Supporting apparatus using magnetic power
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorKazuya Ono
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A supporting apparatus for supporting a table having N degrees of freedom, where N is an integer greater than one. The apparatus includes a stage and a leaf spring mounted on the stage. The spring initially contacts the table at a contact point and has a coefficient of elasticity greater in the horizontal direction and smaller in the vertical direction. The spring also has a characteristic of positive rigidity. A pair of permanent magnets are mounted in an area between the stage and table in a vertical direction for counterbalancing the characteristic of positive rigidity of the leaf spring.
Claims46
A supporting apparatus for supporting a table having N degrees of freedom, where N is an integer greater than one, said apparatus comprising:
- a stage;
- a leaf spring mounted on said stage and initially contacting said table at a contact point, said leaf spring having a coefficient of elasticity greater in a first direction and smaller in a direction perpendicular to said first direction, and having a characteristic of positive rigidity;
- and
- a pair of permanent magnets mounted in an area between said stage and said table, in an arrangement such that magnetic poles of said permanent magnets oppose each other and are arranged in a direction perpendicular to said first direction, said pair of permanent magnets generating a force that substantially corresponds to the self weight of said table at a neutral position and counterbalancing said characteristic of positive rigidity of said leaf spring.
A supporting apparatus for supporting a table having N degrees of freedom, where N is an integer greater than one, said apparatus comprising:
- a stage arranged in a horizontal plane;
- a guide member coupled to said stage and to said table, said guide member having a coefficient of elasticity greater in the horizontal direction and smaller in the vertical direction and having a characteristic of positive rigidity;
- and
- a permanent magnet system having at least two magnets arranged such that magnetic poles of said permanent magnets oppose each other, said permanent magnet system generating a force that substantially corresponds to the self weight of said table at a neutral position and having a characteristic of negative rigidity which counterbalances said characteristic of positive rigidity of said guide member.
A supporting apparatus for supporting a table comprising:
- a stage;
- a guide member which connects said stage and said table, said guide member having a characteristic of positive rigidity in a first direction;
- a magnetic member having at least two member portions with each member portion having magnetic poles, said member portions being arranged such that said magnetic poles of said member portions oppose each other, said magnetic member generating a force that substantially corresponds to the self weight of said table at a neutral position and having a characteristic of negative rigidity for counterbalancing said characteristic of positive rigidity of said guide member.
A method of manufacturing a supporting apparatus for supporting a table, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a stage;
- providing a guide member which connects said stage and said table, said guide member having a characteristic of positive rigidity in a first direction;
- providing a magnetic member having at least two member portions with each member portion having magnetic poles, said member portions being arranged such that said magnetic poles of said member portions oppose each other, said magnetic member generating a force that substantially corresponds to the self weight of said table at a neutral position and having a characteristic of negative rigidity for counterbalancing said characteristic of positive rigidity of said guide member.
A supporting apparatus for supporting a table comprising:
- a stage;
- a leaf spring mounted at one end to the stage and at the other end to the table;
- and
- a pair of permanent magnets mounted between the stage and the table in an arrangement such that magnetic poles of said permanent magnets oppose each other,
- wherein the pair of permanent magnets and the leaf spring interact such that when the leaf spring is at a neutral position the pair of permanent magnets generate a force that substantially corresponds to a self weight of the table.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.