Patent ID: 8556068

Claim:
A conveyor belt tracking apparatus for a conveyor belt that travels downstream in a downstream travel direction, the conveyor belt tracking apparatus comprising: an elongate tracking roller for extending laterally across and under the belt; a laterally extending pivotal support frame for rotatably supporting the tracking roller to rotate in engagement with the belt traveling in the downstream travel direction thereover; opposite end portions of the tracking roller that are shifted so that one of the end portions is further downstream than the other end portion when the belt mistracks toward the one end portion during the downstream travel thereof; an inclined pivot member that pivotally mounts the pivotal support frame generally centrally therealong for pivoting thereabout and having a pivot axis that is inclined in an upstream direction with an upper end of the pivot member further upstream than a lower end thereof such that the tracking roller one end portion shifts upwardly as the one end portion is shifted further downstream; and a downstream pivot connection between the pivotal support frame and the inclined pivot member which is generally downstream from the tracking roller so that the tracking roller is cantilevered upstream from the inclined pivot member and mistracking of the belt toward the tracking roller one end portion causes the one end portion that is shifted further downstream to also shift further laterally from the pivot axis.