Method and apparatus for determining the sex of a fertilized egg
First Claim
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1. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
- measuring shapes of a plurality of chicken eggs to obtain measurement data;
hatching the measured eggs and determining the sex of the hatchlings;
correlating the measurement data on the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chickens hatched from the measured eggs to obtain threshold value that correlates egg shape to the sex of the unhatched chick contained therein; and
measuring the shapes of eggs laid by the same variety of chicken as that which laid the plurality of eggs and determining the sex of an unhatched chick in any of such eggs using the threshold value.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a practical, reliable, high-speed, automated method for determining the sex of a fertilized chicken egg using threshold values obtained by measuring the shapes of a plurality of eggs of a given variety of chicken, determining the sex of the chicks actually hatched from the eggs, correlating the shape of the egg to the sex of the hatchling and extracting distinctive common features of the egg shape (regardless of size) to accurately and reliably determine the sex of fertilized eggs.
14 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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measuring shapes of a plurality of chicken eggs to obtain measurement data;
hatching the measured eggs and determining the sex of the hatchlings;
correlating the measurement data on the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chickens hatched from the measured eggs to obtain threshold value that correlates egg shape to the sex of the unhatched chick contained therein; and
measuring the shapes of eggs laid by the same variety of chicken as that which laid the plurality of eggs and determining the sex of an unhatched chick in any of such eggs using the threshold value.
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2. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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measuring shapes of a plurality of chicken eggs to obtain measurement data;
hatching the measured eggs and determining the sex of the hatchlings;
correlating the measurement data on the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chickens hatched from the measured eggs to obtain threshold value that correlates egg shape to the sex of the unhatched chick contained therein; and
measuring the shapes of eggs laid by the same variety of chicken as that which laid the plurality of eggs and determining the sex of an unhatched chick in any of such eggs using the threshold value.
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3. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg by measuring a shape of the egg and referring to threshold value that correlates egg shape to the sex of the unhatched chick contained therein, wherein the threshold value is obtained from the shape data obtained by measuring the shapes of a plurality of eggs from the same variety of chicken and a data of the sex of the chicks determined after they are hatched from the plurality of eggs.
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4. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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a threshold value obtaining step of obtaining a threshold value by correlating measurement data on the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chicks hatched from the measured eggs;
a sexing value obtaining step of obtaining a sexing value based on measurement data on the shape of an egg to be sexed; and
a comparing step of comparing the threshold value and the sexing value to determine the sex of the unhatched chick.
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5. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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a threshold value obtaining step of obtaining a threshold value by correlating measurement data of the length and width of a plurality of eggs with the sex of the chicks hatched from the measured eggs;
a sexing value obtaining step of obtaining a sexing value by using measurement data or calculated data of the length and width of an egg to be sexed; and
a comparing step of comparing the threshold value and the sexing value to determine the sex of the unhatched chick.
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6. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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a threshold value obtaining step of obtaining threshold value by correlating measurement data of the length, width and center of a plurality of eggs with the sex of the chicks hatched from the measured eggs;
a sexing value obtaining step of obtaining a sexing value by using measurement data or calculated data of the length, width and center of an egg to be sexed; and
a comparing step of comparing the threshold value and the sexing value to determine the sex of the unhatched chick.
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7. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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a threshold value obtaining step of obtaining a threshold value by correlating data of the length, width and center of a plurality of eggs calculated based on an image data of the plurality of eggs with the sex of the chicks hatched from the plurality of eggs;
a sexing value obtaining step of obtaining a sexing value by using data of the length, width and center of an egg to be sexed calculated based on the image data of the egg to be sexed; and
a comparing step of comparing the threshold value and the sexing value to determine the sex of the unhatched chick. - View Dependent Claims (8, 15)
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9. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image of an egg to be sexed using an image-sensing apparatus and outputting the acquired image to an information processing apparatus;
extracting coordinates of a contour of the egg from the output image;
computing a length and width of the egg from the extracted coordinates;
computing an angle of tilt of the image from the coordinates of the computed length and width of the egg and correcting the image for the angle of tilt;
extracting coordinates of a contour of the egg from the corrected image of the egg;
computing coordinates of a length, width and center of the egg from the extracted coordinates of the contour;
computing a sexing value for the purpose of determining the sex of the fertilized egg according to a predetermined sexing equation using the coordinates of the length, width and center of the egg; and
determining the sex of the fertilized egg by comparing the computed sexing value to an established threshold value for determining the sex of the fertilized egg. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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16. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining values for determining the sex of a plurality of eggs from the shape of the plurality of eggs from a plurality of hens of a given variety of chicken;
generating threshold values for sexing a chick by using said values;
comparing said values from the same variety of chicken with the threshold values to determine the sex of the unhatched chick.
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17. A method for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining values for determining the sex of a plurality of eggs from a plurality of hens of a given variety of chicken based on the shape of the plurality of eggs;
inputting the shape data of eggs to be sexed from the same variety of chicken to the sexing unit which has threshold values for sexing a chick generated by using of said values; and
comparing the shape data with the threshold values to determine the sex of the unhatched chicken egg.
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18. An apparatus for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, the apparatus comprising:
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a measuring unit for measuring shapes of a plurality of chicken eggs and output measurement data;
a storage unit for storing threshold values correlating the measurement data on the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chickens hatched from the measured eggs; and
a comparing unit for comparing the measurement data input from the measurement means with the threshold values in order to determine the sex of an unhatched chick in any of such eggs; and
an output unit for outputting the determination of the sex of the unhatched chick resulting from the comparison of the measurement data with the threshold values.
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19. An apparatus for determining the sex of a fertilized egg, the apparatus comprising:
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an image-sensing unit for sensing the shape of an egg to be measured and sexed and outputting an image signal thereof;
a storage unit for storing threshold values correlating the shape of the eggs with the sex of the chickens hatched therefrom;
a sexing unit for determining the sex of an unhatched chick in any of such eggs by comparing the image signal input from the image-sensing unit with the threshold values; and
an output unit for outputting the determination of the sex of the unhatched chick resulting from the comparison of the image signal with the threshold values. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification