Patent ID: 8248582

Claim:
A stage apparatus, comprising: a plurality of stages movable across a plurality of areas, a plurality of lines including pipe or wiring lines configured to be connected to each of the plurality of stages, a plurality of movable bodies which are provided in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of stages and are movable across the plurality of areas holding the lines connected to the plurality of stages, a driving unit which drives the plurality of movable bodies, and a controller which controls the driving by the driving unit, wherein the controller controls the driving unit with the movable body moving in synch with movement of the stage during inter-area movement in which the stage moves across two of the plurality of areas, and stops the driving of the movable body by the driving unit or controls the driving unit with the movable body remaining at a specific target position during intra-area movement in which a process is performed on the stage while the stage moves within one of the plurality of areas.