Conveyor belt and system for single direction lateral curved travel

Claim 2

A conveyor belt for conveying in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature, the conveyor belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means keeping the inside and outside ends of said rods at substantially the same first pitch during straight line motion of said belt and said link means further, during motion of the belt about said lateral curves, keeping said inside ends of said rods at substantially said first pitch and allowing said outside ends of said rods to move to a second greater pitch as the belt moves from straight line to lateral curved motion and to return to said first pitch as the belt moves from lateral curved to straight line motion, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, a plurality of separate inside links joining each pair of adjacent rods and, along the outside convex edge of the belt, at least one outside link joining each pair of adjacent rods, each of said outside links having holes through which said rods extend including at least one slot to allow, the outside ends of said rods to move between the first and second pitches, each of said inside links including holes having end surfaces spaced a predetermined distance such that a plurality of said inside links joining adjacent rods aligns the adjacent rods in a generally parallel relationship at said first pitch when said belt is placed under tractive load in straight line conveying motion.

Claim 3

A conveyor belt for conveying in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature, the conveyor belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including links means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, at least two generally U-shaped inside links joining the inside ends of each pair of adjacent rods and, along the outside convex edge of the belt, at least one generally U-shaped outside link joining the outside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, said generally U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions joined by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving said rods, said holes in the legs of said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes in the legs of said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the at least two U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 4

A conveyor belt for conveying in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature, the conveyor belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including links means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, at least two generally U-shaped inside links joining the inside ends of each pair of adjacent rods and, along the outside convex edge of the belt, at least one generally U-shaped outside link joining the outside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, said generally U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions joined by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving said rods, said holes in the legs of said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes in the legs of said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the at least two U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 5

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inside links include at least two generally U-shaped links joining each adjacent pair of said rods, each of said U-shaped links having a pair of spaced leg portions extending generally in the lengthwise direction of the belt and a connecting portion joining said spaced leg portions, each of said leg portions having said holes formed through it for receiving the inside ends of a pair of said rods.

Claim 6

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 2 or 3 wherein said leg portions of said inside links are generally linear and each pair of said leg portions diverge from their respective connecting portion.

Claim 7

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 including at least one support link disposed adjacent said inside links and coupled between pairs of said adjacent rods, said support links including a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, holes being formed in said longitudinal portion through which an adjacent pair of rods extend, said tab portions being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt is arranged to travel along a helical conveying path.

Claim 8

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 2 including at least one support link disposed adjacent said inside links and coupled between pairs of said adjacent rods, said support links including a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, holes being formed in said longitudinal portion through which an adjacent pair of rods extend, said tab portions being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt is arranged to travel along a helical conveying path.

Claim 9

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 5 wherein said inside links include a pair of generally U-shaped links joining adjacent pairs of said rods with one of said U-shaped links being disposed on either side of a respective one of said support links, each of said U-shaped links having a pair of spaced leg portions extending generally in the lengthwise direction of the belt and a connecting portion joining said spaced leg portions, each of said leg portions having said holes of said inside links formed through it.

Claim 10

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 6 or 7 wherein said spaced leg portions of said U-shaped inside links have end sections adjacent to the longitudinal portions of said support links, and said end sections extending substantially perpendicular to the transverse extent of said rods to align said support links with respect to said rods.

Claim 11

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 8 wherein said longitudinal portion of each of said support links has a lower section with said holes for coupling to said rods and an upper section extending vertically and longitudinally from the lower section, said upper section being angularly offset from the lower section and having a longitudinal dimension such that the upper sections of adjacent support links overlap one another.

Claim 12

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 wherein said outside links include at least one generally U-shaped nestable link joining adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 13

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 2 wherein said outside links further include at least one bar link disposed adjacent said generally U-shaped outside link and having holes for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 14

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 or 3 wherein said outside links include at least one bar link having holes for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 15

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said inside links has a work-hardened bearing surface.

Claim 16

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 2 or 3 wherein said connecting portion of each of said U-shaped inside links has a work-hardened bearing surface.

Claim 17

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 2 or 11 wherein the correlation between the longitudinally spaced end surfaces of the holes in said inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure that at least one of said inside links remains tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 18

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 15 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of the said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost leg of said inside links.

Claim 19

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 1 wherein said holes in said inside and outside links have end surfaces with predetermined longitudinal spacing correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at the first pitch and the inside links are tractive while the outside links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 20

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 17 wherein the correlation between the longitudinally spaced end surfaces of the holes in said inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure that at least one of said inside links remains tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 21

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 18 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of the said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost of said inside links.

Claim 22

A conveyor belt for conveying in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical path and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical path, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said links means including at least two generally U-shaped inside links and a support link disposed along the inside edge of said belt, and at least one generally U-shaped outside link disposed along the outside edge of the belt, said inside and outside U-shaped links each having a pair of spaced leg portions connected by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said support links having a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said tab portion being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt travels along the helical path, said longitudinal portion of said support links having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said holes formed in said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes formed in said outside links having a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature such that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the inside U-shaped links are tractive while the outside U-shaped links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the inside U-shaped links remains tractive while the outside ends of the rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 23

A conveyor belt for conveying in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical path and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical path, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said links means including at least two generally U-shaped inside links and a support link disposed along the inside edge of said belt, and at least one generally U-shaped outside link disposed along the outside edge of the belt, said inside and outside U-shaped links each having a pair of spaced leg portions connected by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said support links having a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said tab portion being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt travels along the helical path, said longitudinal portion of said support links having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said holes formed in said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes formed in said outside links having a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature such that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the inside U-shaped links are tractive while the outside U-shaped links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the inside U-shaped links remains tractive while the outside ends of the rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 24

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 20 wherein said outside links include at least one bar link disposed adjacent said generally U-shaped outside links and having holes with said correlated predetermined second end surface spacing for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 25

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 20 or 21 wherein the correlation between the longitudinally spaced end surfaces of the holes in the inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure at least one of said inside links remain tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 26

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 22 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of the said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in the leg portions of said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost leg of said inside links.

Claim 27

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 20 wherein each of said support links is disposed between a pair of said U-shaped inside links, said spaced leg portions of said U-shaped inside links have end sections adjacent to the longitudinal portions of said support links, and said end sections extending substantially perpendicular to the transverse extent of said rods to align the support links with respect to said rods.

Claim 28

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 20 or 24 wherein said longitudinal portion of each of said support links has a lower section with said holes for coupling to said rods and an upper section extending vertically and longitudinally from the lower section, said upper section being angularly offset from the lower section and having a longitudinal dimension such that the upper sections of adjacent support links overlap one another.

Claim 29

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orienting the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality or rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means keeping the inside and outside ends of said rods at substantially the same first pitch during straight line motion of said belt and said link means further, during motion of the belt about lateral curves keeping said inside ends of said rods at said first pitch and allowing said outside ends of said rods to move to a second greater pitch as the belt moves from straight line to lateral curved motion and to return to said first pitch as the belt moves from lateral curved to straight line motion, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, a plurality of separate inside links joining each pair of adjacent rods and, along the outside convex edge of the belt, at least one outside link joining each pair of adjacent rods, each of said outside links having holes through which said rods extend including at least one slot to allow the outside ends of said rods to move between the first and second pitches, each of said inside links including holes having end surfaces spaced a predetermined distance such that a plurality of said inside links joining adjacent rods aligns the adjacent rods in a generally parallel relationship at said first pitch when said belt is placed under tractive load in straight line conveying motion.

Claim 30

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orienting the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality or rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means keeping the inside and outside ends of said rods at substantially the same first pitch during straight line motion of said belt and said link means further, during motion of the belt about lateral curves keeping said inside ends of said rods at said first pitch and allowing said outside ends of said rods to move to a second greater pitch as the belt moves from straight line to lateral curved motion and to return to said first pitch as the belt moves from lateral curved to straight line motion, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, a plurality of separate inside links joining each pair of adjacent rods and, along the outside convex edge of the belt, at least one outside link joining each pair of adjacent rods, each of said outside links having holes through which said rods extend including at least one slot to allow the outside ends of said rods to move between the first and second pitches, each of said inside links including holes having end surfaces spaced a predetermined distance such that a plurality of said inside links joining adjacent rods aligns the adjacent rods in a generally parallel relationship at said first pitch when said belt is placed under tractive load in straight line conveying motion.

Claim 31

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orientating the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt, and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, at least two generally U-shaped inside links joining the inside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, and, along the outside edge of the belt at least one generally U-shaped link joining the outside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, said generally U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions joined by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving said rods, said holes in the legs of said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes in the legs of said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are nontractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 32

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orientating the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt, and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including, along the inside concave edge of the belt, at least two generally U-shaped inside links joining the inside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, and, along the outside edge of the belt at least one generally U-shaped link joining the outside ends of each pair of adjacent rods, said generally U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions joined by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving said rods, said holes in the legs of said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes in the legs of said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are nontractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 33

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 27 wherein said outside links include at least one bar link disposed adjacent said generally U-shaped outside links and having holes with said second predetermined correlated end surface spacing for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 34

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 27 or 28 wherein the correlation between the longitudinal spacing of the end surfaces of the holes in the inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure that at least one of said inside links remains tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 35

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 29 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of the said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in the leg portions of said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost leg of said inside links.

Claim 36

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 26 wherein said holes in said inside and outside links having end surfaces with predetermined longitudinal spacing correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature so that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at the first pitch and the inside links are tractive while the outside links are nontractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of said rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 37

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 31 wherein the correlation between the longitudinally spaced end surfaces of the holes in said inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure that at least one of said inside links remains tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 38

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 32 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of the said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost inside links.

Claim 39

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 26 or 31 including at least one support link disposed adjacent said inside links and coupled between adjacent pairs of said rods, said support links having tab portions spaced a predetermined distance from said rods to contact and support the inside edge of a superimposed vertical tier of said belt.

Claim 40

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 27 including at least one support link disposed adjacent said inside links and coupled between adjacent pairs of said rods, said support links having tab portions spaced a predetermined distance from said rods to contact and support the inside edge of a superimposed vertical tier of said belt.

Claim 41

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 26 wherein said inside links include at least two generally U-shaped links joining inside ends of adjacent pairs of said rods, each of said U-shaped links having a pair of spaced leg portions extending generally in the lengthwise direction of the belt and a connecting portion joining said spaced leg portions, each of said leg portions having said holes of said inside links formed through it.

Claim 42

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 36 wherein said outside links include at least one generally U-shaped nestable link joining adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 43

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 37 wherein said outside links further includes at least one bar link disposed adjacent said generally U-shaped outside link and having holes for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 44

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 34 wherein said support links include a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between an adjacent pair of said rods and vertically away from said rods, said tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said longitudinal portion having a lower section with said holes for coupling to said rods and an upper section extending vertically and longitudinally from the lower section, said upper section being angularly offset from the lower section and having a longitudinal dimension such that the upper sections of adjacent support links overlap one another.

Claim 45

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 35 wherein said support links include a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between an adjacent pair of said rods and vertically away from said rods, said tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said longitudinal portion having a lower section from said holes for coupling to said rods and an upper section extending vertically and longitudinally from the lower section, said upper section being angularly offset from the lower section and having a longitudinal dimension such that the upper sections of adjacent support links overlap one another.

Claim 46

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 26 or 27 wherein said drive means includes a rotating driving member frictionally engaging the inside edge of said belt in the helical portion.

Claim 47

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 26 or 27 wherein said drive means includes a rotating driving member positively engaging the inside edge of said belt in the helical portion.

Claim 48

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orientating the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including a pair of generally U-shaped inside links and a support link disposed along the inside edge of said belt, and a generally U-shaped outside link disposed along the outside edge of the belt, said U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions connected by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said support links having a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said tab portion being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt travels along the helical portion, said longitudinal portion of said support links having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said holes formed in said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes formed in said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature such that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of the rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 49

In a conveying system including a conveyor belt and a drive means for moving the belt along a conveying path, said system orientating the belt in both a straight line direction and around lateral curves in a single direction, the lateral curves including a helical portion forming a plurality of stacked tiers of the belt and having a predetermined maximum curvature with a predetermined radius of curvature in the helical portion, the belt comprising a plurality of rods and connecting means for connecting said rods to form a length of the belt, said rods extending transversely of the length of the belt between an inside end along the inside edge of the lateral curves and an outside end along the outside edge of the lateral curves, said rods being arranged adjacent one another longitudinally along the length of the belt, said connecting means including link means disposed adjacent said inside and outside ends of said rods for coupling adjacent pairs of said rods to one another, said link means including a pair of generally U-shaped inside links and a support link disposed along the inside edge of said belt, and a generally U-shaped outside link disposed along the outside edge of the belt, said U-shaped inside and outside links each having a pair of spaced leg portions connected by a connecting portion, each of said leg portions having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said support links having a longitudinal portion extending both longitudinally between a pair of said adjacent rods and vertically away from said rods and at least one tab portion extending transversely from said longitudinal portion, said tab portion being spaced a predetermined vertical distance from said rods to contact and support an inside edge of an adjacent vertically spaced tier of said belt when said belt travels along the helical portion, said longitudinal portion of said support links having holes for receiving adjacent ones of said rods, said holes formed in said inside links having end surfaces with a first predetermined longitudinal spacing, said holes formed in said outside links having end surfaces with a second predetermined longitudinal spacing, said first and second longitudinal spacings being correlated to one another and to the predetermined radius of curvature such that in straight line conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at a first pitch and the U-shaped inside links are tractive while the U-shaped outside links are non-tractive, and during lateral curved conveying motion the inside ends of said rods are kept at substantially the first pitch and at least one of the U-shaped inside links remains tractive while the outside ends of the rods move to a second greater pitch.

Claim 50

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 43 wherein said outside links further include at least one bar link disposed adjacent said generally U-shaped outside links and having holes with said correlated second predetermined end surface spacing for receiving and coupling adjacent pairs of said rods.

Claim 51

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 43 wherein the correlation between the longitudinal spacing of the end surfaces of the holes in the inside and outside links causes the outside ends of said rods to contact the opposing end surfaces in the holes of said outside links when the belt travels about a lateral curve of the predetermined maximum curvature with the outside links assuming a minimal amount of tractive load to assure that at least one of said inside links remains tractive and the inside ends of said rods remain at substantially the first pitch.

Claim 52

A conveyor belt in accordance with claim 45 wherein the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes of said outside links to the distance from the center of said predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost outside links is only slightly greater than the ratio of the predetermined spacing between the holes in the leg portions of said inside links to the distance from the center of the predetermined radius of curvature to the outermost leg of said inside links.

Claim 53

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 43 wherein said drive means includes a rotating driving member frictionally engaging the inside edge of said belt in the helical portion.

Claim 54

In a conveying system in accordance with claim 43 wherein said drive means includes a rotating driving member positively engaging the inside edge of said belt in the helical portion.