Vacuum belt-type conveyor

Claim 1

AN ARTICLE CONVEYOR COMPRISING AN ELONGATE FRAME, AN ENDLESS TRAVELING BELT ASSEMBLY WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY BEING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF RELATIVELY NARROW, PARALLEL SECTIONS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION AND OPERATING AS AN INTEGRAL UNIT, SPACED END SUPPORTS ON SAID FRAME FOR CARRYING SAID BELT ASSEMBLY WITH THE LOWER FACE OF THE LOWER RUN OF SAID BELT ASSEMBLY FORMING AN ARTICLE CARRYING SURFACE, MEANS FORMING A VACUUM CHAMBER ABOVE THE LOWER RUN OF SAID BELT ASSEMBLY AND HAVING A BOTTOM OPENING, SAID BELT ASSEMBLY BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED BENEATH SAID VACUUM CHAMBER SO THAT SECTIONS THEREOF NORMALLY FORM AN IMPERFORATE CLOSURE OF SAID BOTTOM OPENING WITH ONE OF SAID SECTIONS BEING ADAPTED TO BE SHIFTED VERTICALLY THEREBY TO EXPOSE OPENINGS BETWEEN IT AND THE ADJOINING BELT SECTIONS WHICH COMMUNICATE WITH THE OPENINGS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE VACUUM CHAMBER FROMING MEANS, A ROLLER ASSEMBLY SUPPORT MOUNTED IN SAID VACUUM CHAMBER, A PLURALITY OF ROLLER ASSEMBLIES, EACH OF SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLIES BEING MOUNTED ON AN ECCENTRIC ON SAID SUPPORT SO THAT THEY NORMALLY BEAR BY GRAVITY UPON THE UPPERMOST FACE OF THE BELT ASSEMBLY AND HOLD THE SHIFTABLE SECTION OF THE BELT ASSEMBLY AGAINST SHIFTING MOVEMENT, SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLIES BEING YIELDABLE VERTICALLY DUE TO THEIR ECCENTRIC MOUNTING TO PERMIT THE SHIFTING OF THE BELT SECTION SO AS TO SUPPLY SUCTION TO ARTICLES AS THEY ARE FED TO THE BOTTOM SURFACES OF SAID CONVEYOR, AND MEANS MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLIES TO HOLD SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLIES SO AS TO PREVENT VERTICAL MOVEMENT OF EACH OF SAID ROLLER ASSEMBLIES UNTIL THE NEXT PRECEDING ROLLER ASSEMBLY MOVES UPWARDLY, SAID HOLDING MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE ROLLERS IN THE DIRECTION OF ADVANCE OF THE BELT ASSEMBLY AND MEANS FOR OPERATING SAID HOLIDNG MEANS TO RELEASE PREDETERMINED ROLLER ASSEMBLIES IN SEQUENCE BY MOVEMENT OF THE ARTICLES AS THEY ARE ADVANCED BY SAID BELT ASSEMBLY.