Conveyor

Claim 1

A CONVEYOR ADAPTED FOR USE IN RESTAURANTS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A SUPPORT HAVING AN ELONGATED AT LEAST SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, GENERALLY HORIZONTAL, SUBSTANTIALLY IMPERFORATE UPPER SURFACE, AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR BELT HAVING AN EXTENDED UPPER OPERATIVE RUN AND A LOWER RETURN RUN, SAID CONVEYOR BELT BEING COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF HINGEDLY CONNECTED TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS, THE PREDOMINANT PART OF THE LOWER SURFACE OF EACH SUCH MEMBER BEING FLAT, THE UPPER SURFACE OF EACH OF THE SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS BEING FLAT AND LYING PARALLEL TO THE FLAT MAIN PORTION OF THE LOWER SURFACE OF SUCH MEMBER, THE HINGED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS COMPRISING LATERALLY SPACED KNUCKLES ON ONE OF EACH SUCCESSIVE PAIR OF SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS PROJECTING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CONVEYOR BELT, GROOVES IN THE CONFRONTING EDGE OF THE OTHER MEMBER OF SAID PAIR RECEIVING SAID KNUCKLES, AND TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED PINTLE PINS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID KNUCKLES INTO THE PORTIONS OF THE SLAT-LIKE MEMBER BEARING SAID GROOVES, THERE BEING AT LEAST TWO KNUCKLE AND GROOVE HINGED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS, SAID HINGED CONNECTIONS BEING DISPOSED ADJACENT BUT SPACED INWARDLY OF OPPOSITE LATERAL EDGES OF SAID MEMBERS, THE LOWER SURFACES OF THE KNUCKLES AND THE LOWER SURFACES OF THE PORTIONS OF THE SLAT-LIKE MEMBES BEARING SAID GROOVES LYING IN THE PLANE OF SAID FLAT MAIN LOWER SURFACE OF THE RESPECTIVE SLAT-LIKE MEMBER, SAID MEMBERS, AT THE LOCATION OF SAID HINGED CONNECTIONS, BEING OF REDUCED THICKNESS, THE UPPER SURFACE OF EACH MEMBER AT THE LOCATION OF SAID HINGED CONNECTIONS BEING FLAT AND DISPOSED IN THE PLANE OF THE FLAT UPPER MAIN SURFACE OF THE MEMBER, THE KNUCKLE AND GROOVE-BEARING PORTIONS OF THE MEMBER BEING IN THE FORM OF PARTIALLY ROUNDED BOSSES HAVING LOWER SURFACES LYING IN THE PLANE OF THE FLAT MAIN LOWER SURFACE OF THE MEMBER, THE HINGED CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS IN THE OPERATIVE RUN OF THE CONVEYOR BELT LYING WHOLLY BETWEEN THE PLANES OF THE UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES OF THE SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS IN SUCH OPERATIVE RUN, THE FLAT LOWER SURFACE OF EACH OF THE SLAT-LIKE MEMBERS IN SAID UPPER, OPERATIVE RUN OF THE CONVEYOR BELT RESTING UPON AND BEING SUPPORTED BY THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE SUPPORT, MEANS FOR GUIDING SAID BELT INTO ITS RETURN RUN AND FROM THE RETURN RUN INTO THE OPERATIVE RUN THEREOF, AND MEANS FOR DRIVING THE CONVEYOR BELT.