Abstract: Two embodiments of a keeper for retaining the ends of a pair of idler rolls within upwardly opening apertures in a bracket having a pair of outwardly extending ears are disclosed; both embodiments are executed in a malleable metal that retains a set once it has been manipulated into locking engagement with the ears on the bracket. The first embodiment of the keeper comprises two interlocking metal members of substantially similar configuration, each member having a body with a shallow crease, a leg with an aperture defined therein depending from one end of the body, and a tab projecting from the opposite end thereof. The members are interlocked with one another by inserting the tabs into the apertures in the opposing member. The second embodiment of the keeper comprises a unitary member having a body with pivotable legs at opposite ends and depending flanges at opposite sides thereof. The legs have apertures defined therein so that the keeper can be secured in locking engagement with the ears on the bracket.

Abstract: Two embodiments of a keeper for retaining the ends of a pair of idler rolls within upwardly opening apertures in a bracket having a pair of outwardly extending ears are disclosed; both embodiments are executed in a malleable metal that retains a set once it has been manipulated into locking engagement with the ears on the bracket. The first embodiment of the keeper comprises two interlocking metal members of substantially similar configuration, each member having a body with a shallow crease, a leg with an aperture defined therein depending from one end of the body, and a tab projecting form the opposite end thereof. The members are interlocked with one another by inserting the tabs into the apertures in the opposing member. The second embodiment of the keeper comprises a unitary member having a body with pivotable legs at opposite ends and depending flanges at opposite sides thereof. The legs have apertures defined therein so that the keeper can be secured in locking engagement with the ears on the bracket.

Abstract: An impact absorbing for an idler assembly is formed from a series of molded discs of synthetic material such as polyurethane or the like having a thickened hub with a non-circular central aperture that extends axially through the disc and permits the disc to be press-fitted onto a tube shell whose exterior configuration assumes a similar non-circular form. The dimensions of the central aperture in each disc are slightly less than the corresponding axial dimensions of the tube shell, so that the inherent resilence of each disc holds same securely upon the shell in a slip-free relationship; the preferred, commercially readily available non-circular shape is a a rectangle.The hub on each disc contacts the hub on the adjacent disc, so that the discs are retained in alignment with one another and tend to rotate as a unit. A metal reinforcing ring may be molded within the disc, if needed, to enhance its structural rigidity and further increase its ability to absorb impact forces.

Abstract: Two embodiments of a keeper for retaining the ends of a pair of idler rolls within upwardly opening apertures in a bracket having a pair of outwardly extending ears are disclosed; both embodiments are executed in a malleable metal that retains a set once it has been manipulated into locking engagement with the ears on the bracket. The first embodiment of the keeper comprises two interlocking metal members of substantially similar configuration, each member having a body with a shallow crease, a leg with an aperture defined therein depending from one end of the body, and a tab projecting from the opposite end thereof. The members are interlocked with one another by inserting the tabs into the apertures in the opposing member. The second embodiment of the keeper comprises a unitary member having a body with pivotable legs at opposite ends and depending flanges at opposite sides thereof. The legs have apertures defined therein so that the keeper can be secured in locking engagement with the ears on the bracket.