Abstract
An attachable entrance bee feeder affixes to man-made bee hive boxes used by apiarists to raise and manage bees. The feeder attaches to the hive box landing board with screws through holes manufactured into the feeder. The feeder has an inner section which slides into the bee box entrance, plus an outer section that remains outside the bee box. A feeding cavity accepts an inverted fruit jar with lid and cap that holds viscous sugar syrup; plus, a cylindrical plug that can be installed into the feeding cavity in place of the fruit jar. The fruit jar lid contains holes that allow sugar syrup droplets to be consumed by honey bees. Bees enter the feeding cavity through feeding tubes to consume sugar syrup in the feeding cavity. The feeder may be secured to the bee box permanently or semi-permanently, and it accommodate feeding reservoirs of one quart and larger.
Claims
1. An attachable entrance bee feeder comprising: (a) a structure with an inner section that slides inside the entrance of a bee box, and an outer section that remains outside of a bee box when properly installed, (b) and, further comprising, said outer section, 1. wherein, a plurality of narrow wing structures is incorporated into each side of the outer section, 2. wherein centered within the proximal section of each wing structure, a hollow, cylindrical cavity passes entirely through, into which a screw can be inserted from top to bottom, 3. wherein said screw in each wing can be screwed downward to attach the honey bee feeder directly to the honey bee box, 4. wherein, by securely attaching said honey bee feeder directly to the honey bee box, the attachable honey bee feeder is capable of supporting feeding reservoirs larger than conventional feeders and prior art, including half gallon and one gallon fruit jars, 5. wherein said outer section contains an open feeding cavity extending downward from the top plane of the outer section, but not passing completely through the feeder, in which a feed reservoir, including one quart, half gallon, and one gallon inverted fruit jars with cap and lid can be inserted; (c) and, further comprising a cap plug which inserts into the attachable entrance bee feeder's feeding cavity to block unwanted organisms or contaminants from entering the feeder after a feeding reservoir is removed, 1. wherein the cap plug is shaped as an inverted conical frustum with the top face of the cap plug containing a lip that extends outward from the top edge of the cap plug, 2. wherein the functional purpose of said lip is to allow the bottom portion of said cap plug to fill the feeding cavity, while the lip of the cap plug rests upon the top face of the outer section, 3. wherein the bottom of the lip of said cap plug includes pry slots, thus allowing the user to pry the cap plug away from the outer section with a tool such as a screwdriver if the cap plug becomes stuck to the feeder, 4. wherein the cap plug, when properly installed, will replace the inverted fruit jar with lid and cap, or other feeding reservoir, when the feeding reservoir is removed.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the components of an attachable entrance bee feeder showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention, specifically the attachable entrance bee feeder main body and the cap plug.
[0042] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0043] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder showing the bottom face; rear, convex wall; and, bottom screw holes of a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
[0044] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder with the cap plug installed.
[0045] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder with the cap plug not installed.
[0046] FIG. 6 is a left side orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder with the cap plug not installed.
[0047] FIG. 7 is a right-side orthogonal view with the cap plug installed.
[0048] FIG. 8 is a top orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder with the cap plug installed.
[0049] FIG. 9 is a top orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder with the cap plug removed.
[0050] FIG. 10 is a front orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder.
[0051] FIG. 11 is a rear orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder illustrating the rear, convex face.
[0052] FIG. 12 is a bottom orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder.
[0053] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug without attachment holes.
[0054] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug with attachment holes.
[0055] FIG. 15 is a side orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug.
[0056] FIG. 16 is a bottom orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug with attachment holes.
[0057] FIG. 17 is a top orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug with attachment holes.
[0058] FIG. 18 is a top orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug without attachment holes.
[0059] FIG. 19 is a bottom orthogonal view of an attachable entrance bee feeder cap plug without attachment holes.
[0060] FIG. 20 shows a top orthogonal view of the attachable entrance bee feeder with reference numbers illustrating the front, right, rear, and left sides of the feeder.
[0061] FIG. 21 shows a perspective view of the attachable entrance bee feeder with reference numbers indicating the jar spacing.
[0062] FIG. 22 shows a top perspective view to identify the forward most point of the feeding cavity.
[0063] FIG. 23 shows a top orthogonal view of the attachable entrance bee feeder identifying the feeder's four reservoir posts.
[0064] FIG. 24 shows a section view of the attachable bee feeder.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0065] The Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder consists of two main components illustrated in the exploded view of FIG. 1—the cap plug 1 and the entrance bee feeder body 2. Both of these components can be manufactured through 3D printing, plastic injection molding, or similar processes. Conventional bee feeders are generally sold as one component—the feeder itself—while the addition of a cap plug in this invention allows the beekeeper enhanced versatility by allowing removal of the feeding reservoir, or fruit jar, when bees are not actively feeding, but keeping the feeder in place by simply inserting the cap plug.
[0066] Additionally, the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder as illustrated in FIG. 5 incorporates a screw hole on both the left side 14 and right side 6 of the feeder. These screw holes (6, 14) allow the beekeeper to securely attach the feeder outer section 16 as illustrated in FIG. 6 directly to the honey bee box by inserting screws through the holes from top to bottom, nd fastening the screws into the landing board of the bee box. By attaching the entrance bee feeder to the bee box, the beekeeper is able to use not only one quart fruit jars as sugar syrup reservoirs, but also larger feed reservoirs, including half-gallon and one gallon fruit jars. The ability to attach this invention to the bee box using hardware makes it possible to feed viscous feed and nutritional supplements to honey bee colonies throughout the year in temperate climates.
[0067] In this patent application, the terms “feeding reservoir” and “fruit jar” are intended to describe any container that may hold liquid, viscous, solid, semi-solid, or non-liquid feed for honey bees. The “feed,” “syrup,” and “sugar syrup” terms used in this application may include sugar syrup, which is a mixture of sugar and water in various ratios; sugar syrup plus the addition of any other nutrients or ingredients; or, other liquids, syrups, solid, or semi-solid substances which may be made available to honeybees to eat or consume or ingest, which may add nutritional benefits to the health or growth of the honeybees or to the quality of honey, wax, propolis, pollen, or royal jelly.
[0068] FIG. 20 is a top view of the feeder that depicts the inner face 23 of the feeder, the right side of the feeder 24, the outer, convex side of the feeder 25, plus the left side 26 of the feeder.
[0069] FIG. 21 depicts “jar space,” 28 which refers to the space between the most forward point of the feeding cavity 29 and the inner face of the outside section of the feeder 27, which slides against the outside of the bee box when the feeder is installed. Conventional entrance feeders in the marketplace have a shorter jar space than the invention, so jars larger than one quart will not fit. The preferred embodiment of the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder has greater jar space than conventional entrance feeders; therefore, feeding reservoirs larger than one quart will not come into contact with the hive box when installed.
[0070] One preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 6 which illustrates the “inner section” 15 and the “outer section” 16. These two “sections” are manufactured as one solid component, but they are referred to as two different sections because the outer section 16 is designed to be placed physically outside the bee box, and the inner face of the outer section 30 depicted in FIG. 5, touches the outer face of the bee box when installed; and, the inner section 15 shown in FIG. 6 slides inside the entrance of the honey bee box so it is physically placed inside the bee box when installed.
[0071] This present invention is intended to include all methods of permanently or semi-permanently securing honey bee feeders to bee boxes, including the use of any, hardware, tool, or mechanism that could be inserted or pressed into any cavities or holes or attached to a honey bee box or the feeder. In other words, all methods of attaching a bee feeder to a honeybee box, or house, are intended as additional embodiments of this invention.
[0072] In one embodiment it is intended that a feeding reservoir such as an inverted fruit jar with cap and lid will fill the top of the feeding cavity. When the feeding reservoir or fruit jar is removed, the cap plug may be inserted into the cavity to prevent precipitation, mice, insects, or other potentially detrimental objects or organisms from entering the feeding cavity, and then gaining access to the bee box through the feeding tube.
[0073] FIG. 24 shows a section view of the invention. When the feeder is installed the inner face of the feeder 41 touches the exterior face of the bee box. The bees enter the feeder at the opening of the inner section 45, which is situated inside the bee box entrance. The honey bees travel through the feeding tube 10, which empties into the feeding cavity 11 where they consume sugar syrup droplets. The inverted jar, cap, and lid are placed on top of the four reservoir posts 35, 36, 37, 38 as shown in FIG. 23. Various embodiments of the invention may include a feeding cavity 9 as depicted in FIG. 2 and cap plug as depicted in the drawings at FIG. 14 that are in shapes other than cylinders.
[0074] The preferred embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 8 has a left wing 17 and a right wing 18 with cylindrical holes running vertically and completely through said wings from top to bottom as shown in FIG. 3, through which screws can pass where the screws will vertically exit the feeder on the bottom left side 31 and bottom right side 32 of the feeder as illustrated in FIG. 3.
[0075] FIG. 2 shows the top surface 12 of the preferred embodiment, and FIG. 12 shows the bottom surface. FIG. 2 illustrates the cylindrical feeding cavity 9, which extends downward from the top surface, but not passing completely through the bottom surface.
[0076] The preferred embodiment as depicted in FIG. 2 shows the distal end of a left feeding tube 4 and the distal end of a right feeding tube 33. Other embodiments may have only one or more than two feeding tubes that extend horizontally through the entire length of the inner section, and intersect with the forward most point of the feeding cavity 34 as shown in FIG. 22; thus, allowing honey bees access to the feeding cavity 11 as illustrated in FIG. 24 by entering the distal end of the feeding tube 56, and traveling horizontally through the feeding tube 10, which empties into the feeding cavity 11.
[0077] This preferred embodiment includes a solid right side 7 as shown in FIG. 2; a solid left side 39, as shown in FIG. 4; and, a convex outer wall on the distal face of the outer section as shown in FIG. 11. This convex outer wall is not limited to its shape as shown in the drawings, as the convex shape as shown is for appearance only. Other embodiments may include alternate physical depictions in place of the outer face as shown.
[0078] The feeding tubes (46, 47) are oval shaped in the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 10. However, alternative embodiments may include feeding tubes of different shapes and quantities.
[0079] FIG. 7 shows a side view of the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder with cap plug attached. FIG. 9 is a top view of the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder with the cap plug removed. FIG. 7 also illustrates that the top edge of the distal end of the feeding tube 40 is tapered slightly downward to facilitate more easily pushing the inner section of the invention into the entrance of the beehive box during installation.
[0080] The preferred embodiment of the cap plug has a cylindrical bottom section 22 as depicted in FIG. 15 so that, when inserted into the open feeding cavity of the feeder, it fits flush against the inside wall 42 of the feeding cavity as depicted in FIG. 2. The top section of the cap plug 21 as shown in FIG. 15 is called the “lip,” and the lip extends around the circumference of the cap plug. The lower part of the cap plug 22 has a smaller diameter than the lip 21. FIG. 16 shows a bottom view of the cap plug.
[0081] The lip provides a flat face that has a larger diameter of the feeding cylinder. Consequently, when the cap plug is inserted into the top of the feeding cylinder, the bottom face of the cap plug lip rests upon the top face of the feeder 44 as shown in FIG. 4.
[0082] One embodiment of the cap plug as shown in FIG. 14 includes attachment holes 20 protruding through the top of the lip of the cap plug for the purpose of inserting screws through the top and out the bottom of the lip. The cap plug as illustrated in the preferred embodiment has four attachment holes. Reference number 20 in FIG. 14 identifies one of the four attachment holes; the other three identical attachment holes are spaced evenly around the cap plug, and can be seen in FIG. 14. The screws attach into the top of the feeder, thereby securely affixing the plug to the feeder. Four screw holes are depicted in FIG. 17, which is a top view of the cap plug.
[0083] FIG. 18 is a top view of another embodiment of the cap plug that does not include attachment holes.
[0084] Honey bees may deposit propolis or honey inside the cap plug which could cause the cap plug to become stuck inside the feeder. Perspective view FIG. 13 shows pry slots 19 incorporated into one embodiment, and which are located at varying spacing around the lower part of the cap plug lip. FIG. 19. is a bottom view of the cap plug with an embodiment without screw holes that shows the bottom view of the pry slots 43. Reference number 43 shows one of the four pry slots in this embodiment; three additional pry slots are shown in FIG. 19, which are identical to reference number 43, and spaced evenly round the cap plug. A tool such as a flathead screwdriver can be placed inside the pry slots and levered to loosen the cap plug from the top of the feeder.
[0085] To install the cap plug into the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder the user must position the cap plug directly above the feeder, and then lower the bottom of the cap plug into the open feeding cavity; and, then press the cap plug downward so the bottom of the cap plug lip lies flat against the top face of the feeder.
[0086] Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments which are illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings.
[0087] Other possible embodiments intended to be protected by this application could include parts of a honey bee feeder that are not physically situated both inside and outside the bee box, or house, as is depicted in the accompanying drawings, but may be placed entirely inside the honey bee box entrance; completely outside the honey bee box entrance; in the vicinity of the bee box entrance; and, not only attached to the bee box, or house, but also placed onto or attached to another device and placed near the honey bee box.
[0088] Other embodiments may allow the Attachable Entrance Bee Feeder to be attached to the bee box by other methods and other kinds of hardware than screws, including adhesive and chemical products, brackets, nails, bolts, other hardware and means. The concept of fastening the bee feeder to the bee box, or house, is a unique design feature that other entrance bee feeders in the marketplace and prior art do not possess; the concept of attaching the feeder to the bee box is an integral and necessary improvement of the invention over prior art.
[0089] The embodiments described in this application and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are given by way of illustration only. It is not intended that the invention be limited in its scope to the details of construction and arrangement of components set forth in these descriptions or illustrated in the drawings. Also, in describing the preferred embodiments, specific terminology is resorted to for the sake of clarity. It is to be understood that each specific term herein includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
[0090] The foregoing descriptions and drawings should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. The invention may be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes and is not limited by the dimensions and scales of the preferred embodiments, Numerous applications of the present invention will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is not desired to limit the invention to the specific examples disclosed or the exact construction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention,
