Patent ID: 7325973

Claim:
A slide bearing system having reduced positioning and alignment tolerances, comprising: a first subset of at least one linear bearing; a second subset of at least one linear bearing; a first guide shaft structure having at least one linear shaft and having a usable length; and a second guide shaft structure having at least one linear shaft and having a usable length, wherein the linear bearings of the first and second subsets are configured to extend at least partially around and to slide along the linear shafts of the first and second guide shaft structures; a first relatively rigid component, with two of: the first subset of at least one linear bearing, the second subset of at least one linear bearing, the first linear shaft structure, and the second linear shaft structure, attached to the first relatively rigid component at a first separation distance and at a first orientation relative to each other; a second adjustable component, with the remaining two of: the first subset of at least one linear bearing, the second subset of at least one linear bearing, the first linear shaft structure, and the second linear shaft structure, attached to the second adjustable component at a second separation distance, the second separation distance being generally equal to the first separation distance over the usable length, and at a second orientation to each other that generally corresponds to the first orientation over the usable length; wherein, as the first relatively rigid component and second adjustable component move relative to each other along the usable length, at least a portion of the second adjustable component moves relative to the first relatively rigid component so that at least one of the second separation distance and the second orientation effectively matches the corresponding ones of the first separation distance and the first orientation.