Egg Cracker Shaft Support Cam for Bowing Deflection Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing egg processing machinery faces issues with shaft flexing due to the widening of cracker shafts to accommodate higher processing volumes, leading to uneven egg delivery and breaking operations.
Innovation Solution
An integrated support mechanism is implemented, featuring a disk with circumferentially offset scalloped surfaces and a fixed cam with an arcuate guiding surface, which prevents outward deflection of the cracker shaft by sandwiching and guiding the midpoint location of orbiting breaker shafts, ensuring proper egg delivery and breaking into yolk cups and albumen trays.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the cracker shaft is widened to accommodate more egg conveying lanes, then processing volume increases, but shaft flexing and deflection worsen
Solution Approach 1:
A disk-shaped support mechanism is introduced as an intermediary component between the widened cracker shaft and the supporting structure. This support mechanism includes a disk with scalloped surfaces that engage with the shaft, providing intermediate support points that prevent flexing while allowing the shaft to maintain its widened configuration for high-volume processing
Solution Approach 2:
The support mechanism divides the shaft support function into multiple discrete support points around the circumference of the shaft. The scalloped surfaces on the disk create multiple contact zones that distribute the support load, preventing uniform flexing across the entire shaft length while maintaining the widened structure
2Reliability
If the cracker shaft is supported in a single direction, then shaft stability improves, but egg delivery precision in multiple directions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support mechanism transitions from single-direction support to multi-dimensional support by positioning support surfaces in different orientations around the shaft circumference. The scalloped surfaces are arranged to provide support from multiple angular positions, maintaining shaft stability while allowing precise egg delivery in multiple directions through the orbiting breaker shafts
3Reliability
If the shaft is separated into separately driven and supported halves, then shaft flexing reduces, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support mechanism combines multiple support functions into a single integrated disk component that rotates with the shaft. Rather than separating the shaft into multiple independently driven halves, this unified support structure provides comprehensive flexing prevention while maintaining the shaft as a single coherent rotating assembly, thereby reducing overall device complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
A support mechanism for preventing outward deflection of a cracker shaft (18) in an egg breaker assembly, about which are supported in orbiting fashion a plurality of circumferentially spaced rows of egg breakers. A disk shaped portion (16) is mounted in slaved rotatable fashion about an intermediate location of the cracker shaft (18) and exhibits a plurality of exteriorly facing and circumferentially offset inwardly recessed scalloped surfaces (20, 22, 24). An outer fixed and guiding cam (28) is secured to an aligning intermediate location of the breaker and exhibits an inner arcuate extending and guiding/support surface (30) in outwardly spaced and aligning fashion relative to the scalloped locations of the rotating disk (16). A perimeter support is disposed upon an aligning location of each cracker shaft (18) and which is captured between selected scalloped locations (20, 22, 24) and the inner guide supporting surface (30) corresponding to at least one of egg receipt, breaking and depositing of yolk and albumen contents to synchronized delivery cups and albumen trays associated with the breakers.