Patent ID: 8292340

Claim:
An apparatus for detecting a malfunctioning egg picker, the apparatus comprising: a candling device configured to identify eggs for removal from an egg carrier; an egg picker disposed downstream from the candling device, the egg picker being movable between a first location and a second location in contacting relationship with an egg identified for removal in the egg carrier, the egg picker being configured to engage the egg identified for removal when in the second location and to remove the identified egg from the carrier when moved from the second location towards the first location; a detection device disposed downstream from the egg picker and configured to detect a supplemental count of eggs in the egg carrier after the egg carrier traverses the egg picker; a control device in communication with the candling device to determine an initial count of eggs identified by the candling device for removal from the egg carrier, the control device being in communication with and being configured to monitor the egg picker and the detection device, the control device receiving data related to the supplemental count of eggs from the detection device for calculating the number of eggs in the egg carrier after the egg carrier traverses the egg picker, and the control device determining when the supplemental count of eggs in the egg carrier varies a predetermined amount from the initial count of eggs identified by the candling device for removal from the egg carrier.