AU2001100392A4 - Conductive strip and apparatus for electrocuting insects - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Name of Applicant: Anthony Joseph Hudson of 1 Jirrima Street, Woree, Queensland, 4868 Actual Inventor: Anthony Joseph Hudson Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia Innovation Patent specification for the invention entitled: "Conductive strip and apparatus for electrocuting insects" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: -1- Q:\OPER\SSB\HUDSON263.DOC- 19/9/01 P:\OPER\SSB\245623 Lspeddoc-19/09/OI -2- CONDUCTIVE STRIP AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTROCUTING INSECTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a conductive strip and apparatus for electrocuting insects.

Particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus having a conductive strip which, when energised by a power source, is capable of electrocuting insects which contact oppositely polarised conducting regions on the strip.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Insects are often known to be a nuisance to humans, infesting or invading houses, installations and machinery. Numerous ways of killing the insects and preventing their infestation or invasion of houses, installations and machinery have been proposed. The solutions include chemical sprays, electrical shockers for killing flying insects and poisonous bait for killing ground insects.

Ants, in particular, frequently invade houses and installations in search of food or for the purpose of establishing a nest and are difficult to kill with chemical sprays, poisonous bait or other means due to their large numbers. Ant nests can be poisoned once located, but this involves a significant cost if a large region is subject to a large ant presence.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is desired to solve or ameliorate one or more of the problems associated with insect infestations, particularly those relating to ants.

The present invention provides apparatus for electrocuting insects or arachnids or the like, including: a power supply; and P:\OPER\SSB\245623 spc.doc-19/09/01 -3a conductive strip connected to the power supply, wherein the conductive strip has a non-conductive region between respective positively and negatively charged conductors on the conductive strip and the non-conductive region is dimensioned so that insects may be electrocuted when contacting the positively and negatively charged conductors.

The present invention also provides a conductive strip connectable to a power supply, the conductive strip having a non-conductive region disposed longitudinally along the strip between first and second conductive regions on each lateral side of said non-conductive region, said non-conductive region being dimensioned so that insects may be electrocuted when contacting both said first and second conductive regions and when said first and second conductive regions are energised by said power supply.

Preferably, the conductive strip has an insulating material on one face thereof. This enables the strip to be placed on or around conductive material without short circuiting the conductive regions. Optionally, the conductive strip also includes an adhesive material on the back of the insulating material for adhering the strip to a surface. The adhesive material may be covered by a backing strip of non-adhesive waxed paper or plastic, for example, for convenience of handling prior to the strip being adhered to the desired surface.

Preferably, the non-conductive region has a lateral width of between about 1.5 mm and 0.25 mm. Preferably, the first and second conductive regions have lateral widths of between about 1 mm and 15 mm. Preferably, each of the first and second regions has a plurality of conductors, for example about 24 conductors, with each conductor being in the order of 0.1 to 0.15 mm in diameter.

Preferably, the strip is formed of polyethylene and woven from polyethylene threads to form a thin plastic strip. The conductors are woven into the strip in alternating fashion between the back and front sides of the strip but so as to present an approximately continuous surface of conductors on at least the front side of the strip.

P:\OPER\SSB456231 spe.doc-19/09/i01 -4- In one aspect of the invention, the conductive strip includes more than two conductive regions, such that adjacent conductive regions are each separated by a non-conductive region and are oppositely charged, in use, by the power supply. Alternatively, multiple strips may be laid parallel to each other so as to provide alternating oppositely charged conductive regions in the direction of the lateral widths of the adjacent strips. Preferably, the strip has a non-conductive region at either lateral edge so that short circuiting does not occur when two strips are laid adjacent each other on a surface.

Advantageously, the conductive strip of the present invention may be used in a number of ways and in numerous different locations, wherever an insect or arachnid infestation or invasion makes its use suitable. The conductive strip may be provided in preset lengths or may be cut into arbitrary lengths from a roll of a larger length. For example, the user of the strip may wish to purchase multiple lengths of 2 metres or may wish to purchase 100 metres, from which desired lengths may be cut to suit the application.

The power supply is small and preferably provided by a battery or mains power and is easily portable. The strip may easily be powered by any other power source of suitable voltage, possibly via mains power through a transformer but preferably from a power source having low current (limited to about 300mA) and AC voltage in the order of 12 to 24 volts. If a battery is used as the power supply, it is preferably capable of providing in the order of 12 to 24 volts DC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a conductive strip of a preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of the conductive strip of Figure 1 along the line A-A, according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view of the conductive strip of Figure 1 along the line A-A, according to another embodiment of the invention; P:\OPER\SSB\245623 lspe.doc-19/09/01 Figure 2C a cross-sectional view of the conductive strip of Figure 1 along the line A-A, according to yet another embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 illustrates an apparatus for killing insects employing the conductive strip of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to a conductive strip 5, as shown in Figure 1. The conductive strip 5 has at least two conductive regions 8 separated by a nonconductive region 10. These conductive regions 8 are connected to a power supply 18 (shown in Figure 3) via conductor lines 21, 22. The conductive regions 8 are energised oppositely to one another by the power supply 18 so that, when an insect crawls across the conductive strip 5 and contacts oppositely charged conductive regions 8 over the nonconductive region 10, the insect will be electrocuted.

The conductive strip 5 is generally elongate and thin, having a lateral width over which the insects crawl and contact the conductive regions 8. While the longitudinal length of the conductive strip 5 is indeterminate and may be as long as necessary to suit the particular application, the lateral width is preferably in the order of about 10 to 30 mm and the thickness is preferably in the order of a few millimetres. The non-conductive region 10 is defined by a lack of conductors between the conductive regions 8 and is preferably about to 0.25mm wide and more preferably about 1mm. In a preferred embodiment, the lateral width of each of the conductive regions 8 is about 4mm, separated by a nonconductive region of about 1mm width and non-conductive margins at each lateral side of about 0.5mm. The overall lateral width of the conductive strip 5 is about The conductive strip 5 is preferably formed from polyethylene monofilament, woven into a flat plastic strip. Either during formation of the strip when manufactured or afterwards, the conductive regions 8 are formed on the strip by weaving thin wire conductors into the P:\OPER\SSB\245623 Ispe.doc-19/09/01 -6strip. The wires may be formed of 316 stainless steel, for example. The wire conductors are woven into the strip so as to provide a conducting surface which approximates a continuous conducting surface. The conductors are woven into the material of the strip so as to alternate between the front and back sides of the strip, such that adjacent conducting wires are about 180 degrees out of phase. This formation serves to approximate a continuous conductive surface while providing a way of embedding the conductive surface in the plastic strip to thereby create the conductive strip Shown in Figure 2A is one embodiment of the conductive strip 5 having an insulation layer 12 on a back side thereof. The insulation layer 12 may be formed of a polyethylene strip of similar dimension to that in which the conductors are woven to form the conductive strip 5 but having no conductors woven therein. Alternatively, another suitable thin, striplike insulating material may be used. The insulating layer 12 may be fixed to the conducting layer of the conductive strip 5 by use of a suitable adhesive for bonding polyethylene strips together and which is substantially non-conductive. The conductive strip 5 may be formed without the insulating layer 12 in one embodiment, as in some cases it may be unnecessary. In other cases, it may be desirable or advantageous to electrocute insects travelling along either side of the strip 5. For example, if the conductive strip 5 is to be applied around a tree trunk for killing ants which travel up or down the trunk, no insulating layer 12 may be necessary as the tree itself is generally non-conducting. If no insulating layer 12 is used with the conductive strip 5, the conductors woven into the strip to form the conductive regions 8 will be exposed on the backside of the strip and the conductive strip should preferably not be applied in situations which may result in a short circuit of the conductive regions 8 through some conductive contact on the backside thereof.

In another embodiment of the conductive strip 5, shown in Figure 2B, an adhesive layer 14 is applied to the backside of the insulating layer 12 for adhering the conductive strip to a surface, such as the outside of a tree, electrical box or pillar or post or along a wall of a building or other structure. The adhesive used in the adhesive layer 14 is preferably of a non-permanent bonding type so as to enable the strip to be peeled off the surface to which P:\OPER\SSB\245623 lspe.doc-19/09/01 -7it was applied and reapplied to another surface. Alternatively, a more permanent adhesive may be used to provide a stronger and longer lasting surface bond. Preferably, the adhesive is not highly water soluble so that the conductive strip 5 may be reliably secured to the relevant surface even when the adhesive is exposed to water.

In a further embodiment, shown in Figure 2C, the conductive strip 5 also includes a backing strip 16 for covering the adhesive layer 14 prior to installation of the conductive strip 5. The backing strip 16 makes the conductive strip 5 easier to handle in longer lengths as it does not allow the adhesive layer 14 to prematurely adhere to other objects or other lengths of the conductive strip 5. The backing strip 16 may be formed of any suitable non-adhesive material, such as waxed paper or a non-adhesive plastic film. The backing strip is preferably less than a millimetre thick and has a lateral width similar to that of the conductive strip 5 but in any case sufficient to cover the adhesive layer 14.

In one embodiment, the conductive strip 5 may be connected to the power supply 18 by manually twisting the conductors of a conductive region together to effectively form a single conductor for connection to the power supply 18. The power supply 18 may have leads which extend and make connection to the respective sets of twisted conductors and the connections of these leads to the conductors may be covered in electrical tape.

Alternatively, the conductors may be connected to a terminal strip 20 at one end of the conductive strip 5, via which connection to the power supply 18 is made. The terminal strip 20 clamps the conductors of the conducting regions 8 to make electrical connection therewith and connection to the power supply 18 is made through insulated conductors 21, 22, which are electrically connected to the terminal strip 20. The terminal strip 20 has a non-conductive portion 24 in its middle corresponding to the lateral location of the nonconductive region 10 so as not to short-circuit the conductive regions 8. The terminal strip may have an insulating plastic casing around the outside for ease of handling.

The power supply 18 may be an AC or DC power supply. If it is to be an AC power supply, which is preferred, a suitable commercially available AC power supply of the appropriate range may be used. An example of a suitable AC power supply is the Kingray P:\OPER\SSB\245623 Ispe.doc-19/09/01 -8- PSK09, which has an output of 22 volts AC, is current limited to 300 milliamps and runs on mains power at 50Hz. In situations where mains power is unavailable, it is preferable to use a small DC power supply such as that provide by a 12 volt battery or two 12 volt batteries connected in series to form a 24 volt power supply.

Advantageously, multiple conductive strips 5 may be used laterally side by side or somewhat spaced apart so that insects which somehow survive crossing a first conductive strip 5 will most likely be killed while crossing a second or third conductive strip. An arrangement illustrating this is shown in Figure 3, where multiple conductive strips 5 are connected to power supply 18 and are located on a backing member 25, here shown in a cylindrical form. The backing member 25 is suitable for adhering multiple conductive strips 5 thereto but need not be of a particular shape or dimension, apart from having a smooth surface to which the conductive strips 5 may be adhered or otherwise fixed. The backing member 25 allows for ease of installation around a tree or pole or even placement around an ant mound, for example, as it may be formed with the conductive strips thereon initially as a rectangular sheet of material and then bent around into an open-ended cylinder shape attaching the two longitudinally spaced ends of the rectangular shape. In the example shown in Figure 3, each of the conductive strips 5 is terminated at one end at a terminal strip 27.

The terminal strip 27 shown in Figure 3 is preferably either located on the same side of the backing member 25 as the conductive strips 5 or is located on the opposite side of the backing member 25, with terminations being effected through small holes in the backing member 25. If the terminal strip 27 is located on the same side of the backing member as the conductive strips 5, the terminal strip 27 is preferably connected to the conductive strips 5 and then folded under the conductive strips 5 so as not to leave a non-conductive path along the terminal strip over which the insects might crawl unharmed. This embodiment assumes a circumferential overlap of the conductive strips 5 around the backing member by about the width of the terminal strip so that, when the terminal strip 27 is folded under the conductive strips 5, the overlap is folded under with the terminal strip 27. Alternatively, the terminal strip 27 can be located on the inside of the backing member P:\OPER\SSB\245623 lspe.do- 9/09/01 -9while the conductive strips 5 are located on the outside, or vice versa. It is then a simple matter to terminate the conductive strips 5 through small holes in the backing member 25 and the terminal strip 27 can then be connected to the power supply 18 through another hole in the backing member 25 or underneath the bottom of the backing member In an alternative construction of the conductive strip 5, it may be formed with more than two conductive regions 8, for example three to five, in which case the width of the conductive regions 8 may be commensurately smaller so as to fit the extra conductive and non-conductive regions 8, 10 on the conductive strip 5 without overly enlarging the lateral width thereof. For example, three conductive regions 8 may be disposed lmm apart and have a 2mm width, with a 1 mm non-conducting margin on either lateral extremity, thereby providing an overall lateral width of 10mm. In this example, the conductive regions must have alternating charges, for example positive then negative then positive, in one direction of travel across the conductive strip 5. In another example, the conductive strip 5 may have five separate and alternatingly charged conductive regions 8, each of 2mm in width and separated by four non-conductive regions 10 of 1mm width. For an overall lateral width of 15mm, the conductive strip 5 would have non-conductive lateral margins of about in this example. Further examples may be extrapolated in a similar way if a different number of conductive and non-conductive regions 8,10 is desired or if different widths are desired.

Instead of having multiple conductive strips 5 placed in parallel around the backing member as shown in Figure 3, an alternative form of the apparatus may involve a single conductive strip 5 wound around the backing member 25 in a spiral, thus requiring only one strip termination instead of multiple terminations for connecting to power supply 18.

Other constructions of the conductive strip may be employed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, for example by using different materials, different dimensions and different methods of terminating the conductive regions. These other constructions may not have all of the advantages of the preferred embodiments described P:\OPER\SSB245623 Ispe.doc-19/09/01 above, however, but may nonetheless achieve an analogous result. One example of such an alternative construction is to have the conductive regions formed of solid flat bar steel with a gap therebetween defining the non-conductive region. The steel conductive regions may alternatively be formed of thin flexible steel strips bonded to an insulating backing.

This construction is likely to be more costly than the combination of wire conductors and polyethylene tape described above. In a further alternative construction, the conductive regions are formed of a flexible thin printable conductive material which need not be linearly disposed along the strip. For example, the conductive regions may be formed of aluminised adhesive backed tape with a non-conductive region disposed centrally between irregularly formed conductive regions of the strip in a non-linear form, for example approximating a square wave or other repeated pattern. In a further alternative construction, the conductive regions may be formed of fine wires woven into a gauze or thin mesh and are then bonded to a backing strip (formed of polyethylene, for example) to form the conductive strip. In any construction, it is important that at least the conductive regions are at all locations spaced apart across a continuous non-conductive region.

Uses of preferred embodiments of the invention are numerous and varied, but are primarily contemplated for the purpose of killing ants and like-sized insects or arachnids or preventing them from travelling to a particular area.

Advantageously: 1. The voltage and current supplied to the conductive regions 8 of the conductive strip is generally sufficient to kill ants and like-sized insects or arachnids but insufficient to harm humans.

2. The conductive strip 5 may be used on the backing member 25, which may be formed of plastic for outside use, or it may be used as a single strip adhered to a wall inside or outside a building to prevent ants from travelling to a particular area.

3. The power supply 18 is small and can be used to provide power to a number of P:\OPER\SSB\245623 Lsp.doc- 19/09/01 -11separate conductive strips 4. Due to the simple construction of the conductive strip 5, long lengths of the strip may be purchased, portions cut therefrom as required and these portions are easily disposed of or reused if desired.

Modifications and alterations of preferred embodiments of the present invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art when reading the present specification. However, such modifications or alterations fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as described in the claims.

Claims (1)

12- THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. Apparatus for electrocuting insects or arachnids or the like, including: a power supply; and a conductive strip connected to the power supply, wherein the conductive strip has a non-conductive region between respective positively and negatively charged conductors on the conductive strip and the non-conductive region is dimensioned so that insects may be electrocuted when contacting the positively and negatively charged conductors. 2. A conductive strip connectable to a power supply, the conductive strip having a non-conductive region disposed longitudinally along the strip between first and second conductive regions on each lateral side of said non-conductive region, said non-conductive region being dimensioned so that insects, arachnids or the like may be electrocuted when contacting both said first and second conductive regions and when said first and second conductive regions are energised by said power supply. 3. The conductive strip of claim 2, further including an insulating material on one face of the conductive strip. 4. The conductive strip of claim 3, further including an adhesive material on said one face of the conductive strip. The conductive strip of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the non-conductive region has a lateral width of between 1.5mm and 0.25mm, the first and second conductive regions have lateral widths of between 1mm and 15mm and each comprise a plurality of conductors and the conductive strip is adapted to receive a voltage of between 12 and 24 VAC and a maximum current of 300 mA from said power supply.