Conveyor belt for conveyor system

Claim 1

A conveyor belt for a conveyor system having a plurality of driving and driven wheels mounted for rotation about parallel axes with said wheels rotating in planes substantially parallel to the plane of transport of the conveyor system and a chain reeved around and interconnecting said wheels, said belt comprises a plurality of support bar means arranged side by side having top surfaces in the plane of transport and a chain attached to the support bar means beneath the plane of transport, said chain being flexible in a plane parallel to the plane of transport, each of the support bar means having a plurality of branch bars projecting from each of opposite sides thereof, each of the support bar means having one group of branch bars on one side thereof interposed in an alternating arrangement between another group of branch bars on the other side of another support bar means immediately adjacent thereto, a connecting rod fixedly extending through said one group of branch bars and loosely extending through slots formed in said another group of branch bars to interconnect the support bar means and render the support bar means movable longitudinally of the belt and turnable with respect to an adjacent support bar means in a horizontal plane within the range permitted by the loose arrangement of the connecting rod in the slots.