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US 12,410,016 B2Granted
Modular conveyor belt with dedicated access assembly
AssigneeLaitram, L.L.C.
InventorsMatthew Vulpetti, Benson Hall, David Aaron van Schalkwijk
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dedicated access assembly for a conveyor belt forms a dedicated opening and closing point for the conveyor belt. The dedicated access assembly includes a female portion having one or more open hooks and a male portion including a hinge rod extending between linking elements. The open hook disengages from and engages the hinge rod to selectively open and close the conveyor belt. A latching mechanism can selectively lock the dedicated access assembly.
Claims16
A module for a conveyor belt, comprising:
- a body extending in height from a top conveying surface to an opposite bottom surface, longitudinally from a first end to a second end and laterally from a first side to a second side;
- a first set of hinge elements extending from the first end of the body;
- an open hook extending from the second end of the body for locking the module onto a hinge rod;
- a recess aligned with the open hook and extending from the second end of the body to form a pocket for trapping the hinge rod, wherein the recess forms part of a thickened outer side edge of the module, and the thickened outer side edge includes the second side of the body;
- a drive element extending from the bottom surface of the body at the first side of the body and spaced from the thickened outer side edge;
- and
- a latching mechanism seated in a space between the thickened outer side edge and the drive element for locking the open hook onto the hinge rod.
4 more elements
A module for a conveyor belt, comprising:
- a body extending in height from a top conveying surface to an opposite bottom surface, longitudinally from a first end to a second end and laterally from a first side to a second side;
- a first set of hinge elements extending from the first end of the body;
- an open hook extending from the second end of the body for locking the module onto a hinge rod;
- and
- a latching mechanism for locking the open hook onto the hinge rod, the latching mechanism including a tip for locking the hinge rod within the open hook and a biasing mechanism for biasing the tip into a locked position.
2 more elements
A module for a conveyor belt, comprising:
- a body extending in height from a top conveying surface to an opposite bottom surface, longitudinally from a first end to a second end and laterally from a first side to a second side;
- a first set of hinge elements extending from the first end of the body;
- a pocket extending from the second end of the body for trapping a hinge rod;
- and
- a latching mechanism for locking the hinge rod in the pocket, the latching mechanism including a tip for locking the hinge rod within the pocket and a biasing mechanism for biasing the tip into a locked position.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.