Patent ID: 11970337
Assignee: LAITRAM, L.L.C.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 13:
14. A conveyor belt comprising:
a series of rows of belt modules having a top side and a bottom side and hingedly linked together between consecutive rows along hinge joints defining hinge axes extending perpendicular to a conveying direction from a first side edge of the rows to an opposite second side edge of the rows, wherein the hinge joints have play in the conveying direction to allow the rows to collapse together at the first side edge when the first side edge is at the inside of a turn in a conveying path;
a plurality of non-rotatable protrusions, each non-rotatable protrusion projecting outward at the first side edge of one of the rows to a flat distal end and having upper and lower guide surfaces, a leading face, and a trailing drive face;
wherein cross sections of the non-rotatable protrusion in planes perpendicular to one of the hinge axes of the row have a first line of symmetry that intersects the upper and lower guide surfaces and a second line of symmetry that intersects the leading face and the trailing drive face;
wherein the distance between the upper and lower guide surfaces along the first line of symmetry is longer than the distance between the leading face and the trailing drive face along the second line of symmetry;
wherein the upper and lower guide surfaces are configured to guide an external drive member into driving contact with the trailing drive face of the row or of the consecutive leading row to drive the conveyor belt in the conveying direction.