1. A shim for positioning a work piece comprising:
a first plate;
an optional reference frame; and
an actuator in operative communication with the first plate and the reference frame.
2. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises an active material, and wherein the active material is a shape memory alloy, a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy, a shape memory polymer, an electroactive polymer, a piezoelectric material, a magnetostrictive material, an electrorheological fluid, a magnetorheological fluid, a magnetorheological elastomer, a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing active materials.
3. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material has the ability to return to an original defined shape upon application of an external stimulus.
4. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material undergoes a change in stiffness andor shape in proportion to the strength of an external stimulus.
5. The shim of claim 1, wherein the reference frame can be displaced with respect to the first plate or wherein the first can be displaced with respect to the reference frame.
6. The shim of claim 1, wherein the reference frame partially or completely surrounds the first plate and wherein the first plate upon actuation by the actuator can be displaced vertically, horizontally andor rotationally with respect to the reference frame.
7. The shim of claim 2, wherein the active material can change its shear strength, modulus properties, andor shape to control the position of the first plate with respect to the reference frame.
8. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator employs control logic andor a feedback loop.
9. The shim of claim 1, wherein the actuator comprises an electric stepper motor, an inchworm, a piezoelectric inchworm, an ultrasonic motor, an electrohydrostatic actuator, a nanomotion piezoelectric motor, a compact hybrid actuator device, or combinations thereof.
10. The shim of claim 9, wherein the electric stepper motor, the inchworm, the piezoelectric inchworm, the ultrasonic motor, the electrohydrostatic actuator, the nanomotion piezoelectric motor and the compact hybrid actuator device comprise a active material.
11. The shim of claim 1, wherein the shim is capable of positioning a load of about 0.5 kilograms to 10,000 kilograms.
12. The shim of claim 1, further comprising a second plate andor a third plate, wherein the second andor third plates are in operative communication with the actuator.
13. The shim of claim 12, wherein the second plate andor the third plate are adopted to act cooperatively and synchronously with a first plate.
14. A method of aligning a work piece comprising:
disposing the work piece upon a first plate of a shim;
activating an actuator with an external stimulus; wherein the actuator is in operative communication with the first plate; and
displacing the work piece.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising holding the work piece in a displaced position without the assistance of power.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece is displaced vertically, horizontally, andor rotationally with respect to a reference frame.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece is reversibly displaced with respect to a reference frame.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuating comprises applying an external stimulus to the actuator, and wherein the external stimulus is thermal, electric, magnetic, radiation, chemical, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing external stimuli.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein the work piece has a weight of about 0.5 kilograms to about 10,000 kilograms.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein the shim displaces the work piece to a distance of less than or equal to about 50 micrometers from a specified reference point.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A case for containing a disk cartridge, in which the disk cartridge is inherently provided with at least one recess formed on a bottom surface thereof, the case comprising:
an upper case member;
a lower case member;
a pivoting mechanism pivoting the lower case member on the upper case member to form a substantially hollow parallelepiped which defines a chamber therein and has an inserting opening, such that the disk cartridge is adapted to be inserted through the inserting opening and received in the chamber;
a fastening mechanism, disposed between the upper case member and the lower case member to retain the upper case member with the lower case member;
cartridge retaining means, having at least one arm resiliently biasing upward, the at least one arm having two opposing ends with one end thereof extending from the bottom plate of the lower case member and the other end provided with a protrusion;
when the disk cartridge is completely inserted into the chamber of the case, the protrusion is adapted to be allocated in the recess formed on the bottom surface of the disk cartridge, whereby securely positioning the disk cartridge in the case.
2. The case for containing a disk cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the upper case member includes a top plate having two opposing edges, a right sidewall and a left sidewall, in which the right sidewall and the left sidewall extend from the opposing edges of the top plate and are substantially perpendicular to the top plate; and wherein the lower case member includes a bottom plate having two opposing edges, a right sidewall and a left sidewall, in which the right sidewall and the left sidewall extend from the opposing edges of the bottom plate and are substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate.
3. The case for containing a disk cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the pivoting mechanism has two pivoting members, in which one of the pivoting members has a pin disposed on the right sidewall of the upper case member and a hole formed on the right sidewall of the lower case member, and the other pivoting member has a pin disposed on the left sidewall of the upper case member and a hole formed on the left sidewall of the lower case member;
thereby the pins of the left and right sidewalls are adapted to be inserted into the holes of the left and right sidewalls, respectively, such that the upper case member pivots, with respect to the lower case member, about the pins.
4. The case for containing a disk cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the fastening mechanism includes at least one tab extending from at least one of the right sidewall and the left sidewall of the upper case member, and at least one groove formed on at least one of the right sidewall and the left sidewall of the lower case member, such that the at least one tab correspondingly engages in the groove.
5. The case for containing a disk cartridge according to claim 4, comprising two arm resiliently biasing upward, wherein the bottom plate is formed with two concave portions receiving the two arms, respectively; each of the two arms being integrally formed with the bottom plate at the end extending therefrom.