A curved belt conveyor including a frame, a first pulley and a second pulley carried by the frame, and a conveyor belt positioned around the first pulley and the second pulley. The conveyor belt includes a bead fitted to an outer boundary of the conveyor belt. A plurality of pillars are coupled to the frame and positioned around the outer boundary of the conveyor belt with an unobstructed space between adjacent pairs of the plurality of pillars providing access to an interior region between upper and lower portions of the conveyor belt. A pair of opposed roller assemblies are positioned on each pillar to cooperatively engage the bead and resist inward tension from the conveyor belt. At least one of the roller assemblies of each pair of roller assemblies is pivotably coupled to its associated pillar for movement between an engaged position and a disengaged position.

A curved belt conveyor including a frame, a first pulley and a second pulley carried by the frame, and a conveyor belt positioned around the first pulley and the second pulley. The conveyor belt includes a bead fitted to an outer boundary of the conveyor belt. A plurality of pillars are coupled to the frame and positioned around the outer boundary of the conveyor belt with an unobstructed space between adjacent pairs of the plurality of pillars providing access to an interior region between upper and lower portions of the conveyor belt. A pair of opposed roller assemblies are positioned on each pillar to cooperatively engage the bead and resist inward tension from the conveyor belt. At least one of the roller assemblies of each pair of roller assemblies is pivotably coupled to its associated pillar for movement between an engaged position and a disengaged position.