GB1588589A

GB1588589A - Incubators for hatching eggs

Info

Publication number: GB1588589A
Application number: GB2363178A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-05-26
Filing date: 1978-05-26
Publication date: 1981-04-23

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN INCUBATORS FOR HATCHING EGGS (71) I, MARK THOMPSON, a British subject, of Rodean, 111 The Street, Puttenham, Guildford, Surrey and formerly of The Bungalow, Greyfriars Gate, Hog's Back, Guildford, Surrey, do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a mechanism for holding and turning eggs in a small incubator.

Eggs, such as those of pheasant, partridge, quail, geese and hens, have to be turned at least twice a day during incubation, otherwise the ligaments by which the embryo is suspended in the egg stretch and weaken with the result that the embryo drops to the bottom of the egg and fails to develop.

In a large incubator, that is one holding, say, 9,000 eggs, turning is accomplished by packing the eggs rigidly in rows in trays which slide into a holder which is arranged to tilt all the trays held therein automatically through an angle of 90" at hourly intervals, each egg being held rigidly against its neighbours so that its position relative to the tray is maintained.

In a small incubator, whether working on the still air or fan-driven principle, the eggs are again arranged in trays or racks but so that they may be inverted manually by being held between finger and thumb or rolled over with the palm of the hand every eight hours or so. Clearly, with a small incubator holding anything from, say, 180 to 400 eggs, this is a tedious and time-consuming operation which greatly adds to the cost of incubating the eggs.

According to the present invention there is provided an egg-holding and turning mechansim for a small incubator, the mechanism comprising a number of longitudinally extending racks for receiving the eggs to be hatched, the racks being pivotally mounted for movement about their longitudinal axes in a frame and arranged to be simultaneously pivotable by a means, operation of which enables each rack to be simultaneously turned at intervals through an angle sufficient to, prevent stretching of the ligaments of the eggs being incubated.

It will be appreciated that one of the important distinctions of the present invention over the prior art is that each row of eggs is turned individually instead of the whole tray's being turned.

The invention may, of course, be put into effect in many different ways, but one particular- embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view from above of an egg tray according to the invention; Figure 2 is a partial end elavation of the tray of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a plan of one of the racks shown in Fig. 1; and, Figure 4 is an end elevation of the rack of Fig. 3.

As shown in the Figures an egg-turning tray 10 comprises a rectangular frame 11 formed of a pair of opposed angle-section side members 12 and 13 and a pair of opposed fiat-section end members 14 and 15; the frame 11 is provided at each corner with a foot 16. Pivotally mounted between the end members 14 and 15 are a series of racks 17, each comprising two end plates 18 and 19 between which extend a pair of upper rods 20 and a pair of lower rods 21, the lower pair being closer together than the upper pair.

Each end plate 18 is pivotally connected to-the adjacent frame member 14 or 13 by an upper pin 22 so that it is free to pivot about the axis defined roy the pin 22 at each end. As best shown in Fig. 2, each end plate 18 adjacent the end member 14 is connected at a central point near its lower edge to a link bar 23 by a lower pin 24, the bar 23 being pivotally connected by a pin 25 to the lower end of a lever 26 itself pivotally mounted by a mounting pin 27 on the frame member 14.

The tray 10 is so arranged that by simply moving the upper part of the lever 25 between the extreme positions approximately indicated by the heads of the arrows 28 and 29 eggs (not shown) arranged to stand on end in the racks 17 are simultaneously moved in a single and simple operation ~through an ~angle~ sufficient to prevent the ligaments from stretching. With the lever 25 in a vertical position as shown in the drawing the racks 17 are positioned for loading with eggs.

For different sizes of eggs different sizes of racks 17 have to be provided or, alternatively, means may be provided to alter the spacing between the pairs of rods 20 and 21.

If desired the racks can be arranged to be pivoted by automatically operated power means at set intervals.

The egg-turning tray 20 can be sized to fit any still air or fan incubator and can either replace an existing stationary tray for incubation of the eggs, the eggs then being transferred back into the existing tray for hatching; alternatively each tray 20 can stand in an existing tray. The second alternative loses a little more space than the first but in either case very little incubator space is lost, compared with that available in a conventional small incubator.

As the tray 10 allows all the eggs carried therein to be turned in seconds without removing the trays from the incubator loss of heat, as well as of time, is reduced to a minimum; moreover the eggs can be turned more accurately and more frequently. The turning may be performed by an unskilled helper.

Two further advantages of the tray 10 are that it allows the eggs to be loaded more easily than does a conventional tray; and that it encourages the use of several small incubators instead of one large incubator carrying, say, 9,000 eggs which could all be lost through infection.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. An egg-holding and turning mechanism for a small incubator, the mechanism com prising a number of longitudinally extending racks for receiving the eggs to be hatched, the racks being pivotally mounted for move ment about their longitudinal axes in a frame and connected by a linkage, operation of which enables each rack to be simultaneously turned at intervals through an angle sufficient to prevent stretching of the ligaments of the eggs being incubated.

2. A mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, in which each rack comprises two end plates connected by members on which the eggs are supported.

3. A mechanism as claimed in Claim 2, in which each end plate is pivotally mounted on a respective one of a pair of opposed frame members.

4. A mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the linkage comprises a link member pivotally connected to each rank and so arranged that longitudinal movement of the link member simultaneously pivots each rank about its longitudinal axis.

5. A mechanism as claimed in Claim 4, in which the link member is pivotally connected to a lever itself pivotally mounted on a frame member.

6. A mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the linkage is arranged for manual operation.

7. A mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim and constructed to be insertable into a small incubator in replacement of an existing tray.

8. A mechanism as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6 and constructed so as to be receivable in a tray of a conventional incubator.

9. An egg-holding and turning mechanism substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. pivotally mounted by a mounting pin 27 on the frame member 14. The tray 10 is so arranged that by simply moving the upper part of the lever 25 between the extreme positions approximately indicated by the heads of the arrows 28 and 29 eggs (not shown) arranged to stand on end in the racks 17 are simultaneously moved in a single and simple operation ~through an ~angle~ sufficient to prevent the ligaments from stretching. With the lever 25 in a vertical position as shown in the drawing the racks 17 are positioned for loading with eggs. For different sizes of eggs different sizes of racks 17 have to be provided or, alternatively, means may be provided to alter the spacing between the pairs of rods 20 and 21. If desired the racks can be arranged to be pivoted by automatically operated power means at set intervals. The egg-turning tray 20 can be sized to fit any still air or fan incubator and can either replace an existing stationary tray for incubation of the eggs, the eggs then being transferred back into the existing tray for hatching; alternatively each tray 20 can stand in an existing tray. The second alternative loses a little more space than the first but in either case very little incubator space is lost, compared with that available in a conventional small incubator. As the tray 10 allows all the eggs carried therein to be turned in seconds without removing the trays from the incubator loss of heat, as well as of time, is reduced to a minimum; moreover the eggs can be turned more accurately and more frequently. The turning may be performed by an unskilled helper. Two further advantages of the tray 10 are that it allows the eggs to be loaded more easily than does a conventional tray; and that it encourages the use of several small incubators instead of one large incubator carrying, say, 9,000 eggs which could all be lost through infection. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. An egg-holding and turning mechanism for a small incubator, the mechanism com prising a number of longitudinally extending racks for receiving the eggs to be hatched, the racks being pivotally mounted for move ment about their longitudinal axes in a frame and connected by a linkage, operation of which enables each rack to be simultaneously turned at intervals through an angle sufficient to prevent stretching of the ligaments of the eggs being incubated.