Patent ID: 7279814

Claim:
A moving coil actuator for high-speed scanning of a scanning area by a series of strokes successively traversing said scanning area, said actuator comprising: an electric coil carrier with a coiled electrical conductor mounted thereto, said coiled electrical conductor comprised of first and second coil regions of first and second winding densities, respectively, said first and second coil regions located at opposite ends of a distance along said carrier equal to the length of one stroke and separated by a coil having a winding density lower than both said first and second winding densities; a magnet assembly comprising magnetic poles and a gap, said magnetic poles configured to impose a magnetic flux across said gap, said magnetic flux concentrated in one or more regions defined as concentrated flux regions, said gap sized to receive said coiled electric conductor and to allow movement of said coiled electrical conductor along a path of travel terminating at one end in a position in which said first coil region, and not said second coil region, is within a concentrated flux region and at the other end in a position in which said second coil region, and not said first coil region, is within a concentrated flux region; and a power source connected to said coiled electrical conductor to produce an electric current therein of alternating polarity.