Partition for a hive

Abstract

Radiating partition for a beehive, said beehive having a floor, a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall and a removable roof cover, the radiating partition having a rigid one-piece panel which is made of at least one insulating material, and at least one of its two faces is at least partly covered with at least one layer of a radiating material, the radiating partition being configured to be inserted between the front wall and the rear wall of the beehive in order to insulate the interior of the beehive.

Claims

1. A radiating partition for a beehive, said beehive comprising a floor, a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall and a removable roof cover, said radiating partition comprising a one-piece rigid panel made of at least one insulating material of which at least one of the two sides is partially covered with at least one layer of a radiating material, the radiating partition being configured to be inserted between the front wall and the rear wall of the beehive in order to insulate the interior of the beehive; and wherein the radiating partition delimits at least one through-opening wherein a grid is mounted adapted to prevent the queen of the beehive from crossing the opening while allowing the worker bees to pass through.

2. The radiating partition according to claim 1, wherein the layer of radiating material has a thermal emissivity of less than 0.2.

3. The radiating partition according to claim 2, wherein the layer of radiating material has a thermal emissivity of less than 0.1.

4. The radiating partition according to claim 1, wherein the panel is made of solid wood, plywood, oriented strand board or slatted wood.

5. The radiating partition according to claim 1, comprising at least one insertion member suitable for receiving a tool for extracting the radiating partition to extract said radiating partition from the beehive.

6. The radiating partition according to claim 5, the panel being delimited by an upper edge, a lower edge, two side edges and two faces, each of the faces connecting the upper edge, the lower edge and the side edges, the insertion member is in the form of a groove formed at the upper portion of at least one of the two faces of the radiating partition.

7. The radiating partition according to claim 1, wherein the radiating partition is full.

8. The radiating partition according to claim 1, comprising a lower edge and wherein the through-opening is arranged close to the lower edge.

9. The radiating partition according to claim 1, known as the heating radiating partition, comprising at least one integrated heating element.

10. The heating radiating partition according to claim 9, wherein the at least one integrated heating element is of the resistance type.

11. The heating radiating partition according to claim 10, comprising four resistances extending longitudinally mounted on one of the faces of the heating radiating partition, two of which are each arranged by extending along a side edge of the panel, one is arranged by extending along the lower edge of the panel and one is arranged in the upper portion of the panel by extending transversely.

12. A beehive comprising a floor, a front wall, two side walls, a rear wall, a removable roof cover, at least one body frame, each body frame being in the form of a removable frame of the beehive, said frame comprising four edges connected by metal wires between which a wax foundation sheet is inserted allowing honey to be produced by the bees, said beehive being characterized in that it further comprises at least one radiating partition comprising a one-piece rigid panel made of at least one insulating material of which at least one of the two sides is partially covered with at least one layer of a radiating material, and wherein the radiating partition being configured to be inserted between the front wall and the rear wall of the beehive in order to insulate the interior of the beehive; and wherein the radiating partition delimits at least one through-opening wherein a grid is mounted adapted to prevent the queen of the beehive from crossing the opening while allowing the worker bees to pass through.

13. The beehive according to claim 12, comprising at least one heating radiating partition comprising at least one integrated heating element.

14. The beehive according to claim 13, further comprising at least one temperature measurement probe placed inside the beehive and a control module mounted inside or outside the beehive by being electrically connected to at least one heating element of the heating radiating partition and configured to, when said control module is electrically powered, receive temperature measurements from at least one probe and regulate the temperature inside the beehive between a floor temperature and a ceiling temperature.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will further appear upon reading the description that follows. This is purely illustrative and should be read in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a hive;

(3) FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a body frame for a hive;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a partial perspective view of the hive of FIG. 1 showing the floor, front, rear and left side walls of the hive body, wherein an assembly of body frames is mounted;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a first embodiment of a radiating partition according to the invention, comprising a plurality of insertion members;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the radiating partition of FIG. 4;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of a radiating partition comprising a plurality of through-openings according to the invention;

(8) FIG. 7 shows the radiating partition of FIG. 6, a grid being further mounted in each through-opening;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of a radiating partition according to the invention, comprising a plurality of insertion members and a plurality of through-openings each comprising a grid;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the floor and a hive body, comprising an assembly of body frames and two radiating partitions according to the invention.

(11) FIG. 10 shows in perspective and exploded view another embodiment of a hive according to the invention.

(12) FIG. 11 shows another perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.

(13) FIG. 12 shows a radiating partition known as the heating radiating partition of the hive in FIGS. 10 and 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(14) The invention relates in particular to a radiating partition for a hive, as well as a hive comprising such a radiating partition. The hive according to the invention is a modern hive, in particular of the modular vertical hive or horizontal bar hive type. In particular, the hive according to the invention may be a Dadant hive, a Langstroth hive, a De Layens hive, a Voirnot hive, a Warr hive or a Zander hive or any suitable hive wherein the radiating partition may be mounted according to the invention.

(15) As used herein, the terms upper, lower, front, rear, right and left are defined with respect to a front view of the hive as defined in FIG. 1, said front face comprising an opening for passage of the bees inwards or outwards from the hive. This definition, used here for explanatory purposes, cannot limit the scope of the present invention insofar as the passage opening of the bees could be located elsewhere, for example on a lateral face of the hive.

(16) A non-limiting example of hive 1 according to the invention was shown in FIG. 1.

(17) Hive 1

(18) In this example, the hive 1 is of the Dadant hive type and comprises, in a simplified manner and for the purposes of clarity, a body 10 (commonly called the hive body), a removable roof cover 20, a floor 30, a passage opening 40 of the bees, a plurality of body frames 50 and at least one radiating partition 60, in a non-limiting manner.

(19) Body 10

(20) The hive body 10 is of parallelepiped shape and comprises four vertically extending walls: a front wall 11A, a rear wall 11B (FIG. 3), opposite the front wall 11A, a left side wall 11C and a right side wall 11D. The side walls 11C and 11D each make it possible to connect the front wall 11A to the rear wall 11B. The front wall 11A comprises a lower edge. The body 10 is able to receive removable body frames 50, an example of which is shown in FIG. 2, on which the bees will build their combs, and one or more removable radiating partitions 60. The body frames 50 and the radiating partitions 60 are arranged vertically between the left side wall 11C and the right side wall 11D. In addition, the front wall 11A and the rear wall 11B each comprise an inner side, facing towards the inside of the hive 1.

(21) In reference to FIG. 3, the hive 1 comprises, on the inner face of the front wall 11A and the rear wall 11B, recesses for receiving the lateral edges of the body frames 50 and radiating partitions 50 in order to lock them in the hive body 10.

(22) Roof Cover 20

(23) Again in reference to FIG. 1, the roof cover 20 is also of parallelepiped shape and comprises four substantially vertical walls 21 and an upper plate 22 connecting said walls 21 so as to cap the walls 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D of the body 10 of the beehive, as shown in FIG. 1.

(24) Floor 30

(25) The floor 30 has the shape of a plate and comprises a rectangular bottom plate 31 to which are attached two lateral edges 32 extending on either side along the entire length of the bottom plate 31. The length of the floor 30 is greater than the length of the side walls 11C, 11D of the body 10 of the hive 1 so as to form a so-called flight surface 33 allowing for the taking off and landing of the bees.

(26) The walls 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D of the body 10 rest on the side edges 32 of the floor 30 so as to form the passage opening 40 which extends between the bottom plate 31 and the side edges 32 of the floor 30 on the one hand and the lower edge of the front wall 11A of the body 10 on the other hand. The passage opening 40 allows the bees to pass inside or outside the hive 1.

(27) Alternatively, at least one of the walls 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D of the body 10 could comprise the passage opening 40 and a flight surface 33 extending perpendicularly from said wall 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D under said passage opening 40. Furthermore, noted that, in another embodiment, hive 1 according to the invention could comprise more than one passage opening 40 of the bees.

(28) Body Frame 50

(29) In reference to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a body frame 50 is shown. Each body frame 50 is configured to be placed vertically in the hive 1 and comprises four thin edges, for example made of wood, including a lower edge 51, an upper edge 52, parallel to the lower edge 51, and two side edges 53, parallel to each other and connecting the lower edge 51 and the upper edge 52.

(30) The thickness of each edge 51, 52, 53 designates the dimension of the edges along an axis normal to the plane wherein each body frame 50 extends. The length L.sub.50 of a body frame 50 designates the distance separating the side edges 53. The height H.sub.50 of a body frame 50 designates the distance separating the lower edge 51 and the upper edge 52.

(31) The four edges 51, 52, 53 are connected by metal wires between which is inserted a wax foundation sheet (not visible), so that the bees build honeycombs there to then produce honey in the honeycombs. Furthermore, the queen bee may also lay bee eggs in certain alveoli in order to create new bees. Thus, the body frames 50 may also have a reproduction function in addition to a honey production function. Furthermore, the body frames 50 may also have a pollen storage function, in order to feed the bee larvae.

(32) In reference to FIG. 3, a three-dimensional view of the floor 30, the front wall 11A, the rear wall 11B and the left side wall 11C of the body 10 of the hive 1 are shown as well as an assembly of five body frames 50-1, 50-2, 50-3, 50-4, 50-5 mounted in the hive 1. The body frames 50-1, 50-2, 50-3, 50-4, 50-5 are arranged vertically and parallel to each other and to the left side wall 11C and the right side wall 11D (not shown in FIG. 3) inside the hive 1.

(33) The length of the upper edge 52 is greater than the length L.sub.50, so that a portion of the upper edge 52 protrudes with respect to each side edge 53 to lock the body frame in the recesses of the inner faces of the front wall 11A and the rear wall 10B of the hive body 10.

(34) Radiating Partition 60

(35) Each radiating partition 60 is used to insulate the hive 1 from the cold by allowing a reduction in heat exchanges and better conservation of heat inside the hive 1.

(36) FIGS. 4 to 8 show different embodiments of the radiating partition 60 according to the invention.

(37) The radiating partition 60 has a substantially rectangular shape and is configured to be inserted between the front wall 11A and the rear wall 11B of a body 10 of beehive 1 in order to insulate the interior of said hive 1. When hive 1 comprises several radiating partitions 60, these radiating partitions 60 are preferably identical.

(38) The radiating partition 60 comprises a rigid one-piece panel 61 made of at least one insulating material and of which at least one of the two faces is partially covered with at least one layer made of a so-called radiating material, i.e. capable of reflecting and radiating a substantial portion, at least 50%, of the thermal energy, in order to increase the efficiency of the thermal insulation by more effectively retaining the heat inside the hive 1.

(39) The radiating partition 60 is delimited by an upper edge 62 extending horizontally, a lower edge 64, also extending horizontally parallel to the upper edge 62, two side edges 63 parallel to each other and connecting the upper edge 62 to the lower edge 64, and thus has two opposite faces 65.

(40) The radiating partition 60 has substantially the same length and width dimensions as those of the body frames 50. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the length L.sub.60 of each radiating partition 60 separating the side edges 63 is identical to the length L.sub.50 of the body frames 50. The height H.sub.60 of each radiating partition 60 separating the upper edge 62 and the lower edge 64 is equal to the height H.sub.50 of the body frames 50.

(41) Preferably, the radiating partition 60 is shaped so that the bees may move on either side of said radiating partition 60 passing on the sides or under the radiating partition 60 but so that the queen, which is larger than the bees, cannot move under or on the sides of the radiating partition 60.

(42) The thickness of each radiating partition 60 may be less than or equal to the thickness of the body frames 50. In particular, the thickness of each radiating partition 60 may be equal to half that of the body frames 50. In this case, for a hive 1 suitable for receiving a given number of body frames 50, it is only necessary to remove a single body frame 50 to replace it with two radiating partitions 60.

(43) For each panel 61, the length of the upper edge 62 is greater than the length L.sub.60 so that a portion of the upper edge 62 protrudes from each side edge 63 to hold each radiating partition 60 vertically in the same manner as the body frames 50. Thus, the radiating partitions 60 are mounted in the hive 1 in the same way as the body frames 50.

(44) For example, panel 61 may be made of solid wood, such as balsa or any other solid wood with high insulation capacity. Alternatively, the panel 61 may be made of plywood, for example CTB-X, CTB-H or any other suitable type of plywood. In particular, the core of the panel 61 may be made of a material of polyurethane or polystyrene type, in particular of extruded polystyrene (e.g. of Styrodur type), arranged between two layers of wood veneer, for example glued. Alternatively, the panel 61 may, for example, be an oriented strand board (OSB). Alternatively, for example, the panel 61 may be made of slatted wood.

(45) In this example, the thermally radiating material layer is in the form of a sheet 68, attached to one face 65 or both faces 65 of the panel 61. Alternatively, the layer could be a coat of paint. Each sheet 68 is substantially equal in size to those of the faces 65 of the panel 61, preferably covering at least 80% of the surface of each face 65 of the panel 61. Preferably, a sheet 68 is attached on each face 65 of the panel 61. For example, each radiating sheet 68 may be made of aluminum or any other suitable material, preferably with a thermal emissivity of less than or equal to 0.20, or even 0.10. For example, unoxidized or polished aluminum with good radiation characteristics (thermal emissivity of about 0.09 for non-oxidized aluminum and of about 0.05 for polished aluminum), as well as polished (0.03) or oxidized zinc (0.10), polished copper (0.03) or polished brass (0.03 to 0.05), stainless steel (0.20), polished steel (0.20) or non-oxidized iron (0.20).

(46) Insertion Member

(47) Preferably, the radiating partition 60 comprises at least one insertion member suitable for receiving a tool for extracting the radiating partition. In particular, each insertion member is placed near the upper edge 62 of said radiating partition 60. In this way, when a radiating partition 60 is mounted in a hive 1, the beekeeper who wishes to remove the radiating partition 60 using an extraction tool may easily access the insertion member to insert the extraction tool and remove the radiating partition 60 from the hive.

(48) In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the insertion member is placed on at least one face 65 of the radiating partition 60. Preferably, the insertion member is a recess, in this example having the form of a groove 66 formed at the upper portion at least one of the faces 65 of the radiating partition 60, for example less than 2 centimeters from the upper edge 62. The groove 66 extends horizontally on the face 65 of the radiating partition 60 in the position of use. The groove 66 is formed so that an extraction tool, such as a frame lifter, may be easily inserted into said groove 66 in order to extract the radiating partition 60 from the hive 1, in particular by leverage on an adjacent frame. Preferably, several grooves 66 are formed in each face 65 of the radiating partition 60. Thus, in the example shown, each face 65 has a plurality of coaxial grooves 66.

(49) According to another embodiment, not shown in the figures, the insertion member is placed on the upper edge 62. In this case, the insertion member may be in the form of a handle, hook, loop or the like, wherein the extraction tool may be inserted.

(50) Thus, in reference to FIG. 5, a frame lifter 80 cooperates with the insertion member, i.e. the frame lifter 80 is partially inserted into the groove 66 by the beekeeper to extract the radiating partition 60 from the hive 1 by leverage, without however damaging the face 65 of the radiating partition 60 with the frame lifter 80.

(51) Grid 70

(52) In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, each radiating partition 60 comprises two through-openings 67 formed near the bottom edge 64. Alternatively, the radiating partition 60 could comprise a single through-opening 67 or more than two through-openings 67. The total surface on which the single through-opening 67 or the set of through-openings 67 extends is preferably less than 20% of the surface of the face 65 of the radiating partition 60. FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the radiating partition 60 according to the invention. FIG. 8 shows a third embodiment of the radiating partition 60 according to the invention.

(53) In reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the radiating partition 60 comprises a grid 70 mounted in each through-opening 67 of the panel 61. The grid 70 comprises a set of vertical and horizontal bars spaced so that the worker bees may pass through the grid 70 but the queen bee, the size of which is more substantial than the other bees, cannot pass through the grid 70. In this way, only the bees and not the queen may move easily from one side to the other of each radiating partition 60, in particular in order to produce honey over the entire surface of the wax foundation of the first frame 50-1 and the last frame 50-5 (FIGS. 3 and 9) and not only on the edges. In particular, only the bees and not the queen may access the first frame 50-1 and the last frame 50-5. In other words, the queen cannot lay bee eggs in the alveoli of the first frame 50-1 and the last frame 50-5. The first production frame 50-1 and the last production frame 50-5 therefore only have the function of producing honey, over their entire surface thanks to the grid(s) 70. The grids 70 are not visible in FIG. 6 for reasons of clarity, in order to clearly view the through-openings 67.

(54) In reference to FIG. 8, a third embodiment of the radiating partition 60 is shown wherein the panel 61 comprises two through-openings 67, wherein a grid 70 is mounted in each one of them, and three grooves 66.

(55) In the example shown in reference to FIG. 9, the hive 1 comprises a first radiating partition 60-1 and a second radiating partition 60-2. The first radiating partition 60-1 is placed in the hive 1 between a first body frame 50-1, adjacent to the left side wall 11C. The second radiating partition 60-2 is placed between a fourth body frame 50-4 and a fifth body frame 50-5, adjacent to the right side wall 11D.

(56) Thus, the bees are insulated from the cold between the first radiating partition 60-1 and the second radiating partition 60-2, in particular because the radiating material allows the heat to be stored in the center of the body 10 of the hive 1, in particular the heat produced by the bees being reflected by the radiating partitions 60-1, 60-2.

(57) FIGS. 10 and 11 show a specific embodiment of the hive 1 according to the invention.

(58) In this embodiment, the hive 1 comprises a control module 85 and two heating radiating partitions 60-C.

(59) The two heating radiating partitions 60-C are mounted in the same location as the first radiating partition 60-1 and the second radiating partition 60-2 of the preceding embodiment, i.e. at the second and penultimate position in the set of body frames 50.

(60) Each heating radiating partition 60-C comprises several heating elements. In the example of FIGS. 10 to 12, the heating elements are in the form of heating resistances R1, R2, R3, R4.

(61) In reference to FIG. 12, each heated radiating partition 60-C comprises in this non-limiting example four resistances R1, R2, R3, R4 extending longitudinally mounted on one of the faces of said heating radiating partition 60-C. Two resistances R1 and R2 are each arranged extending along the left side edge 63G and the right side edge 63D of the panel 61 respectively. A resistance R3 is arranged extending along the lower edge 64 of the panel 61 and an R4 is arranged in the upper portion of the panel extending transversely parallel to the upper edge 62 of the panel, under the three grooves 66.

(62) The resistances R1, R2, R3, R4 are mounted on the faces which are turned towards the center of the hive 1 in order to heat the body frames 50 which are placed between the two heating radiating partitions 60-C.

(63) The control module 90 may be internal or external to the hive 1. In particular, the control module 90 may be mounted in or on the hive 1 or placed outside the hive 1.

(64) The control module 90 is electrically powered by an internal or external power source 100.

(65) The control module 90 receives temperature measurements from temperature probes (not shown for clarity) placed inside the hive 1 and to electronically regulate the temperature inside the hive 1 between a floor temperature and a ceiling temperature (thermostat function) from the temperature measurements received from the probes.

(66) The control module 90 regulates the temperature inside the hive 1, for example via micro-interruptions and/or by controlling the operation of only a portion of the heating resistances R1, R2, R3, R4 of the partition(s) 60-C of the hive 1.

(67) The floor temperature may be selected so that the bees do not suffer from the cold, especially in winter. Preferably, the floor temperature is greater than or equal to 20 C., preferably 30 C., preferably still 40 C.

(68) Advantageously, the floor temperature may be chosen to kill the Varroa destructor, which is a species of parasitic mites of the adult bee, larvae and nymphs. For this purpose, the floor temperature should preferably be greater than or equal to 42 C.

(69) The ceiling temperature is chosen so as to avoid overheating the hive 1 which could kill the bee larvae, for example above an ambient temperature of 44 C. For this purpose, the ceiling temperature may be chosen so that the internal ambient temperature of hive 1 does not reach the overheating temperature, i.e. the ceiling temperature must be lower than the overheating temperature and chosen so that the heating inertia of the resistances R1, R2, R3, R4 (i.e. the heat they continue to produce when their electrical power is switched off) does not allow the overheating temperature to be reached. For example, the ceiling temperature may be 43 to ensure that the internal temperature does not reach 44 C. by inertia.

(70) For example, the treatment of varroa may be carried out for 2 to 3 hours to ensure it is destroyed.

(71) Preferably, the floor temperature and ceiling temperature may be set by a user. For example, this setting may be made directly in the control module 90 or remotely, for example via an app and a wireless communication link, e.g. Wifi, Bluetooth, 2G/3G/4G/5G, in order to transmit the setting data to the control module 90 for adjustment.

(72) The current is supplied by an electrical power source 100 capable of generating electrical current and providing voltage to the control module 90. This electrical power source 100 may be a battery embedded in hive 1, for example inside hive 1 or mounted on one of the walls of hive 1, or be external to hive 1, for example in the form of a diesel generator or external electrical generator. In the latter case, the external electrical power source 100 may be connected to the thermostat 90 via a cable 110 and connected to a connector (not shown) mounted on one of the walls of the hive 1 and electrically connected to the control module 90.

(73) The two heating radiating partitions 60-C are electrically connected to the control module 90 in order to receive the current generated by the electrical power source 100 when the measured temperature is below a predetermined floor temperature and thus power the resistances R1, R2, R3, R4 with current to heat the interior of the hive 1. Each resistance R1, R2, R3, R4 is connected to the control module 90 by a pair of internal cables 91.

(74) In this embodiment, the two heating radiating partitions 60-C generate heat inside the hive 1 by being electrically powering the resistances integrated on the faces of heating radiating partitions 60-C in order to heat the interior of the hive 1.

(75) The radiating partition 60 according to the invention therefore makes it simple, inexpensive, reliable and effective to insulate the hive 1 to protect the bees from the cold, particularly when it comprises one or more heating elements. Note that any variant different from the embodiment described above but having the same function of radiating partition with easy and fast extraction is considered by this document. In particular, the shape, dimensions and elements of the hive 1, hive 1 body 10, lid 20, floor 30, body frames 50 and radiating partitions 60 in no way limit the scope of the present invention.