Workpiece conveying apparatus

A workpiece conveying apparatus, comprising:

• a table on which sheet-form workpieces are mounted in a stacked state;
• a guide member which has an upper surface assisting a conveyance of said workpieces and which is arranged downstream of said table in a workpiece conveyance direction;
• and
• a belt drive mechanism which has a plurality of pulleys each extending in a direction orthogonal to both said workpiece conveyance direction and an up-and-down direction and an endless belt wound around said plurality of pulleys, and which is arranged above said table and said guide member so as to stride over said table and said guide member, wherein
• a first opening portion is formed on a bottom portion of said belt drive mechanism, and
• a second opening portion is formed on the upper surface of said guide member,
• the workpiece conveying apparatus further comprises a blower mechanism which generates an upward first suction force in said first opening portion and generates a downward second suction force in said second opening portion, wherein
• a magnitude of said first suction force exceeds a magnitude of said second suction force,
• the upper surface of said guide member is provided with a suppressing portion which suppresses positional displacement of the workpiece adhered to the upper surface by said second suction force, and
• said suppressing portion includes a first friction material and a second friction material which sandwich said second opening portion and each extends in said workpiece conveyance direction.