Title of Invention

A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HONEYCOMBS FOR BEEKEEPING

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, said method comprising the steps of applying molten wax to a resilient mould (12) constituted by a plurality of cores (13), for forming cells (10) of half honeycombs (9) , directly mounted and protruding from a first endless belt (2), filling with molten wax the spaces between the adjacent cores (13) separated at their point of attachment to the first endless belt (2) so as to form a thin plate (11) interconnecting the spaces between the cells (10) by a second endless belt (1) moving parallel to the first endless belt (2) with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of the half honeycomb (9) to be produced, the second endless belt (1) moving in the same direction and with the same speed as that of the first endless belt (2) to form a moulded half honeycomb, cooling the moulded half honeycomb, so produced, separating the moulded half honeycomb (9) from the core (13) carrying mould (12), and joining two moulded half honeycombs (9) by their bases back to back, having cells (10) extending in opposite direction to form a honeycomb The present invention also discloses an apparatus for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, wherein there are provided two endless belts (1. 2) parallel to one another with a separation between said belts (1,2) being slightly greater than the thickness of a half honeycomb (9), to be produced, and the two endless belts (1,2) moving in the same direction with the same speed, the first endless belt (2) is provided with a resilient mould (12) constituted by a plurality of cores (13) for forming the cells (10) of half honeycombs (9), directly mounted and protruding therefrom, the second endless belt (1) is provided for forming a thin plate (11) interconnecting the spaces between the cells (10) by said second endless belt (2) moving parallel to the first endless belt (1), and a means (19) is provided for detaching of the moulded and solidified half honeycomb (9) produced at the end of travel of the two parallel runs (7.8) of the belts (1, 2).

Full Text

- 1A- FIELD OF INVENTION The present relates to a method and apparatus for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The preparation of wax honeycombs so that bees can deposit honey therein has become widespread in recent years as a means of avoiding the need for the bees not only to perform the work of filling the honeycomb with the honey which they produce, but also to prepare their own honeycomb beforehand, which represents a much longer production time and hence a lower yield from the hive of bees US patent no 4,971,746 relates to a currently known method for solving the said problem which composes forming of the honeycomb by means of groups of cores of a shape conjugate with the holes on both faces of the honeycomb in suitable apparatus which supplies the wax to the moulding region and subsequently enables the honeycomb to be removed and cooled These honeycombs have to be incorporated in a receiving frame which considerably increases costs and reduces adaptability to hives of different types SUMMARY OF INVENTION The method and apparatus of the present invention are intended precisely to achieve more economical preparation of the honeycombs, dispensing with the supporting frames or casing and permitting easy adaptation to hives of different types Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, said method comprising the steps of applying molten wax to a resilient mould constituted by a plurality of cores, for forming cells of half honeycombs, directly mounted and protruding from a fust endless belt, filling with molten wax the spaces between the adjacent cores separated at their point -2- of attachment to the first endless belt so as to form a thin plate interconnecting the spaces between the cells by a second endless belt moving parallel to the fust endless belt with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of the half honeycomb to be produced, the second endless belt moving in the same direction and with the same speed as that of the first endless belt to form a moulded half honeycomb, cooling the moulded half honeycomb, so produced, separating the moulded half honeycomb from the core carrying mould, and joining two moulded half honeycombs by their bases back to back, having cells extending in opposite direction to form a honeycomb The present invention also provides an apparatus for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, wherein there are provided two endless belts parallel to one another with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of a half honeycomb, to be produced, and the two endless belts moving in the same direction with the same speed, the first endless belt is provided with a resilient mould constituted by a plurality of cores for forming the cells of half honeycombs, directly mounted and protruding therefrom, the second endless belt is provided for forming a thin plate interconnecting the spaces between the cells by said second endless belt moving parallel to the first endless belt, and a means is provided for detaching of the moulded and solidified half honeycomb produced at the end of travel of the two parallel runs of the belts To improve the filling of the spaces between the cores of resilient material which are intended to form the cells of a honeycomb, a slight transverse separation of the said cores is brought about by mechanical action, creating a larger opening thereof and thus enabling the quantity of wax contained between every two cores to be increased, by virtue of the said partial opening, in comparison with that strictly necessary to form the completed honeycomb cells so that the surplus wax will be projected towards the belt which passes opposite that carrying cores, enabling the base plate connecting the various cells to be formed so as to correspond to a half honeycomb - 3 - Moreover, to assist the separation of the half honeycomb from the upper conveyor belt once it has been moulded and partially cooled, the said belt is heated locally in order to soften the wax of the half honeycomb corresponding to the region of contact with the belt, which can easily be separated To achieve an additional improvement in the said separation, the present invention provides for the arrangement of a transverse wire which, upon acting on the softened or molten laminar region, brings about a mechanical action for separating the half honeycomb produced According to a variant of the present invention, the intermittent operation of the apparatus is converted into continuous operation by virtue of the conversion of the belt carrying the moulding cells into a continuous belt unit having projections for forming the half honeycombs over its entire surface, without a break throughout its length, so that the wax is supplied continuously, the lower belt continuously transporting a layer of wax coupled with the moulding projections which, upon acting in combination with the upper belt, permit the production of an element of indeterminate length and with a structure corresponding to that of a half honeycomb, but of indefinite length At the output of the unit with the two belts, there is a cutting system which enables half honeycombs of the desired length to be produced The useful length of the half honeycomb may be variable by variation of the cutting length BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figures 1 to 5 show various steps of the method, these drawings show two endless, parallel belts, one carrying the resilient mould constituted by a plurality of cores for forming the cells of the half honeycomb, the drawings then showing the initial step of the filling of the spaces with molten wax, the step of moulding and cooling the half honeycomb produced, and the final step of separation thereof - 4 - Figures 6 and 7 show details of the application of the hot wax to the resilient core. Figure 8 shows the step of the removal of the half honeycomb produced from the resilient core. Figure 9 shows a version with an auxiliary roller for detaching the half honeycombs formed. Figures 10 and 1 1 show respective schematic views of the unit with the two belts and of the cutting device at the output thereof, according to a variant of the invention. Figures 12 and 13 show respective details of the wax-supply region of the variant indicated. Figures 14 and 15 show, in section, respective details of the cut portion of the element produced at the output of the process in the same variant as Figures 1 2 to 15. According to the drawings, the half honeycombs are manufactured by two endless conveyor belts 1 and 2 mounted, respectively, on rollers 3, 4 and 5, 6, which are moved in a manner such that the inner runs 7 and 8 of the said belts move in the same direction and at the same speed. The space between the said runs 7 and 8 is slightly larger than the half honeycomb to be produced, which is indicated 9 in Figures 5 and 8. The said half honeycomb comprises a plurality of projections in the form of resilient cores 10 and a joining region or back plate 11 which connects them. Preferably, the endless belts 1 and 2 are arranged at a small angle to the horizontal and the lower belt has a region or mould 1 2 provided with a plurality of rows of resilient cores 13, Figures 6 to 8, which are intended to form the cells of the half honeycombs to be produced. As the mould moves in front of a wax-supply vessel 14, the spaces between the cores 13 are filled, as can be seen in greater detail in Figure 7, in which it can be seen that the spaces between the cores 13 are filled with masses of - 5 - wax 15 which also form the rear joining region or plate 11 In order to improve the filling of the spaces between the cores 13, a mechanism is provided for opening out the spaces at the moment when they are filled; this mechanism may be a simple roller 16 which establishes contact with a region in the vicinity of the tip or end of the cores 13, enlarging the intermediate spaces and allowing a quantity of wax greater than the stable volume 15 shown to enter between every two cores; owing to the resilient action of the cores, this enables the surplus volume of wax to be expelled outwardly relative to the cores, enabling the connecting region or plate 11 to be formed correctly. A lower container 17 is intended to receive the surplus wax from the filling operation. After the spaces between the cores have been filled, the movement of the endless belts arranged close together as shown in the drawings, permits the correct formation of the half honeycomb 9 which is the objective of the method. During its passage between the two endless belts, cooling of the half honeycomb takes place and leads to its solidification. To improve the removal from the upper belt 1 of the half honeycomb produced when the end of the travel is reached, as can be seen in Figure 8, the present invention provides for the arrangement of a heat source 18 situated in the vicinity of the output of the half honeycomb produced, preferably on the inner side of the conveyor belt 1 , the heat source being intended to bring about local softening or melting of the rear portion of the plate 1 1 of the half honeycomb to enable it to be detached more easily. To improve the said detachment, the present invention provides for the arrangement of a wire or thin bar 19, substantially touching the conveyor belt 1, facilitating the separation of the half honeycomb 9 from the upper belt 1. - 6 - For half honeycombs with very thin walls, the arrangement shown in Figure 9 may be advantageous; this drawing shows an auxiliary roller 20 which, together with the end roller 6 of the lower belt 2, enables a greater smoothness to be achieved in the separation of the half honeycomb from the upper belt. Preferably, the endless belts 1 and 2 are steel-based belts and the moulds or groups of cores 13 are silicone-based in order to give them sufficient resilience and favourable mould-release characteristics. The method provides for the addition of a certain quantity of water to the molten wax to ensure better adhesion of the half honeycomb to the upper belt, means being provided for replacing the water which is used up during the operation of the machine. As will be understood, the method and apparatus of the present invention permits the production of half honeycombs, that is, elements such as that indicated 9 in Figure 8 such that, in order to produce the complete honeycomb, it will be necessary to use two of the said half honeycombs, joined by their bases, the various cores extending in opposite directions. The present invention permits the production of half honeycombs the dimensions of which are variable according to the mould used. In this connection, it should be borne in mind that, for simplicity, the drawings do not show the half honeycomb 9 with the same dimensions as the mould or core region 12; however, this is only a convention of representation since, depending on the filling of the mould, the half honeycomb produced may have dimensions variable up to overall dimensions corresponding to the whole mould. The variant of Figures 10 to 15 provides for the lower belt 21 to be formed in a manner such as to have, on its outer face and for its entire length, projections 22 of a shape conjugate with the cells 23 to be formed in the - 7 - honeycombs so that the said projections 22 extend over the entire length of the belt 21 without a break and without any difference over its entire travel so that, after the supply of wax has been received from the supply vessel 24, a continuous mass of wax 25 is transported, held between the cell projections 22 of the belt 21 and the facing run of the upper belt 26, giving rise, at the output, to a continuous element 27 of indefinite length, the structure of which corresponds basically to that of the half honeycombs to be produced. In order to separate the individual half honeycombs from the linear element 27 as a whole, the machine has a cutting device 28 for cutting the element 21 into sections of the desired length. The said cutting device may be of any suitable type, there being shown schematically, purely by way of example, a cranked blade which is operated by an eccentric or the like and which may be graduated in order to vary the length of the sections cut. As will be appreciated from Figure 1 1 , after the cutting operation, a section 29, constituted by a half honeycomb which will subsequently be joined back-to-back with another similar section to form a complete honeycomb, is obtained. As will be understood, the conversion of the intermittent production system to a continuous production system will considerably improve productivity, reducing production costs. -8-WE CLAIM 1 A method for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, said method comprising the steps of applying molten wax to a resilient mould constituted by a plurality of cores, for forming cells of half honeycombs, directly mounted and protruding from a first endless belt, filling with molten wax the spaces between the adjacent cores separated at their point of attachment to the first endless belt so as to form a thin plate interconnecting the spaces between the cells by a second endless belt moving parallel to the first endless belt with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of the half honeycomb to be produced, the second endless belt moving m the same direction and with the same speed as that of the first endless belt to form a moulded half honeycomb, cooling the moulded half honeycomb, so produced, separating the moulded half honeycomb from the core carrying mould, and joining two moulded half honeycombs by their bases back to back, having cells extending in opposite direction to form a honeycomb 2 A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided a small proportion of water added to the molten wax to be replaced periodically as it is used up 3 A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein there is provided localized heating of the thin plate to promote its separation from the second endless belt 4 Apparatus for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, wherein there are provided two endless belts parallel to one another with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of a half honeycomb, to be produced, and the two endless belts moving in the same direction with the same speed. the first endless belt is provided with a resilient mould constituted by a plurality of cores for forming the cells of half honeycombs, directly mounted and protruding therefrom the second endless belt is provided for forming a thin plate interconnecting the spaces between the cells by said second endless belt moving parallel to the first endless belt, and a means is provided for detaching of the moulded and solidified half honeycomb produced at the end of travel of the two parallel runs of the belts 5 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein both endless belts are made of steel and are provided at a slight inclination to the horizontal 6 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4. wherein the resilient mould, constituted by a plurality of cores for forming the cells, is made of silicone 7 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first endless belt is the lower belt 8 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second endless belt is the upper belt, and is slightly longer than the lower belt, giving rise to a projecting region at the output of the half honeycombs, so produced 5 -9- 9 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is provided in the region of curvature of the first endless belt a device for opening out the spaces at the moment when they are filled, said device establishing contact with a region in the vicinity of the tip or end of the cores, enlarging the intermediate spaces and allowing a quantity of molten wax greater than the stable volume required to enter between every two cores and owing to the resilient action of the cores, whereby the surplus volume of molten wax is caused to be expelled outwardly relative to the cores, thus enabling the connecting region between the cores or thin plate to be formed correctly 10 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means for detaching the half honeycomb, so produced, comprises a source of heat which acts on the upper belt in the vicinity of the output of the half honeycomb in order to bring about local softening of the rear portion of the half honeycomb to facilitate its detachment 11 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is provided a transverse wire substantially touching the upper belt carrying the moulded half honeycomb, so produced, in order to facilitate the detachment thereof 12 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein there is provided an auxiliary roller for guiding the lower endless belt, provided in the vicinity of the guide roller of the said belt at the end for the output of the half honeycombs, so produced, for favoring the smooth extraction of the half honeycombs, particularly if they have very thin walls 13 The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first endless belt, provided with a resilient mould and constituted by a plurality of cores, for forming the cells of the half honeycomb, directly mounted and protruding therefrom, is covered by said plurality of cores over the entire length of the belt without a break, so that in the event of continuous supply of wax for its moulding, a continuous linear element of indefinite length is caused to be produced, which is capable of being cut into sections by a cutting device provided at the output of the unit, comprising the two endless belts 14 The apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the cutting device is adjustable in order to obtain sections of the desired length 15 A method for the production of a single honeycomb for beekeeping, substantially as herein described particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings 16 Apparatus for the production of a single honeycomb for beekeeping, substantially as herein described particularly with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings Dated this 26th day of June 1998 The present invention discloses a method for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, said method comprising the steps of applying molten wax to a resilient mould (12) constituted by a plurality of cores (13), for forming cells (10) of half honeycombs (9) , directly mounted and protruding from a first endless belt (2), filling with molten wax the spaces between the adjacent cores (13) separated at their point of attachment to the first endless belt (2) so as to form a thin plate (11) interconnecting the spaces between the cells (10) by a second endless belt (1) moving parallel to the first endless belt (2) with a separation between said belts being slightly greater than the thickness of the half honeycomb (9) to be produced, the second endless belt (1) moving in the same direction and with the same speed as that of the first endless belt (2) to form a moulded half honeycomb, cooling the moulded half honeycomb, so produced, separating the moulded half honeycomb (9) from the core (13) carrying mould (12), and joining two moulded half honeycombs (9) by their bases back to back, having cells (10) extending in opposite direction to form a honeycomb The present invention also discloses an apparatus for the production of a honeycomb for beekeeping, wherein there are provided two endless belts (1. 2) parallel to one another with a separation between said belts (1,2) being slightly greater than the thickness of a half honeycomb (9), to be produced, and the two endless belts (1,2) moving in the same direction with the same speed, the first endless belt (2) is provided with a resilient mould (12) constituted by a plurality of cores (13) for forming the cells (10) of half honeycombs (9), directly mounted and protruding therefrom, the second endless belt (1) is provided for forming a thin plate (11) interconnecting the spaces between the cells (10) by said second endless belt (2) moving parallel to the first endless belt (1), and a means (19) is provided for detaching of the moulded and solidified half honeycomb (9) produced at the end of travel of the two parallel runs (7.8) of the belts (1, 2).

Documents:

01130-cal-1998-abstract.pdf

01130-cal-1998-claims.pdf

01130-cal-1998-correspondence.pdf

01130-cal-1998-description(complete).pdf

01130-cal-1998-drawings.pdf

01130-cal-1998-form-1.pdf

01130-cal-1998-form-2.pdf

01130-cal-1998-form-3.pdf

01130-cal-1998-form-5.pdf

01130-cal-1998-gpa.pdf

01130-cal-1998-priority document other.pdf

01130-cal-1998-priority document.pdf