Axially rotatable delivery conveyor

Claim 1

For use in an axially rotatable delivery conveyor system including means to rotatably support said conveyor comprising spaced bearing elements, each of a predetermined axial length, the improvement which resides in: at least first and a second conveyor lengths, said lengths each having a cocylindrical outer surface, coupling means interconnecting said lengths in a driving connection; each of said lengths including, an inner core of rigid material, and article pushing means and bearing engaging means axially positioned and circumposed about the core, said bearing engaging means including said outer surface and said surface being smooth, substantially continuous and coaxial with the axis of said conveyor, and said article pushing means comprising a spiral track in said outer surface, said track including a substantially radially extending face between the inner core and said outer surface, said axially rotatable delivery conveyor including a curved length intermediate said first and second conveyor lengths, and coupling means interconnecting said lengths in a driving connection, said curved length including a flexible inner torque shaft and a plurality of interconnected generally coaxial outer links jacketing the torque shaft, each of said links comprising a structure having substantially the same surface configuration as that of the article pushing means and bearing engaging means of said first and second straight conveyor lengths, and means interconnecting said links, each of said last mentioned interconnecting means including a portion extending from one of the links in the direction of the spiral track and intermediate the adjacent article pushing means circumposed about the core and into engagement with the adjacent confronting link face.