WO2007022544A1

WO2007022544A1 - Bee frame

Info

Publication number: WO2007022544A1
Application number: PCT/YU2005/000020
Authority: WO
Inventors: Srdjan Todorovski
Original assignee: Srdjan Todorovski
Priority date: 2005-08-12
Filing date: 2005-08-12
Publication date: 2007-02-22

Abstract

A bee frame designed to hold honey comb is applicable in beekeeping. It consists of a top bar (1), a bottom bar (2), and two side bars (3) that are firmly fixed, constructed in a such way that left and right halves of a top and bottom bars are mutually displaced, while common edges (4) and (5) lie in the plane of comb beeswax foundation (7). The proposed design of a frame enables bees to build honey comb from the bottom edge of the bottom bar (4) to the top edge of the top bar (5), that is all the way through the frame. In this way unusable large vertical gap, which exists in other design solutions, is eliminated. What remains is just a narrow lane that represents passage for bees (6). So, bees and their cluster are enabled to move all around the comb through the whole hive that consists of arbitrary number of supers without having to cross space without comb.

Description

A. THE FIELD TO WHICH INVENTION REGARDS TO

The invention belongs to the field of beekeeping, more precisely to the bee frame construction, assuming international patent qualification (MKP) A 01 K 47/02.

B. THE PROBLEM

The problem solved by this patent is a construction of a bee frame that reduces the distance between lower and higher frame comb in hives with several supers (so called "death space") so that it is smaller than the length of a bee's body. Such construction enables bees to build comb from the lower end of the bottom bar to the uppermost point of top bar.

The drawback of existing solutions is a gap without comb that appears between two adjacent vertical frames. When honey supers are sequenced one over another, a breach without comb appears between combs in two adjacent vertical frames. It consists of a top bar of a bottom frame, a bottom bar of an upper frame and a lane between them that represents passage for bees. There is no such breach in natural environment. Comb in natural environment is built as a single piece along a night of a natural space, e.g. hollow trunk. Such comb is ussually high and narrow.

Recent beekeeping uses low and wide hives, composed of several verticaly apartable components (supers). The problem is that bees have not been accustomed to such environment during their evolution. During the summer the bee queen and bees have to move along a longer trajectory. Besides, the bees endavour to build the comb outside the frame - so called "brace comb", in order to bridge unusable space. This complicates hives manipulation. With existing frames the distance between combs in two adjacent vertical frames can come to several centimetres. During the winter this can be a great obstacle for bees that move up to the honey storage in the higher body of a hive. In such circumstances a bee colony may starve to death.

C. STATE OF THE ART

As far as author knows, there is no similar comb frame that allows the bees to built the comb along the whole height of the comb frame.

In today use there are different solutions and designs of comb frames: the bottom and top bars with triangular cross, the bottom bar with round cross, the top bar is partially attenuated, etc. However, none of the solutions have provided satisfactory solution of the problem of vertical distance between the comb in lower and upper adjacent frames. None of them have provided unobstructed vertical movement of bees as in natural environment.

D. THE ESSENCE OF THE INVENTION

The essence of the invention is to enable the bees to build honey comb from the bottom edge of the bottom bar (4) to the top edge of the top bar (5) of a comb frame. This can be achieved using such frame construction whose bottom bar and top bar are not placed symmetrically considering a comb plane. Proposed construction of the frame designed to hold honey comb consists of four firmly fixed pieces of wood forming a rectangle - a top bar (1), a bottom bar (2), and two Side bars (3). The frame is designed to enable the bees to build honey comb not only inside the frame, but all the way through the frame. It is achieved using a top bar and a bottom bar designed in such a way that their left and right halves are mutually displaced, and this is the essence of the invention. Common edges (4) and (5) lie in the plane of comb beeswax foundation (7). Fig. 2 shows how beeswax foundation is embedded into the comb frame. E. A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES AND DRAFTS

Fig. 1. A comb frame draft.

Position 1 : A top bar of a comb frame.

Position 2: A bottom bar of a comb frame.

Position 3: Side bars of a comb frame.

Position 4: The bottom edge of the bottom bar of the comb frame.

Position 5: The top edge of the top bar of the comb frame.

Fig. 2. A draft of two comb frames with embeded beeswax foundation placed one over another, as in a hive.

Position 1: A top bar of a comb frame.

Position 2: A bottom bar of a comb frame.

Position 3: Side bars of a comb frame.

Position 4: The bottom edge of the bottom bar of the comb frame.

Position 5: The top edge of the top bar of the comb frame.

Position 6: The distance between two comb frames.

Position 7: The comb beeswax foundation.

F. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The bee frame designed to hold honey comb consists of four firmly fixed pieces of wood forming a rectangle - a top bar (1), a bottom bar (2), and two side bars (3). A top bar (1) and a bottom bar (2) are designed in such a way that their left and right halves are mutually displaced and firmly fixed. It is the essence of the invention. A one half of the top bar lies on the one side of the comb beeswax foundation (7), while the second half of the top bar lies on the other side of the comb beeswax foundation. The same is with the bottom bar (2). Proposed construction of the frame enables embedding of the comb beeswax foundation in such a way that enables the bees to build honey comb from the bottom edge of the bottom bar (4) to the top edge of the top bar (5) of at least one half of one side of the comb frame. In this way vertical gap (6) is reduced to only narrow lane that represents passage for bees. Such bee frame is symmetrical with respect to a vertical axis. So, after a rotation for 180 degrees in reference to a vertical axis, the frames are in the same relation. Proposed bee frame provides unobstructed vertical movement of bees on the one side of vertical space between two frames (bee street) all the way through the honey comb in the hive composed of arbitrary number of supers.

Component parts of a bee frame are firmly fixed. A top bar (1) is connected to top ends of side bars (3), while a bottom bar (2) is connected to bottom ends of side bars (3).

G. THE APPLICATION OF INVENTION

The invention can be used in beekeeping, as described in the section "Detailed description of invention" and using attached drafts. Classical bee frames can be simply replaced by bee frames constructed as on Fig. 1.

Claims

PATENT CLAIM BEEFRAME

The bee frame, designated by that the bee frame consisting of a top bar (1), a bottom bar (2), and two Side bars (3) that are firmly fixed, constructed in a such way that left and right halves of a top and bottom bars are mutually displaced, while common edges (4) and (5) lie in the plane of comb beeswax foundation (7).