JP2001017020A - Distinguishing device for class and freshness of egg - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for distinguishing the class and freshness of an egg capable of easily distinguishing the class and freshness of the egg. SOLUTION: This device for distinguishing the class and freshness of an egg consists of a weight-measuring means 1 for measuring the weight of the egg, an air chamber-measuring means 2 for measuring the size of the air chamber appeared by irradiating a light to the egg, a class and freshness-operation means 3 for operating the class of the egg from the weight measured by the weight-measuring means 1 and the inputted number of the eggs and also operating the rank of freshness of the egg from the size of the air chamber measured by the air chamber-measuring means 2, and a class and freshness-displaying means 4 for displaying the class and freshness operated by the class and freshness-operation means 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus which measures the weight of an egg to determine the grade and also measures the size of the air chamber of the egg to determine the freshness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Chicken eggs are eaten as raw foods and boiled eggs as foods containing nutrients such as protein, calcium, iron and vitamins, and are also processed into various dishes such as omelets and chawanmushi. I have.

[0003] Eggs are usually put in a pack of 10, 6, or 4 eggs, and the weight of each egg is LL (70-76 g), L (64-70 g), M
(58-64 g), MS (52-58 g) and S (46
~ 52g).

[0004] In addition, as a substitute for the freshness of the egg, the expiration date on which the fresh food can be eaten by the date is entered.

[0005]

When purchasing an egg, the consumer of the egg determines the weight by looking at the displayed grades such as LL and L, and judges the freshness from the displayed expiration date. .

[0006] However, since the purchaser usually has no weight measuring means at the place of purchase, the purchaser cannot confirm the displayed grade.

Further, as for the freshness, it is impossible to confirm the degree of freshness even within the expiration date. They are sometimes separated by floating or sinking eggs with water, but the fact is that it is not clear in detail.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus which can easily discriminate the grade / freshness of an egg.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus for measuring the weight of an egg, and irradiating the egg with light to measure the size of an air chamber that appears. The air chamber measurement means, and calculates the grade of the egg from the weight measured by the weight measurement means and the number of eggs input, and ranks the freshness from the size of the air chamber measured by the air chamber measurement means And freshness calculating means for calculating the degree and freshness, and grade / freshness displaying means for displaying the grade and freshness calculated by the class / freshness calculating means.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the present invention, the grade of an egg is determined by measuring the total weight of the egg with a weighing device, and calculating the weight per egg from the number of eggs input.
M, MS, and S can be determined.

For the freshness of the egg, a change in the air chamber between the egg white and the egg shell on the thick side of the egg is used. The air chamber becomes larger as the days pass after egg collection and the freshness decreases, so that the air chamber can be determined by measuring the size of the air chamber. Eggs should be preserved well.
The air chamber is on top and does not need to be inverted because it is packed with the thin side down and the thick side with the air chamber formed up.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing changes in the air chamber.
(B) is a graph showing the relationship between the size of the air chamber and the number of elapsed days. The measurement of the size of the air chamber was performed by measuring the size of the air chamber because the air chamber was easy to see by obliquely shining light on the egg in a dark place. It can be seen that as the number of days elapse after egg collection, the size of the air chamber increases, and it becomes about 1.5 times in about two weeks. Therefore, freshness can be ranked by measuring the size of the air chamber.

The size of the air chamber after egg collection is LL, L, M,
It is almost constant irrespective of the difference between MS and S, and the rate of increase due to the elapsed days is also almost constant. When stored in a refrigerator (10 ° C. or lower), the expiration date of the egg varies depending on the season from egg collection to storage.
Day. However, usually, it is desirable to use eggs within about 10 days after egg collection to eat raw and delicious,
The size of the air chamber after 2 weeks is about 1.5 times that of the air chamber after egg collection. It is desirable to judge that heating is required and heating is required in consideration of safety.

[0014]

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for determining the grade and freshness of an egg according to the present invention. The grade / freshness discriminating apparatus comprises a weight measuring means 1 for measuring the weight of an egg, an air chamber measuring means 2 for measuring the size of an air chamber, a grade calculated from the measured weight, and a size of the measured air chamber. Grade to calculate freshness from
It comprises a freshness calculating means 3 and a grade / freshness display means 4 for displaying the calculated grade / freshness.

FIG. 2A is a schematic plan sectional view showing the inside of the egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a schematic front sectional view showing a partial section. The weight measuring means 1 includes a weight measuring device 5 having an egg mounting table 6 on which eggs are mounted. The egg mounting table 6 is placed on the egg mounting table 6 so that the eggs can be stably mounted.
A plurality of holes 6a into which the eggs enter are formed, or a plurality of dents are formed on the surface of the egg mounting table 6 in the same manner as the shape of the pack for storing the eggs. The hole 6a and the recess are sized so that the eggs can enter almost halfway, so that the air chamber can be easily revealed.

The weight of the egg placed on the mounting table 6 is measured by the weight measuring device 5, and the measurement result is converted into an electric signal, which is input to the grade / freshness calculating means 3. In addition, the number of eggs placed on the mounting table 6 can be input to the grade / freshness calculating means 3.

In the air chamber measuring means, near the egg placing table 6,
Similarly to an egg tester for examining egg chicks, a light source 7 having a high lux degree such as a halogen lamp is arranged to irradiate light from obliquely above the eggs placed on the egg mounting table 6. The light from the light source 7 is
The air chamber at the top of each egg is illuminated, and the interior is brought into a dark room state by closing the lid 8.

The air chamber measuring means 2 is further provided with an air chamber measuring device 9 for measuring the size of the exposed air chamber by irradiating light. A measuring device such as a CCD image sensor is used as the air chamber measuring device 9, and the measured size of the air chamber is converted into an electric signal and input to the class / freshness calculating means 3.

The grade / freshness discriminating apparatus is provided with a grade display plate 13 for displaying the grade and a freshness display plate 15 for displaying the freshness.

In FIG. 1, the grade / freshness calculating means 3 inputs the weight measured by the weight measuring means 1 and, when the number of eggs is input, calculates the average weight calculating circuit 10 from the weight and the number of eggs. Is used to calculate the weight per egg. The calculation result is input to the comparison circuit 11 in which weights corresponding to the grades of LL, L, M, MS, and S are set, and the weight of each grade is compared with the weight per egg. Is calculated. The calculated grade is inputted to the grade / freshness display means 4, and the corresponding grade (LL, L, M, MS, S) of the grade display plate 13 is displayed by the display control circuit 12.

In the class / freshness calculating means 3, when the size of the air chamber measured by the freshness measuring means 2 is inputted,
The size of the air chamber corresponding to the rank of good, normal, required heating, etc. is input to the comparison circuit 14 in which the size of the ranked air chamber is compared with the measured size of the air chamber. , The content of the freshness is calculated. The calculated freshness rank is input to the grade / freshness display means 4, and the display control circuit 12 displays the corresponding freshness rank (best, good, normal, or heating required) on the freshness display panel 15.

After the confirmation of the grade and freshness is completed, the reset button is pressed to return to the initial state.

[0023]

According to the apparatus for determining the grade and freshness of an egg of the present invention, anyone can easily determine the grade and freshness of an egg and purchase it, and can eat the purchased egg with confidence.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is a schematic plan sectional view showing the inside of the egg grade / freshness discriminating apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (b) is a schematic front sectional view showing a partial section.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing a change in an air chamber, and FIG. 3B is a graph showing a relationship between the size of the air chamber and the number of elapsed days.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Weight measuring means 2: Air chamber measuring means 3: Grade / freshness calculating means 4: Grade / freshness displaying means 5: Weight measuring instrument 6: Egg placing table 6a: Hole 7: Light source 8: Lid 9: Air chamber measuring instrument 10: Average weight calculation circuit 11: Comparison circuit 12: Display control circuit 13: Class display board 14: Comparison circuit 15: Freshness display board

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A weight measuring means for measuring the weight of an egg, an air chamber measuring means for measuring the size of an air chamber that emerges by irradiating light to the egg, and a weight measured by the weight measuring means. A grade / freshness calculating means for calculating the grade of the egg from the number of the inputted eggs and calculating a rank of freshness from the size of the air chamber measured by the air chamber measuring means; And a grade / freshness display means for displaying the grade and freshness calculated by the above.