WO2005087000A1

WO2005087000A1 - Holding device

Info

Publication number: WO2005087000A1
Application number: PCT/AT2005/000081
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wolfgang Harand
Original assignee: Calantis Infochemicals Gmbh
Priority date: 2004-03-11
Filing date: 2005-03-08
Publication date: 2005-09-22

Abstract

The invention relates to a holding device (1) for clamping and fixing flat elements (4), said holding device comprising a base (2) provided with at least one means (6) for applying to a fixed structure, and from which at least two arms (3) protrude, each arm (3) comprising at least one fixing element (9), on the free end thereof, for detachably connecting to the element (4) at a distance from the base (2).

Description

RETAINING DEVICE

The invention relates to a holding device for clamping and fastening flat elements and their use as part of a trap for small animals, in particular for flying insects.

Devices for catching flying insects have long been known in various configurations. Insect-adherent surfaces are found, for example, in insect glue rings, window fly traps according to the type of EP 281 562, or adhesive traps according to the type of WO 2003/075 651. Furthermore, there are also electrically operated devices of various designs, which use UV fluorescent tubes in combination with high-voltage grids, Suction propellers or adhesive boards attract and kill insects, sticky traps with separate attractant dispensers and sticky traps that emit light stimuli of different wavelengths.

Flat-shaped elements, in particular carriers with adhesive or catching surfaces for flying insects, are usually attached directly to the substrate by means of tapes, belts, wire loops and the like. The disadvantage of these fastening methods is that they are not very weather-resistant. If such elements are attached to trees, for example by means of nails, the plants are injured and exposed to undesirable loads.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a holding device for flat elements which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction and user-friendly in operation.

This object is achieved according to the invention by a holding device with a base which has at least one means for attachment to a stationary structure and from which at least two arms protrude, with each arm at its free end having at least one fastening element for releasable connection to the flat element in a distance from the base.

Improved stability of the holding device is achieved if the base has three arms, each with a fastening element.

In a preferred embodiment, the base has four arms, each with a fastening element. This variant has the advantage of being particularly stable against weather influences. above all to be stable against wind. This advantage is further enhanced if the arms are made of an elastic material.

The arms of the holding device have fastening elements with which a flat element is detachably fastened to the holding device. Attaching and detaching the element is particularly simple if the fastening elements are hook-shaped.

The holding device is attached to a fixed structure. In order to prevent the holding device from slipping, in a preferred variant of the invention the base has at least one spacer element.

In experiments, the holding device has proven particularly useful as a component of a trap for small animals, in particular for flying insects. The holding device is fastened to a stationary structure, for example to a plant, and a flat element equipped with at least one catching surface for flying insects is connected to the holding device via the fastening elements.

The invention is explained in more detail on the basis of a non-restrictive exemplary embodiment with associated figures. In it shows

1: the holding device with the mounted carrier in an oblique view from the front,

Fig. 2 shows the holding device of Fig. 1 in a view from the front and in a side view

3 shows an attractant dispenser

Devices for catching flying insects have long been known in various configurations. Insect-adherent surfaces are found, for example, in insect-leaking rings, window fly traps according to the type of EP 281 562, or adhesive traps according to the type of WO 2003/075 651. Suction propellers or adhesive boards attract and kill insects, sticky traps with separate attractant dispensers and sticky traps that emit light stimuli of different wavelengths. The holding device 1, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, comprises a base 2 and at least two, preferably four arms 3, which span the carrier 4. In addition, it can have spacers 5, for example in the form of feet, to prevent slipping on the ground, and openings 6, which are used for fastening with a belt or screws or nails, and a receptacle 7 for fastening an attractant dispenser 11 according to FIG 3 include. The attachment to the surface can also be achieved in another way, such as with clamps or hooks.

The arms 3 fulfill the task of fastening the carrier 4 at a distance from the base 2. This distance is achieved by curvature or by one or more kinks of the arms 3, so that they protrude from the plane of the base 2. The curvature or kinks can be of different strengths and depend on the position of the corresponding holes 8 in the carrier 4 and the length of the arms. The shortest distance between base 2 and support 4 can be of different sizes. A distance of at least 2 cm and a maximum of 20 cm is advantageous, a distance of at least 3 and a maximum of 10 cm is particularly advantageous.

The arms 3 can be shaped differently. They can be angular, circular, circular or otherwise rounded in cross section, preferably they have a rectangular cross section. The diagonal of the cross section can be smaller at the end of the arm 3 than at the base 2 or the same, preferably it is smaller, so that the arms 3 have a conical shape.

The arms 3 of the holding device 1 can be of the same length or of different lengths. Different lengths mean that during use the carrier 4 is not parallel to the base 2 of the holding device 1, but encloses an angle with it.

The ends of the arms 3 can additionally be provided with a fastening element for fixing the carrier 4. This can consist of a plug-on attachment or clamps, but they are preferably a shape of the arm end to form a hook 9. This hook 9 can be shaped differently, preferably it protrudes from the arm 3 at right angles to it. Its size matches the holes 8 of the carrier 4.

The stability of the device can be improved in that the arms 3 are elastic by choosing a suitable material. As a result, these can be dimensioned such that their end points have a greater distance in the unmounted state than the corresponding holes 8 in the carrier 4. which stabilizes the device. The necessary properties of the metals and plastics in question, in particular their flexibility, are known to the person skilled in the art and are described in more detail in the next paragraph.

The holding device 1 can consist of different materials, for example of metal such as aluminum, iron or alloys of different metals, or also of plastics such as polystyrene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate etc. The individual components (base 2, arms 3, spacer elements 5) can consist of different materials, for example the base 2 can be made of metal and the arms 3 can be made of plastic. However, the entire holding device 1 preferably consists of plastic, particularly preferably of polyethylene. The properties of the materials, in particular with regard to mechanical resilience, UV stability, flexibility / flexibility etc. are known to the person skilled in the art.

The base 2 of the holding device 1 can be a separate part on which the arms 3 are mounted during or after the manufacturing process, preferably it forms an inseparable unit together with the arms 3 and is produced with these in one manufacturing step.

To prevent slipping on the ground, the base 2 can be provided with at least two, preferably four spacer elements 5, which face the opposite side to the curvature or kinks of the arms 3. The spacer elements 5 can have different shapes, for example cylindrical, conical or otherwise rounded. A tapered shape is advantageous. The length of the spacer elements 5 can be between 1 and 100 mm, preferably between 5 and 30 mm, particularly preferably between 5 and 20 mm. The spacer elements 5 can consist of the same material as the base 2 or of a different material, for example plastic such as polystyrene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate etc., rubber, metal such as aluminum, iron etc. The spacer elements preferably consist 5 of the same material as the holding device 1 and form an inseparable unit with this.

The holding device 1 can be anchored to the ground in different ways. For example, nails, screws or hooks come into question, for the attachment of which the base 2 can contain suitable cutouts or holes 6. Attachment with a belt is particularly advantageous. For this purpose, there may preferably be two holes 6 in the base 2 through which the belt can be pulled.

The holding device 1 can further comprise a receptacle 7 for fastening an attractant dispenser 11 according to FIG. 3. This can be designed differently, for example as a clamp or hook. It is advantageous if it is adapted to the shape of the attractant dispenser 11 to be used. A hole on the edge or in the surface of the base 2 of the holding device 1, which is adapted to the size of the attractant dispenser 11, is particularly advantageous. It is particularly advantageous if this hole is almost circular and so lies at the edge of the base 2 that slightly more than half the circumference of the circle is formed by the edge of the base 2, so that it tapers towards the opening. It is thereby achieved that a circular attractant dispenser 11 snaps into this receptacle 7 and can only be released from it with a certain amount of force.

Various methods are known for producing the holding device 1, which are known to the person skilled in the art. For example, various die casting, stamping, bending, deep-drawing and cutting techniques are available for plastics, which can also be combined. The use of a stamping technique is particularly advantageous, the entire shape comprising the base 2, spacer elements 5, arms 3 and the fastening holes 6 or the receptacle 7 being punched out of a plate. The spacer elements 5 and, if appropriate, the arms 3 can then be brought into the final shape by machine bending. This method enables particularly cost-effective production by reducing the amount of work. When using sufficiently flexible materials which are known to the person skilled in the art, it is advantageous if the arms 3 are not bent out of the plane of the base 2 during production. This eliminates another step, which can save costs. The arms 3 are only bent up during assembly at the application site, as a result of which the stabilizing tension state already mentioned arises.

The attractant dispenser 11 is to be understood as a solid material or container which can hold a chemical substance or a mixture of chemical substances which attract insects and under normal environmental conditions (temperature above 5 ° C, humidity between 20% and 95%, air pressure approx . 1 bar) are more or less volatile, that is, they change to the gaseous state. These substances, in particular their chemical and physical properties and their biological effects, are known to the person skilled in the art. The attractant dispenser 11 can be designed in such a way that it controls the amount of the insect-attracting substance (s) that are released per unit of time due to its material properties or design.

The attractant dispenser 11 can have different forms. The attractant dispenser 11 can be designed, for example, in accordance with the description in US 005308613 A. It is advantageous if the shape of the attractant dispenser 11 is adapted to the holding device 1 so that natural mechanical effects do not release the attractant. Dispensers 11 can effect from the base 2 of the holding device 1. An example, to which the invention is not intended to be limited, is an attractant dispenser 11 as in FIG. 3, which consists of a cylindrical chamber, the flat, circular end faces of which protrude beyond the edge of the cylindrical side faces. In this embodiment, the attractant dispenser 11 consists of a cylindrical chamber, the flat, circular end surfaces of which protrude beyond the edge of the cylindrical side surfaces. The upper part of the figure shows the two parts of the dispenser 11 in the open state, the lower part shows the fully assembled dispenser 11. An attractant dispenser 11 shaped in this way can be anchored particularly well in the holding device 1.

Natural mechanical influences are understood to mean mechanical loads that do not arise directly or indirectly from human actions. In particular, this includes wind and the movements and vibrations of the holding device 1 possibly caused by wind.

With the help of the holding device 1 from FIGS. 1 and 2, a carrier 4 can be attached at the place of use. The place of application can be any place indoors or outdoors, preferably the trunk of a tree. In the case of the application of this holding device 1 for an insect fauna, a surface coated with insect-adhering substance is presented with the aid of the flat carrier 4, which is positioned essentially parallel to the subsurface and a few centimeters away from the subsurface. For some flying insects, the use of attractants is sensible, for their application in attractant dispensers 11, as shown for example in FIG. 3, a holder 7 is present on the holding device 1.

The flat carrier 4 can have a smooth shape, but is preferably rectangular. The size of the carrier 4 can also vary, sizes between 300 and 3000 cm ² are advantageous, sizes between 500 and 1500 cm ² are particularly advantageous.

For anchoring to the holding device 1, the flat carrier 4 can have holes 8 of different shapes, for example. These can be circular, but preferably they have the shape of an elongated gap which is at least twice, preferably 4 times as long as wide and is adapted in size to the holding device 1. The longitudinal axis of this gap 8 can be oriented differently from the carrier 4. The orientation of the gaps 8 can be important for the wind resistance of the holding device 1, the optimal position depending on the shape of the carrier 4. Rectangular carriers 4 with holes 8 are preferred, which have paralels to one of the edges, particularly preferably parol to the longer side of the carrier 4. The gap 8 can also have a conical shape, that is, with nonparallel longitudinal sides, or it can be curved, that is to say that the points which are exactly in the middle of the shortest connection between opposite edges do not lie on a straight line. However, holes 8 with parallel sides and without bending are preferred.

By "essentially parallel to the substrate" it is to be understood that the surface of the coated carrier 4 using the holding device 1 preferably lies paraUel to the surface of the substrate on which the holding device 1 is attached. If this surface is curved, such as, for example, the trunk of a tree, then it is to be understood by "essentially parallel to the subsurface" that the coated carrier 4 preferably lies tangentially to the surface at the point of attachment during use. However, it is also intended to include constructions in which the surface can be relatively oblique with respect to the subsurface. The limit for an inclined control in use could be at an angle of approximately 45 ° (measured between the tangent of the surface at the point of assembly and the carrier 4 coated with an insect-adhering substance). Angles of less than 30 ° are preferred, and angles of less than 20 ° are particularly preferred.

The material from which the sheet-like carrier 4 is made can be, for example, cardboard, cardboard paper or a plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester or a composite material made of these materials, for example a laminate of cardboard paper and polyester. This material can be impermeable or, which is preferred, impermeable. By "permeable" is also meant the FaU that there is no complete absorption or transmission of the light, but rather that only certain wavelength ranges are absorbed, so that the support 4 appears colored and, under certain circumstances, even then transparent. The use of a colored sheet-like carrier 4 can be advantageous if certain insects react to such optical signals, as is the case, for example, with house flies, food moths and wasps from the FaU.

In order to impart a certain color to such a highly permeable material, pigments can be added to it, which absorb light in a certain wavelength range. These relationships are known to the person skilled in the art. However, colorless and transparent materials are particularly preferred. These include plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride etc. Polypropylene is particularly suitable as a plastic, since it has sufficient strength, particularly against tearing and breaking, with advantageous flexibility, even with low material thicknesses.

In certain embodiments, a regular or irregular pattern can be printed on the sheet-like carrier 4 on one or possibly on both sides regardless of whether an insect-adhering layer is applied to this side or not. Various patterns known to those skilled in the art have an attractive effect on certain insects. Such patterns are described for example in EP 475 665, EP 446464, WO 1997/01272 and WO 1998/42186. This pattern can be black and white rectangles, imitations of flowers, or trimmings of the target insects. However, designs without imprinting a sample should also be included.

In a special embodiment, an opaque or transparent imprint can also be applied to the flat carrier 4. (e.g. decorative BÜd, brand name, or the like) to prevent or complicate the BHck on already caught insects.

An insect-adhering substance in the sense of the present description is to be understood as pressure-sensitive adhesive substances which cause the insects to stick to the side of the device coated with them in such a way that the insect is prevented from flying away. These substances are known to the person skilled in the art. These include, for example, polyisobutylenes, polybutenes and polyacrylates, such as e.g. Copolymers of acrylic acid and acrylic acid esters, especially acrylic acid alkyl esters such as 2-ethylhexyl acrylate or n-butyl acrylate. In the case of non-pressure-sensitive copolymers, such as, for example, polystyrene, styrene, polystyrene-butadiene-styrene, polyethylene vinyl acetate and polyethylene-acrylic acid esters, suitable auxiliary agents, so-called tackifiers, must be added in order to achieve the desired properties. Resin-like substances such as rosin and its derivatives, polyterpenes and hydrocarbon resins are used in particular for this purpose.

The insect-adhering substance is applied to one or possibly both sides of the sheet-like carrier 4 and forms a layer here. This can be done by applying this substance (s) directly (for example by extrusion) or, if appropriate, dissolved or suspended in a suitable auxiliary substance on the relevant side of the sheet-like support, with a full-area coating being obtained. If necessary, the auxiliary substance (for example a solvent) is then removed (for example by volatilization of the solvent).

The layer may also be in a non-full surface embodiment. For example, this layer can consist of a large number of individual points, smaller areas and / or numerous, possibly connected lines. Such Non-complete embodiment of the layer can be produced by application methods such as rotary printing.

The layer can be applied to the entire surface of one or both sides of the carrier 4, but certain areas can also remain uncoated. It is advantageous to leave delimited areas on the edge of the sheet-like carrier 4 uncoated in order to make handling easier for the user when attaching them to the holding device 1.

The present embodiment of the invention Hefert a case for flying insects which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction and at the same time user-friendly in operation, and which offers large trapping areas with optimum weather resistance, in particular stability in the event of wind. Here, the technical effort should be as low as possible. In particular, the use of particularly large catch areas increases the efficiency in catching numerous insects.

Claims

EXPECTATIONS

1. Holding device (1) for stretching and fastening flat-lined elements (4) with a base (2) which has at least one means (6) for attachment to a stationary structure and from which at least two arms (3) protrude, wherein each arm (3) has at its free end at least one fastening element (9) for detachable connection to the flatly molded element (4) at a distance from the base (4).

2. Holding device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (4) has three arms (3), each with a fastening element (9).

3. Holding device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (4) has four arms (3), each with a fastening element (9).

4. Holding device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the arms (3) are made of an elastic material.

5. Holding device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the fastening elements (9) located at the ends of the arms (3) are bonded in a hook shape.

6. Holding device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the base (4) has at least one spacer element (5).

7. Use of a holding device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6 as a part of a FaUe for small animals, in particular for flying insects, the holding device (1) being fastened to a stationary structure, for example to a tree, and with a at least one catch surface for flying insects is provided with a flat element (4) connected to the holding device (1) via the fastening elements (9).