GB1320321A - Egg collecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1320321 Battery cages SALOPIAN INDUSTRIES (METALS) Ltd 6 July 1970 [5 July 1969 6 Feb 1970] 33980/69 and 5696/70 Heading A1M [Also in Division B8] A three-tiered battery cage system comprises cages 10 having egg delivery conveyor belts 11 extending underneath the cages 10 in each which deliver eggs to elevators 13 having egg collecting baskets 15 which deliver the eggs onto a receiving conveyer 50 on which the eggs are further delivered to an inclined conveyer 55 and transported to an egg cleaning or grading area. The belts 11 are driven by a motor 24, the belts 11 serving the middle and top tiers receiving their drive from motor 24 from chains 21, 22, the drive been also transmitted to the elevators 13 through a chain 23. Eggs from the belts 11 serving the middle and top tiers are transferred to the elevators 13 by means comprising rotors 33, Fig. 2, whose arms 40 rotate between the wires 46 of a platform and which gently urge the eggs into the baskets 15. The rotors 33 are driven by means of a chain 37 coupled to the drive shaft of the conveyor belt 11 associated therewith and also connected to the common drive shaft 34 of the rotors 33. Thus the rotational speed of the rotors 33 at each level is co-ordinated with the speed of travel of the elevators 13 serving these levels such that eggs from the middle and top tiers are delivered into alternate baskets on the elevators 13. Eggs from the bottom conveyers 11 are discharged directly onto the receiving conveyer 50 and are kept separate from the other eggs delivered by the elevators 13 by means of a shoot 51 which guides the eggs discharged from the baskets 15 as they pass around the bottom spindle 20 onto the conveyer 50. Means may be provided on the conveyer 50 to segregate malformed eggs from normal eggs, said means comprising a barrier (62), Fig. 5 (not shown), part which normal eggs move, but against which bad eggs are pressed and broken and then fall through a hole (66) formed in the conveyer 50. Further means may be provided to prevent an undesirable build-up of eggs on the conveyer 50 comprising electrical pressure operated switches connected to the motor 24 which are located on the sides of the conveyer 50.