GB2519953A

GB2519953A - Pest trap

Info

Publication number: GB2519953A
Application number: GB1319315.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hans Knudsen
Original assignee: RAT LCO APS
Current assignee: RATELCO APS
Priority date: 2013-11-01
Filing date: 2013-11-01
Publication date: 2015-05-13
Also published as: GB201319315D0

Abstract

Pest trap comprising a tunnel shaped housing having two end walls each provided with a pest entry aperture 34. First and second shields (10, 11, fig 5) are pivotally suspended within said housing such that they may rotate about respective first axis perpendicular to the tunnel. Means are provided connected to the shields such that said shields may pivot freely in one direction, whereas movement in the opposing direction causes actuation means to release a biased bracket 20, 21. The bracket is a U-shaped bar pivotally connected to the bottom plate of the housing which moves under spring force from a set position substantially orthogonal to the bottom plate into a trapping position substantially parallel to said bottom plate. Preferably there are two brackets and means 8 are provided external from the housing to move the brackets to the set position.

Description

Pest trap

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pest trap. Pest traps are used in order to trap unde-sired pests such as for example mice, rats and other rodents and vermin.

Background of the Invention

Especially when it comes to rats a number of various traps and mechanisms for killing the rats exist. The design very often depends on where they are supposed to be em-ployed i.e. if they are supposed to be employed in a sewer system, above ground or inside a construction or building.

In the art there are numerous examples of traps and extermination devices designed in order to trap the pests, rodents or vermin and they to a greater or lesser extent have a very complicated mechanism and facility to communicate position, activation etc. General desires or requirements for pest traps are to provide a device which effective-ly traps, kills or exterminates the pest as it is caught in the trap, indicates that the trap has been triggered and where the trap does not interfere with the proper workings ex-pected of the surroundings into which the trap is positioned.

Object of the Invention Consequently it is an object of the present invention to provide a pest trap which is reliable, relies on a simple mechanism, optionally provides clear indication that the trap has been activated and does not interfere with the immediate environment.

Description of the Invention

The invention addresses this by providing a pest trap comprising a housing said hous-ing having an elongated bottom plate with two longer sides and two shorter sides, two side walls arranged along the two longer sides of the bottom plate, two end walls ar-ranged along the two shorter sides of the bottom plate, where pest entry apertures are p) provided in said end walls, and a top plate, such that a tunnel is created between the pest entry apertures, where inside said housing first and second shields are pivotably suspended such that they may rotate about respective first axis perpendicular to the tunnel, and where means are provided connected to the shields such that said shields may pivot freely in one dircction, whereas in the other direction actuation means are activated, releasing a biased bracket, which bracket is generally a U-shaped bar defin-ing a plane, said bracket is pivotably arranged in the bottom plate, where the plane of said bracket rapidly, urged by a spring, moves from a position substantially orthogonal to the bottom plate into a position substantially parallel to said bottom plate.

When the generally U-shaped bar is released from its engagement with the actuation means the bar will very quickly move downwards and on its way engage the neck or head portion of the pest. This is due to the fact that the shield is arranged such in rela-tion to the path of the U-shaped bar that when the pests activate the shield i.e. rotating the shield such that the actuation means are released the pest is in the proper position where the U-shaped bar in its downwards pivoting movement will hit the pests rough-ly over the head or in the neck thereby instantly killing the pests. The tunnel aligns the pest relative to the bracket, such that the pest will be properly placed relative to the bracket. The distance between the shield and the arc of the bracket is dimensioned with respect to the pest (rodent, vermin) which it is the intention to exterminate.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the actuation means includes a lever, said lever in a distal end being releasably held by a notch on the shield, and in the other end pivotably connected to said housing, and holding means for releasably holding the bracket is provided in the lever adjacent where the lever is pivotably con-nected to the housing, such that as the shield is pivoted the distal end of the lever is released and moves away from the shield, whereby the bracket is released from the holding means.

Providing the lever with a double function in this embodiment, a triggering and re-lease function, a relatively simple construction is achieved. The triggering part of the lever's function is due to the lever's engagement with the notch on the shield such that as the shield is pivoted away thereby removing the notch from its engagement with the lever, the lever will be free to move and due to either a biasing means under the lever biasing the lever upwards or due to the U-shaped bar's engagement with the lever, the lever will move upwards thereby moving the holding means for releasably holding the bracket, away from the bracket whereby the bracket in the shape of the U-shaped bar may due to the spring force rotate down into contact with the back or neck portion of the pest triggering the device.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention two brackets are provided, where separate actuation means are provided for each bracket, and where each shield has an upper and lower shield part, where said upper and lower shield parts are hinge-ly connected, such that the lower shield part may pivot independently of the upper shield part in one direction only. With this embodiment it is foreseen that a pest may enter through any pest entry aperture in the end walls and furthermore by designing the shields such that they may only freely rotate in one direction, it is ensured that the pest entering the pest trap according to the present invention will be able to pivot the first shield without activating the lever and thereby releasing the bracket but will be able to move to second shield in its path which when this shield is pivoted will cause the notch to come out of engagement with the lever thereby releasing the U-shaped bar. Consequently, in this design it is relatively important that the shield or at least the lower shield part may only pivot in one direction whereas when pivoted in the oppo- site direction the entire shield will pivot and thereby remove the notch from its en-gagement with the lever causing the U-shaped bar to be activated i.e. to crash down on the back or neck portion of the pest.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention the actuation means are connected to a door release mechanism, said door release mechanism includes a slid- ing member, means for moving doors into a position blocking the two pest entry aper-tures, where the actuation means includes a lever for each shi&d, and where the end(s) of the one or two levers arc pivotably connected to said sliding member, where said sliding member comprises a spring loaded actuator, which actuator is released when the lever pivots out of engagement with the bracket, thereby causing the sliding mem-ber to be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the pest trap, releasing the means for moving the doors into their blocking position. The doors are provided in order to block off the tunnel provided in the housing and thereby both indicate to an inspector that the pest trap has been triggered i.e. there is potentially a pest trapped inside the dcviee which therefore needs to be removed and possibly cleaned and reloaded bcfore being returned to its position. At the same time the door hinders access for other pests which could otherwise mangle the pest trapped inside the housing. Also in order to minimize the detrimental effects of a decomposing body in the ambient environment, the doors will help to restrict any escape of unpleasant odours to the environment of the pest trap. Naturally the doors may be provided with seals or engage the end walls when blocking the pest entry apertures in such a manner that they are completely or substantially completely odour tight. This is however not a requirement for the proper working of the pest trap according to the invention.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention the means for moving the doors includes an axle arranged longitudinally in the housing of the pest trap, said axle projecting outside the end walls of the trap, and where adjacent the end walls, on the inside of the walls doors are mounted on said axle, and that a wing is arranged on said axle, where said wing cooperates with means on the sliding member to retain the axle in a position where the doors are not blocking the pest entry apertures, and where when the sliding member is activated, the wing is released causing the doors to move into a position blocking the pest entry openings. As the actuating means are moved for example when the actuating means is a lever, the lever is released from the notch on the shields as explained above. The shields pivot and release the U-shaped bracket thereby killing the pest in the trap. At the same time the U-shaped bracket releases a biasing force which causes the sliding member to slide in the longitudinal direction of the trap thereby releasing the wing from the corresponding engagement means on the sliding member. As the wing is arranged on an axle connected to the doors and torsion springs are provided on the doors, the doors will be able to rotate into a position where they block the pest entry openings in the end walls. The doors may be provided with the torsion spring but may also move due to the effect of gravity.

In a further advantageous embodiment the end of the axle projecting outside the hous- ing is provided with a pawl, and that biasing means are provided biasing the axle to-wards a position where the doors are blocking the pest entry openings. In this manner the doors may by reset by turning the pawl against the torsion force i.e. the entry openings to the trap may be reopened once the U-shaped bracket has been reset in their biasing engagement with the actuating means inside the trap.

In a ffirthcr advantageous embodiment a secondary housing is provided inside the housing, where the shields and the actuating mechanism are mounted inside said hous-ing, and said door release mechanism is arranged in said secondary housing and in a space between the housing and said secondary housing. The secondary housing is typ-ically used to suspend the sliding mechanism and the shields such that the door release mechanism may be arranged between the secondary housing and the housing itself in order to protect the relatively long axle.

In a still further advantageous embodiment of the invention loading keys are provided which loading keys are coupled to the U-shaped brackets through the housing, and can move the bracket(s) from a position where the brackets are substantially parallel to the bottom of the trap to a position where the bracket(s) are engaged by the actuation means in a position substantially orthogonal to the bottom of the trap. The loading keys are used to move the U-shaped brackets back into its initial position where it engages the actuating means. The loading keys are necessary in order to force the bracket back into the upright position against the force of the spring which will other- wise rapidly and forcibly force the U-shaped bracket into the bottom thereby poten-tially killing a pest inside the pest trap. After having raised the U-shaped brackets into the position substantially perpendicular to the bottom the loading keys are disengaged and moved into a position substantially parallel to the bottom plate such that the spring force when the trap is activated does not have to move and accelerate the weight of the loading keys as well as the U-shaped bracket. In this manner all the force is concentrated on the U-shaped bracket and the loading keys are ready to be activated in order to reset the trap.

Naturally the loading keys may be removable which is the subject of a thither advan-tageous embodiment of the invention.

Description of the Drawing

Figure 1 illustrates a pest trap comprising a housing Figure 2 illustrates a pest trap with part of the housing removed Figure 3 illustrates the shield in a two part form having an upper part and a lower part Figure 4 illustrates the shield in a two part form having an upper part and a lower part Figure 5 illustrates a situation where a pest has entered in the direction indi-cated by the arrow S Figure 6 illustrates the loading keys returned to the horizontal position Figure 7 illustrates the activating mechanism of the trap seen from below

Detailed Description of the Invention

In figure 1 is illustrated a pest trap 1 comprising a housing 2, said housing has a bot-tom plate 3. The housing 2 has two longer sides 4, end walls 5 and a top plate 6. In the end walls 5 are provided pest entry apertures 7 through which the pests may enter the trap 1. In the illustrated embodiment in figure 1 the pest aperture 7 is blocked by a pivotable door 34 which will be described in further detail with reference to figure 6.

On the outside of the housing 2 is provided loading keys 8 which loading keys are used to reset the trap.

In the illustrated position the loading keys 8 are in a position where they are not en-gaging the bracket or brackets arranged inside the housing as will be explained below.

Tuming to figure 2 the trap 1 is illustrated with part of the housing removed. The end walls S as well as the bottom plate 3 remain of the housing. Inside the housing are arranged two shields 10, 11. The detailed construction of the shields will be described with reference to figures 3 and 4. The shields may pivot about an axis (see fig 4 ref 45) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the housing. Each shield 10, 11 is engaged by a lever 12 such that if or when the shield 10, 11 pivots, the lever is re-leased from the engagement with the shields 10, II. In the opposite end of the lever a pivot point 13 connects the lever 12 to a sliding member 14.

In order to exterminate pests entering the trap I the trap is provided with two brackets 20, 21. The brackets are retained in their upright position substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate as illustrated in figure 2 by an engagement section 15 provided in the lever 12. As the lever 12 is released from its engagement with the shields 10, 11 the lever 12 is free to move around the pivot point 13. Due to the biasing force applied to the brackets 20, 21 the lever 12 will be urged upwards thereby releasing the bracket 20, 21 from its engagement with the lever 12 in the engagement section 15 and the bracket will rapidly move downwards towards the bottom plate 3. During the brack-et's movement from the position illustrated in figure 2 to a position illustrated in the left hand side of figures 5 and 6 the bracket may engage a pest having entered the trap.

Due to the position of the shields 10, 11 in relation to the bracket 20, 21 the bracket will engage the pest substantially in the head or neck region instantly killing the pest trapped inside the trap 1.

The brackets 20, 21 are biased by the provision of a spring 22 such that as the bracket 20, 21 is released from the engagement section 15 the springs 22 will rapidly move the brackets 20 into a downwards arched movement thereby engaging and killing a pest trapped inside the housing.

Briefly turning to figure 7 the activating mechanism of the trap 1 may be seen from below. As may be seen in the right hand part of the figure the bracket 20 has been released from the engagement section 15 provided on the lever 12. The spring 22 has moved the bracket down into a position substantially flush with a bottom plate (not illustrated). At the same time the bracket has disengaged the sliding member 14 there-by allowing a spring arranged in a cylinder 30 to extend against the bracket 21 which at this point has not been activated. Due to this spring's extension and the cylinder's connection to the sliding member 14 causing a movement towards the right in fig-ure 7, the wing 31 is released from its engagement with the tab 32 provided on the sliding member. As the wing 31 is released from the tab 32 torsion springs (not illus- trated) arranged adjacent the doors 34 will cause the axle 33 to rotate thereby swing-ing the doors 34 into a position as illustrated in figure 1 where the door 34 blocks off the pest entrance opening 7.

Going back to figures 3 and 4 a short description of the shields 10, 11 will be provid-ed. In figure 3 the shield 10, 11 is in a two part form having an upper part 41 and a lower part 42. The lower part 42 is pivotally connected to the upper part 41 by a hinge construction 43. As is evident from figure 4 the lower part 42 extends upwards past the hinge 43 by a section 42'. Due to this section 42' both the upper part and the lower part 42 of the shield will when rotated in a direction indicated by the arrow 44 pivot together. If the lower section 42 is pivoted in a direction opposite to the direction mdi-cated by thc arrow 44, only thc lower section will pivot. When the two sections 41, 42 are pivoted in the direction indicated by the arrow 44 they will pivot about the axle 45 causing the entire shield to pivot together. By this pivot action the notch 46 disengag- es the distal end 12' of the lever 12 which as already explained with reference to fig-urc 2 releases the bracket 20, 21 from the engagement section 15 whereby the spring action caused by the spring 22 causes the brackets 20, 21 to pivot into a position sub-stantially flush with the bottom plate of the trap.

By allowing the lower section 42 to pivot in a direction opposite to the direction mdi- cated by thc arrow 44 a pest may enter thc trap an pass the first shield without activat-ing the bracket due to the pivot mechanism where the lower section 42 of the shield 10, 11 pivots about the pivot point 43. On the other hand, as the pest travels towards to second shield and engages the second shield this engagement will cause the entire shield 10, 11 to pivot in a direction as indicated by the arrow 44 whereby the notch 46 will disengage the distal end 12' of the lever 12 thereby activating the bracket and hopefully swiftly killing the pest.

In figure 5 is indicated a situation where a pest has entered in the direction indicated by the arrow 50 such that it has passed the first shield 10 without triggering the brack-ct 20 but eventually the pest has engaged the shield 11 which due to the engagement of the section 42' with the upper section 41 has pivoted the shield such that the notch 46 (not illustrated) has come out of engagement with the distal end of the lever 12 releasing the bracket 21 from the engagement section 15 allowing the bracket to pivot into the position as indicated in the left hand side of figures.

At the same time the spring 30 has extended causing the sliding member 14 to slide in the direction indicated by the arrow 50 whereby the tab 32 has disengaged the wing 31 allowing the axle 33 to rotate whereby the doors 34 has slid into a position as indicat-ed in figure 6 blocking off the pest entiy openings 7.

When resetting the trap the loading keys 8 are brought into an upright position thereby causing the brackets 20,21 to engage the engagement sections 15 on the levers 12. At the same time the spring 30 is compressed and the sliding member 14 positioned in its middle position. After engagement has been obtained the loading keys 8 are returned to the horizontal position as indicated in figure 6. During the resetting the sliding member 14 is returned to its neutral position, i.e. a position where the springs 30 are evenly compressed due to their engagement with the brackets 20, 21. In this position the tab 32 is superposed the wing 31 and by manually rotating the pawl 39 rotating the S doors 34 away from the openings 7 the wing 31 will flip over the tab 32 maintaining the doors and the axle 33 in a position where the doors 34 are not blocking the entry openings 7. In this situation the trap is ready to receive the next pest.

Above the invention has been explained with reference to a specific example, but it is clear that variations in the construction are possible within the scope of the present invention. In particular the sliding member may be connected to a switch which sritch in turn activates a communication module which communication module for example wirelessly communicates to a position outside the trap that the trap has been activated. This communication module may optionally comprise positioning means in order to locate and identi' the trap and the trap's position as well as the timer indicat-ing at which time the trap was triggered. Whether this communication is transmitted wirelessly or by wire to a mobile device for example in the shape of an sms-message to a mobile phone or communicated to a local server or the like has no influence on the proper working of the trap itself, but once the inventive principles of the trap and the sliding member has been realized, further communication possibilities are left open to persons skilled in the art.

Claims

(:LAIMs 1. Pest trap comprising a housing, said housing having an elongated bottom plate with two longer sides and two shorter sides, two side walls arranged along the two longer S sides of the bottom plate, two end walls arranged along the two shorter sides of the bottom plate, where pest entry apertures are provided in said end walls, and a top plate, such that a tunnel is created between the pest entry apertures, where inside said housing first and second shields are pivotably suspended such that they may rotate about respective first axis perpendicular to the tunnel, and where means are provided connected to the shields such that said shields may pivot freely in one direction, whereas in the other direction actuation means are activated, releasing a biased brack- et, which bracket is generally a U-shaped bar defining a plane, said bracket is pivot-ably arranged in the bottom plate, where the plane of said bracket rapidly, urged by a spring, moves from a position substantially orthogonal to the bottom plate into a posi-tion substantially parallel to said bottom plate.
2. Pest trap according to claim 1 wherein the actuation means includes a lever, said lever in a distal end being releasably held by a notch on the shield, and in the other end pivotably connected to said housing, and holding means for releasably holding the bracket is provided in the lever adjacent where the lever is pivotably connected to the housing, such that as the shield is pivoted the distal end of the lever is released and moves away from the shield, whereby the bracket is released from the holding means.
3. Pest trap according to claim I or 2 wherein two brackets are provided, and where separate actuation means are provided for each bracket, and where each shield has an upper and lower shield part, where said upper and lower shield parts are hingely con-nected, such that the lower shield part may pivot independently of the upper shield part in one direction only.
4. Pest trap according to any preceding claim wherein the actuation means are con-nected to a door release mechanism, said door release mechanism includes a sliding member, means for moving doors into a position blocking the two pest entry aper-tures, where the actuation means includes a lever for each shield, and where the end(s) of the one or two levers are pivotably connected to said sliding member, where said sliding member comprises a spring loaded actuator, which actuator is released when the lever pivots out of engagement with the bracket, thereby causing the sliding mem-ber to be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the pest trap, releasing the means for moving the doors into their blocking position.S
5. Pest trap according to claim 4 wherein the means for moving the doors includes an axle arranged longitudinally in the housing of the pest trap, said axle projecting out-side the end walls of the trap, and where adjacent the end walls, on the inside of the walls, doors are mounted on said axle, and where a wing is arranged on said axle, where said wing cooperates with means on the sliding member to retain the axle in a position where the doors are not blocking the pest entry apertures, and where when the sliding member is activated, the wing is released causing the doors to move into a po-sition blocking the pest entry openings.
(3. Pest trap according to claim 5 wherein the ends of the axle projecting outside the housing is provided with a pawl, and where biasing means are provided biasing the axle towards a position where the doors are blocking the pest entry openings.
7. Pest trap according to claim 4 or 5 wherein a secondary housing is provided inside the housing, where the shields and the actuating mechanism arc mounted inside said housing, and said door release mechanism is arranged in said secondary housing and in a space between the housing and said secondary housing.
8. Pest trap according to claim 1, wherein loading key(s) are provided, which loading keys are coupled to the U-shaped brackets through the housing and can move the bracket(s) from a position where the brackets are substantially parallel to the bottom of the trap to a position where the bracket(s) are engaged by the actuation means in a position substantially orthogonal to the bottom of the trap.
9. Pest trap according to claim 7 wherein the loading key(s) are removable.
10. Pest trap according to any preceding claim wherein above and optionally below an entry area in front of the end walls and the pest entry apertures a suspended roof and optionally a floor area extends.