Patent ID: 7185590

Claim:
A six-degree-of freedom magnetic levitation positioning system, comprising: a levitated platform, including three arms extending radially outwardly from a center of the levitated platform; six impelling coils disposed adjacent to the platform; and six permanent magnets attached to the platform such that each of the permanent magnets is adjacent to and magnetically aligned with a respective one of the impelling coils, wherein the impelling coils and permanent magnets are arranged into six sets in the system, three of the sets are maglev sets and another three of the sets are horizontal impelling sets, wherein one impelling set is positioned respectively at an end of every arm away from the platform, and every impelling set comprises a permanent magnet and one impelling coil, and one maglev set is located below every arm of the levitated platform at a point between the platform and the corresponding impelling set, and the impelling coils of the maglev sets are located slightly above the permanent magnets of the maglev sets, magnetic axes of the impelling coils of the maglev sets are generally vertically aligned, and magnetic axes of the impelling coils of the impelling sets are generally horizontally aligned; and whereby translation and rotations about a vertical axis of the platform are actuated by the three horizontal impelling sets.