Patent ID: 7500553

Claim:
A belt conveyor for transferring a web threading tail in a web manufacturing machine, the belt conveyor comprising: a frame having a first side plate having a first edge and a second side plate having a second edge, and a first bracket mounted to the first side plate and a second bracket mounted to the second side plate; a first roll mounted to the frame, the first roll defining a first axis, the first roll being mounted between the first side plate first edge and the second side plate second edge of the frame; a second roll adjustably mounted to the first bracket and the second bracket for motion toward and away from the first roll; a shaft mounted to the frame first side plate and second side plate, and having disposed thereon two gears spaced from each other in the cross machine direction; two racks, one associated with each of the first bracket and the second bracket, and each rack engaged with one of the two gears, the shaft being rotatable to cause motion of the second roll towards and away from the first roll in spaced parallel relation; a belt loop which extends around the first roll and the second roll, and which travels in a machine direction, wherein rotation of the shaft moves the second roll in the machine direction with respect to the first roll to adjust tension in the belt loop; wherein the shaft is arranged to be operated from a first side of the frame defined by the first edge, and wherein locking elements are arranged in connection with the frame first plate and the frame second plate, the locking elements being arranged to act in co-operation for locking the first frame plate to the first bracket and the second frame plate to the second bracket simultaneously from said first side of the frame, wherein the locking elements comprise: a first cross-shaft having threaded portions extending in the cross machine direction above the gears; a second cross-shaft having threaded portions extending in the cross machine direction below the gears; portions of the brackets which define holes which extend in the machine direction and through which the first cross-shaft and the second cross-shaft extend, said holes providing clearance for the cross-shafts as the distance between the first roll and the second roll is adjusted; and threaded portions fixed with respect to the second bracket which receive the first and second cross-shafts, such that rotation of said cross-shafts locks the side plates to the brackets.