FR3083962A1 - INSULATION DEVICE FOR BEEHIVE AND BEEHIVE STRUCTURE PROVIDED WITH SUCH AN INSULATION DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an isolation device for a hive comprising a hive body (2) of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face (21) provided with an inlet / outlet opening (211), a rear face ( 22) opposite said front face and two lateral faces (23, 24), which insulation device (3) consists of an insulation belt of generally parallelepiped shape, consisting of four walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of insulating material, which insulation belt (3) is adapted to surround at least part of the height of said hive body (2) with each of its walls (31, 32, 33, 34) disposed opposite the 'one of the faces of said hive body (2), which walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of said insulation belt (3) are each delimited by an inner face, an opposite outer face, an upper edge, a bottom edge and two side edges, said side edges having means assembly assembly (10, 17) for assembling two by two of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of said insulation belt (3).

Description

Technical field to which the invention relates

The present invention relates generally to the field of beehives for the exploitation of bees or their breeding for the production of honey.

It relates more particularly to an isolation device for a hive, as well as a hive structure equipped with such an isolation device.

Technological background

The hive structures for the exploitation of honey or the breeding of bees comprise a hive body of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face provided with an entry / exit opening for the bees, a rear face opposite to said front side, and two side faces.

More precisely, this hive body generally comprises a base provided with a base for resting on the ground, a base receiving vertical removable honeycomb frames, possibly one or more complementary risers also equipped with such removable honeycomb frames, a feeding element (for the supply of food product (s), complement (s) and / or treatment product (s), and an upper closure cover.

These hives are often made of wood. They can be obtained in several elements each delimited by a wall belt of square or rectangular horizontal section, provided with a lower quadrangular peripheral border and with an upper quadrangular peripheral border, some of which are equipped with means which allow their removable nesting.

However, such wooden hives do not provide optimal isolation of the interior volume of life of bees, which, in extreme cold or heat, can disturb their well-being and harm their development or production of honey.

Object of the invention

In order to remedy the aforementioned drawback of the prior art, the present invention provides an isolation device for a hive comprising a hive body of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face provided with an inlet opening / outlet, a rear face opposite to said front face and two lateral faces;

this insulation device being characterized in that it consists of an insulation belt of generally parallelepipedal shape, consisting of four walls of insulating material, which insulation belt is adapted to come and surround at least part of the height of said hive body with each of its walls disposed opposite one of said front, rear and lateral faces of said hive body, which walls of said insulation belt are each delimited by an inner face intended to come opposite the 'one of the faces of said hive body, an opposite outer face, an upper edge, a lower edge and two side edges, said side edges comprising assembly means for joining two by two of said walls of said belt d 'insulation.

Other non-limiting and advantageous characteristics of the isolation device according to the invention, taken individually or in any technically possible combination, are the following:

- Said means of assembling said walls of the insulation belt consist of fitting means, these fitting means being advantageously of the type with manual implementation, without tools;

- Said means of assembling said walls of the insulation belt consist of interlocking means of the through dovetail type produced integrally on the side edges of said walls;

- Each of said walls of the insulation belt includes fitting means of the through dovetail type which are identical on its two side edges;

- Said insulation belt is produced by assembling (i) two first opposing walls provided with interlocking means of the identical through dovetail type, and (ii) two second opposing walls provided with means of 'interlocking of the identical and complementary through dovetail type of the means for assembling said two first opposing walls;

- Said walls of said insulation belt are made of expanded polystyrene or expanded polypropylene;

- The outer faces of two walls in opposition to said insulation belt comprise grip handles made in one piece;

- The upper and lower edges of at least some of said walls of the insulation belt comprise fitting means of the groove / tongue type allowing the stable superposition of a plurality of insulation belts.

The invention also provides a hive structure comprising a hive body of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face provided with an inlet opening, a rear face opposite to said front face and two lateral faces, which hive structure comprises an isolation device as defined above, which surrounds at least part of the height of said hive body.

In this context, the lower base of the hive body advantageously comprises a platform arranged in the extension of the entry / exit opening, which platform is bordered by two lateral posts comprising an upper face which extends in a plane located at above said entry / exit opening;

and said insulation device comes to bear on said upper face of said lateral posts.

According to yet another feature, the device for isolating this hive structure is made up of a plurality of superimposed insulation belts which extend together over all or practically the entire height of said hive body.

Still according to the invention, the space which separates the front, rear and lateral faces of the hive body and the internal faces of the walls of said insulation device is on average less than 2 cm, preferably less than 1 cm.

Detailed description of an example of realization

The description which follows with reference to the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples, will make it clear what the invention consists of and how it can be carried out.

In the accompanying drawings:

- Figure 1 is a schematic front view of a hive structure equipped with an isolation device according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a top view of the hive structure illustrated in Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view, along the section plane 3-3 of Figure 2;

- Figure 4 is a perspective view of an insulation belt adapted to constitute at least part of the insulation device according to the invention;

- Figure 5 is a side view of the insulation belt illustrated in Figure 4;

- Figure 6 is a front view of the insulation belt illustrated in Figure 4;

- Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the walls of the insulation belt illustrated in Figures 4 to 6;

- Figure 8 is a front view of the wall illustrated in Figure 4;

- Figure 9 is a side view of the wall illustrated in Figures 7 and 8;

- Figure 10 is a perspective view of another of the walls of the insulation belt illustrated in Figures 4 to 6;

- Figure 11 is a front view of the wall illustrated in Figure 10;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the wall illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11.

The hive structure 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises a hive body 2 equipped with an isolation device 3. The isolation device 3 is adapted to cover all or practically the entire lateral periphery of the hive body 2 .

The hive body 2 is shown here schematically. It is a classic hive body, of the "Dadant" or "Langstroth" type, suitable for breeding bees or producing honey.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the hive body 2 of the hive structure 1 is of generally parallelepipedal shape, delimited by a front face 21 provided with an inlet / outlet opening 211 for the bees, a rear face 22 opposite to said front face 21, two lateral faces 23, 24, a lower base 25 and an upper part 26 (generally comprising a cover).

The entry / exit opening 211 allows bees to enter and exit the hive body.

This inlet / outlet opening 211 consists of an elongated opening extending horizontally. Conventionally, a platform 212 extends forward from the entry / exit opening 211 to facilitate the flight of the bees and their return to the hive; this platform 212 is bordered by two lateral posts 213 comprising an upper face 214 which extends in a plane situated above the entry / exit opening 211.

According to the invention, the insulation device 3 consists of an insulation belt of generally parallelepiped shape, consisting of four walls of insulating material, which insulation belt is adapted to come and surround at least part of the height of the hive body 2 (and preferably the entire height of this hive body) with each of its walls disposed opposite one of the front 21, rear 22 and lateral 23, 24 faces of the hive body 2.

In addition, the walls of this insulation belt 3 are each delimited by an inner face intended to come opposite one of the faces 21, 22, 23, 24 of the hive body 2, an opposite outer face, an edge upper, a lower edge and two side edges, said side edges comprising assembly means for assembling two by two of said walls of said insulation belt 3.

The space which separates the front 21, rear 22 and side 23, 24 faces of the hive body 2, and the interior faces of the walls of the isolation device 3 is minimized to obtain optimal insulation. Despite everything, it is sought to preserve a peripheral space allowing a small insulating air space to be preserved and also making it possible to facilitate positioning and removal maneuvers on the hive body 2.

After approximate centering of the isolation device 3 on the hive body 2, the space in question is advantageously on average less than 2 cm, more preferably less than 1 cm.

The isolation device 3 is also adapted so that once in place on the hive body 2 it does not close the entry / exit opening 211, so that it does not hinder the entry of bees into the hive body 2 and their exit.

In this context, preferably, as can be seen in FIG. 1, the lower part of the insulation device 3 comes to bear on the upper face 214 of the lateral posts 213 which border the entry / exit opening 211, thus leaving the latter free of access.

The isolation device 3 can be produced by assembling four walls which extend over part of the height of the hive body 2 or over its entire height.

Preferably, however, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the isolation device 3 consists of a plurality of overlapping isolation belts 3a, identical to each other, which each extend over part of the height of the hive body 2, but which together make it possible to surround all or almost its entire height.

From a single reference, the user can then adapt the necessary number of superimposed insulation belts 3a, to cover the entire height of the hive body 2, in particular depending on the type of hive and the number implemented increases.

The isolation device 3 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is formed by two identical overlapping insulation belts 3a, one of which is shown in isolation in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.

And this insulation belt 3a is itself formed by the assembly of four walls, namely:

a front wall 31 and a rear wall 32, identical to one another, one of which is shown in isolation in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, and

- two side walls 33, 34, identical to each other, one of which is shown in isolation in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12.

The front 31 and rear 32 walls (FIGS. 7 to 9) of the insulation belt 3a are each delimited by an inner face 4 intended to come opposite the front face 21 or the rear face 22 of the hive body 2, depending on the case, an outer face 5 opposite said front face 4, an upper edge 6, a lower edge 7 and two side edges 8, 9 provided with assembly means 10, for the assembly between them of the different walls of said insulation belt 3a.

These front 31 and rear 32 walls are made in one piece from an insulating material such as expanded polystyrene or, preferably, expanded polypropylene, the density of which can be between 40 and 80 g / L to obtain an interesting compromise between lightness, resistance, insulation characteristics and material cost. The thickness of these front walls 31 and rear 32 can be of the order of 2 to 3 cm.

The assembly means 10 consist of interlocking means of the through dovetail type produced in a single piece and in an identical manner on the two side edges 8 and 9.

In this case a central tenon 10a in the form of a dovetail is formed in the central part of the two side edges 8, 9; this central tenon 10a is bordered by two notches 10b in the form of a complementary dovetail; and half dovetail tenons 10c are provided at the ends of the two side edges 8, 9, in the extension of the upper 6 and lower 7 edges.

On the outer face 5 of the front walls 31 and rear 32, we note the presence of a grip handle 5a, made in one piece.

This grip handle 5a is centered on the width of the walls 31 and 32, and it is located a little above half their height. It extends from the outer face 5 over a distance of the order of a few centimeters.

The upper 6 and lower 7 edges of the front 31 and rear 32 walls of the insulation belt 3a include interlocking means of the groove 35 / tongue 36 complementary type, adapted to allow the stable superposition of a plurality of seat belts. insulation 3a.

In this case a tongue 36 is provided along the upper edge 6 of the front 31 and rear 32 walls, extending over part of the thickness of said walls 31, 32, here from the plane of the inner face 4 ; and a groove 35 is provided along the lower edge 7 of the front 31 and rear 32 walls, extending over part of the thickness of said walls 31, 32, here from the plane of the inner face 4.

It will be noted that the pairs of complementary grooves 35 and tongues 36 do not extend to the side edges 8, 9 of the front walls 31 and rear 32 to limit the tensions during assembly.

On the edge of the upper edge 6 of the front walls 31 and rear 32, we also note the presence of a groove 37 adapted to the flow of rainwater. This groove 37 is formed just in front of the tongue 36 and it extends over the entire length of the upper edge 6, between the side edges 8 and 9.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 9, it can be seen that the four corners of the front walls 31 and rear 32 have a beveled reservation 38, forming a reservation for manual access. This bevelled reservation 38 is intended to facilitate the separation operations of two fitted insulation belts 3a. These reservations 38 are provided here in the dovetail half-tenons 10c.

The ends of the aforementioned grooves 37 extend up to these bevelled reservations 38.

Still in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 to 8, we note the presence of a reservation 39 made in the central part of the edge of the upper edge 6 of the front walls 31 and rear 32, adapted to create an opening accessible from the outside, for the passage of a tool between two juxtaposed insulation belts 3a nested, in order to help separate these two nested elements (by using a lever arm in particular).

For their part, the side walls 33, 34 (FIGS. 10 to 12) of the insulation belt 3a are each delimited by an inner face 11 intended to come opposite the side faces 23, 24 of the hive body 2, one face outer 12 opposite to said inner face 11, an upper edge 13, a lower edge 14 and two side edges 15, 16 provided with assembly means 17 for assembling together the different walls of said insulation belt 3a.

These side walls 33, 34 are made in one piece from an insulating material identical to that of the front walls 31 and rear 32, for example expanded polystyrene or, preferably, expanded polypropylene, whose density may be between 40 and 80 g / L to obtain an interesting compromise between lightness, resistance, insulation characteristics and material cost. The thickness of these side walls 33, 34 can be of the order of 2 to 3 cm.

The assembly means 17 are complementary to the assembly means 10 of the front 31 and rear 32 walls; they consist of interlocking means of the through dovetail type produced in a single piece and in an identical manner on the two side edges 15 and 16.

In this case a central notch 17a in the form of a dovetail is formed in the central part of the two side edges 15, 16; this central notch 17a is bordered by two tenons 17b in the form of a complementary dovetail; and half dovetail notches 17c are provided at the ends of the two side edges 15, 16, in the extension of the upper 13 and lower 14 edges.

The upper 13 and lower 14 edges of the side walls 33, 34 also include interlocking means of the groove 35a / tongue 36a complementary type, adapted to allow the stable superposition of a plurality of insulation belts 3a.

In this case a tongue 36a is provided along the upper edge 13 of the side walls 33, 34, extending over part of the thickness of said walls 33, 34, here from the plane of the inner face 11; and a groove 35a is provided along the lower edge 14 of the side walls 33, 34, extending over part of the thickness of said walls 33, 34, here from the plane of the inner face 11.

It will be noted that the pairs of complementary grooves 35a and tongue 36a do not extend to the side edges 15, 16 of the side walls 33, 34 in order to limit the tensions during assembly.

Here again, on the edge of the upper edge 13 of the side walls 33, 34, we note the presence of a groove 37a adapted to the flow of rainwater. This groove 37a is formed just in front of the tongue 36a and it extends over the entire length of the upper edge 13, between the side edges 15 and 16.

In FIGS. 1,2, 4 to 6, 10 and 11 in particular, we note the presence of a reservation 39a formed in the central part of the edge of the upper edge 13 of the side walls 33, 34, identical or similar to the reservations 39 above walls 31, 32, and adapted to create an opening accessible from the outside, for the passage of a tool between two insulation belts 3a juxtaposed nested, in order to help separate these two nested elements (by placing using a lever arm in particular).

It is understood that the assembly means 10 and 17 in the form of complementary dovetails allow assembly between them and at right angles of the front walls 31, rear 32 and side 33, 34, to obtain an insulation belt 3a as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

For this, each side border 8, 9 of the front walls 31 and rear 32 is assembled with a side border 15, 16 of the side walls 33, 34, the dovetail or half dovetail pins 10a, 10c, 17b coming to be housed in the corresponding notches and of complementary shape 10b, 17a and 17c.

This assembly is carried out manually, without requiring any particular tool, in particular due to the characteristics of flexibility and slight compressibility of the insulating material used.

As illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, a plurality of insulation belts 3a (in this case two) can be superimposed around the hive body 2 to completely cover the height of the latter, laterally.

The complementary fitting means 35, 36, 35a, 36a formed on the lower and upper quadrangular edges of the insulation belts 3a make it possible to stabilize the stack of structures.

The identical character of the insulation belts 3a makes it possible not to have to worry about a particular positioning between them of the elements to be superimposed.

Such an isolation device is simple in structure, easy to position and remove. As such, the various insulation belts 3a of the beehive structure are easily removable / detachable due to the presence of the manual access reservations 38 provided at the angles and of the reservations 39, 39a.

This isolation device is made from only two types of walls (therefore only requiring a two-cavity mold or two manufacturing molds).

The hive structure 1 obtained is particularly well insulated, limiting the need for ventilation or heating by the bees to maintain an adequate temperature, and, as such, improving the comfort and reducing the stress of the bees.

The polypropylene or expanded polystyrene material used ensures good rigidity and good resistance to aging of the constituent elements of the insulation device.

This material is also relatively light which facilitates movement of the isolation device alone.

The grips 5a formed on the front walls 31 and rear 32 do not interfere with the juxtaposition side by side of a plurality of hive structures, with the side walls 33, 34 facing the isolation devices 3 in support or practically resting against each other.

Claims (12)

1. Isolation device for a hive comprising a hive body (2) of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face (21) provided with an inlet / outlet opening (211), a rear face (22) opposite to said front face (21) and two lateral faces (23, 24), characterized in that said insulation device (3, 3a) consists of an insulation belt of generally parallelepiped shape, consisting of four walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of insulating material, which insulation belt (3, 3a) is adapted to surround at least part of the height of said hive body (2) with each of its walls (31, 32, 33 , 34) disposed opposite one of said front (21), rear (22) and lateral (23, 24) faces of said hive body (2), which walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of said belt of insulation (3, 3a) are each delimited by an inner face (4, 11) intended to come opposite one of the faces (21, 22, 2 3, 24) of said hive body (2), an opposite outer face (5, 12), an upper edge (6, 13), a lower edge (7, 14) and two side edges (8, 9; 15, 16), said side edges (8, 9; 15, 16), comprising assembly means (10, 17) for the two-by-two assembly of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of said insulation belt (3, 3a). 2. Insulation device according to claim 1, characterized in that said means of assembly (10, 17) of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of the insulation belt (3, 3a) consist of means of interlocking. 3. Insulation device according to claim 2, characterized in that said means of assembly (10, 17) of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of the insulation belt (3, 3a) consist of nesting means of the manual implementation type, without tool. 4. Insulation device according to any one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that said assembly means (10, 17) of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of the insulation belt (3 , 3a) consist of interlocking means of the dovetail type passing through in one piece on the side edges (8, 9; 15, 16) of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34). 5. Insulation device according to claim 4, characterized in that each of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of the insulation belt (3, 3a) comprises means for fitting (10, 17) of the type through dovetails which are identical on its two side edges (8, 9; 15, 16), said insulation belt (3, 3a) being produced by the assembly - of two first opposing walls (31 , 32) provided with fitting means (10) of the identical through dovetail type, and - two second opposing walls (33, 34) provided with fitting means (17) of the through dovetail type identical and complementary assembly means (10) of said two first opposing walls (31,32). 6. Insulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said walls (31,32, 33, 34) of said insulation belt (3, 3a) are made of expanded polystyrene or in expanded polypropylene. 7. Insulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the outer faces (5) of two opposing walls (31, 32) of said insulation belt (3, 3a) comprise grips (5a) made in one piece. 8. Insulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the upper (6, 13) and lower (7, 14) edges of at least some of said walls (31, 32, 33, 34 ) of the insulation belt (3, 3a) comprise fitting means (35, 35a, 36, 36a) of the groove / tongue type allowing the stable superposition of a plurality of insulation belts (3, 3a) . 9. Hive structure comprising a hive body (2) of generally parallelepipedal shape delimited by a front face (21) provided with an inlet / outlet opening (211), a rear face (22) opposite said front face (21) and two side faces (23, 24), which hive structure (1) comprises an insulation device (3, 3a) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which surrounds at least part of the height of said hive body (2). 10. Hive structure according to claim 9, characterized in that the lower base (25) of the hive body (2) comprises a platform (212) arranged in the extension of the inlet / outlet opening (211), which platform (212) is bordered by two lateral posts (213) comprising an upper face (214) which extends in a plane situated above said inlet / outlet opening (211), and in that said device insulation (3, 3a) is supported on said upper face (214) of said side posts (213). 11. Hive structure according to any one of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that it comprises an insulation device (3) consisting of a plurality of superimposed insulation belts (3a) which extend together 5 over all or practically the entire height of said hive body (2). 12. Hive structure according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the space separating the front (21), rear (22) and lateral (23, 24) faces of the hive body (2) and the internal faces 4, 11) of the walls (31, 32, 33, 34) of said insulation device (3, 3a) is on average less than 2 cm, 10 preferably less than 1 cm.