Improved Apparatus for Classing or Grading Eggs.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Mar., 1899
Camplate Sancification Loft 22nd Dec 1800 Accented 17th Feb
1900
Improved Apparatus for Classing or Grading Eggs.
We, JAMES ALEXANDER BINGHAM, Egg Merchant, and MATTHEW GREEN
Manager to the said J. A. Bingham, both of 14, Henry Street, Belfast, Ireland,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:--
Our invention relates to an improved construction of apparatus whereby eggs are
classed or graded automatically according to their different sizes.
The eggs are delivered on to a padded slightly inclined tray, in passing along
which the eggs are turned round by a number of fixed fingers, so as to be brought
into a position in which they lie lengthwise in the direction of travel.
From this tray the eggs are delivered on to a second endless travelling apron,
the upper surface of which lies at an angle of about 30° in a downward direction
from the tray.
This apron is also constructed of two side chains with transverse bars formed in
a similar manner to those of the first apron, but instead of the eggs lying with
their long axis in the transverse direction in the hollows of the bars, such axis now
lies in the longitudinal direction.
At intervals along the travelling apron above the same are arranged rows of fixed
fork-like rods or blades corresponding in position to the hollows of the bars in
which the eggs lie. The forks of the first row are of such a width between their
blades that the largest sized eggs, in being brought up against them by the apron,
will be caught up in the forks so as to be removed from the apron and will be
delivered on to a horizontal tray immediately behind the forks whence they are
removed by hand.
The smaller sized eggs on the other hand will pass through the first row of forks,
and on arriving at the second row, the blades of which are a slightly less distance
apart the next sized eggs will be caught up by the forks and delivered on to a
second tray while the smaller eggs will again pass through.
There are as many rows of forks provided as there are different sized eggs that
require to be classified the spaces between the blades of the forks being gradually
diminished in a corresponding manner, so that the last and lowest row of forks
will pick up the remaining smallest sized eggs from the apron.
Dated thin 91at dan af Vanch 1900
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Classing or Grading Eggs.
We, JAMES ALEXANDER BINGHAM, Egg Merchant, and MATHEW GREEN,
Manager to the said J. A. Bingham, both of 14, Henry Street, Belfast, Ireland,
[Price 811 ·

page_text: do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement:-
Our invention relates to apparatus whereby eggs are automatically sorted or
graded so as to separate them according to the size of their minor axis.
According to our invention we construct such apparatus as follows: We provide
an endless travelling apron inclined at a greater or less angle from the horizontal
and having on its surface a series of recesses in which the eggs to be sorted are
placed with their major axis in the direction of the motion; above this apron are
arranged a series of fixed fork-like gauges extending in as many rows transversely
across the apron at different levels as there are different grades into which the
eggs are to be separated. These forks are suitably held in a more or less horizontal
position with the ends of their prongs situated close against the travelling apron,
and they are arranged so that each fork is in line with a row of the said recesses,
so that as the eggs situated in the recesses travel downward with the apron they
are made to pass between the prongs of the forks. The forks of the uppermost row
are of such a gauge that the largest sized eggs are caught up by them and are
delivered thence on to a tray situated behind the forks, while the smaller sized
eggs continue to pass downwards with the apron to the next row of forks, which
are of a smaller gauge so as to catch up the next sized eggs, and so on each
successive row of forks being made to catch up eggs of a smaller size and deliver
them on to trays, which may either be adapted to be removed from time to time as
they become filled and be replaced by empty ones, or the eggs may be removed by
hand from the trays and placed in receptacles ready for transport.
The eggs may be supplied to the recesses of the apron either by hand or prefer-
ably automatically from a suitable feeding device, in which case before passing on
to the apron they are automatically turned so as to lie with their major axis in the
direction of the travel by means of a series of fixed fingers as will be hereinafter
explained.
Having thus generally described the arrangement and mode of operating of our
improved apparatus we will proceed to describe by way of example a construction
of the same, shewn on the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 shews a
perspective view of the apparatus Fig. 2 a plan, Fig. 3 a part longitudinal section
to an enlarged scale, Fig. 4 a part plan, Fig. 5 a cross section on line -
aa is the endless apron mounted on rollers b b carried by the framing e, either
Fig. 3.
the upper or the lower roller being rotated either by hand or by power in any
suitable manner for imparting to the apron a a continuous travel in the direction
of the arrow.
The rollers are arranged at such different levels that the travelling
apron lies at a suitable inclination to the horizontal, such as about 30°, that will
enable the requisite number of rows of gauge forks to be provided on a moderate
Tength of apron. The apron may be constructed in various ways for providing the
requisite recesses for containing the eggs in the position described; in the arrange-
ment shewn it consists of two or more endless longitudinal bands d d across which
are fixed transverse bars e e of wood or other material, formed with a series of
concave surfaces of such a configuration that the opposite hollows of two con-
tiguous bars form together a recess having approximately an oval shape corre-
sponding to that of an egg. The apron is supported in its travel by a series of
inclined bars f f. On each side of the framing
transverse rods on which are mounted pendant arms i to the lower ends of which
e are fixed uprights that carry
are fixed the gauge forks ; these extend in a slight upward inclined direction
towards bars e of the apron, at such a level that
downward with the apron, the ends of the fork
as the eggs pass
tliem, SO that if the minor axis of an
prongs project beneath
the clear space between the prongs. the egg will be caught up by the
egg is slightly greater than
latter and be pushed on to the fork by the advancing bars, and the forks being
slightly inclined as described, the eggs will slide along them and between the

page_text: pendant arms i, and will finally pass on to the trays k, where they accumulate
until the tray is full.
If on the other hand, the minor axis of an egg is smaller than the space between
the prongs of the fork it will not be caught up thereby, but will descend below it
with the apron to the next gauge forks. As above stated the spaces of the upper-
most row of gauge forks are made such that they will only catch up the largest
sized eggs, while all the others will pass downward with the apron, the gauge forks
of the second row have spaces such as to catch up eggs of the next smaller size
and so on, the smallest eggs being caught up by the bottom tray. This action is
shewn clearly at Figs. 3 and 5 where the eggs 7 of the largest size have been caught
up while the smaller ones have passed through the forks.
It will be seen that the apparatus shewn at Fig. 1 has five rows of gauge forks
and their trays so that it is adapted to sort the eggs into six different grades of
size, but it will be evident that the apparatus can be adapted to sort the eggs into
any greater or less number of grades.
The prongs of the gauge forks are preferably adjustably mounted on the trans-
verse rods h, as shewn, so as to enable them to be accurately adjusted to select the
size of eggs desired. The trays are supported by upward extensions of the up-
rights 9 as before stated they may be made removeable or they might be inclined
laterally and connected with a shoot on one side so that the eggs would roll away
into a receptacle at the bottom of the shoot as they are delivered on to the tray
by the gauge forks.
In the construction shewn, the eggs are delivered on to the travelling apron by
a travelling belt m on to which they are fed by hand or from a shoot or hopper.
As the eggs will lie on the belt m in all kinds of positions, it is necessary to bring
them into the before described position with their major axis in the direction of
travel before passing into the recesses of the apron a. This is effected by providing
a series of fixed fingers carried by a transverse bar o in a similar manner to
the gauge forks, which fingers are formed and arranged as shewn at Fig. 4, so that
the space between them at the front ends (which are preferably made with spring
action) is slightly greater than the length of the major axis of the largest eggs,
which space gradually narrows to a width corresponding to the minor axis of the
egg. Thus it will be seen that when an egg enters between the fingers with its
major axis lying in the transverse direction and is moved forward by the travelling
apron m it will be made to gradually turn from that position to one at right angles
thereto, by reason of the more rounded end of the egg moving with greater fric-
tional resistance against its finger than the more pointed end of the egg, and in
this position the egg will then pass over a small fixed table p into one of the
recesses of the apron d.
To facilitate the above described turning action and also to accelerate the
forward feed of the eggs, a revolving brush may be provided as shewn at g Fig. 3.
It will be seen from the above description that our machine possesses the great
advantage that the removal of the eggs from the travelling apron, as they are
selected by the forks, is entirely automatic and requires no attendant to effect
their removal, except at intervals when the trays are full; also, that as the travel-
ling apron can be arranged at a considerable inclination and can be run at a com-
paratively quick speed, the machine while occupying a comparatively limited space
can effect the sorting or grading of a very large number of eggs in a short space
of time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. Apparatus for grading eggs consisting of an inclined travelling apron
provided with recesses in which the eggs to be graded are placed with their major
axis in the direction of travel, which apron carries the eggs towards gauge forks
so arranged that the eggs whose minor axis is larger than the width between the

page_text: forks, are caught up by these and delivered thereby on to a tray, while the smaller
eggs pass through the gauge forks without being acted upon thereby, substantially
as described.
2. In apparatus for grading eggs the combination of a travelling apron having
recesses in which the eggs to be graded are placed with their major axis in the
direction of travel and two or more series of gauge forks arranged at different levels
over the apron, the upper forks having a greater width between their prongs than
the lower forks and so arranged that as the eggs are carried downward by the
apron, the larger eggs are caught up by the upper forks and delivered on to a
tray while the smaller eggs pass down to the lower forks, substantially as described.
3. In combination with apparatus for grading eggs such as is referred to in the
preceding claims, the use of fixed fingers adapted to turn the eggs that are being
fed towards the travelling apron so as to bring them into the position with the
major axis in the direction of travel, substantially as described.
Dated this 22nd day of December 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.