Patent ID: 6959795

Claim:
A hybrid isolator-actuator comprising: a housing, and a carnage, wherein the carriage is further comprised of a piston attached to a journal shaft and a coil attached to the journal shaft wherein the piston is constrained to move within a cylindrical sleeve fixed internally to the housing and the coil is constrained to move within a magnetic actuator body fixed internal to the housing such that the carriage moves and is controlled relative to the housing by the combination of pneumatic forces applied to the piston and magnetic forces applied to the coil, and wherein the piston is comprised of air bearing construction such that the piston rides within the cylindrical sleeve upon a gas film, and such that the piston does not touch the cylindrical sleeve, and the hybrid isolator-actuator further comprises a pressure sensor and an electronic controller wherein the pressure sensor elicits a signal proportionate to the instantaneous actual pressure applied to the piston of the hybrid isolator-actuator and wherein the electronic controller determines the difference between commanded pressure and the instantaneous actual pressure of the isolator-actuator and produces a current through the coil and resulting magnetic force of such magnitude and sign as to exactly correct for the pneumatic force error resulting from the difference between the commanded pressure and the instantaneous actual pressure.