US3923006A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for incubating eggs
Assignee: Robbins Incubator Co
•
Filing: 1974-03-25
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Granted: 1975-12-02
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Expires: 1994-03-25
Abstract
Abstract The incubation method comprises placing a rack of eggs in a closed circuit flow path, conditioning and driving air continuously through the path and around the eggs, removing down released by hatching chicks and filtering the air upstream of the blower. Gradual clogging of the filter increases the pressure differential in the circuit, automatically causing the blower to draw in a proportionately increasing amount of fresh air through an upstream inlet and to exhaust waste air from a downstream outlet to improve the air supply and quality in the final stages. Apparatus suitable to perform such method comprises an air conditioning bay and an incubation or hatching bay adjacent thereto, with air conditioning means in one bay and one or more egg racks in the other. Conditioned air is blown from the first bay to the second to maintain optimum environmental conditions around the eggs and to remove down released by hatching chicks. The stale air goes back to the first bay through a filter which gradually becomes more clogged with down and increases the pressure differential. Therefore, the blower draws in increasing amounts of fresh air through an inlet between the filter and the blower and discharges increasing amounts of waste air through an outlet downstream of the blower and filter. Another feature is the provision of means in the hatching bay to divert some of the air flowing past the egg racks and cause it to flow generally perpendicularly to the main stream and between the egg layers to bathe all of the eggs in freshly conditioned air. A further feature is the provision of a self-contained air conditioning unit with a quick detachable connection between the blower and the outlet port of the air conditioning bay to provide for very rapid withdrawal and replacement in case of failure of the unit.
Inventors
- 👤 James G Dugan
- 👤 Jr Albert S Hancock
- 👤 Kenneth G Huston
- 👤 Bernard L Rosenberg
- 👤 Shirley M Smith
- 👤 Gene W Hausske
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 13:35
CPC Classifications
A; A01; A01K; A01K41/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
452 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay having side walls; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and spaced from the side walls connecting the opposite ends of the bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped on all sides by a current of air passing through the bay from one end to the other along the side walls past the marginal edges of the layers of eggs; means located entirely within the incubation bay to divert a portion of the air current into flow paths substantially perpendicular to the direction of the main flow path of the air current and cause the portion to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs; a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and free standing on the floor thereof and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter all of the air passing from the incubation bay to the air conditioning bay and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the air conditioning bay upstream of the air conditioning unit and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the incubation bay downstream of the air conditioning unit and upstream of the filter means and egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and cause the air conditioning unit to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge iNcreasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
452 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay having side walls; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and spaced from the side walls connecting the opposite ends of the bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped on all sides by a current of air passing through the bay from one end to the other along the side walls past the marginal edges of the layers of eggs; means located entirely within the incubation bay to divert a portion of the air current into flow paths substantially perpendicular to the direction of the main flow path of the air current and cause the portion to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs; a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and free standing on the floor thereof and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter all of the air passing from the incubation bay to the air conditioning bay and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the air conditioning bay upstream of the air conditioning unit and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the incubation bay downstream of the air conditioning unit and upstream of the filter means and egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and cause the air conditioning unit to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge iNcreasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1; in which the air outlet of the air conditioning unit is provided with a quick detachable connection to the discharge port; and the unit is movably mounted for rapid removal and replacement in the air conditioning bay.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 1; in which the means to divert a portion of the air current to flow across the eggs comprises angularly directed baffle means located in the flow path of the circulating air current.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
227 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped by a current of air flowing through the bay; and a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and free standing on the floor thereof and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet directly connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; the air outlet having a quick detachable connection to the discharge port, and the air conditioning unit being movably mounted on the floor for rapid total removal and replacement in the air conditioning bay.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
227 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped by a current of air flowing through the bay; and a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and free standing on the floor thereof and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet directly connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; the air outlet having a quick detachable connection to the discharge port, and the air conditioning unit being movably mounted on the floor for rapid total removal and replacement in the air conditioning bay.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
99 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 4; in which the air conditioning unit is an upright machine mounted on rollers for ready movement into and out of the bay; the air inlet is in the lower part of the unit to receive return air from the lower part of the bay; the air outlet comprises a conduit extending upward from the top of the unit; the bay has a ceiling spaced above the unit; and the discharge port is a conduit mounted in the ceiling of the bay and projects downward to engage the air outlet in substantial sealing relationship.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
260 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay having side walls; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and spaced from the side walls connecting the opposite ends of the bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped on all sides by a current of air passing through the bay from one end to the other along the side walls past the marginal edges of the layers of eggs; an air conditioning unit located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; and means located entirely within the incubation bay to divert a portion of the air current into flow paths substantially perpendicular to the direction of the main flow path of the air current and cause the portion to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs in the egg rack.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
260 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at least one incubation bay having side walls; an air discharge port at one end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the opposite end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with opposite ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and spaced from the side walls connecting the opposite ends of the bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped on all sides by a current of air passing through the bay from one end to the other along the side walls past the marginal edges of the layers of eggs; an air conditioning unit located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; and means located entirely within the incubation bay to divert a portion of the air current into flow paths substantially perpendicular to the direction of the main flow path of the air current and cause the portion to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs in the egg rack.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
52 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 6; in which the means for diverting a portion of the air current comprises a plurality of vanes located in a position to intercept the air current and angularly arranged to impart components of motion in directions generally perpendicular to the direction of the main flow path.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
166 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 7; in which the air conditioning bay is an upright chamber having the air discharge port in its upper portion and the return air inlet port in its lower portion; the incubation bay is an upright chamber having its upper end in flow communication with the air discharge port and its lower end in flow communication with the return air inlet port; the air conditioning unit has a blower arranged to cause upward flow through the air conditioning bay and downward flow through the incubation bay with the air current flowing down around the sides of the egg rack to isolate it from the walls of the incubation bay; and the diverter vanes are located in the current flowing between the rack and the wall remote from the air conditioning bay to divert portions of the air current into horizontal directions to flow between the egg layers and bathe all of the eggs in the conditioned air of the main current.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 8; in which the vanes are arranged horizontally and in vertically spaced relation and are secured to the remote wall of the incubation bay.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 8; in which the vanes are arranged horizontally and in vertically spaced relation between the rack and the remote wall and are staggered across the space between them with the uppermost vane closest to the rack and the lowermost vane closest to the remote wall.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
40 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 8; in which the vanes are arranged horizontally and in vertically spaced relation; and the uppermost vane is below the top of the rack and the lowermost vane is above the bottom of the rack.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
296 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: chamber means for enclosing a plurality of eggs to be hatched; rack means located in the chamber means to support a plurality of vertically spaced layers of eggs in position to be traversed by a current of conditioned air passing generally horizontally between the various layers from a first side of the rack means to a second side of the rack means; air conditioning means, including a blower, in closed circuit flow communication with the rack means and arranged to continuously deliver conditioned air to the first side of the rack means and withdraw return air from the second side of the rack means in a repetitive circulation through the closed circuit flow path; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air portion of the flow path between the second side of the rack means and the suction side of the blower to filter the air passing from the second side of the rack means to the blower, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the closed circuit flow path upstream of the blower and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the closed circuit flow path downstream of the blower and upstream of the filter means and rack means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and causes the blower to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge increasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
296 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: chamber means for enclosing a plurality of eggs to be hatched; rack means located in the chamber means to support a plurality of vertically spaced layers of eggs in position to be traversed by a current of conditioned air passing generally horizontally between the various layers from a first side of the rack means to a second side of the rack means; air conditioning means, including a blower, in closed circuit flow communication with the rack means and arranged to continuously deliver conditioned air to the first side of the rack means and withdraw return air from the second side of the rack means in a repetitive circulation through the closed circuit flow path; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air portion of the flow path between the second side of the rack means and the suction side of the blower to filter the air passing from the second side of the rack means to the blower, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the closed circuit flow path upstream of the blower and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the closed circuit flow path downstream of the blower and upstream of the filter means and rack means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and causes the blower to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge increasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
324 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at leas one hatching bay; an aIr discharge port in one part of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port in another part of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with spaced portions of the hatching bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the hatching bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped by a current of air passing through the bay; air conditioning means, including a blower, located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the hatching bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet from the blower connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter substantially all of the air passing from the hatching bay to the air conditioning bay, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the air conditioning bay upstream of the blower and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the hatching bay downstream of the blower and upstream of the filter means and egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and cause the air conditioning unit to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge increasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
324 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: a substantially closed chamber defining an air conditioning bay; chamber means adjacent to the air conditioning bay and defining at leas one hatching bay; an aIr discharge port in one part of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port in another part of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating with spaced portions of the hatching bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the hatching bay to support a plurality of layers of eggs in position to be enveloped by a current of air passing through the bay; air conditioning means, including a blower, located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the hatching bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet from the blower connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter substantially all of the air passing from the hatching bay to the air conditioning bay, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the air conditioning bay upstream of the blower and downstream of the filter means and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the hatching bay downstream of the blower and upstream of the filter means and egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit to gradually increase the differential pressure in the circulating system as the filter means becomes progressively more clogged and cause the air conditioning unit to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air through the fresh air inlet port and to discharge increasing amounts of waste air through the waste air outlet port.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
213 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 13; in which the air conditioning bay is an upright chamber having the air discharge port in its upper portion and the return air inlet port in its lower portion; the hatching bay is an upright chamber having its upper end in flow communication with the air discharge port and its lower end in flow communication with the return air inlet port; the blower of the air conditioning means is arranged to cause upward flow through the air conditioning bay and downward flow through the hatching bay; the egg rack is of less lateral dimensions than the hatching bay and is located therein to provide an inner air flow space between the rack and the inner wall of the bay adjacent to the air conditioning bay and an outer air flow space between the rack and the opposite wall of the hatching bay; and means is arranged in the outer air flow space to divert a portion of the downward air current therein and cause it to flow generally horizontally between the egg layers, bathing all of the eggs and picking up the down shed by hatching chicks and delivering it to the downward air current in the inner air flow space for transport to the filter means.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
282 words
A method of hatching eggs comprising: establishing a closed circuit air flow path; locating a plurality of eggs in a hatching zone in the flow path; establishing a pressure transition zone in the flow path spaced from the hatching zone; delivering pressurized air from a first side of the pressure transition zone to flow along a first portion of the air flow path to a first side of the hatching zone and bathe the eggs therein; withdrawing air at lower pressure from the second side of the hatching zone to flow through a second portion of the flow path back to a second side of the pressure transition zone; conditioning the air in the vicinity of the pressure transition zone to provide proper environmental conditions for the eggs and hatching chicks; utilizing the air flowing through the hatching zone to withdraw down released by the hatching chicks and transporting it along the second portion of the flow path toward the pressure transition zone; filtering the return flow air at a Filtering zone in the second portion of the flow path upstream of the pressure transition zone and causing the down to be deposited in the filtering zone, and gradually increasingly restricting the flow path in response to increasing deposits of down with a gradually increasing resultant pressure differential across the pressure transition zone; and gradually drawing increasing amounts of fresh air into the flow path upstream of the pressure transition zone and downstream of the filtering zone and gradually discharging increasing amounts of waste air from the flow path downsteam of the pressure transition zone and upstream of the first side of the hatching zone in response to the increasing pressure differential.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
282 words
A method of hatching eggs comprising: establishing a closed circuit air flow path; locating a plurality of eggs in a hatching zone in the flow path; establishing a pressure transition zone in the flow path spaced from the hatching zone; delivering pressurized air from a first side of the pressure transition zone to flow along a first portion of the air flow path to a first side of the hatching zone and bathe the eggs therein; withdrawing air at lower pressure from the second side of the hatching zone to flow through a second portion of the flow path back to a second side of the pressure transition zone; conditioning the air in the vicinity of the pressure transition zone to provide proper environmental conditions for the eggs and hatching chicks; utilizing the air flowing through the hatching zone to withdraw down released by the hatching chicks and transporting it along the second portion of the flow path toward the pressure transition zone; filtering the return flow air at a Filtering zone in the second portion of the flow path upstream of the pressure transition zone and causing the down to be deposited in the filtering zone, and gradually increasingly restricting the flow path in response to increasing deposits of down with a gradually increasing resultant pressure differential across the pressure transition zone; and gradually drawing increasing amounts of fresh air into the flow path upstream of the pressure transition zone and downstream of the filtering zone and gradually discharging increasing amounts of waste air from the flow path downsteam of the pressure transition zone and upstream of the first side of the hatching zone in response to the increasing pressure differential.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
309 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming an incubation bay laterally adjacent to the air conditioning bay and having a first upright wall adjacent to the air conditioning bay and a second, opposite, upright wall remote from the air conditioning bay to define with the first wall a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating respectively with the upper and lower ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and being formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions to provide inner and outer passages for the downward flow of conditioning air between the rack and the adjacent and remote walls past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack; and a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and being provided with rollers to mount it for free movement on the floor of the bay for rapid total removal and replacement in the bay; an air inlet in the lower portion of the casing to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port, and an air outlet at the upper end of the casing directly connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; and a quick detachable coupling sealingly connecting the air outlet to the discharge port.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
309 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming an incubation bay laterally adjacent to the air conditioning bay and having a first upright wall adjacent to the air conditioning bay and a second, opposite, upright wall remote from the air conditioning bay to define with the first wall a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating respectively with the upper and lower ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and being formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions to provide inner and outer passages for the downward flow of conditioning air between the rack and the adjacent and remote walls past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack; and a self-contained air conditioning unit comprising a casing provided with heating means, cooling means, humidifying means, and a blower, all housed completely within the casing; the casing being located entirely within the air conditioning bay and being provided with rollers to mount it for free movement on the floor of the bay for rapid total removal and replacement in the bay; an air inlet in the lower portion of the casing to receive return air from the incubation bay through the return air inlet port, and an air outlet at the upper end of the casing directly connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit; and a quick detachable coupling sealingly connecting the air outlet to the discharge port.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
73 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 16; in which the egg rack is both shorter and narrower than the incubating bay and is positioned to provide for downward flow of conditioning air between the rack and all vertical walls of the bay to totally isolate the rack from environmental conditions outside the walls; and the rack is roller mounted on the floor of the bay for rapid total removal and replacement as a unit.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
317 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming an incubation bay laterally adjacent to the air conditiong bay and having a first upright wall adjacent to the air conditioning bay and a second, opposite, upright wall remote from the air conditioning bay to define with the first wall a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating respectively with the upper and lower ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and being formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions to provide inner and outer passages for the downward flow of conditioning air between thE rack and the adjacent and remote walls past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack; an air conditioning unit located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit and flow downward through the incubation bay; and means located entirely within the incubation bay in one of the air flow passages between the rack and the walls to divert a portion of the air current into substantially horizontal flow paths to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs in the rack and join the downward air flow in the opposite passage to carry undesirable products to the bottom of the bay.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
317 words
Incubation apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming an incubation bay laterally adjacent to the air conditiong bay and having a first upright wall adjacent to the air conditioning bay and a second, opposite, upright wall remote from the air conditioning bay to define with the first wall a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the two ports communicating respectively with the upper and lower ends of the incubation bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack located in the incubation bay and being formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions to provide inner and outer passages for the downward flow of conditioning air between thE rack and the adjacent and remote walls past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack; an air conditioning unit located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the incubation bay through the inlet port and having an air outlet connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning unit and flow downward through the incubation bay; and means located entirely within the incubation bay in one of the air flow passages between the rack and the walls to divert a portion of the air current into substantially horizontal flow paths to pass over all of the eggs in the rack to produce substantially uniform environmental conditions in the vicinity of all of the eggs in the rack and join the downward air flow in the opposite passage to carry undesirable products to the bottom of the bay.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
416 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming a hatching bay laterally adjacent to a side wall of the air conditioning bay and having side walls defining a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the air discharge port communicating with the upper end of the hatching bay and the return air inlet port communicating with the lower end of the hatching bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack in the hatching bay formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions than the bay and located therein to provide passages between at least two opposite sides of the rack and their facing walls for downward flow of air past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack and accompanying flow of air across the layers of eggs from one passage to the other; air conditioning means, including a blower, located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the bottom of the hatching bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet from the blower connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning means upward in the air conditioning bay and downward in the hatching bay; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter substantially all of the air passing from the lower end of the hatching bay to the air conditioning bay, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from the hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the interior of the air conditioning bay between the filter means and the blower and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the upper end of the hatching bay above the egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit acting in response to gradual increase in the amount of clogging to decrease pressure in the air conditioning chamber and cause the blower to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air and to increase pressure in the hatching bay to discharge increasing amounts of waste air.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
416 words
Hatching apparatus comprising: a substantially closed upright chamber having side walls and a ceiling and floor defining an air conditioning bay; upright chamber means forming a hatching bay laterally adjacent to a side wall of the air conditioning bay and having side walls defining a vertical flow path for conditioning air; an air discharge port at the upper end of the air conditioning bay and a return air inlet port at the lower end of the air conditioning bay; the air discharge port communicating with the upper end of the hatching bay and the return air inlet port communicating with the lower end of the hatching bay to provide a closed circuit repetitive air circulation path through the bays; an egg rack in the hatching bay formed with substantially smaller lateral dimensions than the bay and located therein to provide passages between at least two opposite sides of the rack and their facing walls for downward flow of air past the marginal edges of layers of eggs supported generally horizontally in the rack and accompanying flow of air across the layers of eggs from one passage to the other; air conditioning means, including a blower, located in the air conditioning bay and having an air inlet to receive return air from the bottom of the hatching bay through the return air inlet port and having an air outlet from the blower connected to the discharge port to force all of the air to pass through the air conditioning means upward in the air conditioning bay and downward in the hatching bay; filter means substantially completely traversing the return air inlet port to filter substantially all of the air passing from the lower end of the hatching bay to the air conditioning bay, and adapted to become increasingly clogged with down deposited thereon from the hatching chicks; a fresh air inlet port in flow communication with the interior of the air conditioning bay between the filter means and the blower and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; and a waste air outlet port in flow communication with the upper end of the hatching bay above the egg rack and communicating with the exterior atmosphere; the filter means serving as a control unit acting in response to gradual increase in the amount of clogging to decrease pressure in the air conditioning chamber and cause the blower to draw in increasing amounts of fresh air and to increase pressure in the hatching bay to discharge increasing amounts of waste air.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-12-01 | 1979-06-02 | 1979-12-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-12-01 | 1983-06-02 | 1983-12-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-12-01 | 1987-06-02 | 1987-12-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |