WO2015109415A1

WO2015109415A1 - Collapsible beehive that can be adapted to different weather and production conditions

Info

Publication number: WO2015109415A1
Application number: PCT/CL2015/000005
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alberto José MARTIN GRES
Original assignee: Martin Gres Alberto José
Priority date: 2014-01-24
Filing date: 2015-01-23
Publication date: 2015-07-30
Also published as: WO2015109415A8; CL2014000186A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a collapsible beehive that can be adapted to different weather and production conditions, comprising: a plurality of side walls which are interconnected by means of fixed joints; and at least one face which comprises a grille for allowing communication with adjacent beehives and separating the respective queen bees thereof, as well as a gate which allows the optional isolation of the beehives by blocking said grille; wherein each of the remaining connections between the different parts of the beehive is a rigid and releasable connection such that the parts thereof can be uncoupled from each other, thereby allowing the disassembly and/or collapse of the beehive. This design allows the connection of at least one adjacent beehive either vertically or horizontally.

Description

A FOLDABLE AND CONFIGURABLE HONEY FOR DIFFERENT CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIVE CONDITIONS

The present invention relates to the field of beekeeping and improvements over hives. In particular, the present invention consists of a configurable, modular and attachable hive for different climatic and productive conditions.

BACKGROUND

In the current state of the art, the use in beekeeping of conventional hives is common, such as the Langstroth, Dadant and Layens hives. This type of technology has historically meant technological advances in terms of productivity, management and costs; however, these conventional hives are commonly configured to house only one queen and their respective colony since they have no possibility of expansion.

On the other hand, there have been mutations between the hives that have led to the creation of larger hives and of a "fixist" nature such as those of double queen. Through this type of technologies it has been shown that the coexistence of two queen bees, without these being found, allows to obtain remarkable improvements in honey production, because after a period of accustoming, and optionally stimulated by a feromonization process , competition between families is generated, which increases the population of bees pecoreadoras, thus increasing the production of honey (up to 50%) over traditional hives.

There are different solutions or configurations for the coexistence of more than one queen in a hive. However, existing solutions may be inefficient both in terms of costs and from a practical point of view, since their configurations tend to be complex and rigid designs in terms of the possibilities of their use, which show few practical advantages. In addition, due to the deterioration of the hives given by the use and the handling in the open air, commonly these are configured in such a way that they should be discarded after some seasons, mainly due to its constructive designs and the materials used.

A solution of this nature is disclosed in document CN 2288579, which describes a beehive hive that is composed of separations to provide compartments on each side of the hive, for the coexistence of two queen bees, and where said separation is given by grids. One of the compartments is fixed and the other variable, where the grid width can also be adjustable.

Although a hive configuration is shown in this document that allows a double queen system to be generated through exclusion grilles, this is done within the same drawer that is not separable or configurable, which leads to different inconveniences, such as an increase considerable of the weight of the hive, hindering the work of the beekeeper. In this sense, greater versatility in terms of the possibilities of the configurations of a double queen hive could allow the drawers to be separated so that the weight can be modulated, which could also control the system according to each season to adapt to the weather.

Another document of the state of the art that exposes a hive of this nature is document RU 2081574, which discloses a configuration of multiple hives that can be expanded in separate hives on the breeding chamber, in such a way to position and distribute Uniform different hives, thus transforming a conventional hive into a hive for multiple queens, by dividing families and adding new queen bees.

However, this document shows a highly complex and rigid design in terms of handling and use by the beekeeper. For example, the design shown in this document does not propose any system of transfer, storage, nor does it refer to an ergonomic use for the beekeeper. In this sense, it would be desirable for a technology for two or multiple queen bees to provide improvements in both the productive system and in relation to the ease in handling by the beekeeper. For example, this document does not propose a simple revision and slaughter method, but rather proposes a system that forces the beekeeper to use a lot of machinery to control each hive. Thus, the invention described there does not consider the reality of the beekeeper.

Therefore, it follows from the prior art that there is a need in the state of the art to provide a hive that is easily configurable and attachable for different climatic and productive conditions, so that it allows the beekeeper to decide from a configuration for only one or multiple queen bees, through a simple and easy to configure mechanism. In addition, it would be desirable to have a configuration that allows the folding of the hive, to be stored in winter or in bad seasons where production is low, and thus be able to achieve storage efficiency above the traditional hive.

To overcome the aforementioned deficiencies a folding and configurable hive is presented for different climatic and productive conditions, which is constituted by a plurality of side walls joined by fixed joints, and at least one of its faces composed of a grid that allows communication with other adjacent hives and a respective gate that optionally allows the hives to be isolated by blocking said grid. Each of the remaining joints between the different parts of the hive corresponds to rigid and releasable joints, so that their parts are decoupled, thus allowing their disassembly or folding.

In this way, the presence of the grid and its respective gate allows to optionally link one or more hives adjacently, separating their respective queen bees. In addition, rigid and releasable joints allow the hive to be fixed and configured with other adjacent hives horizontally and / or vertically, thus allowing the configuration of a hive assembly whose arrangement will be available to the beekeeper's requirements according to climatic conditions and certain productive.

For the assembly of beehives in vertical form, the hive can optionally comprise in its upper face, or in the upper frame thereof, a grid excluding queen and a respective gate, which allow to communicate the hive with a hive adjacent vertically. Thus, the side faces of the hive of the present invention act as gates that allow linking different adjacent hives, so as to allow configurations in which multiple families are joined and coupled, all linked to each other.

The proposed hive provides comparative advantages over prior art in terms of its adaptability and versatility in use, since its novel configuration provides the beekeeper with multiple possibilities, either through a single hive configuration, or the linking of two or more families through separate and interlinked hives. All within a highly reduced space.

On the other hand, another important advantage that is provided by the invention relates to the ability to disassemble and store unarmed hives for periods of time when their use is not necessary, considerably reducing the space required for storage. In particular, the present invention achieves storage efficiency over a traditional hive in a ratio of 1: 5.

In this way, the fundamental advantage is related to the fact that the beekeeper has the ability to decide the configuration at will, according to the quality of the season, so as to have the option of maintaining a configuration of a single queen, or decide to look for greater production through two or more queen bees living in the hive.

Another advantage of the invention relates to the fact that it allows the manipulation and configuration of the hive having bees inside. By being able to join and separate the hives, production is efficient and the transfer of hives for beekeeping transhumance is also feasible.

In addition, the feeding system is integrated and fits into the upper frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 shows a diagram of an exploded view of the different parts of a hive according to the present invention. Figure 2 shows a diagram of an exploded view of the different parts of the hive according to the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a diagram of the hive exploded view of Figure 1 and its arrangement when horizontally linked to an adjacent hive.

Figure 4 shows a front and sectional view of two horizontally linked hives.

Figure 5 shows a front view of two vertically linked hives.

Figure 6 shows a schematic view of an optional configuration of the invention, in which a central intermediate space is arranged in a horizontal assembly.

Figure 7 shows a front view of the configuration of Figure 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen in Figure 1, the present invention consists of a folding and configurable hive for different climatic and productive conditions, comprising:

a plurality of side walls (101) joined together by fixed joints; Y

at least one face comprising a queen excluder grid (103) to allow communication with adjacent hives and separating their respective queen bees, and a gate (102) that optionally allows the hives to be isolated by blocking said grid;

wherein each of the remaining joints between the different parts of the hive corresponds to rigid and releasable joints, so that their parts are decoupled from each other, thus allowing disassembly and / or folding of the hive.

In a preferred configuration of the invention, said at least one face corresponds to a side face of the hive, such that it allows communication with an adjacent hive horizontally. In this horizontal configuration, an upper frame (107) is located at the top of the hive. In addition, on said upper frame (107) there is also an intermediate feeding cover (108), designed to allow winter feeding. Above the intermediate feed cover (108) there is an upper cover (109) that acts as a hive protection.

The hive also comprises in its lower part a ventilation grill (104), which is developed as a removable piece that fits between two lower frames. Additionally, a damper (105) is located on this ventilation grill that gives the option of generating controlled ventilation. Under said lower frames are located respective lower supports (106) that support the entire hive assembly.

Finally, and as can be seen in Figure 4, on one of the side faces is an opening (111) that acts as a beak to allow free access of the bees to the hive.

As can be seen in Figure 5, optionally, the hive can be coupled with one or more adjacent hives to form a vertical hive assembly. To this end, on the underside of each adjacent hive that is located vertically, its corresponding ventilation grille (104) is replaced by a queen exclusion grid (103) and a respective gate (102), with the object of be able to communicate the top of the hive with the bottom of an adjacent hive vertically. In this configuration, said gate (102) is located on the queen exclusion grid (103) and allows said grid to be optionally locked.

As mentioned, in this configuration of vertical assemblies, and as can be seen in Figure 5, a second hive without its respective supports, lower frames and lower grid, is located on the first hive, linking both by means of the excluding grid of queens (103). Preferably, in this vertical assembly the second hive is used for the storage of honey, thus fulfilling the function of a molar rise. However, in optional configurations said second hive could be used to house a new family of bees with their respective queen bees separated by the aforementioned grid (103).

On the other hand, and as can be seen in Figures 6 and 7, another optional configuration of the invention includes the option of configuring inside a horizontal hive assembly a grid system that makes it possible to create a central intermediate space, the which can be used as a storage medium that separates two hives on each side, or create in this space a third hive in the center, thus allowing to configure a horizontal assembly with three different families of bees.

In this configuration, in the case where a storage space is provided in the center of the assembly, said space can be used to produce honey, separating the queen bees in the hives from the ends and leaving the center converted into a separate compartment. , which creates another framed space to harvest honey. In this case, this space in the center can maintain two isolated families at the ends, but connecting the worker bees in its center, thus benefiting the work of slaughter and making efficient the management of honey production.

Each of the mentioned parts, with the exception of the lower ventilation grill (104), is preferably made of polymeric materials, and even more preferably, they are made of PVC.

In addition, the machining of parts is carried out with CNC technology (computerized numerical control) on polymer sheets that are milled, to be folded as a pleat and thus form the lateral faces, upper and lower frames, the upper and lateral grilles and the respective gates. The lower supports (106) of the hive are developed in thermoforming or vacuum forming.

Claims

1. A folding and configurable hive for different climatic and productive conditions, CHARACTERIZED because it comprises:

a plurality of side walls joined together by fixed joints; and at least one face comprising a grid to allow communication with adjacent hives and separating their respective queen bees, and a gate that optionally allows insulating the hives by blocking said grid; wherein each of the remaining joints between the different parts of the hive corresponds to rigid and releasable joints, so that their parts are decoupled from each other, thus allowing disassembly and / or folding of the hive.

2. A hive according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that said at least one face corresponds to a lateral face of the hive, in such a way that it allows communication with an adjacent hive horizontally.

3. A hive according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises in its upper part an upper frame on which an intermediate feed cover and an upper cover are located.

4. A hive according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises in its lower part a ventilation grill configured as a removable piece that fits into two lower frames, and lower supports located under said lower frames and supporting the whole of the hive.

5. A hive according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED because a hatch is located on the ventilation grid that gives the option of generating controlled ventilation.

6. A hive according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises in one of the lateral faces an opening that acts as a beak to allow free access of the bees to the hive.

7. A hive according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that said at least one face corresponds to the upper face of the hive, such that it allows communication with an adjacent hive vertically.

8. A hive according to claim 7, CHARACTERIZED in that at least one additional hive is located vertically forming an hive assembly, wherein said at least one additional hive is mounted without its respective supports, lower frames and lower grid.

9. A hive according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED in that the hive is coupled with one or more adjacent hives to form a horizontal hive assembly, which by means of an exclusion grating system provides a central intermediate space that acts as a means of storage that separates two hives on each side, or that houses a third hive in said central intermediate space.

10. A hive according to any one of the preceding claims, CHARACTERIZED in that each of the constituent parts of the hive, with the exception of the lower and upper ventilation grilles, is made of polymeric materials.