Article handling apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING EGGS FROM A SUPPLY AREA ADJACENT ONE END OF A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL TRANSFER TABLE TO A TRAVELING CONVEYOR ADJACENT THE OTHER ENDS OF SAID TRANSFER TABLE WHICH CONVEYOR IS CHARACTERIZED BY LATERALLY SPACED SIDE CHAINS AND CONNECTING CROSS BAR ASSEMBLIES HAVING MEANS FOR FORMING SPACED PARALLEL ROWS OF TRANSVERSELY ALIGNED EGG RECEIVING POCKETS, SAID CONVEYOR BEING ARRANGED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE TRANSFER TABLE WITH THE EGG SUPPORTING UPPER RUN THEREOF IN A PLANE BELOW THE TRANSFER TABLE, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING A PAIR OF ENDLESS TRANSFER BELTS ARRANGED WITH THEIR UPPER RUNS IN PARALLEL COPLANAR RELATION AND CONSTITUTING THE TRANSFER TABLE, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE BELTS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, MEANS FOR DELIVERING EGGS ONTO THE BELT ADJACENT THE TRAILING END THEREOF, A MULTIPLE LINE EGG ORIENTING DEVICE ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID ONE BELT AND INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE SIDE OF THE TRANSFER TABLE AND THE RECEVING END OF SAID TRAVELING CONVEYOR, EGG DIVERTING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSFER TABLE FOR GUIDING MEANS ASSOCIATED ARRANGEMENT ONTO SAID EGG ORINETING DEVICE AND SAID EGG ORIENTING DEVICE HAVING MEANS FOR ARRANGING THE EGGS UNIFORMLY IN A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE LINES AND FOR ADVANCING THE EGGS IN LATERALLY SPACED ROW FORMING RELATION FOR DELIVERING INTO THE POCKETS AT THE END OF THE TRAVELING CONVEYOR, AND SAID EGG DIVERTING MEANS GUIDING THE EGGS IN EXCESS OF A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY AT SAID ORIENTING DEVICE TO SAID OTHER TRANSFER BELT FOR RETURN TO THE TRAILING END OF SAID ONE BELT.