WO2021148712A1

WO2021148712A1 - A cleaner for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames

Info

Publication number: WO2021148712A1
Application number: PCT/FI2021/000001
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juhani VAARA
Original assignee: Paradise Honey Oy
Priority date: 2020-01-24
Filing date: 2021-01-22
Publication date: 2021-07-29
Also published as: FI12793Y1

Abstract

A cleaner (1) for piercer spikes (6) of a device for pricking honeycomb frames. The cleaner (1) for the piercer spikes (6) of a device for pricking honeycomb frames (3) is installed to the device and cleans the piercer spikes (6) automatically during the usage of the device. A plate-like cleaning member (2) is placed on both sides of the honeycomb frame (3) located inside the device so that the piercer spikes (6) pierce the wax caps of the honeycomb frame (3) after first piercing this plate-like cleaning member (2) on both sides of the honeycomb frame (3). In this cleaning member (2) the holes for piercing it by the piercer spikes are oval slots (11) so that each vertically inline located line of piercer spikes (6) moves through one oval slot-shaped aperture when the device is processing honeycomb frames (3). When the piercer spikes (6) are moving away from the honeycomb frame (3), the edges of the oval slot-shaped apertures wipe the piercer spikes (6) clean.

Description

A cleaner for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject of the invention is a cleaner for the piercer spikes of a beekeeping-related device for pricking honeycomb frames, which enables that it is not needed anymore to stop the device for pricking honeycomb frames occasionally for manual cleaning of the piercer spikes.

BACKROUND AND KNOWN TECHNOLOGY The most suitable device for piercing the wax caps of honey cells using piercer spikes is a device according to publication WO2018083386. While using this device, a need for cleaning the piercer spikes of the wax cap pricking device using a brush or other similar tool regularly occurs in which case the device must be stopped for the duration of the cleaning procedure. Honeycomb frames cannot be processed with the device during the cleaning procedure.

The device according to the publication WO2018083386 functions so that the piercer spikes of the device, which pierce the wax caps of the honeycomb frame, are mounted to special piercer spike assemblies, which can be called also shorter as spike assemblies. These spike assemblies are mounted to a special mechanism that moves them in rotating motion the rotating motion being driven by torque from a drive shaft of the honeycomb frame movement mechanism of the device in question with the help of a sprocket wheel and a chain drive. The spike assemblies move rotatably in the device so that their vertical velocity when the spikes are piercing the wax caps of a honeycomb frame is the same or almost the same as the vertical velocity of the honeycomb frame. This is due to that in case the vertical velocity of these spike assemblies the moment of piercing and at the same moment the vertical velocity of the honeycomb frame would differ from each other enough, the spikes piercing through the wax caps of the honeycomb frame would tear the wax cap structure and the honeycomb and thus would damage them and possibly even would detach chunks of honeycomb from the honeycomb of the honeycomb frame, which is not desired. When the spikes, which can be called also piercer spikes, protrude outward from the honeycomb and wax caps, particles of honeycomb and wax caps get stuck occasionally on the surfaces of the spikes due to which if the spikes are not cleaned manually and regularly, the spikes do not pierce and protrude through the wax caps into the honeycomb as deep as before using the same force when piercing the wax caps of a honeycomb frame with dirty spikes and in addition, then the honey and wax particles from the wax caps and honeycomb stuck on the spikes may damage the wax cap structure and the honeycomb located underneath the wax caps currently being pierced and occasionally even tear off parts of honeycomb or wax caps in which case also the torn-off pieces of honeycomb or wax caps get also stuck on the spikes. This causes a cumulative effect to the spikes due to which the particles of honeycomb or particles of wax caps or honey collects more particles of honeycomb and/or particles of wax caps and/or honey to the spikes and eventually in the worst case the spikes are completely covered in particles of honeycomb and wax caps and honey and do not prick the honeycomb anymore as the device is intended to prick them. The new cleaner for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames, which is according to the invention, provides a solution for this problem.

It is worth mentioning that the device according to the publication WO2018083386 comprises also regular uncapping blades which cut the wax caps off from the desired adjusted depth from the surface of the honeycomb of the honeycomb frames. The uncapping blades are called also cutting blades and thus also the uncapping can be called as cutting. So, in this device it is beneficial to cut off the wax caps of the honeycomb frame and even after this cutting to pierce the honeycomb remaining in the honeycomb frame with the piercer spikes. With the same device it is of course also possible to only pierce the wax caps of the honeycomb frames without cutting it if needed by adjusting the uncapping blades so far from each other that they do not touch the honeycomb frame at all. The surface of the honeycomb is known to not necessarily be uneven by thickness so it is typical that in some uncapped honeycomb frames some areas with thinner honeycomb are still equipped with intact wax capping<s. Due to also this reason the device according to the publication WO2018083386 is beneficial because it also ensures that every honey cell is opened after the uncapping even though if the uncapping blades would not have reached to cut off the wax caps of some honey cells. Also of course this device is beneficial especially when the honeycomb frames contain honey types which have trouble exiting the honeycomb frames when spinning such as for instance many thixotropic honey types.

The functioning of the device according to the publication WO2018083386 and especially the honeycomb frame pricking mechanism of this device is described more precisely as follows:

This kind of device for pricking honeycomb frames comprises a movement mechanism, which moves the honeycomb frame transfer chains and which same mechanism also moves the honeycomb pricking mechanism. So, one electric motor moves the honeycomb frames through the pricking device and in addition the same electric motor moves the honeycomb frame wax cap pricking mechanism. The honeycomb frame wax cap pricking mechanism comprises essentially the spike assemblies and spikes and springs and the movement mechanism which provides rotating motion for the spike assemblies of the pricking mechanism.

One this kind of spike assembly comprises two base frame plates, the inner base frame plate and the outer base frame plate, which are connected to each other and in both of which there are holes for the spikes. The inner base frame plate is located more near the honeycomb frame and it is connected for instance with bolt connections to the outer base frame plate. A space is located inside the inner and outer base frame plates into which a spike fits so that its other end is pushed into a hole of the inner base frame plate all the way up to a shoulder of the spike and the other end of the spike is placed into a hole of the outer base frame plate. The spike stays in this position because it is placed inside a round shaped compression spring in the space inside the base frame plates. This compression spring pushes the shoulder of the spike towards the inner base frame plate, but the spike can move in the hole of the inner base frame plate only up to the shoulder, because the shoulder is larger than the diameter of the hole and thus does not fit through the hole. Also, the spring cannot move out from the hole of the outer base frame plate, because the outer diameter of the spring is larger than the diameter of this hole. Because the inner and outer base frame plate are attached to each other, the assembly stays intact allowing if needed the movement of the spikes towards the outer base frame plate all the way to the maximum compressed length of the spring.

The honeycomb frame wax cap pricking device suits excellent to be placed underneath traditional knife uncapping blades. Of course, the wax cap pricking device can be used also separately without the knife uncapping blades. The piercing of the wax caps of the honey cells is done while the honeycomb frame is moving inside the device and does not require the movement of the honeycomb frame to be stopped.

The mechanism that produces motion for the wax cap pricking mechanism forms an eccentric mechanism, which is implemented by pivoting the spike assemblies with the help of slide bearings and with using connecting rods to rotating shafts, which shafts are mounted to be rotatable with the help of sprocket wheels connected to the shafts. The transfer chain, which moves this eccentric mechanism, is connected to the sprocket wheels as follows: A drive shaft extends through the whole pricking device onto which drive shaft driving sprocket wheels are mounted on both sides of the device outside the base frame of the device and also onto the same drive shaft driving sprocket wheels for moving the honeycomb frame transfer mechanism are mounted inside the base frame of the device symmetrically to both sides of the device. This way implemented only one electric motor moves both mechanisms when rotating one drive shaft.

The rotating motion of the pricking mechanism is implemented so that when the spikes hit the honeycomb frame, the base frame plates of the mechanism and thus also the spikes move simultaneously same time to the same direction as the honeycomb frame. This is implemented by connecting the rotating shafts of each spike assembly to a transfer chain located outside the pricking device so that all shafts connected to the same base frame plate have always the same rotation direction. A spike assembly is pivoted to two shafts on both sides of the pricking device using connecting rods so there is a total of four of these shafts for one spike assembly. The shafts are positioned, for instance, on top of each other vertically inline on both sides of the pricking device.

The connection of the transfer chain of the honeycomb frame transfer mechanism is implemented so that the honeycomb frame moves between two uncapping blades, which are placed symmetrically relative to the movement path of the honeycomb frame and between two spike assemblies of the pricking mechanism located under the uncapping blades the pricking mechanism being symmetrical relative to the movement path of the honeycomb frame. So, the uncapping blades first cut the wax caps off the honeycomb frame symmetrically on both sides of the honeycomb frame and after this the spikes, which are spring-loaded and placed into the base frame plates of the spike assemblies, protrude at the same time into the honeycomb symmetrically on both sides of the honeycomb frame.

These piercing spikes are placed inside the base frame plates of the pricking mechanism so that each spike is loaded by one spring. This spring pushes each spike towards that base frame plate of the spike assembly, which is more near the honeycomb frame. Then, when loaded, the spike moves backwards in the case the force pushing the spike exceeds the force of the spring. This function prevents the possible breakage of the spike and prevents same time the possible breakage of the honeycomb frame. The distribution and quantity of the piercing spikes is in several device solutions same as the distribution and quantity of the honey cells in a honeycomb. The distribution and quantity could also of course differ from this.

In one example of this kind of device the eccentric movement mechanism of the pricking mechanism is not connected to the chain transfer mechanism, but instead this is a separate mechanism placed outside the base frame of the device. It is essential for this embodiment example that the honeycomb frame is stationary during the pricking/piercing movement and also essential is that in this embodiment example the rotating motion of the pricking mechanism has been moved to outside the base frame of the device and inside the base frame the spike assemblies move only in horizontal direction back and forth symmetrically relative to the movement path of the honeycomb frame. One remarkable beneficial factor in this kind of device is that in this case the device can be built to be lower in height than the first embodiment example. For this it is typical that the mechanism functions using its own electric motor.

As a special case this second example of the device can be implemented also so that the spike assemblies move in addition to the horizontal direction, also in vertical direction the overall movement direction being then obliquely downwards or upwards. In the accompanying examples an electric motor is the power source for the mechanisms of the honeycomb frame wax cap pricking device, but of course this kind of device can be implemented of course also for instance as pneumatic, hydraulic or for instance using magnets for producing the movement of the pricking mechanism and also it could be operated by hand.

In several solutions the piercing spike and the spring are separate parts, but they can be also of course one and the same part in which case the spring is shaped to have the shape of the spike and is rigid as the spike in that portion which protrudes inside the honeycomb and is compressible in that portion which is located inside the spike assembly. In this case remarkable benefit is achieved in the manufacturing costs of the device when a separate piercing spike is not needed. It is noteworthy that one device contains thousands of piercing spikes and thus also thousands of springs, for instance, in the cases of the mentioned examples approximately 6000 pieces. Due to this structure then it is possible to pump honey out from the honeycomb through the center hole of the spring element. Then honey exits eventually the holes of the outer base frame plates of the spike assemblies.

It is also typical for the mentioned examples of the honeycomb frame wax cap pricking devices that they are dimensioned so that the piercer spikes never touch the bottom bars, the top bars or the side bars of the honeycomb frame, which reduces remarkably the risk for breakage of the spikes and thus makes this kind of devices extremely reliable. Due to this fact also, the nails possibly attached to the top list have no effect on the functioning of this kind of device. Even though the piercer spikes never touch the bars of the honeycomb frame, it may happen if a honeycomb frame, which is shorter than the honeycomb frame size for which the device in question is designed for, is inserted into the device. Even this causes no harm because the spikes can move, if needed, towards inside the spike assemblies if the spikes happen touch/hit a bar of a honeycomb frame. In addition, the pushing force of a spike against the honeycomb frame can be adjusted by changing the value of the spring constant of the compression spring which keeps the spike in the correct position.

The above-mentioned functioning of the pricking device is not affected by the material of which the honeycomb frame is made of. In addition, any nails possibly attached to the bars of the honeycomb frame or the so-called Hoffmann-extension do not have any effect on the functioning of the device according to the invention. In addition, due to the spring load of the spikes of the pricking mechanism, the different thicknesses of the bars of a honeycomb frame have no effect on the functioning of the device according to the invention.

This kind of honeycomb frame wax cap pricking device can be implemented to function in up-down-direction, down-up-direction or for instance in the horizontal direction in the direction of the top bar of the honeycomb frame in from-side-to-side-direction or the honeycomb frame "tipped" in the direction of the forward- movement of the honeycomb frame. It is mentioned that a spike assembly of a pricking device, inside of which spike assembly are located the springs and partially inside of which are located the spikes, can be equipped with means for heating it. For instance, a water heating piping located outside or inside the spike assembly or for instance an electrical heating resistance are suitable for means for heating.

It is mentioned also that the force transmitted to the honey cells by the pricking mechanism is in all cases easily adjustable by changing the parameters of an electrical motor with the help of a variable frequency drive / inverter or by replacing the electric motor of the device with other one which has more or less power.

It is additionally also mentioned that typically the parts of the pricking device are often made of stainless steel. Of course, for many parts, for instance for the spike of the spike assembly, also, for instance, food grade plastic is suitable for material. In the above mentioned, the spike assembly means the piercer spike assembly and the spike means the piercer spike.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The aim of this invention is a new kind of cleaner for the piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames, especially for the piercer spikes of a device according to the publication WO2018083386, which enables that the device is not needed anymore to be stopped and cleaned manually, but instead the cleaner, which is according to the invention, installed to the device cleans the piercer spikes automatically during the usage of the device. This is implemented by placing a plate-like cleaning member on both sides of the honeycomb frame located inside the pricking device so that the piercer spikes pierce the wax caps of the honeycomb frame after first piercing this plate-like cleaning member. In this cleaning member the holes for piercing it by the piercer spikes have been shaped as oval slots so that each vertically inline located line of piercer spikes moves through one oval slot-shaped aperture when the device is processing honeycomb frames. This oval slot shape of the holes is due to the movement path of the spike assemblies, which contain the spikes, which movement path is rotating so that the vertical velocity of the spikes inside the device while the wax caps of the honeycomb frame are being pierced is the same or almost the same as the vertical velocity of the honeycomb frame inside the device. When the piercer spikes move through the oval-slot apertures towards away from the honeycomb frame, the wax particles of all sizes and the honey stuck on the piercer spikes, stick to the cleaning member while edges of the oval slot shaped apertures wipe the surfaces of the piercer spikes and eventually the piercer spikes are clean in a position of the rotating movement path of the piercer spike assemblies where the piercer spikes are located again completely outside the cleaning member. When the same cycle is repeated, the piercer spikes become dirty when piercing the wax caps of the honeycomb frame and when they move away from the honeycomb frame, they are cleaned again, in which case stopping the pricking device and manual cleaning by the user is not needed at all.

As a clarification it is mentioned that in connection with this invention vertical movement means the movement direction of the honeycomb frame when the honeycomb frame moves through a pricking mechanism inside a device according to the publication WO2018083386.

As a clarification it is further mentioned that in this description of the invention a device according to the publication WO2018083386 is described into which the new cleaner for the piercer spikes of the device for pricking honeycomb frames is installed as a remarkable improvement, which cleaner is according to the invention. The functioning of the cleaner for the piercer spikes of the device for pricking honeycomb frames is more efficient when the cleaning members are heated for instance by means of warm water or water steam or hot air circulating inside the cleaning member or, say, by means of an electrical resistance or heated by some other means. In practice the most beneficial means for heating of these options is the warm water, which keeps the temperature of the cleaning members constant also then when cool honey and wax mixture come in contact with its surface. For the water heating of the cleaning member the most efficient implementation way is to make the cleaning member hollow, that is, for instance to manufacture it of several thin plates and make it waterproof leaving a cavity inside the cleaning member, which cavity comprises at least part of the surface area or all the surface area of the cleaning member and inside which cavity the water can flow. This water heating results in that the cleaning member stays clean better despite the fact that it is all the time in contact with the honeycomb and wax cap of the honeycomb frame. This enables the processing speed of the device utilizing this invention to be increased remarkably, which is beneficial when large numbers of honeycomb frames are processed during the honey harvesting time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Next the invention is explained more in detail with the help of beneficial embodiment examples of the invention with reference to accompanying drawings in which: FIG 1: In the drawing is shown a detail view of a cut section view of a device equipped with the cleaner for the piercer spikes of the device for pricking honeycomb frames, which cleaner is according to the invention, viewed directly from below upwards in the direction of the vertical movement direction of the honeycomb frame when it is passing through the pricking mechanism.

FIG 2: The drawing shows a detail view of the section view shown in the drawing FIG1 at the location of the honeycomb frame and the pricking mechanism.

FIG 3: The drawing shows a plate-like cleaning member, which is according to the invention, viewed obliquely from the side.

FIG 4: The drawing shows a plate-like cleaning member sectioned and viewed in horizontal direction directly from the front outwards from the direction of the honeycomb frame so that a piercer spike assembly of the pricking mechanism is seen on the other side of the sectioned cleaning member and the piercer spikes pierce the cleaning member. In this drawing the piercer spikes are not shown as sectioned due to simplification. FIG 5: The drawing shows a section view of a device for pricking the wax caps of a honeycomb frame, which device utilizes the cleaner according to the invention, viewed directly from the side.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one beneficial embodiment example of the cleaner for the piercer spikes of a device for pricking the wax caps of a honeycomb frame shown in drawings FIG1 to FIG5, cleaning members 2 are installed in locations between a honeycomb frame 3 and piercer spike assemblies 4 on both sides of the honeycomb frame 3 so that there is a total of two cleaning members 2 in one device equipped with the invention. The cleaning members 2 are equipped with mounting holes 12 in the embodiment example of the accompanying drawings, in which cleaning members 2 there are four attachment holes 12 in one cleaning member 2 and the cleaning members 2 are mounted to the base frame 5 by means of bolts 10, but of course the cleaning members 2 could be, for instance, welded to the base frame 5 or mounted to some other location on the base frame 5. In the accompanying embodiment example, the mounting holes located in the base frame 5 are equipped with threads, but of course similar structure according to the invention can be implemented for instance by means of through holes located in the base frame 5 and locking nuts. In addition, in the accompanying embodiment example, each cleaning member 2 is mounted with a total number of four bolts 10 to the base frame 5, but of course this number of bolts 10 can differ from what is shown in this example.

In the accompanying embodiment example, one piercer spike assembly 4 comprises the piercer spikes 6, springs 7 and inner base frame plate 8 and outer base frame plate 9 and mounting bolts, with which mounting bolts the base frame plates 8 and 9 are attached to each other in the same way as the piercer spike assemblies of a device according to the publication WO2018083386, which can be called also spike assemblies. Of course, the piercer spike assembly 4 can be implemented also in some other way still maintaining the same function. In addition, it is mentioned that the cleaner 1 according to the invention functions excellent also in the case that the piercer spikes 6 would be connected rigidly to the piercer spike assembly 4 without springs 7 and also in the case that the piercer spike 6 would consist of a spring-like and compressible portion and a rigid incompressible portion being still one-piece. So, in the accompanying example the function of the springs 7 is to enable the movement of the piercer spikes 6 away from the wax caps of the honeycomb frame 3 in case something hard is in front of the piercer spikes 6 while the spike assembly 4 continues its movement towards more near the honeycomb frame 3. So, this function of the springs 7 is in other words to prevent the piercer spikes 6 from breaking or being damaged for instance by bending or by snapping.

Vertical oval slots 11 have been shaped to the cleaning member 2 so that each vertically-inline aligned line of the piercer spikes 6 in the spike assembly 4 protrudes through the same oval slot 11 before piercing the wax cap. This requires of course that the piercer spikes 6 in a spike assembly 4 are arranged to the mentioned vertically aligned lines and the distances between the mentioned lines correspond to the distribution of the oval slots 11 in the horizontal direction. When the piercer spikes 6 pierce the wax cap, they are still extended through an oval slot 11 and when moving away from the wax cap and honeycomb according to the movement path of the spike assembly 4, the piercer spikes 6 exit first from inside the wax cap and honeycomb and only after that they exit the oval slots 11. Due to this the edge of the oval slot 11 wipes the pieces of honeycomb and wax cap and the honey off from the surface of the piercer spike 6, which has become dirty when piercing the honeycomb, and the piercer spikes 6 are then again clean when a new piercing cycle for piercing the wax caps of a honeycomb frame 3 starts. It results from this that a device according to publication WO2018083386 equipped with a cleaner 1 according to the invention is never needed to be stopped for cleaning the piercer spikes 6 manually.

In addition, in the beneficial embodiment example of the invention shown in drawings FIG1 to FIG 5, the cleaning members 2, which have been placed on both sides of the honeycomb frame 3, are implemented as separate parts, which are installed on both sides of the honeycomb frame 3 to the base frame 5 of the device, but of course this could be implemented also so that the cleaning members 2 placed on both sides of the honeycomb frame 3 would be one part in which case there would be one cleaning member 2 in a cleaner 1 according to the invention. In the accompanying examples the cleaning member 2 is implemented as manufactured from one plate so that all its shapes are cut using a special laser cutting device for cutting metal plate, which cutting devices are commonly used for cutting metal plates/sheets. After the cutting the required shapes, which shapes enable installation of the cleaning member 2 to the base frame 5, such as bends 13, which turn the mounting surface 14 of the mounting holes 12 to parallel with the wall of the base frame 5 to which wall the mounting bolts 10 are fastened, is implemented by bending with a special sheet metal bending machine, which are also used commonly for manufacturing sheet metal parts. Of course, this cleaning member 2 can be implemented as similar structure also when manufacturing it in some other way, for instance by assembling it using bolts or by welding using, for instance, metal bars or metal pipes or, for instance, by casting it from plastic materials or by some other way shaping it and/or processing it. In addition, as a special case at least the walls between the adjacent oval slots 11 of the cleaning member 2 can be implemented also by making them from flexible string or wire or flexible pipe so that the strings or wires are tightened tight with the help of the other structure of the cleaning member 2 in which case also the walls between oval slot 11 gives in in case something hard hits them during the uncapping/processing. The cross section of the string or the flexible pipe in question can be round or for instance oval- shaped or rectangular or some other shape, the best shape of which is the round shape because it guides without sharp edges the piercer spikes 6 towards the honeycomb frame 3. In this case also the benefit of the flexible pipe is that it is already equipped with a cavity inside it for heating water or steam or air or some other substance to circulate inside it. In addition, of course a flexible effect for the walls between the oval slots 11 is achieved if spring-like string or pipe is used, of which in the case of the pipe again it is beneficial that the cavity for the water is already inside the pipe.

In the accompanying embodiment examples of the invention, the shaping of the invention and the related components is presented as simplified for clarity. Especially the shape of the cleaning member 2 can differ from the accompanying examples in many other beneficial embodiment examples of this invention due to a different way of mounting the cleaning member 2 to the base frame 5 or to a similar sufficiently rigid structure and due to a detailed and case- specific design of the device according to the publication WO2018083386. The length of the oval slots 11 depends on the height of the pricking mechanism of the device equipped with the invention and can also differ from the accompanying examples. In the accompanying examples the vertical length of the oval slots 11 is such that the piercer spikes 6 fit to pierce it without touching the cleaning member 2.

The outer surface of the cleaning members 2 is beneficial to be heated so that the processing speed of the honeycomb frames 3 can be increased. This is implemented conveniently, for instance, by means of water, water steam or hot air circulating inside the cleaning members 2 or for instance by means of an electric resistance in which all cases the heat, which conducts to the surface of the cleaning member 2, remarkably helps in preventing honey and pieces of the wax cap and pieces of the honeycomb getting stuck on surfaces of the cleaning member 2. In practice the most effective way of heating of these options is the water heating, which can be implemented for instance so that the cleaning member 2 is manufactured to be hollow for instance by assembling it from thin plates and arranging it to be watertight and by guiding the warm/hot water to circulate inside the cleaning members 2. The heating effect can be implemented also without the cleaning member 2 being hollow in the areas between the oval slots 11 so that a water pipe is attached to the cleaning member 2 as large as possible surface area of the water pipe touching the surface of the cleaning member 2 and the heating water is directed to flow inside the water pipe from which the heat conducts through the contact surface of the water pipe, which touches the cleaning member 2, into the cleaning member 2. A similar heating effect can be implemented also for instance with the help of an electrical resistance attached to the cleaning member 2 in which case the heat produced by the electrical resistance conducts into the cleaning member 2. As a special case in the case of a heated cleaning member 2, it is beneficial in the cases of some embodiment examples of the invention, as mentioned earlier, to assemble the cleaning member 2 from metallic pipes inside of which there is already a cavity for water to circulate/flow inside it. Of course, a similar cavity can be implemented also for instance with using plastic pipes. As a second special case in the case of the heated cleaning member 2, it is mentioned that in the cases of some beneficial embodiment examples of the invention, it is beneficial to assemble the cleaning member 2 or at least the walls between the oval slots 11 of the cleaning member 2 using wire-like electrical resistances in which case the heating effect can be achieved conveniently with the help of electricity. The cleaning of the piercer spike 6 is possible also to be implemented so that the cleaning member 2 is attached directly to the piercer spike assembly 4. This can be implemented, for instance, by installing a flexible and spring-like cleaning member around each piercer spike 6 the length of which cleaning member comprising, when not loaded, the whole portion of the piercer spike 6 which is located outside the piercer spike assembly 4 and, when loaded, that is, when it, while hitting the surface of a wax cap or honeycomb of a honeycomb frame, is compressed and only the piercer spike 6 protrudes then through the wax cap into the honeycomb or straight to the honeycomb in the case the wax cap has been cut off earlier with the help of the uncapping blades. The same effect can be implemented also by installing a flexible and perforated cleaning member to the piercer spikes 6 the distribution of holes and the hole size of which are the same as the hole distribution and the size of the diameter of the piercer spikes 6 so that the piercer spikes 6 pierce the holes of the cleaning member. Also, in this case, when not loaded, the flexible cleaning member comprises the whole portion of the piercer spike 6, which is located outside the piercer spike assembly 4 and the cleaning member is compressed when it hits the honeycomb or the wax cap and when the piercing procedure is done, the cleaning member returns to the same shape as it was before loading and same time, while returning, it wipes each piercer spike 6 clean. Regarding the heating options for these both versions of the cleaning member, same options as for the plate-like and stationary cleaning members 2, which are equipped with the oval slots 11, apply.

In addition, the cleaning of the piercer spikes 6 can be implemented by arranging a cleaning member to location of the portions of the piercer spikes 6 located outside the piercer spike assembly 4 to function by means of a special mechanism, which cleaning member is in this case plate-like and perforated as the cleaning member from the previous example and in addition, it is attached using spring loading to the piercer spike assembly 4. Then when the cleaning member hits the honeycomb or the wax cap, it moves due to the springs towards the base frame of the piercer spike assembly 4 revealing from its holes the piercer spikes 6, which then protrude as usual into the honeycomb or through the wax cap. When the loading of the cleaning member ends, that is, when the piercer spikes 6 exit the honeycomb and the wax cap, the cleaning member moves again due to the springs to its unloaded position and same time wipes clean each piercer spike 6. In this version to the spring-loaded mounting of the cleaning member, a spring-loaded pivoting point can be added, if needed, in the up-down direction, which allows, if needed, that an occasional small difference of the vertical velocities of the piercer spike assemblies 4 and the honeycomb frame 3 does not affect the functioning of the cleaning member.

It is worth mentioning for clarity that in connection with this invention the wax cap can be partially or completely cut off from a honeycomb frame 3 processed by the pricking mechanism due to the fact that it is beneficial to equip a device, which utilizes this invention, with a pricking mechanism and with a wax cap uncapping mechanism, which is typically placed on top of the pricking mechanism with which uncapping mechanism, as mentioned earlier, the wax cap of the honeycomb frames 3 is cut off. In the case of an uncapped honeycomb frame 3 the only difference in the above- described functioning of the invention is that the piercer spike 6 pierces directly the honeycomb because the wax cap is missing from on top of it. This cleaner 1 for the piercer spikes of a honeycomb wax cap pricking device according to the invention functions excellent also in the case that the wax cap is missing partially or completely from the honeycomb frame 3 in the piercing stage.

As a special case it is mentioned that when this invention is utilized, the movement path of the piercer spike assemblies 4 do not need to be necessarily completely round in a device utilizing the invention, as described earlier, but instead that portion of the movement path, during which the piercer spike assemblies 4 are not in contact with the honeycomb or wax cap of the honeycomb frame 3, can be of course some other than round by its shape, for instance the shape of this portion can be the straight portion of a half-moon shape. Only that portion of the movement path must be round, that is, the shape of a round arc, during which the piercer spikes 6 touch and pierce the honeycomb and/or the wax cap of the honeycomb frame 3. As a special case it is also mentioned that this invention suits excellent to be used also in the special cases of the publication WO2018083386, that is, for instance if the device in question is built to function so that the honeycomb frame 3 is inserted instead of the direction from up to down from down to up or from side to side or the honeycomb frame 3 horizontally tipped in forward -backward direction.

A beneficial embodiment example of a honeycomb frame wax cap pricking device, which utilizes the cleaner 1 for the piercer spikes of a honeycomb frame wax cap pricking device, is shown in drawing FIG5 in which drawing also drip trays 15 mounted to the uncapping blades 16 are shown, which drip trays 15 prevent the parts of wax cap and honeycomb of the honeycomb frame 3, which are cut off during the uncapping, from dropping on the piercer spike assemblies 4 and thus harming the functioning of the pricking mechanism. In addition, for clarity the connecting rods 17, which are mounted rotatably to the piercer spike assemblies 4 on both ends of the piercer spike assembly 4, are shown in the drawing FIG5 there being two connecting rods 17 on each end of each piercer spike assembly 4.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. A cleaner (1) for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames comprising at least one cleaning member (2), characterized in that, at least one cleaning member (2), which cleaning member (2) consists of one or more components and equipped with oval shaped slots the length of which slots being parallel to the movement direction of the honeycomb frame, is placed between a piercer spike assembly (4) and a honeycomb frame (3) on both sides of the honeycomb frame (3) so that the piercer spikes (6) are arranged to pierce the wax caps of the honeycomb frame (3) and the cleaning member (2) through slots of the cleaning member (2) in one piercing action on both sides of the honeycomb frame (3).

2. A cleaner (1) for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames according to patent claim 1, characterized in that, the slots of the cleaning member (2), through which the piercer spikes (6) extend when piercing the wax caps of the honeycomb frame (3), are oval-shaped so that for each vertically inline aligned line of piercer spikes (6) there is one continuous oval slot (11), which each oval slot (11) is pierced by all the piercer spikes (6) of each vertically inline aligned line of piercer spikes (6).

3. A cleaner (1) for piercer spikes of a device for pricking honeycomb frames according to patent claim 2, characterized in that, the cleaning member (2) is heated by means of water, water vapor or hot air circulating inside the cleaning member (2) or inside a portion of the cleaning member (2) or by means of an electrical resistance.