The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 2013
Filed:
Apr. 16, 2009
Scott Coakley, Belmont, CA (US);
Michael B. Binnard, Belmont, CA (US);
Scott Coakley, Belmont, CA (US);
Michael B. Binnard, Belmont, CA (US);
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A mover () moving a stage () along a first axis, along a second axis and along a third axis includes a magnetic component (), a conductor component (), and a control system (). The magnetic component () includes a plurality of magnets (D) that are surrounded by a magnetic field. The conductor component () is positioned near the magnetic component () in the magnetic field. Further, the conductor component () interacts with the magnetic component () when current is directed to the conductor component () to generate a controllable force along the first axis, a controllable force along the second axis, and a controllable force along the third axis. The conductor component () can include a split coil design, having a first conductor array (A) and a second conductor array (B) that is positioned substantially adjacent to the first conductor array (A). The conductor component () and the magnetic component () can be displaced relative to each other along the third axis. The control system () independently directs current to each of the conductor arrays (A,B) to generate a controllable force along the first axis, along the second axis, and along the third axis. With this design, the same mover can be used to move the stage along three degrees of freedom ('DOF').