Patent ID: 8360411

Claim:
An apparatus for the support of substrates comprising: chains comprising a plurality of links; the links comprising a central cavity; the central cavity having an inner front surface an inner rear surface, and two side surfaces; the links further comprising a top surface opposing a bottom surface, a plurality of side surfaces joining the top surface to the bottom surface, and a stub projecting from a front one of the side surfaces; the stub further comprising two posts projecting outward from opposing side surfaces at a distal end of the stub; and the links further comprising two capture slots projecting from the rear surface of the central cavity, each capture slot including a top surface that is a continuation of the top surface of the link and an opposing bottom surface, opposing inner and outer surfaces, and an opening from the inner surface to the outer surface to receive one of the two posts, wherein the opening of the capture slot has an elliptical shape with a major axis having a different length than a minor axis, wherein the major axis is aligned parallel to the top surface of the link and the minor axis is aligned perpendicular to the top surface of the link, wherein a portion of the inner surfaces that are positioned toward the top surface of the two capture slots are separated by a distance greater than a width of the stub and less than a total projection length of the two posts, wherein at least a portion of the inner surfaces that are positioned toward the bottom surface of the two capture slots are separated by a distance greater than the total projection length of the two posts to form an insertion slot on each of the capture slots, the insertion slot opening toward the bottom surface of the capture slots, and wherein the central cavity and the two capture slots further comprise substrate support guides on their top surfaces.