DE29709351U1 - Electronic device to deter martens - Google Patents

Description

G088
14.05.97

Electronic device to deter martens

The invention relates to an electronic device for deterring martens, preferably for installation in motor vehicles, especially in rural residential areas damage is increasing due to the martens' preference for gnawing or biting rubber and plastic parts of cars. What is annoying is not only the damage itself with the consequential damage, which is becoming increasingly greater due to the use of electronic components and computers in vehicles, but above all the danger to people and property if the martens damage, for example, brake lines.

A whole range of technical solutions have been developed to deter martens from approaching the vehicle or to protect the parts mentioned.

In addition to electronic devices, the following non-electronic technical solutions and their disadvantages have become known:

The purely mechanical protective covering (DE U1 93 08 557), if it is to be effective, disadvantageously increases the vehicle mass and limits the flexibility of, for example, the brake hoses.

Devices designed to make access to the space under the engine of the motor vehicle more difficult or to create the impression that an animal is already under the motor vehicle use dangling fringes (DE A1 43 11 698) or bristles (DE U1 94 13 888), which may seem strange for aesthetic reasons, or a body under the engine compartment (DE A1 44 05 071), which, when attached to the vehicle, reduces ground clearance and, if left unattached, may be forgotten when driving away.

Devices that emit a scent that is unpleasant for the marten (DE A1 38 33 640, DE U1 91 00 012, DE U1 295 12 275) have the disadvantage that the scent naturally evaporates over time.

Regarding the known electronic devices, it should be noted that those that are activated by means of flashlights (DE U1 92 15 374, DE U1 295 03 196, DE U1 296 10 300) or high-voltage pulses (DE A1 44 25 305) generally have such a high power consumption that they cannot be operated for several days without driving the vehicle in between to charge the battery.

Finally, it should be borne in mind that the deterrent effect of a deterrent effect alone, such as light bulb or LED flashes (DE U1 89 13 170, DE U1 296 07 199) or ultrasound of constant frequency and low sound density (DE U1 87 14 621) may be insufficient or too weak.

The invention is therefore based on the object of creating a highly effective electronic device for deterring martens, preferably for installation in motor vehicles, which is also characterized by low power consumption.

This object is achieved by the invention described in the claims.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment.

The attached drawings show:

Fig. 1: an external view of a device according to the invention
Fig. 2: a block diagram of a device according to the invention.

A device as shown in Fig. 1 is screwed into a suitable place in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, whereby care must be taken to ensure that a light-emitting diode 1 arranged behind a window and an ultrasonic transducer not visible behind the housing of the device are effective in the direction of the animal's approach, i.e. parallel or at an acute angle to the road surface, and that daylight reaches a daylight optic 2 behind which a photoresistor 4 is located. The connecting cable 3 should of course be laid out so that it is hidden from the marten.

The electronic operation of the device will now be explained using Fig. 2:

The battery 5 of the motor vehicle supplies the device according to the invention with power via a main switch 6, which is connected to a daylight blocking assembly,

which consists of a photoresistor 4, a threshold switch 7 with a negated output, a direct current path 8 and an AND gate 9. Since martens are nocturnal and also very shy animals, only night-time operation is necessary to conserve the battery 5. When the main switch 6 is switched on, the condition for night-time operation on the AND gate 9 is only fulfilled if the current induced by daylight through the photoresistor 4 has dropped so far that the threshold switch 7 switches to the "O ^B" state and thus its negated output switches to the "G" state. The average power consumption of the device in night-time operation is 18 mA, the quiescent current during the day is 1 mA (essentially for the components of the daylight blocking module just described).

This is followed by a pause circuit consisting of a clock generator 10 and a monostable flip-flop 11. Both are set in such a way that voltage is applied to the branch 12 to the (upper) ultrasonic deterrent module and to the (lower) LED flash deterrent module at intervals of 30 ... 40 s for 10 ... 15 s.

The ultrasonic deterrent assembly consists of a spike generator 13, a voltage-frequency converter 14 and an electrical-acoustic converter 15. The voltage-frequency converter 14 has an operating range of, for example, 7 ... 14 kHz, whereby the electrical-acoustic converter 15 emits an ultrasonic tone that is particularly unpleasant for the marten and that rises and falls in the frequency range mentioned.

During the deterrence phase, a light-emitting diode 17, which is supplied with a current pulse every 1 ... 2 s via a clock generator 16, emits a flash of light. In the periods between the flashes of light, it is supplied with a lower current via a pause current resistor 18, so that it never goes out completely during the deterrence phases, but the current pulse can be dimensioned according to the permissible pulse current, which is significantly higher than the permissible continuous current, which is also advantageous for the deterrence effect.

Claims (6)

G 088 14.05.97 Protection claims 1. Electronic device for deterring martens, preferably for installation in motor vehicles, characterized by the combination of ultrasonic and LED flash deterrents with a daylight shutdown. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that during operation in the dark a succession of shorter deterrent phases and longer pause phases can be generated. 3. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the quenching phase an increasing and decreasing ultrasonic sound and several short LED flashes can be generated. 4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the LED can be supplied with a pause current in the pauses between the LED flashes, which does not allow it to go out completely. 5. Device according to claim 2 to 4, characterized by the sequential arrangement of the following components: Daylight barrier consisting of an AND gate (9) in which a current path
(8) directly from the power source (5) and another current path via a light
sensitive element, preferably a photoresistor (4), and a
Threshold switches (7) are linked to a negated output; Pause circuit consisting of a pause phase determining
Clock generator (10) and a monostable quenching phase determining
Toggle switch (11); Branch (12) to the ultrasonic deterrent and the LED flash deterrent assembly. 6. Device according to claim 3 to 5, characterized in that the ultrasonic deterrent assembly consists of a spike generator (13), a voltage-frequency converter (14) and an electrical-acoustic converter (15) and the LED flash deterrent assembly consists of a clock generator (16) for the flashes, which is bridged by a break current resistor (18) and a LED (17).