GB340543A - Improvements relating to the preparation of eggs - Google Patents

Abstract

340,543. Opening eggs. BEATTIE, A., The Coppice, Beach Avenue, Sanderstead, Surrey, and LYON, A. A., 14, Queen Victoria Street, London. July 2, 1929, No. 20276. [Class 28 (ii).] A machine for opening eggs has means .for feeding the eggs to the opening position, means for perforating the shells and means for widening the perforation to open the egg. As shown, the machine consists of an intermittent chain conveyer 2 having cross members 3 which support the eggs with their longitudinal axes transverse to the conveyer, a presser 13 which bears on an egg whilst it is penetrated by a double serrated blade 23, and means which separate the blade parts 23 thus breaking the shell and permitting the contents to fall into cups 35 carried on a chain conveyer 37 running at right angles to the conveyer 2. The members 3 may be rollers and may be reel-shaped. The presser 13 is mounted on a pivoted lever 14 connected to a spring 15 which tends to disengage the presser. The lever 14 has an inclined surface or rack of shallow depressions 16 on its upper face, the surface .16 being engaged by a block 17 on a shaft 18 which is moved clockwise by a spring 19. The shaft 18 also carries a lever 22 which abuts against a bell crank 21 and acts as a stop to prevent the spring 19 from actuating the block 17 to depress the presser 13 when no egg is in the position for opening. When an egg is correctly positioned, the bell crank 21 is moved by a cam on the shaft 11 and the presser 13 descends. The knives 23 are each carried on an arm 32 having a toothed quadrant at its lower end. The arms 32 are thus intergeared and the knives are normally kept together by a tension spring joining the arms. The arms are pivoted on a lever which is cam actuated, so that when an egg is held under the presser 13, the lever is raised to lift the knives against the shell. Cam means then actuate the arms 32 to separate the knives. The contents of the eggs are dropped from the cups 35 into a shoot 41 the upper end of which may be movable out of the way of any bad egg which is detected. The shoot 41 has a narrow slot through which the whites pass on to a lower shoot. The yolks can thus be separately collected. The cups 35 are cleaned by a water or steam spray 42.