Slide conveyor with side stabilizers

Abstract

A conveyor having a belt capable of following a curved path is mounted on a carriage having a central attachment to a conveyor chain and lateral attachments to a pair of side stabilizers. The conveyor operates on a track assembly having a central slide surface for contact with the chain and lateral stabilizer operating surfaces for contact with the stabilizers when they are in use. The stabilizers may be slightly elevated from their operating surfaces during normal conveyor operation with a balanced load on the belt, only touching the operating surfaces when the load becomes unbalanced. The track assembly is preferably in the cross-sectional shape of an I-beam with the conveyor operating on the flanges of the beam. Beam sections in regular geometric shapes such as vertical curves, horizontal curves, and straight sections are joined together in approximate alignment to form the desired conveyor path, and the slide surfaces are then shimmed into closer alignment if necessary. Each section may be prefabricated with appropriate mounting holes for the slide surface, lubricant injection holes, and drop out holes punched in a predetermined pattern in the beam flanges.