Patent ID: 7575113

Claim:
A belt module suitable for use in a water screen belt advancing in a direction of belt travel, the belt module comprising: an intermediate portion having a first end and a second end spaced from the first end in a longitudinal direction parallel to the direction of belt travel, a first side and a second side spaced from the first side in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and a top and an opposite bottom defining from the top to the bottom the depth of the intermediate portion, the intermediate portion including: at least three thin transverse elements spaced apart in the longitudinal direction and extending in length in the transverse direction from the first side to the second side, with a first transverse element along the first end of the intermediate portion and a second transverse element along the second end bracketing the other transverse element or elements, wherein the thin transverse elements have their narrowest dimension in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of thin link elements spaced apart in the transverse direction and extending in length generally in the longitudinal direction to intersect the transverse elements to form a grid of transverse elements and link elements defining four-sided openings bounded by two consecutive transverse elements and two consecutive link elements and extending from the top to the bottom of the intermediate portion, wherein the thin link elements have their narrowest dimension in the transverse direction to provide, with the intersecting thin transverse elements, the intermediate portion with a large amount of open area for water flow through the four-sided openings; wherein portions of the lengths of some of the transverse elements and link elements extend from the top of the intermediate portion to shallower depths than other portions of the lengths of the same or other transverse elements and link elements; a first plurality of hinge eyes extending in the longitudinal direction outward from the first transverse element and having aligned openings forming a first passageway extending through the first plurality of hinge eyes in the transverse direction and a second plurality of hinge eyes extending in the longitudinal direction outward from the second transverse element and having aligned openings forming a second passageway extending through the first plurality of hinge eyes in the transverse direction; wherein the module has an open area of at least 40%.