Voice coil motor operated linear actuator

1. An actuator comprising:

a voice coil motor including one or more magnets and a voice coil;

a stator supporting the one or more magnets and including a center pole that provides a flux path for the voice coil motor;

a moveable bobbin supporting windings of the voice coil and connecting to move an object translationally over at least a distal portion of the center pole in response to activation of the voice coil motor, the moveable bobbin having an inner diameter that is sized to provide a gap between the moveable bobbin and the center pole;

the center pole including an air path and corresponding holes to provide in the gap between the moveable bobbin and the center pole a film of air over which the moveable bobbin moves in response to activation of the voice coil motor; and

an air source fluidly coupled to the air path so as to supply compressed air to the gap between the moveable bobbin and the center pole to generate the film of air.

2. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the air path includes one or more circumferential channels located in the distal portion of the center pole and an axial channel that connects to the air source, and the holes are in locations that correspond to the channels.

3. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the moveable bobbin consists of a thin walled thermally conductive cylinder, and the moveable bobbin conducts heat produced by the voice coil to the film of air.

4. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the thin walled thermally conductive cylinder is made of a light-weight and high specific stiffness ceramic.

5. The actuator of claim 1 , wherein the moveable bobbin moves a lens along an axis of an optical path, and the center pole has a center bore that is coincident with the optical path.

6. The actuator of claim 1 , further including a non-contact position detector subsystem that is mounted along a path over which the moveable bobbin moves.

7. The actuator of claim 6 , wherein the position detector subsystem includes a plurality of emitters and photodetectors arranged around the circumference of the path, with the emitters shining light on the moveable bobbin and the detectors detecting light reflected from the moveable bobbin to determine a relative position of the moveable bobbin.

8. The actuator of claim 1 , further including flexible circuits connected between the voice coil that is supported by the moveable bobbin and an energy source, the flexible circuits providing energy to the voice coils and constraining rotation of the moveable bobbin relative to the stator.

9. The actuator of claim 8 , further including one or more pairs of the flexible circuits, each flexible circuit being anchored at a first end to the moveable bobbin and at a second end to the stator, the individual flexible circuits of a pair being anchored on opposite sides of the moveable bobbin to constrain rotation of the moveable bobbin relative to the stator.

10. An actuator comprising:

a stator comprising:

a stator body; and

a plurality of magnets circumferentially arranged around an inner surface of the stator body;

a pole;

a bobbin slidably mounted on and supported by said pole;

windings provided around an exterior surface of the bobbin;

wherein the stator, the pole, and the bobbin are coaxial;

wherein an outer diameter of the pole is smaller than an inner diameter of the bobbin such that the bobbin is slidably movable in an axial direction along an exterior surface of the pole; and

wherein an outer diameter of the bobbin is smaller than an inner diameter of the stator such that the bobbin is movable in an axial direction inside the plurality of magnets circumferentially arranged around the inner surface of the stator body.

11. The actuator of claim 10 , wherein an air cushion is provided between the exterior surface of the pole and an interior surface of the bobbin.

12. The actuator of claim 10 , wherein a lens is mounted at a first end of the bobbin.

13. The actuator of claim 11 , wherein the pole comprises an air path and a plurality of holes providing fluid communication between the air path and the exterior surface of the pole.

14. The actuator of claim 13 , wherein a compressed air source is in fluid communication with the air path so as to provide compressed air to the air path and maintain the air cushion between the exterior surface of the pole and an interior surface of the bobbin.