Patent ID: 7299917

Claim:
An air-cushion belt conveyor comprising: troughs; an air supply device arranged to supply air to a region above trough to form an air cushion above the trough; a belt caused to float above the troughs on the air cushion and connectable to a drive source to convey the belt along a longitudinal direction of the troughs; first and second groups of support members provided outside of the troughs to support the belt from below, wherein the first group of support members is spaced apart from the second group of support members along a longitudinal direction of the belt, each of the first and second groups of support members comprises a plurality of support elements arranged in a width direction of the belt, adjacent support members in the first group defining first gaps between support elements and adjacent support members in the second group defining second gaps between support elements, wherein the first and second groups are configured such that the first and second gaps are not aligned with one another relative to the longitudinal direction of the belt.