CA1126511A - Animal trap - Google Patents
Animal trapInfo
- Publication number
- CA1126511A CA1126511A CA347,597A CA347597A CA1126511A CA 1126511 A CA1126511 A CA 1126511A CA 347597 A CA347597 A CA 347597A CA 1126511 A CA1126511 A CA 1126511A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- base
- trap
- platform
- bait
- wire
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01M—CATCHING, TRAPPING OR SCARING OF ANIMALS; APPARATUS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF NOXIOUS ANIMALS OR NOXIOUS PLANTS
- A01M23/00—Traps for animals
- A01M23/24—Spring traps, e.g. jaw or like spring traps
- A01M23/30—Break-back traps, i.e. mouse-trap type
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
An animal trap, especially for lethally catching small rodents such as mice, comprises a base to which is pivotally mounted a striker wire, spring urged from a set position to a striking position. A trigger member is located adjacent one end of the base, and holds the striker wire to maintain it in the latched position. An elongated platform is pivotally mounted on the base and is connected at one end to the trigger member. Immediately above the platform is provided a bait receptacle, with an open side presented away from the trigger end of the base, and a pivoted cover or hood, elongated and open-ended. The bait is thus accessible only to an animal approaching from the striking end of the base. The application of the animal's weight to the end of the platform causes release of the striker wire. The sensitivity of the trap is adjustable by variation of the position of engagement of the striker wire on the trigger member, caused by changing the position of the bait receptacle. The position of the bait receptacle is also adjustable to allow for different animal sizes.
An animal trap, especially for lethally catching small rodents such as mice, comprises a base to which is pivotally mounted a striker wire, spring urged from a set position to a striking position. A trigger member is located adjacent one end of the base, and holds the striker wire to maintain it in the latched position. An elongated platform is pivotally mounted on the base and is connected at one end to the trigger member. Immediately above the platform is provided a bait receptacle, with an open side presented away from the trigger end of the base, and a pivoted cover or hood, elongated and open-ended. The bait is thus accessible only to an animal approaching from the striking end of the base. The application of the animal's weight to the end of the platform causes release of the striker wire. The sensitivity of the trap is adjustable by variation of the position of engagement of the striker wire on the trigger member, caused by changing the position of the bait receptacle. The position of the bait receptacle is also adjustable to allow for different animal sizes.
Description
This invention relates to animal traps and more particularly to that class of trap utilized in killing or trapping animals which is mechanically tripped when the animal attempts to obtain bait food placed in the trap.
The prior art abounds with animal traps. United States patent 2,492,957 issued January 3, 1950 to J.N. Blair and United States patent 1,394,649 issued October 25, 1921 to G.H.
Thompson both describe animal traps in which a bait receiving portion operates a lever removably secured thereto. When the lever is operated, it is rotated so as to flail upwardly in the region of the bait and release a spring loaded striker wire, striking the animal which engaged the bait receiving area with sufficient force. Both teachings suffer the common deficiency of having the flailing linkage wire operate in the vicinity of the animal, often times throwing the animal outwardly from the region in which the striker wire will operate. Furthermore, both devices provide for a fixed location for the bait, relative to the linkage wire, thereby requiring an element arm of given magnitude required to trip the mechanism. No adjustment is provided to facilitate tripping for heavier or lighter forces applied to the traps.
Rodents, amongst other small animals, often become trap shy after having experienced an attempt to reach the bait o a trap only to hear such trap become triggered and to successfully escape from the trap, with or without nonfatal , .
, 112~;S~l injury. Accordingly, such ~Itrained~ animals become exceedingly difficult to trap on a second encounter with a spring loaded trap. Therefore the present invention is designed to trap an animal efficiently and effectively on its very first encounter with the trap. One of the primary reasons that animals can safely escape with the bait load of a trap is their ability to reach over the trip mechanism and to withdraw the bait without touching a release mechanism, usually associated with the area upon which the bait is placed. Another method for an animal to escape is to have a portion of the trap itself strike the animal in such a way as to cause the animal to be pushed away from portions of the trap intended to capture the animal.
Finally, even though animals do step upon trigger mechanisms carrying bait, small animals, of light weight, oftentimes successfully remove the bait since they do not apply sufficient downward force on the trigger mechanism to operate the trap.
The present invention recognizes these difficulties and provides a ready solution thereto as w211 as providing an inexpensively manufactured apparatus which is safe to use, load and clean after use.
Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided an animal trap comprising:
a base;
a platform pivotally mounted in said base;
a trigger member movably mounted on said base and - .
.
' ; - ' ~
~12~;Sll coupled to said platform;
a generally U-shaped striker wire pivotally secured to said base and pivotally movable between a set position and an opposed striking position;
spring means biasing said striker wire towards its striking position;
the trigger member being movable, in response to move-ments of said platform, ~etween a first, set position in which it engages the striker wire to hold said striker wire in the set position, and a second, releasing position in which it releases the striker wire;
a bait receptacle mounted above said platform and presenting one open side in a direction away from the trigger member and towards the striking position of the striker wire, so as to allow access to bait in said bait receptacle from one lateral direction only;
a cover for said bait receptacle, said cover having an open side coinciding with the open side of said bait receptacle, and being movable between a covering position closing top access to the bait receptacle, and an open position permitting top access thereto for bait loading purpose.
The provision of the bait receptacle and hood therefor ensure that the animal can only obtain the bait by approaching from the correct, predetermined direction, thereby ensuring that the animal steps on the platform and triggers the trap 1126Sll in doing so. Moreover, this arrangement ensures that the animal will be correctly positioned, when triggering the trap, to receive a fatal blow from the striker, as opposed to a non-fatal blow or merely being thrown away from the trap.
Preferably, the trigger member is a wire pivotally secured to the base ad~acent one end of said base, the trigger wire being located inside the arc of travel of the striker wire, the trigger wire being generally S-shaped as viewed in side elevation, the curved-horizontal intermediate pGrtion thereof being adapted to engage the base of the U-shaped striker wire when in the set position. The sensitivity of the trap to triggering by animals of different weight can thus be arranged on setting the trap, by ad~usting the position of the base of th0 U-shaped striker, in the set position, along the curved-horizontal intermediate portion of the S-shaped trigger.
The structure and mèthod of fabrication of the present invention is applicable to a base, preferably fabricated from a plastic material, such as polypropylene, having a generally rectangular shape, optionally supported by downwardly pro-truding legs. In the preferred embodiment, the platform also has a generally rectangular shape, but of somewhat smaller dimensions than the base, and elongated. A pair of down-wardly turned lips on the platform are provided, each having a hole therethrough to allow pivoted connection to a pair of , ' ~1~2~5~
upstanding plates on the base. The U-shaped striker wire, having the ends thereof secured to a pivot rod, is pivotably secured to the base plate by having the ends of the pivot rod pass through another pair of opposed aligned holes in forma-tions on the base plate. Wrapped about the pivot rod and affixed to the striker wire are one or more springs, one end of each of which rests upon the uppersmost lateral surface of the plate, and the other end of each of which is in touching engagement with the legs of the U-shaped striker wire so as to cause the striker wire to be urged towards one end of the base. Affixed to one end of the platform is a link member, which connects to the trigger member. The trigger member, being fabricated in the form of a wire, may be pivotally mounted between ~rackets on the base.
When it is desired to load the trap, the striker wire is moved to its set position and the trigger member is pulled rearwardly to engage the intermediate surface portion thereof with the striker wire. The platform is thus raised to engage the underside of the bait receptacle. The hood can now be moved to the open position and the bait put into the receptacle and the hood closed, without touching the platform to risk triggering the trap. Any downward force applied to a side of the platform located opposite of the side thereof carrying the link member, of sufficient force, causes the trigger wire to release the striker wire, releasing same for rotational trans-LZ~i511 lation about the pivot rod passing through the plates of thebase. Thus, it can be seen that there are no mechanisms carried above the uppermost lateral surface of the trap, which may strike the animal as the striker wire is placed into motion, tending to push such animal outwardly from the arcuate path of the striker wire, before the striker wire engages the - animal in a trapped position. Furthermore, it may be seen that the broad lateral surface of the platform constitutes a cantilevered arm of considerable length, extending outwardly from and normally to the longitudinal axis of the pivot rod carrying the bait tray in pivotal relationship to the base.
A specific preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment;
FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the device of Fig. 1, the trap being in its set position;
FIGURE 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the trap in its released, striking position;
FIGURE 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the bait receiptacle at a differently adjusted location.
The trap according to the invention comprises a generally rectangular base 10, to the upper surface of which the various operative parts of the trap are mounted. Thus, near one end, there is mounted a trigger member 12 in the form of a generally S-shaped wire, having an intermediate curved-horizontal portion 14. The trigger member 12 is pivotally mounted to the base 10 by means of a pivot rod 16 - 11265~1 extending between a pair of upstanding end brackets 18 and through a lower aperture in the trigger member 12.
Near the centre of the base 10 there are provided a pair of central brackets 20 through which passes pivotally a centre pivot rod 22. A generally U-shaped striker wire ~24 is provided, the legs 26, 28 of which are bent rearwardly to provide pivot mounting formations embracing the centre pivot rod 22. A coil spring 30 surrounds the centre pivot rod 22, one end of which 32 bears against the upper surface of the base 10, and the other end of which bears against the leg 28 of the striker wire 24, so as to spring urge the striker wire 24 to the striking position shown in FIG. 1. The base of the striker wire 24 comprises two joined parallel base members 34, 36, enlarging the striking area of the striker wire 24.
Either or both of the base members 34, 36 thereof may be plastlc coated. A perpe~dlcular extension 37 protrudes from base member 36, to facilitate lifting of the striker wire.
A platform 38 is provided, pivotally mounted on the base 10 by means of depending brackets 40 secured to the platform 38, and a pivot rod 42 extending transversely across the base 10 between mounting blocks 44. The platform 38 is elongated and arranged in cantilever fashion above the coil spring 30 and within the U-shape of the striker wire 24. At its end adjacent to the ~rigger member 12, the. platform 38 is connected thereto by a link 46 received in the upper part of the trigger mem~er 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, when the :1126S~l platform 38 is depressed to pivot downwardly, in a clockwise direction about pivot rod 42, link 46 operates to pull trigger member 12 to the right, as sh~wn in the drawings.
A bait receptacle in the form of a wire mesh ~ait pan 48 is located above the top surface of the platform 38. When the platform 38 is raised from its position shown in FIG. 1 to its position shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the plat-form 38 bears against the lower surface of the ~ait pan 48. As shown, the bait pan 48 has side pieces 50 and a rear piece 52, so that access to bait received in the bait pan 48 is available only from one side, along the length of the lever 38. The ~ait pan 48 is slidably mounted on a pair of upstanding U-shaped rails 54, protruding upwardly from the top surface of the base 10. Thus the bait pan 48 can be moved forwardly and rear-wardly with respect to the trigger member 12, along the rails 54. By so doing, the vertical position of the platform 38 is varied, when the trap is in its set position with the platform raised, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, with different portions of the upper surface of the platform 38 coming into engagement with the underside of the bait pan 48, thus to vary its ~erti-cal disposition, and thus to change the angular position of the trigger member 12.
A cage or hood 56 is provided, of wire mesh form to overlie the top of the bait pan 48 and prevent top access thereto. The wire hood 56 is pivotally mounted on angle rods .,.~
~ ......
llZ6511 58 extending upwardly from the top surface of the base 10 and pivotally received at their ends in depending hook formations 60 at one end of the hood 56. At its forward end, the wire hood 56 has depending spring legs 62, which will engage inside rails 54 when the wire hood 56 is pivoted to its downward location. When in its down location, the hood 56 embraces and covers the bait pan ~8, preventing top access thereto, but allowing access from one end, along the platform 34, through the length of the hood 56.
The operation of the trap will now he clear, from the above description. To set the trap, the striker wire 24 is moved from its position shown in FIG. 1, pivoting about centre pivot rod 22 against the urging of spring 30 to be located under trigger member 12, with the base member 34 of the ~-shaped striker rod engaging against intermediate portion surface 14. For this to happen, the platform 38 is raised, to a position limited by the adjusted position o~ the bait pan 48, so as to permit sufficient rearward movement of trigger member 12 to engage the base 34 of the striker wire 24. The hood 56 may be pivoted to open access to the top of the bait pan 48, for loading of bait therein, and the hood may then be replaced to prevent such top access, with the spring legs 62 engaged inside rails 54. A small animal cannot there-fore remove the hood to gain access to the bait from the top of the pan, whilst at the same time loading of the trap with 1~265~
bait can be accomplished in the set position without substan-tial risk of triggering the trap. In order to obtain the bait, an animal is obliged to approach the bait pan 48 through the length of the hood 56, and thereby step upon the end of the platform 38, to trigger the trap whilst the animal is in the lethal blow striking position. As downward force is applied to the end of the~platform 38, as shown in FIG. 2, causing it to rotate in the clockwise direction, trigger member 12 is pulled to the right by means of link 46, so that eventually base member 34 of striker wire 24 comes out of engagement with intermediate surface portion 14 of the trigger member 12, and the striker wire is forced to the position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, by the coil spring 30.
Adjustment of the sensitivity of the trap is accomplished by manual arrangement of the engagement of the base member 34 of the striker wire 24 at the appropriate position on inter-mediate portion surface 14 of the trigger. The form of link 46 permits a degree of lost motion between the platform and the trigger, so as to set the ~rap in a more sensitive opera-ting position. Similarly, the trap is set for operation byanimals of different weights, by adjustment of the bait pan 48 along the rails 54 to vary the vertical position of the platform 38, and thereby vary the set position of the trigger member 12 with respect to the striker wire base 34.
llZ65~.
An advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which permits variable amounts of tripping forces to operate the release mechanism of the trap, thereby accommodating to animals of different weights and sizes.
Another advantage of the present inventiGn is a shrouded bait area tending to force the animal to approach such shrouded bait containing area in a preferred direction, tending to place the animal in a position so as to be struck by the striker wire when released.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which may be safely loaded and unloaded with great ease.
A further advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which may be conveniently and easily cleaned after use.
Another advantage of the present invention is an animal trap having a broadened area with which to strike the animal after the trap has been released by such animal attempting to reach the baited portion thereof.
Still another advantage of the present invention is an inexpensivel~ fabricated, durabl~ constructed and reliable animal trap useful in trapping animals of various sizes.
Thus, there is disclosed in the above description and llZ6i51~
in the drawings, an embodiment of the invention which accomplishes the objects thereof. However, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art, how to make variations and modifications to the instant invention. Therefore this invention is to be limited, not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.
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The prior art abounds with animal traps. United States patent 2,492,957 issued January 3, 1950 to J.N. Blair and United States patent 1,394,649 issued October 25, 1921 to G.H.
Thompson both describe animal traps in which a bait receiving portion operates a lever removably secured thereto. When the lever is operated, it is rotated so as to flail upwardly in the region of the bait and release a spring loaded striker wire, striking the animal which engaged the bait receiving area with sufficient force. Both teachings suffer the common deficiency of having the flailing linkage wire operate in the vicinity of the animal, often times throwing the animal outwardly from the region in which the striker wire will operate. Furthermore, both devices provide for a fixed location for the bait, relative to the linkage wire, thereby requiring an element arm of given magnitude required to trip the mechanism. No adjustment is provided to facilitate tripping for heavier or lighter forces applied to the traps.
Rodents, amongst other small animals, often become trap shy after having experienced an attempt to reach the bait o a trap only to hear such trap become triggered and to successfully escape from the trap, with or without nonfatal , .
, 112~;S~l injury. Accordingly, such ~Itrained~ animals become exceedingly difficult to trap on a second encounter with a spring loaded trap. Therefore the present invention is designed to trap an animal efficiently and effectively on its very first encounter with the trap. One of the primary reasons that animals can safely escape with the bait load of a trap is their ability to reach over the trip mechanism and to withdraw the bait without touching a release mechanism, usually associated with the area upon which the bait is placed. Another method for an animal to escape is to have a portion of the trap itself strike the animal in such a way as to cause the animal to be pushed away from portions of the trap intended to capture the animal.
Finally, even though animals do step upon trigger mechanisms carrying bait, small animals, of light weight, oftentimes successfully remove the bait since they do not apply sufficient downward force on the trigger mechanism to operate the trap.
The present invention recognizes these difficulties and provides a ready solution thereto as w211 as providing an inexpensively manufactured apparatus which is safe to use, load and clean after use.
Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided an animal trap comprising:
a base;
a platform pivotally mounted in said base;
a trigger member movably mounted on said base and - .
.
' ; - ' ~
~12~;Sll coupled to said platform;
a generally U-shaped striker wire pivotally secured to said base and pivotally movable between a set position and an opposed striking position;
spring means biasing said striker wire towards its striking position;
the trigger member being movable, in response to move-ments of said platform, ~etween a first, set position in which it engages the striker wire to hold said striker wire in the set position, and a second, releasing position in which it releases the striker wire;
a bait receptacle mounted above said platform and presenting one open side in a direction away from the trigger member and towards the striking position of the striker wire, so as to allow access to bait in said bait receptacle from one lateral direction only;
a cover for said bait receptacle, said cover having an open side coinciding with the open side of said bait receptacle, and being movable between a covering position closing top access to the bait receptacle, and an open position permitting top access thereto for bait loading purpose.
The provision of the bait receptacle and hood therefor ensure that the animal can only obtain the bait by approaching from the correct, predetermined direction, thereby ensuring that the animal steps on the platform and triggers the trap 1126Sll in doing so. Moreover, this arrangement ensures that the animal will be correctly positioned, when triggering the trap, to receive a fatal blow from the striker, as opposed to a non-fatal blow or merely being thrown away from the trap.
Preferably, the trigger member is a wire pivotally secured to the base ad~acent one end of said base, the trigger wire being located inside the arc of travel of the striker wire, the trigger wire being generally S-shaped as viewed in side elevation, the curved-horizontal intermediate pGrtion thereof being adapted to engage the base of the U-shaped striker wire when in the set position. The sensitivity of the trap to triggering by animals of different weight can thus be arranged on setting the trap, by ad~usting the position of the base of th0 U-shaped striker, in the set position, along the curved-horizontal intermediate portion of the S-shaped trigger.
The structure and mèthod of fabrication of the present invention is applicable to a base, preferably fabricated from a plastic material, such as polypropylene, having a generally rectangular shape, optionally supported by downwardly pro-truding legs. In the preferred embodiment, the platform also has a generally rectangular shape, but of somewhat smaller dimensions than the base, and elongated. A pair of down-wardly turned lips on the platform are provided, each having a hole therethrough to allow pivoted connection to a pair of , ' ~1~2~5~
upstanding plates on the base. The U-shaped striker wire, having the ends thereof secured to a pivot rod, is pivotably secured to the base plate by having the ends of the pivot rod pass through another pair of opposed aligned holes in forma-tions on the base plate. Wrapped about the pivot rod and affixed to the striker wire are one or more springs, one end of each of which rests upon the uppersmost lateral surface of the plate, and the other end of each of which is in touching engagement with the legs of the U-shaped striker wire so as to cause the striker wire to be urged towards one end of the base. Affixed to one end of the platform is a link member, which connects to the trigger member. The trigger member, being fabricated in the form of a wire, may be pivotally mounted between ~rackets on the base.
When it is desired to load the trap, the striker wire is moved to its set position and the trigger member is pulled rearwardly to engage the intermediate surface portion thereof with the striker wire. The platform is thus raised to engage the underside of the bait receptacle. The hood can now be moved to the open position and the bait put into the receptacle and the hood closed, without touching the platform to risk triggering the trap. Any downward force applied to a side of the platform located opposite of the side thereof carrying the link member, of sufficient force, causes the trigger wire to release the striker wire, releasing same for rotational trans-LZ~i511 lation about the pivot rod passing through the plates of thebase. Thus, it can be seen that there are no mechanisms carried above the uppermost lateral surface of the trap, which may strike the animal as the striker wire is placed into motion, tending to push such animal outwardly from the arcuate path of the striker wire, before the striker wire engages the - animal in a trapped position. Furthermore, it may be seen that the broad lateral surface of the platform constitutes a cantilevered arm of considerable length, extending outwardly from and normally to the longitudinal axis of the pivot rod carrying the bait tray in pivotal relationship to the base.
A specific preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the embodiment;
FIGURE 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the device of Fig. 1, the trap being in its set position;
FIGURE 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but with the trap in its released, striking position;
FIGURE 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but with the bait receiptacle at a differently adjusted location.
The trap according to the invention comprises a generally rectangular base 10, to the upper surface of which the various operative parts of the trap are mounted. Thus, near one end, there is mounted a trigger member 12 in the form of a generally S-shaped wire, having an intermediate curved-horizontal portion 14. The trigger member 12 is pivotally mounted to the base 10 by means of a pivot rod 16 - 11265~1 extending between a pair of upstanding end brackets 18 and through a lower aperture in the trigger member 12.
Near the centre of the base 10 there are provided a pair of central brackets 20 through which passes pivotally a centre pivot rod 22. A generally U-shaped striker wire ~24 is provided, the legs 26, 28 of which are bent rearwardly to provide pivot mounting formations embracing the centre pivot rod 22. A coil spring 30 surrounds the centre pivot rod 22, one end of which 32 bears against the upper surface of the base 10, and the other end of which bears against the leg 28 of the striker wire 24, so as to spring urge the striker wire 24 to the striking position shown in FIG. 1. The base of the striker wire 24 comprises two joined parallel base members 34, 36, enlarging the striking area of the striker wire 24.
Either or both of the base members 34, 36 thereof may be plastlc coated. A perpe~dlcular extension 37 protrudes from base member 36, to facilitate lifting of the striker wire.
A platform 38 is provided, pivotally mounted on the base 10 by means of depending brackets 40 secured to the platform 38, and a pivot rod 42 extending transversely across the base 10 between mounting blocks 44. The platform 38 is elongated and arranged in cantilever fashion above the coil spring 30 and within the U-shape of the striker wire 24. At its end adjacent to the ~rigger member 12, the. platform 38 is connected thereto by a link 46 received in the upper part of the trigger mem~er 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, when the :1126S~l platform 38 is depressed to pivot downwardly, in a clockwise direction about pivot rod 42, link 46 operates to pull trigger member 12 to the right, as sh~wn in the drawings.
A bait receptacle in the form of a wire mesh ~ait pan 48 is located above the top surface of the platform 38. When the platform 38 is raised from its position shown in FIG. 1 to its position shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the plat-form 38 bears against the lower surface of the ~ait pan 48. As shown, the bait pan 48 has side pieces 50 and a rear piece 52, so that access to bait received in the bait pan 48 is available only from one side, along the length of the lever 38. The ~ait pan 48 is slidably mounted on a pair of upstanding U-shaped rails 54, protruding upwardly from the top surface of the base 10. Thus the bait pan 48 can be moved forwardly and rear-wardly with respect to the trigger member 12, along the rails 54. By so doing, the vertical position of the platform 38 is varied, when the trap is in its set position with the platform raised, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, with different portions of the upper surface of the platform 38 coming into engagement with the underside of the bait pan 48, thus to vary its ~erti-cal disposition, and thus to change the angular position of the trigger member 12.
A cage or hood 56 is provided, of wire mesh form to overlie the top of the bait pan 48 and prevent top access thereto. The wire hood 56 is pivotally mounted on angle rods .,.~
~ ......
llZ6511 58 extending upwardly from the top surface of the base 10 and pivotally received at their ends in depending hook formations 60 at one end of the hood 56. At its forward end, the wire hood 56 has depending spring legs 62, which will engage inside rails 54 when the wire hood 56 is pivoted to its downward location. When in its down location, the hood 56 embraces and covers the bait pan ~8, preventing top access thereto, but allowing access from one end, along the platform 34, through the length of the hood 56.
The operation of the trap will now he clear, from the above description. To set the trap, the striker wire 24 is moved from its position shown in FIG. 1, pivoting about centre pivot rod 22 against the urging of spring 30 to be located under trigger member 12, with the base member 34 of the ~-shaped striker rod engaging against intermediate portion surface 14. For this to happen, the platform 38 is raised, to a position limited by the adjusted position o~ the bait pan 48, so as to permit sufficient rearward movement of trigger member 12 to engage the base 34 of the striker wire 24. The hood 56 may be pivoted to open access to the top of the bait pan 48, for loading of bait therein, and the hood may then be replaced to prevent such top access, with the spring legs 62 engaged inside rails 54. A small animal cannot there-fore remove the hood to gain access to the bait from the top of the pan, whilst at the same time loading of the trap with 1~265~
bait can be accomplished in the set position without substan-tial risk of triggering the trap. In order to obtain the bait, an animal is obliged to approach the bait pan 48 through the length of the hood 56, and thereby step upon the end of the platform 38, to trigger the trap whilst the animal is in the lethal blow striking position. As downward force is applied to the end of the~platform 38, as shown in FIG. 2, causing it to rotate in the clockwise direction, trigger member 12 is pulled to the right by means of link 46, so that eventually base member 34 of striker wire 24 comes out of engagement with intermediate surface portion 14 of the trigger member 12, and the striker wire is forced to the position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, by the coil spring 30.
Adjustment of the sensitivity of the trap is accomplished by manual arrangement of the engagement of the base member 34 of the striker wire 24 at the appropriate position on inter-mediate portion surface 14 of the trigger. The form of link 46 permits a degree of lost motion between the platform and the trigger, so as to set the ~rap in a more sensitive opera-ting position. Similarly, the trap is set for operation byanimals of different weights, by adjustment of the bait pan 48 along the rails 54 to vary the vertical position of the platform 38, and thereby vary the set position of the trigger member 12 with respect to the striker wire base 34.
llZ65~.
An advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which permits variable amounts of tripping forces to operate the release mechanism of the trap, thereby accommodating to animals of different weights and sizes.
Another advantage of the present inventiGn is a shrouded bait area tending to force the animal to approach such shrouded bait containing area in a preferred direction, tending to place the animal in a position so as to be struck by the striker wire when released.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which may be safely loaded and unloaded with great ease.
A further advantage of the present invention is an animal trap which may be conveniently and easily cleaned after use.
Another advantage of the present invention is an animal trap having a broadened area with which to strike the animal after the trap has been released by such animal attempting to reach the baited portion thereof.
Still another advantage of the present invention is an inexpensivel~ fabricated, durabl~ constructed and reliable animal trap useful in trapping animals of various sizes.
Thus, there is disclosed in the above description and llZ6i51~
in the drawings, an embodiment of the invention which accomplishes the objects thereof. However, it will become apparent to those skilled in the art, how to make variations and modifications to the instant invention. Therefore this invention is to be limited, not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.
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Claims (8)
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An animal trap comprising:
a base;
a platform pivotally mounted in said base;
a trigger member movably mounted on said base and coupled to said platform;
a generally U-shaped striker wire pivotally secured to said base and pivotally movable between a set position and an opposed striking position;
spring means biasing said striker wire towards its striking position;
the trigger member being movable, in response to movements of said platform, between a first, set position in which it engages the striker wire to hold said striker wire in the set position, and a second, releasing position in which it releases the striker wire;
a bait receptacle mounted above said platform and presenting one open side in a direction away from the trigger member and towards the striking position of the striker wire, so as to allow access to bait in said bait receptacle from one lateral direction only;
a cover for said bait receptable, said cover having an open side coinciding with the open side of said bait receptacle and being movable between a covering position closing top access to the bait receptacle, and an open position permitting top access thereto for bait loading purposes.
a base;
a platform pivotally mounted in said base;
a trigger member movably mounted on said base and coupled to said platform;
a generally U-shaped striker wire pivotally secured to said base and pivotally movable between a set position and an opposed striking position;
spring means biasing said striker wire towards its striking position;
the trigger member being movable, in response to movements of said platform, between a first, set position in which it engages the striker wire to hold said striker wire in the set position, and a second, releasing position in which it releases the striker wire;
a bait receptacle mounted above said platform and presenting one open side in a direction away from the trigger member and towards the striking position of the striker wire, so as to allow access to bait in said bait receptacle from one lateral direction only;
a cover for said bait receptable, said cover having an open side coinciding with the open side of said bait receptacle and being movable between a covering position closing top access to the bait receptacle, and an open position permitting top access thereto for bait loading purposes.
2. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger member is a wire pivotally secured to the base adjacent one end of said base, said trigger wire being located inside the arc of travel of the striker wire, the trigger wire being generally S-shaped as viewed in side elevation, the curved-horizontal intermediate portion thereof being adapted to engage the base of the U-shaped striker wire when in the set position.
3. The trap of claim 2 including means for releasably holding said cover in its covering position.
4. The trap of claim 3 wherein the bait receptacle is positionally adjustable towards and away from the trigger member relative to the platform and relative to the cover therefor.
5. The trap of claim 2 wherein the striker wire has an additional base portion extending parallel to the base of the U-shape thereof.
6. The trap of claim 5 wherein at least one of the base portions of the striker wire is covered with a plastic material.
7. The trap of claim 4 wherein the platform in the set position, bears against the underside of the bait receptacle, downward pivoting movement of the platform causing movement of the trigger member to the releasing position thereof.
8. The trap of claim 5, claim 6 or claim 7 wherein adjustment of the position of the bait receptacle causes adjustment in the vertical position of the platform, thereby adjusting sensitivity of the trap to springing to its striking position on application of downward force to said platform.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA347,597A CA1126511A (en) | 1980-03-13 | 1980-03-13 | Animal trap |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA347,597A CA1126511A (en) | 1980-03-13 | 1980-03-13 | Animal trap |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1126511A true CA1126511A (en) | 1982-06-29 |
Family
ID=4116466
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA347,597A Expired CA1126511A (en) | 1980-03-13 | 1980-03-13 | Animal trap |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1126511A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20170245489A1 (en) * | 2015-04-29 | 2017-08-31 | Gh Trap Teknik Sweden Ab | A trap for catching of small animals like rats and minks |
| US20180132474A1 (en) * | 2016-11-17 | 2018-05-17 | William Thomas Webster | Mousetrap apparatus |
| US20210400950A1 (en) * | 2020-06-25 | 2021-12-30 | Roman Spandrio | Rodent trap bait cage, system and method |
-
1980
- 1980-03-13 CA CA347,597A patent/CA1126511A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20170245489A1 (en) * | 2015-04-29 | 2017-08-31 | Gh Trap Teknik Sweden Ab | A trap for catching of small animals like rats and minks |
| US20180132474A1 (en) * | 2016-11-17 | 2018-05-17 | William Thomas Webster | Mousetrap apparatus |
| US20210400950A1 (en) * | 2020-06-25 | 2021-12-30 | Roman Spandrio | Rodent trap bait cage, system and method |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |