Patent ID: 7360322

Claim:
A non-contacting conveyance equipment comprising: a body having an end face that opposes an object being conveyed, and at least one concave opening formed in the end face and surrounded by a cylindrical inner side wall; at least one fluid passageway having at least one spout to introduce fluid into an inner space of the concave opening in one circumferential direction of the cylindrical inner sidewall so as to cause a swirl of fluid within the concave opening, the at least one spout being formed on the cylindrical inner sidewall; a centering guide; and a centering mechanism provided at the body to adjust the centering guide to cause the centering guide to control a lateral movement of the object, wherein the centering mechanism comprises: a rotatable disk; and at least one arm linking the centering guide to the rotatable disk such that rotation of the rotatable disk changes a radial distance of the centering guide from the center of the non-contacting conveyance equipment.