Patent ID: 7874419

Claim:
A conveyor assembly comprising: a continuous conveyor belt having a width defined by a pair of spaced side edges and formed from a plurality of links joined to each other, wherein each of the plurality of links is pivotally connected to a pair of adjacent links; a pair of spaced side frame members that form a conveyor frame for supporting an upper run and a lower run of the conveyor belt; a drive assembly mounted to a first end of the side frame members for driving the conveyor belt; and an idler assembly mounted to the second end of the side frame member to idler the lower run of the conveyor belt to the upper run of the conveyor belt, wherein each of the side frame members includes a retaining channel having a height greater than the thickness of the conveyor belt, wherein the entire height of the retaining channel is open to an interior of the conveyor frame to receive and retain one of the side edges of the lower run of the conveyor belt, wherein the plurality of links of the lower run of the conveyor belt can pivot relative to each other within the retaining channel to reduce the linear length of the lower run of the conveyor belt.