Animal husbandry – Incubator – Egg tray
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-10
2001-03-06
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Incubator
Egg tray
Reexamination Certificate
active
06196160
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to an egg incubating tray for receiving eggs which are to be incubated, comprising separate rigid supporting means for each egg, the supporting means delimiting an opening on the underside and being formed such that an egg which is supported in a stable incubating position by the supporting means is situated partly in the opening and can be turned regularly in the supporting means in accordance with a predetermined schedule about the longitudinal axis of the egg, by means of turning means which act on the said egg part situated in the opening.
An egg incubating tray of this kind is disclosed by EP-A-0,670,111. This document discloses an egg incubating tray in which eggs can be supported by an egg holder which essentially exists of a flat plate which is provided with multiple openings matching the shape of an egg. The egg holder plate may be placed in two positions in a special crate. In the first position, the so-called transportation position, the egg holder plate is suspended in the crate so as not to be in contact with the bottom of the crate, as a result of which the eggs rest with their entire weight on the edges of the openings. In the second position, the so-called incubation position, the egg holder plate rests on the bottom of the crate. Due to the fact that the egg holder plate is quite thin, in this position the eggs come to rest with their entire weight on the bottom of the crate and are freely movable between the edges of the openings. The eggs can now be turned about their longitudinal axis during the incubation process by means of a relative movement between the egg holder plate and the bottom of the crate. The bottom of the crate in this case exerts a frictional force on the egg part situated in the opening.
A disadvantage of this known egg incubating tray is that the eggs which are placed therein can easily roll out of the openings in the egg holder plate. This problem arises in particular in the incubation position, in which the eggs are freely movable between the edges of the openings and only have to roll upwards for a distance corresponding to the thickness of the egg holder plate in order to move out of the openings. Furthermore, the distances between adjacent eggs have to be at least large enough for them not to come into contact with one another during the turning movements. For if they were to do so, a frictional force would arise between the eggs themselves, such that there would be no chance of all the eggs being turned about the desired turning angle during the turning operation. For this reason the openings are arranged further apart from one another, which reduces the packing density of this egg incubating tray. Furthermore, the egg incubating tray does not permit a good circulation of heating and cooling air from the top to the bottom of the tray or vice versa, mainly because the egg holder plate is a closed plate, in view of the fact that the egg incubating tray is also used as a hatching tray. Since heating and cooling air is less able to circulate, it is more difficult, inter alia, to control the temperature of the egg during the entire incubating process. In order to overcome this problem, a disproportionately large amount of air has to be displaced, particularly if a large number of incubating trays are placed in one incubating machine. Since the large amount of air flows rather turbulent than constant and laminar, uneven air speeds occur, which makes it even more difficult to control the temperature and the atmospheric humidity. This will result in chicks not being of optimum quality, especially since the incubation process takes place continuously for nearly 3 weeks. In addition, the egg holder is very sensitive to damage if it is positioned in the transportation position in the crate. In particular, the thin egg holder plate does not reinforce the egg incubating tray to any significant degree and will bend considerably under the weight of the eggs.
The object of the present invention is to provide an egg incubating tray in which these disadvantages are eliminated.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the fact that the supporting means for each egg comprise two curved supports arranged apart from one another, in which the opening is present between the two curved supports. Due to the fact that an egg which is positioned in an incubating position in the egg incubation tray is supported by both the curved supports, the egg will lie very stably in the egg incubating tray. Not only is the egg supported in a downward direction, but also the egg is supported sideways by the two curved supports. Advantageously, it remains possible to turn the eggs about the longitudinal axis by allowing a frictional force which is transmitted by turning means to act on the egg part situated in the opening. The egg is held correctly in the stable incubating position by the two curved supports even during the turning operation. The two curved supports and the opening present between them leave sufficient space around the egg for heating and cooling air to be able to circulate freely around the eggs. This makes it possible to achieve good temperature control for the whole egg. Controlling the temperature is particularly important in the second phase of the incubation period, in which the eggs produce so much heat that the eggs have to be cooled to an increasingly large extent (in this second phase of the incubation period, the production of heat gradually increases by a factor of 5). Since less heating or cooling air has to be blown over the eggs in the egg incubating tray according to the invention, partly as a result of the use of a constant laminar air flow, it is possible to achieve a considerable saving in energy. As a result of the considerable improvement in the control of the various parameters, such as the temperature and humidity, the egg incubating tray according to the invention is also distinguished by a high hatching percentage, a high quality of hatched chicks and a virtually simultaneous hatching of the chicks. The egg incubating tray may comprise numerous pairs of curved supports, for example arranged in an array. In particular all the curved supports are connected to one another, and thus form a strong and light framework. The edges of the curved supports are advantageously rounded, so that there are no sharp edges pressing on the egg.
In particular, the lowest supporting point of the first curved support is positioned at a higher level than that of the second curved support, so that the two curved supports position the longitudinal axis of an egg which is supported therein in a stable incubating position at an acute angle to the horizontal. It has been found in practice that the incubation process is improved still further by positioning the longitudinal axis of the eggs at an acute angle to the horizontal.
Expediently, curved supports, positioned behind one another in the longitudinal direction, of separate suppor-ting means are at such a small distance from one another that the top of one egg which is supported in a stable incubating position is positioned under the bottom of another egg which is also supported in a stable incubating position. This brings about a considerable saving of space, since a very high packing density of eggs can thus be achieved. It should be pointed out that this high packing density while retaining good incubation results is only possible because the various parameters associated with a good circulation of air can be controlled very accurately.
By making the first curved support open towards the top, an egg can easily be placed in the supporting means from above by means of a suction box which is known per se. The second curved support is advantageously closed towards the top, so that an egg which it supports is bounded towards the top, and remains situated in its stable incubating position, specifically during the turning movement. This is particularly advantageous if the egg is at an acute angle to the horizontal, because in this case the centre of gravity of the egg is close
Jamesway Incubator Company, Ltd.
Mayer Brown & Platt
Price Thomas
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