Lifting drive device and measuring machine using the same

Abstract

A lifting drive device for a Z-axis spindle inserted into a guide tube and guided via an air layer including: a wire extending upward from the inside of the Z-axis spindle and having its upper end supported by the guide tube, a piston connected to an lower end of the wire, a cylinder that moves up-and-down relative to the piston by an air supplied to a cylinder chamber provided to the Z-axis spindle and partitioned by the piston, a driving roller provided to the guide tube and in contact with the surface of the Z-axis spindle, and a motor for driving the driving roller, so as to achieve highly precise linear movement and swift lifting of the Z-axis spindle guided by an air bearing and to be suitable for structural simplification, weight reduction and vibration countermeasures.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.