360 degrees.

11. A method of manufacturing a linear actuator comprising:

providing a rod having a first section and a second section;

coupling the first section of the rod to a first end plate and the second section of the rod to a second end plate;

providing a housing that generally surrounds the rod and de plurality of annular magnets;

providing a movable bobbin assembly having a coil system, the bobbin assembly generally surrounding the plurality of annular magnets and moveable relative thereto, the bobbin assembly having a first position defined by the first end plate and at least a second position defined by the second end plate;

providing at least one stabilizing rod adjacent to an external portion of the housing; and

coupling a first end of the at least one stabilizing rod to the first end plate and a second end of the at least one stabilizing rod to the second end plate.

12. The method of claim 11 , the step of coupling the first section and the second section of the further comprising:

providing a first end bracket and a second end bracket;

connecting the first section and first end plate with the first end bracket; and

connecting the second section and the second end plate with the second end bracket.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing a plurality of annular magnets that substantially encircle the rod.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising orienting a subset of the plurality of annular magnets having north poles pointing radially inward.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

employing the plurality of annular magnets to generative a magnetic force; and

employing an energized coil assembly and the magnetic force to effect movement of the bobbin assembly.

16. The method of claim 13 , further comprising arranging the coil system to apply an axial force on the plurality of annular magnets to drive the bobbin assembly in a linear mode.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing an encoder scale and optical pick up operative to sense a position of the linear actuator and output a sensor signal indicative of the position of the linear actuator.