Patent ID: 8469182

Claim:
A belt conveyor, in particular for conveying foodstuff products to a packaging station, comprising: a stationary structure; a supporting surface comprising a plurality of plates removably carried by the stationary structure; at least one endless flexible belt having a rectilinear conveying branch in contact with said supporting surface and a return branch; a motor-driven roller co-operating with said belt for continuously feeding said belt in a conveying direction; and at least one return assembly provided for sending the belt back between said return branch and said conveying branch, the return assembly comprising at least one return member supported at its ends, said belt conveyor being characterized in that: said motor-driven roller can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to its own axis between a working position and a disassembly position; a control device is provided for displacing the motor-driven roller between the working position and the disassembly position; in the working position the conveying branch of said belt is tensioned on said plates and in the disassembly position the belt is slackened and leaves the plates free to be removed with a movement upwards; and the return assembly comprises at least one pair of arms having at least one pair of fork-like seats, supported in which are the ends of said at least one return member.