Many conveyor belts are supported in a trough-shaped manner. Such belts have a generally horizontal center section and a pair of inclined side sections that extend generally outwardly and upwardly from the center section. Trough-shaped conveyor belts are typically supported by a series of idler rollers mounted on support frames spaced beneath the underside of the belt. The support frames may have one or more idler rollers that engage the underside of the belt and provide a surface on which the belt can ride as it conveys materials or loads. During maintenance, the frames and rollers are typically accessed by reaching underneath the belt from the sides of the conveyor belt.
The maintenance of rollers and support frames is often made difficult when two or more adjacent support frames are spaced close together or the support frame is adjacent to another structure. Support frames are frequently spaced at close intervals. When materials are loaded on to a conveyor belt, the belt may deflect in response to the impact of materials being dropped on the belt. To minimize deflection, support frames are placed at close spacings beneath the conveyor belt. In some cases, the support frames are spaced on 8 to 12 inch centers. Removal of a conventional support frame typically requires tilting the frame to one side so that the taller side sections of the frame, clear the underside of the belt at its lowest point. This often requires tilting the frame toward an adjacent frame. The close proximity of adjacent support frames or other structures often limit how much a frame may be tilted, making removal of the rollers and support frame difficult or impossible. If space for tilting the frame is limited, the servicing of a damaged frame or roller may require the disconnection and removal of several support frames located in the vicinity of the damaged frame or roller.
The servicing of idler support frames and rollers may also be hampered where one side of the conveyor belt is not accessible because of some other structure. For example, the conveyor belt assembly may be positioned against or near a wall that limits or prevents access to anchor bolts at the bottom of the support frames on the side of the belt adjacent to the wall. Where modular support frames are used, the wall may prevent access to the side of the frame that is positioned closest to the wall. Accordingly, there is a need for a conveyor belt support assembly that can be installed and easily removed from one side of the conveyor belt, and without the need to disturb adjacent walls or the mounting structure of base supporting the belt assembly.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds