Abstract: This invention is a vacuum belt conveyor designed to operate inverted and move articles suspended from its lower side rather than laying on top. This is achieved by the use of a matching toothed drive roller and toothed belt having its teeth facing outward and pierced between strategic teeth with vacuum cups secured through the holes. Vacuum is applied when needed to sections of a vacuum rail spring loaded against the smooth inner surface of the belt, the rail having a machined vacuum groove in horizontal alignment with the holes in the belt to provide vacuum to the cups. The belt and suspended articles secured to it by suction are held to the main frame by two retaining rails having clearance allowing passage of the cups.

Abstract: This invention is a vacuum belt conveyor designed to operate inverted and move articles suspended from its lower side rather than laying on top. This is achieved by the use of a matching toothed drive roller and toothed belt having its teeth facing outward and pierced between strategic teeth with vacuum cups secured through the holes. Vacuum is applied when needed to sections of a vacuum rail spring loaded against the smooth inner surface of the belt, the rail having a machined vacuum groove in horizontal alignment with the holes in the belt to provide vacuum to the cups. The belt and suspended articles secured to it by suction are held to the main frame by two retaining rails having clearance allowing passage of the cups.

Abstract: A vacuum conveyor has a toothed belt with opposed sets of teeth along the sides of the belt inner surface; the belt is driven by a synchronous motor giving very precise delivery, the motor driving a toothed roll located in the conveyor center section within the loop of the belt. The oncoming and offgoing belt guidance rolls have replaceable bearing inserts; two rolls control the wrap and load transfer between the belt and the driving roll; the top reach of the perforated belt slides on plastic vacuum blocks, having through air passages in corresponding patterned relation at the surfaces of the blocks, bounded by air-sealing shoulder portions of the blocks.

Abstract: A conveyor vacuum system for transporting objects while applying vacuum to their undersides has a series of self-contained suction transfer blocks, each with a sensor low pressure air jet for detecting the presence of an article upon the conveyor belt, which sensor directly controls the application of high vacuum from an air driven ejector through the conveyor belt, to draw-down and secure the overlying object to the belt. A position encoder driven off the conveyor end pulley gives accurate stop/start operation of the conveyor (including reversal) for multiple work stations. Side by side conveyors can be clutch-driven from a common drive shaft. Return air has oily contaminants removed. The transfer blocks may also be “blown” to help support a load on the belt.