WO2001056789A1

WO2001056789A1 - Method and apparatus for marking an egg with a freshness indicium

Info

Publication number: WO2001056789A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/001555
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marcus Rust
Original assignee: Rose Acre Farms Inc
Current assignee: Rose Acre Farms Inc
Priority date: 2000-02-01
Filing date: 2001-01-17
Publication date: 2001-08-09
Anticipated expiration: 2002-08-01
Also published as: AU2001227936A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus (14) for marking an egg (10) with a freshness indicium (12), such as a date upon which the egg was laid. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, eggs are collected as they are laid and are prepared for packing. A printing device (18), such as a computer (22) with attached ink jet printer (20), is programmed to apply the current date (12) onto each of the eggs (10) as it passes a printing station. All of the eggs (10) laid within a particular twenty-four hour period are printed with this date (12). The eggs (10) are then packaged and shipped to consumers and/or wholesale and retail outlets for sale to a consumer. Because each egg (10) is individually dated with its laid-on date (12), the ultimate consumer of the egg (10) will always know the exact age of the egg (10) prior to purchase and, subsequently, consumption.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MARKING AN EGG WITH A FRESHNESS INDICIUM

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for marking an egg and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for marking an egg with a freshness indicium, such as a date upon which the egg was laid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heretofore, it has been recognized that eggs (such as those produced by chickens, ducks, geese, ostriches, etc.) undergo a natural process of biological decay, such that they exhibit a shelf life that is not indefinite. In order to indicate to potential retail customers the approximate date when the eggs should no longer be considered fresh (and therefore should not be purchased if they cannot be consumed before such date), most eggs displayed for retail sale include an expiration date printed upon the carton in which the eggs are packed. This expiration date is usually calculated as a predetermined length of time after the eggs were laid. If the eggs are not sold before the displayed expiration date, they are removed from the store shelves and returned to the egg producer for credit.

It has been discovered that some egg producers will take these "expired" eggs back to the production facility, mix them in at random with "new" (recently laid) eggs and then repackage the expired eggs and the new eggs together. These new packages will then be imprinted with a new expiration date based upon when the "new" eggs were laid.

This practice presents a problem for the prospective egg consumer. The consumer desires to purchase the freshest eggs possible, but the expiration date printed on the egg carton may not be a reliable indicator of the freshness of the eggs contained therein. Furthermore, there is no other information available to the consumer that would allow the consumer to reliably determine the age of the eggs displayed for sale.

There is therefore a need for a reliable way to inform a consumer of the true age of an egg displayed for sale. The present invention is directed toward meeting this need. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for marking an egg with freshness indicia, such as a date upon which the egg was laid or an expiration date. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, eggs are collected as they are laid and are prepared for packing. A printing device, such as a computer with attached ink jet printer, is programmed to apply the current date onto each of the eggs as it passes a printing station. All of the eggs laid within a particular twenty- four hour period are printed with this date. The eggs are then packaged and shipped to consumers and/or wholesale and retail outlets for sale to a consumer. Because each egg is individually dated with its laid-on date, the ultimate consumer of the egg will always know the exact age of the egg prior to purchase and, subsequently, consumption.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for marking an egg is disclosed, comprising the steps of a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) programming a printer to print laid-on date indicia corresponding to the date; and d) printing the laid-on date indicia upon the egg using the printer.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for marking an egg is disclosed, comprising the steps of a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) applying to the egg laid-on date indicia corresponding to the date.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method for marking an egg is disclosed, comprising the steps of a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) programming a printer to print freshness indicia having a predetermined relationship to the date; and d) printing the freshness indicia upon the egg using the printer.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for marking an egg is disclosed, comprising the steps of a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) applying to the egg freshness indicia having a predetermined relationship to the date. 9

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of an egg labeled according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment apparatus of the present invention for marking an egg with a date upon which the egg was laid. FIG. 3 is a schematic process diagram detailing the steps in a preferred embodiment method for marking an egg with a date upon which the egg was laid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, and alterations and modifications in the illustrated device, and further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein are herein contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. With reference to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a preferred embodiment egg of the present invention, indicated generally at 10. In most commercial egg laying operations, the date upon which an egg was laid can normally be ascertained with certainty. For example, a typical chicken egg production facility contains a plurality of chickens that are caged. The cages are designed such that when the chicken lays an egg, the egg automatically rolls out of the cage and onto a conveyor belt that runs past the cages. There may be several such conveyor belts that run past different groups of cages, wherein each of these smaller conveyor belts eventually merges with a larger conveyor belt. The larger conveyor belt transports all of the eggs to a preparation area where the eggs are typically washed, sanitized, dried, inspected for quality, etc. Because of the nature of this process, an egg that has been laid by a hen and has gone through this preparation process will have been laid by the hen within the previous 24 hours.

In order to provide a permanent indication of the freshness of the egg 10 to the ultimate consumer of the egg 10, freshness indicia 12 may be printed directly onto the surface of the egg 10. As used herein, the term "freshness indicia" refers to any combination of letters, numbers, or other marks that convey to the consumer of the egg 10 the freshness of the egg 10. For example, freshness indicia may comprise laid-on date indicia, expiration date indicia, etc. As used herein, the term "printed" refers to any method, process, material, or device that permanently or semi-permanently affixes the freshness indicia 12 to the surface of the egg 10. In a preferred embodiment, the freshness indicia 12 are applied by means of an ink jet printer, such as a DOMINO SOLO 5 ink jet printer, manufactured by Domino Amjet, Inc., 1290 Lakeside Drive, Gurnee, Illinois 60031, for example. Preferably, the freshness indicia 12 are applied by the ink jet printer using a food grade ink, preferably using an RD4503c ink cartridge and 4523c make up cartridge, also manufactured by Domino Amjet, Inc. After reading the present specification, other methods for transferring the freshness indicia 12 to the surface of the egg 10 will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art. For example, alternative methods might utilize engraving processes (such as by laser, etc.), adhesive films, silk screening, or any other method and/or apparatus capable of transferring the freshness indicia 12 to the surface of the egg 10. As used herein, the phrase "laid-on date indicia" encompasses any combination of letters, numbers, or other marks that convey to a consumer of the egg 10 the date upon which the egg was laid (the "laid-on-date"). As used herein, the phrase "laid-on date" comprises a calendar date wherein the egg was laid within 24 hours preceding said calendar date. Therefore, for example, if a particular egg laying facility runs its egg preparation operation (including the application of the laid-on date indicia 12) between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. of any given day, an egg laid at 10 p.m. on October 21, 1999 would be prepared and labeled between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. on October 22, 1999 and application of laid-on date indicia 12 representing October 22, 1999 would comprise a valid laid-on date according to the present invention. If means are available to identify that the egg was laid prior to midnight in the present example, application of laid-on date indicia 12 representing October 21, 1999 would also be a valid laid-on date according to the present invention.

As used herein, the phrase "expiration date indicia" encompasses any combination of letters, numbers, or other marks that convey to a consumer of the egg 10 the date after which the egg 10 should no longer be considered fresh. The expiration date will usually (but not always) be calculated as a predetermined length of time after the laid-on date.

The freshness indicia 12 are illustrated in FIG. 1 as comprising dot-matrix characters; however, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that any markings that will convey to the ultimate consumer the freshness of the egg 10 may be used for the freshness indicia 12. The freshness indicia 12 are also shown positioned on the egg 10 in FIG. 1 approximately mid-way between the ends of the egg 10; however, the present invention comprehends placement of the freshness indicia 12 at any location upon the egg 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment apparatus for applying the freshness indicia 12 to the eggs 10, the apparatus indicated at generally at 14. The preferred embodiment apparatus 14 utilizes a conveyor belt 16 to move a plurality of eggs 10 past a station for applying the freshness indicia 12 thereto. The eggs 10 are preferably positioned upon the conveyor 16 so as to maintain a uniform orientation with respect to the conveyor 16. By way of example and not of limitation, one method of positioning the eggs could comprise a conveyor belt having cups or other depressions (not shown) that would maintain the eggs' position.

The apparatus 14 further comprises a printer 18 positioned near the conveyor 16 and adapted to apply the freshness indicia 12 to each of the eggs 10 as they pass the printer 18. As used herein, the term "printer" comprises any apparatus or method operative to apply freshness indicia 12 to an egg 10. In a preferred embodiment the printer 18 comprises an ink jet printer 20 controlled by a computer 22, such as a typical personal computer. The printer 20 includes a print head 26 for applying the freshness indicia 12. The apparatus 14 further preferably includes a sensor 24 (such as a lamp/photodetector pair) operative to sense when an egg 10 is in proper position with respect to print head 26 to apply the freshness indicia 12. A signal from the sensor 24 is continuously monitored by software operating on the computer 22 in order to determine when an egg 10 is in the proper position. The software running on the computer 22 is programmed with the current freshness indicia. When the computer 22 determines that the egg 10 is in the proper position with respect to the print head 26, the computer 22 sends a command and/or data over the communication line 28 to the ink jet printer 20, thereby causing the print head 26 to apply the proper freshness indicia 12 to the egg 10. This process is repeated as each egg 10 passes the print head 26 due to movement of the conveyor belt 16.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a schematic process diagram of a preferred embodiment method of the present invention for marking an egg with a date upon which the egg was laid. The method of FIG. 3 begins at step 30 and continues at step 32, at which an egg 10 is identified as an egg upon which it is desired to place laid-on date indicia 12. The date upon which the egg 10 was laid is identified at step 34 and a printer is programmed at step 36 with the laid-on date information. Laid-on date indicia 12 are printed onto the egg 10 at step 38 using the printer 18. Step 40 determines if there are more eggs 10 that need to be labeled with laid-on date indicia 12. If so, the process returns to step 32. If, however, all of the eggs 10 have been labeled, the process ends at step 42.

Those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the process of FIG. 3 may be modified for applying freshness indicia other than laid-on date indicia. For example, step 36 could program the printer with expiration date information calculated from the date on which the egg was laid, while step 38 could apply the expiration date indicia to the egg using the printer.

It will be appreciated from the above description that the present invention provides a method and apparatus for providing valuable information to consumers of the eggs 10. Because the freshness indicia 12 are affixed to each of the individual eggs 10, a consumer of the egg 10 is assured of having an accurate indication of the freshness of the egg 10. Because the egg 10 may not be separated from its freshness information by removing it from its original packing carton, the consumer may be assured that they are being given accurate information with which to assess the freshness of the egg 10.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method for marking an egg, comprising the steps of: a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) programming a printer to print laid-on date indicia corresponding to the date; and d) printing the laid-on date indicia upon the egg using the printer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises identifying a calendar date wherein the egg was laid within 24 hours preceding the calendar date.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises: c.1) programming a computer with the date; c.2) operatively coupling a printer to the computer; and c.3) causing the computer to control the printer such that the printer will print the laid-on date indicia.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein step (c.2) comprises operatively coupling an ink jet printer to the computer.

5. A method for marking an egg, comprising the steps of: a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) applying to the egg laid-on date indicia corresponding to the date.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (b) comprises identifying a calendar date wherein the egg was laid within 24 hours preceding the calendar date.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein step (c) comprises: c.1) programming a computer with the date; c.2) operatively coupling a printer to the computer; c.3) causing the computer to control the printer such that the printer will print the laid-on date indicia; and c.4) printing the laid-on date indicia upon the egg using the printer.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein step (c) comprises engraving the laid-on date indicia into a surface of the egg.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein step (c) comprises applying to the egg an adhesive film carrying the laid-on date indicia.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein step (c.2) comprises operatively coupling an ink jet printer to the computer.

11. A method for marking an egg, comprising the steps of: a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) programming a printer to print freshness indicia having a predetermined relationship to the date; and d) printing the freshness indicia upon the egg using the printer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (b) comprises identifying a calendar date wherein the egg was laid within 24 hours preceding the calendar date.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) comprises: c.1) programming a computer with the date; c.2) operatively coupling a printer to the computer; c.3) calculating the freshness indicia based upon the date; and c.4) causing the computer to control the printer such that the printer will print the freshness indicia.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (c.2) comprises operatively coupling an ink jet printer to the computer.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the freshness indicia comprises the date upon which the egg was laid.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the freshness indicia comprise an expiration date calculated as a predetermined length of time after the date upon which the egg was laid.

17. A method for marking an egg, comprising the steps of: a) selecting an egg; b) identifying a date upon which the egg was laid; c) applying to the egg freshness indicia having a predetermined relationship to the date.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein step (b) comprises identifying a calendar date wherein the egg was laid within 24 hours preceding the calendar date.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein step (c) comprises: c.1) programming a computer with the date; c.2) operatively coupling a printer to the computer; c.3) calculating the freshness indicia based upon the date; c.4) causing the computer to control the printer such that the printer will print the freshness indicia; and c.5) printing the freshness indicia upon the egg using the printer.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein step (c) comprises engraving the freshness indicia into a surface of the egg.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein step (c) comprises applying to the egg an adhesive film carrying the freshness indicia.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein step (c.2) comprises operatively coupling an ink jet printer to the computer.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the freshness indicia comprises the date upon which the egg was laid.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the freshness indicia comprise an expiration date calculated as a predetermined length of time after the date upon which the egg was laid.