Method and apparatus for applying advertisements to eggs
First Claim
1. Apparatus for applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, a candling and grading machine, said machine including a candling area and a grading conveying means, an infeed conveying means for feeding eggs to said candling area, a transfer conveying means for transferring eggs from said candling area to said grading conveying means, said grading conveying means having balancing units carried thereby, each of said units having guide means mounted thereon, a guide member supported by said machine in fixed relationship thereto, said guide member extending downstream from the point where said transfer conveying means transfers eggs to said grading conveying means, advertisement dispensing means for providing an advertisement upon the outer surface of eggs conveyed by said grading conveying means, said dispensing means including advertisement material and being supported adjacent to said grading conveying means downstream of said point with a space between the dispensing means and the adjacent eggs at all times during operation of the apparatus, means for transferring said advertisement material from said dispensing means across said space and into contact with the outer surfaces of said eggs, said guide means engaging said guide member to support said eggs in uniform relation adjacent to said dispensing means to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Advertisements are provided on precise areas of the outer surfaces of eggs. Dispensing apparatus such as an ink jet is spaced from the eggs and transfers advertisement material to the eggs. Egg handling structure is adapted to lift eggs and move them generally parallel with the long axes thereof and rotate the eggs about said axes to accurately position the eggs relative to the dispensing apparatus. The dispensing apparatus may be used at various locations on a conventional egg grading machine and structure is provided to support the eggs in uniform position relative to dispensing apparatus to precisely apply advertisements. Sorting apparatus sorts the eggs according to their vertical position on such a machine and employs adjustable guide structure having tiltable tips to prevent damage.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. Apparatus for applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, a candling and grading machine, said machine including a candling area and a grading conveying means, an infeed conveying means for feeding eggs to said candling area, a transfer conveying means for transferring eggs from said candling area to said grading conveying means, said grading conveying means having balancing units carried thereby, each of said units having guide means mounted thereon, a guide member supported by said machine in fixed relationship thereto, said guide member extending downstream from the point where said transfer conveying means transfers eggs to said grading conveying means, advertisement dispensing means for providing an advertisement upon the outer surface of eggs conveyed by said grading conveying means, said dispensing means including advertisement material and being supported adjacent to said grading conveying means downstream of said point with a space between the dispensing means and the adjacent eggs at all times during operation of the apparatus, means for transferring said advertisement material from said dispensing means across said space and into contact with the outer surfaces of said eggs, said guide means engaging said guide member to support said eggs in uniform relation adjacent to said dispensing means to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
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2. The method of applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveying eggs to a candling area, candling said eggs at said area, conveying the candled eggs to a transfer point, conveying the eggs by a conveying means downstream from said transfer point along a first path, providing advertisement material at a position adjacent said path and in spaced relationship to said path, transferring advertisement material from said position to the outer surfaces of said eggs along a second path at an angle to said first path, and supporting said eggs downstream from said transfer point by interengaging guide means supported by said conveying means and fixed guide means to a uniform location on said first path adjacent said position to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
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3. The method of applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveying eggs along a relatively straight path, supporting the eggs for movement relative to said path, conveying eggs along an arcuate path such that the eggs move into a uniform position relative to said arcuate path under the influence of centrifugal force, providing advertisement material at a position adjacent said arcuate path and in spaced relationship to said path, and transferring advertisement material from said position to the outer surfaces of said eggs along a further path at an angle to said arcuate path while said eggs are in said uniform position to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
- 4. Apparatus for applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveyor means, a plurality of balancing means carried by said conveyor means, each of said balancing means including egg support means mounted for swinging movement relative to said conveyor means, first guide means connected to said egg support means, second guide means supported by the apparatus adjacent said conveyor means and engageable with said first guide means, advertisement dispensing means for providing an advertisement upon the outer surface of eggs conveyed by said conveying means, said dispensing means including advertisement material and being supported by the apparatus adjacent to said conveying means with a space between the dispensing means and the adjacent eggs at all times during operation of the apparatus, means for transferring advertisement material from said dispensing means across said space and into contact with the outer surfaces of said eggs, said first and second guide means engaging one another for guiding the balancing means such that the associated eggs will move into a uniform position adjacent said dispensing means to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
- 12. Apparatus for applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveying means for conveying eggs, advertisement dispensing means for providing an advertisement upon the outer surface of eggs conveyed by said conveying means, said dispensing means including advertisement material and being disposed adjacent to said conveying means so that there is a space between the dispensing means and the adjacent eggs at all times during operation of the apparatus, means for transferring said advertisement material from said dispensing means across said space and into contact with the outer surfaces of said eggs, support means disposed adjacent said conveying means, egg handling means movably supported by said support means, said egg handling means including holding means for holding an egg in fixed relation to the egg handling means, and control means for controlling the movement of said egg handling means to move an egg held by said egg handling means into a desired position relative to said dispensing means to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
- 28. The method of applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveying eggs along a first path, providing advertisement material at a position adjacent said path and in spaced relationship to said path, transferring advertising material from said position to the outer surfaces of said eggs along a second path at an angle to said first path, and moving said eggs from said first path into alignment with said second path so as to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
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31. Apparatus for applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, an egg grading machine, said machine having conveying means and including weighing means for supporting eggs at different positions along a first path according to weight, an infeed means for providing eggs to the conveying means, advertisement dispensing means for providing advertisement upon the outer surface of eggs conveyed by said conveying means, said dispensing means including advertisement material and being disposed adjacent to said conveying means with a space between the dispensing means and the adjacent eggs at all times during operation of the apparatus, means for transferring said advertisement material from said dispensing means across said space along a second path and into contact with the outer surfaces of said eggs, means for maintaining said eggs in a uniform position in substantial alignment with said second path when the eggs are adjacent to said dispensing means and the advertisement material is transferred to the outer surfaces of said eggs, and means for adjusting the position of said dispensing means relative to said eggs to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
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32. The method of applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, feeding eggs to a location, conveying eggs from said location along a first path, supporting said eggs at different positions along said first path according to weight, providing advertisement material at a position adjacent said path and in spaced relationship to said first path, transferring advertisement material from said position to the outer surfaces of said eggs along a second path at an angle to said first path, maintaining said eggs in a uniform position in substantial alignment with said second path when the eggs are adjacent said position and the advertisement material is transferred to the outer surface of said eggs, and adjusting said second path relative to said first path to enable the advertisement to be provided on a precise area of the eggs.
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33. The method of applying advertisements to the surfaces of eggs comprising, conveying eggs along a first path, supporting the eggs for movement relative to said path, moving said eggs into different vertical locations relative to one another, selecting certain ones of said eggs in accordance with the vertical locations of the eggs for the application of advertisements thereto, moving the selected eggs into a common vertical position relative to said first path, providing advertising material at a position adjacent said path and in spaced relationship to said path, and transferring advertising material from said position to the outer surfaces of the selected eggs along a further path at an angle to said first path while said eggs are in said common vertical position.
Specification