Method and apparatus for detecting blood in shell eggs

摘要

An egg inspecting apparatus ( 1 ) of the present invention includes an optical path switching and projecting assembly ( 30 ) for automatically selecting one of a plurality of optical paths through which a white source light ( 11 ) emitted from a light source ( 2 ) is guided and also for sequentially projecting the white source light ( 11 ) from the associated optical paths onto eggs held at respective positions, a spectrum converting assembly for spectrally analyzing light which has been transmitted through each of the eggs and converting it into a spectrum, and a determining circuit ( 5 ) for determining whether the egg is a normal egg or a bloody egg by using the spectrum so converted. By way of example, a spectrum of an egg is measured and a secondary differential curve is formulated for classification of the eggs according to egg shell colors. By comparing a spectral pattern of the transmitted light of the egg with that of a normal egg for each of the shell colors, and assaying a pattern similarity by means of a correlational assay method, whether the egg is a normal egg or a bloody egg can be determined.