US1911250A - E stover - Google Patents

Description

May 30, 1933.

F. E. STOVER INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 Fl' f 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 III INVENTOR FRANK E. srouER,

I/NBY Arroxuevs May 30, 1933. STQVER 1,911,250

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRANK E. STm/ER,

- ATTORNEYS F. E. STOVER May 30, 1933.

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet.3

[NYE/V70? FRANK E. sTOVER,

ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. F, STQVER 1,911,250

INCUBATOR dri inal Filed Oct. 31, 1950 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR FRANK? s'rovsn,

ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. STQVER I 1,911,250

INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVEN TOR FRANK E. 5T0 um,

B Y W a A g ATTORNEYS May 30, 1933. 0 F. E.- STOVER 3 L2 INCUBATOR Original Filed Oct. 31, 1930 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 6/ ELF-- o 000000000000 0 0 0000000000 oqoo ooooo o o o o o 0 O 0 O 0C O O O O O 0 O 0 O O O 0 O O O O O O 0 O 0 O 0 O O O 0 O O O O O 0 CR0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 O O O 0 INVENTOR FRANK E.s'rovR.

ATTORN YS May 30, 1933; R' v 1,911,250

- INCUBATOR O ri ginal Filed Oct, 31, 1930 8 Sheets-She'et 7 lm/z'nrax FRANK E. STOVE'R,

AT TORNEYS May 30, 1933.

F. E. STOVER INCUBATOR Original Fil ed Oct. :51, 19:50

8 Sheets-Sheet 8 FRANK ESTOVER.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 30,

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlca FRANK E. STOVER, OI SPRINGIIELD,' OHIO, ASSIGNOB TO THE BUNDY INO'UBATOB COMPANY, OF SPBIN'GFIHJD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO INGUBATOB Original application filed October 31, mo, Serial December 22, 1932.

My invention relates to incubators.

It is the object of my invention to provide a method of incubating and hatching which will provide adequate distribution of heat and moisture for incubation and appropriate heat and moisture for hatching whereby there, will be relatively low moisture during the incubation period to avoid sticky chicks and relatively high moisture during the hatching period in order to provide a soft shell for easy hatching of the chicks from theshell; and to further insure that-transmission of disease is prevented by having the hatching separate from the incubation, but omed m a unitary structure in order that the apparatus may be operated as a unit.

It is a further object to provide an arrangement whereby excess heat during the hatching period may be removed from the eggs in the hatching period.

It is a further object of my invention to provide separate compartments and a common cabinet, an independent means for stirring the air and regulating the moisture 1n the respective compartments, as well as con-. trolling the temperature therein in order to provide independent control in the single cabinet of a hatching compartment and incubation compartment.

It is a further object to provide an arrange v ment by which the air from the stirrers will be delivered radially from the tips of the stirrers over the heating elements in the path of the stirrers peripherally arranged around the stirrer blades.

It is my object to provide means for scooping a portion of such heated air from the cabinet and delivering it through a scoop into and through a humidifier and thence back into the cabinet in the path of the stirrer blades for stirring the humidified air in heated condition within the cabinet.

It is a further object to provide a common,- source of power, a master switch therefor" which is adapted to control the delivery of current to the heating elements,-the delivery of current to the motor which operates the stirrer and humidifier, and the deliveryof current through the heating element switch that is thermostatically controlled.

No. 482,516. Divided and this application filed Serial No. 648,367.

This application is a division of my appliiggipn serial No. 492,516 filed October 31,

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of the unitary cabinet with the doors of the incubation compartment and hatching compartment open.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a perspective of the incubating compartment with a portion of the trays removed showing the arrangement of the stirrer, heating elements, and means for tilts ing the egg trays, two of the walls being removed for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 4 is a similar view with the tra s and tray carriers removed, showing in etall the arrangement of the stirrer, the heat ing elements, the outlet scoop for heated air and nlet port for heated, humidified air.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the dual arrangement of hatching compartments, one

Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a view similar to that in Figure 5, showing the door open on the single cabis net and illustrating the movable track in position for guiding the single stack of trays out of the cabinet.

Figure 9 is a. perspective of the tray rack with the trays in position. H V

Figure 10 is a perspective of the tray Figure 1L is a perspective of the floor of the hatching cabinet with the positioning rails and discharge track in position.

Figure 12 is a side elevation of the cover, in 7 section, of the humidifier and of the electric z 1 connections, together with the switch.

Figure 13 is a detail view of the air inlet adjustment.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 is the bottom of a cabinet, 2 and the 3 the side walls thereof, 4 the top, and 5 the back. The

cabinet is divided into an incubation com- Eartment 6 and a hatching compartment .7

y the artition 8.

Suita le doors 9 control the incubation com artment and a similar door or doors 10 the atching compartment.

The incubating compartment is provided with a frame-work consisting of the uprights 11 arranged in a pair at the front of the machine and attached to the top and bottom thereof by the cross plate 12 which is attached to the inside of the top and inside of the bottom of the hatching compartment 7. Mounted upon these vertical bars is a series of cross bars or cross angle pieces 13, which support pivotally the actuation rods 14, the other ends of which are inserted in the tray holders 15 so that they will serve to rotate the tray holders which are pivotally mounted upon the uprights 16 at the bac of the cabinet. These tray holders are interconnected so that the w1ll be moved about their pivots as a unit y the rods 17. To the rods 17 are connected a pitman17a, cranks 176 on the rod 17 c which are actuated by the gears 17d, shaft 17c and handle 17 f on the exterior of the cabinet. Thus the trays can be tilted as a unit as shown in Figure 1. The turning means here described is similar to that claimed in copending application Ser. No. 418,823.

Behind the trays 15a at the back of the machine is a flat bladed stirrer having the blades 18 attached by the blades 19 to the axle 20. The ti s of these blades are designated 21. The b ades are located between the trays and the rear wall 5 of the incubator. Mounted on this rear wall 5 around the periphery of the blades 18 and adjacent the tips 21 there are the diagonally disposed heating elements 22. The cables 23 for these heating elements 22 are carried in the conduit 24. The air leaving the tips 21 of the blades 18 peripherally flows over the heating elements "In the path of this air which flows oif of the tips 21 of the blades 18 over the heating elements 22 is a scoop 25 projecting into the cabinet through the rear wall 5.

Turning to Figure 12, it is noticed that this scoop delivers the heated air through the opening 26, thence downwardly through the assagewa 27 and over the pool of water 28 rom whic a supply is picked up and delivered into the passageway 29 by the humidifier wheel 30 that is located adjacent the opening 31. The air thence passes upwardly over the partition 32 so as to insure deposition of any excess moisture and thence through the opening 33 downwardly throu h the passageway 34, having been freed of t e excess moisture and then discharges into the passageway 35, which is shown in Figure 4. Th1s discharge is at right angles to the flow of the air along the surface of the blades 18, and thence 'eggs in the incubatin over the heating elements 22. This causes a churning of the air within the compartment 6 and thorou' h movement of the-air between the eggs int e tilted trays. The trays are provided with theusual wire mesh bottoms such as are shown in Figure 10 at 36. The side walls of the tra smay be perforated with perforations 37. rdinarily, however, the compartment are placed in trays with so id side walls, while trays with perforated side walls are used in the hatching compartment for reasons hereinafter described.

Electric current is supplied by the cables 38 and 39 to the two pole switch 40 controlled by the switch handle 41 within the switch box 41'. One pole of this switch is connected to the line 42 which leads to the heating elements. The return line from the heating elements 43 is connected through the cable 44 to one side of the thermostatically controlled switch 45. The other side of this switch desthe present invention.

The side of the two pole switch represented by the cable 42 is also connected by the cable 52 to one side of the motor 53, the other side of the motor being connected by the cable 54 to the terminal 49. This motor drives the humidifier shaft 55 and the humidifier 30. The shaft 55 drives the shaft 20 of the stirrer through suitable gearing.

The water 28in the pan 28a is supplied from the water bottle 286.

.Each hatching compartment and each incubating compartment is provided with its own stirrer motor and humidifier with the necessary complement of switches to control the cutting in and cutting out of the heating 1 to the floor, side walls and ack of the hatcha ing compartment. These rails are arranged on three sides of the floor in spaced relationship to the wall, of the cabinet. They serve to guide the wheel tray racks which are thus positioned in spaced relationship with respect to the walls of the hatching compartment. This tray rack consists of front bottom plate 57 mounted on casters 58 and having up-right cornerpieces 59. These corner pieces carry the handles 60 and are joined together at the top with a cross member 61.

The rear of the frame is similarly arran ed,

having parts with similar numbers. T; ese

- ture. The casters 58 are adapted to be guided into and out of the cabinet on the tracks 66 which are held together by cross pieces 67, one of which is hinged by the hinges 68 to the outer edge of the bottom of the compartment. By thus positioning this portable rack of trays by the guard rail 56, the rack of trays can be brought closely adjacent to the stirrer and the heating element without danger of contact therewith, both because of the construction of the parts and because of the danger of transmission of electric current through the metallic trays and framework.

As will be seen in Figure 6, in the case ofi the hatching compartment with the single portable rack of trays, the stirrer is mounted to one side of the rack, opposite the circulation openings 37, and the stirring of air causes the air to percolate vertically through the eggs and wire bottom 36 and transversely through the eggs and openings 37. Where there are two or more racks used the air is caused to move off of the ends of the blades, to churn the air, and to enter laterally as described through the sides of the trays, although the stirrer is located at the back of the trays.

The trays themselves are separated by a vertical partition 69 and horizontal top and bottom partitions 70 and 71 that extend horizontally below' the top and above the bottom, to a point within about eight inches of the plane of movement of the stirrer.

These partitions are located between the racks of trays, and insure the movement of the churned air in all directions, and the passage of air through the openings 37 in the sides of the trays.

It will be observed that the air inlet damper 51, controlled by the set screw 50, adjusts the amount of air passing through the air inlet opening 72.

In order to adjust the amount of humidity the water bottle 28b, mounted on the bracket 74, maybe adjusted up and down by the nut 75 on the adjusting screw 76, thereby adjusting the quantit of water in the pan 28a. The amount 0 air passing through the humidifier, through the opening'26 .to the opening 35, may be adjusted by the damper 78 actuated by the rod 77. This rod is adjusted by a clamp 79 actuated by a spring 80.

It will be understood that any desired form of mechanism may be employed for this purpose.

The'air withdrawn from the incubator is churned and mechanically agitated with the water 28 by the combined fan and agitator 30, which serves to draw the air through the humidifier and to incorporate it with the water.

Method of operation According. to the method of incubation that I practice in my incubator, I place the eggs in the incubating" compartment, tilt them from time to time, stir the air and churn it, cause it to percolate through the eggs and impart to it uniform heat by allowing the air to slip off of the flat blades of the stirrer over the heating elements. Thus all heated air is delivered radially from the stirrer, but being without any means to guide it, thereafter moves in irregular paths, is churned, mixed and difi'used throughout the cabinet. A certain portion passes out through the scoop as heretofore described, takes up moisture, is freed of surplus moisture and is returned near the center of the stirrer, whence it passes out again radially of the blades.

The humidity control and the amount of humidity in the incubating compartment are the essentials of my invention. I arran e the humidity from 78 to 80 degrees whi e maintaining the temperature at 99 degrees. lVhen the eggs are at the end of the 18th lay of incubation, I move them over into the hatching compartment where I increase the humidity from 84 to 86 degrees while maintaining the temperature at 99 degrees. Thus by keeping the humidit down during incubation, I prevent the chic s from becomlng sticky and adhering to the shell, but upon being put into the hatching com artment, I can safely increase the moisture w ich softens the shell and enables an easy hatch. The chick is then so far advanced at the 18th day that the increase in moisture does not have a disadvantageous result heretofore indicated of excess moisture during incubation period. This cannot be avoided where the eggs being incubated and eggs being hatched are in the same compartment. By using the combined compartments of incubation with uniform heat and relatively low humidity and hatching with uniform heat and relatively high humidity, I secure the new result of a very soft shell easily broken by the chick while at the same time the chick has adequate moisture durin itsincubation period, but not enough moisture to cause adherence to the shell. Of course, I get the further result of prevention of the transmission of disease and of greatly increased cleanliness, as the refuse from hatchin is kept out of the incubation chamber. fly combining the two compartments in a single insulated cabinet of usual construction, I am' enabled to get the benefit of the heat in one compartment with respect to the other. as the conduction from one to the other through the adjacent partition wall results in economy of the total heat. The hatching compartment can be'disinfected without disturbing the progress of incubation.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as may be clearly embraced within the scope of my claims and invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a method of incubating eggs in a chamber containing heated air in motion, bringing some of such heated air into the presence of water, agitating the water and the air and discharging the water-laden air into the incubator, thereby raising the mois ture content of all the air in the incubator to the desired point.

2. In a method at incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitating theair in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid together to incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air to the air in the enclosure for further agitation.

. 3. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitating the air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidif ing liquid together to incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air to the air in the enclosure for further a itation, and effecting a relatively low humidity and high temperature while the eggs are incubating.

4. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitating the air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid together to incorporate the air and liquid, delivering the humidified air to the air in the enclosure for further agitation, effecting a relatively low humidity and high temperature while the eggs are incubating, and efiecting relatively higher humidity while hatching.

5. In a method of operating a mammoth incubator, placing eggsinan enclosure, heating the air to a constant temperature, stirring the air in the enclosure, humidifying the air to a relatively low humidity, moving the eggs to another enclosure, again heating the air in which the eggs are located, again stirring the air, again humidifyin the air to a relatively higher humidity wit outincreasing'the temperature and while maintaining it at the same constant.

, In testimony whereof; I aifix my signature.

FRANK E. STOVER.

5 DISCLAIMER 1,911,250.-Fran'lc E. Stover, Springfield, Ohio. INCUBATOR. Patent dated May 30, 1933.-Disclaimer filed July 15, 1935, by the patentee, the assignee, The Bandy Incubator Company, consenting.

Hereby enters this disclaimer of claims 1,2, and 3, of the said patent, which are in the following words, to wit: I

1. In a method of incubating eggs in a chamber containing heated air'in motion, bringing some of such heated air into'the presence of water, agitating the water and the air and discharging the water-laden air into the incubator, thereby raising the moisture content of all the air in the incubator to the desired point. 1

2. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitating the air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid together to incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air to the air in the enclosure for further agitation.

3. In a method of incubation, supporting eggs in an enclosure, agitating the air in the enclosure, agitating air and humidifying liquid together to incorporate the air and liquid, and delivering the humidified air to the air in the enclosure for.

further agitation, and effecting a relatively low humidity and high temperature while the eggs are incubating.

[Ofiicial Gazette August 6', 1.935.]

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