914,629. Egg-breaking and separating machines. WILLSEY, C. H. Nov. 28,1960, No. 40779/60. Class 28 (2). A transfer conveyer 11 delivers eggs to cracking assemblies 18, each of which receives an egg, cracks the shell and discharges the contents to an egg separating means 20, the conveyer, cracking assemblies and separating means all being driven simultaneously in horizontal planes by a vertical power shaft 15, the conveyer and cracking assemblies and the cracking assemblies and separating means each being in predetermined vertical alignment during part of their path of travel. An endless conveyer 10 delivers rows of six eggs 12 to conveyer 11 comprising assemblies 16 carried on a conveyer chain 30, mounted on sprockets 13, 14, sprocket 14 being mounted on the main drive shaft 15. Each assembly 16 is mounted on a base-plate 54 secured to chain 30 and having flanges 56, 57 to support a rotatable arm 58 which is part of gripper member 59 and has an end portion 60 to which is rigidly secured an egg supporting member 61. A spring-biased arm 69 is pivoted to arm 58 and its end 70 with member 61 holds the egg. The egg is received with its axis horizontal when the inner end 71 of member 69 engages a cam bar 72 to open the assembly and then allow it to close. As the assembly 16 moves round sprocket 14, arm 60 moves along a section 81 on a plate 34 and as it leaves the end of section 81 it rotates through 90 degrees, turning the egg from horizontal to vertical. The arm 58 has, on its inner end, a block member 74 with a rounded part which engages plate 54 as the assembly 16 rotates through 90 degrees. The end portion 71 of clamp arm 69 then engages a cam 82 and members 59, 69 are separated to drop the egg into one of the cracking assemblies 18. The assembly 16 continues to advance and arm 69 moves free of cam 82 so that members 59, 69 close and then the extension 86 of a plate 34 rotates the assembly back through 90 degrees and re-opens the arms as member 71 passes beneath the end 79 of cam rail 72. Cracking assemblies 18 are pivoted in ears 96 on rectangular plates 90 clamped on plate member 91 secured to shaft 15. Each assembly comprises two pairs of jaw-forming members 98, 99 and 100, 101, pivoted so as to swing towards and away from one another in two perpendicular pairs, and biased by spring 108 into egg-gripping position. Members 98, 99, 100 and 101 comprise C-shaped egg-gripping portions 109, 110, 111 and 112 with straight arm portions 113, 114, 115 and 116 mounted in pairs on aligned pivot pins 117, 118, arms 98, 99 and 100, 101 being respectively urged together by springs 119, 120 and held apart by stop screws 122 on members 114 and 116. Cracking knives 124, 125 pivoted between and to members 98, 100 are biased towards portions 109, 111 and each has a cutting edge 126 and a flange 127 on the opposite edge to engage members 98, 100. Tongues 136, 137 bent out of extensions 114, 116 form stop lugs for cam bars 134, 135 extending from knives 124, 125. An egg endsupporting member 145 has inwardly-extending legs 146 pivoted on pin 97. The jaws of an assembly 18 are opened and the cracking knives 124 and 125 are cooked by engagement of cam bars 134, 135 with cams 152, 153 and the egg is gripped and cracked as bars 134, 135 move beyond cams 152, 153. Extensions 138, 139 on members 98, 99 engage a cam bar 14 so that when assembly 18 is pivoted a predetermined distance downwardly about pin 97, arms 98, 99 are held while arms 100, 101 continue so as to open the egg, Fig. 18, to dump the contents. When an assembly 18 is advanced to egg-receiving station A it is held vertical by the engagement of cam arm 103 beneath cam rail 156, and cam-plate 151 after which cam rail section 157 allows assemblies 18 to swing downwardly to dumping position after which the assembly is brought back to its upright position to discharge the shell portions, by the engagement of arms 134, 135 with camplates 150, 151, into a shoot 163, egg-supporting wire member 145 being downwardly swung to release the shell by engagement of legs 146 with rail 164. Before the shell portions reach the discharge station, remaining albumen is blown out by air mechanism 170. When a cracking assembly 18 is at the cracking station, beneath it is aligned an assembly 20 comprising an egg-receiving tray 200 pivoted to an albumen-receiving pan 201 by a bail member 202 which supports them from a conveyer chain 21. The egg contents are -received in a portion 204 of tray 200 and the assembly moves along trays 200 and 201 being supported by rails 233 and 232, until approaching an inspection station where the support is transferred to a rail 245 lower than rail 233 so that the yolk slides into a yolk cup 206 on tray 200 and the albumen runs through a slot 208 into pan 201. If at station 24 the egg is seen to be unsatisfactory pressure is exerted on lug 216 to swing the assembly clear of rail 245 and support it on rail 246 which has an off-set portion 248 to allow the assembly to swing into a vertical position and dump the contents through shoot 250 to collecting tray 24. A back rail 251 guides these assemblies to housing 270 for washing. Rail 245 guides pan 201 downwardly to deposit the albumen in a shoot 26 while the yolk cup is guided by section 258 to shoot 26 where the yolk is dumped. The entire assembly 20 then passes to the washing apparatus 27 which comprises a pair of horizontal disposed brushes 271 carried on driven shafts 272, 273. Water or other sterilizing fluid is supplied to brushes 271 by a perforated pipe 282 and nozzles 286, 287 and 288.