NZ214763A

NZ214763A - Rodent trap: door closes when trap is tilted

Info

Publication number: NZ214763A
Application number: NZ214763A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Melvin Millard Melton
Original assignee: Melton Melvin M
Priority date: 1985-04-01
Filing date: 1986-01-08
Publication date: 1987-07-31
Also published as: FR2579418A1; NL8502887A; GB2173085B; KR860007871A; DE3537583C2; MX162431A; SE8601400D0; DK16986D0; BR8600535A; CN1006840B; FI864907A; FI864907A0; WO1986005656A1; GB2173085A; CA1260268A; SE8601400L; KR890001060B1; FR2579418B1; IT1185439B; AU4909090A

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> .'v 214763 Priority Date(s): .. Complete Sp-'-'iiiciti-!: riisd: Class: Publication Date: .J.UL J9fl7u. P.O. Journal. No: -. J.3£|& No.: Date: NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION RODENT TRAP c X/We, MELVIN MILLARD MELTON, of 120 Via Zapata, San Clemente, California 92672, United States of America, a citizen of the United States of America hereby declare the invention for which K/ we pray that a patent may be granted to rjlj[/us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement- - - 1 - *■ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 30 31 32 ■ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENT 1^^ ^ 47 63 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to animal traps and more specifically/ to traps particularly suitable for catching mice, rats, gophers and other small rodents in a disposable container which may be readily discarded after its use and without requiring exposure of the trapped rodent. PRIOR ART The art of animal traps is old and many different trap configurations have been designed in an attempt to provide a reliable and inexpensive device for capturing and disposing of small animals such as mice and other rodents. The most common mousetrap of current use is the well-known bait spring device which has achieved commercial success primarily because it is of simple design and relatively low cost. Unfortunately, the bait loaded spring-type mousetrap is disadvantageous in a number of respects. One such disadvantage is the possibility of injury to the user in setting the trap if a spring loaded bar designed to kill the rodent is inadvertently released while fingers or other human body parts are in the way. The risk of 2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 2 14^6 injury is espfecially high to young children or household pets whose curiosity gets the better of them. Another significant disadvantage to the conventional low-cost mousetrap is the distastefulness of having to observe or even clean up the blood or other parts of the rodent that has been caught and killed by the trap. Thus, there has been a long-felt need for a simple and low cost rodent trap that is at least as inexpensive as the aforementioned conventional spring loaded trap but which does not present the noted disadvantages of such spring loaded traps. A number of attempts have been made to provide a trap which satisfies these criteria, but typically either the cost or complexity or both and the reliability of such traps have been less than desirable and the aforementioned long-felt need has remained unsatisfied. By way of example, the following patents disclose animal traps which are relevant to varying degrees to the present invention: 1,240,248 Pease, et al 1,273,185 Reich 1,581,297 Schmuck The patent to Pease et al discloses an animal trap including a tube that is tapered so that the greater weight of the body lies near the open end which may be closed by a gate which is adapted for vertical motion within a pair of vertical sills When the animal runs into the trap, the animals weight unbalances the trap towards the rear causing the gate to close trapping the animal inside. A similar concept is disclosed in the Reich patent in which an animal trap in the form of a 3 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 214763 mailbox-shaped tube is again adapted to rotate about a foot which is integral and at right- angles to a door. When the weight of the animal forces the tube to rotate rearwardly about the foot, the foot collapses forward thereby closing the door. A forwardly positioned plate assures that the initial weight of the trap is such that the trap will be inclined towards the forward portion thereof until the animal enters the trap. Still another disclosure of a device that uses a similar concept is shown in the patent to Schmuck in which a rectangular tube is again balanced on a V-shaped fulcrum support. The open end of the tube is initially inclined downwardly and includes a door or closure which is designed to lower automatically within a pair of parallel slots when the weight of the animal forces the rearward portion of the tube to be lowered and the forward open portion of the tube to be raised. It can be seen that all of the aforementioned prior art patents disclose animal traps which attempt to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies of the spring loaded conventional trap. More specifically, each discloses a device which obviates the aforementioned risk of injury to the user while setting the trap and each discloses a device which is designed to contain the trapped animal thereby removing the requirement for observing and/or cleaning up the mess created by the spring loaded device. Unfortunately, in overcoming these disadvantages, the patented devices result in additional disadvantages which render them commercially undesirable for providing substitutes for the inexpensive conventional trap described above. For example, in each instance of the aforementioned prior art patents, the door closing mechanism is far too complex and unreliable thereby reducing the probability 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 214763 of trapping the animal. Furthermore, each such device is of a generally complex configuration which is not conducive to low cost manufacturing techniques and which therefore cannot be produced at a cost which would permit them to be competitive in the marketplace as compared to the aforementioned conventional spring loaded devices. 5 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art by providing a trap of a uniform integral container configuration which is specifically designed to be manufactured by low cost techniques such as plastics molding and like, which is reliable in its operations and free of any risk of injury to the user. Furthermore, the present invention uses an integral type door which is of simple and reliable configuration and which is configured to merely swing shut to trap the animal that has entered the invention. The aforementioned integral swinging door and the novel shape of the container are the principal unique features of a first embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, unlike the relatively complex configurations of the aforementioned prior art, the container of a first embodiment of the present invention is formed of two integrated substantially rectangular, cylindrical compartments angled with respect to one another whereby the weight of the rodent entering the rearmost portion of the container activates closure of the door thereby trapping the rodent within the container. However, unlike the prior art devices previously described, the container of the' present invention comprises a unitary smooth surface device without pivots or feet or other affixed or odd shaped structures which would otherwise add to the complexity and cost of the device. A second embodiment of the invention uses a principle of operation similar to the aforementioned first embodiment, but it is configured with a stationary exterior housing^ for_use in I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 214". OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION \ It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a rodent trap which substantially reduces or entirely overcomes the noted disadvantages of conventional traps and which is still of low cost configuration and therefore commercially more attractive than conventional devices. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a rodent trap which is of substantially uniform integral configuration particularly suitable for low cost plastics molding manufacture or manufactured by other comparable low cost techniques. It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a rodent trap which is reliable in operation, free of risk of injury to the user, and which is configured to be produced at sufficiently low cost to make it commercially competitive with conventional spring loaded traps. It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a reliable and low cost rodent trap which may be implemented in unigue configurations for exploiting the body weight of the rodent for trap activation. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 2 1476 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aforementioned objects and advantages of the present invention as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will be more fully understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the following drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of one configuration of a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the FIG. 1 configuration of the invention; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the FIG. 1 configuration of the invention shown set for trapping a rodent; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the FIG. 1 configuration of the invention illustrating the manner in which the invention operates; FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional view of a second configuration of the first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is a side view of the FIG. 5 configuration of the invention utilizing an alternative door structure; FIG. 7 is a side view of the FIG. 5 configuration of the invention showing the manner in which the alternative door structure may be utilized; 8 I 2 3 -4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 2 14763 FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the FIG. 5 configuration of the"" invention illustrating the manner in which the preferred door configuration operates; FIG. 9 is a side view of a third configuration of the first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional view of a second embodiment of the invention; FIGs. 11 to 14 are exterior side, front, top and rear views of the second embodiment, respectively; FIGs. 15, 16 and 17 are cross-sectional side views of the second embodiment illustrating the interior and method of operation thereof; and FIGs. 18 and 19 provide side and three-dimensional views, respectively, of an alternative configuration of the second embodiment of the invention. 9 DESCRIPTION OP A FIRST EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGs. 1-4 it will be seen that the rodent trap 10 of the present invention comprises a container 12 enclosed on all sides by a roof 14, a pair of elongated sides 16, a rear wall 18, bottom surfaces 20 and 22 and a door 24 which selectively closes an opening 25 into the container. Container 12 is preferably made of a smooth lightweight plastics of about 1/16 of an inch in thickness and preferably at least partially translucent. The bottom surfaces 20 and 22 form an obtuse angle relative to one another of about 16 0 degrees, although, as will be seen hereinafter, the operation of the present invention may be quite suitable when the angle between the surfaces 20 and 22 is even somewhat greater and certainly when it is less than 160 degrees. The range of preferable angles is 140 degrees to 170 degrees. The top of the container or roof 14 is preferably configured to be other than flat such as the partially circular or curved roof line 14 of FIG. 1 of a first embodiment of the invention or in the alternative, of a triangular roof line configuration 44 of an alternative configuration of the first embodiment of the invention to be discussed hereinafter in conjunction with FIG. 5. Although the roof line in the embodiments herein illustrated is generally parallel to the corresponding bottom surface 20 and 22 along the length of container 12, it will be seen that the roof line could" be readily configured to have a uniform profile defining a straight line between the rear wall 18 and the area immediately adjacent door 24. I As seen best in PIG. 1 door 24 is of a substantially rectangular configuration designed to entirely enclose the opening 25 of container 12 when the door is in its closed configuration. Door 24 is preferably attached by means of a hinge to the container 12 adjacent a planar surface 33 which is forrred between termination of the roof 14 and the hinge 36. For purposes of minimizing the manufacturing costs, door 24 would preferably be made of the same material as the remaining portions of container 12 and, preferably, be formed in the same molding or extruding process wherein the hinge is provided in the form of a stressed line or depression at the intersection of door 24 and planer surface _3S thereby to permit door 24 to swinq between its open and closed position relative to container 12 while being integral thereto. Door 24 extends from hinge 36 toward the bottom surface 22. It is preferably of sufficient length to extend slightly beyond the surface 22 as seen best in PIG. 2. In one embodiment, the door 24 is provided with a latch 26 which terminates in a perpendicularly configured hook 28 as seen best in FIGs. 3 and 4. As seen best in FIGs. 4 and 8, the bottom surface 22 of container 12 is provided with an aperture 30 suitably positioned in the bottom surface to receive the hook 28 when the door is fully closed. Hook 28 and aperture 30 act together to provide a means for securing the door in its closed position after the trap has been actuated by a rodent entering the trap. An alternative or additional form of securing door 24 in its closed configuration may be provided in the form of a magnet 32 suitably affixed adjacent the opening 25 on the inside of the container 12 such as by being glued to the interior side of surface 22. Furthermore, the door 24 would be provided either in the form of a magnetically 7eacHlV» / 214763 I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 j 12 13 ? 14 15 16 17 18 ; 19 I 20 21 !. 22 23 24 25 ' W 26 : 27 28 i 29 30 ^ 31 1 32 material or coated with a layer of suitable metal or otherwise have a layer of suitable metal affixed to the inside surface thereof for adherence to the magnet 32 when door 24 is in its fully closed position. As also seen best in FIGs. 3 and 4, trap 10 of the present invention is preferably provided with a suitable form of bait 34 in the form of either a piece of cheese or bacon or other similar food substance or chemical substitute particularly attractive to rodents and which preferably provides an odor which can be readily detected by rodents in the general area of the trap. Operation of trap 10 of the present invention may be understood by reference to FIGs. 3 and 4. More specifically, the trap 10 is set by placing it in the configuration as shown in FIG. 3 wherein the container 12 is positioned to allow it to rest on bottom surface 22 wherein the opening 25 is immediately adjacent the underlying support and the rear wall 18 is relatively elevated. In this position, the center of gravity is above bottom surface 22. Furthermore, the door 24 is placed in its opened configuration by swinging it outward from the opening 25 about hinges 36 so that door 24 may in effect rest against the underlying surface against which the latch 26 bears for supporting door 24 in its open configuration swung outwardly from the opening 25. In this configuration the odor emanating from the bait 34 can only exit the trap 10 through opening 25 because of the otherwise substantially airtight integral relationship between the various surfaces of container 12T The odor attracts any nearby rodents to the container which may be carefully examined by the rodent before it decides to enter the trap. For this reason as previously indicated, it 12 214763 r^, i G 3 4 '5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 2; 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 may be preferable that the material of which container 12 is manufactured is at least partially translucent particularly in the area adjacent the rear wall 18 so that the rodent may observe the location of the bait 34 contained within the trap 10 before it enters. The door 24 is swung away from the opening 25 whereby to permit virtually any rodent suitable for trapping within the container 12 to enter the opening 25 at first placing his weight on the bottom surface 22 from which location the rodent may more readily observe, smell and be attracted to the bait 34. Upon further entry into the container 12 and movement closer to the bait 34 to which the attention of the rodent has been directed, the weight of the rodent is transferred from bottom surface 22 to bottom surface 20. As a result, the weight of the rodent places a sufficient force against the bottom surface 20 of container 12 to rotate the container clockwise as seen in FIGs. 3 and 4 whereby to bring the bottom surface 20 in contact with the underlying support structure and at the same time elevate the bottom surface 22 along with the opening 25, the hinge 36 and the door 24. The rodent therefore shifts the center of gravity of the combination to a point above surface 20. Clearly, elevation of door 24 releases the latch 26 previously supported by the underlying structure and allows the door 24 to swing into its closed position as it will do in response to the force of gravity as a result of the inherent weight of the door or of the combined weight of the door and an affixed metal layer or magnet. The force or momentum of the door swinging towards the opening 25, brings the door into engagement with the end portions of the side walls 16 and bottom surface 20 defining the opening 25 whereby to allow contact between the magnet 32 and the metal surface of door 24 13 fe 4JUn'9S6^ V F. O, I 214763 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 i: 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and secure the door in its closed position. Furthermore, in the particular embodiment illustrated in FIGs. 3 and 4, hook 28 of latch 26 will mate with and enter the aperture 30 whereby to further secure the door in its closed position. More specifically, if the rodent attempts to exit the container 12 it must do so by approaching the door 24 which will again place its weight above bottom surface 22 which again elevate rear wall 18 and brings bottom surface 22 in contact with the underlying support structure. This activity places the trap 10 in the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 relative to the underlying support structure wherein the weight of the trapped rodent assures that the relative positions of hook 28 and aperture 30 are maintained to secure closure of door 24 and render it impossible for the rodent to escape. The closed door configuration of the trap 10 alerts the user of the fact that the trap has been sprung and that a rodent is most likely contained therein. The user may of course open the door 24 and dispose of the rodent by allowing it to fall out of the trap 10. However, the present invention is, by means of its unique structure, configured to be manufactured at extremely low cost and therefore, may be preferably disposed of merely by discarding the entire trap including the rodent contained therein. The rodent of course will asphyxiate within the airtight trap within a matter of minutes after door 24 has closed. 14 > J 214763 O u 3 4 5 6 7 S 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 One alternative configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. The rodent trap 40 of FIG. 5 comprises a container 42 enclosed by an integral roof 44, a pair of elongated sides 48, a rear wall 50 and bottom surfaces 52 and 54. An opening 55 is secured by door 64 or alternatively, by an even more simply configured door 56 which is of planar configuration with no latch. The alternative configuration of the first embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5 is otherwise substantially equivalent to that illustrated in FIG. 1-4 with the exception of the roof configuration. More specifically, as seen in FIG. 5, the roof 44 of the present invention may be configured in the form of a triangular cross-section and be molded to exhibit a simulated shingle appearance to enhance the ornamental configuration of the trap and therefore, improve its marketability. Like the circular or curved configuration of roof 14 of the trap 10 of FIG. 1, the shingle roof configuration of the trap 40 of FIG. 5 may be provided with a termination plane 60 short of the opening 55 to provide convenient interconnection for a hinge 58 of the same type previously described as the first embodiment illustrated. Door 64 is again of substantially rectangular configuration and is provided with a latch 62 which operates in an identical manner to that of latch 26 described previously in conjunction with FIGs. 1-4. The relative configuration of latch 62 and therefore of identical latch 26 is illustrated best in FIG. 8. 15 t V 214763 • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 > 25 26 27 28 ' 29 W 30 31 32 An alternative door configuration which can be used with the present invention is illustrated in FIGs. 6 and 7 wherein it is shown that a door 56 extends beyond the underlying bottom surface 54 which together with termination plane 60 and elongated sides 48 define the opening 55. Latchless door 56 may still be supported by the underlying surface when the trap is set as shown in FIG. 7 wherein the door 56 is of sufficient length to engage the underlying surface while still providing suitable access to opening 55 to provide entry to the trap 40 to the rodent. It will be understood that operation of the first embodiment of the trap 40, whether with the door 64 including latch 62 or the door 56 which does not employ a latch, is the same as that previously described for the configuration of the trap 10. More specifically, the trap is set by opening door 6 4 and placing the trap in a configuration whereby bottom surface 54 is in contact with the underlying surface and whereby the bottom surface 52 and rear wall 50 are elevated. When the rodent's weight is applied to the interior of the container above bottom surface 52 the trap 40 rotates clockwise thereby allowing door to swing freely into its closed position sealing the opening 55 and trapping the rodent. A flat top surface configuration having top surfaces 72 and 74 and bottom surfaces 76 and 78, is shown in FIG. 9. This configuration has the advantage of being an especially low cost illustration of the first embodiment of the invention. 16 I 214763 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I! 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 ->2 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A SECOND EMBODIMENT Reference will now be made to FIGs. 10 through 14 for a detailed description of a second embodiment which uses the principle of operation similar to the aforementioned first embodiment but which is configured with a stationary exterior housing for use in circumstances where motion of the housing may not be practical or desirable. Referring to FIGs. 10 through 17 it will be seen that the second embodiment 80 of the present invention comprises a rectangular housing 81 which is defined by a top surface 82, a pair of elongated side walls 84 and 86, a rear surface 88 and a bottom surface 89. The remaining surface comprises a swingable hinged door 90 which in FIG. 10 is shown in its fully opened position and which in FIG. 17 is shown in its fully closed position. The door 90 is adapted to swing open and close about a hinge 91 as illustrated in FIG. 17. The bottom surface 89 terminates adjacent the closed position of door 90 with a ramp 92 which is adapted to present a relatively smooth and encumbered appearing surface to a rodent contemplating entry of the trap BO. Immediately inside the ramp 92 and lying along at least a portion of the interior surface of bottom surface 89 is a tilt plate 93 which is a rectangular elongated plate having two surfaces oriented at an obtuse angle relative to one another, namely, entry surface 9C and activating surface 94. Surfaces 94 and 96 serve a function which is analogous to the bottom surfaces of the first embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGs. 1 through 9. However, in this embodiment of the invention, tilt plate 93 is provided with a fulcrum 95 of elongated cylindrical configuration which extends the full width of the housing 81 between side walls 84 and 86 and which 17 \ I 214763 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 is secured in that position by a pin 99 which extends into and through a pair of apertures 100 in the respective side walls 84 and 86. Furthermore, as seen best in FIG. 17, the tilt plate 93 is also provided with a trap plate 98 which is hinged to the entry surface 96 by means of a hinge 102 which is initially positioned immediately behind ramp 92 when the trap is configured for catching a rodent. Furthermore, as shown best in FIGs. 15, 16 and 17, the interior surface of bottom surface 89 is provided with a plurality of indentations 97 which as shown in FIGs. 15, 16 and 17 may be of triangular configuration and which extend along the entire width of bottom surface 89 between side walls 84 and 86. As seen best in FIG. 17, the indentations 97 are adapted to receive the end of trap plate 98 whereby to prevent tilt plate 93 from resuming its entry configuration after the rodent has been caught as will be hereinafter described. The operation of the second embodiment of the invention may be best understood by referring to FIGs. 16 and 17 in that sequence. More specifically, as seen in FIG. 16, the trap 80 of the present invention is initially set and adapted for catching a rodent or other animal when the door 90 is in its fully open position and the tilt plate 93 is configured so that the activating surface 94 is elevated above the bottom surface 89 of the trap and the entry surface 96 is at its lower-most position substantially at the same level as the top of ramp 92. It will be understood that in this configuration, the trap plate 98 is fully folded about hinge 102 to be parallel and substantially contiguous with the entry surface 96 and in fact supports the entry surface so that it lies substantially parallel but spaced from the bottom surface 89 of the housing 81. 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 When a rat, gopher or other rodent initially enters the trap attracted thereto by bait of various kinds depending upon the nature of the animal to be trapped, the animal enters the trap by initially placing all its weight on the entry surface 96 of tilt plate 93. However, as the animal proceeds further into the trap to which he is attracted by the bait, its weight will eventually lie over the activating surface 94 of tilt plate 93 thereby causing the tilt plate to rotate about fulcrum 95 until the tilt plate assumes the position shown in FIG. 17. Simultaneously, the effect of gravity will force trap plate 98 to rotate about hinge 102 until the end of the trap plate 98 enters and is retained by one of the indentations 97. This position of the trap plate 98 relative to the entry surface 96 to which it is connected by means of hinge 102 will clearly prevent the entry surface from resuming its initial entry condition parallel to bottom surface 89 and in fact, will prevent the entire tilt plate from moving substantially from the position shown in FIG. 17. Consequently, the entry surface 96 will be forced to remain in the elevated configuration illustrated in FIG. 17 irrespective of any attempt by the captured animal to exit the trap by shifting its weight to the entry surface which of course it will be naturally inclined to do as it determines that it is without any means of escaping the trap 80. The second embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGs. 10 through 17 is of course adapted for trapping a variety of different animals including rodents but it has been found especially useful in trapping larger rodents such as gophers and rats. Unlike the first embodiment of the invention in which a door is in effect, automatically shut to not only restrain the captured animal and also may be used to asphyxiate 19 I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 2S 29 30 31 32 the animal, the door 90 of the second embodiment of the invention is shown in a configuration in FIGs. 10 through 17 which is provided for the sole purpose of allowing the user to selectively close the door in the event it is desired to asphyxiate the captured animal. However, door 90 is not used to actually capture the animal as that function is served by the combination of tilt plate 93 and trap plate 98. However, door 90 is available for closing to asphyxiate the animal if that is a desired result of capturing it. Although door 90 is shown in a configuration which requires manual closing of the trap for asphyxiating the animal, it will be understood that a variety of various interconnections may be provided between door 90 and tilt plate 93 or trap plate 98 in order to implement a means of closing door 90 automatically upon activation of tilt plate 93. An alternative configuration of the second embodiment is shown in FIGs. 18 and 19. As seen in FIGs. 18 and 19, trap 110 comprises an elongated, open-end tube 112 enclosed at one end by an end cap 114. End cap 114 is adapted to be slip fit or press fit over the otherwise open end of tube 112 opposite the entry end of the trap 110. The end cap may be optionally provided with an air passage 116 and a pair of tabs 118, the latter providing convenient means for applying pressure to the end cap for either engaging or disengaging the end cap from tube 112. End cap 114 provides two advantages, namely, permitting even lower cost manufacture of the trap and permitting access to the end of tube 112 opposite the entry opening for filling a bait tray 120. The activating surface of the tilt plate would preferably be provided with a recess 122 to accommodate bait 20 214763 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 IS 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 tray 120. Lower cost manufacture is achieved by providing tube 112 as a plastic extrusion thereby requiring that only the end cap portion of the container be produced by plastic molding techniques. Those having skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will now understand that what has been described herein comprises a novel rodent trap which by its very simplicity encompasses the advantages of the prior art while overcoming its disadvantages. More specifically, the present invention provides a reliable and safe rodent trap which is of sufficiently low cost configuration to be commercially competitive or even more attractive than conventional spring loaded rodent traps while providing a containerized trap which may be readily discarded, rodent and all. As a result of applicant's teaching herein, a number of modifications and additions may now be perceived. By way of example, various other container and roof geometries would no doubt also provide satisfactory operation and provide all the noted advantages while avoiding the noted disadvantages of the prior art. Accordingly, all such modifications and additions are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention which is to be limited only by the claims appended hereto. 21 -"T </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> 2 147 •CLAIHfi WHAT fltffc CLAIM IS:

1. A rodent trap comprising: a container having an opening for permitting entry by a rodent, said container having at least two bottom surfaces oriented at an obtuse angle relative to one another whereby 5 said opening is elevated when said container rests on a first of said bottom surfaces and said opening is not elevated when said container rests on the second of said bottom surfaces, and ^ i 1 ' a hinged door, said door being adapted to close said opening when said opening is elevated and to remain elevated 10 from said opening when said opening is not elevated.

2. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein the center of gravity of said trap is above said second bottom surface.

3 . The rodent trap recited in claim 2 wherein said center of gravity shifts to a point above said first bottom surface when a rodent is positioned substantially on said first bottom surface inside said container.

4. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said door is hinged at the top of said opening and is of sufficient length to remain ajar and elevated from said opening when said opening is not elevated.

5. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 further comprising a magnet affixed within said container adjacent said opening, and a magnetic material located on said door for engagement with said magnet when said door closes said opening.

6. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 further comprising a latch on said door and means on said container for receiving said latch for locking said door when said door closes said opening. 22 2147U3 r ;

7. The rodent trap recited in claim 6 wherein said latch comprises a hook and wherein said means for receiving comprises a hole in said second bottom surface, said hole being positioned for receiving said hook.

8. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said obtuse angle is substantially in the range of about 140 degrees to about 170 degrees. f

9. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said obtuse angle is about 16 0 degrees.

10. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said two bottom surfaces are contiguous to each other.

11. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said opening is the sole entrance into said container for a rodent.

12. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said container and said door are integral portions of a unitary structure.

13. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 further comprising means for attracting a rodent into said container and onto said first bottom surface.

14. The rodent trap recited in claim 1 wherein said container comprises a top surface of triangular cross-section adapted to simulate the appearance of a Bhingled roof. 23 2 147

15. A rodent trap comprising: a container having an opening for permitting entry by a rodent; a tilt plate within said container and having first 5 and second integral surfaces oriented at an obtuse angle relative to one another and having a fulcrum connected to said container for rotation of said tilt plate within said container, said fulcrum being positioned relative to said first and second integral surfaces whereby said first surface is ' 10 initially positioned substantially parallel to a bottom surface of said container adjacent said opening and said second surface is initially elevated from said bottom surface; a trap plate hinged to said first integral surface adjacent said opening and adapted to be in contiguous parallel c ^ '5 relation to said first integral surface between said first integral surface and said bottom surface when said second surface is elevated? means in said bottom surface for retaining a free end of said trap plate when said first surface is elevated relative 20 to said bottom surface for preventing said first surface from resuming a position parallel to said bottom surface whereby a rodent's weight applied to said second surface elevates said first surface and blocks said opening for trapping said rodent.

16. The rodent trap recited in claim 15 wherein said means in said bottom surface comprises at least one indentation for receiving said free end of said trap plate.

17. The rodent trap recited in claim 15 further comprising a door hinged to said container adjacent said opening for sealing said opening. 24 2 147

18. The rodent trap recited in claim 15 wherein the center of gravity of said tilt plate is on the first surface side of said fulcrum.

19. The rodent trap recited in claim 15 wherein said container comprises an elongated tube having an opening at each end thereof and an end cap adapted to be press fit over the end opening of said tube opposite the entry opening, said end cap substantially closing said tube end opening whereby to permit selective access to sa: adjacent said end cap. selective access to said container for depositing bait therein

20. A rodent trap substantially as herein described with reference to any embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS^' > A. J- PER AGENTS F 25 </div>