Movement guiding mechanism

A movement guiding device, comprising:

• a surface plate;
• two stationary guides fixedly provided on said surface plate;
• a first movable member placed on said surface plate so as to be sandwiched between said stationary guides, said first movable member being supported by said surface plate and said stationary guides through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a second movable member placed on said surface plate so as to straddle said first movable member, said second movable member being supported by said surface plate and said first movable member through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a first linear motor for moving said first movable member relative to said surface plate in a first direction, said first linear motor having a stator fixed to said surface plate with a predetermined interspacing thereto defined by a spacer, said first linear motor further having a moving element fixed to said first movable member with a predetermined interspacing thereto defined by another spacer;
• a first heat insulating material which occupies each of said interspacings;
• a second linear motor for moving said second movable member relative to said first movable member in a second direction which is orthogonal to said first direction, said second linear motor having a stator fixed to said first movable member with a predetermined interspacing defined by a spacer, said second linear motor further having a moving element fixed to said second movable member with a predetermined interspacing thereto defined by another spacer;
• and
• a second heat insulating material which occupies each of said interspacings defined in said second linear motor.

A movement guiding device, comprising:

• a surface plate;
• a movable member supported by said surface plate through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a linear motor for moving said movable member relative to said surface plate, said linear motor having a stator fixed to said surface plate and a moving element fixed to said movable member;
• a first temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said surface plate;
• a second temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said linear motor;
• cooling means for cooling said linear motor, said cooling means being operable to supply a cooling medium, from a cooling medium tank and through a flexible tube, to a supporting member supporting a driving coil of said linear motor;
• and
• control means for controlling said cooling means so as to reduce, to zero, a difference in temperature detected by said first and second temperature detectors, said control means being operable to change the quantity of the cooling medium to be supplied to the supporting member.

A movement guiding device, comprising:

• a surface plate;
• a movable member supported by said surface plate through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a linear motor for moving said movable member relative to said surface plate, said linear motor having a stator fixed to said surface plate and a moving element fixed to said movable member;
• a first temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said movable member;
• a second temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said linear motor;
• cooling means for cooling said linear motor, said cooling means being operable to supply a cooling medium, from a cooling medium tank and through a flexible tube, to a supporting member supporting a driving coil of said linear motor;
• and
• control means for controlling said cooling means so as to reduce, to zero, a difference in temperature detected by said first and second temperature detectors, said control means being operable to change the quantity of the cooling medium to be supplied to the supporting member.

A movement guiding device, comprising:

• a surface plate;
• two stationary guides fixedly provided on said surface plate;
• a first movable member supported by said surface plate and said stationary guides through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a second movable member placed on said surface plate so as to straddle said first movable member, said second movable member being supported by said surface plate and said first movable member through a hydrostatic bearing member;
• a plurality of first linear motors for moving said first movable member relative to said surface plate in a first direction, each of said first linear motors having a stator fixed to said surface plate and a moving element fixed to said first movable member, and said first linear motors being disposed outside of said stationary guides;
• a second linear motor for moving said second movable member relative to said first movable member in a second direction which is orthogonal to said first direction, said second linear motor having a stator fixed to said first movable member and a moving element fixed to said second movable member;
• a first temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said surface plate;
• a plurality of second temperature detectors provided on said first and second linear motors, respectively, for detecting the temperatures of said first and second linear motors;
• cooling means for cooling said first and second linear motors independently of each other, said cooling means being operable to supply a cooling medium, from a cooling medium tank and through a flexible tube, to supporting members supporting driving coils of said first and second linear motors;
• and
• control means for controlling said cooling means so as to reduce, to zero, a difference in temperature detected by said first temperature detector and said second temperature detectors, said control means being operable to change the quantity of the cooling medium to be supplied to the supporting members by said cooling means.