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US 4,082,856 AGranted
Process and apparatus for shelling eggs
AssigneeCountry Queen Foods, Inc.
InventorsTheodore Carl Zwiep, Donn G. Newhouse, Jerry D. Craner
Life of this patent
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AssigneeCountry Queen Foods, Inc.
InventorsTheodore Carl Zwiep, Donn G. Newhouse, Jerry D. Craner
Estimating the term…
Hard cooked eggs are fed through a hopper to a conveyor section which has an oscillating and vibratory feed at a frequency and energy level which progressively fractures and shatters the shell of the eggs passing therethrough. The eggs are passed through a resilient orifice which flagellates the eggs successively and frictionally dislodges the shell and the eggs are subjected to a stream of fluid such as water intersecting their path of travel differentially lubricating and assisting in the stripping of the shells from the eggs without damage to the hard cooked flesh of the eggs. The eggs are washed clean and the shell debris is collected and the shelled eggs are emitted in a separate flow path. Process fluid is treated as desired and recycled. The apparatus comprises a collector hopper oriented above a conveyor run onto which eggs are delivered in a consecutive sequence path. The conveyor is agitated and vibrated imparting continuous shock loading to the eggs passing through the conveyor. As the eggs leave the conveyor they pass through an annulus subject to the vibratory action and the vibration causes the annulus to flagellate the eggs and the eggs are each subjected to a stripping action combined with a water jet which lubricates and assists in stripping the shells from the eggs. The eggs and debris are passed onto a reaction driven rotating cleaning table and a final cleansing spray of water is derived from the table drive and is directed at the moving eggs and all shell debris drops through the table and into a debris collecting and separating tank. The eggs are deflected from the table and collected separately from the debris. The process water may be filtered and reused.
A process for continuosly shelling hard cooked eggs comprising:
A process for continuously shelling hard cooked eggs comprising the steps of progressively subjecting a succession of eggs to continuous vibratory shock through a conveyor path and passing said eggs through a resilient and vibrating orifice whereby an annulus defining said orifice flagellates said eggs at the interphase between shell and annulus thereby dislodging the shell from the meat of said egg and passing the meat of said egg through said orifice.
A process for continuously shelling hard cooked eggs comprising the steps of:
An apparatus for continuously shelling hard cooked eggs comprising:
An apparatus for continuously and successively shelling hard cooked eggs comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.