Laitram, LLC

Adam E Bannerman

Krissie K Zambrano

John De St Germain

Bryant G Ragan

David W Bogle

Gilbert J MacLachlan

David Aaron Van Schalkwijk

Richard A Keb

Stephen M Melancon

Gurvinder Gandhi

Xiaozhong Li

Omari K Davis

Rob O Brady

Jason L Viera

David Hess

Joel R Chartier

A hinge-rod removal and insertion tool for opening and closing modular conveyor belts during installation and servicing. The tool is a pliers with jaws forming a split aperture. The jaws open to admit the end of the hinge rod of a modular conveyor belt. The jaws close to grasp the hinge rod so that it can be pulled from the belt. A head at the distal end of the jaws is used to push a hinge rod back into the belt. The tools have lift hooks to lift a section of belt to gain access to the ends of the hinge rods.

Hinge-rod removal and insertion tool

Conveyor belt module

Conveyor belt modules having rodless hook hinges and modular conveyor belts constructed of those modules. Hooks on opposite ends of belt modules hook into complementary hooks on adjacent modules to interconnect the modules at hinge joints into an endless belt. The geometry of the modules enables them to be manufactured by extrusion.

Modular conveyor belt with hook hinges

A conveyor conversion kit includes a plurality of conveyor brackets for converting a conveyor frame to accommodate a new conveyor belt. Each bracket includes a base, a plurality of wearstrip seats for mounting wearstrips forming a carryway for the conveyor belt without tools and side guard seats for mounting side guards to contain the conveyor belt on the carryway without tools.

Conveyor bracket

A conversion bracket for converting a conveyor frame to accommodate a conveyor belt. The bracket includes a base, a plurality of shaft holders extending from a first end of the base and a plurality of wearstrip receptacles extending from a second end of the base. The bracket attaches to a shaft of a conveyor frame by inserting the shaft into the shaft holders. Wearstrips are inserted into the wearstrip receptacles, which are oriented and configured so that the inserted wearstrips rest on the tops of the shaft.

A positively-driven, low tension conveyor belt has longitudinal rails extending on the drive surface of the belt to prevent or reduce vibration. The longitudinal rails form channels separating lanes of drive teeth on the drive surface to form drive pockets. The longitudinal rails protrude past the drive teeth and ride on a conveyor belt carryway during operation.

Conveyor belt with longitudinal rails

A magnetic conveyor belt module integrates a magnetic element into the body of the module to attract conveyed articles to the body. The magnetic conveyor belt module includes a recess for seating a magnetic element and a retention element for retaining the magnetic element within the recess. A cover encapsulates the magnetic element within the body of the module. A non-magnetic conveyor belt module is connected to the magnetic conveyor belt module to form a conveyor belt. The non-magnetic conveyor belt module has an upper surface that is flush with or above the upper surface of the magnetic conveyor belt module.

Magnetic conveyor belt module

A magnetic conveyor belt module integrates a magnetic element into the body of the module to attract conveyed articles to the body. A magnet seat below the top surface of the body seats the magnetic element, so that the magnetic element is between the top surface and bottom surface of the module body. A retainer engages the magnet seat to retain the magnetic element in the seat.

A split sprocket for belts or chains. The split sprocket comprises two sections that slide together along parallel slide tracks that are perpendicular to two opposite walls of the sprocket's bore. The slide track includes male T-shaped, V-shaped, or jigsaw-puzzle-shaped beams on one of the sections that slide into mating female slots in the other section. The mated slide tracks prevent the sections from separating in all directions except the separation direction along the slide tracks. A fastener through one of the sections into the other prevents the assembled sprocket sections from sliding apart along the slide tracks.

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Mandeville, LA, United States of America

Adam E Bannerman