Abstract: There is provided a micromirror device, which is provided with a mirror layer including a mirror surface which is supported to be rotatable around a first axis passing through a center of the mirror surface, and an upper substrate having transparency including a first upper electrode part and a second upper electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first upper boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis, and a lower substrate including a first lower electrode part and a second lower electrode part arranged on its surface facing the mirror layer to face each other via a first lower boundary passing through a center of the surface and parallel to the first axis.

Abstract: An optical disk drive includes an optical disk, a pair of guide shafts, a carriage having an optical pick-up movable in the radial direction of the disk as guided by the guide shafts. A plurality of rollers are rotatably mounted on the carriage so that a rolling contact is provided between the guide shafts and the carriage. Preferably, one of the rollers is pressed against the associated guide shaft so as to absorb any play which may exist in the rollers. Each of the guide shafts is so structured to define a part of a closed magnetic flux circuit, and each of a pair of coils fixedly mounted on the carriage is loosely fitted on this part of the associated guide shaft. As a result, a pair of linear motors is defined on both sides of the carriage using the pair of guide shafts to define a pair of closed magnetic flux circuits partly.

Abstract: A playback system for recovering prerecorded information from a disc record through the use of a stylus mounted on a stylus arm includes a stylus arm lifting-lowering device. The lifting-lowering device uses a permanent magnet mounted on a leaf spring. The permanent magnet is arranged to normally occupy the central volume of a core with a coil wrapped around the core. The leaf spring has an extension to receive the stylus arm. When an appropriate control signal is applied to the coil, a magnetic field is generated which tends to repell the magnet out of the central volume and the stylus arm, which rests on the extension, is gently lowered toward the record.