Angled product transfer conveyor
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorScott Alan Ripley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vacuum conveyor is provided comprising an endless perforated belt which extends over a first vacuum plate and a second vacuum plate, which vacuum plates may be maintained at different air pressures and may be situated at different angles relative to horizontal. An apparatus for cutting and transporting sheet materials is provided comprising the vacuum conveyor according to the present invention and a rotary die cutter situated such that an emerging portion of a cut workpiece can become held by the vacuum conveyor before it is fully separated, enabling pattern-cut sheet materials to be cut and transported to a destination such as a laminating nip with accurate registration.
Claims22
A vacuum conveyor for transporting sheet materials comprising an endless perforated belt, wherein said perforated belt extends over a first vacuum plate situated at a first angle relative to horizontal having first longitudinal openings, and wherein said perforated belt extends over a second vacuum plate having situated at a second angle relative to horizontal which is not equal to said first angle second longitudinal openings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.