Connected Roller Retainer Structure for Low-Viscosity Lubricant Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
High viscosity lubricant in stage devices for charged-particle-beam writing apparatuses causes minute vibrations, reducing writing accuracy, while low-viscosity lubricants like vacuum oil are difficult to retain, leading to unintended gaps between guide rails and rollers, affecting stage orientation and rigidity.
Innovation Solution
A roller retainer connected body is formed by connecting multiple roller retainers, each accommodating a roller, with a base part, first and second blocks, and connectors, allowing rollers to rotate on different axes, and featuring recesses and grooves for lubricant retention, which reduces oil supply frequency and maintains proper contact with guide rails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If high viscosity lubricant is used, then the lubricant can stay between guide rail and rollers for long time, but minute vibration occurs when rollers go over the lubricant, reducing writing accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The roller gauge is designed with localized oil retention pockets at specific positions where lubricant is most needed, rather than uniformly increasing the entire structure. This allows low-viscosity lubricant to be retained effectively without causing vibrations across the entire roller gauge length.
Solution Approach 2:
The roller gauge is segmented into multiple sections with individual oil retention pockets distributed along its length. This segmentation allows the lubricant to be supplied at multiple discrete locations, maintaining effectiveness without requiring high viscosity that would cause vibrations.
2Measurement precision
If low viscosity lubricant is used, then writing accuracy is improved, but the lubricant is difficult to retain, leading to high oil supply frequency
Solution Approach 1:
Oil retention pockets are pre-formed in the roller gauge structure before operation. These pockets preliminarily store the low-viscosity lubricant, ensuring it remains available at the contact points between rollers and guide rail without requiring frequent external replenishment.
3Productivity
If oil retention pocket is provided in roller gauge, then oil supply frequency is reduced, but the roller gauge is increased in cross-sectional area and rigidity, hindering proper contact between guide rail and roller
Solution Approach 1:
The roller gauge incorporates localized oil retention pockets with minimal cross-sectional addition. The pockets are formed as recesses or cavities within the existing structure rather than adding external volume, maintaining the thin profile and flexibility needed for proper roller-to-guide-rail contact.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces oil supply frequency, maintains accurate contact between guide rails and rollers, stabilizes the stage's orientation and rigidity, and prevents unintended wear, thereby enhancing the precision and reliability of the stage device.
Implementation Method 1
uses lubricant for the purpose of reducing wear of these components
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a roller-retainer connected body is formed by connecting a plurality of roller retainers each accommodating a roller to one another. Each roller retainer includes a base part, a first block provided at one end of the base part, and a second block provided at the other end of the base part. Each roller retainer accommodates a roller in a roller accommodating part between the first block and the second block, and has a connector provided on each of an outer end face of the first block and an outer end face of the second block. The connectors of the plurality of roller retainers are connected to each other such that the rollers accommodated in the roller accommodating parts of the plurality of roller retainers rotate on different axes including rotation around a connecting axis.