DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generically refers to the field of insect breeding, more specifically to beekeeping and, even more specifically, to nomadic beekeeping.

The present invention has the purpose of providing a transportable hive-holder unit, preferably a trailer, to allow the rapid and comfortable movement of the hives according to the evolution of the beehive blooms and any adverse weather conditions for the production of honey.

The hive-carrying trailer according to the present invention can constitute the trailer of a tractor, an off-road vehicle or a pick-up, thus allowing the transport of the hives even in areas that are difficult to reach.

According to an alternative embodiment, the hive holder unit can also be transported on the loading surface of a transport vehicle and, once arrived at its destination, disassembled from the loading surface.

STATE OF THE ART

In beekeeping, particularly in nomadic beekeeping, it is known the need to constantly move the hives during the course of the season, to different places - often difficult and uncomfortable to reach - where the various species of plants and flowers bloom.

The practice of nomadic beekeeping involves the availability of time to devote to travel and adequate means of transport; furthermore, since the moving operations are manual, they are normally very tiring and difficult to carry out independently.

So far, therefore, when a territory has been exhausted or a storm or hail is expected, the beekeeper must manually load, one by one, the hives on the platform of a vehicle and then, upon arrival in the new destination, unload and place manually, one by one, the hives.

The need is therefore felt to be able to have a trailer for hives that can easily move the hives to different places suitable for the production of honey, according to specific needs and according to external conditions. In addition, the need is felt to be able to have a hive trailer manageable by one person, not necessarily of a sturdy build.

Furthermore, the need for economy and containment of space is felt.

Finally, the need is felt to be able to carry out maintenance of the hive trailer in a simple and quick way.

In summary, therefore, up to the present moment, to the knowledge of the Applicant, no technical solutions are known which allow to overcome the drawbacks highlighted above.

Therefore the Applicant, with the hive-carrying triler according to the present invention, intends to remedy this deficiency.

SCOPE AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art discussed above.

It is the specific purpose of the present invention to provide a hive-holding unit, for example a trailer, capable of easily moving the hives to different places suitable for the production of honey, according to specific needs and according to external conditions. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a hive-holder unit manageable by a single person, not necessarily of a sturdy build.

It is also an aim of the present invention to provide a hive-holder unit that cannot be removed from the place of honey production and from which the hives cannot be removed.

It is also an aim of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and small size hive holder unit.

Finally, it is the object of the present invention to provide a hive holder unit whose maintenance is simple and quick.

In summary, the present invention has the scopes of:

- moving the hives quickly and comfortably in order to follow the evolution of the flowers of beekeeping interest and avoid moving the hives one by one continuously considering that each hive containing bees and honey weighs about 50 kg

- moving the hives quickly and comfortably in order to avoid weather conditions, such as severe storms and hailstorms, which are unfavorable to honey production and allow a single person to manage a relatively large number of hives;

- allowing even a single person to operate independently and even with a slim build;

- avoiding the removal of the hive-carrying trailer from the honey production site and removing the hives from the trailer;

- ensure flexibility of use, depending on the number of hives desired; is

- make available cheap equipment, of small size and easy to use and maintain.

These scopes are achieved with the hive-carrying unit according to the present invention which, thanks to the provision of a frame with a movable arm between a retracted position and an extended position and a trailer on which the hives are mounted, allows to move quickly and the hives comfortably in order to follow the evolution of the flowers of beekeeping interest and to avoid adverse weather conditions for the production of honey.

In particular, it is possible to first open the arms by hand and then move the hives on the extracted arms by means of mobile carriages along the arms: this makes it particularly intuitive to use the hive-holder unit and even people of slender build can extract and retract the arms quickly and effortlessly. In fact, the arms are moved when unloaded from the hives and the latter, by means of the carriages, move substantially flat and therefore easily despite their great weight. In addition, the hives remain on board the unit except for maintenance and the unit is equipped, through the arms and carriages, with means to facilitate the movement of the hives between the transport configuration and the honey production configuration.

The unit allows a considerable saving of physical energy and time, compared to current systems, energy and time are very precious for the beekeeper who, after moving the hives, must work all day on the supers, i.e. honey-holder frames. In addition, the unit can carry smaller hives dedicated to creating families with queen bees. The unit can be built with movable arms of 3/4/5/6 hives each. Therefore, from 6 to 36 hives can be transported on one unit, preferably from about 20 to 36 hives. Preferably, the hives are placed side by side and do not overlap each other both during the pasturing of the bees and during transport. In the first case, this allows the beekeeper to easily control the production of honey through an inspection inside the hives and / or apply the supers on the hives. Furthermore, the presence of only hives substantially side by side and not superimposed even during transport, allows the beekeeper to bring the arms in the retracted position and convert the trailer into transport mode easily and without having to lift the hives that, as already discussed, they can be very heavy. Furthermore, to obtain a better arrangement of the hives, the arms are extracted along substantially opposite longitudinal directions of the unit. For example, the longitudinal direction is that of advancement during transport / towing and the hives are arranged to have the relative opening or all on one side or all on the other of the unit.

Furthermore, when made in the form of a trailer, the hive-carrying unit according to the present invention is provided with a structure equipped with a drawbar that can advantageously be coupled to the tow hook of a tractor, an off-road vehicle or a another vehicle suitable for handling on rough and uneven terrain.

In addition, the hive holder unit according to the present invention provides for appropriate measures that allow its stable, safe and anti-theft positioning.

In addition, the hive holder unit according to the present invention is equipped with means for locking the hives in order to avoid their removal, in particular by those who do not have authorization. For example, the beekeeper fixes the hives on the unit with special anti-theft screws and no further disassembly from the unit is provided, except for any extraordinary maintenance of the hives and / or the unit.

According to an alternative embodiment, the arms are articulated to the frame so that, in the extracted position, the hives carried by the relative arm are at a different level from that of the hives carried by the frame, e.g. the hives carried by the extracted arm are arranged on a plane parallel to a plane of the hives of the frame, the two levels being spaced vertically. In this way, it is possible to place the unit in a pasturing configuration even on very steep terrain.

Specifically, the aforementioned and other purposes and advantages of the invention, which will emerge from the following description, are achieved with the hive holder unit according to claim 1. Preferred embodiments and variants of the hive-carrying trailer according to the present invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

It is understood that all the attached claims form an integral part of this description and that each of the technical characteristics claimed therein is possibly independent and can be used independently from the other aspects of the invention.

It will be immediately evident that innumerable changes can be made to what has been described (for example relating to shape, size, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) without departing from the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Advantageously, the technical solution according to the present invention allows:

- to move the hives quickly and comfortably in order to follow the evolution of the flowers of beekeeping interest and also to avoid weather conditions, such as severe thunderstorms and hailstorms, unfavorable to honey production;

- to operate autonomously even for a single person and even with a slender build;

- to avoid the removal of the hive-carrying trailer from the place of honey production and the removal of the hives from the trailer;

- flexibility of use;

- containment of the overall dimensions;

- the economy of production and management; and

- ease of use and maintenance;

- The largest production of all hive products.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more evident from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The present invention will be described hereinafter by means of some preferred embodiments, provided by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings. These drawings illustrate different aspects and examples of the present invention and, where appropriate, similar structures, components, materials and / or elements in different figures are indicated by similar reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the hive trailer according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the hives mounted on it, in the transport position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hive-carrying trailer according to a further embodiment of the present invention, without hives mounted on it, in the transport position;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the hive-carrying trailer according to the embodiment of figure 1, with the hives mounted on it, in the transport position;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the hive-carrying trailer according to the embodiment of figure 1, with the hives mounted on it, in the transport position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hive-carrying trailer according to the embodiment of figure 1, with hives mounted on it, in the extracted position and with hives in the transport position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the hive-carrying trailer according to the embodiment of figure 1, with hives mounted on it and moved along the arms in a position for the production of honey; is

Figs. 7a, b are respective schematic side views of a further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, some preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail.

It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention of limiting the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated, but, on the contrary, the invention intends to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents that fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

In the following description, therefore, the use of "for example", "etc.", "or / or" indicates non-exclusive alternatives without any limitation, unless otherwise indicated; the use of "also" means "including, but not limited to" unless otherwise indicated; the use of "includes / includes" means "includes / includes, but not limited to" unless otherwise indicated.

The hive-carrying unit of the present invention is based on the innovative concept of providing a frame with at least one movable arm between a retracted position and an extended position and on the fact that, given the considerable weight of the hives, the extraction of the arm and only after the positioning of the hives on the extracted arm. Important features of the hive-carrying unit of the present invention reside in the fact that it allows the hives to be moved and positioned quickly and easily in various places suitable for the production of honey, in the fact that it is adaptable to numerous types of tractors and usable on any terrain and also in the fact that it can be managed by a single person, not necessarily of robust build.

With reference to the figures, it can be seen that, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hive-holder unit 1 comprises a main frame 2 on which a first plurality of positions 3 for relative hives are arranged, at least one extensible arm 4 movable between a retracted position (illustrated in Figure 1) suitable for road transport of the hive-holding unit 1 and an extracted position (illustrated in Figure 5) suitable for the activity of bees in the open air; one or more supports 5, preferably wheels for on-road and / or off-road routes, to support the frame 2. Preferably, the height of the frame 2 from the ground is fixed in order to contain the manufacturing costs. Alternatively (not shown), the height of frame 2 can be adjusted by means of a system of actuators which act on supports 5 so that the frame can either be loaded / unloaded on a loading surface of a transport vehicle or placed in a raised position for towing, when the supports are wheels as in figure 1, and in a lowered position when arms 4 are extracted, unit 1 is permanent and the bees pasture. According to a further alternative, frame 2 can be lowered for the pasturing of bees also by disassembling wheels 5 and, optionally, closing the relative hubs by means of a protection, e.g. a cover, fixed to the hubs with anti-theft screws.

In particular, the most suitable position of the base of a hive, i.e. of stations 3, for the control of honey production when unit 1 is stationary, is between 30 and 50 cm from the ground and, when frame 2 has a fixed height both in transport conditions and in production conditions of the honey, has a configuration compatible with this measure, for example stations 3 are arranged at approximately 44 cm. On the other hand, when frame 2 has a variable vertical height, stations 3 are raised to about 110 cm or, according to another variant, about 90 cm from the road during towing and in the case of transport on the loading surface, the height depends on the size of the vehicle and in almost all cases with reference to uncovered loading floors, normally used in off road routes to reach pasturing destinations, the loading surface is arranged starting from 35 cm or, according to another variant a starting from 60 cm.

In the embodiment of figure 1, unit 1 can be towed through a hook 6 applied to a drawbar 7. Preferably, the tractor (not shown) is an off-road vehicle normally used in nomadic beekeeping. According to an embodiment not shown, the drawbar is not hinged to frame 2 as shown in the figures but can be removed e.g. when the hives are extracted for the pasture of bees, in order to make it more difficult to tow them in case of theft. For example, in this case, the drawbar is locked by means of nuts or other rigid and removable connection device to frame 2 during transport.

Figure 2 shows the arrangement of stations 3 when arms 4 are in the retracted position. According to an embodiment not shown, the extracted position of arms 4 and / or the vertical adjustment of the frame, when provided, is obtained by activating an electric and / or fluidic or manual actuation unit (not shown) in hydraulic or pneumatic detail, with geared down mechanism, for example with a winch, or with gears controlled preferably by means of a control panel carried by trailer 1.

Figure 3 illustrates the transport configuration of unit 1 and, in particular, that unit 1 preferably comprises two pairs of wheels 5 and, on the opposite side of the hives with respect to frame 2, compartments 9, for example drawer compartments, to house a battery pack and one or more electrical or electronic devices such as a satellite locator, a control unit for a surveillance system and / or a plurality of hive status sensors, such as weight and internal temperature, and / or a heating device to keep the inside of the hives at the optimum temperature, and / or a dehumidification system for the supers and / or hives. Preferably, the control unit is programmed to activate the heating device on the basis of the signal generated by the temperature sensor.

Figure 3 also shows how, preferably, arms 4 are articulated and have at least one hinged sector 4a which folds upwards in the retracted position. According to an embodiment, arms 4 have a different length in the extracted position. In this case, long arm 4 comprises a further sector 4b hinged to the sector 4a and arranged in the retracted position above the hives. According to another configuration, illustrated in Figure 2, further sector 4b folds adjacent and substantially parallel to sector 4a (as shown in the figure). Preferably but not exclusively the sector 4a is retracted in a substantially vertical position. In this way, sector 4a also defines a safety stop for the hives during transport and prevents the hives from falling from the trailer e.g. following sudden accelerations or decelerations of the tractor. According to a preferred embodiment, sectors 4a are locked in the upward position by means of special stops, e.g. pins inserted in special slots one of which is integral with the frame and the other is integral with the sector. When these slots are aligned and sector 4a is arranged upwards, the pin is mounted which is coupled with both slots. Preferably, further stops (not shown) are provided to block the movement of the hives in the longitudinal direction. Even the vertical dimensions of unit 1 when arms 4 are in the retracted position is designed to comply with road and motorway traffic regulations.

Figure 4 shows how, in plan view, arms 4 in the retracted position are inside the perimeter of frame 2, which is sized in length and width to be able to circulate on road and motorway lanes or to be loaded on the loading surface of a road vehicle suitable for off-road routes

Figure 5 illustrates a first step of extracting arms 4 both in the configuration of Figure 1 and in that of Figure 2. In the extracted position, arms 4 rest on the ground by means of one or more support legs 11 which are in turn retracted when the relative segment 4a, 4b is retracted. Preferably, each support leg 11 is hinged and in the retracted position of the arm it is arranged in a position substantially parallel to segment 4a, 4b to which it is connected (Fig. 3). Once the extracted position has been reached by resting on the ground on support legs 11, arms 4 define respective guides along which the hives are carried by means of special carriages or slides 12. On each carriage 12 one or more positions are made to fix hives, for example through threaded connections. Preferably, each support leg 11 comprises a height adjustment device, preferably for reducing and / or manually. For example, it is possible to provide an extension system for each leg by means of a winch and a pulley system so that the load applied by the hives is reduced when the leg is extracted to bring it to the level, i.e. in horizontal position, arm 4 when the trailer is arranged on uneven ground. Alternatively, support legs 11 comprise a lever adjustment system, in particular of extraction, which is operated with alternative movements in one direction, e.g. extension of the leg and corresponding to the lifting of arm 4. An example of such a lever device is a hydraulic jack incorporated on each support leg. In both cases, the mechanisms reduce the weight acting on support leg 11 so that the user acts on the lever with a load lower than the weight of the hives on the arm itself. Preferably, a measuring device is mounted on arms 4 to indicate to the beekeeper the horizontal position while the adjustment of the length of support legs 11 is carried out. The horizontal position of the hives is important during the pasturing of the bees because even small deviations from such location also significantly affect honey production.

Figure 5 also illustrates a parking position of hook 6 and of drawbar 7 in which the hook is misaligned and / or asymmetrical with respect to a longitudinal axis of the frame, making unit 1 not compliant with towing on the road. This is a further defense against attempted theft of unit 1.

When unit 1 is equipped with a system for adjusting the vertical position of the frame, the configuration of figure 5 is reached in a lowered position, in which wheels 5 are housed in a cavity in the frame and, preferably, mechanically locked for rotation for example by abutment and radial interference against a relief that locally deforms the wheel or other, so as to complicate the movement of the unit 1 even in a lowered position and discourage theft.

Figure 5 also illustrates an extracted position of a stabilization or anti-tipping device 13 preferably provided on the edge of frame 2 from the same side part, in the figure the left part, in which the fixed positions 3 with respect to frame 2 are arranged. When arms 4 are extracted, it is in fact important that frame 2 rests well, preferably plumb leveled for the horizontal direction, on the ground. Anti-tipping device 13 comprises one or more supports 14 having an adjustable horizontal distance from the fixed positions 3 and arranged protruding from frame 2. As illustrated in the figure, it is also possible that the anti-tipping devices 13 are present on both long sides of frame. 2. In particular, anti-overturning device 13 contributes to reaching the horizontal position for the hives and for this purpose device 13 comprises demultipling devices, for example such as those already mentioned for support legs 11. Similarly, the frame 2 also carries an inclination measuring device, e.g. a bubble level, to inform the beekeeper of the horizontal position of the hives.

Figure 6 shows a second step of the implementation of unit 1 in which the hives fixed to the carriages 12 are translated along the guides of the arms 4 up to the ends of the arms themselves. Preferably, this translation and optionally also the return on board on frame 2 are controlled by a reduction device such as a winch for winding / unwinding a cable fixed to carriages 12 and therefore making the movement of the hives along the arms 4 less tiring. Carriages 12 preferably run along perforated guides so that debris such as earth, sand etc. can be disposed of by gravity. Advantageously, the hives are mounted so that they are all facing the same side and in such a way that access to the hive from a rear direction is free, i.e. without interference from the other arms when the latter are pulled out. Furthermore, carriages 12 are shaped to be able to extract the drawer located at the bottom of some types of hives, and it is possible to position any type of hive on carriages 12.

Stations 3 are made to secure, preferably in an anti-burglary manner, relative hives. In particular, the hives for nomadic beekeeping are 42.5 cm wide for the production of honey and between 22 and 28 cm, for example 25 cm, for raising families of bees. Consequently, the workstations have a minimum width of 5 cm and according to another variant of 20 cm and, for efficient use of space, a maximum width of 50 cm. An example of anti-burglary fixing of the hives to stations 3 is, for example, carried out by means of screws with anti-theft screws with shaped head having a non-flat geometry, or Phillips or hexagonal. In fact, a screw with a non-standard geometry head that is screwed or unscrewed using a special tool and the unavailability of this tool constitutes for an attacker an effective obstacle against the theft of the hives and / or other components fixed on board with such screws. It is also possible, according to an embodiment that is not shown, to fix each hive to its location using cage structures. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the unit 1 comprises a weight sensor configured to detect the weight of the hives during the production of honey when unit 1 is in a permanent outdoor configuration. The weight can be detected both in absolute value and as an increase with respect to an initial reference value. The information is also notified through a known wireless telecommunication system, for example via a cellular telephone network or the like, to the beekeeper. Using this information, the beekeeper will be able to check when the hives are full or at a desired weight level and reach unit 1 promptly to move or return. The weight sensor can be configured to detect the overall weight of the hives and, therefore, be mounted for example between wheels 5 and frame 2; or to detect the weight of each arm or arm segment; or to detect the weight of each hive, and therefore be placed in each station 3. Preferably, these sensors are arranged on the hives fixed to the frame and do not translate on the arms to be connected in a simpler way to the electronic control unit for processing and remote sending of the signals and / or data.

Figure 7 illustrates a variant embodiment of arms 4 which have an articulated connection such that, in the extracted position, segments 4a, 4b which carry the hives in the bees pasturing configuration are at a different level, either higher or lower, than that of the hives carried by the frame 2. Since the horizontal position of the hives improves the production, the level of the hives on the arms 4 is for example defined by a substantially horizontal foreground and the level of the hives on frame 2 is defined by a second substantially horizontal plane, the first and second planes being spaced vertically as illustrated in the figure. In the illustrated embodiment, an arm 4 is articulated by means of an inclinable spacer 20 hinged to frame 2 and to arm 4, e.g. to segment 4a, and provided with rails to allow the movement of the carriages or slides 12 between the arm 4 and frame 2. Preferably, spacer 20 has a shorter length than that of arms 4.

Preferably, the angular position between spacer 20 and frame 2 and / or the relative arm 4 can be controlled by means of an angular adjustment device so that, when the carriages or slides 12 are moved from frame 2 onto arms 4 or vice versa, the angular position relative to frame 2 and / or the relative arm 4 is blocked. For example, this can be achieved by means of a sliding block which can be inserted when tiltable spacer 20 is parallel to frame 2 and / or to the relative arm 4 so that the respective guides are aligned for the movement of carriage or slide 12. Alternatively or in combination, there are reduction gearboxes that can be operated by hand via e.g. a crank or by means of a rotary motor e.g. electric. The reduction of the transmission ratio applied by the gearbox multiplies the torque applied between frame 2 and tilting spacer 20 and / or between tilting spacer 20 and the relative arm 4. Preferably, the reduction gearbox is irreversible i.e. a load applied to arm 4 or angular spacer 20 does not cause the rotation of the gear.

When it is possible on the basis of the ground where unit 1 is stopped for pasturing, frame 2, tiltable spacer 20 and arm 4 are arranged level, i.e. along a horizontal line, also thanks to the adjustment of support legs 11. During the movement of carriages or slides 12, through the block or the gear box or other, the relative angular position of frame 2, arm 4 and tiltable spacer 20 is fixed. When the hives are on arm 4, through the coordinated action of the angular adjustment device and support legs 11, the level of arm 4 is raised or lowered with respect to that of frame 2 (Figure 7). For example, arm 4 is adjusted in height by means of support leg (s) 11 and, once the optimum horizontal level has been reached, spacer 20 is locked at an angle. For example, the angular position is locked by a tightening e.g. screw which presses against each other two facing rotating portions of one or more hinges between frame 2 and spacer 20 and / or between arm 4 and / or spacer 20. The angular locking thus takes place by friction or by coupling of form.

As can be deduced from the above, the innovative technical solution described here has the following advantageous characteristics:

- the possibility of moving the hives quickly and comfortably in order to follow the evolution of the flowers of beekeeping interest and also to avoid weather conditions, such as severe storms and hail, which are unfavorable to honey production

- possibility of operating independently even for one person and even with a slim build;

- inability to remove the hive-carrying trailer from the honey production site and remove the hives from the trailer; - flexibility of use;

- containment of overall dimensions;

- economy of production and management; and

- ease of use and maintenance - impossibility of theft of the hives

- greater production of all the products of the hive.

From the above description it is therefore evident how the hive-carrying trailer according to the present invention allows to achieve the proposed purposes.

It is equally clear to a person skilled in the art that it is possible to make changes and further variations to the solution described with reference to the attached figures, without thereby departing from the teaching of the present invention and from the scope of protection as defined by the attached claims.

It is possible that unit 1 is equipped with at least one photovoltaic panel to power the battery group housed in drawers 9. According to an embodiment variant, the unit is manufactured and sold as a separate module designed to be mounted on a commercial trailer.