Egg packing apparatus

Claim 2

IN AN EGG PACKING APPARATUS HAVING AN INFEED CONVEYOR AND A GROUP ADVANCEMENT CONVEYOR, AN EGG GROUPING MEANS OPERABLE THEREBETWEEN, COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF EGG RECEIVING CHAMBERS; EGG PASSAGE CONTROLLING GATE MEANS FOR SAID CHAMBERS; POWER MEANS OPERABLY CONNECTED TO OPERATE SAID GATE MEANS; PHOTOELECTRIC TRIGGER MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID POWER MEANS TO TRIGGER ACTUATION THEREOF; A PLURALITY OF EGG SENSORS FOR SAID CHAMBERS, SHIFTABLE WITH EGG ENTRY; AND A PLURALITY OF PHOTOBEAM BLOCKING ELEMENTS INDIVIDUALLY OPERATED BY RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID SENSORS, AND WHEN ALL OPERATED, ALLOWING ACTUATING OF SAID TRIGGER MEANS FOR OPENING SAID GATE MEANS BY SAID POWER MEANS, CAUSING SIMULTANEOUS PASSAGE OF THE PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF EGGS.

Claim 3

IN AN EGG HANDLING APPARATUS, EGG CONVEYOR MEANS INCLUDING EGG ACCUMULATOR MEANS POSITIONED TO RECEIVE EGGS FROM UPSTREAM PORTIONS OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, AND EGG ROW FORMING MEANS POSITIONED GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS TO RECEIVE EGGS GENERALLY FROM SAID EGG ACCUMULATOR MEANS AND INCLUDING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF EGG RECEIVING POCKETS; EGG DISTRIBUTOR MEANS ADJACENT SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS AND SAID EGG ROW FORMING MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE ACCUMULATED EGGS TRANSVERSELY TO SAID POCKETS; SAID DISTRIBUTOR MEANS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED EGG PUSHING ARM ORIENTED GENERALLY ALONG SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, TRANSVERSELY CENTRALLY THEREOF, AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A VERTICAL AXIS ON ITS UPSTREAM END; MEANS TO SWEEP SAID ARM IN AN OSCILLATORY PATH BACK AND FORTH OF SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE EGGS LATERALLY TO ALL OF SAID POCKETS; AN EGG GUARD FIXEDLY MOUNTED ABOVE SAID ARM; SAID ARM HAVING A DIAMOND SHAPED CONFIGURATION, WITH TWO LEGS CONVERGENT UPSTREAM AND TWO LEGS CONVERGENT DOWNSTREAM WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS TO PREVENT EGG CRUSHING DURING ARM OSCILLATION.

Claim 4

IN AN EGG HANDLING APPARATUS, EGG CONVEYOR MEANS INCLUDING EGG ACCUMULATOR MEANS POSITIONED TO RECEIVE EGGS FROM UPSTREAM PORTIONS OF SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, AND EGG ROW FORMING MEANS POSITIONED GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS AND SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS TO RECEIVE EGGS GENERALLY FROM SAID EGG ACCUMULATOR MEANS AND INCLUDING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF EGG RECEIVING POCKETS; EGG DISTRIBUTOR MEANS ADJACENT SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS AND SAID EGG ROW FORMING MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE ACCUMULATED EGGS TRANSVERSELY TO SAID POCKETS; SAID DISTRIBUTOR MEANS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED EGG PUSHING ARM ORIENTED GENERALLY ALONG SAID CONVEYOR MEANS, TRANSVERSELY CENTRALLY THEREOF, AND PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON A VERTICAL AXIS ON ITS UPSTREAM END; MEANS TO SWEEP SAID ARM IN AN OSCILLATORY PATH BACK AND FORTH OF SAID ACCUMULATOR MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE EGGS LATERALLY TO ALL OF SAID POCKETS; AN EGG GUARD FIXEDLY MOUNTED ABOVE SAID ARM; SAID ARM HAVING A DIAMOND SHAPED CONFIGURATION, WITH TWO LEGS CONVERGENT UPSTREAM AND TWO LEGS CONVERGENT DOWNSTREAM WITH RESPECT TO SAID CONVEYOR MEANS TO PREVENT EGG CRUSHING DURING ARM OSCILLATION.