Beehive Frame and Method of Construction Thereof

The present invention relates to bee frames used in the production of comb honey and, more particularly, to novel molded plastic frames and methods of construction thereof.

A typical beehive maintained for the domestic consumption of comb honey includes a number of so-called bee frames supported in side-by-side relation within a rectangular box or housing, referred to as a super, two or more such supers normally being stacked upon one another to form the complete hive. The bee frames have traditionally been constructed of wood in an open rectangular configuration, but frames of molded plastic construction have also been proposed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,579,676, 2,239,708, 3,088,135, 3,864,196 and 3,885,260, for example, disclose beehive frames and/or comb foundations made partially or completely of molded plastic. The structure of these prior art molded plastic frames is such, however, that expensive molds are required and/or other disadvantages of wooden bee frames remain.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a beehive frame, and method of construction thereof, which significantly reduce the cost of both labor and materials to the point that the frames are disposable after a single use without significantly affecting the cost of the comb honey contained therein.

A further object is to provide a bee frame which may conveniently be cut into individual pieces after being filled with comb honey to serve as a support for the marketed combs.

Another object is to reduce the cost and/or increase the profit to the producer of comb honey by providing a bee frame which requires minimal assembly time, allows the honey to be sold without cutting the comb, provides the quantity requested by the customer in a single operation, and provides an attractive and ready-made package for the honeycomb.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

In accordance with the foregoing objects, the invention contemplates a beehive frame which is formed as a unitary, monolithic, molded plastic member, preferably of an expanded polystyrene. This provides not only a relatively inexpensive and lightweight material, but also more reasonable tooling costs. Also, although the material is rigid, it has a melting temperature which allows it to be cut to fairly precise shapes with a hot wire or other such simple means.

The bee frame is formed by cutting the plastic member lengthwise to provide two, substantially identical halves. Each frame half is rectangular in outline, and includes a plurality of openings which are preferably hexagonal in shape. A sheet of honeycomb foundation, preferably of natural beeswax, is placed between the two halves which are arranged in congruent relation, as before the unitary member was cut, with the comb foundation covering the registered openings in the two halves at the juncture thereof. The frame halves are then rejoined with the comb foundation supported therebetween and the frame is ready for use. A simple and expedient means of joining the frame halves is with staples which engage adjoining marginal edge portions of the two halves.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a molded plastic member used in construction of the bee frame of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the member of FIG. 1 cut lengthwise into two halves;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the two halves of FIG. 2 with the sides reversed and a sheet of comb foundation positioned therebetween; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the completed frame, ready for use.

Referring now to the drawing, which illustrates both the structure of the bee frame of the invention and the sequence of steps in its construction, in FIG. 1 is shown a member denoted generally by reference numeral 10 which is formed by conventional molding procedures from a suitable plastic such as expanded polystyrene. Member 10 is rectangular in external periphery and includes a plurality of openings 12 extending through, and a plurality of recesses 14 extending a distance into both major surfaces. Member 10 is symmetrical and identical on both sides. Openings 12 are all of the same size and shape, preferably but not necessarily hexagonal to conform to the shape of individual honeycomb cells formed by bees. In the illustrated embodiment, member 10 includes two rows of five openings each, although the number, size and location of the openings may be varied if desired. Recesses 14 are provided to reduce the weight and amount of material used in the frame, but serve no other functional purpose and their presence is entirely optional. An ear 16 projects from each end of one of the long edges of member 10 to rest upon suitable supports in a super of a beehive when the completed frame is in use, as will later become apparent. The thickness of member 10, which is uniform throughout except in the areas of the openings and recesses, is designated as dimension `T`.

After member 10 is molded in the form described it is cut lengthwise, preferably along its lateral centerline, by any convenient tool such as a saw, knife or hot wire suited to cut the material of which member 10 is formed. As seen in FIG. 2, member 10 has been so cut by a diagrammatically indicated tool moving in the direction of the arrows to form two substantially identical halves, denoted by reference numerals 18 and 20. The depth of recesses 14 on opposite sides of member 10 is shallow enough that sufficient material is present between the recesses to insure that the surfaces formed by the cutting are essentially smooth and there are no breaks which would form unwanted openings communicating with the recesses. Thus, the thickness of portions 18 and 20 is 1/2T.

After cutting, each of portions 18 and 20 is turned over so that the surfaces containing recesses 14 are facing one another and the smooth surfaces formed by the cutting operation become the outer surfaces. Portions 18 and 20 are shown in FIG. 3 after being turned, and sheet 22 of comb foundation is placed between the two. The comb foundation is a conventional element, having a pattern of hexagonal indentations on each side upon which the bees construct a comb and deposit honey. Both natural (beeswax) and synthetic materials have been used as comb foundations, sheet 22 preferably being of natural beeswax and thus edible together with the comb honey deposited thereon. Sheet 22 is large enough to cover all of openings 12, but need not be as large as the external periphery of member 10. In fact, individual sheets of comb foundation may be provided for each of openings 12, but the resulting savings in material may not offset the additional time and trouble required to place individual sheets in covering relation to each of the openings.

Portions 18 and 20 are brought together with sheet 22 supported therebetween and are rejoined as shown in FIG. 4 to provide the bee frame of the invention in its final form. The completed frame, ready for insertion in a beehive super, is denoted generally by reference numeral 26. Although any desired means of joining frame halves 18 and 20 together may be employed, the preferred joining means is staples which extend between and engage adjoining marginal edge portions of the frame halves, several staples being shown in FIG. 4 and denoted by reference numeral 24.

Bee frame 26 may be constructed from member 10 and sheet 22 in a matter of minutes, as opposed to the long and laborious fabrication required for conventional bee frames, particularly those of wooden construction. A plurality of frames 26 are suspended in vertical planes, in side-by-side relation within an otherwise conventional super, wherein the bees will construct combs and deposit honey upon the foundation of sheet 22 within each of openings 12 on both sides of the frame. Thus, the comb foundation is actually at the center of combs constructed on both sides thereof. When the openings are filled, the entire frame is removed from the super and the individual combs may be removed from the openings, or, preferably, the frame material may be cut (again, with a hot wire, etc.) into individual pieces each including one or more complete combs. It is therefore unnecessary to cut the combs, since portions of the disposable frame may continue to support the combs until they reach the consumer. The frame material is preferably brown in color so that the "travel marks" which are left by the bees when walking on the frame structure are not as evident as they would be on frames which are white, etc.