The present invention relates to belt conveyor safety in general.

A belt conveyor may comprise a plurality of support stations distributed along the belt path. Each support station comprises a frame and one or more rollers rotatably mounted on the frame and supporting the conveyor belt.

Nip angles are formed between each support roller and the conveyor belt when the conveyor belt rests on the rollers. These nip angles are extremely dangerous, as both the belt and the roller are in motion. An operator's hand can be caught in the nip angle and crushed between the belt and the roller.

It is possible to place guards at each roller to prevent access to the nip angle.

However, such guards are not entirely satisfactory, and a small risk of accidents remains.

In this context, the invention aims to provide a support station for a conveyor belt, with reinforced protection at the nip angles.

To this end, according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a support station of a belt conveyor, the support station comprising:a frame;at least two support rollers adapted to support a conveyor belt running longitudinally from an upstream side of the support rollers to a downstream side of the support rollers, the at least two support rollers rotatably mounted on the frame about respective axes of rotation substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and transversely separated by a gap, nip angles being formed between the at least two support rollers and the conveyor belt when the conveyor belt is resting on the at least two support rollers;a nip angle protector, comprising a roller guard for each support roller, longitudinally facing said support roller on an upstream side of said support roller, and, for the or each gap, a nip guard longitudinally facing said gap on an upstream side of said gap.

Thus, the gaps between the rolls are not left unprotected. Instead, a guard is placed longitudinally opposite said gap, so that operators can no longer access the nip angles through the gaps.

This increased protection reduces the risk of accidents.

The support station may further represent one or more of the following features, considered individually or in any technically possible combination:the roller guards and the or each gap guard are made of a material having an elastic modulus of between 50 and 400 MPa;the roller guards and the or each gap guard are integral with each other in a single part;said single part comprises a continuous upper edge, intended to be placed immediately under the conveyor belt and extending transversely along each support roller and the or each gap;for each roller guard, said single part comprises a lower portion integral with the continuous upper edge and extending the continuous upper edge downwards, the or each gap guard comprising only the continuous upper edge;the lower parts of two adjacent roller guards are separated by a space, said two roller guards each comprising a slot separating the continuous upper edge from the lower part and opening into the space;the frame comprises at least one fastening bar, at least one of the lower parts comprising a groove attached by a form of interaction to the at least one fastening bar;the at least two support rollers have axes of rotation that are inclined with respect to each other, the corresponding roller guards being inclined with respect to each other, the gap cover forming a hinge between the roller guards.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a belt conveyor comprising a conveyor belt and a plurality of support stations for said belt having the above features, distributed along said belt.

According to a third aspect, the invention relates to a method of manufacturing a support station having the above features, comprising the following steps:obtaining a profile with a continuous upper edge and a continuous lower part along its entire length;cutting out the space and the slots by T-punching the profile.

