Sprocket construction for conveyor rollers

A sprocket and hub assembly for power driving a roller of a multi-roller conveyor in which the rollers are carried on shafts arranged on center-to-center distances less than a combined maximum radius of the sprocket and a radius on the hub, the sprocket plate being constructed and arranged to be removably fixed to the hub and to reliably transmit torque to the roller shaft through the hub, the hub having a central bore sized to fit the roller shaft, the sprocket plate having a bore configured to pass completely over the hub, whereby the sprocket plate can be removed when worn and replaced with a duplicate while the original hub remains in place on the shaft.

A powered roller conveyor comprising a plurality of parallel horizontally disposed rollers uniformly spaced in close proximity to one another, the rollers being supported on shafts which, in turn, are supported in bearings, a sprocket assembly mounted on each of the roller shafts, the sprocket assemblies each comprising a sprocket plate and hub of predetermined diameters, each of the sprocket plates having peripheral teeth forming the major outside diameter of the sprocket plates and being engaged by a common drive chain, alternate sprocket assemblies being disposed substantially exclusively outside of a vertical mid-plane of the chain and intervening sprocket assemblies being disposed substantially exclusively on the inside of the vertical mid-plane of the chain, said sprocket plates being capable of being de-mounted from their respective hubs while the hubs remain on their respective shafts from operations conducted substantially and completely by access from the space outward of said mid-plane.

A generally circular sprocket plate for a powered roller conveyor concentric about a rotational axis, the sprocket plate having unidirectional outer peripheral teeth arranged to be engaged by a drive chain, and a central bore having a minor inside diameter and a major inside diameter, three legs spaced angularly uniformly about the rotational axis, the legs each extending radially between the minor and major inside diameter, the legs each having a radially extending generally flat face lying in a plane generally parallel to and passing through the rotational axis, said flat faces being adapted to abut complimentarily configured flat faces on a hub to rotationally drive said hub, said legs each having a circular hole for receiving a machine screw oriented in a direction parallel to the rotational axis and used to releasably fix the sprocket plate to the hub.

A sprocket assembly comprising a sprocket plate and a hub, the hub having an axial length, the sprocket plate being mounted on the hub such that the hub substantially avoids encroachment into any space to one side of the sprocket plate, the sprocket plate being de-mountable from the hub while the hub remains fixed on a shaft, the sprocket plate and hub having a plurality of interengaged abutting surfaces extending in generally radial directions adjacent a periphery of the hub and distributed about a common axis.

A sprocket plate for a powered roller conveyor comprising a ring-like body concentric about an axis, the sprocket plate having a series of unidirectional teeth on its periphery for receiving and being driven by a chain, a non-circular bore having minor and major inside dimensions, a set of three legs evenly angularly spaced about the body extending generally radially between the minor and major dimensions, the legs each having an abutment surface lying along a plane that passes through and is parallel to said axis, said abutment surfaces facing in a forward direction with reference to the direction of rotation developed by said chain and adapted to drive a hub with abutment surfaces arranged to be engaged by said sprocket plate abutment surfaces.

An easy change sprocket plate for use in a roller conveyor in which a plurality of adjacent rollers are individually driven through a common chain and a respective sprocket, the sprocket plate having a generally ring-like structure disposed about a geometric center with unidirectional chain engageable teeth on its outer periphery and a plurality of angularly equally spaced radially inwardly extending legs, the legs each having a generally radially extending abutment surface facing in the direction that the unidirectional teeth are arranged to be driven, the abutment surfaces being adapted to engage and apply torque to a complementarily shaped hub fixed to the respective shaft of the respective roller, the sprocket having angularly spaced openings between said legs, said openings extending radially from the sprocket center at least as far as the radial extent of said radially extending surfaces whereby said sprocket is adapted to pass over the hub for installation on and removal from the hub.