WO2021110892A1

WO2021110892A1 - Hatching tray assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2021110892A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/084579
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rudy Robert VERHELST; Luc GABRIËL
Original assignee: PETERSIME NV
Current assignee: PETERSIME NV
Priority date: 2019-12-04
Filing date: 2020-12-04
Publication date: 2021-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 2022-06-04
Also published as: BE1027930A1; BE1027930B1

Abstract

Hatching tray assembly for hatching eggs, in particular poultry eggs, such as for example chicken eggs, comprising a primary tray having a floor and upstanding side walls, and a secondary tray having a floor and at least one upstanding side wall, the secondary tray being arranged to receive eggs.

Description

HATCHING TRAY ASSEMBLY

Field of the Invention

[01] The invention is related to a hatching tray assembly for eggs, in particular for poultry eggs.

Background of the Invention

[02] Hatching trays are generally known. In a commonly known incubation process, for example of poultry eggs, hatching eggs are placed on a setter tray having egg accommodation spaces to support eggs and hold eggs in a fixed place. The setter trays filled with eggs may be placed on trolleys, which are then placed in an incubator or a so-called setter. After an incubation period of more or less, for example for chicks, 18 days in said incubator, eggs, in particular poultry eggs, are transferred into hatching trays for the last three days of the incubation process, when the chicks come out of the egg shell. Once the chicks have come out of their shell, hatching trays, which may for example be stacked on trolleys, may be taken to a processing room, where chicks need to be separated from the eggshells and remaining unhatched eggs. This can for example be done manually, by manually transferring the chicks from the hatching trays into transport trays or chick boxes, which is a time- consuming method needing a lot of manpower. Alternatively, the hatching trays can be put into an automated separator assembly in which chicks and egg shells are tipped over from the hatching trays onto a belt conveyor, and are separated from each other, for example on a roller conveyor, in that the chicks can fall between adjacent rollers while unhatched whole eggs and larger egg shells remain on the roller conveyor. Smaller eggshells can later be removed by a vacuum system.

[03] Such an installation may be relatively large and can require a two-step separation of chicks and larger and then smaller eggshell parts. At the same time, the chicks fall twice before being separated from the eggshells, a first time when the hatching tray is turned around and a second time when they pass in between the rollers of the roller conveyor. At the same time, another vacuum system is needed to further separate the chicks from smaller eggshell parts. Moreover, the chicks still have to be placed into transport trays or boxes.

[04] In an alternative solution, a dedicated hatching tray can be provided having a number of egg accommodation spaces, as well as a number of passages for the chicks to fall through once they have hatched. However, transfer of eggs into such a dedicated hatching tray is a technically rather complex process, since the eggs need to be brought from fixed positions in a setter tray to fixed positions in a different configuration in said dedicated hatcher tray. Moreover, chicks fall through the passages immediately after hatching out of the eggs without time to recover after hatching.

Summary of the Invention

[05] It is an aim of the present invention to solve or alleviate one or more of the above-mentioned problems. In particular, the invention aims at providing a hatching tray assembly for eggs allowing a more efficient separation of chicks and eggshells while improving comfort for the chicks.

[06] To this aim, there is provided a hatching tray assembly characterized by the features of claim 1. In particular, the hatching tray assembly for hatching eggs, in particular poultry eggs, comprises a primary tray having a floor and upstanding side walls, and a secondary tray having a floor and at least one upstanding side wall. A floor is meant to be understood in its dictionary meaning: a lower inner surface of a structure or a surface of a structure on which one can walk or move. Such a floor need not be substantially flat. The floor may for example also be wavy, rippled, corrugated or undulated. The surface of the floor may be a substantially continuous surface. The surface of the floor may include small holes, as long as the holes are relatively small compared to objects or living beings on said floor, such as chicks, allowing said living beings to move or walk, or said objects to be moved, on said floor. The secondary tray is arranged to receive eggs. The primary tray is configured to receive chicks hatched out of said eggs. In an inventive way, a surface area of the floor of the secondary tray is smaller than a surface area of the floor of the primary tray and the secondary tray is mountable on or within the primary tray such that the floor of the secondary tray is spaced-apart from the floor of the primary tray. In this way, eggs can be placed in the secondary tray, in particular on the floor of the secondary tray, and the secondary tray can be mounted on or into the primary tray. As the surface area of the floor of the secondary tray is smaller than a surface area of the floor of the primary tray, the secondary tray mounted on or into the primary tray forms a sort of intermediate floor, or inside balcony or mezzanine floor on or within the primary tray. When chicks hatch out of the eggs present on the floor, preferably lying on the floor, of the secondary tray, the chicks can move by themselves down from the secondary tray into the primary tray while the egg shells can remain on the secondary tray. So the surface area of the floor of the secondary tray being smaller than a surface area of the floor of the primary tray can allow chicks hatched out of the eggs to move from the secondary tray into the primary tray. As the floor of the secondary tray is spaced apart from the floor of the primary tray when the secondary tray is mounted on or into the primary tray, the chicks cannot get back into the secondary tray, resulting in an efficient separation of chicks in the primary tray and egg shells in the secondary tray. As such, chicks and eggs are separated when the hatching trays assembly is taken out of the hatcher, and do not need to undergo an additional handling in a processing room. There are many possible ways to mount the floor of the secondary tray at a distance from the floor of the primary tray. For example, the secondary tray may be mounted on legs standing on the floor of the primary tray. The secondary tray may also be mounted into the primary tray by suspending the secondary tray on one or more of the side walls of the primary tray, either directly or through intermediate connection pieces. The secondary tray may also be mountable onto the primary tray, for example onto the side walls of the primary tray. Many other ways are possible as will be clear to the person skilled in the art.

[07] The primary tray can preferably be a transport tray for transporting poultry, such as for example chicks. In existing systems, trays with recently hatched chicks are emptied on a conveyor belt and conveyed to transport trays, in which the chicks are stored during transport. This brings along quite a lot of handling of the chicks. Thanks to the present assembly, less handling of living chicks is required between their hatching out of the eggs and the transport to clients. These transport trays may for example have standard sizes which are adjusted to the mode of transport, which can optimize use of transport space and thus minimize costs. At the same time, some users may not need to invest in new transport trays, as the secondary trays of the hatching tray assembly can be used with transport trays the user already possesses.

[08] In an advantageous way, the secondary tray may be detachably mountable on or within the primary tray. In this way, eggshells can be removed relatively efficiently by unmounting the secondary tray from the primary tray and by subsequently emptying the secondary tray. This can avoid overturning trays including chicks on a conveyor belt.

[09] The secondary tray can for example be arranged to receive eggs in a random distribution within the secondary tray. In other words, the floor of the secondary tray may be a substantially flat floor, without specifically shaped egg holders. Apart from an obvious reduction in manufacturing costs of the secondary tray, a flat tray floor for the secondary tray has the advantage of a relatively easy placement of eggs into the secondary tray, allowing a relatively straightforward transfer of eggs from an initial setter tray into the secondary tray of the hatching tray assembly. At the same time, a random distribution can allow a user to choose a number of eggs to be put into the secondary tray, for example depending on egg size, which makes the secondary tray relatively flexible in use. Moreover, the substantially flat floor or the absence of any egg support or egg holders results in eggs lying on the floor instead of standing, which has proven to be favourable for the chicks coming out of the eggs.

[10] It is preferred that the primary tray is arranged to be stackable, meaning that the trays can be stacked on each other and can thus form a relatively stable stack which does not need additional support to remain standing. A stack of trays can provide an advantage in the handling in that operations can be done per stack of trays instead of per tray. For example, a stack of trays can be put into transport means, such as a lorry. [11] It is still more preferred that the assembly of the secondary tray mounted on or into the primary tray is stackable, meaning that relatively stable stacks can be obtained. In one embodiment, a sum of a height of the at least one upstanding side wall of the secondary tray and of a distance between the floor of the primary tray and the floor of the secondary tray when the secondary tray is mounted into the primary tray may be smaller than a height of the upstanding side walls of the primary tray. As a result, the at least one upstanding side wall of the secondary tray does not extend higher than the side walls of the primary tray when the secondary tray is mounted into the primary tray. If the primary tray is a stackable tray, the mounting of the secondary tray into the primary tray does not prevent the primary tray from being stacked on another primary tray. Even if there is a stack of primary trays, chicks can still pass over the at least one side wall of the secondary tray into the primary tray, while eggshells remain on the secondary tray. So, in this embodiment an alternation of primary and secondary trays cannot be observed from outside, since the secondary trays are within the primary trays, which can result in a relatively low stack of primary and secondary trays. However, standard trays, such as transport trays, may not be usable as primary trays in this embodiment, as they may not provide sufficient height within the primary tray. In a more preferred embodiment, the stack of primary and secondary trays, as seen from an outer side, has an alternation of primary and secondary trays in case the secondary tray is mounted on the primary tray.

[12] A distance between the floor of the primary tray and the floor of the secondary tray when the secondary tray is mounted on or within the primary tray can preferably be at least more or less 5 cm, preferably at least more or less 7 cm, more preferably between more or less 5 and 15 cm, most preferably around 11 or 12 cm. The distance can for example be chosen depending on the type of chicks. Such a space can allow newly hatched chicks to pass under the secondary tray when the chicks are in the primary tray, which can provide more space to the chicks, or can allow more chicks in the primary tray.

[13] A height of the upstanding side walls of the primary tray may be larger than a height of the at least one upstanding side wall of the secondary tray. When a first assembly of a primary tray and a secondary tray mounted on or into the primary tray is stacked onto a second of said assembly, a height between the floor of the primary tray of the first assembly and the floor of the secondary tray of the second assembly is lower than a height between the floor of the primary tray and the floor of the secondary tray of the secondary assembly, which can drive chicks to get down from the secondary tray into the primary tray. At the same time, a total height of the stack of assemblies can be limited, as the height of secondary trays may be chosen to be lower than the height of primary trays since the secondary tray is arranged to receive eggs, being smaller than chicks which can be received in the primary tray.

[14] The secondary tray can include a same number of upstanding side walls as a number of upstanding side walls of the primary tray, which usually has four upstanding side walls in case of a substantially rectangular tray. Alternatively, the secondary tray may be mountable into the primary tray such that at least one of the upstanding side walls of the primary tray can form a side wall for the secondary tray. In this way, the secondary tray may be bordered by either an upstanding side wall of the secondary tray or by being placed against an upstanding side wall of the primary tray, which may save some space within the assembly. Said upstanding side walls can avoid eggs and eggshells falling off from the secondary tray into the primary tray.

[15] A bottom side of the secondary tray can advantageously include at least one passage opening for chicks. A passage opening in the bottom side of the secondary tray can make the passage from the secondary tray into the primary tray relatively easy to find and use for the chicks. A passage opening in for example an upstanding side wall of the secondary tray may be more difficult to find for chicks than an opening in a bottom side of the tray. At the same time, an opening in the bottom side of the secondary tray can allow full upstanding side walls, i.e. without chick passage openings, which can improve stability of the secondary tray.

[16] The at least one passage opening may preferably be separated from the floor of the secondary tray by an upstanding border. A height of said border can be chosen such that eggshells falling from the secondary tray into the primary tray may be prevented, more or less without chicks being hindered too much to pass over the border into the primary tray. At the same time, chicks can be prevented from passing into the primary tray too soon, i.e. before having recovered from the hatching process.

[17] The at least one passage opening for chicks can preferably extend over a substantially entire width or over a substantially entire length of the bottom side of the secondary tray. In this way, access for the chicks to said passage opening can be optimized for a random distribution of eggs in the secondary tray. The passage opening may for example have a substantially rectangular shape, allowing relatively easy access to the passage opening for a relatively large number of chicks. The passage opening may for example be located centrally in the secondary tray or for example along a side of the secondary tray. Other shapes of passage openings are possible as well.

[18] The present invention will be further elucidated with reference to figures of exemplary embodiments. Corresponding elements are designated with corresponding reference signs.

Brief Description of the Drawinqs

[19] Figure 1 shows a perspective view on a preferred embodiment of a stack of two hatching tray assemblies according to the invention;

[20] Figure 2 shows a side view of a cross-section along line A-A of the stack of the two hatching assemblies of Figure 1 ;

[21] Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the cross-section along line A-A of the stack of the two hatching assemblies of Figure 1 ;

[22] Figure 4a and 4b show a primary tray and a secondary tray respectively, of one of the hatching tray assemblies of Figure 1 ;

[23] Figures 5a and 5b both show an alternative embodiment of a secondary tray of a hatching tray assembly according to the invention. Detailed Description of Embodiment(s)

[24] Figure 1 shows a perspective view on a preferred embodiment of a stack of two hatching tray assemblies 1a, 1b according to the invention. Both hatching tray assemblies 1a, 1b comprise a primary tray 2 having a floor 3 and upstanding side walls 4, and a secondary tray 5 having a floor 6 and at least one upstanding side wall 7, more precisely four upstanding side walls 7 in this preferred embodiment. The floor 3 of the primary tray 2 and the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 are understood to be a surface on which it is possible to move objects or on which one may walk, in particular on which chicks may walk. The first assembly 1a of the secondary tray 5 mounted on the primary tray 2 is stackable, for example on a second assembly 1b of a secondary tray 5 mounted on a primary tray 2. The secondary tray 5, as shown in more detail in Figure 4b, is arranged to receive eggs, after the eggs have spent more or less 18 days in an incubator device. The eggs can be placed in a random distribution within the secondary tray 5 and can preferably be in a lying position. Alternatively, the secondary tray 5 could also include some kind of egg supports, which can keep eggs in place, in a lying or a standing position, and could prevent eggs from touching each other. Such egg supports could for example simply be an undulated floor, or any other kind of egg support known to the person skilled in the art. The secondary tray 5 is mounted on the primary tray 2 such that the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 is spaced-apart from the floor 3 of the primary tray 2, which creates a space in the primary tray 2 where chicks can be once they have hatched out of the eggs in the secondary tray 5 and gone down from the secondary tray 5 into the primary tray 2. As the secondary tray 5 is detachably mountable on the primary tray 2, the secondary tray 5 can be taken off the primary tray 2 once substantially all eggs have come out and the remaining eggs shells can be disposed of or discarded relatively easily without disturbing the chicks. The primary trays 2 are also arranged to be stackable without secondary trays 5 in between. As a result, after the hatching process, the stack of hatching tray assemblies 1 including primary trays 2 and secondary trays 5 can be easily separated into two stacks, one stack of primary trays 2 filled with chicks, which stack can be stored for transport and/or transported as such, and one stack of secondary trays 5 filled with egg shells to be disposed of. [25] Figure 2 shows a side view of a cross-section along line A-A of the stack of the two hatching assemblies of Figure 1 , and Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the cross-section along line A-A of the stack of the two hatching assemblies of Figure 1. The upstanding side walls 4 of the primary tray 2, as well as the upstanding side walls 7 of the secondary tray 5 include a recess 8 near a bottom side 9 of the primary tray 2 or a bottom side of the secondary tray 5. An outer side 10 of the recess 8 is arranged to engage an upper inner side 11 of an upstanding side wall 4, 7 of the primary tray 2 or secondary tray 5 on which the tray is mounted, allowing the primary tray 2 or the secondary tray 5 to be stacked or mounted relatively stably on one of a secondary tray 5 or a primary tray 2. The bottom side 9 of the secondary tray 5 includes a passage opening 12 for chicks allowing newly hatched chicks to get from the secondary tray 5 into the primary tray 2. As can thus be seen, the surface area of the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 is smaller than a surface area of the floor 3 of the primary tray 2. The at least one passage opening 12 is separated from the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 by an upstanding border 13 extending along a side of the passage opening 12. A height of the border 13 can be chosen such that eggshells do not fall over the border 13 while chicks can pass over the border 13 relatively easily. A height of the border 13 may for example be chosen in a range of substantially 0.5 to more or less 3.0 cm, for example a height of more or less 2 cm. A distance between the floor 3 of the primary tray 2 and the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 when the secondary tray 5 is mounted on the primary tray 2 is at least more or less 5 cm, preferably at least more or less 7 cm, more preferably in a range of 5 - 15 cm, for example substantially 11.5 cm. In case the tray assembly is used for turkey ducks, said distance may for example be around 13 cm. A height of the upstanding side walls 4 of the primary tray 2 can be larger than a height of the at least one upstanding side wall 7 of the secondary tray 5, which height may vary in a range of more or less 8 cm to more or less 12 cm for the secondary tray 5, and between substantially 14 cm and more or less 18 cm for the primary tray 2.

[26] Figure 4a and 4b show a primary tray 2 and a secondary tray 5 respectively, of one of the hatching tray assemblies 1a, 1b of Figure 1. The primary tray 2 may be a transport tray for transporting chicks. Contrary to the embodiment as shown, also the primary tray 2 may include small holes in the side walls 4 for air circulation during transport of chicks. At least part of the side walls 7 and/or of the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 may comprise holes 14 to allow climate regulation and/or cooling which is preferably optimized for the hatching of eggs. Said holes 14 can be relatively small, for example having a diameter of more or less 6.5 mm or less, for example a maximal diameter of 8 mm, such that hatched chicks can move around over the floor 6 without the chick’s legs or feet slipping through said holes 14. The passage opening 12 for chicks can extend over a substantially entire width of the bottom side of the secondary tray 5, and can preferably be placed substantially centrally along a length of the secondary tray 5, so as to increase the probability for the chicks to find the passage opening 12 by decreasing a mean distance between chicks and the passage opening 12. The passage opening 12 may for example have a width in a range of more or less 2 to more or less 7 cm. As a result, the surface area of the floor

6 of the secondary tray 5 is decreased with respect to the surface area of the primary tray by the surface area of the passage opening 12. The surface area of the floor 3 of the primary tray 2 may for example be comprised in a range of more or less 1800 - 2300 square cm, for example be around 2000 square cm, while the surface area of the passage opening 12 may be comprised in a range of substantially 5% - 15% of the surface area of the floor 3 of the primary tray 2, resulting in a surface area of the floor 6 of the secondary tray 5 in a range of for example 1700 - 2200 square cm, for example be around 1900 square cm. The decrease in surface area of the secondary tray 5 can be chosen as a function of the desired number of eggs to place in the secondary tray 5, the probability for the chicks to find the passage opening 12 relatively quickly, and the desired speed of chicks going down from the secondary tray 5 into the primary tray 2. The larger the passage opening 12, the higher the probability for the chicks to find the opening 12, and the more chicks can go down more or less simultaneously, but the lower the floor surface area of the secondary tray 5 and the lower the number of eggs which can be placed in the hatching tray assembly, in particular in the secondary tray 5. A sensor for detection of movement (not shown) could be placed substantially centrally in the tray close to passage opening 12, to detect when the first chick hatches out of an egg. In this way, measures can be taken to reduce the hatching window. In the present preferred embodiment, the secondary tray 5 includes a same number of upstanding side walls

7 as a number of upstanding side walls 4 of the primary tray 2, in particular four upstanding side walls. A shape and design of the primary tray 2 and the secondary tray 5 can even be rather similar, except that the secondary tray 5 includes a passage opening 12 and can have lower upstanding side walls 7. However, this need not be the case. In alternative embodiments, a secondary tray could be configured to be mounted within a primary tray rather than onto a primary tray. In that case, the secondary tray could have fewer side walls, and make use of the side walls of the primary tray. As such, the secondary tray could form a kind of mezzanine within the primary tray, while the primary trays can remain stackable.

[27] Figures 5a and 5b both show an alternative embodiment of a secondary tray 5’, 5” of a hatching tray assembly according to the invention. Instead of including a passage opening for chicks centrally in the floor of the secondary tray, the passage opening 12’, 12” can now extend along a side of the secondary tray, for example along a substantially entire length of the secondary tray, or over a substantially entire width of the secondary tray. Such a location of the passage opening may result in a slowing down of the chicks going down from the secondary tray into the primary tray, which may sometimes be desirable. Moreover, mounting of a luring device attracting the attention of chicks, such as for example light, may be easier along a side wall than at a centre of the secondary tray.

[28] Although the present invention has been illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, and that the present invention may be embodied with various changes and modifications without departing from the scope thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. In other words, it is contemplated to cover any and all modifications, variations or equivalents that fall within the scope of the basic underlying principles and whose essential attributes are claimed in this patent application. It will furthermore be understood by the reader of this patent application that the words "comprising" or "comprise" do not exclude other elements or steps, that the words "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality, and that a single element, such as a computer system, a processor, or another integrated unit may fulfil the functions of several means recited in the claims. Any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the respective claims concerned. The terms "first", "second", third", "a", "b", "c", and the like, when used in the description or in the claims are introduced to distinguish between similar elements or steps and are not necessarily describing a sequential or chronological order. Similarly, the terms "top", "bottom", "over", "under", and the like are introduced for descriptive purposes and not necessarily to denote relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and embodiments of the invention are capable of operating according to the present invention in other sequences, or in orientations different from the one(s) described or illustrated above.

Claims

1. Hatching tray assembly for hatching eggs, in particular poultry eggs, comprising a primary tray having a floor and upstanding side walls, and a secondary tray having a floor and at least one upstanding side wall, the secondary tray being arranged to receive eggs, wherein a surface area of the floor of the secondary tray is smaller than a surface area of the floor of the primary tray, and wherein the secondary tray is mountable on or into the primary tray such that the floor of the secondary tray is spaced-apart from the floor of the primary tray.

2. Hatching tray assembly according to claim 1, wherein the primary tray is a transport tray for transporting poultry, for example chicks.

3. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the secondary tray is detachably mountable on or into the primary tray.

4. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the secondary tray is arranged to receive eggs in a random distribution within the secondary tray.

5. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the primary tray is arranged to be stackable.

6. Hatching tray assembly according to claim 5, wherein the assembly of the secondary tray mounted on or into the primary tray is stackable.

7. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a distance between the floor of the primary tray and the floor of the secondary tray when the secondary tray is mounted on or into the primary tray is at least more or less 5 cm, preferably at least more or less 7 cm, more preferably in a range between around 5 cm and around 15 cm, for example around 11 or 12 cm.

8. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a height of the upstanding side walls of the primary tray is larger than a height of the at least one upstanding side wall of the secondary tray.

9. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the secondary tray includes a same number of upstanding side walls as a number of upstanding side walls of the primary tray.

10. Hatching tray assembly according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a bottom side of the secondary tray includes at least one passage opening for chicks.

11. Hatching tray assembly according to claim 10, wherein the at least one passage opening is separated from the floor of the secondary tray by an upstanding border.

12. Hatching tray assembly according to claim 10 or 11 , wherein the at least one passage opening for chicks extends over a substantially entire width or over a substantially entire length of the bottom side of the secondary tray.