Roller conveyor

Claim 2

A roller conveyor comprising rigid frame means including an elongated rail and a pair of elongated members extending substantially parallel and to opposite sides of said rail and rigidly connected thereto, said members being formed with spaced vertically extending slots; at least one apron conveyor including at least one endless chain composed of rolls engaging said elongated rail to be supported thereon, links articulately connected to said rolls, a travelling apron comprising a plurality of rigid metal plates respectively rigid with said links and arranged to form a substantially uninterrupted substantially plane upper support surface, and drive means for driving said chain; and a series of load-supporting rollers each having a shaft having opposite ends respectively located in and guided for vertical movement in said slots of said elongated members, the depth of said slots being such that the shafts are located in intermediate portions of said slots when the corresponding load-support rollers rest on said apron to thus assure a positive engagement between said load-supporting rollers and said upper support surface formed by said rigid plates while the latter are nonyieldably supported by said chain and said rail to thereby provide a great load-carrying capacity for said roller conveyor.

Claim 3

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1 wherein the width of said apron is a fraction of the axial length of said rollers.

Claim 4

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, wherein said conveyor comprises a pair of travelling aprons each supporting said rollers adjacent to one axial end thereof.

Claim 5

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1 wherein the width of said apron is a fraction of the axial length of said rollers.

Claim 6

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, wherein said conveyor comprises a pair of travelling aprons each supporting said rollers adjacent to one axial end thereof.

Claim 7

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, wherein said apron is provided with a coating of friction-generating material along said upper surface thereof.

Claim 8

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, wherein at least some of said rollers are provided with coats of friction-generating material.

Claim 9

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said rollers include a group of coaXial rollers.

Claim 10

A roller conveyor as defined in claim 1, and including friction-reducing means interposed between said rollers and the respective shafts, said opposite ends of said shafts being held in said slots against rotation.

Claim 11

A roller conveyor comprising a series of load-supporting rollers; a shaft having opposite ends for each roller; at least one apron conveyor including at least one endless chain, drive means for said chains, and a travelling apron driven by said chain and comprising a plurality of rigid portions which are movable relative to each other and provide a substantially uninterrupted substantially plane upper surface providing a support for directly engaging said rollers from below to rotate said rollers by friction; frame means comprising an elongated rail supporting said chain from below and a pair of elongated members extending transverse to the axes of said load-supporting rollers and being each formed with a plurality of vertically extending slots in which said opposite ends of said shaft are respectively guided movable in vertical direction, the depth of said slots being such that the shafts extend into intermediate portions of the respective slots when the corresponding rollers rest on said apron to thus assure positive engagement between said rollers and said upper surface of said apron; and means for disengaging selected rollers from said apron, said disengaging means comprising means for lifting selected shafts in a direction upwardly and away from said apron to thereby disengage the corresponding rollers from said upper surface.

Claim 12

A roller conveyor comprising a series of load-supporting rollers; a shaft having opposite ends for each roller; at least one apron conveyor including at least one endless chain, drive means for said chains, and a travelling apron driven by said chain and comprising a plurality of rigid portions which are movable relative to each other and provide a substantially uninterrupted substantially plane upper surface providing a support for directly engaging said rollers from below to rotate said rollers by friction; frame means comprising an elongated rail supporting said chain from below and a pair of elongated members extending transverse to the axes of said load-supporting rollers and being each formed with a plurality of vertically extending slots in which said opposite ends of said shaft are respectively guided movable in vertical direction, the depth of said slots being such that the shafts extend into intermediate portions of the respective slots when the corresponding rollers rest on said apron to thus assure positive engagement between said rollers and said upper surface of said apron; and means for disengaging selected rollers from said apron, said disengaging means comprising means for lifting selected shafts in a direction upwardly and away from said apron to thereby disengage the corresponding rollers from said upper surface.