Vacuum belt conveyor

Claim 1

AN ARTICLE CONVEYOR COMPRISING AN ELONGATE, GENERALLY HORIZONTAL RAIL-LIKE FRAME, A DOWNWARDLY OPENING HOUSING MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, MEANS FORMING A BELT GUIDEWAY IN THE BOTTOM FACE OF THE HOUSING, MEANS CONNECTING THE HOUSING WITH A SOURCE OF VACUUM, A TRAVELING BELT ASSEMBLY HAVING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL BELT SECTIONS CARRIED ON LONGITUDINALLY SPACED END SUPPORTS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, SAID BELT SECTIONS HAVING THEIR LOWER RUNS IN ADJOINING RELATION IN SAID GUIDEWAY SO AS TO COVER THE BOTTOM FACE OF THE HOUSING AND PROVIDING A LOWER FACE NORMALLY TRAVELING IN A PLANE WHICH IS BOWED DOWNWARDLY ABOUT A LONGITUDIAL CENTER AXIS, SAID BELT SECTIONS BEING DEFINED BY PARALLEL LINES OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING, LONGITUDINALLY SPACED SLITS, THE BELT SECTIONS AT THE EDGES OF THE ASSEMBLY HAVING LONGITUDINALLY SPACED, TRANSVERSE RECESSES WHICH EXTEND TO A LINE OF SAID SLITS AND SLIT OPENING MEANS IN EACH OF SAID RECESSES, AND MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN THE HOUSING FOR NORMALLY PREVENTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID BELT SECTIONS OUT OF THE NORMAL PLANE OF TRAVEL ALONG SAID LOWER RUN WHEREBY TO MAINTAIN THE SLITS IN THE BELT ASSEMBLY, AND PIVOTED MEANS CONNECTED WITH EACH OF THE SLIT OPENING MEANS WHICH IS SWUNG BY ENGAGEMENT WITH AN ARTICLE RECEIVED ON THE LOWER FACE OF THE LOWER RUN OF THE BELT ASSEMBLY TO OPEN THE SLITS AS THE ARTICLE IS ADVANCED BY THE BELT ASSEMBLY.