Patent ID: 7775155

Claim:
A rotary cooker and/or sterilizer wherein a plurality of cans containing food product are continuously moved along a helical pathway around a horizontal axis in a heated chamber, each of said cans having a first end with a radially outwardly extending circumferential bead and a second end with chamfered surface to facilitate stacking of said cans for storage and handling wherein said first and second ends of said cans are carried by and roll against a rail, comprising: said rail having first and second sections, said first section including a flat track for carrying said first end of said cans with said radially outwardly extending circumferential bead so that a side wall of said can does not contact said track, said first section carrying a flange for limiting side-to-side motion of said cans, said second section including an inclined track for contacting and carrying said chamfered, second end of said cans so that a no part of the side wall of said chamfered can contacts said inclined track, wherein said inclined track is inclined in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the can moves, wherein said inclined track forms an angle A with the side wall of said cans, said angle A being between 5° and 20°, and said second section carrying a flange for limiting the side-to-side motion of said cans.