Damperless controlled speed air conveyor

Abstract

A damperless, controlled speed, coverless, isometric air conveyor and method for conveying lightweight containers en masse or individually at a controlled speed includes a first set of louvers extending through a conveyor surface from a common plenum at an incline to a conveying surface so that the air passing through the louvers has a downstream force vector of a first magnitude. A second set of louvers extend through the conveyor surface from the common plenum at an incline to the conveyor surface so that the air passing through the louvers has an upstream force vector of a second magnitude which is less than the first magnitude thereby creating a vector force differential in the downstream direction at any given location under the bottom of each container to cause movement of the containers in the downstream direction. An outboard row of louvers along each edge of the conveying surface may be angled in the inboard direction to urge the mass of containers toward the center of the conveying surface into a tight pack and to provide a downstream force to assist in moving the mass in the downstream direction and to cause a cross flow of air creating an air barrier through which a single or sparse flow of containers must move, thereby limiting the speed of the single or sparse containers. The inboard cross flow of air also creates low pressure at the trailing edge of the single or sparse containers to maintain them in an upright position.