GB2359725A

GB2359725A - Motorised fly trap

Info

Publication number: GB2359725A
Application number: GB0005158A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Stuart Roy Nichols
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-03-04
Filing date: 2000-03-04
Publication date: 2001-09-05
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-04
Also published as: GB0005158D0; GB2359725B

Description

2359725 1 IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO FLY CATCHERS This invention has

reference to improvements in or relating to fly catchers and other similar devices, such as traps and swatters for the extermination of flying or crawling insects generally.

Flying insects, particularly house flies, are a nuisance in the household.

House flies rest on sunny surfaces in the daytime and tend to come into buildings or under the eaves to rest at night.

Not only are flying insects irritating to humans and livestock, but they are also carriers of disease, some of which can be fatal. For example, diseases such as mastitis, pinkeye, anthrax, typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery are but a few of those for which flying insects can be or are carriers. The house fly is also the intermediate host for roundworms and tapeworms of poultry.

Over the years many different devices have been proposed for their destruction and they include sticky fly papers, traps as such which effectively lure the insect into the trap with no means of escape, the insect thereby dying with effluxion of time or with immediate effect depending on the structure and the contents of the trap.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved fly trap which is not only effective in its purpose of killing flying insects but also possesses an aesthetic quality in terms of being a utility device with an attractive appearance.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an automatically actuated fly trap.

2 According to the invention a fly trap includes an anvil and swat member in combination to constitute a trap, means for actuating the swat member, a lure means for luring a flying insect into a swat region between the anvil and the swat member, a power source for the actuating means, sensing means for sensing the presence of a flying insect and for generating a signal, transmission means for transmitting the signal to the actuating means to effect actuation thereof to close the trap thereby to swat the flying insect between the anvil and the swat member.

The actuating means may be electro-mechanical and the power source may be one or more batteries.

The lure means is a scent box which in use attracts the flying insect which approaches the scent source thereby luring the fly into the trap.

The sensing means is conveniently a line sensor which when activated generates a signal which is transmitted to the actuating means, preferably via a time delay for the purpose of allowing the insect to move closely into the swat region between the anvil and the swat member. When the insect has moved sufficiently into the swat region, the swat member is actuated to swat the insect which accordingly falls dead. There may advantageously be a discharge means for disposing of the corpse.

Once the swatting of the flying insect has been effected, the swat member Is reset in position spaced apart from the anvil thereby to allow access by other insects into the swat region, the actuating means being timed to reset the swat member.

The anvil and the swat member may be clam-shaped with scalloped edges, and they may be provided with mating corrugations on their internal surfaces, the swatting action being effected when the anvil and the swat 3 member are brought together, the flying insect being swatted therebetween. The anvil and the swat member may further have an external appearance similar to the jaws of the Venus Fly Trap and the two may be so mounted or mountable as to give the effect of being a living plant, for example a stalk or stem may be provided which is held in a pot, the whole combination representing a house plant. For obvious reasons the combination is attractive not only to the householder but also to the intended victims of the trap.

The swat member may alone be actuable with the anvil of a static form, but an alternative form would have both moving in unison into and out of a swat mode.

By way of example only, one embodiment of fly trap according to the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which.

Figure 1 is a side view partly showing its internal features; Figure 2 Is a further view showing further features of the trap, and Figure 3 is block diagram of the control circuit associated with the trap.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a fly trap 1 which is presented as a pot plant with leaves 2 and a Venus Fly Trap-like head having a static anvil 4 and a swat member 6 which is hinged at 8 at its base.

Both the anvil 4 and the member 6 have a clam-like appearance with inter engaging corrugations 10 across their faces.

The anvil 4 has a scent box 12 located towards its base, the box having a perforate lid (not shown) and being adapted to house an absorbent pad 14 impregnated with a scent suitable for alluring into the trap unsuspecting 4 flying insects to investigate its source. The pad may be resilient and in the form of a sponge.

There are mounted on the face of the anvil 4 a transmitting sensor and a receiving sensor, 16, 18, which between them provide a line sensor across the face.

The swat member 6 has a connecting rod 20 which is pivotally connected to a crank shaft 22 actuable by a motor 24 powered by batteries 26 located in the base of the pot 30, an on/off switch 32 being provided.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a circuit associated with the trap 1 and it includes a 100.1 pulse generator 100 to which power is connected as it is to a motor timer or position sensor switch 102, the generator being Z71 'in turn connected to a detector 104 incorporating the sensors 16, 18. The detector 104 is connected in turn to a delay timer 106 which also has power as shown and finally the timer 106 is connected to the motor timer.

In operation, once the on/off switch 32 is turned to the 'on' position, when a flying insect approaches the trap to investigate the source of the scent and flies between the anvil 4 and the swat member 6 sufficiently deeply to be sensed, a signal is generated and sent to the delay timer 106 which is constantly retriggered by the presence of the insect. Once the insect leaves the sensing zone, the timer starts and produces a pulse delay which in turn triggers the motor timer 102 which energises the output to actuate the motor 24.

Actuation of the motor 24 causes the crank shaft 22 to turn thus moving the swat member 6 towards the anvil 4 with the flying insect trapped between them. The speed with which the movement occurs ensures that the insect is swatted and thus dealt a fatal blow, the corpse falling to the base of the member and the anvil for subsequent removal.

The trap of the invention thus provides a dual function in terms of not only providing an effective means of killing unwanted flying insects, but also presents an aesthetic aspect for the home, and in this latter respect is a novelty per se.

It is to be understood that whilst the references throughout the specification have been to flies, the expression is intended to cover any flying insect, for example wasps and other airborne pests. As will be appreciated the nature and composition of the scent used in the lure means will be selected dependent upon the predominating pest type.

6

Claims

CLAIMS:

1, A fly trap including an anvil and swat member in combination to constitute a trap, means for actuating the swat member, a lure means for luring a flying insect into a swat region between the anvil and the swat member, a power source for the actuating means, sensing means for sensing the presence of a flying insect and for generating a signal, transmission means for transmitting the signal to the actuating means to effect actuation thereof to close the trap thereby to swat the flying 10 insect between the anvil and the swat member.

2. A fly trap according to Claim 1 in which the actuating means is electromechanical.

3. A trap according to Claim 1 or 2 in which the power source is at least one battery.

4. A trap according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lure means is a scent box for attracting the flying insect which approaches 20 the scent source thereby luring the fly into the trap.

5. A trap according to any one of the preceding claims in which the sensing means is a line sensor-

6. A trap according to any one of the preceding claims in which the anvil and the swat member are clam-shaped and are provided with scalloped edges.

7. A trap according to Claim 6 in which the anvil and the swat member are provided with mating corrugations on their internal surfaces which 7 effect the swatting action when the two are brought together, the flying insect being swatted therebetween.

8. A trap according to any one of the preceding claims in which the swat member is alone actuable with the anvil of a static form.

9. A trap according to any one of the preceding claims in which the anvil and the swat member are so mounted as to present an appearance similar to that of the Venus Fly Trap, including a pot and leaves surrounding the base of the anvil and the member.

10. A fly trap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.