FI111512B - Bird ejecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

A bird repelling device including a holder (1) with a top surface (4) and a bottom surface (5), and spikes extending from said top surface, wherein at least some of the spikes consist of a generally U-shaped bent resilient rod (3) with two arms (6) and a base (7). The two arms are inserted into a pair of channels (2) in the holder from the lower side thereof, and the arms and the channels together urge the base against the bottom surface of the holder when the arms are fully inserted into the channels, in particular because the arms, when fully inserted into the channels, are at an angle (alpha1) which is smaller than it was before insertion.

Description

111512

BIRD DISPERSAL DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to bird-proofing devices, and more particularly to a device for preventing birds from landing on certain surfaces.

It is known that birds try to land on even the narrowest surfaces they find in the exterior of buildings, and that they cause environmental disturbance. One of the most effective ways of preventing this disruption is to cover the surfaces on which birds are undesirable to descend, with a device comprising a bottom support extending upwardly from the bird-preventing spike elements. Such a device is disclosed, for example, in EP 0340108, or FR 9112761, which are the same inventor's applications as the present invention, published November 2, 1989 and March 4, 1994.

The prior art, which incorporates the aforementioned patent applications and U.S. Patent 3,282,000 (issued November 1, 1966) or commercially available products such as DEPIGEONAL (trade mark), assumes that the prong elements may be skewed relative to the base support, and, secondly, for economic reasons: Devices with slanted bases of the same size protect a larger surface than if the prongs were upright.

The economic and technical challenge of all these devices 30 is to attach the prong elements to the base support: such a fastening system must withstand the shocks and compression caused by the birds, and should be easy and economical to assemble.

35 In known fastening systems, the prong elements are inserted into the recesses in the upper surface of the base support (US 3,282,000), 2 111512, which is known to cause the prong elements to be easily ejected. Another way is to push the stud elements with projections from the underside of the base support through the base support (FR 9112761), with the disadvantage of the high cost and the required thickness of the base support. Yet another known solution is a U-shaped bent member at the bottom of the bottom support, which member has two arms and a snap mechanism together with a bottom support pin (DEPIGEONAL). This system has the disadvantage of high manufacturing costs.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a system that avoids the above disadvantages. The system according to the invention consists of a bird expulsion device comprising a bottom support having an upper surface and a lower surface, from which the upper surface 15 protrudes from prong elements, at least some of which are essentially U-bent flexible rods with two arms and a base. Said two arms are pushed through two channels through the bottom support below, whereby the arms and channels together force the carrier against the underside of the base support when the arms are fully inserted into the channels.

When the arms are fully inserted into the channels, they form an angle (ai) with each other that is smaller than the angle (a2) they form before being inserted into the channels.

In all cases, the channel pairs can be placed in alternating rows in the base support. On at least some of the bars, one arm may be longer (L1) than the other arm (L2).

30

A groove may be formed on the underside of the base support between the channels of the pair of channels so that the rod head does not protrude from the underside when the arms are fully inserted into the channels. In a particular embodiment, the socket is provided with a protruding portion, * * 3 111512, which, together with the base support, is intended to secure the rod when the arms are fully inserted into the channels. The special shape of the protruding part allows it to shape the base support material when the arms are fully inserted into the ducts. The spring-5 flexibility of the bar allows for a quick transition from a position where the arms are partially pushed into the channels, to a position where they are fully pushed into the channels. The force exerted by the arms to reach the angle α1 is sufficient to allow the projecting portion to shape the material of which the base support is made. The side walls of the channel 10 may be formed such that the diameter of the channels decreases linearly from the lower surface to the upper surface. The side walls of the duct have, at least part of their length, two planar surfaces which form an angle with each other.

In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

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Figure 2 shows a cross-section of a bar.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment of Figure 1; in which the rod arms are not pushed into the respective passages of the fully bottom support.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a situation where the rod arms are completely inserted into the respective channels of the base support.

Fig. 5 shows a cross-section along line A-A with the rod arms fully inserted into the channels and a groove formed between the channels for securing the rod head.

4, 111512

Figure 6 shows a cross-section along line A-A with the rod arms fully inserted into the channels and a groove formed between the channels, and the channels have a particularly advantageous shape.

5

Figure 7A shows a cross-section of the duct along line B-B in the plane of the top surface of the base support.

Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the duct along line C-C 10 in the plane of the bottom surface of the base support.

Figure 8 shows a cross-section of the device in the plane of the bar head.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention. The bottom support 1 comprises an upper surface 4 extending upwardly from the bird-preventing spike elements 6. Once the stems have been pushed through the base support, the latter is secured to a surface on which birds are undesirable to descend in any manner known to those skilled in the art. As will be explained in more detail below, the arm pairs are two branches of the same U-curved rod and are inserted into the channels 2 passing through the bottom support. Such a base support can be prepared by one skilled in the art, for example by molding polymethyl methacrylate.

Although not shown in Figure 1, not all arms may be at the same angle of inclination with respect to the level of the base support. The arms may also be of different lengths; the length may vary from one pair of arms to another, or from one arm to another within the same pair: a particularly effective arm length against bulls has been found to be 5-15 cm in one arm and 8-25 cm in another arm. One rod can have more than two arms.

* • ♦ 5 111512

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rod 3 prior to its insertion into the base support channels. The rod, which is substantially U-shaped, has two arms 6 and a base 7. The arms are at an angle a2 with respect to each other. The rod can be made of metal, 5 for example stainless steel 302 (DIN 17224) with a diameter of 1.3 mm, or other material which is resistant to bending and has sufficient elasticity. The manufacture of such a bar is known in the art.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the device according to the invention taken along line A-A in Fig. 1 in a situation where the rods 3 are not yet fully inserted into the corresponding channels 2 of the base support 1 before being pushed into the channels in the direction indicated by F2 15. The insertion is made through the lower surface 5 of the base support so that the arms extend above the upper surface 4. The diameter of the channels is slightly larger than the diameter of the arms to facilitate insertion. The insertion is done either manually or with an automatic tool 20.

Figure 4 shows a cross-section along line AA in a situation where the arms 6 are pushed completely into the respective passages 2. When the heel 7 is pressed towards the lower surface 5 of the base support, the arms of the flexible rod 3 tend to return to their rest position against the base of the heel. The angle α1 formed by the arms after being completely inserted into the channels is thus smaller than the angle α2.

The clamping force between the bar and the bottom bracket is a function of the difference between the angles a1 and a2, the flexibility of the bar material, and the mechanical stress on the bar when inserting the bars into the duct.

In one particular embodiment, the angle α 1 is between 30 ° and 90 ° and the angle α 2 is between 45 ° and 120 °. When the bottom support is mounted on 5 surfaces where birds are not desirable to lower, the rod head is locked and the arms can no longer be pulled off the base support.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A with the arms 6 fully retracted. A groove 8 is formed between the channels 2 10 for securing the base 7 of the rod 3. In this embodiment, the base of the rod does not protrude from the plane of the lower surface 5, which facilitates the attachment of the base support to a surface where birds are not desired to land. If the base support is glued to the latter surface, the glue also facilitates the attachment of the can-15 nano to the groove.

Figure 6 shows a cross-section along line A-A with the arms 6 fully retracted, again having a groove 8 between the channels and a particularly advantageous shape of the channels. This shape consists of bending the outer surface of the channels, i.e. the surface furthest from the groove between the channels. This bending is made in the manufacture of the base support 1 and allows easier insertion of the arms by the larger channel opening in the lower surface 5 of the base support 25; less mechanical stress is applied to the material of the bar, as will be explained below. When the arms are pushed in, they are pressed against the tangential point 12 of the bend, and the part of the arms below this point tends to bend in an arcuate shape: the outer surface of the channels. When the arms are pushed in half with the hen, the arms intersect with each other above the level of the base support, then become parallel as the base 7 approaches the groove, and finally form an angle α 1 with the base secured to the groove. This special duct design allows * 7111512 to distribute the mechanical strain evenly over the entire length of the rod and maintain its flexibility so that it tends to strongly return to the angle a2 between the arms. This will improve the attachment of the bar to the base support.

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Fig. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the channel 2 along line B-B of Fig. 6 at the level of the upper surface 4 of the base support 1. The outer surface of the channel may comprise, as shown, two planar surfaces 10 which are at an angle to each other. This system-10 ly addresses the fastening problems that occur with the diameter differences between the channels and arms 6. When the arm is inserted into the channel, it is pressed along two tangential lines of bend 9, which provides automatic centering within the channel. After the arm is fully inserted, it is pressed against only one point on each planar surface. This static compression helps the arm withstand radial stresses.

Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view of the duct along the line C-C of Fig. 6 at the level of the bottom surface 5 of the base support. Alternatively, the duct may have a curved outer surface such that the above planar surfaces are located only in the portion of the duct closest to the upper surface of the base support.

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the device at the level of the base 7 of the rod 3. The heel is made in a known manner so as to form a protruding portion 11 of the material from which the rod is made. The size of the protruding part is slightly larger than the groove 8, so that when the heel is last pressed against * 30, the protruding part shapes the material inside the groove with the support material ensuring that the heel can withstand radial and longitudinal stresses within the groove. The protruding part can be shaped as shown in Fig. 8, which allows easy insertion of the heel into the groove but difficult removal ("hook" effect).

The force required by the protruding member to deform the material 5 within the groove is achieved by a rapid transition from the position where the rod arms 6 intersect with each other above the level of the base support, to a position at an angle α1 to each other. A combination of certain factors is required to achieve this result. These factors include the mechanical properties of the rod 10, the angle α2, the geometric characteristics of the channel, the angle α1, and the relationship between the projection and the groove sizes. In a preferred embodiment, this combination consists of a stainless steel rod with a diameter of 1.3 mm and a base support 15 of polymethyl methacrylate, with an angle α2 of about 120 ° and an angle α1 of about 90 °, a groove width of 1.4 mm and a max. under. With this combination, the rod is secured to the base support in an easy and economical way.

20

Alternatively, the groove 8 may have a recess for securing the projecting portion without shaping the material of which the base support is made.

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Claims (10)

Apparatus for frightening birds, which comprises a bottom support (1) with upper surface (4) and lower surface (5) as well as stud elements projecting from the upper surface and at least part of which consists essentially of a U-shaped curved, elastic bar (3) with two arms (6) and a base (7), characterized in that both arms at respective lower surfaces have been pushed into a channel pair (2) through the bottom support, the arms and channels together, the base forces against the bottom surface of the base support where the arms are inserted into the channels in their entirety. 10 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the arms, in their entirety and tails, inserted in the channels together form an angle (a1) which is less than the angle (a2) which they form before being pushed into the channels. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the channel pairs are arranged in alternating rows in the bottom support. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the length (L1) of one arm in question of at least some rods falls below the length (L2) of one arm. Device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized by a latch (8) in the lower surface between the channels of a channel pair, said that the base does not protrude from the plane of the lower surface where the arms are inserted in the channels in their entirety. 25 Device according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that the base »comprises a protruding part (11) which is intended to together with the bottom support in place of the rod where the arms are inserted in the channels in their entirety. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the protruding part is forced into the material of the bottom support where the arms are inserted into the ducts in their entirety. t Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the force directed by the arms as they, in their position partly pushed into the channels, seek to reach the winch (a1), is sufficient to force the projecting part into the bottom support material. 12 111512 Device according to any of claims 1-8, characterized in that the outer surface of the side walls of the ducts is curved (9) such that the diameter of the ducts decreases linearly from the lower surface towards the upper surface. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the outer surface of the channels over at least part of its length comprises two flat surfaces (10) which form an angle with each other.