Vibratory spiral conveyor

Abstract

A vibratory conveyor for transporting an object includes a spiral deck enclosed in a housing having passageways for allowing air flow between adjacent deck tier segments. In addition, the conveyor may include two concentric spiral decks operably coupled to one another, wherein a vibratory force is capable of simultaneously advancing objects both up the first spiral deck and down the second spiral deck.

1 . A vibratory spiral conveyor for transporting an object, the conveyor comprising: 
 a spiral deck defining a conveying surface for supporting the object, the spiral deck including a plurality of tier segments;    an exciter mass assembly including a vibration generator coupled to the deck for generating a vibratory force, wherein the vibratory force advances the object along the deck;    a housing adapted to enclose the spiral deck, wherein an interior of the housing defines a conveyor chamber;    an inlet air plenum in air flow communication with the conveyor chamber;    air flow passages communicating between adjacent deck tier segments;    a source of air coupled to the inlet air plenum, wherein air from the inlet air plenum flows into the conveyor chamber and passes through the air flow passages to flow across multiple deck tier segments.    
   
   
       2 . The conveyor of  claim 1 , in which the housing comprises inner and outer walls, the spiral deck includes an inner edge spaced from the housing inner wall to define an inner gap and an outer edge spaced from the housing outer wall to define an outer gap, and the air flow passages comprise the inner and outer gaps.  
   
   
       3 . The conveyor of  claim 2 , further comprising an inner guide rail assembly coupled to the spiral deck near the deck inner edge and an outer guide rail assembly coupled to the spiral deck near the deck outer edge.  
   
   
       4 . The conveyor of  claim 2 , further comprising air distribution chambers in air flow communication with the inlet air plenum, each air distribution chamber extending substantially radially between the housing inner wall and the housing outer wall and having a plurality of apertures for directing air toward the spiral deck.  
   
   
       5 . The conveyor of  claim 4 , in which the spiral deck is coupled to the air distribution chambers for support.  
   
   
       6 . The conveyor of  claim 1 , further comprising an outlet air plenum adapted to exhaust air out of the conveyor chamber.