Slip roller conveyor

1. A conveyor, comprising:

a) a pair of laterally spaced side walls extending in a lengthwise direction of a conveyor pathway, each said side wall having an inside surface facing said pathway and an outside surface facing away from said pathway;

b) a plurality of driven roller assemblies mounted on said side walls in spaced relationship and at uniform height along the lengthwise direction of said pathway, each said driven roller assembly comprising:

i) a center shaft mounted in the side wall so said center shaft is fixed against rotation and projects perpendicularly inward from the inside surface of the side wall, said center shaft being characterized by having a socket head;

ii) a driven pulley having an outer flange, an inner axial bore of a size permitting said driven pulley to slide axially over the center shaft, said driven pulley being mounted on said center shaft in a manner allowing rotation of said driven pulley;

iii) a roller carried on said driven pulley for rotation therewith to move articles resting on said roller down said pathway, said roller having a recess for engaging a catch on the driven pulley to hold the roller securely; and

c) a drive system including an endless drive belt engaged with said driven pulleys to effect rotation thereof.

2. The conveyor of claim 1 , wherein said mounting of center shaft in said side wall comprises a threaded mounting and said socket head of said shaft is engageable by a wrench for easy removal and replacement.

3. The conveyor of claim 1 , wherein said driven pulley comprises plastic material.

4. The conveyor of claim 1 , wherein said roller carried on said sleeve section is a slip roller mounted for slip friction rotation with respect to said driven pulley and subject to non-rotation therewith when the force obstructing rotation of said slip roller exceeds the friction effecting rotation of said slip roller on said driven pulley.

5. The conveyor of claim 1 , wherein the socket head of the center shaft is covered by the roller.

6. The conveyor of claim 1 , wherein the driven pulley has teeth separated by grooves around the outer periphery of the driven pulley.

7. The conveyor of claim 6 , wherein the endless drive belt has teeth separated by grooves, the grooves coinciding with the pulley teeth.

8. A roller conveyor, comprising:

a) a pair of laterally spaced side walls extending in a lengthwise direction of a conveyor pathway,

b) a plurality of driven roller assemblies mounted on each said side wall along the lengthwise direction of said pathway, each said driven roller assembly comprising:

i) a center shaft mounted in the side wall to project perpendicularly inward from an inside surface of the side wall;

ii) a driven pulley having axially extending teeth and grooves in its circumferential outer periphery;

iii) a lip portion on the driven pulley for mounting the driven pulley between the center shaft and the inner surface of the side wall;

iv) a roller operably coupled on said driven pulley for rotation therewith to move articles resting on said roller down said pathway; and

c) a drive system including an endless positive drive belt having an outside edge and a positive drive surface formed of transverse teeth and grooves which mesh with the axially extending teeth and grooves of said driven rotatable pulleys along a straight drive run.

9. The roller conveyor of claim 8 , further comprising a center bore within the roller having a recessed portion along a circumference of the center bore.

10. The roller conveyor of claim 9 , further comprising a catch mechanism along a circumference of the driven pulley.

11. The roller conveyor of claim 10 , wherein the catch mechanism operably couples with the recessed portion to retain the roller on the driven pulley.

12. The roller conveyor of claim 8 , further comprising a flange on the driven pulley for coupling the drive belt between the flange and the inner surface of the side wall.

13. The roller conveyor of claim 8 , wherein the belt can have a backing surface of substantially smooth character such that said backing surface provides a substantially flat plane along a length of said straight drive run, said drive run of said drive belt being adjacent the inside surface of said conveyor side wall, the outside edge of said drive belt being in adjacent relationship to and guided by the inside surface of said conveyor side wall.

14. A slip roller conveyor, comprising:

a) a pair of laterally spaced parallel side walls extending in a lengthwise direction of a conveyor pathway;

b) a plurality of driven slip roller assemblies mounted on at least one the pair of side walls; each said driven slip roller assembly comprising:

i) a non-rotatable center shaft coupled to the side wall projecting perpendicularly inward from an inside surface of the side wall;

ii) a rotatable pulley having axially extending teeth and grooves and having an inner axial bore of a size permitting said rotatable pulley to slide axially over said center shaft;

iii) a slip roller carried on said rotatable pulley for slip friction rotation therewith subject to non-rotation therewith when a force obstructing rotation of said slip roller exceeds a friction effecting rotation of said slip roller; and

iv) the center shaft holding upon it the rotatable pulley pinched between the inside surface of the side wall and the center shaft and the slip roller coupled to the rotatable pulley; and

c) a drive system including an endless positive drive belt having an inside edge and an outside edge and a positive drive surface therebetween.

15. The slip roller conveyor of claim 14 , further comprising a center bore within the slip roller having a recessed portion along a circumference of the center bore.

16. The slip roller conveyor of claim 15 , further comprising a catch mechanism along a circumference of the rotatable pulley.

17. The slip roller conveyor of claim 16 , wherein the catch mechanism operably couples with the recessed portion to retain the roller on the rotatable pulley.

18. The slip roller conveyor of claim 14 , further comprising a lip portion on the rotatable pulley for mounting the rotatable pulley between the center shaft and the inner surface of the side wall.

19. The slip roller conveyor of claim 14 , further comprising a flange on the rotatable pulley for coupling the rotatable pulley between the flange and the inner surface of the side wall.