Pneumatically actuated beltless conveyor

A conveyor for moving objects comprising:

• a housing;
• a driven member movably mounted relative to said housing;
• a pneumatic assembly operatively connected to said driven member and mounted to said housing, said pneumatic assembly comprising at least one cylinder having at least one bi-directional piston disposed therein, wherein said pneumatic assembly acts to drive said driven member in one direction and acts to drive said driven member in a second direction opposite to said first direction;
• and
• a control valve that is operatively connected to a source of pressurized air and in fluid communication with said pneumatic assembly, wherein said control valve operates to sequentially cycle pressurized air to alternating ends of said pneumatic assembly so as to induce repeated, rectilinear movement of said driven member.

A method for moving objects comprising:

• providing a conveyor including a conveyor member and a drive system operatively connected to the conveyor member, the drive system having a driven member, a pneumatic assembly operatively connected to the driven member, and a control valve operatively connected to the pneumatic assembly;
• providing a fluid source;
• connecting the fluid source to the control valve;
• activating the control valve such that the fluid flows from the fluid source into the pneumatic assembly to drive the driven member in one direction to advance objects supported on the conveyor member;
• activating the control valve such that the fluid flows from the fluid source into the pneumatic assembly to drive the driven member in a second direction opposite to the first direction such that the conveyor member moves relative to the objects supported thereon;
• and
• placing the objects on the conveyor member and repeating said steps of activating so as to induce repeated, rectilinear movement of the conveyor member for moving the objects along the conveyor member.