Patent ID: 7683506

Claim:
An electromagnetic actuator comprising: a first core, the first core including a body portion and a plurality of rails, the body portion having a first axis and a second axis, the plurality of rails having longitudinal axes which are substantially perpendicular to the first axis and substantially parallel to the second axis, wherein dimensions of the plurality of rails along the longitudinal axes are substantially larger than a dimension of the body portion along the second axis, the first core being formed from a magnetically permeable material; at least one coil, the at least one coil being substantially wound around the first core; and a second core, the second core having a third axis, the third axis being oriented substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axes and to the second axis, wherein the second core is arranged to be substantially suspended relative to the first core at a distance beneath a bottom surface of the plurality of rails when a current is provided through the at least one coil.