Belt fastener assembly

In a belt fastener assembly having apertured belt retention plates and threaded retaining bolts which extend through apertures of said retention plates, the improvement comprising:

• a washer on a bolt, which washer defines, in an original condition prior to use, a frustoconical inner area surrounding an aperture of said washer, to facilitate placement of said washer on a bolt, and subsequently to be at least partially flattened to retain the bolt in position.

A belt fastener assembly for fastening belt ends together, which comprises:

• first and second retention plates receiving and retaining substantially abutting belt ends between said plates, said first and second retention plates each defining a plurality of bolt holes;
• a plurality of bolts having threads defining an outer diameter, each bolt extending through a bolt hole of each of the first and second plates, said bolts also extending through portions of said belt ends positioned between said plates to retain said first and second plates and belt ends together, said bolts each defining heads, and, adjacent to said head, a portion of said bolt being of a non-circular shape in cross section, further in which bolt holes of said plate that are nearest to said bolt heads are of a non-circular shape, said non-circular bolt portions being capable of fitting into said nearest bolt holes, to prevent bolt rotation.

A component for a belt fastener assembly for fastening belt ends together, which comprises:

• a first retention plate for cooperating with a second retention plate and receiving and retaining substantially abutting belt ends between said plates, said first retention plate defining a plurality of bolt holes;
• a plurality of bolts having threads defining in an outer diameter, each bolt extending through a bolt hole of said first retention plate, each said bolt having a head on one side of the retention plate;
• a washer carried on each said bolt on the other side of said plate, said washers each having an aperture, and also having, in an original condition, a frustoconical inner area surrounding said aperture, said aperture being of a size of at least the outer diameter of said bolt threads, said washers being flattened from said original condition, with said aperture being reduced to no larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the bolt threads whereby said washer engages said bolt and retains it in its position extending through said bolt hole.

The method of securing a bolt to a plate, which comprises:

• inserting a threaded bolt through a bolt hole of a plate while providing to said bolt a washer on the opposite side of the plate to a head of said bolt, said washer having, in an original condition, a frustoconical inner area surrounding said aperture, said aperture being of a size of at least the outer diameter of said bolt threads;
• and
• at least partially flattening said washers to decrease the size of said apertures as the nuts and bolts are tightened.