Covered overland conveyor

Claim 1

A conveyor for transporting materials overland, said conveyor comprising: a succession of arch-like supports arranged such that the openings of succeeding arches in the supports align, each arch-like support including a base which extends the entire width of the support and rests on a supporting surface, spaced apart legs secured to the base at their lower ends and projecting upwardly therefrom, and a connecting portion connected rigidly to and extending between the upper ends of the legs to form a firm supporting structure between the legs, the legs of each arch-like support being inclined relative to each other and to the base such that they diverge away from the connecting portion and the connecting portion being curved such that the convex surface thereof is presented upwardly; a pair of cables extending through the arch-like supports above the bases and adjacent to the legs thereof; suspension means suspending the cables from the archlike supports and being adjustable to vary the height of the cables above the base of the supports; first idler assemblies carried by the cables below the connecting portions of the archlike supports, the idler assemblies spanning the space between the cables and having rollers thereon; second idler assemblies carried by the cables and also spanning the space between the cables, the second idler assemblies having rollers located below the rollers of the first idler assemblies; an endless belt extended through the arch-like supports above the base thereof and having an upper pass supported on the rollers of the first idler assemblies and a lower pass supported on the rollers of the lower idler assemblies; and a cover secured to and supported by the connecting portions of the arch-like supports, the cover being exposed outwardly to the atmosphere and being positioned to prevent material from being blown off of the upper pass of the belt, the cover extending over substantially all of the curved portions on the arch-like supports and downwardly along the legs at one side of the conveyor to a position below the upper pass of the belt, the other side of the cover terminating above the upper pass of the belt to permit visual inspection of material carried on the belt.