Patent ID: 7073661

Claim:
A conveyor assembly having peripheral sidewalls, the assembly comprising: a first driving roller; a second roller mounted on an axle having an associated bearing assembly at each end of the axle; a conveyor belt having opposing edges and top and underside surfaces, said, the belt being operatively connected to the driving roller and the second roller and defining a gap between one of the sidewalls and belt; and at least one non-moving debris skirt associated with an edge of the conveyor belt, wherein the debris skirt extending from one of said sidewall and being positioned to lift the edge of the conveyor belt, thereby causing the conveyor belt to follow a concave orientation, and; wherein a portion of said non-moving skirt overlies a portion of one of said rollers and its axles, thereby preventing debris from accumulating on the underside of the belt via the gap adjacent one of the rollers and its axles and wherein the at least one debris skirt further comprises a pair of debris skirts extending from said sidewalls, each debris skirt associated with opposing edges of the conveyor belt adjacent to the second roller and; wherein each debris skirt further comprises an extension flange substantially covering at least part of the ends of the axle and the associated bearing assemblies, and; further comprising a plurality of spaced apart rub rails associated with each debris skirt, wherein the debris skirt and associated rub rail cooperatively provide a low friction gliding surface and form a dynamic seal with the conveyor belt along the edges of the conveyor belt and cooperatively lift the conveyor belt edges along a length of the conveyor belt to deflect the edges of the belt to form a concave shape; and wherein the rub rail and the debris skirt are associated via a mitered joint.