Hold-down apparatus for cable conveyors

In a conveying apparatus of a type including a flexible endless member, material engaging means disposed on said flexible endless member for catching material and moving the material in response to movement of the flexible endless member and said material engaging means, channel means disposed at least partially around said flexible endless member and said material engaging means for confining material for transportation from place to place, said channel means having a pair of opposed sidewalls and a trough means attached to the upper portion of said pair of opposed sidewalls, said trough means including a pair of opposite walls extending upwardly and outwardly from said channel means for preventing feed loss when poultry are feeding from said channel means, means for selectively causing said flexible endless member to be pulled through said channel means, an improvement comprising:

• means for resiliently engaging said material engaging means to bias said material engaging means into said channel means, said resilient engaging means comprising one or more loop spring hold-down devices secured at intervals along said channel for biasing said material engaging means and said flexible endless member into said channel means and wherein each of said hold-down devices includes a loop-shaped spring secured to a mounting bracket, said brackets being secured to opposite walls of said trough.