Patent 9464702 was granted and assigned to Hirata on October, 2016 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A slider apparatus of the invention includes a ball screw, first and second support members which respectively support the two end portions of the ball screw, a slider which includes a driving means for rotating a ball nut threadably engaging with the ball screw while rotatably holding the ball nut, and is disposed to be movable in the axial direction of the ball screw, first and second intermediate support members which are disposed to sandwich the slider, and each of which includes a support hole through which the ball screw passes and is movable in the axial direction of the ball screw, and a connecting member which engages with the first and second intermediate support members, and allows free movement of the first and second intermediate support members within the range of the full length of the connecting member.