Endless egg conveyor

An endless egg conveyor including at least one endless element running around a set of rotational wheels rotating around respective rotational axes and a drive unit defining a conveying direction of the conveyor, said egg conveyor having an upper run and a lower run and head sections where the direction of movement of the endless element between the upper run and the lower run is reversed over one or more of said rotational wheels,

• wherein the egg conveyor furthermore includes at least one lane of egg retaining pockets coupled to the endless element, said lane of retaining pockets in use moving in the conveying direction, each of said retaining pockets having a central axis and an upper receiving opening to receive an egg with a longitudinal axis of the egg generally aligned with said central axis of the pocket, and
• wherein the retaining pockets are each coupled to the endless element by a bearing structure allowing rotation of the retaining pocket around a rotational axis that extends parallel to the rotational axes of said rotational wheels, allowing the retaining pockets to remain in an upright position in every position in the lane,
• wherein, in case of a conveyor with a single lane, the retaining pocket of said lane, or, in case of a conveyor with multiple lanes, the adjacent retaining pockets of the different lanes define a pocket row, wherein, the conveyor comprises carrying elements that carry the pocket(s) of one row, and
• wherein the bearing structure of each pocket row comprises a support arm on either lateral side of the conveyor, said support arm being positioned upright with respect to the circulating endless element and rigidly connected thereto, and wherein the bearing structure of said pocket row furthermore comprises at least one spindle rigidly connected to the carrying element which pivotally connects the carrying element to the support arms.