Spring belt conveyor assembly and roller therefor

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION IN A POWER DRIVEN SPRING BELT CONVEYOR; AT LEAST THREE ROLLERS JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION IN FIXED SPACED PARALLEL RELATION, EACH OF SAID ROLLERS TAPERING INWARDLY FROM EACH END TOWARD THE CENTER TO PROVIDE A PAIR OF OPPOSED INTERSECTING FRUSTO-CONICAL SURFACES, AND SAID INTERSECTING FRUSTO-CONICAL SURFACES EACH BEING PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF CONTINUOUS ANNULAR SPRING BELT GROOVES ARRANGED IN SIDE-BY-SIDE PARALLEL RELATION, EACH GROOVE FROM THE CENTER OUTWARD HAVING AN EFFECTIVE RADIUS OF FIXED INCREMENT LARGER THAN THE NEXT SMALLER ONE; A PLURALITY OF ENDLESS CLOSE-WOUND HELICAL SPRING BELTS REEVED IN THE GROOVES OF THE MIDDLE ROLLER ALTERNATELY TO THE LONGIUDDINALLY ALIGNED GROOVES OF ONE OF THE ROLLERS ON EITHER SIDE THEREOF, SAID BELTS AND ROLLERS COOPERATING TO PROVIDE A RESILIENT TROUGHED CONVEYING SURFACE, SAID SPRING BELTS INTERCONNECTING EACH PAIR OF ADJACENT ROLLERS BEING OF THE SAME LENGTH, THE LENGTH OF SAID BELTS BEING SELECTED TO PLACE ALL OF THEM UNDER SUFFICIENT TENSION TO ELIMINATE SLIPPAGE, AND IN WHICH EACH BELT FROM THE CENTER OF THE CONVEYING SURFACE OUTWARD IN BOTH DIRECTIONS IS UNDER SUCCESSIVELY GREATER TENSION DUE TO THE STEADILY INCREASING ROLLER DIAMETER TOWARD THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID DIFFERING BELT ACROSS ALLOWING THE INSIDE BELTS TO SAG MORE UNDER LOAD THAN THE OUTSIDE BELTS THUS DEEPENING THE TROUGH IN THE CONVEYING SURFACE BETWEEN ROLLERS BEYOND THAT WHICH SAID CONVEYING SURFACE POSSESSES WHEN UNLOADED.