Self cleaning rotatable member for woven wire mesh conveyor belt

1. A conveyor system comprising:

a woven-wire belt assembled from interwoven helically-wound spirals and connector rods, a pair of connector rods being associated with each helically wound spiral to define open-access recesses of uniform cross-sectional configuration and dimension, said recesses extending in uniformly spaced locations across a width of said belt; and

at least one rotatable member including an outer cylindrical surface symmetrically disposed relative to a central axis of rotation of said member and a plurality of spaced, uniformly radially-oriented protrusions on said outer cylindrical surface for engaging said open-access recesses of said woven-wire belt, each of said protrusions including a parallelogram-shaped body substantially corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration and dimension of correspondingly-located recesses of said woven-wire belt;

wherein said at least one rotatable member includes a hollow tubular member and the outer cylindrical surface of said at least one rotatable member includes a plurality of openings into an interior of the hollow tubular member.

2. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of openings are configured to avoid a build up of product and/or debris on the at least one rotatable member.

3. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of openings assist in cleaning the open-access recesses of the woven wire belt.

4. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one rotatable member further includes a shaft disposed on each end thereof, said shaft having a hollow central bore.

5. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one rotatable member further includes a hub disposed on each end thereof, said hub including a plurality of cut-out openings.

6. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of openings define a plurality of longitudinal slots along a length of said at least one rotatable member.

7. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of spaced, uniformly radially-oriented protrusions form a plurality of rows along a length of said at least one rotatable member, said plurality of openings being formed between adjacent said rows of spaced, uniformly radially-oriented protrusions.

8. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one rotatable member includes a circumferential band of intact material at predefined distances along a length of said rotatable member.

9. The conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of openings include a tapered wall surface.

10. A rotatable member, for use with an elongated woven-wire belt assembled from spiral wires and connector rods which define recesses, of preselected uniform cross-sectional configurational and dimensional characteristics and having a preselected depth dimension for confronting a rotatable member, said rotatable member comprising:

a hollow tubular member defining an outer cylindrical surface symmetrically disposed in relation to a central axis of rotation for said rotatable member,

a plurality of rows of uniformly radially-oriented protrusions on said cylindrical surface for use in engaging recesses presented by interwoven spiral wires and connector rods of a woven-wire belt, and

a plurality of slotted opening formed between adjacent said rows of protrusions.

11. The rotatable member of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of slotted openings are configured to avoid a build up of product and/or debris on the rotatable member.

12. The rotatable member of claim 10 , further including a shaft or hub disposed on each end thereof, said shaft or hub having a hollow central bore.

13. The rotatable member of claim 10 , further including a circumferential band of intact material at predefined distances along a length of said rotatable member.

14. The rotatable member of claim 10 , wherein said plurality of slotted openings include a tapered wall surface.

15. A rotatable conveyor belt member for use with a woven-wire belt formed by spiral wires and connector rods, a pair of connector rod being associated with each helically wound spiral so as to define open-access recesses of uniform cross-sectional configuration and dimension which extend in uniformly spaced locations across a width of the belt, said rotatable conveyor belt member comprising:

an outer cylindrical surface symmetrically disposed relative to a central axis of rotation;

a plurality of rows of uniformly radially-oriented protrusions on said outer cylindrical surface for engaging uniform open-access recesses of the woven-wire belt, each of said protrusions including a parallelogram-shaped body substantially corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration and dimension of correspondingly-located recesses of the woven-wire belt; and

a plurality of slotted openings formed between adjacent rows of said protrusions.

16. The rotatable member of claim 15 , wherein said plurality of slotted openings are configured to avoid a build up of product and/or debris on the rotatable member.

17. The rotatable member of claim 15 , further including hub disposed on each end thereof, said hub having a hollow central bore and a plurality of cut-out openings.

18. The rotatable member of claim 15 , further including a circumferential band of intact material at predefined distances along a length of said rotatable member.

19. The rotatable member of claim 15 , wherein said plurality of slotted openings include a tapered wall surface.