Conveyor belt and method of assembly

A conveyor belt comprising:

• a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;
• a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods;
• and
• a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;
• wherein the slide-in overlay element includes a lock mechanism which locks an end of the retaining overlay element with an end of the slide-in overlay element to resist removal of the retaining overlay element.

A conveyor belt comprising:

• a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;
• a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods;
• and
• a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;
• wherein each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements include a plurality of spaced intermeshing extensions that form receiving compartments adapted receive intermeshing extensions of an adjacent overlay element thereby interlinking adjacent overlay elements together;
• wherein the transverse opening of each of the plurality of slide-in overlay elements and the plurality of retaining overlay elements are slots to allow the interlinked overlay elements to be nested together and extended away from one another;
• wherein each of the intermeshing extensions include a bulbous tip;
• wherein the bulbous tip of each of the intermeshing extensions are dimensioned so that vertical edge surfaces of the bulbous tip contacts vertical edge surfaces of bulbous tips of adjacent intermeshing extensions when the overlay elements are extended away from one another.

A conveyor belt comprising:

• a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;
• a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods;
• and
• a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;
• wherein the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element are formed from a non-metallic material;
• further including at least one link mounted to an end of the elongated rod;
• wherein the link includes a transverse opening sized to receive an elongated rod therein;
• wherein the link is formed from a non-metallic material;
• wherein the link is a drive link adapted to facilitate driving of the conveyor belt.

A conveyor belt comprising:

• a plurality of elongated rods interconnected with each other;
• a plurality of slide-in overlay elements, each having an upper surface, and a transverse opening sized to slidably receive one of the elongated rods;
• and
• a plurality of retaining overlay elements, each having a transverse opening sized to receive one of the elongated rods, and a vertical opening to allow vertical insertion of each retaining overlay element on to an elongated rod in a manner that each retaining element is adjacent to a slide-in overlay element;
• wherein the slide-in overlay element and the retaining overlay element are formed from a non-metallic material;
• further including at least one link mounted to an end of the elongated rod;
• wherein the link includes a transverse opening sized to receive an elongated rod therein;
• wherein the link is formed from a non-metallic material;
• wherein the link includes an extension portion extending beyond the end of the elongated rod.

A method of assembling a conveyor belt comprising the steps of:

• providing an elongated rod;
• providing a slide-in overlay element with a transverse opening sized to receive the elongated rod;
• sliding the slide-in overlay element on to the elongated rod, the transverse opening of the slide-in overlay element receiving the elongated rod;
• providing a retaining overlay element with a vertical opening and a transverse opening sized to receive the elongated rod;
• and
• vertically inserting the retaining overlay element on to the elongated rod via the vertical opening.