Abstract: A combination of a belt fastener having upper and lower plates joined by arcuate hinge loops and staples preassembled in apertures formed in the upper plates is provided with the staples cooperating with the plates to capture an end of a belt between the plates. The edges of the apertures provide the staples with vertically spaced areas of interference fit with the combination of the preassembled staples and fasteners being effective to reduce the time required to install these plate-type fasteners on bell ends while also holding the staples in an upright, pre-set position against forces that would otherwise cause the staple to slide against the aperture edges until a sufficient driving force is applied for driving the legs through belt material to attach the fastener on a belt end.

Abstract: A belt fastener having an upper plate and a lower plate with holes which align with holes in a pair of belt ends, and bolts are inserted through the aligned holes of the plates and the belt ends, and nuts screwed onto the bolts, to connect the belt ends. A preassembled lower plate and bolt combination is provided in which bolts are retained in their respective lower plate apertures by washers disposed on the bolt shanks. The washers are disposed on the bolt shanks sufficiently close to the lower plate to maintain anti-rotational engagement of the bolts with the lower plate, and spaced sufficiently far from the lower plate to allow outward swinging of the bolts to an insertion position for insertion of the bolts through the belt holes in an outwardly swung position for subsequent drawing together of the bolt and belt ends.

Abstract: Illustrated and described is a nailing gun conversion for use in driving and setting rivets to attach belt fasteners to conveyor belts and the like. The conversion involves a special nose piece and drive rod for the gun for cooperation with the modified head of a multiple pronged rivet driver used for the simultaneous driving and setting of a cluster of nail-pointed self-setting rivets maintained in position for assembly with the belt fasteners and belt by a fixture of known construction.

Abstract: A splice assembly is provided for connecting together a pair of belt ends by splice members having elongated tensile members such as cables or straps in a manner which allows for troughing of the belt across its width at the connected belt ends. End members are fastened to the ends of the cables or belts and the belt fasteners have slots or apertures for engageably receiving the ends members of the cables or straps, whereby the cables or straps are affixed to both of the first and second belt ends to be joined along the width of the belt ends. There is a small gap between adjacent belt fasteners which allows for flexion of the belt to allow for the aforementioned troughing of the belt. The belt splice may be provided with a support slab, which protects the cables or belts against abrasion or being snagged and which also maintains a plurality of cables or straps in spaced, generally parallel relation.

Abstract: A portable belt clamping and pulling apparatus is provided to grip and pull belt ends together for splicing belt ends of a conveyor belt. A pair of belt ends are clamped between respective pairs of I-beams, the clamped belt ends are pulled together by a come along mechanism, and the free ends of belt between the I-beams are maintained held together in a tension free environment to allow fastening together of the belt ends. The respective I-beams which clamp the belt ends are clamped together by a pair of clamping jaws which are slidable along the I-beams to any desired position therealong to accommodate different belt widths and allow positioning of the clamping jaws adjacent the sides of the belt regardless of the width of the belt. Thus, exerting the tension force close to the edges of the belt.

Abstract: An apparatus for attaching cleats to belts in which belts and cleats are heated to a fusing temperature with a wheel subsequently rolled over the cleats. The apparatus provides means for adjusting the orientation of the wheel to allow attachment of cleats either longitudinally or transversely, as well as the ability to accommodate straight or angled cleats.

Abstract: Disclosed is an integral one piece plastic fastener for securing belt ends together. The fastener has upper and lower plastic plates clasped to a belt end with integral, hollow rivets projecting from the upper plate through openings in the bottom plate and with hollowed ends of the rivets deformed to form rivet heads for maintaining clasping of the plastic plates on the belt end. Also disclosed is a rivet head forming tool which smoothly forms rivet heads by a spinning process in which a rotating tool is forced against the hollow end of the rivet and spun with sufficient velocity and applied with a high force to create a sufficient heat and pressure to cause the end wall of the rivet to curl and turn over radially outwardly to form a rivet head tightly pushing against the lower plate of the fastener.

Abstract: A splice assembly is provided for connecting together a pair of belt ends by a plurality of short lengths of cable in a manner which allows for troughing of the belt across its width at the connected belt ends. The lengths of cable engage at one of their ends to a first belt end, and engage at their other end to a second belt end, whereby the cables bear a tensile load along their axis. Belt fasteners having slots for engageably receiving the ends of the cables are affixed to both of the first and second belt ends to be joined along the entire width of the belt ends. There is a small gap between adjacent belt fasteners which allows for flexion of the belt thereat to allow for the aforementioned troughing of the belt. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the cable ends engage with respective belt fasteners in a manner which prevents movement of the cable ends relative to the belt fasteners during operation of the belt.

Abstract: Disclosed is an integral one piece plastic fastener for securing belt ends together. The fastener has upper and lower plastic plates clasped to a belt end with integral, hollow rivets projecting from the upper plate through openings in the bottom plate and with hollowed ends of the rivets deformed to form rivet heads for maintaining clasping of the plastic plates on the belt end. Also disclosed is a rivet head forming tool which smoothly forms rivet heads by a spinning process in which a rotating tool is forced against the hollow end of the rivet and spun with sufficient velocity and applied with a high force to create a sufficient heat and pressure to cause the end wall of the rivet to curl and turn over radially outwardly to from a rivet head tightly pushing against the lower plate of the fastener.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device for supporting a plurality of rivets in a desired orientation and spacing for insertion of the rivets as a group into the plurality of apertures of a belt fastener. The rivet holder comprises two portions which are releasably interconnected such that the two portions are separable upon application of manual force thereto to release the rivets from the rivet holder as a group upon application of manual force. In one embodiment, the rivet holder comprises two portions which are pivotally interconnected in such a manner that the two portions are not separable until sufficiently pivoted with respect to one another. This prevents the two portions from separating prior to the time of intended use, as may otherwise occur during transport or the like in which there may be forces acting on the rivets tending to force the two rivet holder portions apart which would result in the premature release of the rivets.

Abstract: Disclosed is a flexible hinge pin, and a method and apparatus for forming the hinge pin, wherein a cable is twisted and heated with sufficient torque and heat to sever the cable into shorter hinge pins. The heating and twisting causes the portions of the cable in proximity with the severed ends to have a tight spiral and to be reduced in diameter, and the strands which comprise the cable to be bonded to one another both internally and at external portions of the cable. The reduced diameters of the formed ends facilitates easier threading of the hinge pins through belt fastener hoops. The bonding of the cable strands in the region of the ends serves to both maintain the tight spiral and the reduced diameter, and to prevent the ends of the hinge pin from separating.

Abstract: A belt fastener apparatus and comb assembly is mounted and operable on a frame. The fastener apparatus is particularly applicable to wire loop-type fasteners and includes a locating pin to positively locate the punch and anvil arrangement to inhibit indexing the fastener apparatus prior to punch withdrawal from the comb bed and to provide independently operable punches which sequentially final-clinch a fastener and initially drive staples therethrough to reduce the work load on the fastener apparatus and operation.

Abstract: Disclosed is an integral one piece plastic fastener for securing belt ends together. The fastener has upper and lower plastic plates clasped to a belt end with integral, hollow rivets projecting from the upper plate through openings in the bottom plate and with hollowed ends of the rivets deformed to form rivet heads for maintaining clasping of the plastic plates on the belt end. Also disclosed is a rivet head forming tool which smoothly forms rivet heads by a spinning process in which a rotating tool is forced against the hollow end of the rivet and spun with sufficient velocity and applied with a high force to create a sufficient heat and pressure to cause the end wall of the rivet to curl and turn over radially outwardly to form a rivet head tightly pushing against the lower plate of the fastener.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for cutting an end of a belt and for clinching belt fasteners to the cut belt end. The apparatus includes a clamp for clamping the belt and a knife carriage driven across the belt to cut the belt end wtih a knife on the carriage. A line of belt fasteners mounted in a comb are then pressed against the belt by a roller which is mounted on a roller carriage for travel across the line of belt fasteners. Preferably, a single, detachable, manual driver or handle is used to drive the knife carriage and the roller carriage.

Abstract: A conveyor belt assembly is provided with a pair of spaced parallel endless conveyor belts which are spanned by a plurality of equally spaced, parallel rods. Each of the conveyor belts are joined together at their opposite belt ends by a pair of belt fasteners secured to the belts and having hinge loops intermeshed and connected by a hinge pin. The preferred pin has a constant diameter and retainers at opposite ends of the hinge pin to abut the belt fasteners to prevent lateral sliding of the hinge pin. The preferred retainers are enlarged heads on opposite ends of the hinge pin. Other retainers are tru-arc rings positioned in grooves formed in the hinge pin. The preferred belt fasteners are all identical in shape and have first and second notches in their respective side edges to receive the enlarged heads. When the belt fastener is forwardly facing, the enlarged head will be nested in a first notch; and where the belt fastener is rearwardly facing the enlarged head will be in the second notch.

Abstract: A wire belt fastener is formed from a piece of wire to have a wire body having a pair of arms joined by a U-shaped hinge pin section. The ends of the wire are flattened to form wide areas having grooves to receive the head and the bent ends of a staple. The fasteners are aligned in a juxtaposed array by a connector wire or rod extending normal to the arms and spanning across a series of belt fasteners to space them evenly to receive interdigitated hinge loops of another array of belt fasteners. A belt stop comprising a projecting piece of wire is secured to an inner surface of one arm of the wire belt fastener to be abutted by the cut belt end to limits its insertion into the gap between the arms of the wire belt fastener. To reduce the lateral width of the belt fasteners and to place more metal in the splice, the wire cross-section at the hinge loop is substantially oblong with flat faces of adjacent, intermeshed fasteners being side by side.

Abstract: A fastener and fastener assembly for coupling the ends of a conveyor belt to form a continuous belt where the preferred embodiment is a belt fastener having an upper and lower arm connected by a loop, and having a belt stop positioned to limit insertion of a conveyor belt end. The assembly utilizes a first and second set of fasteners mounted on opposite belt ends which intermesh to define a hinge passage for a hinge pin to couple the belt ends together. The reach-back of the belt ends into the belt fasteners is maximized as the belt stops are aligned with their belt loops and positioned to abut the belt end at a location where the exterior surface of a belt loop of the opposite belt fasteners is engaging or nearly engaging the belt end.

Abstract: An anti-sifting arrangement for plate and wire-type belt fasteners with hinge loops. A block of flexible material, such as an open-cell reticulated foam, is disposed in the hinge loop area and spans adjacent belt fasteners. A hinge pin inserted into the meshed hinge loops compresses the foam block which also expands to fill the voids between the belt ends, hinge loops and hinge pin to prevent sifting of particulate matter through the splice. The foam block is retained in position by the belt stops or the end of the belt and may be readily inserted or removed from the belt fastener assembly.

Abstract: A pair of harvester belts have ends joined to form an endless loop by hinged belt fasteners of identical shape. Parallel rods span the endless belts and one of the parallel rods has ends inserted into interleaved loops on adjacent belt fasteners to form a hinge pin connection. In one embodiment, only the belt fastener has only a single plate secured to one side of the belt by threaded fasteners. In another embodiment, the belt fastener has both upper and lower plates with the upper plate having a channel to receive a parallel rod end and fasteners secure the parallel rods, the upper plate, the belt and the lower plate.

Abstract: A belt fastener of the type formed from a blank of metal having substantially uniform thickness by a progressive die arrangement. The fastener includes a generally flat upper plate, a generally flat lower plate, strap means joining the plates and an abutment finger extending from one of the plates for limiting insertion of a belt segment moved between the plates. The finger is offset with respect to the strap means and has a thickness less than that of the blank. The finger is engageable with the strap means of another belt fastener which other fastener functions to hold an adjacent belt segment.