Belt contact surface for conveyor system

A wear plate for a conveyor system, the conveyor system having an endless belt mounted in a longitudinal direction through a service line, the endless belt having an upper transport portion adapted to move a wheeled structure through a service line, and a lower return portion, a support deck positioned below the upper transport portion of the endless belt to support the endless belt, a belt rinsing system including a rinsing system conduit arrangement connectable to a source of rinsing system liquid, and at least one belt rinsing arrangement, wherein each of the at least one belt rinsing arrangement includes a rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in the support deck, over which the upper transport portion of the endless belt travels during operation, and at least one rinsing system outlet from the rinsing system conduit arrangement positioned proximate to the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture and positioned to eject rinsing system liquid onto the endless belt upstream from a downstream edge of the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in order to capture at least some of the ejected liquid through the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture, the wear plate being dimensioned to extend along a top of the support deck and contact the upper transport portion of the endless belt, the wear plate having a corresponding rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture and being constructed from a material that is at least partially thermoplastic.

A conveyor system, comprising:

• an endless belt mounted in a longitudinal direction through a service line, the endless belt having an upper transport portion adapted to move a wheeled structure through the service line, and a lower return portion, the endless belt being constructed from a first material having a first hardness;
• a support deck positioned below the upper transport portion of the endless belt to support the endless belt, the support deck having a belt contact surface extending along a top of the support deck and in contact with the upper transport portion of the endless belt, the belt contact surface being constructed from a second material that has a second hardness that is lesser than the first hardness;
• a belt rinsing system including a rinsing system conduit arrangement connectable to a source of rinsing system liquid, and at least one belt rinsing arrangement, wherein each of the at least one belt rinsing arrangement includes:
• a rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in the support deck, over which the upper transport portion of the endless belt travels during operation;
• and
• at least one rinsing system outlet from the rinsing system conduit arrangement positioned proximate to the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture and positioned to eject rinsing system liquid onto the endless belt upstream from a downstream edge of the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in order to capture at least some of the ejected liquid through the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture.

A wear plate for a conveyor system, the conveyor system having an endless belt mounted in a longitudinal direction through a service line, the endless belt having an upper transport portion adapted to move a wheeled structure through the service line, and a lower return portion, the endless belt being constructed from a first material having a first hardness, and a support deck positioned below the upper transport portion of the endless belt to support the endless belt, a belt rinsing system including a rinsing system conduit arrangement connectable to a source of rinsing system liquid, and at least one belt rinsing arrangement, wherein each of the at least one belt rinsing arrangement includes a rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in the support deck, over which the upper transport portion of the endless belt travels during operation, and at least one rinsing system outlet from the rinsing system conduit arrangement positioned proximate to the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture and positioned to eject rinsing system liquid onto the endless belt upstream from a downstream edge of the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture in order to capture at least some of the ejected liquid through the rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture, the wear plate being dimensioned to extend along a top of the support deck and contact the upper transport portion of the endless belt, the wear plate having a corresponding rinsing system dirt pass-through aperture and being constructed from a second material that has a second hardness that is lesser than the first hardness.