Figure

Claim 1

A SUPPORT ASSEMBLY FOR FLEXIBLE BELT CONVEYOR IDLERS WHICH COMPRISES, AN ELONGATE RIGID CROSS FRAME ELEMENT OF A BELT CONVEYOR FRAME AND A PAIR OF UPRIGHT POST SUPPORT UNITS ATTACHED AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT FOR INDEPENDENT ADJUSTABLE MOVEMENT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF TO VARY THE SPACING THEREBETWEEN WHILE MAINTAINING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME ANGULAR RELATION THERETO, EACH OF SAID POST SUPPORT UNITS INCLUDING A BRACKET ELEMENT, A POST ELEMENT AND A CLEVIS, THE BRACKET HAVING A BASE PORTION SUPPORTED ON THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT AND A SOCKET-FORMING PORTION PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BASE PORTION WHICH RECEIVES THE POST ELEMENT TELESCOPICALLY IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH, THE CLEVIS BEING MOUNTED ON TOP OF THE POST ELEMENT AND ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY RECEIVE THE CONNECTOR ON THE END OF A FLEXIBLE IDLER UNIT SUSPENDED BETWEEN THE POST SUPPORT UNITS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT, THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT BEING GENERALLY CHANNEL-SHAPED HAVING A WEB AND UPSTANDING FLANGES BORDERING THE SIDE MARGINS OF THE LATTER, A PAIR OF SIDEPLATES ATTACHED TO THE UPSTANDING FLANGES OF THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT IN TRANSVERSELY ALIGNED RELATION ON EACH END THEREOF FOR LONGITUDINAL NON-TILTABLE MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO, SAID SIDEPLATES EACH HAVING AN INWARDLY UNDERCUT UPWARDLY OPENING SLOT IN THE TOP EDGE THEREOF, A TRANSVERSE PIVOT PIN CARRIED BY THE BASE OF EACH POST-SUPPORT UNIT AND MOUNTED WITHIN THE UNDERCUT PORTION OF THE SLOT IN THE SIDEPLATES PROVIDING A LONGITUDINALLY ADJUSTABLE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT AND SAID POST SUPPORT UNITS, AND A COMPRESSION SPRING POSITIONED BETWEEN THE WEB OF THE CROSS FRAME ELEMENT AND THE BASE OF EACH POST SUPPORT UNIT SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE PIVOTAL CONNECTION THEREBETWEEN PROVIDING A SHOCK-ABSORBENT MOUNTING FOR THE IDLER UNIT.