Pneumatic conveyor and conveyor section having a curved conveyor path

A method of assembling a pneumatic conveyor comprising multiple, assembled conveyor sections, the method comprising:

• forming a conveyor section providing a curved conveyor path without any welding by
• stacking multiple plastic strips one on top of the other to form a first stack of plastic strips;
• stacking multiple plastic strips one on top of the other to form a second stack of plastic strips;
• and
• clamping the first and second stacks of plastic strips between an upper plate and a lower plate using only mechanical fasteners such that the first and second stacks form spaced-apart sidewalls of a plenum extending along the conveyor path for delivering pressurized air to apertures extending through the upper plate, the apertures arranged and configured for directing the pressurized air for moving an article along the top plate in a conveying direction;
• and
• connecting the conveyor section to an adjacent conveyor section.

In a pneumatic conveyor comprising multiple, assembled conveyor sections, a conveyor section with a plenum through which pressurized air is delivered, the conveyor section comprising:

• a first side plate including a series of apertures extending therethrough for delivering pressurized air from the plenum to an outer surface of the side plate, the apertures being arranged and configured to direct the pressurized air to move an article along the side plate in a conveying direction;
• a second side plate opposite the first side plate and spaced-apart therefrom;
• a first stack of aligned, individual strips clamped together between the first and second side plates to define a top wall of the plenum;
• and
• a second stack of aligned, individual strips clamped together between the first and second side plates to define a bottom wall of the plenum.