Stage assembly including a stage having increased vertical stroke
First Claim
1. A stage assembly for positioning a device, the stage assembly comprising:
- a first stage;
a second stage that supports the device, the second stage being supported by the first stage; and
a mover assembly that moves the second stage relative to the first stage, the mover assembly including a support mover and a first mover component that is coupled to the support mover, the support mover moving the first mover component to change a distance between the first mover component and one of the stages.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A stage assembly (220) includes a stage base (202) having a guide surface (203), a first stage (206), a second stage (208), and a first mover subassembly (216) including a first mover (231) and a second mover (232) that are arranged in series. The stage base (202) supports the first stage (206), which moves relative to the stage base (202). The movers (231, 232) cooperate to move the second stage (208) relative to the first stage (206). The movers (231, 232) can include one or more attraction-only type actuators. The movers (231, 232) cooperate to move the second stage (208) along an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the guide surface (203). The stage assembly (220) can also include a second mover subassembly (216) that cooperates with the first mover subassembly (216) to move the second stage (208) with two or more degrees of freedom relative to the first stage (206). Further, the first mover (231) can directly move a portion of the second mover (232).
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Citations
84 Claims
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1. A stage assembly for positioning a device, the stage assembly comprising:
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a first stage;
a second stage that supports the device, the second stage being supported by the first stage; and
a mover assembly that moves the second stage relative to the first stage, the mover assembly including a support mover and a first mover component that is coupled to the support mover, the support mover moving the first mover component to change a distance between the first mover component and one of the stages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A stage assembly for positioning a device, the stage assembly comprising:
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a stage base having a guide surface;
a first stage that is supported by the stage base, the first stage moving relative to the guide surface;
a second stage that supports the device;
a first mover subassembly including a first mover and a second mover that are arranged in series, the movers cooperating to move the second stage relative to the first stage. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A stage assembly for positioning a device, the stage assembly comprising:
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a stage base having a guide surface;
a device table that is supported by the stage base, the device table supporting the device; and
a first mover subassembly including a first mover and a second mover that are positioned in series, the movers cooperating to move the device table along an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the guide surface. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method for positioning a device, the method comprising the steps of:
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supporting a first stage with a stage base having a guide surface;
moving the first stage relative to the guide surface;
supporting the device with a second stage; and
moving the second stage relative to the first stage with a first mover and a second mover that are arranged in series. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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Specification