Beehive

Abstract

To provide a beehive which can restrain unintended opening / closing of a hive gate.SOLUTION: In the event that an operator grasps a grip part 45, with the grip part 45 moved in a prescribed direction along an opening 21, a slide member 40 connected to the grip part is also moved and a hive gate 14 is opened and closed. When the operator makes a lock part 28 situated inside of the opening 21, a lock state takes place, with the transfer of the grip part 45 restrained. In the meantime, when the operator makes the lock part 28 situated outside of the opening 21, a release state takes place, with the transfer of the grip part 45 released. By switching these states arbitrarily by the operator, the unintended opening / closing of the hive gate 14 can be restrained.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a beehive, and more particularly to a beehive that can prevent the unintentional opening and closing of the hive entrance. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, after multiple bees for pollinating agricultural crops are nested in a beehive, the beehive is transported to a field such as a greenhouse. A mechanism for opening and closing the hive entrance, which serves as an entrance for bees, is provided in the beehive to prevent bees from escaping during transport and to allow bees to move between the inside and outside of the hive when it is set up in the field or when nesting. In the beehive disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operator grasps and slides the handle to open and close the hive entrance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-136870 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In contrast to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is desirable to prevent unintentional opening and closing of the hive gate due to surrounding objects or workers hitting the handle of the beehive.

[0005] The present invention has been made to meet the above-mentioned demands, and aims to provide a beehive that can prevent the unintentional opening and closing of the hive entrance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve this object, the beehive box of the present invention is a beehive box formed into a box body capable of storing beehive frames inside, and comprises a plate-shaped top plate that forms the outermost surface of one side wall of the beehive box, a hive entrance that is formed through the top plate and connects the inside and outside of the beehive box, a slide member that is positioned on the inside of the top plate and opens and closes the hive entrance in response to sliding movement in a predetermined direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the top plate, an opening that is formed through the top plate so as to extend in the predetermined direction, a gripping part that extends from the slide member to the outside of the top plate through the opening and is movable in the predetermined direction together with the slide member, and a locking part that can restrict the movement of the gripping part, and can be switched between a locked state in which movement of the gripping part is restricted by positioning the locking part inside the opening, and an unlocked state in which movement of the gripping part is allowed by positioning the locking part outside the opening. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the beehive box of claim 1, when an operator grasps the gripping part and moves the gripping part in a predetermined direction along the opening, the associated sliding member also moves, opening and closing the hive entrance. When the operator positions the locking part inside the opening, the gripping part enters a locked state, restricting movement. On the other hand, when the operator positions the locking part outside the opening, the gripping part enters an unlocked state, allowing movement. The operator can switch between these states at will to prevent the hive entrance from opening or closing unintentionally.

[0008] The beehive of claim 2 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the beehive of claim 1. The opening has a first side edge and a second side edge that each extend in a predetermined direction and are spaced apart from each other in the width direction. The locking part is a plate-like part that is rotatably attached to the top plate, with the first side edge or the second side edge as the rotation axis. By rotating the locking part around this rotation axis, it is possible to simplify the mechanism for switching between a locked state in which the locking part is located inside the opening and an unlocked state in which the locking part is located outside the opening.

[0009] The beehive of claim 3 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect of the beehive of claim 2. When the hive entrance is closed and locked, the locking unit has a hooking portion disposed between the gripping portion inside the opening and one of the first and second side edges. When the hive entrance is closed and locked, the gripping portion extends along the outside of the top plate toward one of the first and second side edges and has a first protruding portion that faces the hooking portion in the plate thickness direction. As a result, when the locking unit rotates from the locked state with the hive entrance closed to the unlocked state, the hooking portion gets caught on the first protruding portion, making it difficult to switch to the unlocked state. By, for example, deforming the gripping portion so that the first protruding portion moves out of the rotational path of the hooking portion, the hooking portion and the first protruding portion are released from their engagement, making it easier to switch the locking unit to the unlocked state. Therefore, the locking portion can be prevented from being released unintentionally, and the nest entrance can be further prevented from opening unintentionally.

[0010] The beehive of claim 4 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect of the beehive of claim 3. The gripping portion is made of an elastic synthetic resin. Therefore, when the hive entrance is in a closed, locked state, even if the gripping portion is elastically deformed by contact with surrounding objects or a worker, the gripping portion's elastic return makes it easy to maintain the engagement between the hooking portion and the first protrusion. This further prevents the locking portion from being unintentionally released, further preventing the hive entrance from being unintentionally opened.

[0011] The beehive box of claim 5 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the beehive box of claim 3. The opening has a first edge, of the edges in the predetermined direction, located on the forward movement side of the slide member when closing the hive entrance, and a first groove extending the first edge by cutting out the other of the first and second side edges (the side opposite the hook portion) in the width direction. The gripping part is movable widthwise within the opening, so that after moving the gripping part toward the first edge in the predetermined direction to close the hive entrance, the gripping part can be moved widthwise to insert into the first groove. In this case, even if there is an erroneous operation such as moving the gripping part toward the first edge in the predetermined direction to open the hive entrance while the locking part is locked, the gripping part will hook into the first groove, making it difficult for the gripping part to apply a load to the locking part. This ensures the durability of the locking part.

[0012] The beehive of claim 6 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the beehive of claim 5. Even when the gripping part is brought into contact with the widthwise end of the first groove, the first protrusion faces the locked hook part in the thickness direction, making it easier to maintain the hooking of the hook part and the first protrusion. This makes it possible to further prevent the lock part from being released unintentionally, and therefore further prevent the hive entrance from opening unintentionally.

[0013] The beehive box of claim 7 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the beehive box of any one of claims 1 to 6. The opening has first and second side edges extending along a predetermined direction and spaced apart in the width direction; a second edge in the predetermined direction located on the opposite side of the edge from the side to which the sliding member advances when closing the hive entrance; and a second groove formed by cutting the first or second side edge in the width direction and extending the second edge. The gripper is movable in the width direction within the opening, so that after opening the hive entrance, the gripper can be moved in the width direction and inserted into the second groove. In this case, even if there is an accidental operation of moving the gripper in the predetermined direction toward closing the hive entrance while the locking unit is locked, the gripper will catch on the second groove, making it difficult for the gripper to apply a load to the locking unit. This ensures the durability of the locking unit.

[0014] Because the second groove extends the second edge beyond the maximum width dimension of the gripping portion, the gripping portion connected to the slide member can be inserted into the second groove from the inside of the top plate to assemble the beehive. However, in this case, there is a risk that the gripping portion may come into contact with surrounding objects or an operator during use of the beehive and slip through the second groove into the inside of the top plate. However, when the gripping portion contacts the width end of the second groove, the second protruding portion of the gripping portion (which may be the same location as the first protruding portion) faces the outside of the top plate in the thickness direction, and the engagement of these opposing portions prevents the above-mentioned slipping in.

[0015] The beehive box of claim 8 achieves the following effect in addition to the effect achieved by the beehive box of any one of claims 1 to 6. The hive entrance has a closing edge that is located on the forward movement side of the sliding member when closing the hive entrance, among the edges in a predetermined direction. When the gripping part is moved from the open state of the hive entrance, the forward movement side edge, which is the forward movement side edge of the sliding member, passes over the closing edge of the hive entrance in the forward movement side, thereby closing the hive entrance. The forward movement side edge extends outward beyond both ends of the closing edge in the length direction and is inclined relative to the closing edge so as to jut out toward the forward movement side as it moves toward at least one side in the length direction, so that when the hive entrance is closed, the forward movement side edge of the sliding member and the closing edge of the hive entrance are less likely to get caught on each other. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beehive in a first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an exploded perspective view of the side wall on the entrance side of a beehive. [Figure 3] This is a front view showing the internal structure of the side wall on the nest entrance side when the nest entrance is closed. [Figure 4] This is a front view showing the internal structure of the side wall on the nest entrance side when the nest entrance is open. [Figure 5] (a) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall on the nest entrance side when the nest entrance is closed and locked, (b) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall on the nest entrance side when it is released, and (c) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall on the nest entrance side when it is open and locked. [Figure 6] 10(a) is a front view of a beehive in a second embodiment, and FIG. 10(b) is a front view showing the internal structure of the side wall on the beehive entrance side of the beehive. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a beehive 10 in a first embodiment. The beehive 10 is a portable hive housing multiple bees for pollinating crops. Examples of such bees include pollen-carrying bees of the superfamily Apidae, such as European honeybees, bumblebees, and Japanese honeybees.

[0018] The beehive box 10 is formed as a roughly rectangular box capable of storing beehive frames inside. The beehive box 10 has a rectangular bottom wall, four rectangular side walls rising from each side of the bottom wall, and a rectangular ceiling wall 11 spanning the upper ends of the four side walls. Each of these walls is mainly made of cardboard.

[0019] Frames can be taken in and out by opening the entire ceiling wall 11. In addition, to enable feeding and other operations inside the beehive 10 even when the ceiling wall 11 is closed, the ceiling wall 11 is provided with an openable and closable door 12.

[0020] Of the four side walls, the front side wall 13 has a rectangular hive entrance 14 formed in the center of the bottom, which is an entrance for bees and connects the inside and outside of the beehive box 10. In addition, the side wall 13 has a plurality of rectangular ventilation windows 15 formed above the hive entrance 14, which connect the inside and outside of the beehive box 10. The hive entrance 14 and ventilation windows 15 are not limited to being rectangular, and may be polygonal or circular in shape other than rectangular.

[0021] The ventilation windows 15 are arranged at intervals in three vertical rows and three horizontal rows. In place of the ventilation window 15, the bottommost and central row is provided with a gripping portion 45 that can move along the opening 21 and a locking portion 28 that can restrict movement of the gripping portion 45. In other words, a total of eight ventilation windows 15 are provided in the side wall 13.

[0022] Locking portion 28 is operated by an operator to switch between a locked state in which movement of gripping portion 45 is restricted and an unlocked state in which movement of gripping portion 45 is permitted. Grip portion 45 is operated by an operator to switch between a state in which hive entrance 14 is open and ventilation window 15 is closed, and a state in which hive entrance 14 is closed and ventilation window 15 is open, and protrudes outward (frontward) from side wall 13.

[0023] When hive entrance 14 is open, bees can pass through hive entrance 14. On the other hand, when ventilation window 15 is open, ventilation window 15 is blocked with mesh 16 such as wire netting to prevent bees from passing through ventilation window 15.

[0024] Next, the side wall 13 provided with the nest entrance 14 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 2 and 5(a). Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the side wall 13. Figure 5(a) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall 13 (surface plate 20) in a locked state with the nest entrance 14 closed. Figure 5(a) shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the opening 21 of the side wall 13.

[0025] As shown in Figure 2, the side wall 13 has a multi-layer structure in which, from the outermost surface (front) of the side wall 13 toward the inside (rear) of the beehive 10, a top plate 20, an opening / closing plate 30, a sliding member 40, an intermediate plate 50, a mesh 16, and a back plate 60 are stacked. The top plate 20, which forms the outermost surface of the side wall 13, is made of a cardboard plate. The top plate 20 has a hive entrance 14, an opening 21, and eight ventilation windows 15 formed through it in the thickness direction (front-to-back direction).

[0026] 5(a), the opening 21 is a rectangular portion extending in the vertical direction (a predetermined direction) and is formed to be wide in the horizontal direction (width direction). The opening 21 has a first side edge 22 which is the right edge, a second side edge 23 which is the left edge, a first edge 24 which is the lower edge, and a second edge 25 which is the upper edge.

[0027] The first side edge 22 and the second side edge 23 both extend in the up-down direction and are spaced apart from each other in the width direction. The first edge 24 and the second edge 25 both extend in the left-right direction and are spaced apart from each other in the up-down direction. Furthermore, the opening 21 includes a first groove 26 that cuts out the lower end side of the second side edge 23 in the left-right direction and extends the first edge 24 to the left, and a second groove 27 that cuts out the upper end side of the second side edge 23 in the left-right direction and extends the second edge 25 to the left.

[0028] Locking portion 28 is a plate-like portion rotatably attached to front panel 20 around first side edge 22 as a rotation axis, and is molded integrally with cardboard front panel 20. Locking portion 28 is connected to front panel 20 by perforations 22a provided on first side edge 22, and is separated from second side edge 23, first edge 24, and second edge 25.

[0029] The locked state is when locking portion 28 is rotated around perforation 22a (first side edge 22) and positioned inside opening 21. On the other hand, the unlocked state is when locking portion 28 is positioned outside opening 21 (see FIG. 5(b)). In this way, by using locking portion 28 connected to front panel 20 by perforation 22a, the mechanism for switching between the locked state and the unlocked state can be simplified.

[0030] In the locked state, the locking portion 28 comes into contact with the second side edge 23, and the friction therebetween makes it easy to maintain the locked state and makes it difficult to switch to the released state. In other words, it is possible to prevent the locking portion 28 from unintentionally entering the released state.

[0031] The upper edge of locking portion 28 is located away from second edge 25 and is formed in an upwardly convex curve. When switching locking portion 28 from the locked state to the unlocked state, this curve makes it easy for an operator to hook their fingers or the like on the upper edge of locking portion 28, making it easier for the operator to grasp locking portion 28.

[0032] The lower edge of locking portion 28 is located away from first edge 24 and is formed approximately parallel to first edge 24. A hook portion 29 protrudes downward from the right end of this lower edge. Hook portion 29 is connected to top panel 20 by perforations 22a and comes into contact with first edge 24 in the locked state.

[0033] 2, the opening / closing plate 30 is a member that opens and closes the ventilation window 15 by sliding up and down relative to the front panel 20, and is made of a plate-shaped cardboard. The opening / closing plate 30 is shorter (about 3 / 4) than the front panel 20 in the vertical direction, and its dimension in the left and right direction is approximately the same.

[0034] The opening / closing plate 30 is cut out from the center of the lower edge in the left-right direction toward the top by a rectangular notch 31. A plurality of rectangular communication windows 32 are formed in the opening / closing plate 30 above the notch 31, penetrating the plate in the thickness direction. The communication windows 32 have the same shape and dimensions as the ventilation windows 15.

[0035] The communication windows 32 are arranged at intervals in two vertical rows and three horizontal rows. In the center of the lowest row, a linear slit 33 extending in the horizontal direction is formed to penetrate the plate thickness direction instead of the communication window 32. In other words, the opening / closing plate 30 is provided with a total of five communication windows 32.

[0036] The slide member 40 is a thin plate-like member that opens and closes the nest entrance 14 by sliding up and down relative to the front plate 20. The slide member 40 is made of an elastic synthetic resin (for example, polypropylene).

[0037] A grip portion 45 protrudes forward from the center in the left-right direction on the upper edge of the slide member 40. The grip portion 45 is a thin plate-like member molded integrally with the slide member 40. The grip portion 45 is bent approximately perpendicular to the slide member 40, with the plate thickness direction facing the up-down direction.

[0038] The gripping portion 45 is inserted into the slit 33, and the slide member 40 is placed on the rear surface of the opening / closing plate 30 so as to bridge over both the left and right sides of the notch 31. At this time, the upper right and upper left corners of the slide member 40 are cut out so that the slide member 40 does not block the communication window 32 of the opening / closing plate 30.

[0039] When the top panel 20, the opening / closing plate 30, and the sliding member 40 are stacked, the gripping portion 45 inserted into the slit 33 passes through the opening 21 of the top panel 20 and protrudes from the front surface of the top panel 20. Therefore, when an operator grasps the gripping portion 45 and moves it up and down within the opening 21, the opening / closing plate 30 and the sliding member 40 move up and down together relative to the top panel 20.

[0040] The grip portion 45 has protruding portions 46, 47 that protrude to both the left and right sides along the front surface of the top panel 20. The protruding portion 46 is on the right side (the first side edge 22 side), and the protruding portion 47 is on the left side (the second side edge 23 side). The portion of the grip portion 45 between the sliding member 40 and the protruding portions 46, 47 is referred to as a base portion 48. The dimension of this base portion 48 in the front-to-rear direction is greater than the combined thickness of the top panel 20 and the opening / closing plate 30. However, the difference between these dimensions is smaller than the dimension of the hook portion 29 in the left-to-right direction in the locked state.

[0041] The intermediate plate 50 is a member for sandwiching the opening / closing plate 30 between itself and the front plate 20 and guiding the sliding movement of the opening / closing plate 30, and is made of a plate-shaped cardboard. The intermediate plate 50 includes a main body portion 51 configured substantially identically to the front plate 20 with the opening 21 omitted (closed), an adjustment plate portion 52 bent from the upper edge of the main body portion 51 and overlapped on the front surface of the main body portion 51, and a guide portion 53 bent from the lower edge of the main body portion 51 and overlapped on the front surface of the main body portion 51.

[0042] The guide portion 53 is a rectangular plate-like member overlapped around the nest entrance 14 of the main body portion 51, and like the main body portion 51, the nest entrance 14 is formed to pass through it. The left-right dimension of the guide portion 53 is approximately the same as the left-right dimension of the cutout portion 31. When the opening / closing plate 30 is overlapped on the main body portion 51, the guide portion 53 fits into the cutout portion 31. In addition, the slide member 40 is sandwiched between the main body portion 51 and the guide portion 53.

[0043] The adjustment plate portion 52 is a strip-shaped member overlapped over substantially the entire length of the main body portion 51 in the left-right direction, and is located above the uppermost ventilation window 15. When the opening / closing plate 30 is sandwiched between the front panel 20 and the main body portion 51, the adjustment plate portion 52 fills the gap that occurs above the front panel 20 and the main body portion 51.

[0044] The back plate 60 is constructed in substantially the same manner as the main body 51 and is made of a plate-shaped cardboard. A sheet-shaped mesh 16 is sandwiched between the back plate 60 and the main body 51. The mesh 16 is positioned so as to block the eight ventilation windows 15 without blocking the nest entrance 14.

[0045] The back plate 60 may be omitted, and the mesh 16 may be attached to the front or rear surface of the main body 51. The number of meshes 16 is not limited to one, and multiple meshes 16 may be provided so as to individually cover the eight ventilation windows 15. Furthermore, the meshes 16 may be adhered to the edges of the ventilation windows 15, respectively.

[0046] Next, the opening and closing operation of the nest entrance 14 and the ventilation window 15 performed by an operator will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 5(c). Figure 3 is a front view showing the internal structure of the side wall 13 when the nest entrance 14 is closed. Figure 4 is a front view showing the internal structure of the side wall 13 when the nest entrance 14 is open. Figures 3 and 4 are front views of the side wall 13 seen through the front plate 20, with the opening 21 of the front plate 20 shown by a two-dot chain line and the slide member 40 hidden on the rear side of the opening and closing plate 30 etc. shown by a dashed line.

[0047] Figure 5(a) is as described above. Figure 5(b) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall 13 in the unlocked state. Figure 5(c) is a partially enlarged front view of the side wall 13 in the locked state with the nest entrance 14 open. Figures 5(b) and 5(c) show an enlarged view of the vicinity of the opening 21 of the side wall 13, similar to Figure 5(a). Also, Figures 5(a) to 5(c) show a cross section of the base 48 of the gripping part 45 that moves inside the opening 21, with the extensions 46 and 47 located on the front side of the page relative to the base 48 indicated by a two-dot chain line. In Figure 5(b), the position of the base 48 when the nest entrance 14 is closed is indicated by a dashed line, and the position of the base 48 when the nest entrance 14 is open is indicated by a solid line.

[0048] 5(b), the width (left-right dimension) between the first side edge 22 and the second side edge 23 of the opening 21, between the first groove 26 and the second groove 27, is approximately the same as the width (left-right dimension) of the base 48 of the gripping part 45. Therefore, when the locking part 28 is in the released state, the worker can move the gripping part 45 in the vertical direction inside the opening 21. Both the sliding member 40 and the opening / closing plate 30 are interlocked with this movement.

[0049] Furthermore, the first edge 24 and the second edge 25 of the opening 21 are extended in the left-right direction by the first groove 26 and the second groove 27, and the width of the base 48 is smaller than the left-right length of the slit 33 (see FIG. 2). Therefore, the worker can move the gripping portion 45 in the left-right direction so as to move the base 48 in and out of the first groove 26 and the second groove 27. The sliding member 40 moves in conjunction with this movement, but the opening / closing plate 30 does not.

[0050] As shown in Figure 3, when the gripping portion 45 is moved downward to the first edge 24, the upper edge of the notch 31 of the opening / closing plate 30 comes into contact with the upper edge of the guide portion 53 of the intermediate plate 50. At this time, the five communication windows 32 of the opening / closing plate 30 are aligned with the five ventilation windows 15 in the lower two rows, and the three ventilation windows 15 in the uppermost row are positioned above the upper edge of the opening / closing plate 30. As a result, all eight ventilation windows 15 are open. Furthermore, when the gripping portion 45 is positioned near the first edge 24, the sliding member 40, which is linked to the gripping portion 45, closes the nest entrance 14. In other words, the nest entrance 14 is closed.

[0051] The lower edge of the nest entrance 14, which is located on the advancing side (lower side) of the slide member 40 when closing the nest entrance 14, is referred to as the closing edge 14a. Similarly, the lower edge of the slide member 40, which is located on the advancing side (lower side) of the slide member 40 when closing the nest entrance 14, is referred to as the advancing side edge 40a. When the gripping part 45 is moved downward inside the opening 21 and the advancing side edge 40a passes below the closing edge 14a, the nest entrance 14 is closed.

[0052] The closing edge 14a is formed in a straight line parallel to the left-right direction. The forward-moving side edge 40a extends outward beyond both ends of the closing edge 14a in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction). Furthermore, the portion of the forward-moving side edge 40a that extends below the closing edge 14a is inclined relative to the closing edge 14a so that it protrudes downward from the center toward both sides in the left-right direction.

[0053] As a result, when the advancing side edge 40a passes over the closing edge 14a downward to close the nest entrance 14, the vicinity of the advancing side edge 40a of the slide member 40 sandwiched between the main body part 51 and the guide part 53 can be prevented from being displaced in the front-to-rear direction inside the nest entrance 14. Therefore, when closing the nest entrance 14, the advancing side edge 40a and the closing edge 14a are less likely to get caught on each other. Therefore, the operation of moving the grip part 45 to close the nest entrance 14 can be performed smoothly.

[0054] As shown in Figure 4, when the gripping portion 45 is moved upward to the second edge 25, the upper edge of the opening / closing plate 30 approaches the lower edge of the adjustment plate portion 52 of the intermediate plate 50. At this time, the five communication windows 32 of the opening / closing plate 30 and the eight ventilation windows 15 shown by dashed lines in Figure 4 are arranged alternately in the vertical direction, and the eight ventilation windows 15 are covered by the opening / closing plate 30. In other words, all eight ventilation windows 15 are closed. Furthermore, when the gripping portion 45 is positioned near the second edge 25, the sliding member 40 retracts above the nest entrance 14, and the nest entrance 14 opens.

[0055] 5(a) in which the gripping part 45 is positioned near the first edge 24 to close the nest entrance 14, and in the state of FIG. 5(c) in which the gripping part 45 is positioned near the second edge 25 to open the nest entrance 14, the locking part 28 is kept in a locked state. This restricts the movement of the gripping part 45 by the locking part 28, and even if a surrounding object or a worker hits the gripping part 45, it is possible to prevent the gripping part 45 from moving up and down and opening or closing the nest entrance 14.

[0056] 5(b), by setting the locking part 28 to the unlocked state, the gripping part 45 is permitted to move up and down, making it possible to open and close the nest entrance 14. In this way, by allowing the operator to arbitrarily switch the locking part 28 between the locked state and the unlocked state, it is possible to prevent the nest entrance 14 from being opened or closed unintentionally.

[0057] Furthermore, because the locking part 28 is connected to the front panel 20 by the perforations 22a, when there is no need to transport the beehive 10 long distances and there is no need to switch between the locked state and the unlocked state, the locking part 28 can be easily removed from the beehive 10 along the perforations 22a. In other words, the process of opening and closing the hive entrance 14 can be simplified by eliminating the need to switch between the locked state and the unlocked state.

[0058] As shown in Figure 5(a), in the locked state with the nest entrance 14 closed, the hook portion 29 of the locking portion 28 is positioned between the base 48 (the grip portion 45 inside the opening 21) and the first side edge 22. Furthermore, in the state shown in Figure 5(a), the protruding portion 46 on the right side of the grip portion 45 faces the hook portion 29 in the front-to-rear direction. The protruding portion 46 is located on the rotation trajectory of the hook portion 29 that rotates around the perforation 22a.

[0059] 5(a) to switch to the released state, the hooking portion 29 gets caught on the protruding portion 46, making it difficult to switch to the released state. The operator can, for example, bend the gripping portion 45 downward so that the protruding portion 46 moves out of the rotation path of the hooking portion 29, thereby releasing the hooking between the hooking portion 29 and the protruding portion 46 and making it easier to switch the locking portion 28 to the released state. Therefore, the hooking portion 29 and the protruding portion 46 can prevent the locking portion 28 from unintentionally switching to the released state, thereby further preventing the nest entrance 14 from opening unintentionally.

[0060] In particular, because gripping portion 45 is formed from an elastic synthetic resin, when nest entrance 14 is in the closed, locked state, even if gripping portion 45 is elastically deformed when it is hit by surrounding objects or a worker, gripping portion 45's elastic return makes it easy to maintain the engagement between hooking portion 29 and protruding portion 46. This makes it possible to further prevent locking portion 28 from being unintentionally released, thereby further preventing nest entrance 14 from being unintentionally opened.

[0061] After moving gripping portion 45 downward to first edge 24 to close nest entrance 14, gripping portion 45 can be moved leftward and inserted into first groove 26. In this case, even if there is an erroneous operation such as moving gripping portion 45 upward in the direction to open nest entrance 14 while locking portion 28 is in the locked state, gripping portion 45 will be caught in first groove 26, making it difficult for gripping portion 45 to apply a load to locking portion 28. Therefore, the durability of locking portion 28 can be ensured.

[0062] Furthermore, when the base 48 of the gripping part 45 is brought into contact with (close to) the left end of the first groove 26, the overhanging part 46 on the right side of the gripping part 45 faces the hooking part 29 in the locked state in the front-rear direction. Therefore, even when a part of the gripping part 45 is housed inside the first groove 26, it is easy to maintain the hooking of the hooking part 29 and the overhanging part 46. This further prevents the locking part 28 from being unintentionally released, thereby further preventing the nest entrance 14 from being unintentionally opened.

[0063] As shown in Figure 5(b), the gripping portion 45 can be moved upward to the second edge 25 to open the nest entrance 14, and then, as shown in Figure 5(c), the gripping portion 45 can be moved leftward and inserted into the second groove 27. In this case, even if there is an erroneous operation in which the gripping portion 45 is moved downward in the direction to close the nest entrance 14 while the locking portion 28 is left locked, the gripping portion 45 will be caught in the second groove 27, making it difficult for the gripping portion 45 to apply a load to the locking portion 28. This ensures the durability of the locking portion 28.

[0064] The maximum width of the gripping portion 45 is the width of the portion where the projections 46, 47 are formed. The second groove 27 extends the second edge 25 beyond the maximum width of the gripping portion 45. Therefore, the beehive 10 can be assembled by inserting the gripping portion 45 connected to the slide member 40 into the second groove 27 from the rear side of the top panel 20.

[0065] In this case, however, there is a risk that gripping portion 45 may come into contact with a surrounding object or a worker when beehive 10 is in use and slip through second groove 27 into the rear side of top panel 20. However, in this embodiment, when base 48 of gripping portion 45 is brought into contact with (close to) the left end of second groove 27, protruding portion 47 on the left side of gripping portion 45 faces the front surface of top panel 20 in the front-to-rear direction. Therefore, the gripping portion 45 is prevented from slipping through second groove 27 into the rear side of top panel 20 by being caught on these opposing portions.

[0066] Furthermore, the width of opening 21 between first groove 26 and second groove 27 and the width of opening 21 in first groove 26 are less than the maximum width of grip portion 45. As a result, at least one of protrusions 46, 47 faces the front surface of top panel 20 in the front-to-rear direction except for second groove 27. Therefore, grip portion 45 can be prevented from getting caught on these opposing portions and penetrating through opening 21 into the rear surface of top panel 20.

[0067] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6(a) and 6(b). In the first embodiment, the case where the nest entrance 14 is opened and closed by moving the slide member 40 and the gripping portion 45 in the vertical direction was described. In contrast, in the second embodiment, the case where the nest entrance 14 is opened and closed by rotating the slide member 90 and the gripping portion 45 in the circumferential direction is described. Note that the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the following description will be omitted.

[0068] Figure 6(a) is a front view of a beehive box 70 in the second embodiment. Figure 6(b) is a front view showing the internal structure of a side wall 71 on the hive entrance 14 side of the beehive box 70. The front side wall 71 of the beehive box 70 comprises a top plate 72 that forms the outermost surface (front face) of the side wall 71, and a slide member 90 that is placed on the inside (rear side) of the top plate 72.

[0069] Figure 6(a) mainly illustrates the front plate 72, and Figure 6(b) mainly illustrates the slide member 90. Furthermore, the position of the nest entrance 14 when the front plate 72 is placed on the slide member 90 in the orientation shown in Figures 6(a) and 6(b) is shown by a dashed line in Figure 6(b).

[0070] The front panel 72 is made of a cardboard plate. A rectangular hive entrance 14, which serves as an entrance for bees and connects the inside and outside of the beehive 70, is formed through the bottom of the front panel 72 in the thickness direction (front-rear direction).

[0071] Furthermore, four ventilation windows 73 that communicate between the inside and outside of the beehive 70 are formed penetrating the front and rear direction above the hive entrance 14 of the front plate 72. Each of the four ventilation windows 73 is covered with a mesh 16. The four ventilation windows 73 extend radially from a rotation shaft 74 provided on the front plate 72 and are spaced apart in the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft 74. In the following description, the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft 74 will be simply referred to as the circumferential direction, and the direction perpendicular to the axis of the rotation shaft 74 will be simply referred to as the axis-perpendicular direction.

[0072] An arc-shaped opening 75 is formed in the front and rear direction so as to extend in the circumferential direction (predetermined direction) through the front panel 72. A gripping portion 45 connected to a slide member 90 is configured to be movable in the circumferential direction within this opening 75.

[0073] The opening 75 is provided outside the ventilation window 73 in the direction perpendicular to the axis, and is provided within a range of approximately 45 degrees from directly below the rotation axis 74 to the upper right. The nest entrance 14 is located below this opening 75.

[0074] The opening 75 is formed to be wide in the axis-perpendicular direction. The opening 75 includes a first side edge 76 which is the outer edge in the axis-perpendicular direction (width direction), a second side edge 77 which is the inner edge in the axis-perpendicular direction, a first edge 78 which is located on the lower side of the circumferential edges, a second edge 79 which is located on the upper right side of the circumferential edges, and a second groove 80 which is formed by cutting out the second side edge 77 in the axis-perpendicular direction and extending the second edge 79 inward in the axis-perpendicular direction. The second groove 80 has the same function as the second groove 27 of the first embodiment, but is oriented differently.

[0075] The first side edge 76 and the second side edge 77 both extend circumferentially and are spaced apart in the width direction so as to form essentially arcs centered on the rotation axis 74. The first side edge 76 near the first end edge 78 is formed in a straight line parallel to the left-right direction.

[0076] The locking portion 82 is rotatably attached to the front panel 72, with this linear portion serving as the axis of rotation. The locking portion 82 is a plate-like portion that is molded integrally with the cardboard front panel 72. The locking portion 82 is connected to the front panel 72 by perforations 76a provided in the linear portion of the first side edge 76, and is separated from the second side edge 77, the first end edge 78, and the second end edge 79.

[0077] As in the first embodiment, the locking portion 82 is rotated around the perforation 76a, and the locked state is when the locking portion 82 is positioned inside the opening 75, and the unlocked state is when the locking portion 82 is positioned outside the opening 75.

[0078] The left edge of locking portion 82 is located away from first edge 78 and is formed approximately parallel to first edge 78. A hook portion 83 protrudes leftward from the lower end of this left edge. Hook portion 83 is connected to front panel 72 by perforation 76a and comes into contact with first edge 78 in the locked state.

[0079] The slide member 90 is a member made of a plate-shaped cardboard, and is rotatably attached to the rear surface of the front plate 72 by a rotation shaft 74. By sliding (rotating) the slide member 90 in the circumferential direction relative to the front plate 72, the ventilation window 73 and the nest entrance 14 are opened and closed.

[0080] The slide member 90 includes a circular disk portion 91 centered on the rotation shaft 74, and an extension portion 92 extending outward in the direction perpendicular to the axis from a part of the disk portion 91. Four communication windows 93 are formed penetrating the disk portion 91 in the front-to-rear direction. Similar to the ventilation windows 73, the four communication windows 93 extend radially from the rotation shaft 74 and are spaced apart in the circumferential direction.

[0081] A slit 94 extending perpendicular to the axis is formed through the extension 92 in the front-to-rear direction. A grip 45 that is movable within this slit 94 in the axis-perpendicular direction is attached to the slide member 90. The grip 45 passes through the opening 75 and projects out toward the front side of the front panel 72. When the grip 45 is moved circumferentially within the opening 75, the slide member 90 also moves circumferentially relative to the front panel 72.

[0082] By moving the gripping part 45 to the first edge 78 of the opening 75, the ventilation windows 73 and the communication windows 93 communicate with each other, opening the ventilation windows 73, and the nest entrance 14 is blocked and closed by the slide member 90. On the other hand, by moving the gripping part 45 to the second edge 79 of the opening 75, the ventilation windows 73 are blocked and closed by the disk parts 91 between the four communication windows 93, and the slide member 90 retreats from the rear side of the nest entrance 14, opening the nest entrance 14.

[0083] In this second embodiment of the beehive 70, as in the first embodiment, the locking section 82 allows the operator to switch between a locked state in which movement of the gripping section 45 for opening and closing the hive entrance 14 is restricted, and an unlocked state in which that movement is permitted, thereby preventing the hive entrance 14 from being opened or closed unintentionally.

[0084] Furthermore, in the locked state with the nest entrance 14 closed, unless the gripping part 45 is bent and deformed to the left, the hooking part 83 of the locking part 82 hooks onto the protruding part 46 on the outside of the gripping part 45 in the direction perpendicular to the axis. Therefore, the locking part 82 can be prevented from being unintentionally released, and the nest entrance 14 can be further prevented from being unintentionally opened.

[0085] In the second embodiment, the left edge of the nest entrance 14 is the edge located on the forward moving side of the slide member 90 when closing the nest entrance 14 (the forward moving side in the clockwise direction on the paper in FIG. 6), and is referred to as the closing edge 14b. The edge of the lower left corner of the extension part 92 of the slide member 90, which is the edge located on the forward moving side of the slide member 90 when closing the nest entrance 14, is referred to as the forward moving side edge 95. When this forward moving side edge 95 passes the closing edge 14b in the clockwise direction, the nest entrance 14 closes.

[0086] The closing edge 14b is formed in a straight line parallel to the vertical direction. The advancing side edge 95 extends outward beyond both ends of the closing edge 14b in the longitudinal direction (axis-perpendicular direction). Furthermore, the advancing side edge 95 is inclined relative to the closing edge 14b as it extends from the outside to the inside in the axis-perpendicular direction so as to protrude toward the advancing side of the slide member 90 when closing the nest entrance 14.

[0087] As a result, similar to the first embodiment, when the advancing side edge 95 passes over the closing edge 14b to close the nest entrance 14, the advancing side edge 95 and the closing edge 14b are less likely to get caught on each other. As a result, the operation of moving the gripping part 45 to close the nest entrance 14 can be performed smoothly.

[0088] While the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, it is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the shape, size, and number of the nest entrance 14, ventilation windows 15, 73, communication windows 32, 93, and openings 21, 75 may be changed as appropriate. There may be only one ventilation window 15, 73 and communication window 32, 93, or there may be two or more nest entrances 14. At least one of the protruding portions 46, 47 of the gripping portion 45 may be omitted.

[0089] Furthermore, each part of the beehive 10, 70, such as the front panel 20, 72, the opening / closing panel 30, the middle panel 50, the back panel 60, and the sliding member 90, may be made of other plate materials instead of cardboard. Examples of other plate materials include wooden materials such as hardboard and particle board, cardboard, synthetic resins such as polystyrene foam, and metal. Furthermore, the gripping part 45 may be made of cardboard, wooden materials, cardboard, metal, rubber, etc.

[0090] The beehive boxes 10, 70 may be covered with a cardboard cover or the like except for the side walls 13, 71. Also, handles or the like may be provided on the beehive boxes 10, 70 or the cover to make the beehive boxes 10, 70 easier to transport.

[0091] In the above embodiment, the sliding members 40, 90 and the gripping portion 45 are slid up and down or circumferentially inside the openings 21, 75 to open and close the nest entrance 14 and the ventilation windows 15, 73, but this is not necessarily limited to this. The sliding members 40, 90 and the gripping portion 45 may be slid in a predetermined direction (for example, left and right or diagonal) other than up and down or circumferentially to open and close the nest entrance 14, etc.

[0092] In the above embodiment, the locking portion 28, 82 is rotatably attached to the top panel 20, 72 around the first side edge 22, 76 as the rotation axis, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the locking portion 28, 82 may be rotatably attached to the top panel 20, 72 around the second side edge 23, 77, the first end edge 24, 78, or the second end edge 25, 79 as the rotation axis. Furthermore, the locking portion 28, 82 is not limited to being integrally molded with the top panel 20, 72, and may be formed as separate members.

[0093] Furthermore, the locking portion 28, 82 is not limited to being rotatably attached to the top panel 20, 72. For example, the locking portion 28, 82 may be configured so that it is separated from the top panel 20, 72, fitted into the opening 21, 75 to be in the locked state, and removed from the opening 21, 75 to be in the unlocked state.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the hooking portion 29, 83 is disposed between the base 48 of the gripping portion 45 and the first side edge 22, 76 when the nest entrance 14 is closed and locked, but this is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the hooking portion 29, 83 may be disposed between the base 48 and the second side edge 23, 77. In this case, when the nest entrance 14 is closed and locked, the hooking portion 29, 83 faces the protruding portion 47 on the second side edge 23, 77 side of the gripping portion 45 in the front-rear direction.

[0095] When providing the first groove 26 in the opening 21, 75, the first groove 26 can be provided by cutting out the first side edge 22, 76 or the second side edge 23, 77 that is farther from the hook portion 29, 83. The first groove 26 may be omitted from the opening 21. The second groove 27, 80 may be omitted from the opening 21, 75. The second groove 27, 80 may be formed by cutting out the second side edge 23, 77. [Explanation of symbols]

[0096] 10,70 Beehive 13,71 side wall 14 Nest Gate 14a, 14b Closure edge 20,72 Top 21,75 opening 22,76 1st side edge 23,77 2nd side edge 24,78 First edge 25,79 Second edge 26 First groove 27,80 2nd groove 28,82 Lock Section 29,83 Hook part 40,90 Slide member 40a,95 Advance side edge 45 Gripping part 46 Overhang (1st overhang) 47 Overhang (2nd overhang)

Claims

1. A beehive box formed into a box body capable of storing beehive frames inside, A plate-shaped surface plate constituting the outermost surface of one side wall of the beehive; A hive entrance formed through the surface plate to communicate the inside and outside of the beehive; A sliding member that is arranged inside the surface plate and opens and closes the nest entrance in accordance with sliding movement in a predetermined direction perpendicular to the thickness direction of the surface plate; an opening formed through the front panel so as to extend in the predetermined direction; a grip portion that extends from the slide member to the outside of the front panel through the opening and is movable together with the slide member in the predetermined direction; a locking portion capable of restricting movement of the gripping portion, A beehive box characterized in that it can be switched between a locked state in which movement of the gripping part is restricted by positioning the locking part inside the opening, and an unlocked state in which movement of the gripping part is allowed by positioning the locking part outside the opening.

2. the opening has a first side edge and a second side edge that extend along the predetermined direction and are spaced apart from each other in a width direction; 2. A beehive box according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is a plate-shaped portion rotatably attached to the front plate with the first side edge or the second side edge as a rotation axis.

3. In the locked state in which the nest entrance is closed, the locking portion includes a hook portion disposed between the gripping portion inside the opening and one of the first side edge and the second side edge, A beehive box as described in claim 2, characterized in that the gripping portion extends along the outside of the top plate to one side of the first side edge and the second side edge and has a first protruding portion that faces the hook portion in the plate thickness direction.

4. 4. A beehive box according to claim 3, wherein said gripping portion is made of an elastic synthetic resin.

5. The opening includes a first edge located on the forward movement side of the slide member when closing the nest entrance, among the edges in the predetermined direction; a first groove extending the first edge by cutting out the other of the first side edge and the second side edge in the width direction; 4. A beehive box according to claim 3, wherein the gripping portion is movable in the width direction within the opening.

6. A beehive box as described in claim 5, characterized in that when the gripping portion is brought into contact with the widthwise end of the first groove, the first protrusion portion faces the hook portion in the locked state in the thickness direction of the plate.

7. The opening has a first side edge and a second side edge that extend along the predetermined direction and are spaced apart from each other in a width direction; Among the edges in the predetermined direction, a second edge located on the opposite side to the forward movement side of the slide member when closing the nest entrance; a second groove formed by cutting out the first side edge or the second side edge in the width direction and extending the second edge beyond the maximum dimension of the gripping portion in the width direction; The gripping portion is movable in the width direction inside the opening, A beehive box as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it has a second protrusion portion that faces the outside of the top plate in the plate thickness direction when the gripping portion is brought into contact with the widthwise end of the second groove.

8. The nest entrance has a closing edge that is located on the forward movement side of the slide member when closing the nest entrance, among the edges in the predetermined direction, The slide member has an edge on the forward movement side that exceeds the closing edge to the forward movement side when closing the nest entrance, A beehive box as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the forward side edge extends outward beyond both ends of the closing edge in the longitudinal direction and is inclined relative to the closing edge so as to protrude toward the forward side as it moves toward at least one side in the longitudinal direction.

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