Input station for belt conveyor

An improved input station for a belt conveyor of the kind including a continuous closed-loop conveyor belt having a width greater than four feet, the conveyor belt moving in a given direction through an input station in a conveyor run, around a head pulley at a discharge location distant from the input station, and back into the input station in an empty return run around a tail pulley, the improved input station comprising:

• a plurality of N fixed frame members each extending transversely of the width of the conveyor belt;
• 2N fixed outer stanchions, each pair of outer stanchions being mounted on and projecting upwardly of a fixed frame member beyond the outer edge of the conveyor belt;
• 2N fixed inner stanchions, each pair of inner stanchions mounted in spaced relation to each other and in spaced relation to a pair of the outer stanchions;
• 2N medial support members, each medial support member disposed between an outer stanchion and its related inner stanchion;
• N horizontal center rolls, each extending between one pair of inner stanchions, the center rolls supporting a central portion of the conveyor belt through the input station;
• 2N troughing rollers, each troughing roller extending between an inner stanchion and a medial support member, the troughing rollers supporting two inner side portions of the conveyor belt throughout the input station;
• 2N belt support rails, each belt support rail extending throughout the input station to support an outer side portion of the conveyor belt;
• and 2N sets of mounting means, one for each belt support rail, for mounting each belt support rail between the outer stanchions and the medial stanchions.