Air conveyor with tunnel guide

Claim 2

An air conveyor for vertically lifting articles having a generally uniform exterior configuration comprising a plenum chamber, means for supplying pressurized air to the plenum chamber, a deck plate covering said plenum chamber and having a plurality of slots therein configured to issue pressurized air from the plenum in the form of directional air jets having a predominant flow component along the surface of the deck plate, an imperforate wall member mounted in spaced relation to the deck plate and being in confronting relation to the deck plate slots, said wall member extending along said deck plate and together with said deck plate defining a conveying zone to trap and conserve the conveying air, said wall member having an interior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the articles conveyed and defining a small air space between the interior surface of said wall member and each of said articles, said wall member having at least one edge extending substantially the full length of the wall member, air gap means extending substantially the full length of said wall member along said edge providing for limited escape of air from within the conveying zone to prevent the buildup of air back pressure within said zone, means supporting said air conveyor in a direction having a substantial vertical component for moving articles from a lower to a higher elevation, and said imperforate wall member and said deck plate together provide a cross-section substantially similar to the cross-section of the articles being conveyed.

Claim 3

An conveyor as defined in claim 1 which further includes an inlet conveyor and a take-off conveyor.

Claim 4

An air conveyor as defined in claim 1 which has its axis in the longitudinal direction arranged vertically.

Claim 5

An air conveyor as defined in claim 1 in which the deck plate slots are arranged in a plurality of longitudinally extending rows.

Claim 6

An air conveyor as defined in claim 1 in which said air gap means is defined by a space between the deck plate and at least one marginal edge of said wall member.

Claim 7

An air conveyor for vertically lifting articles having a similar exterior configuration comprising a plenum chamber, means for supplying pressurized air to the plenum chamber, a deck plate covering said plenum chamber and having a plurality of slots therein configured to issue pressurized air from the plenum in the form of directional air jets having a predominant flow component along the surface of the deck plate, an imperforate wall member mounted in spaced relation to the deck plate and being in confronting relation to the deck plate slots, said wall member extending along said deck plate and together with said deck plate defining a conveying zone to trap and conserve the conveying air, said wall member having an interior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the articles conveyed and defining a small air space between the interior surface of said wall member and each of said articles, said wall member having two edges extending substantially the full length of the wall member, air gap means extending substantially the full length of said wall member along said edges providing for limited escape of air from within the conveying zone to prevent the buildup of air back pressure within said zone, means supporting said air conveyor in a direction having a substantial vertical component for moving articles from a lower to a higher elevation, and said imperforate wall member and said deck plate together provide a cross-section substantially similar to the cross-section of the articles being conveyed.

Claim 8

An air conveyor for vertically lifting articles having a similar exterior configuration comprising a plenum chamber, means for supplying pressurized air to the plenum chamber, a deck plate covering said plenum chamber and having a plurality of slots therein configured to issue pressurized air from the plenum in the form of directional air jets having a predominant flow component along the surface of the deck plate, an imperforate wall member mounted in spaced relation to the deck plate and being in confronting relation to the deck plate slots, said wall member extending along said deck plate and together with said deck plate defining a conveying zone to trap and conserve the conveying air, said wall member having an interior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the articles conveyed and defining a small air space between the interior surface of said wall member and each of said articles, said wall member having two edges extending substantially the full length of the wall member, air gap means extending substantially the full length of said wall member along said edges providing for limited escape of air from within the conveying zone to prevent the buildup of air back pressure within said zone, means supporting said air conveyor in a direction having a substantial vertical component for moving articles from a lower to a higher elevation, and said imperforate wall member and said deck plate together provide a cross-section substantially similar to the cross-section of the articles being conveyed.

Claim 9

An air conveyor for vertically lifting articles having a generally uniform exterior configuration comprising a plenum chamber, means for supplying pressurized air to the plenum chamber, a deck plate covering said plenum chamber and having a plurality of slots therein configured to issue pressurized air from the plenum in the form of directional air jets having a predominant flow component along the surface of the deck plate, a U-shaped imperforate wall member mounted in spaced relation to the deck plate and being in confronting relation to the deck plate slots, said wall member extending along said deck plate and together with said deck plate defining a conveying zone to trap and conserve the conveying air, said wall member having an interior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the articles conveyed and defining a small air space between the interior surface of said wall member and each of said articles, said wall member having two marginal edges adjacent the deck plate extending substantially the full length of the wall member, air gap means extending substantially the full length of said wall member along each of said marginal edges providing for limited escape of air from within the conveying zone to prevent the buildup of air back pressure within said zone, means supporting said air conveyor in a direction having a substantial vertical component for moving articles from a lower to a higher elevation, and said imperforate wall member and said deck plate together provide a cross-section substantially similar to the cross-section of the articles being conveyed.

Claim 10

An air conveyor for vertically lifting articles having a generally uniform exterior configuration comprising a plenum chamber, means for supplying pressurized air to the plenum chamber, a deck plate covering said plenum chamber and having a plurality of slots therein configured to issue pressurized air from the plenum in the form of directional air jets having a predominant flow component along the surface of the deck plate, a U-shaped imperforate wall member mounted in spaced relation to the deck plate and being in confronting relation to the deck plate slots, said wall member extending along said deck plate and together with said deck plate defining a conveying zone to trap and conserve the conveying air, said wall member having an interior surface conforming to the exterior surface of the articles conveyed and defining a small air space between the interior surface of said wall member and each of said articles, said wall member having two marginal edges adjacent the deck plate extending substantially the full length of the wall member, air gap means extending substantially the full length of said wall member along each of said marginal edges providing for limited escape of air from within the conveying zone to prevent the buildup of air back pressure within said zone, means supporting said air conveyor in a direction having a substantial vertical component for moving articles from a lower to a higher elevation, and said imperforate wall member and said deck plate together provide a cross-section substantially similar to the cross-section of the articles being conveyed.

Claim 11

An air conveyor as defined in claim 7 in which the U-shaped wall member defines a conveying zone having a substantially rectangular transverse cross-section.

Claim 12

An air conveyor as defined in claim 7 in which said wall member is mounted on the deck plate by means of brackets which space the wall member from the deck plate surface thereby to define said air gap means.