Abstract: An electric motor having a pancake construction stator and rotor poles that are formed by photolithography. The stator and rotor can be formed from an amorphous material, thereby reducing grain boundaries and allowing smaller poles to be etched. The number of poles, never less than three, can be from 20 to 5000 times the stator diameter in centimeters. The extremely thin rotor comprises a flexible disk spaced from the stator by an air cushion maintained in accordance with forces as dictated by Bernoulli's principle. This insures that the spacing between the rotor and stator is automatically adjusted to minimize the distance between the rotor and stator poles and thereby to maximize flux linkage between the poles. By operating the motor in a range that avoids saturation of the poles, a variable torque motor is provided since increased current through the motor windings allows the magnetic field intensity and thus the flux linkage to increase.

Abstract: An electric motor having a pancake construction stator and rotor poles that are formed by photolithography. The stator and rotor can be formed from an amorphous material, thereby reducing grain boundaries and allowing smaller poles to be etched. The number of poles, never less than three, can be from 20 to 5000 times the stator diameter in centimeters. The extremely thin rotor comprises a flexible disk spaced from the stator by an air cushion maintained in accordance with forces as dictated by Bemoulli's principle. This insures that the spacing between the rotor and stator is automatically adjusted to minimize the distance between the rotor and stator poles and thereby to maximize flux linkage between the poles. By operating the motor in a range that avoids saturation of the poles, a variable torque motor is provided since increased current through the motor windings allows the magnetic field intensity and thus the flux linkage to increase.

Abstract: An electric motor having a pancake construction stator and rotor poles that are formed by photolithography. The stator and rotor can be formed from an amorphous material, thereby reducing grain boundaries and allowing smaller poles to be etched. The number of poles, never less than three, can be from 20 to 5000 times the stator diameter in centimeters. The extremely thin rotor comprises a flexible disk spaced from the stator by an air cushion maintained in accordance with forces as dictated by Bernoulli's principle. This insures that the spacing between the rotor and stator is automatically adjusted to minimize the distance between the rotor and stator poles and thereby to maximize flux linkage between the poles. By operating the motor in a range that avoids saturation of the poles, a variable torque motor is provided since increased current through the motor windings allows the magnetic field intensity and thus the flux linkage to increase.

Abstract: An electric motor having a pancake construction stator and rotor poles that are formed by photolithography. The stator and rotor can be formed from an amorphous material, thereby reducing grain boundaries and allowing smaller poles to be etched. The number of poles, never less than three, can be from 20 to 5000 times the stator diameter in centimeters. The extremely thin rotor comprises a flexible disk spaced from the stator by an air cushion maintained in accordance with forces as dictated by Bernoulli's principle. This insures that the spacing between the rotor and stator is automatically adjusted to minimize the distance between the rotor and stator poles and thereby to maximize flux linkage between the poles. By operating the motor in a range that avoids saturation of the poles, a variable torque motor is provided since increased current through the motor windings allows the magnetic field intensity and thus the flux linkage to increase.

Abstract: An electromagnetic read/write head carrier structure is disclosed which permits micro-positioning of the heads carried thereon. The carrier structure incorporates a movable subframe mounted in a floating, friction-free condition on the servo arm of a magnetic media drive. Micro-adjustments in head position for use with high-density data formats are accomplished by micro-positioning the head carrier subframe with respect to the servo arm. A voice coil motor is used to induce relative movement between the head carrier subframe and servo arm.

Abstract: An integrated read/write transducer and flexure support structure is provided for use with rotating magnetic media such as a hard disc drive. The integrated structure includes at least one magnetic pole structure integral with a unitary sheet of flexible magnetic material from which the flexure support is formed. A second magnetic pole is supported on the structure, together with conductive coils, to form an electromagnetic transducer. The integrated structure includes an air-bearing surface mounted for parallel motion with respect to adjacent magnetic media. A pattern of positive-pressure air-bearing rails and negative-pressure recesses provides an aerodynamically stable configuration designed to fly at a height of approximately 5 microinches above the moving magnetic media. Conductors and interconnect pads are provided on the magnetic sheet material substrate.

Abstract: An electromagnetic read/write head structure for longitudinal/horizontal reading and writing including first and second magnetic pole components which are spaced by a substantially uniform-width, linear, planar gap. Each pole component is characterized by a configuration, measured generally in the plane of the gap, where no portions of the outlines of the pole components, save those portions which actually define the gap, include any stretch extending parallel to the gap.

Abstract: A method of field annealing a thin-film electromagnetic read/write head formed of magnetic-field-responsive material having a known Curie temperature. Such a head also includes an electric coil for operatively exciting the head. The method includes the steps of heating the head to a temperature less than the Curie temperature, and then cooling the head while applying electric current to the coil sufficient to induce magnetic flux in the head. The foregoing steps, properly applied, align the magnetic-field-responsive structure, such as magnetic domains in a soft magnetic material, in the direction of operative flux flow in the head.

Abstract: A method is presented for producing a controlled-distribution, toned magnetic image unit on a planar-like magnetic-image-storage medium having a magnetizable facial expanse using magnetically attractable toner particles having differing sizes. The method includes the steps of creating in such a facial expanse a latent magnetic image formed of magnetic vectors which extend generally parallel with the facial expanse adjacent the perimeter of the image and which extend with increasing angularity with respect to the facial expanse plane with distance inwardly from the perimeter; positioning the image sufficiently close to a mass of such particles to draw the particles magnetically to the latent image; and by said positioning and drawing, selectively capturing particles on the facial expanse extending over the latent image with the sizes of the captured particles generally tending to increase in size with distance inwardly from the perimeter of the image.

Abstract: An apparatus for transferring toner from an incompressible, flexible magnetic image-storage medium to paper. The apparatus includes a cylindrical drum having a layer of resilient backing material on an inner support structure. An image-storage medium is slidably disposed on the backing material. A pressure roller also having a resilient surface layer is placable against the roller to form, in combination therewith, a pinch roller through which paper is transported during toner transfer. Deformation of the respective resilient layers in the roller and drum during transfer produces a complimentary slip action between the resilient backing and image-storage medium. This allows the paper and medium to move together without smearing the associated toner images.

Abstract: A thin-film, floppy and compliant, electromagnetic, read/write head structure which is adapted to be pressed against a magnetic imaging medium during reading and writing. Individual heads and associated structure are distributed like "bumps" on one face of a support substrate--the opposite face of which is the one designed to contact a medium. Other bumps, some connected functionally with the heads, and others isolated from the heads, are distributed over the same first-mentioned substrate face in a manner whereby they cooperate with the head bumps to minimize preferential point-pressure telegraphing (through the substrate to a recording medium) during compliant pressure-biased contact with such a medium.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing a magnetic image in a magnetic image storage medium. The apparatus includes a thin-film magnetic web with a pole-defining face and a second thin-film blanket magnetically spaced from the first magnetic web and having a second surface defining a second pole face. Spaced from the pole faces is a diamagnetic spacer which forms a special back gap in the magnetic circuit. An electrical coil sandwiched between the two magnetic materials induces flux in them. The spacer may extend normal to the flux path beyond the effective flux paths otherwise existing in the web and blanket.

Abstract: A magnetic-image read/write head including inner and outer, substantially co-planar, symmetrically arranged pole portions. In one embodiment, the head is disclosed with the inner pole portion presenting a substantially full-circular facial expanse, and with the outer pole portion presenting an annular facial expanse surrounding that of the inner pole portion. In another embodiment, each of the two pole portions presents a substantially annular facial expanse with the inner pole being hollow. In both embodiments, the inner pole portion has a magnetic permeability which is significantly lower than that of the outer pole portion. An image unit written on a magnetic-image-storage medium by the head takes the form, generally, of a dot characterized by an appreciably larger magnetic field intensity adjacent its perimeter than inside the perimeter.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing a preselected final image in a travelling magnetic image-storage medium, which image is formed of an arrangement of individual magnetic image units and line segments formed of a plurality of linearly disposed contiguous units having a predetermined center-to-center spacing. Adjacent units in adjacent line segments have substantially the same predetermined center-to-center spacing when viewed in a direction substantially normal to the direction of travel, and also have a known maximum actual center-to-center spacing. Plural magnetic writing heads, each capable of producing an image unit, are distributed to have, when viewed in a direction substantially parallel with the direction of travel of the medium, a center-to-center spacing equalling that of contiguous units in a line segment. The actual center-to-center spacing between heads capable of forming adjacent image units in a line segment exceeds the mentioned center-to-center spacings between adjacent units.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing in a magnetic image-storage medium a high-resolution, smooth-edge-defining magnetic image. Such is accomplished through the cooperative action of two, opposite-polarity, concentric magnetic poles which function to create, on a face in such a medium, a somewhat doughnut-shaped defined magnetized zone, which zone is characterized by multi-directionally oriented magnetic vectors distributed generally with spherical geometry. The magnetic poles are created by exciting electrically magnetic-flux-inducing spiral coils which are spaced from the magnetic poles.

Abstract: Apparatus for transferring toner magnetically adhering to magnetic images stored in a magnet image-storage medium to a toner-adherable receiving medium such as paper. Included is a platen which presses the paper against the storage medium to form regions of contact and noncontact between the paper and storage medium. A boundary between the two regions is defined by a line of contact. The apparatus also includes magnets for producing a magnetic field in the paper and storage medium which is asymetrical with respect to the line of contact. The field is stronger in the region of noncontact than in the region of contact. In the preferred embodiment, the field originates from a pair of spaced-apart, confronting magnetic poles disposed on a side of the paper opposite from the storage medium. The apparatus is structured to produce selectively a field in the storage medium having a magnetizing force less than or, alternatively, greater than, the coercivity of the storage medium.