Method and facility for filling traveling egg trays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10518915-B2
Application number	US-201615289321-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 10, 2016
Priority date	Apr 24, 2014
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

The invention relates to a so-called stabilization method, consisting of completing the filling of traveling egg trays (8). In each of the successive trays, eggs taken from an available egg reservoir (16) are deposited in empty locations. This reservoir is made up of egg receiving cells that are movable along rows of cells in series. Depending on a filling state of the tray being treated identifying the distribution of the empty locations relative to the full locations, the reservoir is automatically configured in a configuration of egg-bearing cells complementary to said filling state of the tray in progress, so as to next transfer eggs between the reservoir and the tray in progress by correspondence between empty locations and full locations in the tray and the presence or absence of an egg-bearing cell in the reservoir.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for filling traveling egg trays, comprising a stabilization unit configured to transfer eggs taken from elsewhere to be deposited in locations of each egg tray in progress detected as being empty, the stabilization unit having an egg reservoir of available eggs in which receiving cells are capable of receiving eggs and are individually movable within the egg reservoir under the action of automatically controlled driving means determining the distribution of the receiving cells bearing available eggs in a transfer zone of the egg reservoir, the stabilization unit further having transfer means for transferring eggs removed from said transfer zone of said egg reservoir to an egg tray undergoing filling and depositing them in egg receiving locations of said egg tray, and the stabilization unit further having a device for automatically controlling said driving means of the receiving cells to ensure the distribution of receiving cells bearing available eggs in said transfer zone in a reservoir configuration established automatically based on a filling state of the egg tray in progress defining its configuration in terms of distribution of locations without eggs so as to have each receiving cell in the transfer zone containing an available egg correspond to an empty location in said egg tray;
wherein the receiving cells of the egg reservoir are grouped together in rows separate from one another and each formed by receiving cells individually movable along the corresponding row under the effect of said driving means associated with the egg reservoir; and
further wherein said drive means include a comb with retractable teeth that is mounted movably along said rows of receiving cells from one of their ends to the other across all of said rows, the teeth of the comb each being assigned to one of said rows of cells and individually controlled between an active position driving a receiving cell of the corresponding row with which it engages and an inactive position where it withdraws away from the receiving cells while the comb travels over all of the rows of receiving cells.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transfer means comprise a suction plate having individual grasping means for grasping eggs that are distributed in as many lines and columns as each of said traveling egg trays has egg locations.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein, in each of said rows, the receiving cells are mounted in series on a guide rail guiding their movements and in that, in each series, the receiving cells are alongside and against one another on said rail such they push one another along said rail when one of them is commanded to move.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said rows each include a number of movable receiving cells greater than the number of egg receiving locations in each line of the successive egg trays to be filled.

5. The system according to claim 4 , wherein in addition to said transfer zone in which, during each filling cycle of a tray in progress, receiving cells bearing eggs are distributed in the configuration determined automatically based on the configuration of empty locations of the egg tray in progress, and eggs are grasped and removed from said receiving cells thus distributed by said transfer means, said egg reservoir having a storage zone for egg-bearing receiving cells not used to fill the egg tray in progress.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said comb comprises an arm having a plurality of jack devices, each jack device bearing a finger forming one of said retractable teeth of said comb.

7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each movable receiving cell of the egg reservoir has a driving tab with which the corresponding comb tooth engages when it is deployed in the active position to move in one direction or the other along a guide rail of the receiving cells in series in the same row.

8. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a local transfer arm for transferring eggs between different receiving cells within said egg reservoir, said local transfer arm being controlled automatically to remove eggs present in receiving cells of a row automatically determined as being more stocked with eggs and to deposit them in empty receiving cells in a row automatically determined as being less stocked with eggs.

9. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising means for controlling said receiving cell driving means configured to control the driving of said comb in a translational movement back and forth along said rows of receiving cells traveling over the receiving cells of the different rows of the egg reservoir, and to control the teeth of the comb so that each one, over the corresponding row, engages alternatively either with a last of the receiving cells to be moved when the comb moves in the first direction to distribute the egg-bearing cells in a transfer zone of the receiving cells filling the egg tray in progress, or with a first of the receiving cells that have thus been emptied of their eggs in the first direction, including those which were already empty, when the comb is moved in the opposite direction over a storage zone for the egg-bearing receiving cells from which, upon each filling cycle of an egg tray, the receiving cells to be distributed for transfer are removed, in a number that is determined in each row automatically based on said respective reservoir configuration.

10. The system according to claim 9 , further comprising means for automatically determining when to resupply the egg reservoir with eggs, and further comprising means for controlling said driving means of the comb and controlling its teeth in order, during the movement of the comb in said first direction of its back-and-forth movement, to distribute the empty receiving cells in said transfer zone in accordance with a configuration determined to correspond to the configuration of full locations of the egg tray in progress that is then assigned to the resupply, and further comprising means for controlling the egg transfer means so as to grasp the eggs present in said egg tray and deposit them in the empty receiving cells that have been arranged in the transfer zone.

Assignees

• Zoetis Services Llc

Inventors

• Robert Pierre
• Robert Franck

Classifications

• A01K43/00 Primary

  Testing, sorting or cleaning eggs (investigating or analysing eggs, e.g. by candling G01N33/08); {Conveying devices (for batteries A01K31/165); Pick-up devices} · CPC title

• B65B23/08 Primary

  using grippers · CPC title

• B65B23/06 Primary

  Arranging, feeding, or orientating the eggs to be packed; Removing eggs from trays or cartons · CPC title