Cleaning-in-place system for flat belts

A cleaning-in-place system for a flexible belt, the cleaning-in-place system comprising:

• a non-rotating hollow shaft, having an open, first end adapted for fluid communication with a source of a fluid under pressure;
• at least one sprocket rotatably mounted to the hollow shaft, the at least one sprocket rotating in driven relation about the shaft as the flexible belt passes over and around the at least one sprocket;
• a plurality of nozzle members mounted on the hollow shaft in laterally spaced relation to one another, each nozzle member being in fluid communication with the fluid under pressure;
• wherein the at least one sprocket comprises a body, the body having a first side, a second side, and a plurality of teeth disposed in pairs, the pairs being angularly spaced about a rotating axis of the sprocket, wherein each pair of teeth is spaced from adjacent pairs of teeth by a first opening extending from the first side of the body to the second side of the body, and wherein each tooth in each pair of teeth is spaced from the other tooth in the pair by a second opening extending from the first side of the body to the second side of the body, and wherein a belt-contacting surface of each tooth is convex such that the outer-most periphery of the body, as defined by the belt-contacting surfaces of the teeth, is generally circular.