A beehive colony monitoring device
By integrating components such as weighing sensors, temperature and humidity sensors, microphones, and slotted optocouplers into the beehive, the problems of insufficient ventilation regulation and monitoring in traditional beehives are solved, realizing intelligent and efficient bee colony management.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- JIANGXI WUDAO AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-30
AI Technical Summary
Traditional beehives lack ventilation adjustment mechanisms, have low flexibility, and are not equipped with monitoring devices, making it impossible to understand the environmental temperature and humidity and bee behavior in real time. Reliance on manual observation leads to inaccurate results.
A beehive and bee colony monitoring device was designed, equipped with a weighing sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, a microphone and a slotted optocoupler. The controller monitors the weight, temperature, humidity, bee sounds and entry and exit frequency inside the beehive in real time, and achieves intelligent management by combining with a signal transmission module.
It enables intelligent monitoring of the hive environment and bee colony status, improving breeding efficiency, reducing human intervention, and enhancing the accuracy of observation and the level of intelligence in bee colony management.
Smart Images
Figure CN224435470U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of agricultural breeding, specifically to a beehive and bee colony monitoring device. Background Technology
[0002] Beekeeping, also known as apiculture, is an agricultural activity with both economic and ecological benefits. It produces bee products such as honey, royal jelly, and propolis, and also increases crop yields through bee pollination. Traditional beekeeping mostly uses fixed beehives, which provide good insulation but make it impossible to monitor the internal condition of the bee colony. Therefore, modern beekeeping has improved beehives to allow for real-time monitoring of bee colony health, environmental parameters, and honey production, helping beekeepers improve management efficiency and reduce colony losses.
[0003] In beekeeping, the timing and method of hive ventilation are crucial to the health of the bee colony. Proper ventilation can regulate the temperature and humidity inside the hive, prevent stuffiness and dampness, and reduce the occurrence of diseases. However, excessive ventilation may also cause bees to consume too much energy to maintain the hive temperature. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the ventilation level of the hive can be flexibly adjusted according to the season or climate. However, most hives do not have ventilation adjustment mechanisms, resulting in low flexibility. Furthermore, most traditional hives do not have monitoring devices, making it impossible to know the environmental temperature and humidity inside the hive in a timely manner, measure changes in weight inside the hive, record bee sounds for analyzing bee behavior, count the number of bees, and the frequency of entering and leaving the hive entrance. The level of intelligence is low, and most still rely on manual observation, resulting in inaccurate observation results. Utility Model Content
[0004] To address the technical problems mentioned above, most beehives lack ventilation adjustment mechanisms, resulting in low flexibility. Furthermore, most traditional beehives lack monitoring devices, making it impossible to promptly understand the ambient temperature and humidity inside the beehive, measure weight changes within the beehive, record bee colony sounds for analyzing colony behavior, count bee numbers, and monitor the frequency of entering and exiting the hive entrance. Consequently, their level of intelligence is low, and most still rely on manual observation, leading to inaccurate results. Therefore, this utility model provides a beehive colony monitoring device.
[0005] A beehive colony monitoring device includes a support platform. A weighing sensor and a mounting post are fixedly installed on the top and bottom walls of the support platform, respectively. A beehive is fixedly installed on the top of the weighing sensor. A temperature and humidity sensor and a microphone are fixedly installed on the top and side walls of the beehive, respectively. Several hive entrances and ventilation holes are fixedly installed through the side and top walls of the beehive. A slotted optical coupler is fixedly installed inside each of the hive entrances. A baffle is movably installed on the ventilation holes. A controller is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the beehive.
[0006] More preferably, a bubble level is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the support platform to confirm whether the support platform is in a horizontal position. There are four load cells and four mounting columns, which are fixedly installed at the four corners of the support platform. The bottom of the mounting columns is also fixedly installed with a ground-inserting column, which can be inserted and fixed to the ground.
[0007] More preferably, the probe of the temperature and humidity sensor is located inside the beehive, its display screen is located outside the beehive, and the microphone and slotted optocoupler are both connected to the controller. The slotted optocoupler can be used to detect the frequency of bees entering and leaving the hive entrance.
[0008] More preferably, the four weighing sensors and the temperature and humidity sensors are all connected to the controller, and the controller is connected to the monitoring backend through the signal transmission module. The monitoring backend can monitor the colony status of several beehives.
[0009] More preferably, the top wall of the beehive is fixedly provided with several grooves, and the inner wall of each groove is fixedly provided with an elastic element. The top of the elastic element is fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the baffle. The bottom wall of the baffle is also fixedly provided with a number of plugs that are the same as the number of ventilation holes. The size of the plugs is adapted to the inner diameter of the ventilation holes. The top wall of the baffle is fixedly provided with a pull ring. Several support rods are fixedly provided on the top walls of the beehive on both sides of the baffle. Long and short rods are rotatably provided on the top walls of the support rods, which can be used to adjust the position of the baffle.
[0010] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: the temperature and humidity of the beehive's internal environment can be sensed by a temperature and humidity sensor, and then the decision can be made based on the temperature and humidity conditions to move the baffle up so that the ventilation holes and hive entrance can be ventilated and the ventilation can be adjusted. The microphone can be used to record the sound of the bee colony to determine whether there is any abnormal behavior of the bee colony. The slotted optocoupler can monitor the frequency of bee colony entering and leaving the hive entrance. The weighing sensor can monitor the weight of honey and bee colony in the beehive in real time. Using the signal transmission module, several beehives and bee colonies can be monitored in real time. The level of intelligence is high, which improves the efficiency of beekeeping compared with manual monitoring. Attached Figure Description
[0011] Figure 1 This is a front view schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model;
[0012] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the ventilation hole 8 in the open state of the present invention.
[0013] Figure 3 This is a top view of the structural baffle 10 of this utility model;
[0014] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of part A of the structure of this utility model;
[0015] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of part B of the structure of this utility model;
[0016] Figure 6 This is a side view of the nest entrance 7 of this utility model;
[0017] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of part C of the present utility model.
[0018] In the diagram: 1. Support platform; 2. Weighing sensor; 3. Mounting post; 4. Beehive; 5. Temperature and humidity sensor; 6. Microphone; 7. Hive entrance; 8. Ventilation hole; 9. Slotted optocoupler; 10. Baffle; 11. Controller; 12. Bubble level; 13. Grounding post; 14. Groove; 15. Elastic element; 16. Blocking post; 17. Pull ring; 18. Support rod; 19. Long and short rods. Detailed Implementation
[0019] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present invention, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
[0020] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this utility model are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate for the embodiments of the utility model described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.
[0021] In this invention, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "rear," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "middle," "vertical," "horizontal," "lateral," and "longitudinal" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are primarily for the purpose of better describing this invention and its embodiments, and are not intended to limit the indicated device, element, or component to having a specific orientation, or to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.
[0022] Furthermore, some of the aforementioned terms, besides indicating location or positional relationships, may also have other meanings. For example, the term "above" may, in certain circumstances, indicate a dependency or connection. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances. Additionally, the term "multiple" should mean two or more.
[0023] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in these embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other. The following will refer to the accompanying drawings. Figures 1-7 The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments.
[0024] A beehive colony monitoring device includes a support platform 1. Weighing sensors 2 and mounting posts 3 are fixedly installed on the top and bottom walls of the support platform 1, respectively. A bubble level 12 is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the support platform 1 to confirm whether the support platform 1 is in a horizontal position. There are four weighing sensors 2 and four mounting posts 3, which are fixedly installed at the four corners of the support platform 1. A ground insertion post 13 is also fixedly installed at the bottom of the mounting post 3, which can be inserted and fixed to the ground.
[0025] The ground-insertion post 13 is a common conical ground-insertion post in the prior art that can be easily inserted into the soil. The height of the four ground-insertion posts 13 inserted into the soil can be adjusted by the indication of the bubble level 12, so that the support platform 1 can be kept in a horizontal state, and the four weighing sensors 2 can be used to weigh the beehive 4 smoothly, so as to keep track of the weight of honey and bee colony at any time. The mounting post 3 is used to support the entire device, and the weighing sensor 2 is a sensor in the prior art that can detect weight.
[0026] A beehive 4 is fixedly mounted on the top of the weighing sensor 2. A temperature and humidity sensor 5 and a microphone 6 are fixedly installed on the top and side walls of the beehive 4, respectively. The probe of the temperature and humidity sensor 5 is located inside the beehive 4, while its display screen is located outside the beehive 4. The microphone 6 is located inside the beehive 4 and can collect and record the sounds of the bee colony to analyze whether there is any abnormal behavior. The probe of the temperature and humidity sensor 5 can monitor the temperature and humidity of the environment inside the beehive 4, and the display screen of the temperature and humidity sensor 5 can display the sensed temperature and humidity values. Adjustments can be made based on the detected values to determine whether ventilation needs to be increased or the ventilation opening 8 needs to be closed.
[0027] Several hive entrances 7 and ventilation holes 8 are fixedly installed through the side walls and top walls of the hive 4. Each hive entrance 7 has a slotted optical coupler 9 fixedly installed inside. The slotted optical coupler 9 can be used to detect the frequency of bees entering and leaving the hive entrance 7.
[0028] The slotted optocoupler 9 is an electronic component that achieves electrical isolation detection through optical signals. It consists of an infrared LED and a photodetector with a groove (groove structure) in the middle. When an object passes through the groove, it blocks the light path, triggering a signal change. When a bee passes through the groove, that is, when a bee passes through the hive entrance 7, the slotted optocoupler 9 can be used to detect and count the frequency of bee entry and exit, and to count the number of bees, etc.
[0029] A controller 11 is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the beehive 4. The microphone 6 and the slotted optocoupler 9 are all connected to the controller 11. Four weighing sensors 2 and temperature and humidity sensors 5 are all connected to the controller 11. The controller 11 is connected to the monitoring backend through a signal transmission module. The monitoring backend can monitor the status of bee colonies in several beehives 4.
[0030] The signal transmission module can transmit data via wired or wireless means, including WiFi and Bluetooth, to the monitoring backend. Staff can monitor the data from the backend to know the bee colonies and environmental conditions in several beehives.
[0031] The sound recorded by the microphone 6 can be stored inside the controller 11. The numerical information sensed by the slotted optocoupler 9, the four weighing sensors 2 and the temperature and humidity sensor 5 can all be transmitted and stored inside the controller 11. Then the controller 11 transmits the information to the monitoring backend through the signal transmission module to monitor the beehive colony in real time.
[0032] A baffle 10 is movably installed on the ventilation hole 8. Several grooves 14 are fixedly installed on the top wall of the beehive 4. Elastic elements 15 are fixedly installed on the inner wall of each groove 14. The top of each elastic element 15 is fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the baffle 10. The bottom wall of the baffle 10 is also fixedly installed with the same number of plugs 16 as the ventilation hole 8. The size of the plugs 16 is adapted to the inner diameter of the ventilation hole 8. A pull ring 17 is fixedly installed on the top wall of the baffle 10. Several support rods 18 are fixedly installed on the top walls of the beehive 4 on both sides of the baffle 10. Long and short rods 19 are rotatably installed on the top walls of the support rods 18, which can be used to adjust the position of the baffle 10.
[0033] When ventilation needs to be increased in beehive 4, pull the pull ring 17 to move the baffle 10 upward, then rotate the long and short rod 19 so that the longer end rotates to the end close to the baffle 10. Release the pull ring 17, and the baffle 10 moves downward under the rebound of the elastic element 15, pressing down on the top wall of the baffle 10. At this time, the plug 16 separates from the ventilation hole 8, and the ventilation hole 8 can be ventilated.
[0034] Conversely, when it is necessary to block the ventilation hole 8, pull the pull ring 17 to move the baffle 10 upward, then rotate the long and short rod 19 so that the shorter end rotates to the end closer to the baffle 10. Release the pull ring 17, and the baffle 10 moves downward under the rebound action of the elastic element 15, passes through the long and short rod 19, and presses down on the top wall of the beehive 4. At this time, the blocking column 16 moves down into the ventilation hole 8, which can block the ventilation.
[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model. Various modifications and variations can be made to this utility model by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.
Claims
1. A beehive colony monitoring device, comprising a support platform (1), wherein a weighing sensor (2) and a mounting column (3) are respectively fixedly installed on the top and bottom walls of the support platform (1), characterized in that: A beehive (4) is fixedly installed on the top of the weighing sensor (2). A temperature and humidity sensor (5) and a microphone (6) are fixedly installed on the top and side walls of the beehive (4). Several hive entrances (7) and ventilation holes (8) are fixedly installed through the side and top walls of the beehive (4). A slotted optocoupler (9) is fixedly installed inside each of the hive entrances (7). A baffle (10) is movably installed on the ventilation hole (8). A controller (11) is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the beehive (4).
2. The beehive colony monitoring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bubble level (12) is fixedly installed on the outer wall of the support platform (1) to confirm whether the support platform (1) is in a horizontal position. There are four weighing sensors (2) and four mounting columns (3), which are fixedly installed at the four corners of the support platform (1). A ground insertion column (13) is also fixedly installed at the bottom of the mounting column (3), which can be inserted and fixed to the ground.
3. A beehive colony monitoring device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The probe of the temperature and humidity sensor (5) is set inside the beehive (4), and its display screen is set outside the beehive (4). The microphone (6) and the slotted optocoupler (9) are both connected to the controller (11). The slotted optocoupler (9) can be used to detect the frequency of bees entering and leaving the hive entrance (7).
4. A beehive colony monitoring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Four weighing sensors (2) and temperature and humidity sensors (5) are connected to the controller (11). The controller (11) is connected to the monitoring backend through a signal transmission module. The monitoring backend can monitor the bee colony status of several beehives (4).
5. A beehive colony monitoring device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The top wall of the beehive (4) is fixedly provided with several grooves (14), and the inner wall of each groove (14) is fixedly provided with an elastic element (15). The top of the elastic element (15) is fixedly connected to the bottom wall of the baffle (10). The bottom wall of the baffle (10) is also fixedly provided with a number of plugs (16) that are the same as the number of ventilation holes (8). The size of the plugs (16) is adapted to the inner diameter of the ventilation holes (8). The top wall of the baffle (10) is fixedly provided with a pull ring (17). Several support rods (18) are fixedly provided on the top wall of the beehive (4) on both sides of the baffle (10). The top wall of the support rods (18) is rotatably provided with long and short rods (19), which can be used to adjust the position of the baffle (10).