Slip friction roller drive

Claim 1

A roller conveyor apparatus comprising: (a) a plurality of hollow, cylindrical rollers mounted for rotary movement about stationary axles fixedly secured to spaced, side-support frames, each of said rollers having a rotary bearing assembly at one end thereof; (b) a chain driving means for rotating said plurality of rollers; and (c) a slip friction assembly having associated with each said stationary axle at the other end of its respective said roller: i. a hollow, elongated inner bearing member surrounding and secured to said stationary axle within said other end of said roller by means preventing rotational movement about, but permitting sliding movement along said axle by said inner bearing, said inner bearing member having a cylindrical outer surface and an annular radial flange outside said roller, ii. a sprocket drive member having a cylindrical hub with cylindrical inner and outer bearing surfaces, said inner bearing surface rotatably mounted on said inner bearing member with its outside in juxtaposition to said radial flange of said inner bearing member, said sprocket drive member also having a disc portion positioned outside said roller substantially perpendicular to said cylindrical hub with teeth formed on the outer periphery thereof for engagement with said chain and with an annular recess into its inner side in juxtaposition to said outer bearing surface of said hub, iii. a hollow, elongated cylindrical outer bearing member extending into said other end of said roller in continuous juxtaposition with and secured to the inner side of said roller, said outer bearing member having an inner diameter substantially identical to the outer diameter of the outer bearing surface of said hub and slip frictionally engageable thereon, said outer bearing member having an annular radial flange at its outer end positioned so that its outside is in juxtaposition with the bottom of said annular recess in said sprocket disc portion and slip frictionally engageable thereon and its inside is in juxtaposition with the mouth of said other end of said roller, so that said engagement of said sprocket teeth with said chain is coplanar with the interface of said sprocket disc portion and said flange portion of said outer bearing member, and iv. adjustable means mounted on said axle on the outside of said radial flange of said inner bearing member for selectively moving said inner bearing member flange relative to said sprocket to cause greater or lesser frictional forces to occur between said sprocket, said outer bearing member flange and said mouth of said roller, (d) whereby the frictional forces between each said sprocket and roller indepedent of an external force on said roller can be individually adjusted.