RU2482475C1 - Device and method for determining yolk weight without damaging egg - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: instrumentation.

SUBSTANCE: egg is placed on horizontal support and coated with gel for ultrasound analysis and covered by polymer bag filled with distilled water. Bag top surface is coated with said gel to apply transducer thereto connected via cable to ultrasound scanner with computer image processing system to define yolk diameter. Now, formula for ball is used to calculate volume and to multiply defined volume by yolk mean density to determine its weight.

EFFECT: high accuracy, ease of use, cost-effective solution.

2 cl, 1 tbl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to agriculture and is intended to determine the mass of the yolk of eggs without violating the integrity of the eggshell. It can be used in breeding when breeding breeding chickens.

Almost the only method used in poultry farming for determining the mass of the yolk today is its weighing after breaking eggs [1]. This method is time-consuming and costly, because breeding eggs are much more expensive than food eggs, and for a sufficient level of reliability it is required to evaluate 3-5 pcs. eggs from each breeding chicken.

It was proposed to indirectly estimate the mass of the yolk without breaking the egg according to a previously found empirical dependence on the weight of the egg and the so-called shape index [2]. Although the result obtained by the authors was within the normative indicators, the method cannot be considered completely reliable, since the coefficients of the empirical ratio can depend both on the breed and on a number of other reasons, such as the age of the bird, season, feeding regime, etc.

There is experience of using a medical tomograph for non-destructive analysis of the size of the yolk [3]. The correlation obtained by the authors between the data of the tomographic method and direct weighing of the yolk was very low, amounting to 0.7-0.87. In addition, the application of this method in agriculture is very doubtful because of the extremely expensive and cumbersome equipment.

As the device closest to the claimed invention (prototype), an apparatus for testing the quality of eggs by transmission was selected [4]. He has a stand for holding the egg in a horizontal position and a means of non-destructive testing of its internal structure, consisting of a light source and a light detector passing through the egg. The device is designed to detect defective eggs in which the size of the yolk due to the extension of its membrane is greater than a predetermined value. About any definition of the mass of the yolk is not talking here.

The aim of the present invention was the creation of an inexpensive device and the development of a simple, not violating the integrity of the eggshell, method for determining the mass of the yolk by determining its actual size by means of non-destructive testing of the internal structure of objects.

As a means of non-destructive testing of the internal structure, an apparatus for ultrasonic scanning was selected. This equipment is affordable, relatively low cost and has portable versions that are convenient for consistent use on several poultry farms.

Before the beginning of hardware research, test experiments were conducted to determine the actual position of the yolk in horizontally located chicken eggs by means of their longitudinal vertical cutting after freezing. Figure 1 shows a photograph of the obtained slices. It is clearly seen here that in this position, despite the fixing ligaments, the yolk “pops up” almost until the upper surface of the shell touches.

However, an attempt to direct ultrasound study of the internal structure of eggs by the standard method yielded nothing. Figure 2 shows the image obtained on an ultrasound scanner when the sensor is placed directly on the shell, lubricated with gel for ultrasonic research (ultrasound). Obviously, the internal structure of the egg is not visible.

The search for a solution led to the development of a special device for testing eggs, the design of which is shown in section in figure 3. The support 1 is made with the possibility of placing the egg 2 in the middle of the bottom of the upwardly extending bell 3 supporting the edges of the polymer bag filled with distilled water (there must be no air bubbles) 4, to which a sensor 5 is attached from above, connected by cable 6 to an ultrasound scanner with a computer image processing system.

The method for determining the mass of the yolk using the described device is as follows. The egg is placed on a stand in a horizontal position, gel for ultrasound is applied to the upper surface of the shell, the egg is covered with a plastic bag, an ultrasound gel is also applied to the bag and an ultrasound scanner sensor is applied, the yolk diameter is determined by computer image processing, the formula for the ball is calculated volume and multiplying by the average density of the yolk determine its mass.

Figure 4 shows an example of the image of the internal structure of an egg obtained on an ultrasound scanner through a bag 4. The contours of the upper surface of the shell 7 and the contours of the yolk on the left 8 and right 9 are clearly visible. In Fig. 5, manually guided sight lines 10 and 11 are superimposed , which the operator must combine with the left and right edges of the yolk, respectively. Based on the difference in the positions of the lines, the program determines the diameter of the yolk, which immediately calculates the volume and mass.

Using the above-described device and method, a series of yolk mass determinations was carried out, at which the average value of their density was taken equal to the number 1.035, known from literary sources [1]. The calculated mass values were compared with the direct weighing of the yolks after breaking the same eggs.

The results are shown in the table. It can be seen that the claimed invention provides good accuracy in determining the mass of the yolk: a deviation of more than 4% occurs only in 4% of cases, and the average error is 2.1%, which is more than enough for practical purposes.

The technical result of the invention is the high accuracy, availability and cost-effectiveness of determining the mass of the yolk, due to the preservation of the integrity of the eggs. The invention can be used for breeding work to increase the mass of the yolk, which increases both the nutritional value of eggs and indicators essential for the development of healthy embryos of future chickens.

Information sources

1. Tsarenko P.P. Improving the quality of poultry products: food and hatching eggs. // L .: Agropromizdat, 1980.

2. RF patent No. 2351125 dated 12/21/2007.

3. Donko T., Emri M. et al. Effect of CT scanning method on the in vivo predictability of egg yolk content in hens' eggs // World's Poultry Science Journal, 2010, V.66, p. 290.

4. US patent No. 2007195 from 09/07/1935.

Table No. p.p. The mass of the yolk, g Deviation% According to the invention Direct weighing one 14.6 14.5 +0.7 2 14.7 13.7 +7.0 3 15,5 15,5 0,0 four 15.6 15.3 +1.9 5 16,2 16,0 +0.6 6 16,2 16.5 -1.8 7 16,2 16.7 -3.0 8 16.7 16.3 +2.4 9 16.7 16.3 +2.4 10 17.0 16.9 +0.6 eleven 17,2 17.3 -0.6 12 17,2 17.7 -2.9 13 17.5 17.6 -0.6 fourteen 18.1 17.5 +3.4 fifteen 18.3 18.5 -1.1 16 19.0 19.6 -3.1 17 19,2 19.9 -3.6 eighteen 19.5 19.1 +2.1 19 19.8 20.1 -1.5 twenty 19.9 19.8 +0.5 21 20,2 20.3 -0.5 22 20.3 19.6 +3.5 23 20.5 20.1 +2.0 24 20.8 20.5 +1.5 25 21.0 20.9 +0.5

Claims (2)

1. A device for determining the mass of the yolk without damaging the egg, containing a stand for holding the egg in a horizontal position and a means of non-destructive testing of the internal structure of the egg, characterized in that the stand is arranged to place the egg in the middle of the bottom of the upwardly extending bell and there is a polymer bag filled with distilled water, and a means of non-destructive testing of the internal structure of the egg is an ultrasound scanner with a computer image processing system. 2. The method for determining the mass of the yolk without damaging the egg using the device according to claim 1, according to which the egg is placed on a stand in a horizontal position, an ultrasound gel is applied to the upper surface of the shell, the egg is covered with a plastic bag, and ultrasound gel is also applied on top of the bag studies and apply the sensor of an ultrasonic scanner, get the image of the yolk, by computer processing the image find its diameter, according to the formula for the ball, calculate the volume and multiply by the average density of the yolk determine the mass.

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