Patent ID: 7971706

Claim:
A conveyor chain adapted to be driven in a travel direction to convey articles, comprising a number of interconnected conveying modules having a conveying surface and a back surface, said chain adapted for use with at least one rotary drum having a rotary axis parallel to said travel direction adjacent to the back surfaces of selected modules and a spiral flight portion adapted to engage the back surfaces of the selected modules and advance them along the travel direction, said spiral flight having an axial cross-sectional shape inclined to the travel direction of the chain for advancing said chain along said travel direction, whereby articles to be conveyed on said conveying surfaces of said conveying modules are conveyed in said travel direction, said back surfaces of the selected modules having a guide socket adapted to engage said spiral flight portion, said socket being generally rectangular with long sides, and having a vertical cross-sectional shape along said travel direction, said shape being reversely tapered, being widened from a concave open side of said socket toward a concave bottom surface of said socket, said tapered shape adapted to engage said inclined flight portion of the rotary drum.