Albumen recovery apparatus

A device for recovering albumen from an egg processing machine includes a vacuum system with a motor-driven pump and a container system with a primary container connected to the pump. A pickup system includes eggshell and yolk cup pickup assemblies for recovering albumen drippings or stringers from the eggshells and the yolk cups of the egg breaking and separating units. The pickup assemblies are connected to the primary container, in which a partial vacuum is drawn to retain the recovered albumen. The pump motor is on an electric timer which periodically interrupts the vacuum pump operation to allow accumulated albumen to drain from the primary container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to egg processing, an in particular 
to a device for recovering albumen drippings from an egg processing 
machine. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Egg processing machines are used to separate egg yolk and albumen contents. 
A typical machine comprises a number of egg breaking and separating units 
linked together to form an endless, driven conveyor chain. Each breaking 
and separating unit receives an egg at a loading station and performs 
various functions as it travels along the coveyor path, including: 
cracking the eggshell; separating the eggshell halves; discharging the egg 
contents into a yolk cup; retaining the yolk in the yolk cup while 
draining the albumen into an albumen cup; and discharging the separated 
egg contents. Since the albumen has a relatively high viscosity, drippings 
or "stringers" of albumen tend to cling to the separated eggshell halves 
and parts of the breaking and separating unit, especially the breaking 
knives and the yolk cup. These drippings or stringers are normally lost 
when the breaking and separating units are washed, and represent a 
significant waste of marketable egg albumen. The present invention 
addresses the problem of recovering these albumen drippings or stringers. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In the practice of the present invention, a device is provided for 
recovering albumen drippings and stringers from separated eggshell halves 
and parts of egg breaking and separating units on an egg processing 
machine. The albumen recovery device includes a vacuum system with a 
motor-driven pump connected through a vacuum line to a container system 
including a primary container for the recovered albumen. A pickup system 
includes an eggshell pickup assembly with a head for drawing the albumen 
stringers from the separated eggshell halves and a yolk cup pickup 
assembly with a head for drawing the albumen stringers from yolk cups of 
the breaking and separating units. The pickup assemblies are connected to 
the primary container by inlet tubes. The vacuum pump motor is switched 
off at predetermined intervals by a timer to allow albumen in the primary 
container to discharge. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The principal objects of the present invention are: to provide a device for 
recovering albumen; to provide such a device for use in conjunction with 
an egg processing machine; to provide such a device which recovers albumen 
stringers from both cracked eggshell halves and the yolk cups of egg 
breaking and separating units of the egg processing machine; to provide 
such a device which effectively increases the albumen recovery of an egg 
processing machine; and to provide such a device which is economical to 
manufacture, efficient in operation, capable of a long operating life and 
particularly well adapted for the proposed usage thereof. 
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from 
the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying 
drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, 
certain embodiments of this invention. 
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary 
embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and 
features thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed 
herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are 
merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. 
Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are 
not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims 
and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to 
variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately 
detailed structure. 
Referring to FIG. 1, an egg processing machine 1 is shown with an albumen 
recovery device 2 embodying the present invention. The machine 1 includes 
a conveyor 3 with multiple breaking and separating units 4 linked together 
to form an endless chain 5. The conveyor 3 defines a counterclockwise 
travel path as indicated by an arrow 6 and has a somewhat triangular 
configuration with rounded corners 7. A feed conveyor 9 feeds eggs 10 to 
the breaking and separating unit 4 with the longitudinal axes of the eggs 
10 aligned in parallel relation to the travel path of the conveyor 3. The 
eggs 10 are received between upper and lower jaws 15, 16 of respective 
breaking and separating units 4, and are broken by pairs of knives 19 that 
swing upwardly under spring tension when each respective unit 4 reaches a 
predetermined breaking station on the conveyor travel path. 
As each unit 4 advances along the path of the conveyor 3, its knives 19 and 
halves of its lower jaws 16 separate, thereby opening the egg 10 and 
separating its shell into a pair of eggshell halves 22. The egg yolk and 
albumen contents drop from the separated eggshell halves into a yolk cup 
23 from which the albumen 24 is drained into an albumen cup 28 located 
therebelow. Albumen drippings or stringers 29 dangle from the breaking 
knives 19, the eggshell halves 22 and the yolk cup 23. 
The albumen recovery device 2 generally includes a vacuum system 31, a 
container system 32 and a pickup system 33. 
The vacuum system 31 includes a vacuum pump 35 driven by an electrical 
motor 36 with a magnetic starter 37. A timer 38 controls the operation of 
the motor 36 through motor and control circuit power lines 39, 40. A 
vacuum line 43 extends from the pump 35 through a filter 44 and mounts a 
vacuum gauge 45. 
The container system 32 includes a foam container 51, preferably of 
transparent material, with a side outlet 52 coupled to the vacuum line 43 
and a bottom inlet 53. A primary container 54 includes a removable lid 57 
with an air outlet 58 communicting with the foam chamber bottom inlet 53 
through a sleeve 54. The foam container 51 is supported on the primary 
container lid 57 by a support structure 59 including a ring 60 associated 
with the sleeve 54 and a pair of legs 61 extending radially outwardly from 
the ring 60. 
The primary container 56 includes a side wall 62 and a bottom 63. Upper and 
lower compartments 64, 65 are separated by a horizontal baffle plate 66 
having a diameter less than the inside diameter of the container 56 
whereby an annular passage 67 is formed between a perimeter 68 of the 
baffle plate 66 and the side wall 62. The upper compartment 64 is further 
subdivided into a vacuum subchamber 71 communicating with the primary 
container air outlet 58 and an inlet subchamber 72 by a baffle wall 75 
having a first side edge 76 in close proximity to the baffle plate 
perimeter 68 and a second side edge 77 in spaced relation therefrom. The 
baffle wall 75 and a stud 79 mount the baffle plate 66 on and parallel to 
the lid 57. 
A pair of air and albumen inlets 81 extend through the side wall 62 into 
the inlet subchamber 72. An inlet marker 83 is provided on the lid 57 for 
positioning over the inlets whereby the lid 57 is properly oriented with 
the inlet subchanber 72 behind the inlets 81. 
An albumen outlet 86 extends through the side wall 62 above and in close 
proximity to the container bottom 63 and communicates with the lower 
chamber 65. An outlet check valve 87 is mounted on the outlet 86 and 
includes a flexible, resilient flap 88. 
The pickup system 33 includes a shells pickup assembly 91 comprising a 
tubular pickup head 92 with a vertical proximate section 93, a horizontal 
connector section 94 extending therefrom and a horizontal distal section 
95 curving away from the connector section at an angle of approximately 
ninety degrees. The distal section 95 includes an upwardly-open pickup 
slot 96 and a blind end 97. A lever arm projects laterally and outwardly 
from the proximate section 93 in proximity to its intersection with the 
connector section 94. A handle 100 is pivotably connected to the lever arm 
99 and extends substantially parallel to the travel path of the conveyor 
3. 
A mounting structure 101 includes a plate 102 connected to a frame 103 
associated with the conveyor 3 and a sleeve 104 in which the head 
proximate section 93 is pivotably journaled. An elbow 105 is affixed to 
the sleeve 104 and coupled to the head 92 therethrough. The elbow 105 
communicates with an inlet coupling 81 through an inlet tube 106. 
A yolk cup pickup assembly 111 includes a head 112 with an outer section 
113 mounting a depending flange 114 secured to a mounting bracket 115 on 
the conveyor frame 103. The head 112 also includes an inner section 118 
with a blind end 119, a top 121, and a concave plate 122 extending 
transversely across the top 121 in an upstream direction substantially 
parallel to the travel path of the conveyor 3. The plate 122 includes 
upwardly-open inner and outer pickup slots 125, 126 communicating with the 
inner section 118. An inlet tube 106 connects the outer section 113 with 
an inlet coupling 81. 
The conveyor frame 103 mounts a lift rail 129 upstream from the pickup 
assemblies 91, 111 for releasing the breaking and separating units 4 to 
dishcarge their yolk and albumen contents and a safety cam 130 for 
deflecting misaligned breaking and separating units 4 out of the way of 
the eggshell pickup assembly head 92. 
In operation, the vacuum pump draws a vacuum in the primary container 56 
whereby the albumen stringers 29 on passing breaking and separating units 
are drawn from the eggshell halves 22 by the eggshell pickup assembly 91 
and from the yolk cups 23 by the yolk cup pickup assembly 111. The 
recovered albumen 24 enters the inlet subchamber 72 and drops into the 
lower chamber 65. The baffle plate 66 and the baffle wall 75 prevent most 
of the albumen from being drawn into the foam container 51 through its 
bottom air inlet 53. Most of the small amount of albumen that escapes the 
primary container 56 is retained and can be observed in the foam container 
51, which is periodically cleaned as necessary. The vacuum pump 35 is 
shielded from albumen particles by the filter 44. The partial vacuum in 
the primary container 56 retains the check valve flap 88 closed during 
normal operation. At predetermined intervals the timer 38 interrupts the 
motor power line 39 whereby the partial vacuum is released and the 
accumulated albumen 24 flows through the check valve 87 into a collection 
container 131 mounted on a stand 132 with the foam and primary containers 
51, 56. After a sufficient discharge interval of, for example, twenty 
seconds, the timer 38 restarts the motor 36 and the cycle repeats. 
If an operator detects defective or inedible egg contents in a breaking and 
separating unit 4, the yolk and albumen cups 23, 28 are released to 
discharge before the unit 4 reaches the recovery device 2. The handle 100 
is then pulled in an upstream direction, which swings the egg shell pickup 
assembly 91 from a recovery position to a retracted position (phantom 
lines in FIG. 9) so that the defective albumen is not recovered. The 
pickup assemblies 91, 111 can be used independently of each other by 
disconnecting the inlet tube 106 and plugging the air and albumen inlet 81 
associated with the nonoperational pickup assembly. 
It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention 
have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the 
specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.