Bottle conveyor

Claim 1

An air conveyor for articles such as containers and the like having a generally symetrical continuous exterior wall surface with a predetermined dimension between laterally opposed wall portions of said articles comprising: a deck plate with a plurality of openings therein for issuing air jets to move articles along the conveyor, means for supplying pressurized air through the deck plate openings, said openings extending in a row along the conveyor surface, a pair of imperforate upstanding wall members extending longitudinally of the conveyor in confronting relation to each other and being located on opposite sides of the row of openings, said side wall members being spaced apart a distance greater than the predetermined lateral dimension of said articles, each of said side wall members having first guide surfaces being disposed along the upper inner marginal edge thereof to define cooperating guide surfaces spaced apart a distance less than the predetermined lateral dimension of said articles thereby to guide said articles by engaging spaced longitudinally extending portions of each article wall surface, whereby said articles cooperate with the first guide surfaces to trap and conserve conveying air between the articles and the deck surface, and a second pair of spaced guide members extending longitudinally of the conveying surface for supporting the articles above the deck plate surface, said second guide surfaces being generally parallel to each other and being spaced apart a distance less than the predetermined lateral dimension of said articles.