Patent ID: 7055674

Claim:
A self-cleaning enclosed belt conveyor for loose materials comprising a steel conveyor belt ( 10 ) operatively connected to containment walls ( 2 ), characterized by mechanical means comprising one or more scraping elements ( 1 , 15 ), hinged upon said belt ( 10 ) and comprising a plate shaped into a contour fit to push and/or collect the loose materials present on the bottom, and operatively connected to said conveyor belt ( 10 ), said scraping elements ( 1 , 15 ), when located on the lower side of the belt ( 10 ) and because of the relative position where they are found, perform together with a bottom ( 8 ) of said containment walls ( 2 ) a recovery operation of the loose materials present between the belt ( 10 ) and the bottom ( 8 ) of said containment walls ( 2 ) to bring the loose materials back to said belt ( 10 ) or towards a collection means ( 9 ) for said materials, and further characterized in that said scraping element ( 15 ) is flexibly connected to said belt ( 10 ) by metal net ( 11 ) which is connected at one end to the belt ( 10 ) and at the other end to a hanging mass ( 12 ), said hanging mass ( 12 ) keeping in tension said metal net ( 11 ) when it is near the bottom ( 8 ) in order to push the loose material present at the bottom ( 8 ).