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Claim 1

A VIBRATORY CONVEYOR COMPRISING A STATIONARY BASE MEMBER, A VIBRATORY WORK MEMBER SPACED ABOVE SAID BASE MEMBER INCLUDING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR WEB ARRANGED IN A SELECTED PLANE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO THE DESIRED PATH OF MOVEMENT OF OBJECTS TO BE CONVEYED FOR SUPPORTING THE OBJECTS ON AN UPWARDLY FACING SURFACE THEREOF AND FORMED OF SHEET MATERIAL WHICH IS RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLE ALONG SAID SELECTED PLANE AND RIGID FRAME MEMBERS JOINED TO SAID WEB FOR TRANSMITTING VIBRATIONS TO SAID WEB IN SAID SELECTED PLANE RESPONSIVE TO VIBRATORY MOTION IMPARTED TO SAID FRAME MEMBERS, A PLURALITY OF HARD ROLLER BODIES DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID WORK MEMBER AND BASE MEMBER HAVING OPPOSED, GENERALLY SPHERICAL WORKING SURFACE PORTIONS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH CONFRONTING SURFACES OF SAID BASE MEMBER AND THE WEB OF SAID WORK MEMBER FOR SUPPORTING SAID WEB MEMBER ABOVE SAID BASE MEMBER, SAID WEB MEMBER IMPARTING ROTATION TO SAID ROLLER BODIES RESPONSIVE TO VIBRATION OF THE WORK MEMBER, AND SAID WORKING SURFACE PORTIONS OF SAID ROLLER BODIES AND SAID CONFRONTING SURFACES OF SAID WEB AND BASE MEMBER BEING RELATIVELY SHAPED TO CAUSE SAID ROLLER BODIES TO EXERT HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL THRUST COMPONENTS ON SAID WEB UPON ROTATION OF SAID ROLLER BODIES, WHICH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL THRUST COMPONENTS ARE OF DIFFERENT VALUES IN DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WEB TO PROPEL OBJECTS PLACED ON SAID WEB AT DIFFERENT RATES IN DIFFERENT PORTIONS OF THE WEB.