Intermittently-driven belt conveyor

A belt conveyor comprising a support frame established by side body members, two rollers supported on one side body members at opposite ends of the support frame, a belt stretched between the rollers and means for feeding the belt intermittently, said feeding means including:

• a cylinder having an opening rod reciprocatable in a moving direction of the belt, said cylinder mounted within said support frame between said side body members and between upper and lower runs of the belt;
• a drum including a one way clutch mechanism therein and having a sprocket wheel mounted therearound fitted around a transmission shaft integral with one of the rollers;
• a chain trained over said sprocket wheel mounted around the drum including the one way clutch mechanism therein;
• said chain connected to the operating rod of the cylinder to transmit movement to the transmission shaft through the drum and one way clutch mechanism via the sprocket wheel, wherein said cylinder has a longitudinal axis extending substantially parallel to the body members and is formed with a diameter approximately less than the height of said body members, said cylinder being further located between opposite ends of said body members.