Conveyor safely guard modules

In a conveyor system having a plurality of rollers including at least one motor driven roller and free rollers and drive bands or belts coupled between the plurality of rollers to transfer rotational movement between the rollers, the improvement comprising at least one conveyor safety guard module configured to be inserted between adjacent pairs of the rollers, wherein each of the at least one conveyor safety guard module comprises:

• a top cover portion having opposite sides and front and rear surfaces;
• a channel provided in the top surface of the cover portion that extends between the front and rear surfaces of the top cover portion;
• and
• at least one resilient engaging structure that extend downward from at least one of the opposite sides of the top cover portion,
• wherein each resilient engaging structure includes a pair of resilient arcuate legs that are configured to be received between two adjacent rollers of the motor driven roller conveyor, resiliently engage between lower portions of sides of the two adjacent rollers to secure the conveyor safety guard modules in place and position the top cover portion under the drive bands or belts so that the drive bands or belts pass through the channel provided in the top surface of the cover portion.

A method of modifying a motor driven roller conveyor system to make the system safe for workers which method comprises:

• providing a conveyor system having a plurality of rollers including at least one motor driven roller and free rollers and drive bands or belts coupled between the plurality of rollers to transfer rotational movement between the rollers;
• providing at least one conveyor safety guard module configured to be inserted between adjacent pairs of the rollers and shield workers from drive bands or belts coupled to the adjacent rollers, the at least one conveyor safety guard module comprising a top cover portion and resilient engaging structures that extend downward from the top cover portion;
• and
• inserting said at least one conveyor safety guard module between an adjacent pair of the rollers so that the resilient engaging structures resiliently engage between lower portions of sides of two adjacent rollers to secure the conveyor safety guard modules in place and shield drive bands or belts coupled to the adjacent rollers with a top portion of the at least one conveyor safety guard module.