US2585124A - Egg grading machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 12, 1952 J. A. HILL 2,585,124

EGG GRADING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 jvvz/vrop das/w/q A. H/AL,

Feb. 12, 1952 J. A. HILL 2,585,124

EGG GRADING MACHINE f/v VE/V 70/? JOSHUA A. H/LL illv w llliliilnfm 40 W La u 2.

5 4 5 40C FOR HEP/RM 4/ l0 4 TTOQ/VEXS Patented Feb. 12, 1952 UNHTED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,585,124 EGG GRADING'EMACHINE J oshua A.-Hill,,Canoga Park, Calif.

Application February 23, 1946; Serial No+649A89 9 Claims.

My invention relates in general to grading machinery or apparatus and, more specifically, to a machine which is particularly adapted for grading ovoid or spherical articles aCcOIdiIlg to the weights thereof. The grading machine disclosed herein incorporates certain improvements on the grading machine disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 504,226, filed September 29, 1943, which has matured into Patent No. 2,442,689, these improvements being, described in detail hereinafter.

The fundamental principles of my invention are particularly applicable to machinery or apparatus for grading eggs and will be described in connection therewith for convenience in disclosing the invention, although it will be understood that these principles are equally applicable to machinery for grading various other articles and that I do not intend to be limited to the specific application disclosed herein.

The conventional practice in grading eggs for market is to separate the eggs into large, medium, and small sizes according to the weights thereof, some over weight eggs being sold as extra large and some underweight eggs being sold as peewees.

A primary object of my invention is the provision of a machine which will grade a continuous flow of eggs according to the weights thereof in an efficient and completely automatic manner. An important object of my invention is to provide a grading machine which is of simple construction and which may be operated economically.

In general, my grading machine includes a longitudinal main track having a plurality of independent scales aligned therewith, each of which is adapted to remove from the track all eggs of a predetermined minimum weight, and includes a rotatable worm which is adapted to convey a continuous stream of eggs along the track and over the scales, the axis of rotation of the worm being substantially parallel to and preferably being disposed directly above the main track. An important object of my invention is the provision of a conveying worm which includes a spiral strip having forward edge portions which engage the eggs to convey them along the main track, a related object being to provide such a spiral conveyor strip wherein the width of the aforesaid edge portions thereof is considerably less than the diameters of the eggs conveyed thereby. This feature of the construction minimizes friction between the spiral conveyor strip and the eggs due to the presence of foreign matter and thereby minimizes any tendency of the conveyor strip to dislodge the eggs from the track The scales preferably include track sections which aremounted' on pivoted balance-arms, and which are aligned with and are normally at the level-or the main track,v each of the scales being adapted: to. pivot to dump from the main track all eggs weighing more than a predetermined minimum amount. Another important object of my invention is the provision of scales wherein the track sections move vertically for a substantial distance without rotatingas thezbalance arms pivot, thus-v insuring accurate weighin of the eggs since-thetracksections mustbe depressed by the eggs for an appreciable distance before rotating to dumpthe eggs. A related object is to-provide scales wherein the movement of the track sections is'controlled-by cam means in a manner such that the track sections move downwardly without rotatingfor. a substantial distance and then rotate very rapidly to dump the eggs after being depressed 2. predetermined-distance.-

The grading machine preferably includesalongitudinal feeder track which is aligned with and slopes downwardly toward and joins the main track, and. includes gate means for feeding acontinuous stream of eggs fromthe feeder trackand onto the main track at predetermined and uniformly spaced. intervals. The spiral. conveyor strip preferably extends along the inclined feeder track so that as the eggs roll down the feeder track,. they engage rearward edge portions of the conveyor. strip before rolling: onto the main track.

Thus, the conveyor strip controls the rate at whichthe eggs roll down the feeder track, which is another object ofmy invention.

Still another important object of my invention is the. provision of a spiral conveyor strip having an inlet end which is curved inwardly toward. the axis of rotation of the spiralstrip, the inlet end ofthe conveyor strip being located above the feeder track adjacent the junction thereof with the main track- This feature. of the construction of my grading machine permits rearward edge portions of the inlet end of the spiral conveyor strip to engage any eggs on the sloping feeder track near or slightly above the centers thereof to minimize any tendency for the spiral stripsto dislodge the eggs as they roll down the feeder track and onto the main track.

Another object of my invention is the provision of stop means for preventing the presence of more-than one egg on each scale at any one time, the. stop means preferably comprising a flexible and resilient spiral baflle member which is preferably carried by the spiral conveyor strip. This feature of the construction of my grading machine insures that one and only one egg will be disposed on each scale at any one time, thereby insuring accurate and reliable weighing operations.

The foregoing objects and advantages of my invention, together with various other objects and advantages thereof which will be apparent hereinafter, may be realized by means of the exemplary embodiment which will be described in detail hereinafter and which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Referring to the drawing, which is intended as illustrative only:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a grading machine which embodies the fundamental principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view which is taken along the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, end elevational view of cam means for controlling the'motion of scale means for weighing articles to be graded;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational view of the cam means shown in Fig. 4; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged, fragmentary, front elevational views illustrating the operation of a portion of the grading machine.

The general construction and operation of the grading machine illustrated in the accompanying drawing are similar to the construction and operation of my prior grading machine which is the subject of my aforesaid co-pending application. Consequently, the present disclosure is primarily concerned with a detailed description of the improvements on my prior grading machine and is not concerned with a detailed description of the remainder of the construction of my present grading machine.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, my present grading machine includes a supporting base l having main track means or a main track I and a feeder track means or a feeder track |2 mounted thereon, the main track including an inlet end I3 and a discharge end I4. The'grading machine includes a plurality of scale means I for removing from the main track all eggs or other articles weighing more than predetermined minimum amounts, the eggs being conveyed along the main track and over the scale means by worm conveyor means |6 which may be rotated by suitable driving means H. In order to provide a continuous stream of eggs at predetermined and uniformly spaced intervals, I employ means l8 for feeding a sequence of eggs from the feeder track l2 onto the main track II, and in order to prevent the presence of more than one egg on any one of the scale means I5, I employ stop means comprising a spiral bafiie member l9 which is carried by the worm means As best shown in Fig. 3, the main track I comprises a shallow pan or channel having a pair of upwardly extending edges 20 which form tracks or rails for the eggs or other articles being graded, the eggs being rolled along the rails with the longitudinal axes thereof extending transversely of the rails as indicated by the egg 2|. The main track H, as best shown in Fig. 2, in-

cludes a plurality of longitudinally aligned segments 22 which may be mounted on and secured to the base H) by suitable posts 23 or in any other suitable manner. As will be apparent from Fig. 2, the main track H is inclined upwardly from the inlet end l3 toward the discharge end I4 so that the eggs being graded are held against the worm l6 by the action of gravity. The feeder track I2 is of substantially the same CI'OSS-SGC': tional configuration as the main track and is longitudinally aligned therewith, the feeder track being mounted on a sloping block 24 which is mounted on the base 10 so that the feeder track is inclined downwardly toward and registers with the inlet end l3 of the main track. Thus, eggs or other articles which are placed on the feeder track l2 may roll downwardly onto the main track As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the scale means l5 includes three identical scales 26, 21, and 28 which may be adjusted to remove eggs weighing more than progressively smaller minimum amounts from the main track I I, the scales 26, 21, and 28 preferably being adjusted -to remove large, medium, and small eggs from the track, respectively. As best shown in Fig. 3, the scale 26 includes a supporting bracket 33 which carries a knife edge 3|, a substantially Y-shaped balance arm 32, best shown in Fig. 1, being balanced on the knife edge. A counterbalance member 33 is adjustably secured to the balance arm 32, rotation of the balance arm in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, being limited by a stop 34. A scale track 36 is pivotally connected to the balance arm 32 at a point 31 which is preferably above the point at which the balance arm is pivoted on the knife edge 3|, the scale track being adapted to register with and being adapted for alignment with the track segment 22 thereadjacent as best shown in Fig. 2. Track arms 38 are rigidly secured to and extend downwardly from the scale track 36, a guide roller or cam follower 39 being secured to the track arms. As best shown in Fig. 3, the track arms 38 are preferably inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the pivot point 3'! to the guide roller 39, th track arms being inclined downwardly and to the right as viewed in Fig. 3. As best shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the guide roller 39 is movable in a cam slot or guide slot 40 in a guide member Al to provide cam or guide means for controlling the motion of the scale track 36, the guide member preferably including flanges Ma and Mb interconnected by a base portion Me which is secured to the supporting base H) by screws or the like. Th guide slot 49 includes a forwardly and downwardly inclined section 40a and a rearwardly and downwardly inclined section 40b, the slot section 43a being defined by cam surfaces 400 and 40d on the flanges Ma and Mb, respectively, in the particular construction illustrated, and the slot section 4% being defined by cam surfaces 43c and 43 on the flanges Ma and Mb, respectively. It will be apparent that the guide slot 40 may be formed in any suitable guide member and I do not intend to be limited to the particular construction shown for the guide member 4 I.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the scale tracl: 36, track arms 38, and guide roller 39 will normally be in the positions shown in full lines until depressed by an egg of sufficient weight on the scale track. When an egg of sufficient weight is conveyed onto the scale track 36 by the worm l6 as will be described in detail hereinafter, the forwardly and downwardly inclined section 10a of the guide slot 40 causes the guide roller 39 to move forwardly, as it moves downwardly, into the position shown in phantom and indicated by the numeral 390. in Fig. 4. The forward movement of the guide roller 39 is such that both rails 20 of the scale track 36 remain at the same elearea-r24 vation as the scale track moves downwardly-into the parallel position shown in phantom in Fig. 3' and indicated by the numeral 360i.- The scale track 36 thus moves vertically for a substantial distance before rotating to insure accurate weighing of an egg thereon; particularly if the weight of the egg is close to the minimum wei'ght for which the counterbalance member 33 is set. If the scale track 39 did not movevertica'lly without rotating, the center of gravity of the" egg would tend to shift forwardly and away fromthe counterbalance member 33- as the scale track rotated, thus increasing'th'e rotational moment due to the weight of the egg and causing the egg to be dumped after only a small rotation of the scale track. wardly inclined section All-a of the guide 5101; 40 maintains the moment arm of theegg constant while the scale track 38 moves downwardly'for a substantial distance, thus insurin more accurate weighing of the egg than if the scale tracl: began to rotate at the instant it began to move downwardly.

After reaching the position indicated at 39a in Fig. 4, the guide roller 39 enters the downwardly and rearwardly inclined section 4019 of the guide slot 40, the slot section 4% preferably, although not necessarily, being substantially horizontal. As the guide roller 38 moves from the position shown in phantom at 3811 to the position shown in phantom at 3% at the rearward end of the slot section iiib, the scale track 36 rotates very rapidly about the pivot 32 into the position indicated at 38?) to dump the egg from the scale track. Thus, the slot section illa prevents rotation of the scale track at until the egg thereon is accurately weighed, and, if the egg is sufficient- 1y heavy to cause the guide roller 39 to enter the slot section tab, the latter causes the scale track to rotate rapidly to dump the egg.

The scales 2'! and 28 are identical to the scale 26 and include scale tracks 42 and 43, respectively, which are normally aligned with and register with the track segments 22 to complete the'main track II as best shown in Fig. 2. As best shown in Fig. l, the counterbalance member 33 of the scale 26, and identical counterbalance members 44 and 45 of the scales 2? and 28 are so positioned that the scales dump eggs weighing more than progressively smaller minimum amounts from the track It as more fully described in my aforesaid copending application.

Since the eggs are conveyed along the main track II with the longitudinal axes thereof disposed transversely of the track, eggs dumped from the track ll by the scales 26, 21, and 28 land on end on aprons 46, t1, and 48, respectively. These eggs then roll end-over-end down the aprons 46, 41, and 48 and into compartments 49, 50, and ill, respectively. Any eggs which are underweight, i. e., are too light to be dumped by the scale 28, are conveyed to the discharge end M of the track II by the worm I6, and roll down an apron 53 into a compartment 54.

The Worm It includes a shaft 56 which is journaled in bearings 51 above the main track H and a portion of the feeder track 12, the bearings being mounted on supporting brackets 58--which are secured to the base Ill. The worm l6 is rotated by the driving means H as best shown in Fig. 1, the shaft EB'being driven by a motor 59 through a suitable speed-reduction unit 60 and through a sleeve 6| of a suitable flexible material. The worm [8 includes a spiral member 63 ofsubstantial diameter which is rigidly connect'edto Thus, the forwardly and dot/"11 6. and is spacedfrom the shafttfi byspokcs-tfii. the spiral member being disposed iust above and ex tending along the main track" I'I"an'd a -porti'o'n' of the feeder track IZ. As'more' fully described my aforesaid cop'ending application, the spiral member 63 engages the eggs oroth'e'r'article'sto convey them along the track ll from the inlet end l3 thereof towardthe-discharge end l4 thereof as the shaft 56 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 65 by the driving means ll.

One of the improvements incorporated i'n-my present invention resides in the fact thatthe spiral member 63 isinthe form of a spiral'strip having a-for'wa'rd edge portion 61' which engages the eg s or other articles to be conveyed along the track I I. As best shown in Fig; 6, the width of the-edge portion 6'! isconsiderably less 'than the diameter of an articlesuch as an egg: 19 which is engaged and conveyed along the track ll thereby. The use of therelatively narrow engaging surface provided bythe ed'ge portion 6-1 of thespiral member 63 minimizes friction between the spiral'member and the eggs conveyed thereby due to the presence of foreign matter. The use of the narrow edge portion 6! rather than a wideengaging surface has two main advantages in this connection: one main advantage being due to the fact that if dirtyeggs are being graded, such a wide engaging. surface would tend to guide any loosened dirt down to the eggspthus creating large frictional forces which would tend to dislodge the egg; and the other main advan tage being due to the fact that if the eggs are being graded at temperatures below the prevail ing dew point, moisture condenses on the spiral member and would tend-to run down such a wide engaging surface to the eggs, thus creating undesirable frictional forces. The use of the narrow edge portion 61 tends to eliminate accumulations of dirt or moisture and thus minimizes any tendency of the spiral member 63 to dislodge the eggs. 7

Another important improvement incorporated in my present invention resides in the fact that a portion of one of the convolutions forming the spiral member 63 extends along a portion of the feeder track l2 and is of a smaller diameter than the remaining convolutions, thus providing the spiral member with an inlet end segment 69 which is curved inwardly toward the shaft 56, a best shown in Fig. 3. Thus, as best shown in Fig. 6, as an article such as an egg 10 is released by the feeder means 18- and rolls down the inclined feeder track ill, the egg engages a rearward edge portion ll of the inwardly-curved-in let end segment 69 at a point which is preferably above thecenter of the egg. This construction substantially eliminates any tendency of the spiral member 63 to knock the egg it off the inclined track [2, a tendency'which-I have found to exist if the inlet end segment of the spiral member initially engages the egg at a point much below the center thereof. Asthe spiral member 63 continues to rotate from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7, the egg (0 rolls down the feeder track I2 and. in so doing, engages rearward edge portions H of the spiral member 63 which are of increasingv diameter so that the point of engagement between the egg and the spiral member remains substantially at the center of the egg. The points of engagement between the eggs and the spiral member 63 may belo'wered as the eggs are advanced alongthe track" I l,. nly the -initial points of engagement preferably being substantially at or above the centers of the eggs. Since the egg 10 engages the rearward edge portions 'II of the spiral member 63, the latter serves to control the speed at which the egg rolls down the feeder track, I2, which is a feature of my invention.

The feeder means I8 includes a pair of vertically movable horizontal gate members I2 and 13 which are actuated by cams I4 and I5, respectively, on the shaft 56. The cams I4 and I5 are adapted to lift the gate members I2 and I3 to feed a sequence of eggs onto the inlet end I3 of the track II at predetermined and uniformly spaced intervals, as described more completely in my aforesaid copending application. The operation of the feeder means I8 is so timedwith respect to the position of the inlet end segment 69 of the spiral member 63 that only one egg is disposed between each pair of adjacent convolutions of thespiral member. The timing of the operation of the feeder means I8 is also such as an egg 10 rolls down the feeder track I2 as best shown in Fig. 6, the egg engages the edge portion II of the inlet end segment 69 of the spiral member 63, thereby insuring that the extreme end TI of the inlet end segment does not engage and knock the egg off the track.

The baflie member I9 represents another improvement which is incorporated in my present invention, the bafiie member being adapted to keep the egg 68 from rolling onto the scale 26, as best shown in Fig. '7, until an egg I9 already thereon has either been dumped by the scale, or has been moved along the track I I by the spiral member 63. The baflie member I9 is rigidly secured to the spiral member 63 and is preferably of a spiral configuration so that as the free end I8 thereof disengages the egg 68, the released egg rolls directly onto the scale 26, the bafiie member preferably being formed of a flexible and resilient material such as spring wire or the like.

Prior to operating the grading machine, the positions of the counterbalance members 33, 44, and 45, of the scales 26, 21, and 28 are adjusted so that these scales successively dump articles of progressively smaller minimum weights from the track II. Thus, if the machine is used for grading eggs, the counterbalance members 33, 44, and 45 may be so adjusted that the scale 26 removes large eggs from the track II, the scale 27 removes medium eggs, and the scale 28 removes small eggs. It will be apparent that the counterbalance members 33, 44, and 45 will all be positioned at different distances from the balance points of the respective scales somewhat as shown in Fig. 1.

In operation, the driving means I! rotates the worm means IS in the direction of the arrow 65, the speed of rotation of the worm means preferably being relatively low. The eggs are placed on 6 the feeder track I2 above the feeder means I8 with the longitudinal axes of the eggs oriented transversely of the track. As more fully described in my aforesaid copending application the gate members I2 and 13 of the feeder means I8 00- operate to release a sequence of eggs at predetermined intervals. As each egg is released by the feeder means I8, it rolls down the track I2 and rests against the edge portion II of the inlet end segment 69 of the spiral member 63 as indicated by the egg 10 of Fig. 6, the point of initial contact between the edge portion 'II and the egg being at or above the center of the egg because of the inward curvature of the inlet end segment.

This construction substantially eliminates any 8 tendency of the inlet end segment 69 to dislodge the egg I0.

As best shown in Fig. 7, the egg 68, which was released by the feeder means I8 prior to the egg I0, is restrained by the baflie member I9 so that the egg 68 does not roll onto the scale 26 until the previously released egg 19 which is already on the scale 26 is either dumped from the track II or is conveyed toward the discharge end thereof by the spiral member 63. When the free end I8 of the baffle member I9 disengages the egg 68, the egg will then roll onto the scale 26 after the previous egg 19 has been removed therefrom.

The scale 26 will remove from the track I I only those eggs which weigh more than the minimum for large eggs, such large eggs being lowered as the scale track 36 drops and then rotates about the pivot 31 as previously described. The action of the cam roller 39 in the cam slot 40 prevents rotation of the scale track 36 until the scale track has been depressed a substantial distance, thus insuring accurate weighing of the eggs. Since the eggs are disposed transversely of the track I I, they land on end and roll end-over-end down the apron 46 and into the compartment 49. As stated in my copending application, the fact that the eggs are dumped so that they land on end is important in view of the fact that the end portions of the shells of the eggs are considerably stronger than the sides thereof. This feature of my invention substantially eliminates any possibility of breakage as the eggs are dumped from the track II. It will be apparent that the apron 46 and compartment 49, together with the aprons 41, 48, and 53 and the compartments 50, 5!, and 54, may be lined with a suitable material such as felt or the like, if desired, to further reduce any possibility of breakage.

In the event that an egg is too light to be dumped by the scale 26, it is conveyed along the track II by the spiral member 63 toward the discharge end I4 of the track. Thus, if an egg weighs less than the minimum weight for which the scale 26 is set but weighs more than the minimum weight fo which the scale 2'! is set, the egg will not be dumped by the scale 26 but will be dumped by the scale 21, which is identical to the scale 26 except for the relative positions of the counterbalance members 33 and 44. Similarly, if an egg weighs less than the minimum weight for the scale 21 but more than the minimum weight for the scale 28, the egg will not be dumped by either the scale 26 or the scale 21, but will be dumped by the scale 28, which is also identical to the scale 26 except for the position of the counterbalance member 45. Any eggs weighing less than the minimum for which the scale 28 is set will be conveyed to the discharge end of the track II by the spiral member 63 and will roll down the apron 53 into the compartment 54.

In conveying the eggs along the track II from the inlet end I3 thereof toward the discharge end I4, the spiral member 63 rubs lightly against the eggs substantially transversely of the track because of the relatively small angles between the convolutions of the spiral member and perpendicular to the track as best shown in Fig. 1. This relatively light rubbing action exerts a force component on the eggs in a direction parallel to the track which conveys the eggs gently along the track. The relatively small angles between the convolutions of the spiral member 63 and the track II, together with the relatively large diameter of the convolutions as compared 9 to the diameter of the eggs, permits the spiral member to convey the eggs along .the track very ently with substantially no possibility :of breaka e.

The fact that the width of the edge portions '61 and H of the spiral member .63 is considerably less than .the diameter of the eggs engaged- Although I have described the preferred em- 'bodiment of my invention and have suggested a specific application thereof :to theart-of grading eggs, it will be understood that my invention is not to be limited to grading eggs and that various changes, modifications, and substitutions may be incorporated in the preferred embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention. I hereby reserve the right, therefore, to the protection afforded by the full scope of my appended claims.

I claim as ,my invention:

1. In an ovoid conveying device, the combination of: track means having an inlet end and a discharge end, said track means being adapted to support and guide an ovoid therealong; rotatable worm means mounted adjacent said track means and adapted to convey an ovoid along said track means from said inlet end thereof toward said discharge end thereof, said worm means including a spiral strip of substantially rectangular cross section having sides which are substantially parallel to said track means and having edges which are substantially perpendicular thereto, the thickness of said strip being substantially less than the diameter of the ovoid; and means for rotating said worm means.

2. In an ovoid grading device, the combination of: track means having an inlet end and a discharge end, said track means being adapted to support and guide an ovoid therealong; scale means aligned with said track means, said scale means being adapted to remove from said track means any ovoid weighing more than a predetermined amount; rotatable worm means mounted adjacent said track means and adapted to convey an ovoid along said track means from said inlet end thereof toward said discharge end thereof and over said scale means, said worm means including a spiral member having an inlet end portion adjacent said inlet end of said track means, said inlet end portion of said spiral member being spaced above said track means at its closest approach thereto a distance at least equal to one-half the diameter of the ovoid, but less than the diameter of the ovoid, and the remaining portions of said spiral member being spaced above said track means at their closest approaches thereto distances not greater than one-half the diameter of the ovoid; and means for rotating said worm means.

3. In an ovoid grading device, the combination of: track means having a downwardly sloping inlet end and a discharge end, said track means being adapted to support and guide an ovoid therealong; scale means aligned with said track means, said scale means being adapted to remove from said track means any ovoid weighing more than a predetermined amount; rotatable worm it) means mounted adjacent said track means and adapted to convey an ovoid alongsaid trackmeans from said inlet end thereof toward said discharge end thereof and over said scale means; a helical baffle carried by and coaxial with said worm means, said helical .baflile extending toward said discharge end of said track means and being adapted to prevent the presence of more than .one ovoid on said scale means at any one time;

and means for rotating said worm means.

.4. In an ovoid conveying .device, the combination of: track means having a downwardly inclined inlet end portion and having a discharge end portion, said track means being adapted to support and guide anovoid therealong; rotatable worm means including a spiral member having forward and rearward ovoid-engaging surfaces, said worm means further including a shaft and means connected to said spiral member in a zone intermediate and spaced from said ovoid-engaging surfaces for connectin said spiral member to said shaft, whereby to render said ovoid-engaging surfaces free from obstructions, said forward ovoid-engaging surface being adapted to engage and convey an ovoid along said track means toward said discharge end portion thereof, and said rearward ovoid-engaging surface being adapted to control the rate at which an ovoid rollsdown said inclined inlet end portion; and means for rotating said worm means.

5. In an egg-weighing device, the combination of a balance arm pivoted on amain pivot point; anegg receiving track pivotally connected to said balance arm by a track pivot on one side of said main .pivot point; .a counterbalance member on said balance arm on the .other side of said main pivot point; and guide means forcontrolling rotation of said track about said track pivot point in response to rotation of said balance arm about said main pivot point so that said track moves vertically for a substantial distance between parallel positions, said guide means including a cam surface which is inclined downwardly and outwardly with respect to said main pivot point, and including a cam follower which is movable along said cam surface.

6. In an egg-weighing device, the combination of: a balance arm pivoted on a main pivot point; an egg receiving track pivotally connected to said balance arm by a track pivot on one side of said main pivot point; a counterbalance member on said balance arm on the other side of said main pivot point; a cam follower on said track; and a guide member having a slot therein for said cam follower, said slot including a portion, which is inclined downwardly and outwardly relative to said main pivot point, said cam follower being adapted to move in said outwardly and downwardly inclined portion of said slot to cause said track to move parallel to itself for a substantial distance.

'7. In a weighing device, the combination of: a balance arm pivoted on a main pivot; a scale platform pivotally connected to said balance arm on one side of said main pivot; a counterbalance member on said balance arm on the other side of said main pivot; a platform arm depending from said scale platform; and guide means for initially moving the lower end of said platform arm outwardly away from said main pivot as said scale platform moves downwardly upon rotation of said balance arm about said main pivot and for subsequently moving the lower end of said platform arm inwardly.

8. In an ovoid conveying device, the combination of: track means adapted to support and guide an ovoid and having a downwardly inclined inlet end portion; a rotatable worm positioned above and substantially parallel to said track means and adapted to convey the ovoid therealong, said worm having an inlet end portion which is positioned above said downwardly inclined inlet end portion of said track means and which is of a smaller diameter than the other portions of said worm, said inlet end portion of said worm being of such diameter that is clears said track means by a distance which is equal to at least one-half the diameter of the ovoid,

but less than the diameter of the ovoid, and said other portions of said worm being of such diameters that they clear said track means by distances not greater than one-half of the diamete of the ovoid; and means for rotating said worm.

9. In an ovoid conveying device, the combination of: track means adapted to support and guide an ovoid and having a downwardly inclined inlet end portion; a rotatable worm positioned above and substantially parallel to said track means and adapted to convey the ovoid therealong, said worm having an inlet end positioned above said downwardly inclined inlet end portion of said track means, and having forward and rearward ovoid-engaging surfaces, said forward ovoidengaging surface being adapted to convey an ovoid along said track means away from said inlet end portion thereof, and said rearward ovoid-engaging surface being adapted to control the rate at which an ovoid rolls down said inclined inlet end portion of said track means; means for feeding a sequence of ovoids onto said inclined inlet end portion of said track means, said feeding means including a gate which is movable to an open position to feed an ovoid onto said inclined inlet end portion of said track means, and including a cam on said worm for moving said gate to said open position, said inlet end of said worm leading said cam so that each ovoid is fed onto said inclined inlet end portion of said track means afte said inlet end of said worm has passed the line of said track means, whereby the ovoid rolls down said inclined inlet end portion into engagement with said rearward ovoid-engaging surface; and means for rotating said worm.

JOSHUA A. HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 64,886 Little May 21, 1867 652,677 Kellington June 26, 1900 1,684,254 Bailey Sept. 11, 1928 1,694,675 White Dec. 11, 1928 1,866,005 Beaty July 5, 1932 2,078,503 Meiser Apr. 27, 1937 2,112,259 Wyland Mar. 29, 1938 2,138,475 Hilton Nov. 29, 1938 2,259,748 Hullhorst Oct. 21, 1941 2,355,715 Edington Aug. 15, 1944 2,417,823 Hodson Mar. 25, 1947 2,442,689 Hill June 1, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,223 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1913 335,951 Great Britain et. 6, 1930

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