FR3110334A1 - MOTORIZED AUTOMATIC DISTRIBUTION STATION CONNECTED FOR DEERATIZATION OR DESOURISATION - Google Patents

Abstract

Motorized bait station for pest control or mouse control formed by a box comprising: a circulation enclosure (100) forming a tunnel having a first opening (102), called the entrance opening, and a second opening (104), called the entrance opening exit ; a bait presentation enclosure (200, 300), accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, in which at least one bait (202, 302) is placed; a bait storage enclosure (400, 500) for liquid- and dust-tight storage of bait and comprising several sections for housing different types of bait; the bait station further comprises a distributor (402, 502) driven by a motor (404, 504), said distributor being arranged to distribute bait stored in the bait storage enclosure towards the presentation enclosure d 'bait'; a unit (204) for detecting the presence or absence of bait in the bait presentation enclosure; a calculation unit (700) configured to control said distributor from data generated by said detection unit. Figure for abstract: Figure 1

Description

MOTORIZED CONNECTED AUTOMATIC BAIT DISTRIBUTION STATION FOR DERAT OR DESOURIZATION

The present invention relates to a device for storing and distributing substances, for example poison, with a view to deratting or de-souring, and more specifically an automatic storage and distribution device communicating data in real time.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

To date, the application of rodenticide/souricide is carried out by technicians who manually deposit 1 to 3 units of the bait according to the form (pasta, blocks, powders, grains, water/drink treated) and according to the possibilities of the regulation, by going on site, and by opening each of the boxes to check the contents and replace the baits in the event of dirtiness and drying out, resulting in a loss of appetite for the rats/mice.

Boxes containing baits containing active material are known. This material is only renewed a few times over the course of a year by technicians, from 2 to 6 times depending on the contracts. This renewal makes it possible both to replenish, but also to change the active ingredient in order to limit the risks of resistance to drugs (active ingredients) in rodents or their offspring.

The current frequency of passage of applicators can lead to a proliferation of rodents. A few days after the fortnightly or quarterly passage of the applicator, part of the rodent population can eat the bait in a majority of the boxes, then these will remain empty for several weeks while waiting for the next visit of the pest control professional. So the other part of the rodent population will have time to proliferate. The sexual maturity of a rat is around 8 weeks. A couple of rats can theoretically generate 5000 rats in 1 year. A rat can have 5 litters per year of 7 pups on average.

In addition, in order to make the products profitable, the baits are not systematically replaced even though they may have dried out or lost their palatability. Some solutions have been to trace the boxes with a barcode in order to follow the passage of the technicians. However, the problem is still whether the products have been replaced.

Finally, the current rodent control/demouse control system does not in any way allow statistics to be established (frequency of rodent passage, time of attendance, temperatures where there is the most passage, percentage of stock in the box). It is not known if the boxes are emptied in the hours following the passage of the deratizer, or over a few weeks.

In addition, the current boxes do not allow good preservation of the bait, which causes drying out, soiling and therefore loss of palatability. This also requires regular visits by technicians.

The document EP1197146 proposes a rodent trap, detecting its presence to lock it up and poison it, and signal its capture. An intervention is necessary when a rodent is captured, which leads to an increase in the price of services.

The document FR2750573 proposes a distribution box by gravity, of poison stored in a tank located above the passage of rodents.

The document US7987629 proposes a poison distribution box making it possible to store a plurality of poisons in sealed compartments.

State-of-the-art rat and mouse control solutions pose several constraints that can be solved today with telecommunication technologies and tools.

Indeed, they do not make it possible to collect enough information for an effective deratting and require too much maintenance, which must most of the time be carried out by a professional, which leads to an increase in the price of the services.

The present invention aims to remedy all the drawbacks previously explained. Its objective is therefore to provide a bait distribution system allowing better deratting/demousing by reducing the proliferation and reproduction of rodents. It also allows total transparency and a reduction in costs for the customer and for the company by reducing the number of visits by professionals. The system also makes it possible to make statistics in order to optimize the process.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is proposed a motorized bait station, preferably transportable, for deratization or demousing formed by a box comprising:

• a circulation enclosure forming a tunnel having a first opening, called the entrance opening, and a second opening, called the exit opening,
• a bait presentation enclosure, accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, in which at least one bait is placed,
• a bait storage enclosure providing liquid- and dust-tight storage of bait and comprising several sections to accommodate different types of bait.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the motorized bait station further comprises:

• a motor-driven dispenser, said dispenser being arranged to dispense bait stored in the bait storage enclosure to the bait display enclosure,
• a unit for detecting the presence or absence of bait in the bait presentation enclosure,
• a calculation unit configured to drive said distributor from data generated by said detection unit.

The detection unit can comprise a laser sensor, or/and an infrared sensor, or/and a touch sensor, or/and a weighing sensor.

According to one embodiment, the motorized bait station may further comprise wireless transmission means arranged to transmit data generated by the calculation unit, the data generated comprising in particular a stock status of the enclosure of bait storage.

Preferably, the bait storage enclosure has several types of bait.

Advantageously, the bait storage enclosure may comprise several active materials.

Alternatively, the bait storage enclosure has means for cleaning the bait display enclosure. This can be, for example, an air blower unit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is proposed a bait presentation method for a motorized transportable bait station for deratization or demousing formed by a box containing:

• a circulation enclosure forming a tunnel having a first opening, called the entrance opening, and a second opening, called the exit opening,
• a bait presentation enclosure, accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, in which at least one bait is placed,
• a bait storage enclosure providing liquid- and dust-tight storage of bait and comprising several sections to accommodate different types of bait.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the method further comprises:

• a dispensing step by a distributor driven by a motor, said distributor being arranged to distribute bait stored in the bait storage enclosure to the bait presentation enclosure,
• a detection step by a detection unit of the presence or absence of bait in the bait presentation enclosure,
• a step of piloting by a calculation unit to pilot said distributor from data generated by said detection unit.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which cause the motorized bait station according to the first aspect of the invention to carry out the steps of the method according to the second aspect of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Other advantages and particularities of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description of implementations and in no way limiting embodiments, with regard to the appended drawings in which:

• [Fig. 1] is a top view of one embodiment of a motorized bait station according to the invention;
• [Fig. 2] is a sectional view at the level of a passage between a circulation enclosure and a bait presentation enclosure of the station shown in Figure 1;
• [Fig. 3] is a perspective view of the station shown in Figure 1.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments described below being in no way limiting, variants of the invention may in particular be considered comprising only a selection of characteristics described, subsequently isolated from the other characteristics described, if this selection of characteristics is sufficient. to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the prior art. This selection includes at least one feature, preferably functional without structural details, or with only part of the structural details if only this part is sufficient to confer a technical advantage or to differentiate the invention from the state of the prior art .

In the remainder of the description, elements having an identical structure or analogous functions will be designated by the same references.

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate one embodiment of a motorized bait station 1 according to the invention.

The motorized bait station 1 is a transportable rodent feeder containing a supply of poisoned food for the destruction of said rodents.

To this end, the motorized bait station 1 comprises:

• at least a first circulation enclosure,
• at least a second bait presentation enclosure,
• at least a third bait storage enclosure.

According to the example shown, the motorized bait station 1 comprises:

• a circulation chamber 100, having a first opening 102, called the inlet opening, and a second opening 104, called the outlet opening, the said openings having a diameter sufficient for a mouse and/or a rat,
• two bait presentation enclosures 200, 300, accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, at least one bait 202, 302 being placed in each of the bait distribution enclosures;
• two bait storage enclosures 400, 500 allowing storage, sealed against liquids and dust, of bait.

The motorized bait station 1 further comprises two distributors 402, 502 driven respectively by two motors 404, 504 and arranged to distribute bait respectively from the bait storage enclosures 400, 500 to the bait distribution enclosures 200 , 300.

As illustrated by Figure 1 by means of an ellipse on the one hand and a rectangle with rounded corners on the other, the baits 202, 302 can be of different types. For example, baits can be paste, block, powder, grain, treated water or drink.

In addition or alternatively, it is possible to store several types of active materials, for example with a view to distributing them alternately.

According to the example shown, the motorized bait station 1 further comprises a power supply module 600 in the form of a battery. The motors 404, 504 are supplied with electricity by the power supply module 600.

Still according to the example shown, the motorized bait station 1 further comprises a calculation unit, in this case a processor 700.

The 700 processor is powered by the 600 power supply module.

The 700 processor is also equipped with a wireless communication means, of the WiFi, Lora, Sigfox or GPRS type, connected to an antenna.

Figure 2 is a cross-section at the passage between the circulation enclosure 100 and the bait presentation enclosure 200.

Each of the bait presentation enclosures 200, 300 is further provided with a detection unit 204, 304 (not shown) for the presence or absence of bait.

The detection unit 204, 304 is supplied with electricity by the power supply module 600.

The detection unit 204 is arranged to generate data indicative of the presence or absence of bait in the presentation enclosure. The data generated by detection means 204 is sent to processor 700.

The detection unit 204 can, for example, be a scale arranged to receive a container in which the baits 202 are placed. When the detection unit 204 is a scale, the indicative data can, for example, comprise a value representative of the mass of the bait.

Alternatively, or in addition to a first weighing solution, the detection unit 204 can, for example, be of the video, laser, infrared type or even of the palpation type.

Processor 700 is configured to drive said distributor 402 from data generated by said detection unit.

Thus, when the processor 700 receives data generated by the detection unit 204 indicative of the absence of the bait 202 in the bait presentation enclosure 200, the processor controls the distributor 402 to distribute, if necessary. remains, a bait stored in the bait storage enclosure 400 to the bait presentation enclosure.

Each of the openings 102, 104 can be equipped with a passage sensor 106, 108 arranged to detect the passage of a pest. Passage sensors 106, 108 are coupled to processor 700 to count the number of pest passages.

Processor 700 can further be configured to determine current stock in bait storage enclosures 400, 500.

Processor 700 may further be configured to transmit, via the wireless communication medium, bait-related data, such as current bait stock.

The processor 700 can further transmit, by means of the wireless communication means, data associated with the level of the battery and/or the temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the motorized bait station 1, for example by means of a temperature sensor equipping said motorized bait station.

The motorized bait station may also comprise geolocation means, for example of the GPS type.

Finally, the motorized bait station may include a system for cleaning the bait presentation enclosures 200, 300. For example, the cleaning system may include blower means for cleaning the presentation enclosure on which has been deposited bait. Alternatively: or conveyor belt in a bin compartment.

The motorized bait station can additionally have different sensors, such as temperature sensor, light sensor.

Computing unit 700 is further configured to generate real-time stock information data.

It is thus possible to generate statistics on the temperature, the light to which the station is exposed. It is also possible to timestamp quantity variations in the stock, and thus to receive data for the management of this stock, for example to avoid unnecessary and costly passages of technicians to supply the stock, or on the contrary to trigger the passage of a technician in case of empty stock.

It will also be possible to generate different statistics, thus making it possible to better know the performance of each of the stations.

In addition, this device makes it possible to generate quantified data for the attention of the customers where the stations are installed.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described and many adjustments can be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, the different features, forms, variants and embodiments of the invention may be associated with each other in various combinations insofar as they are not incompatible or exclusive of each other.

Claims (10)

Motorized bait station for deratization or demousing formed by a box comprising:

• a circulation enclosure (100) forming a tunnel having a first opening (102), called the inlet opening, and a second opening (104), called the outlet opening,
• a bait presentation enclosure (200, 300), accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, in which is placed at least one bait (202, 302),
• a bait storage enclosure (400, 500) for liquid- and dust-tight storage of bait and comprising several sections for housing different types of bait,

characterized in that the motorized bait station further comprises:

• a dispenser (402, 502) driven by a motor (404, 504), said dispenser being arranged to dispense bait stored in the bait storage enclosure to the bait display enclosure,
• a unit for detecting (204) the presence or absence of bait in the bait presentation enclosure,
• a calculation unit (700) configured to drive said distributor from data generated by said detection unit.

Bait station according to the preceding claim, in which the detection unit (204) comprises a laser sensor, or/and an infrared sensor, or/and a probing sensor, or/and a weighing sensor. Bait station according to Claim 1 or 2, further comprising wireless transmission means arranged to transmit data generated by the calculation unit (700), the said data generated comprising in particular a stock status of the enclosure bait storage. A bait station according to any preceding claim, wherein the bait storage enclosure (400, 500) is configured to hold multiple types of bait. A bait station according to any preceding claim, wherein the bait storage enclosure (400, 500) is configured to include a plurality of active materials. Bait station according to one of the two preceding claims, further comprising means for cleaning the bait presentation enclosure. Bait presentation method for a motorized transportable bait station for deratization or demousing formed by a box containing:

• a circulation enclosure (100) forming a tunnel having a first opening (102), called the inlet opening, and a second opening (104), called the outlet opening,
• a bait presentation enclosure (200, 300), accessible through the tunnel of the first enclosure, in which is placed at least one bait (202, 302),
• a bait storage enclosure (400, 500) for liquid- and dust-tight storage of bait and comprising several sections for housing different types of bait,

characterized in that the method further comprises:

• a distribution step by a distributor (402, 502) driven by a motor (404, 504), said distributor being arranged to distribute bait stored in the bait storage enclosure towards the bait presentation enclosure,
• a step of detection by a detection unit (204) of the presence or absence of bait in the bait presentation enclosure,
• a step of piloting by a calculation unit (700) for piloting said distributor from data generated by said detection unit.

A method according to claim 7, further comprising transmitting data associated with a stock of bait present in the bait storage enclosure. A method according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising transmitting data associated with the passage of the animal through the circulation enclosure. Computer program product comprising program code instructions which cause the motorized bait station according to one of claims 1 to 6 to execute the steps of the method according to one of claims 7 to 9, when said program is implemented on the calculation unit of the motorized bait station.