Patent GB-362369-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or connected with bee-hives
IPC: A01K47/00
Filed: 1930-05-29
Abstract: 362,369. Beehives. SMITH, O., 65, Pinner Hill Road, Pinner, Middlesex. May 29, 1930, No. 16623. [Class 5 (ii).] In a metal beehive comprising a plurality of removable sections, one side of one or all of the said sections between the base and roof of the hive is adapted to be opened by movable doors so arranged as to enable the honey frames to be moved in and out of the hive horizontally in an endwise direction, and when in the hive to be moved laterally, without disturbing the sections. The doors are preferably slidable. The base 1 supported on legs 2 having liquid d containers 10 in the form of troughs or gutters to prevent the access of insects to the hive, comprises a frame having an inclined portion 5 and stepped portions 3; 4, correspondingly stepped portions being formed at the top and bottom of each of the sections, forming airtight joints. An inner body 6, fitting within an opening in the member 1, is carried on a plate 7 held in place by catches 12 operated by hand or by a lever 14, which catches when released allow the member 6 to fall on to the floor 8 from which it is removable by means of a handle 15. The roof, Fig. 7, comprises a hollow metal frame having an air cavity 20, the upper part being of insulating material and comprising holes 23 controlled by valve 24. The walls of the brood chamber and super are ventilated as described in Specification 362,387, the inner member of each wall being of insulating material. The openings in the back walls of these sections, Figs. 2 and 3, are closed by tubular sliding doors 26, the ends of which when closed are covered by sliding doors 32. A tongue on the bottom of the door 26 sliding in a slit in the plate 50 renders the upper super weatherproof. The outer portion of the hollow back wall of the super is cut away at its base, Fig. 3, and filled by the device shown in Fig. 13, the flanges on which slide in grooves 53x, and which may be in two parts. The space above the door 26 may be filled by the device shown in Fig. 13x or may be covered only by the roof section. The honey frames are formed with metal wing bars which slide in suspension bars 42, Fig. 11, carried by boxes 44 having rollers 45 mounted therein and which run on ledges 46 provided below the top plates of the inner step 3, Fig. 3. Near one end of the hive and at the front thereof, a portion of the ledge 46 is cut away to enable the frame suspension members to be introduced; at this end a dummy frame is provided. The frames may be of wood or metal and are provided with a loop to assist in withdrawal. For feeding, the suspension beams are removed and a fitting inserted comprising a rotatable perforated disc over which a food cylinder may be placed, and perforated slides for ventilation purposes. Glass tubes 37 controlled by dampers serve as entrances for the bees and as ventilators. A hinged landing-board of insulating material is provided. Excluder partitions and solid partitions comprising one-way traps may be inserted at the base of the super. The insulating material used in each case may be that known under the registered Trade Mark " Tentest." The Provisional Specification states also that the hive may be constructed of zinc, that the doors are held in position by plates or guides of the same shape as the chambers, that the frame suspending members may be in the form of saddles, that the landing-board may be bound with metal, and that all ventilation holes may have downwardly inclined guards.