Drive apparatus and XY drive apparatus on which it is equipped
AssigneeNippon Thompson Co., Ltd.
InventorSeiji Takei
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drive apparatus and a XY drive apparatus on which it is equipped that accomplishes highly accurate driving and positioning of a driven object by absorbing deflection of a nut in the radial direction while employing a simple construction. Deflection of a nut is absorbed by deflection of flexible portions as a result of said nut being supported by an intermediate member having said flexible portions able to deflect in a radial direction perpendicular to the shaft center of a feed screw.
Claims7
A drive apparatus containing:
- a feed screw;
- and, a nut that screws onto the above-mentioned feed screw and is coupled to a driven object;
- wherein, an intermediate member is provided that is attached to said driven object and supports the above-mentioned nut so as to allow movement of said nut within a plane roughly perpendicular to the shaft center of the above-mentioned feed screw, and the above-mentioned intermediate member is composed of a base portion that is mounted on the above-mentioned drive object, a moving portion that is attached to the above-mentioned nut, and flexible portions able to be deflected that integrate the above-mentioned base portion and the above-mentioned moving portion within the above-mentioned plane.
An XY drive apparatus having a pair of tables arranged to be mutually intersecting and able to move by one of the tables supporting the other, with each of the above-mentioned tables containing a feed screw and a nut that screws onto the above-mentioned feed screw and is coupled to a driven object;
- wherein, an intermediate member is provided that is attached to said driven object and supports the above-mentioned nut so as to allow movement of said nut within a plane roughly perpendicular to the shaft center of the above-mentioned feed screw, and the above-mentioned intermediate member is composed of a base portion that is mounted on the above-mentioned driven object, a moving portion that is attached to the above-mentioned nut, and flexible portions able to be deflected that integrate the above-mentioned base portion and the above-mentioned moving portion within the above-mentioned plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.