Conveyor belt fastener applicator

An applicator for securing fasteners to a conveyor belt, the applicator comprising:

• a fastener nest to receive a fastener and a conveyor belt disposed between upper and lower plates of the fastener;
• a head configured to be operable to move the fastener upper plate toward the conveyor belt and drive legs of a staple of the fastener downwardly through apertures of the fastener upper plate, through the conveyor belt, through apertures of the fastener lower plate, and downwardly from the apertures of the fastener lower plate;
• a rotatable anvil including an initial bend portion and a final bend portion, the rotatable anvil having a first rotary position wherein the initial bend portion of the anvil is positioned below the lower plate of the fastener, the initial bend portion of the anvil configured to partially bend the staple legs as the staple legs are driven downwardly from the apertures of the lower plate of the fastener by the head;
• the anvil being rotatable relative to the fastener nest from the first rotary position to a second rotary position wherein the final bend portion of the anvil is positioned below the partially bent staple legs;
• the fastener nest and anvil are configured to be movable relative to one another to permit the fastener nest and anvil to move apart and provide clearance for the anvil from the partially bent staple legs and permit the anvil to rotate from the first rotary position to the second rotary position;
• the fastener nest and anvil are configured to be movable relative to one another to permit the fastener nest and anvil to move together and position the partially bent staple legs of the fastener on the final bend portion of the anvil;
• and
• the head is configured to be operable to drive the staple legs and press the partially bent staple legs against the final bend portion of the anvil to secure the staple legs to the lower plate of the fastener.