VACUUM HOLD DOWN CONVEYOR SYSTEM WITH REDUCED NET DOWNWARD FORCE ON A BELT

摘要

A vacuum hold down conveyor system (10) employing a vacuum table (62) with a plurality of suction grooves (68) and relief grooves (78) extending parallel to a direction of travel. A vacuum generator (74) is fluidly connected to the suction grooves (68) to create a sub-ambient pressure in the suction grooves (68). A belt (22) is translatable relative to the vacuum table (62) to simultaneously occlude the suction (68) and the relief grooves (78). The relief grooves (78) are exposed to a pressure greater than the suction grooves (68) to thereby reduce the net downward force on the belt (22) as it translates across the vacuum table (62).