Patent ID: 7344350

Claim:
A transporting apparatus which transports a transported object, comprising: air-supplying support means for supplying purified air toward a lower surface of the transported object to contactlessly support the transported object in a substantially horizontal orientation; and drive force application means provided only on one side of the transporting apparatus with respect to a lateral width direction that is perpendicular to a transporting direction for applying a drive force in the transporting direction to the transported object that is supported by the air-supplying support means, the driving force application means is adapted to apply driving force to the lower surface in one lateral end region of the transported object and has a plurality of rollers each of which is configured to rotate about an axis that extends substantially horizontal, the rollers being provided over the entire length of the transporting apparatus such that each transported object is contacted by the rollers at a plurality of locations at all times; a plurality of stop members spaced apart in the transport direction and configured to stop the transported object from moving in the lateral width direction by contacting the one lateral end of the transported object, the stop members being provided over an entire length of the transporting apparatus such that each transported object is contacted by the stop members at a plurality of locations at all times so that the stop members cooperate with the rollers to transport the transported object at all times; wherein the air-supplying support means includes a first fan provided on a right hand side region with respect to the transporting direction and a second fan provided on a left hand side region, and wherein one of the first fan and the second fan is operated with a greater rotation rate than the other such that the transported object is supported in an inclined orientation, and wherein an air supply portion of the air-supplying support means, viewed in the transporting direction, is inclined such that one lateral side of the air supply portion closer to the one side of the transporting apparatus is progressively lower than the opposite lateral side thereof, the air supply portion including the first fan and the second fan.