Patent ID: 8408384

Claim:
In a conveyor assembly including a series of freely moving conveyor rollers for conveying a product to one or more product operations, the improvement which comprises: (a) a pair of spaced apart side frames that support the series of freely moving conveyor rollers spanning between said side frames; (b) a drive system associated with one or more drive rollers selected from said freely moving conveyor rollers and comprising: (1) a selectively inflatable bladder, an elastomeric sleeve wrapped around said drive rollers, and a moving belt disposed beneath said drive rollers, wherein inflation of said bladder pushes said moving belt against said elastomeric sleeve wrapped drive rollers for rotation of said drive rollers; and (c) a brake system associated with one or more brake rollers selected from said freely moving conveyor rollers and comprising: (1) a selectively inflatable bladder and a fixed elastomeric band disposed beneath said brake rollers, wherein inflation of said bladder pushes said fixed elastomeric band against said brake rollers for stopping rotation of said brake rollers.