Egg incubation transport system and methods regarding same

• US 20070245973A1
• Filed: 04/09/2007
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Life-Science Innovations, LLC
• Original Assignee: Life-Science Innovations, LLC
• Inventors: Huisinga, Richard, Wreede, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,861,673 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 119/300
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 41/00 Incubators for poultry
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 43/00 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 Class Codes: A01K 45/005 Harvesting or transport of poultry

Abstract

Methods and systems provide for incubating a plurality of eggs at least partially at a primary incubation location and then incubating the plurality of eggs (e.g., a plurality of single sex eggs sorted from the plurality of eggs) at least partially during transport to a secondary location.

Claims

1. A method of incubation comprising:

incubating a plurality of eggs at least partially at a primary incubation location;

sorting the plurality of eggs according to sex resulting in at least a plurality of single sex eggs; and

incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of eggs at least partially at the primary incubation location comprises controlling the incubation according to an incubation profile, and further wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises controlling incubation during transport based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein controlling incubation during transport based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location comprises transferring the incubation profile used to control incubation at the primary incubation location to a controller operable to control the environment of a portable transport incubator.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the portable transport incubator comprises a portable incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the incubation profile is based at least on one of genetics of the plurality of eggs, hold time of the plurality of eggs prior to transfer to an incubator, statistical performance of previous incubation processes, and one or more characteristics of an incubator used to perform the incubation of the plurality of eggs.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location using a portable transport incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable incubator is a self-contained incubator capable of incubating a plurality of eggs, and further wherein the self-contained incubator comprises a power source and controller configured to carry out such incubation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises incubating the plurality of single sex eggs in one or more pallet structures for holding the plurality of single sex eggs in fixed position during transport to the secondary location after the plurality of single sex eggs have completed a portion of incubation that requires rotation of the plurality of single sex eggs during incubation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises rotating the plurality of single sex eggs using one or more rack structures holding the plurality of single sex eggs as the plurality of single sex eggs are incubated during transport to the secondary location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises incubating the plurality of single sex eggs in one or more hatch structures configured to hold hatched eggs as the plurality of single sex eggs are incubated during transport to the secondary location.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transferring the plurality of single sex eggs to one or more hatch structures configured to hold poultry hatched from eggs after transport to the secondary location.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises servicing poultry hatched from the plurality of single sex eggs at the secondary location without performing a sexing operation.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises maintaining a controlled environment in a portable transport incubator based on an incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein maintaining a controlled environment in a portable transport incubator based on an incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location comprises adjusting at least one of humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature in the portable transport incubator based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises incubating the plurality of single sex eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location during a portion of the last 10 days of an incubation cycle.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transferring the at least a portion of the plurality of single sex eggs to one or more hatch structures configured to hold poultry hatched from eggs after transport to the secondary location.

17. A method of incubation comprising:

incubating a plurality of eggs at least partially at a primary incubation location, wherein the incubation at the primary incubation location is controlled according to an incubation profile; and

incubating a selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location, wherein the selected portion of the plurality of eggs transported to the secondary location are of a single sex, and further wherein the incubation during transport to the secondary location is controlled based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein controlling incubation during transport based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location comprises transferring the incubation profile used to control incubation at the primary incubation location to a controller operable to control the environment of a portable transport incubator.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the portable transport incubator comprises a portable incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the incubation profile is based at least on one of genetics of the plurality of eggs, hold time of the plurality of eggs prior to transfer to an incubator, statistical performance of previous incubation processes, and one or more characteristics of an incubator used to perform the incubation of the plurality of eggs.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location using a portable incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the portable incubator is a self-contained incubator capable of incubating a plurality of eggs, and further wherein the self-contained incubator comprises a power source and controller configured to carry out such incubation.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs in one or more pallet structures for holding the selected portion of the plurality of eggs in fixed position during transport to the secondary location after the selected portion of the plurality of eggs have completed a portion of incubation that requires rotating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs during incubation.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises rotating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs using one or more rack structures holding the selected portion of the plurality of eggs as the selected portion of the plurality of eggs are incubated during transport to the secondary location.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to the secondary location comprises incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs in one or more hatch structures configured to hold hatched eggs as the selected portion of the plurality of eggs are incubated during transport to the secondary location.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprising servicing poultry hatched from the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at the secondary location without performing a sexing operation.

27. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the selected portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises maintaining a controlled environment in a portable transport incubator based on an incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

28. The method of claim 17, wherein maintaining a controlled environment in a portable transport incubator based on an incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location comprises adjusting at least one of humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature in the portable transport incubator based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein incubating the at least a portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location comprises incubating the at least a portion of the plurality of eggs at least partially during transport to a secondary location during a portion of the last 10 days of an incubation cycle.

30. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises sorting the plurality of eggs according to sex resulting in the selected portion of single sex eggs to be transported to the secondary location.

31. A method of incubation comprising:

incubating a plurality of eggs at least partially at a primary incubation location, wherein the incubation at the primary incubation location is controlled according to an incubation profile;

providing information associated with a secondary location where the plurality of eggs or poultry hatched from the plurality of eggs are to be transported; and

determining a time schedule for use in transferring at least a portion of the plurality of eggs to a portable transport incubator based on at least the incubation profile and the information associated with the secondary location, wherein the portable transport incubator is used to transport the at least a portion of the plurality of eggs to the secondary location.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the time schedule is further for use in determining a time for sorting the plurality of eggs according to sex resulting in at least a plurality of single sex eggs, wherein the plurality of single sex eggs are to be transported to the secondary location.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the portable transport incubator is controlled during transport based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the portable transport incubator is controlled during transport based on the incubation profile used to control incubation at the primary incubation location that is transferred to a controller operable to control the environment of the portable transport incubator.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the portable transport incubator comprises a portable incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the incubation profile is based at least on one of genetics of the plurality of eggs, hold time of the plurality of eggs prior to transfer to an incubator, statistical performance of previous incubation processes, and one or more characteristics of an incubator used to perform the incubation of the plurality of eggs.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein the incubation profile comprises a schedule used to adjust at least one condition of the incubation of the plurality of eggs, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the time schedule determines the time at which the plurality of eggs are transferred to the portable transport incubator for transport during a portion of the last 10 days of an incubation cycle for the plurality of eggs.

39. The method of claim 31, wherein the time schedule is optimized so that the time schedule provides a time at which the plurality of eggs are transferred to the portable transport incubator such that the plurality of eggs arrive at the secondary location during the last day of an incubation cycle for the plurality of eggs.

40. A method of incubation comprising:

providing an incubator that is movable from a primary incubation location to a secondary location, wherein the incubator is controlled according to an incubation profile associated with a schedule used to adjust at least one condition of the incubator, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature in the incubator; and

controlling incubation of a plurality of single sex eggs in the incubator during at least a portion of an incubation process as the incubator is moved between the primary incubation location to the secondary location.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the incubator is a portable incubator transportable by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises at least one of an aircraft, a rail based vehicle, a water based vessel, a vehicle that transports cargo, and a wheeled vehicle.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the incubator is a self-contained incubator comprising a power source and controller configured to carry out such incubation.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein controlling incubation of the plurality of single sex eggs comprises maintaining a controlled environment in the interior of the incubator based on an incubation profile used to control partial incubation at the primary incubation location.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises sorting a plurality of eggs being incubated at the primary incubation location resulting in the plurality of single sex eggs to be transported to the secondary location.

45. A system for use in incubating a plurality of eggs, the system comprising:

a transportable incubation container configured to be moved from a first location to a second location, wherein the transportable incubation container comprises a plurality of spaced apart heat exchange elements defining a plurality of regions within an interior of the transportable incubation container for receiving a plurality of eggs;

one or more egg holding structures configured to be positioned between at least two adjacent heat exchange elements for holding a plurality of eggs; and

a controller configured for use in controlling at least one condition within the interior of the transportable incubation container according to an incubation profile for incubation of the plurality of eggs.

46. The system of claim 45, wherein the system further comprises:

a primary incubator to incubate at least partially a plurality of eggs according to an incubation profile, wherein the incubation profile is associated with a schedule for adjustment of incubation conditions; and

a sexing apparatus operable to determine the sex of the plurality of eggs after the plurality of eggs are at least partially incubated for use in sorting the plurality of eggs resulting in a plurality of single sex eggs to be provided in the one or more egg holding structures.

47. The system of claim 45, wherein the system further comprises:

one or more sensors to sense the at least one condition within the interior of the transportable incubation container and provide a sense signal representative of at least one condition to the controller; and

one or more conditioning components configured to be controlled by the controller based on the incubation profile and the sense signal representative of the at least one condition.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the one or more sensors comprise at least one of humidity or moisture sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, and a temperature sensor.

49. The system of claim 47, wherein the one or more conditioning components comprise at least one of air flow components to move air to one or more portions of the interior of the transportable incubation container, heat exchange components to adjust temperature in the interior of the transportable incubation container, and one or more humidity control components for adjusting the humidity within the interior of the transportable incubation container, and one or more components configured to control carbon dioxide within the interior of the transportable incubation container.

50. The system of claim 47, wherein the one or more conditioning components comprise one or more redundant conditioning components, wherein the one or more redundant components comprise at least one of one or more redundant air flow components to move air to one or more portions of the interior of the transportable incubation container, one or more redundant heat exchange components to adjust temperature in the interior of the transportable incubation container, one or more redundant humidity control components for adjusting the humidity within the interior of the transportable incubation container, and one or more redundant components configured to control carbon dioxide within the interior of the transportable incubation container.

51. The system of claim 45, wherein the controller is configured to receive an incubation profile based at least in part on an incubation profile used to control incubation of the plurality of eggs at a primary incubation location.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the system comprises means for transferring the incubation profile used to control incubation at the primary incubation location to the controller operable to control the at least one condition in the interior of the transportable incubation container.

53. The system of claim 45, wherein the portable incubation container is a container configured to be transported by a wheeled vehicle.

54. The system of claim 45, wherein the incubation profile is based at least on one of genetics of the plurality of eggs, hold time of the plurality of eggs prior to transfer to an incubator, statistical performance of previous incubation processes, and one or more characteristics of an incubator used to perform the incubation of the plurality of eggs.

55. The system of claim 45, wherein the transportable incubation container is part of a self-contained incubator comprising a power source and the controller configured to control the at least one condition in the interior of the transportable incubation container.

56. The system of claim 45, wherein the one or more egg holding structures comprise one or more pallet structures for holding a plurality of eggs in a fixed position as the transportable incubation container is moved from one location to another location.

57. The system of claim 45, wherein the one or more egg holding structures comprise one or more rack structures for use in rotating the plurality of eggs as the transportable incubation container is moved from one location to another location.

58. The system of claim 45, wherein the transportable incubation container comprises at least one valve controlled air intake and at least one valve controlled exhaust outlet coupled to the controller for control thereof.

59. The system of claim 45, wherein the transportable incubation container is constructed of mating parts that are sealant coated prior to assembly.

60. The system of claim 45, wherein the transportable incubation container is transported by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises an additional means for controlling the at least one condition within the interior of the transportable incubation container from within the vehicle.

61. A system for use in the incubation of eggs, comprising:

a portable transport incubator used to move a plurality of eggs or poultry hatched from the plurality of eggs as the plurality of eggs are moved from a primary incubation location to a second location; and

a processing apparatus operable to receive information associated with an incubation profile used to control incubation of a plurality of eggs at the primary incubation location and information associated with the secondary location where the plurality of eggs or poultry hatched from the plurality of eggs are to be transported, wherein the processing apparatus is further operable to determine a time schedule for use in transferring at least a portion of the plurality of eggs to the portable transport incubator based on at least the incubation profile and the information associated with the secondary location.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the time schedule is further for use in determining a time for sorting the plurality of eggs according to sex resulting in at least a plurality of single sex eggs, wherein the plurality of single sex eggs are to be transported to the secondary location.

63. The system of claim 61, wherein the portable transport incubator comprises a controller for use in controlling incubation of the plurality of eggs during transport based on the incubation profile used to control the incubation at the primary incubation location.

64. The system of claim 61, wherein the incubation profile comprises a schedule used to adjust at least one condition of the incubator during incubation of the plurality of eggs, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of humidity, carbon dioxide levels, and temperature in the portable transport incubator.