Patent ID: 7242537

Claim:
A holding and positioning apparatus for an optical element, comprising: a mounting ring configured for supporting an optical element comprising an optical axis; and at least one manipulator unit supporting the mounting ring, the at least one manipulator unit comprising a linear actuating element, a manipulator head, a movable manipulator part and a manipulator foot; and the manipulator head being connected to the movable manipulator part via a first solid body joint, and the movable manipulator part being connected to the manipulator foot via an actuator and a second solid body joint, wherein said actuator is connected to the manipulator foot via a third solid body joint, wherein the linear actuating element is coupled to the manipulator foot and the actuator, wherein the second solid body joint is provided in a laterally offset arrangement relative to the third solid body joint which allows the second solid body joint to move in a direction along the optical axis when the actuator is tilted, and wherein the first solid body joint is movable into a tilt-direction which is different from the optical axis.