Beehive Access Passage Regulation via Dynamic Closing Piece
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional beehive access passages fail to effectively regulate bee movement and ventilation in response to environmental conditions, leading to increased bee losses and pest infiltration, which complicates colony maintenance and honey production.
Innovation Solution
A bee-movement regulation device with a closing piece and regulation piece, both connected to a propulsion device, that adjusts the access passage's cross-section based on environmental parameters, using sensors and a control unit to manage bee movement and prevent pests, featuring unique openings and closing surfaces to optimize ventilation and protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional access passages are used in beehives, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the bee movement regulation and ventilation control are insufficient, leading to increased bee losses and pest infiltration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic closing pieces that can move between different positions (open, partially closed, fully closed) to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The closing piece is connected to a propulsion device that automatically adjusts its position based on sensor inputs, transforming the static access passage into a dynamic system that responds to temperature, humidity, and bee activity levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that automatically detect environmental parameters and trigger the propulsion device to adjust the closing piece position without human intervention. The control unit processes sensor data and autonomously decides when to open or close the access passage, enabling the beehive to self-regulate its ventilation and protection mechanisms.
2Productivity
If the access passage is kept open for bee movement, then bee collection efficiency improves, but pests and parasites can penetrate into the internal space of the beehive
Solution Approach 1:
The closing piece dynamically adjusts its position to balance bee access and pest prevention. During active collection periods, the system opens the passage to allow bee movement while maintaining the ability to quickly close when threats are detected, creating a dynamic security barrier that adapts to real-time conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor the environment and provides feedback to the control unit, which adjusts the closing piece position accordingly. This feedback mechanism enables the system to respond to pest presence, environmental changes, and bee activity patterns, optimizing the balance between productivity and protection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the access passage is closed to protect against pests, then pest infiltration is prevented, but ventilation of the beehive is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The closing piece provides dynamic control over the access passage opening, allowing the system to partially open or fully close the passage based on real-time environmental conditions. This dynamic adjustment enables the beehive to maintain ventilation when safe and close protection when threats are present, optimizing both temperature regulation and pest prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state of the access passage by adjusting the closing piece position between different opening degrees. This parameter change allows the system to modulate the balance between ventilation and protection, transitioning smoothly between open, partially closed, and fully closed states based on environmental parameters.
4Device complexity
If manual regulation of access passages is used, then the device structure is simple, but colony maintenance becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that automatically detect environmental parameters and trigger the propulsion device to adjust the closing piece position without human intervention. The control unit processes sensor data and autonomously decides when to open or close the access passage, enabling the beehive to self-regulate its ventilation and protection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical regulation with an automated system combining sensors, a control unit, and a propulsion device. This substitution eliminates the need for frequent human intervention while providing precise, responsive control over the access passage, significantly reducing maintenance time and effort.
5Measurement precision
If multiple closing pieces with different opening sizes are used, then bee movement regulation precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The closing piece dynamically adjusts its position to different locations along the access passage, where each position corresponds to a different effective opening size. This dynamic positioning provides multiple regulation states (fully open, partially open, fully closed) without requiring multiple physical closing pieces, maintaining structural simplicity while achieving precise movement control.
Data Source
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AI summary
The objective of the invention is a bee-movement regulation device for beehives, which contains a closing piece (20) located in the vicinity of the access passage (12) linking the internal space (11) of the beehive (10) to the external environment (1) of the beehive (10), and moveable within the section of the access passage (12), and the closing member (20) is connected to a propulsion device (30). The characteristic feature of the invention is that at least two openings (21, 22) positioned at a given distance (T) from each other, with a position and shape different to each other, and at least one closing surface (23) are established in the closing piece (20), the propulsion device (30) has a drive part-unit (31), a position-sensing part-unit (32) and a control part-unit (33) in a signal-transmission connection with the drive part-unit (31) and the position-sensing part-unit (32), where the control part-unit (33) is in a signal-transmission connection with sensors (El, E2) suitable for determining the physical and/or chemical characteristics of the external environment (1), and the control part-unit (33) has a memory unit (33a) suitable for storing reference values, furthermore the closing piece (20) is coupled with a regulation piece (40), where the regulation piece (40) is separated from the closing piece (20) by a space (TK) with the help of at least one spacer body (3), the regulation piece (40) is provided with a position-adjustment device (50), and the position-adjustment device (50) has a propulsion part-unit (51) and position-sensing part-unit (52), furthermore the propulsion part-unit (51) and the position-sensing part-unit (52) are in a signal-transmission connection with the control part-unit (33), the regulation piece (40) is provided with at least two openings (41, 42, 44) with a position and shape different to each other, and with at least one closing surface (43), furthermore a transfer channel (60) is established in the space (TK) between the closing piece (20) and the regulation piece (40) that is at least partially surrounded by a delimiting surface (61), and the closing piece (20) and the regulation piece (40) are arranged along two sides of the transfer channel (60) in such a way so that they may move, and therefore the transfer channel (60) is either partially or completely opened as a result of the openings (21, 22, 41,42, 44) dependent on the positions of the closing piece (20) and the regulation piece (40) or impenetrably closed off to bees and pests by the closing surface (23, 43).