JP2013527824A - Egg feeding apparatus and method, eg tray filling apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for feeding eggs to a packaging unit (7) in which at least one row of receiving nestings are arranged adjacent to one another, a feeding conveyor (1), a transfer unit (2), and a packaging conveyor. Said at least one row transfer unit (2) correspondingly comprises one supply funnel (4) for transfer comprising sequentially receiving, guiding and taking over eggs, said supply During continuous movement and transition of the funnel substantially downward, the center of gravity of the egg moves continuously at a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging unit (7).
[Selection] 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding eggs to a packaging unit.

  EP-A-512651 (EP0512651) is a device in which eggs are fed and transported, and in the final stage eggs are transferred from a substantially horizontal feeding conveyor, for example a roller conveyor, into a packaging unit, for example a tray. Is listed. Such machines are known in the art as farm packers. This name is appropriate for a device that allows newly laid eggs to be supplied from multiple poultry houses to a packaging station, where eggs are collected, packaged, and further handled in a different location than these poultry houses. It represents. Although the functions to be performed seem simple and fully manageable, they can be difficult to control and various solutions have been taken so far.

  Eggs collected from a poultry house are usually a mixture of various eggs, for example, but not limited to the following: large and small, from completely intact to severely damaged It is various. On the one hand, handling of such eggs must be done very carefully, while on the other hand very large numbers are involved and it is intended to achieve the highest possible throughput with such machines. An essential aspect involved is processing speed. As can be seen in the apparatus described above, it is necessary to provide stop moments at various points in the egg supply. More specifically, when filling several rows of trays, each row is followed by a fixed position for nesting of the next row so that the eggs are guided in a controlled manner as far downward as possible from the feed conveyor. It is necessary to make it.

  The egg sliding down with a pointed tip is guided substantially downward between the stationary guide on one side and the hand-shaped guide on the other side, and these guides move together (And then wrap the egg with its sharp tip facing down). Immediately before being opened to a packaging position or nest in such a packaging unit, the eggs that are slidingly guided and moving are stopped for a few moments. The next release is when falling a little vertically from the clamped position and entering such a nest of fixed trays. This nest is located substantially directly below the rest position.

  These moments of stop and the associated acceleration and deceleration determine the limits of this throughput to a considerable extent.

  In order to further accelerate and streamline the packaging, the transfer unit of the device according to the invention comprises, for the at least one row, one corresponding supply funnel for transfer, which in turn has one transfer funnel. While the egg is received, guided, and released, including moving and transferring continuously in a substantially downward direction, the center of gravity of the egg is continuously at a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging unit. Moving.

  What is achieved with such a transfer unit, very advantageously, not only is the egg carefully guided to the transfer position in the packaging unit, thereby eliminating the start-stop moment in the egg flow. Therefore, the progress of the egg flow is smooth, and thus the packaging proceeds smoothly.

  Furthermore, in this way, the use of progressive travel paths that are paired with each other, very advantageously, keeps the process of filling going continuously.

  Preferably, a fixedly mounted rod is used to guide the egg to a point directly above the packaging unit to prevent possible breakage.

The present invention is defined as follows.
That is, an apparatus for feeding eggs to a packaging unit provided with a receiving nest arranged in at least one row in sequence,
A supply conveyor for supplying eggs in at least one row, the supply conveyor being arranged to supply the eggs in a substantially horizontal track, the supply conveyors being mutually fixed for holding the eggs A series of holders with an intermediate distance of
A packaging conveyor for continuously feeding the packaging units at a specific horizontal speed;
A transfer unit arranged to transfer the eggs from the holder to the packaging unit supplied by the packaging conveyor;
The transfer unit comprises at least one supply funnel, the at least one supply funnel being arranged for continuously receiving, displacing, and delivering each of the eggs by the supply conveyor. The center of gravity of each egg is continuously moved at a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging conveyor.

Features of further exemplary embodiments of the device of the present invention are as follows.
For the at least one row, the supply funnel comprises a stationary part and at least one moving part.
For the at least one row, the fixed portion comprises one guide rod in a substantially vertical plane and at a predetermined angle with respect to a horizontal plane.
The at least one guide rod is continuous immediately above the packaging unit.
For the at least one row, the at least one moving part comprises a substantially concavely curved piece of material, the piece of material partially including the egg as it guides the egg downward during use. And support and guide it to a point in the vicinity of the packaging unit, while moving downward and forward with the egg.
The moving part as a moving guide comprises two substantially symmetric halves constituting a substantially concavely curved piece of material, which bisects the egg downward during use. In part, including and transporting the egg together and guiding it to a point in the vicinity of the packaging unit, while on the other hand in both downward and forward directions with the egg Configured to move.
The moving guide is connected to an endless transfer conveyor via a connecting piece, and the endless transfer conveyor is driven and cyclically moved to transfer one of the next eggs to be continuously fed. .
The moving guide forms a terminal end of a substantially elongated hinge bracket and has a small wheel freely rotating at the other terminal end, the connecting piece follows a first closed curved trajectory, As a cam follower, follow the second curved trajectory.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a method characterized by the structure of claim 12.
With this method, the advantages described above are achieved.
For example, a method of feeding eggs to a packaging unit using the apparatus of the present invention comprises each receiving unit having at least one row of adjacent receiving nests,
The eggs are supplied by a series of holders arranged at a certain intermediate distance from each other,
The packaging unit is supplied continuously,
Continuously receiving the eggs from the holder using at least one supply funnel, displacing them and delivering them to the supplied packaging unit;
The egg's center of gravity moves continuously through the funnel during this displacement, characterized in that its speed is a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging unit that receives said egg.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the transfer unit of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the transfer unit of the present invention, showing the outline of several main elements of the transfer unit. FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, in which, in addition to the illustrated elements, an outline of the drive device is shown. In the different figures, the same parts, indications or parts have the same reference numerals. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the transfer unit of the present invention.

  The same or corresponding features in this application are indicated using the same or corresponding reference characters.

  In FIG. 1, eggs are supplied using a supply conveyor 1. Such a conveyor is described in detail in Dutch Patent Application No. 1036717 (NL1036717), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. On this feed conveyor, the eggs are placed on the holder 3 and a plurality of parallel rows of said holders are used in this embodiment. In these holders 3, the eggs are supplied to the transfer unit 2 in the transport direction T, and the transfer unit 2 transfers the eggs from the supply conveyor 1 to the packaging unit 7. In particular, when the eggs are arranged on the holder 3, each sharp tip faces downward. This is as described in NL1036717.

  In FIG. 2, a schematic cutaway elevational view of the transfer unit 2 is mainly shown. Here too, it is shown how products, in particular eggs, are fed in the transport direction T using the holder 3 of the feed conveyor. The holder 3 is coupled to the endless chain in a known manner. In FIG. 2, the intermediate distance or pitch distance d of the supply conveyor 1 is further shown. At the downstream end of the conveyor 1 there is a return wheel with a drive shaft 20 for guiding the holder 3 according to direction C. That is, the holder is returned. In order for the holder 3 to return, the egg (the tip is pointing downward) arranged on the holder 3 through the bent portion is similarly moved with the head first.

  In order to guide this movement of the eggs (each pointed downward), a movement guide 61 is simultaneously moved and such an egg is located between the holder 3 and such a movement guide 61 at that moment. To do. When the holder 3 starts to return by the return wheel, the egg moving downward is supported and guided by the guide rod 5 on the one hand while being guided by the moving guide 61 on the one hand. The guide rod 5 has a fixed position in this embodiment. The rod 5 forms an angle α with the horizontal plane. Lightly sandwiched between these two parts 5, 61 forming the funnel 4, the egg slides on the rod 5 and is transferred to the packaging unit, specifically the nest 71 of the tray 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the tray 7 is simultaneously displaced in the transport direction T. After the transfer, the eggs are received into the nest 71 of the tray 7 with the tips pointing down.

  As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, when the drive force is properly selected so that the forward speed of the funnel 4 and the tray 7 are the same, the egg is directly above the tray 7 when it reaches the end point nest 71. The descending speed at the last moment is very small.

  The size of the funnel is chosen so that any chicken egg, from very small to very large, can be processed using the apparatus of the present invention, and is still well guided, especially for very large eggs. The This means that the funnel size corresponds to the narrowest tray possible.

  In a further variant of the device according to the invention, the movement guide consists of two substantially symmetrical halves constituting a substantially concave curved piece of material, together with the egg in the downward direction to a point near the packaging unit. When guiding the eggs, the eggs are partially carried and carried to the vicinity of the packaging unit, while moving downward and forward with the eggs. The advantage of this arrangement is that it is possible to fill a tray with a slight deviation in the width direction of the tray, i.e. a larger dimension. Specifically, the following two modifications are used.

  In the first modification, the two halves are fixed on the frame at a slightly increased intermediate distance from the central moving guide. As soon as the eggs are received in the funnel, the eggs are guided on the one hand by the same fixed rod, respectively, and on the other hand by the two-pieces fixed on the frame at a slight distance. With this spaced configuration, the center of gravity of the egg is also slightly off-center and slightly closer to the rod guide line in the downward direction.

  Such a slightly asymmetric positioning of the parts relative to such eggs leads to a point in the immediate vicinity of the packaging unit in a very suitable manner. In order to adapt the same apparatus to packaging units of a plurality of sizes, it is only necessary to place a corresponding adjustment frame for that purpose. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, a simple snap system can be used to quickly replace the frame.

  In the second modified example, means for adjusting the bipartite on the frame to make it more eccentric is used. In this way, it is possible to easily and quickly switch to different sized packaging units during egg processing.

  In FIG. 2, and further in FIG. 3, the method by which the moving guide follows the path of guiding the egg downward is shown in detail. The moving guide 61 is coupled to the coupling piece 62 hinged about the hinge pivot, as part of the hinge element or hinge bracket 64 and as one of the ends of the hinge element or hinge bracket 64. 62 is fixed to a link of the endless transfer conveyor 63, for example, a chain, and the chain is guided in the first curved track 66. At the other end of the hinge bracket 64 and thus on the other side of the hinge pivot, a cam follower 65, for example in the form of a free-wheeling wheel, is arranged, which cam follower 65 has a second curvature. Follow the trajectory 67. The mounting of the two curved tracks 66 and 67 is performed so that the moving guide 61 further properly rotates during the downward movement to guide the egg downward as slowly as possible and guide the egg to the nest 71 of the tray 7. . As described above, the tray 7 follows a continuous movement movement in the transport direction T, while the eggs also follow a downward and forward movement in the transport direction T in this case as well. As a result, a very gradual and smooth transition takes place.

  As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, these curved tracks 66, 67 are located in the housing on either side of the device.

  In further applications, in addition to the rectangular pattern commonly used for shell eggs, patterns used for egg hatching trays can also be processed. These two patterns used there often have the following configuration in addition to the rectangular shape described above.

  In the first pattern, the rows are in the transport direction, the columns are in the vertical direction, and all even columns are displaced on one side over a distance approximately half the nest. Such a pattern has a comb-like appearance on both long sides parallel to the transport direction. In order for such a pattern to be processed, the two frames shown in FIG. 1 are placed on the frame over the distance in the intended direction. In addition, an extra set of rods can be placed to allow the eggs placed alternately in these positions to be guided in an appropriate manner.

  The second pattern has similarly displaced rows and has a comb-like appearance, but is the same row. That is, odd columns have n nesting or wrapping positions, even columns have (n-1) positions, n is a natural number and n ≧ 2.

To fill such trays with eggs, the following configurations or combinations thereof are applied.
-Matching pattern of track and holder on supply conveyor-Extra supply funnel in transfer unit, with frames arranged for both even and odd rows, one set if necessary Occupy staggered sideways, and therefore an extra set of curved trajectories is placed

  FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the transfer unit 103. The unit 103 shown in FIG. 4 is composed of two moving parts 161a and 161b in which the supply funnels 104 are opposed to each other and the unit 3 shown in FIGS. 1-3. At least the parts 161a and 161b carry the unit 103. The difference is that they are placed opposite each other during the downward transport of the egg.

  Each moving funnel portion 161a, 161b comprises, for example, a substantially concave curved piece of material that partially carries the egg and carries it to a point in the vicinity of the packaging unit during transport of the egg in the downward direction. On the other hand, it moves downward and forward with the egg. Each moving funnel portion 161a, 161b in this example is connected to an associated endless conveyor 163a, 163b (eg, chain) and follows its closed endless path. More specifically, each moving funnel portion 161a, 161b is a first (obliquely downward) path portion, the funnel portions 161a, 161b are close to each other (having concave sides facing each other), Periodically following what forms the egg carrying funnel 104. Furthermore, the implementation of the transfer unit 103 of the present invention is such that the funnel portions 161a, 161b periodically follow the second (diagonally upward) path portion, and the funnel portion moves away and reaches the original position again. To be done. In particular, the funnel portion is returned to the initial funnel configuration position (near the feed conveyor) and receives the egg again.

  In this case as well, the transfer unit 103 moves continuously with the center of gravity of the eggs carried by the funnel 104 at a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging unit 7 receiving the eggs, in particular the respective horizontal speed of the packaging conveyor. To do.

  As in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving funnels 161a, 161b (example shown in FIG. 4) can follow the path slightly inclined downward and carry the egg downward. Each of the funnels 161a, 161b may be hinged about the hinge pivot and connected to one of the hinge element or the end of the hinge bracket using a connecting piece, each connecting piece It is fixedly connected to the links of the endless transfer conveyors 163a and 163b (which may be guided by the respective first curved tracks). Also in this exemplary embodiment, each of the funnel portions 161a, 161b may be coupled to a cam follower that follows the second curved trajectory, such as a freewheeling small wheel. In the configuration of the first and second curved tracks, the funnel 104 is composed of portions 161a and 161b, and the eggs are moved to the nest of the tray 7 as gently as possible when moving downward.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the supply conveyor 101 shown is a roller conveyor known per se. An egg orientation device showing an outline may be provided in the vicinity of the downstream end of the supply conveyor 101 so that each egg is rotated to a position where the tip is directed downward. Such a device 140 is known per se from EP-A-512585 (EP0512585). This publication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In addition, the supply conveyor may be configured in the same manner as the supply conveyor 1 shown in FIGS. 1-3, for example, or may be configured differently. As further shown in the figure, for example, a guide structure 150 may be provided between the supply conveyor and the transfer unit 3. The guide structure 150 is configured to receive the eggs supplied by the supply conveyor and move them to the upstream part of the transfer unit 3. The guide structure 150 may be implemented in different ways and may include, for example, funnels, guide plates, etc., as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, further variations are possible as long as they relate to parts, combinations of parts, or selection of appropriate materials, all of which are understood to be within the scope of the appended claims. .

  In this way, the eggs being fed by the feeding conveyor can already be oriented with the tips pointing down. In addition, each egg can be oriented in such an orientation immediately before being taken over by the transfer unit or while being transported onto the transfer unit. The turning can be performed, for example, in the same manner as that performed by the apparatus described in EP0512585. Thus, for example, a supply conveyor with a rotating roller for conveying eggs, as described in EP0512585, may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Supply conveyor 2 Transfer unit 20 Drive shaft 3 Holder 4 Supply funnel 5 Fixed part, guide rod 6 Moving part 61 Concave material piece, moving guide 62 Coupling piece 63 Transfer conveyor, chain 64 Hinge bracket 65 Cam follower 66 1st Concave track 67 second concave track 7 packaging unit 71 nest 8 feeding funnel frame T transport direction d intermediate distance, pitch C feeding conveyor movement direction α guide rod angle V packaging unit displacement direction P product, egg

Claims (15)

An apparatus for feeding eggs to a packaging unit having at least one row of adjacently arranged receiving nestings,
A feeding conveyor for feeding eggs in at least one row, the eggs being fed in a substantially horizontal track and arranged in a series of holders in which the distance between them is fixed;
A transfer unit that takes over the eggs from the holder and delivers the taken over eggs to the packaging unit, wherein the packaging units are substantially parallel to the at least one row and substantially below the predetermined height; A transfer unit fed continuously in a horizontal trajectory,
A packaging conveyor for continuously conveying the packaging unit in a substantially horizontal plane passing under the transfer unit;
The transfer unit for the at least one row correspondingly comprises one supply funnel for transfer, the transfer comprising receiving, guiding and taking over one egg in succession in a substantially downward direction. An egg feeding device in which the center of gravity of an egg moves continuously at a horizontal speed substantially equal to the horizontal speed of the packaging unit during continuous movement and transition. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
Device according to claim 1, characterized in that each supply funnel comprises a stationary part and at least one movable part, in particular a movement guide. The apparatus of claim 2, comprising:
The device is characterized in that the fixed part comprises one guide rod in a substantially vertical plane with a predetermined angle to the horizontal plane. The apparatus of claim 3, comprising:
The apparatus characterized in that the at least one guide rod extends to a point just above the packaging unit in use. The apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, comprising:
The at least one moving funnel portion comprises a substantially concave curved piece of material that includes, for example, carries or holds the egg to a point near the packaging unit when guiding the egg in a downward direction. While supporting, the device moves with the egg in both downward and forward directions. An apparatus according to any one of claims 2-5,
The moving part comprises two substantially symmetric bisections as movement guides, the moving part constituting a substantially concave curved piece of material, the bisection guiding the egg downwards. In the process, the eggs are partially held, at least supported or supported, carried to the vicinity of the packaging unit, and moved together with the eggs in both downward and forward directions. apparatus. A device according to claims 2-6,
The moving guide is coupled to an endless transfer conveyor via a coupling piece, the endless transfer conveyor being driven in use and in particular configured to follow a circular motion. The apparatus according to claim 7, comprising:
The moving guide forms a first end of a substantially elongate hinge bracket having a small wheel that freely rotates at the other end, the coupling piece being a first end in use. An apparatus characterized in that it follows a closed curved track and the small wheel follows a second curved track as a cam follower. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising:
Each of the supply funnels comprises two opposingly disposed moving funnel portions. The apparatus of claim 9, comprising:
Each of the moving funnel portions comprises a substantially concave curved piece of material, the concave curved piece of material partially carrying and transporting the egg to the packaging unit when guiding the egg in a downward direction, A device that moves in both downward and forward directions with the egg. An apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein
Each said moving funnel part is connected to a respective endless conveyor and follows a closed endless path, each closed path in particular having a first part adjacent to said funnel part forming said funnel; And a second portion in which the funnel portion moves and separates. A method for supplying eggs to a packaging unit using, for example, the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising:
Each packaging unit comprises at least one row of adjacently arranged receiving nests, said eggs being fed continuously in at least one row by a series of holders arranged at an intermediate distance fixed to each other, at least one Using two supply funnels, the eggs are continuously received from the holder, the eggs are displaced, the eggs are taken over by the supplied packaging unit, and the center of gravity of each egg receives the eggs at the horizontal speed of the packaging unit. A method of moving continuously at substantially equal horizontal speeds. The method of claim 12, comprising:
Each supply funnel comprises at least one funnel portion that periodically moves along an endless track, the track portion being moved along a first portion of the endless track, particularly from an initial position for receiving eggs, A method characterized by transferring a received egg. 14. A method according to claim 13, comprising:
Each feeding funnel comprises a funnel part moving along an endless track and a fixed part, the moving part moving in particular periodically away from the fixed part and returning to the initial position. 14. A method according to claim 13, comprising:
Each supply funnel comprises at least two, oppositely arranged and funnel portions that move along two endless tracks, respectively, said portions being moved and released in particular periodically to return to their original positions A method characterized by.

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