Simplimatic Engineering Company

Paul W Smith

Brian K Hilbish

Alan J Meade

An air conveyor for articles having outwardly extending flanges. The air conveyor includes a plenum chamber having a base portion, walls extending from said base portion to form a conveying channel, flange guides mounted to said walls for supporting articles beneath their flanges, and apertures in the walls beneath the flange guides for directing air from the plenum chamber toward the articles beneath the flanges. A reduced friction flange guide which may be used with the air conveyor includes flange guides angled with respect to the flanges. A relatively quickly and easily adjustable article guide which may be used with the conveyor includes a pair of article guides movable between a first position for guiding articles having a first size and shape, and a second position.

Bottle air conveyor with adjustable guides

A conveyor is provided for producing a single file from a mass of articles comprising a conveyor surface, an article engager for engaging articles in the mass and transporting a single file of them off of the conveyor surface, and a guide rail mounted along the conveyor surface, the guide rail including a shifting portion for shifting articles toward the article engager, and a pressure relieving portion for relieving some of a back pressure on articles.

Single file conveyor system

An air conveyor is provided for articles having outwardly extending flanges comprising a plenum chamber having a base portion, walls extending from said base portion to form a conveying channel, flange guides mounted to said walls for supporting articles beneath their flanges, and apertures in the walls beneath the flange guides for directing air from the plenum chamber toward the articles beneath the flanges. A reduced friction flange guide which may be used with the air conveyor is also provided and comprises flange guides angled with respect to the flanges.

Bottle air conveyor

An air conveyor is provided comprising a plenum chamber including a deck plate, a plurality of first apertures in the deck plate for directing air from the plenum chamber to convey articles, and a plurality of protuberances extending from the deck plate for receiving bottoms of the articles. The protuberances preferably protrude from the deck plate far enough to support the articles above accumulated slide resistance increasing material. The air conveyor deck plate preferably also includes a plurality of second apertures for directing air from the plenum chamber to aid in lifting the articles.

Air conveyor deck having protuberances

A conveyor is provided for producing a single file from a mass of articles comprising a conveyor surface, an article engager for engaging articles in the mass and transporting a single file of them off of the conveyor surface, and a guide rail mounted along the conveyor surface, the guide rail including a shifting portion for creating an accumulation of articles, a gap filling portion for filling gaps in the single file of articles, and a pressure relieving portion for relieving some of a back pressure on articles. The conveyor preferably also includes a fourth guide rail portion for spacing the first portion upstream from the third portion, or an oscillator for jostling articles, or a roller for rotating articles.

A device and method are provided for transferring articles to and from an air conveyor. The device comprises a first plenum chamber, a second plenum chamber, and an air supply. The first plenum chamber has a transfer surface with a first plurality of perforations for directing air toward the air conveyor. The second plenum chamber is located at least above a portion of the air conveyor and has a plate with a second plurality of perforations for directing air away from the air conveyor. The air supply supplies air to the first plenum chamber to keep articles going down the air conveyor and to feed articles onto the air conveyor, and supplies air to the second plenum chamber to transfer articles off of the air conveyor.

Article transfer device and method for air conveyors

An improved guide railing assembly for a conveyor system is provided comprising an elongated railing for providing lateral support to articles being conveyed along a path defined by the conveyor, the railing having a substantially half-moon shaped cross-section. A generally U-shaped clamp is also provided having a pair of gripping fingers corresponding to the legs of the U, the fingers being curved toward each other in a shape substantially corresponding to the curvature of the curved surface. The fingers are spaced apart a sufficient distance to receive therebetween at least the railing, the bottom portion of the U being generally concave and forming an aperture therethrough for receiving a fastener for fastening said clamp to a support member associated with the conveyor, the clamp being spring-like to respond to a tightening of the fastener by tending to flatten the bottom of the U and force the fingers towards each other in a gripping fashion on the railing therein, whereby the railing can be reliably retained by the clamp in a preselected position relative to the conveyor path. A plastic cover is also provided for the elongated railing.

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Forest, VA, United States of America

Paul W Smith