Improvements in Beehives.
Year: 1892

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Beehives.
We, JOHN CONSER and JOHN HAUSAM, of Sedalia, in the County of Pettis, and
State of Missouri, United States of America, Gentlemen, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in beehives.
The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of hives and to
effect an arrangement whereby hives may be continually supplied with workers, so
as to produce a maximum amount of honey.
The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement
of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and
pointed out in the claims hereto appended.
In the drawings,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing hives arranged in accordance with this
invention.
Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line x-x of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a similar view taken at right angles to Fig. 2, on line y-y of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the removable partitions.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the bee-escape.
Fig. 6 is a reverse plan view of the same.
Fig. 7 a sectional view of the bee-escape.
Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the recessed spacing bar.
Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of the drawing.
1 designates hives arranged on opposite sides of and connected with a hatching-
box 2, which is divided by removable partitions 3, into three compartments, each
communicating with one of the hives 1. The hives 1 are each provided at one end
with an alighting-board 4, and a bee entrance or opening 5, and contains a series of
brood frames 7 arranged beneath a box or tray 8, forming an upper compartment
and adapted to contain a series of honey-sections 9, for the surplus honey. The
d-frames are supported by sheet metal strips 10, secured on the inner faces
of opposite end walls of the hive near the upper edges thereof, and the said
frames are spaced at their bottoms by a strip 11, arranged on the bottom of the
hive and provided with a series of recesses 12, to receive the brood-frames. The
end walls of the hive are recessed or rabbeted at their upper edges to receive
the projecting ends of the top bar 13 of a brood frame.
The tray or box 8, which contains the honey-sections is removable and the
honey-sections may, if found necessary be arranged in tiers, and when it is desirable
to remove the honey-sections which are supported by transverse metal strips 14,
secured to the lower ones of the top and bottom section spacing bars 15, the
tray or box may be inverted and the whole interior may then be readily pushed
out of the box or rim.
The hatching-box is connected with the hives by excluding blocks and tubes
constituting queen-excluders 16. and is supplied from time to time with brood
frames from the hives, and after the bees are hatched they enter the hives through
the queen-restricting blocks or excluders and the brood-frames in the hatching-
box are exchanged for others in the hives. By this arrangement the hives
are continually supplied with workers and a maximum amount of honey is
produced.
The queen-excluder consists of two blocks 17 secured together and having their
inner opposed faces provided with recesses 18, a perforated plate 19, secured
between the blocks and arranged opposite the recesses 18, and having its openings
of a size to permit the passage of a worker, but small enough to prevent the
:
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page_text: passage of a queen bee, and tubular conductors 20, extending from the blocks
and having their inner-ends secured in openings of the same and their outer ends
arranged in opening 21, of a hatching-box, and opening 22 of the 'hive, whereby
communication is established between the two.
The hives and the hatching-box are each provided with a cover 23, and fabric 24
is interposed between the cover and the brood-frames, or honey-sections, as the
case may be.
The division-boards or partitions 3, which are removable, are provided at their
upper and lower edges with horizontal flanges 25, and are braced by cleats 26 and are
provided at their ends with flexible strips 27 of rubber or similar material, arranged
in kerfs. These partitions 3 may be arranged to form dead air spaces at the side
of a hive as shown, to make the hives warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
The rubber strips make a tight joint and enable the partitions to be arranged at
any desired point; but the partitions 3 of the hives are braced to some extent by
the strips or bars 11, which are provided with transverse end pieces 28 arranged to
engage the partitions and the farther sides of the hives.
When the trays or boxes 8, are removed from the hives, the escapes 30 are.
employed, and each consists of a rectangular board having a central opening 31 and
has secured to it upper and lower plates 32 and 33, arranged above and below the
opening 31, which is circular and is provided on its lower face with a series of
recesses 34 having inclined upper walls.
Interposed between the upper and lower plates 32 and 33, are angle-pieces 35,
secured at their apexes to the lower plate and disposed in the form of a five-pointed
star, and forming at their ends contracted bee-openings arranged opposite the
recesses to permit the passage of the workers to the brood-chamber, but not allowing
them to return. The upper plate 32 is slightly elevated above the board and is
provided with a central opening 36 and radially disposed openings 37.
It will be seen that the arrangement of hives is simple and effective; that the
hives are continually supplied with workers, so as to produce a maximum amount
of honey, and that the queen bees are excluded from the hatching-box.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The combination of a hatching-box provided with compartments, adapted for
the reception of brood frames, hives arranged adjacent to the hatching-box and
having brood-frames adapted to be placed into the compartments of the hatching-
box, and conductors connecting the hives with the compartments of the hatching-box,
and provided with queen-excluders, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. The combination of a hatching-box provided with an opening, a hive arranged
adjacent to the hatching-box and provided with an opening and a queen-excluder
connecting the box and the hive and composed of two blocks secured together and
having their opposed faces provided with recesses, a perforated plate interposed
between the blocks and tubular conductors extending from outer faces of the block
and adapted to fit in the openings of the hatching-box, and the hive, substantially
as described.
3. A bee-escape comprising a board provided with a central opening and having
recesses arranged at the sides of the opening, an upper plate secured to the board,
and arranged over the central opening and provided with openings, a lower plate
secured to the board, and arranged below the central opening, and the series of
angle-pieces interposed between the plates and arranged in the form of a star, and
forming contracted bee-openings, substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 24th day of November 1892.