WO2018096438A1

WO2018096438A1 - Device for catching insects

Info

Publication number: WO2018096438A1
Application number: PCT/IB2017/057253
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marciano HUANCAHUARI TUEROS
Original assignee: B.Holding S.R.L.
Priority date: 2016-11-22
Filing date: 2017-11-20
Publication date: 2018-05-31
Also published as: IT201600117926A1

Abstract

Device for catching insects, comprising: a container, consisting of a body (12) provided with an opening (14) in its upper part and with an opening (16) in its lower part; a CO₂ generator (18) connected to the inside of the container (12); a powered fan (20) housed inside the container, and a filtering element (22) housed inside the container. The upper opening (14) is defined by a cover (28) arranged at a small distance from the upper end of the body (12) of the container and provided with a peripheral edge (30) inclined downwards, and the lower opening (16) is defined by a plate (34) provided with a peripheral edge (36) inclined upwards and arranged at a distance from the lower end of the body (12) of the container that is at least twice the distance between the cover (28) and the upper edge of the body (12) of the container. The slope of the edges of the upper cover (28) and of the lower plate (34) is comprised between 110 ° and 130 ° relative to a horizontal plane, so as that a closed circuit flow of air and CO₂ is produced between the inside of the body (12) of the container and the external surface of the same body.

Description

"DEVICE FOR CATCHING INSECTS"

DESCRIPTION TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001]. The present invention regards a device for catching insects, in particular mosquitos that considerably improves the efficiency of the prior art devices.

PRIOR ART

[002]. Many devices for catching insects are known from the prior art; they substantially comprise a container in which is introduced a suitable bait to attract the insects, and in which is generated an air flow intended to draw the insects into the container. A suitable means, such as a fine-meshed net is used to retain the captured insects inside the container.

[003]. US Patent 8,141 ,291 describes an insect trap of the above-mentioned type which is disclosed in accordance with two embodiments, and comprises a container wherein is housed a catalytic reactor that uses air and fuel to produce CO2 as a bait to attract the insects. The insects are drawn in through an opening formed in the upper part or in the lower part of the container. CO2 is expelled from the container by a powered fan located inside the container, downstream of a baffle that captures the insects. Most of the air passes through the device as exhaust air, and is discharged freely from the lower part or the upper part of the device.

[004]. Both variant embodiments described above are not satisfactory because they embody some drawbacks. The first drawback lies in the fact that, if the baffle that catches the insects is placed upstream of the fan, the baffle fills up rapidly and considerably reduces the passage of the air. Therefore, a frequent cleaning is made necessary, and possibly also a fan equipped with a more powerful motor. Moreover, the geometry of the device is such that most of the CO2 produced to attract the insects is scattered in the environment, thus reducing the efficiency of the device. This forms in fact a channeling of the outflowing air that increases the speed of the flow, so that the insects that adhere to the external surface of the device are detached and moved outwards instead of conveying them inwards for catching them.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM TO SOLVE

[005]. The present invention aims at improving the known insect traps by providing a particularly simple but efficient device. In particular, it has been shown that a considerable number of insects are not able to enter into the prior art traps and remain attached to the external surfaces of the devices, and thus escape being captured and killed. To solve this problem, it is necessary that all the air, or at least most of it, that contains the CO2 generated in the device is made to flow adjacent to the external surface of the device at a very low speed. In this manner, the insects, particularly the mosquitoes, are not only attracted by the bait but also pushed by the air flow that flows substantially in a closed circuit between the inside and the outside of the device, and that accelerates as it gets closer to the entrance of the trap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[006]. The purpose of the invention is thus to resolve the above-mentioned technical problem of the currently known insect traps. The solution is delineated in an insect trap having the characteristics as essentially defined in independent claim 1 of the present patent. Further details are defined in the dependent claims.

[007]. Characteristics and advantages of the invention will become evident from the description which follows, by way of example and without limitations, with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a trap for catching insects according to the invention;

- Fig. 2 illustrates schematically the internal part of the insect trap according to the invention;

- Fig. 3 illustrates schematically the principle of operation of the insect trap according to the invention;

- Fig. 4 illustrates schematically, but in greater detail with respect to Figure 3, the mode of capturing the insects into the trap according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[008]. The device for catching insects according to the invention, as shown in figures 1 and 2, is substantially made up of a container, formed from a body 12 provided with an opening 14 in its upper part and with an opening 16 in its lower part; a CO2 generator 18 connected with the inside of the container; a motorized fan 20 housed inside the container; and a filtering element 22 also housed inside the container.

Preferably, the body 12 of the container has the shape of a parallelepiped piece of furniture provided with front opening doors 24 and a support frame 26. However, the body 12 may have any shape, for example cylindrical.

[009]. According to a first characteristic of the present invention, the upper opening 14 of the container is defined by a cover 28 arranged a short distance from the upper end of the body 12 and provided with a peripheral edge 30 inclined downwards. The distance between the upper end of the body 12 and the cover 28 is preferably included between 2 cm and 4 cm. The inclination of the peripheral edge 30 is preferably between 1 10 ° and 130 ° relative to a horizontal plane. The fan 20, located in the inflow tube of the insect trap, draws in the air from the upper part of the trap, so that in this area is created a kind of vortex and all the air present in the upper part of the trap is sucked into the device, carrying with it all the insects that are found in that area. The vortex is created because the space between the central body 12 and the upper plate, or cover 28, is minimal.

[0010]. According to another characteristic of the present invention, the lower opening 16 of the container is defined by a plate 34 provided with a peripheral edge 36 inclined upwards and arranged at a distance from the lower end of the body 12 of the container that is at least twice the distance between the cover 28 and the upper edge of the body 12 of the container. Preferably, the distance between the plate 34 and the lower edge of the body 12 of the container is between 8 cm and 14 cm.

[0011]. According to particular characteristic of the present invention, the upper cover 28 and the lower plate 34 have the same extension and project externally for a distance between 10 and 15 cm relative to the body 12 of the container.

[0012]. The upper end of the body 12 of the container is provided with a hole 38, near which is installed, within the body 12, the motorized fan 20 which draws in the air from the external atmosphere through the upper opening 14 under the cover 28.

[0013]. Inside the body 12 of the container, downstream of the motorized fan 20, is installed the filtering element 22 for catching the insects. In the example, the filtering element 22 is represented by a net bag (Fig. 2). The catching net, or filtering element 22, is made up of a double circular cone (Fig. 4): an internal cone that tapers in the lower part and an external cone that widens in the lower part, in this manner the captured insects are pushed into the lateral areas between the two cones and leave the central part of the net free to allow the passage of the air. The positioning of the net 22 downstream of the fan 20 in the direction of the air flow offers the advantage of requiring a limited power of the fan drive motor, although a strong suction vortex is created at the entrance hole 38. In fact, the suction is completely free and the insects concentrate in the filtering element 22, which must be cleaned from time to time.

[0014]. In the lower part of the body 12 of the container is introduced a flow of CO2 supplied by the generator 18, normally consisting of a bottle housed under the container, through a tube 44 (Fig. 1 ). The flow of CO2 thus mixes with the flow of air drawn in by the fan 20 and is caused to spin, as will be seen later, to attract the insects into the body 12 of the container. Moreover, in the lower part of the body 12 of the container can also advantageously be provided the installation of a device 46 that allows the introduction of a further type of bait that attracts insects, such as for example substances that resemble the scent of perspiration and/or of lactic acid.

[0015]. Inside the lower end of the body 12 of the container can also be arranged a shaped element 48 designed to convey the flow of air and CO2 toward a hole 50 that is provided at the center of the bottom of the body 12. The flow of air and CO2 that leaves through the hole 50 impacts against the lower plate 34, which has a surface shaped so as to have at its center a central projection 52 designed to guide the flow of air and CO2, conveying it toward the inclined peripheral edge 36 of the lower plate 34. As already mentioned, the lower plate 34 is intentionally spaced apart from the body 12 of the insect trap, so as to decrease the speed of the air. The central projection 52, preferably in the shape of a cone, and the peripheral edge 36 inclined upwards convey the air toward the upper part of the insect trap. In this manner, the air that flows out of the lower part of the trap returns very softly toward the upper part of the device and, as soon as it reaches the upper part of the trap, it flows into the vortex caused by the powered fan 20 and is drawn back into the trap.

[0016]. The construction described herein implements the principle of operation of the device for catching insects, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In this figure is shown how the positioning and dimensioning of the upper cover 28 and of the lower plate 34 relative to the body 12 of the container allow substantially all the flow of air and CO2 to follow a closed circuit from inside and outside the container, brushing against the external surface of the body 12 of the container.

[0017]. Moreover, it was proven experimentally that the solution according to the invention effectively creates a very gentle upward current along the external wall of the body 12 of the container, so as to facilitate the detachment and transportation of the insects, while the inward suction that occurs through the opening 14 in the upper part of the body 12 of the container is appreciably accelerated relative to the external flow. This result is essentially due to the different dimensions of the upper opening 14 and of the lower opening 16 between the cover 28 and the body 12, and between the plate 34 and the body 12, respectively; as well as to the positioning of the fan in the internal part at a level higher than the trap, thus remaining nearer to the air inflow and farther from the air outlet.

[0018]. Fig. 4 illustrates, in greater detail, the manner of capturing the insects. As previously mentioned, most of the air flow, into which the generator 18 (Fig. 1 ) introduces the CO2, circulates through the opening 50 and is drawn up again by the fan 20 to brush against the external wall of the body 12 of the device. The speed of the air is low at the exit in the lower part and becomes progressively faster until it becomes fastest at the upper entrance 38. This effect is due to the combination of different previously mentioned characteristics, such as the positioning of the fan upstream of the filtering element 22 and the smaller size of the upper entrance duct relative to the larger size of the lower outflow duct. This variation in the speed is illustrated with the different length of the continuous arrows in Fig. 4. Naturally, a minimal part of the air, mixed with CO2, flows out of the device and attracts the insects toward it. The insects are shown in enlarged size to make them more visible, and their approach movements toward the device are shown with broken arrows.

Claims

1. Device for catching insects, comprising:

a container, made by a body (12) provided with a first opening (14) in its upper part and a second opening (16) in its lower part;

a CO2 generator (18) housed inside the container;

a motorized fan (20) housed inside the container; and

a filtering member (22) housed in the container;

the device being characterized in that

said upper opening (14) is delimited by a cover (28) arranged at a short distance from the upper end of the container body (12) and is provided with a peripheral edge (30) which inclined downwards, and

said lower opening (16) is delimited by a plate (34) provided with a peripheral edge (36) which is inclined upwards and positioned at a distance from the lower end of the container body (12) which is at least double the distance from the cover (28) and the upper edge of the container body (12),

the slope of the edge (30) of the upper cover (28) and of the edge (36) of the lower plate (34) being comprised between 1 10 ° and 130° with reference to a horizontal plane,

so that a closed circuit flow of air and CO2 is produced from inside the body (12) and the external surface of the same body.

2. Device for catching insects according to claim 1 , wherein most of the flow of air and CO2 brushes against the external surface of the device with a low exit speed when flowing out through the hole (50) in the lower part of the device and becomes progressively faster until it becomes fastest at the inflow hole (38) in the upper part of the device, while a smaller part of the flow of air and CO2 flows outside the device and attracts the insects.

3. Device for catching insects according to claim 1 or 2, in which the filtering element (22) consists of a double circular cone: an internal cone that tapers in its lower part and an external cone that widens in its lower part, so that the captured insects are pushed into the lateral areas between the two cones and leave the central part of the filtering element free to allow the passage of the air.

4. Device for catching insects according to any claim from 1 to 3, wherein the cover (28) arranged over the container body (12) and the plate (34) arranged under the container body (12) are of the same dimension and extend outwardly from the container body (12) for a distance comprised between 10 cm and 15 cm.

5. Device for catching insects according to claim 4, wherein the distance from the cover (28) to the upper edge of the container body (12) is comprised between 2 cm and 4 cm, while the distance from the lower plate (34) to the lower edge of the container body (12) is comprised between 8 cm and 14 cm.

6. Device for catching insects according to claim 5, wherein the lower plate (34) has a surface shaped with a central protrusion (52) which is able to lead the flow of air and CO2 coming out from the lower opening (16) of the container body (12) by directing it towards the sloped edge (36) of the lower plate (34).

7. Device for catching insects according to claim 6, wherein the container body (12) is provided with an upper hole (38) and a lower hole (50) through which the flow of air and CO2 attracting insects inside the container body (12) is produced.

8. Device for catching insects according to claim 7, wherein a structural shape (48) is arranged at the bottom of the container body (12), so as to lead the flow of air and CO2 towards the hole (50).

9. Device for catching insects according to any preceding claim, wherein the motorized fan (20) is arranged inside the container near the upper opening (14) of the container body (12) and upstream from the filtering member (22) in the direction of the flow of air and CO2.

10. Device for catching insects according to any preceding claim, wherein a means (46) holding a further kind of lure for insects is arranged inside the container body (12).