WO2021004613A1

WO2021004613A1 - Insect trap

Info

Publication number: WO2021004613A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/068173
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Laurence STRAUSS
Original assignee: Strauss John Laurence
Priority date: 2019-07-05
Filing date: 2019-07-05
Publication date: 2021-01-14

Abstract

An insect trap (1) comprises a carton casing (2) having a number of access openings (3) in side walls (4) of the casing (2) to allow insects have access to an interior of the casing (2). An insect trapping element comprising a stiff card is mounted within the interior of the casing (2) and has insect trapping adhesive on both faces of the card. The card is engagable within the casing (2) with both faces of the card exposed within the interior of the casing (2). The card also carries an insect attracting pheromone. The pheromone may be an aggregation pheromone which attracts both male and female fruit flies. The casing (2) comprises a blank having a plurality of hingedly interconnected panels which are foldable between a flat packaging position and an assembled in-use position forming the casing (2).

Description

“Insect Trap”

Introduction

This invention relates to an insect trap, especially but not exclusively for flying insects, and generally for flies and particularly for fruit flies (drosophila melanogaster).

Various insect traps are currently available for fruit flies. Most of these comprise of plastic or glass containers holding a food based liquid bait which attracts fruit flies into the receptacle where they drown in the liquid or onto a sticky surface where they get stuck. Some of these traps are reusable once they are cleaned and refilled. These traps are disposable by simply discarding them into the trash, however, for glass and plastics traps this generates waste which is not environmentally friendly. In these traps, the trapped flies remain visible which many people find unpleasant. Furthermore, where the traps use liquid lures, the traps tend to be bulky and thus, when packaged, the packaged articles are bulky which means they thus cost more to transport and it limits the amount of traps that can be displayed and sold in a given retail display area.

The present invention is directed towards overcoming these problems.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided an insect trap, including a carton casing having at least one access opening in a side wall of the casing to allow insects have access to an interior of the casing, an insect trapping element mounted within the casing comprising a stiff panel or card with an insect attracting pheromone and insect trapping adhesive on the card, the card being engagable within the casing with the pheromone and the insect trapping adhesive on the card exposed within the interior of the casing. Preferably the insect attracting pheromone is an aggregation pheromone which attracts both male and female fruit flies.

In another embodiment, the insect trapping adhesive is provided on both faces of the card and the card is engagable within the casing with both faces of the card exposed within the interior of the casing.

In one embodiment of the invention the insect trapping element is demountably engagable within the casing.

In another embodiment the casing is of knockdown construction.

In another embodiment the casing comprises a blank having a plurality of hingedly interconnected panels, said panels being foldable between a flat packaging position and an assembled in-use position forming the casing.

In another embodiment the assembled casing has a rectangular section, having a rectangular base panel with upwardly extending rectangular side panels and a rectangular lid panel hingedly mounted at a top of one of the side panels.

In another embodiment each side panel has one or more access openings. The access openings may be formed by one or more slots, through holes or similar openings which allow for entry of the insect into an interior of the casing.

In another embodiment the access opening is an elongate slot in the side panel. The elongate slot may have a diagonal orientation on the side panel.

In another embodiment the insect trapping card is mounted diagonally between opposite comers of the casing side panels.

In another embodiment the insect trapping card extends between the base panel and the lid panel.

In another embodiment, the card is a dark colour, preferably black, to hide any flies attached thereto, and to attract flies.

In another embodiment, the insect trapping element is mounted against an inside face of a first side wall of the casing, the insect trapping element having a retaining flap which extends outwardly from the insect trapping element and engages with an inside face of an opposite second side wall of the casing to retain the insect trapping element against the inside face of the first side wail.

In another embodiment, the side wall of the casing has a cut-out flap, hingedly connected to the side wall which can be pulled out to form a standing support for the insect trap. Double-sided adhesive tape may be provided on the flap to attach the insect trap to a support surface.

In a further embodiment the base panel is an automatic bottom, that is it automatically deploys when moving the carton from the flat packaging position into the assembled in-use position.

In another embodiment the base panel forms a complete bottom.

In another embodiment the insect trapping card is black, dark green or red.

In another embodiment an exterior surface of the casing is covered with insect attracting colours and/or designs.

In another embodiment said insect attracting colours include black, green and red designs.

In another embodiment the exterior surface is covered with coloured illustrations of fruit Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be more clearly understood by the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an insect trap according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the partially assembled insect trap;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the insect trap in a flat packaging position; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another insect trap according to a second embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 is another perspective view of the insect trap shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an underneath perspective view of the insect trap of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the insect trap of Fig. 4, with a top of the trap shown in an open position;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of another insect trap according to a third embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the insect trap of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the insect trap of Fig. 8 with a top of the trap shown in an open position;

Fig. 11 is a detail elevational view showing a casing of the trap of Fig. 8 in a flat packaging position;

Fig. 12 is an elevational view of the insect trap of Fig. 8 shown in a fiat packaging position;

Fig. 13 is an elevational view of another insect trap according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 14 is an elevational view of a blank for forming a carton casing of another insect trap according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 15 is a detail perspective view of a bottom portion of the assembled carton casing of Fig. 14, deployed in use. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

Referring to the drawings, and initially to figs. 1 to 3 thereof, there is illustrated an insect trap according to the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 1. The insect trap 1 comprises a carton casing 2 having a number of access openings 3 in side walls 4 of the casing 2 to allow insects have access to an interior 5 of the casing 2. An insect trapping element comprising a stiff card 6 is mounted within the interior 5 of the casing 2 and has insect trapping adhesive on both faces of the card 6. It will be noted that the card 6 is engagable within the casing 2 with both faces of the card 6 exposed within the interior 5 of the casing 2. The card 6 also carries an insect attracting pheromone. The pheromone may be an aggregation pheromone which attracts both male and female fruit flies, for example.

The casing 2 comprises a blank having a plurality of hingedly interconnected panels which are foldable between a flat packaging position, as shown in Fig. 3, and an assembled in-use position forming the casing 2, as shown in Fig. 1.

The assembled casing 2 has a rectangular section, having a rectangular base panel 8 with upwardly extending rectangular side panels 4 and a rectangular lid panel 9 hingedly mounted by a hinge fold line 10 at a top of one of the side panels 4. A closure flap 11 at an outer free end of the lid panel 9 is engagable within the opposite side wall 4 to secure the lid panel 9 in a dosed position. Flaps 12 on the side walls 4 extending away from the lid panel 9 fold in at a top of the side walls 4 beneath the lid panel 9.

In this case, the access openings 3 are formed by an elongate vertical slot in each side wall 4 to provide access from each side of the casing 2 the interior 5 of the casing 2. For improved strength the access opening slots 3 may be arranged in a diagonal orientation.

The insect trapping card 6 is coated with an insect attracting pheromone material or other attractant, as well as the adhesive.

Preferably, the insect attracting card is a dark colour, preferably black, which will attract fruit flies and also camouflage and hide from view fruit flies caught on the insect attracting card.

The insect attracting pheromone may be in or on the insect attrading adhesive. That is, the pheromone may be incorporated in the insect trapping adhesive or applied to a surface of the adhesive or may be on a separate holder attached to the card 6.

It will be noted that an exterior surface of the casing 2 is covered with insect attracting colours illustrating fruit In use, the insect trap 1 can conveniently be supplied in a flat pack containing the collapsed casing 2 and the insect trapping card 6, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon removal from the packaging, the casing 2 is readily easily popped up into the assembled use position, as shown in Fig. 2. The card 6 is then inserted between opposite corners 14, 15 of the casing 2 formed by adjoining side walls 4 of the casing 2 to support the card 6 upright within the casing 2 and with both faces of the card 6 exposed to an interior 5 of the casing 2. The lid panel 9 is closed to retain the card 6 within the casing 2 and close the casing 2. Insects are attracted to the insect trap 1 and fly in through the access openings 3 and are trapped on the card 6. It will be noted that any trapped insects are hidden within the casing 2. After use, the card 6 may be disposed and a fresh card 6 inserted into the casing 2 in the manner previously described.

The insect trap according to the invention has a number of advantages:

1. It is compact and made from environmentally friendly recycled paper carton (no plastic or glass).

2. It is reusable with a refill glue card.

3. Since it contains no liquids, there is no potential for spillage or cleaning.

4. The trap is designed in such a way as to camouflage or hide the dead trapped insects.

5. The trap uses proven colour attractants to aid in the capture of insects.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 7, there is illustrated another insect trap according to a second embodiment of the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 20. This is largely similar to the insect trap described previously and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case, the access openings 3 in the side walls 4 of the casing 2 are provided in a number of different shapes, and in this case, different fruit shapes.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 12, there is shown another insect trap according to a third embodiment of the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 30. Parts similar to those described previously are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case, the side walls of the casing 2 comprise a front wall 31 having an access opening formed by an elongate slot 32, a rear wall 33 which does not have any access opening slots, and end walls 34, 35 connecting the front wall 31 and the rear wall 33, each end wall 34, 35 having a row of semi-circular access opening slots 36 or through holes adjacent the rear wall 33. A cut-out flap 38 formed on the rear wall 33 can be pushed out, as shown in Fig. 9, to form a stand to support the insect trap 30.

In this case also, the insect trapping card 6 has a retaining flap 39 at each end connected to the card 6 by a hinge fold line 40. Thus, the insect trapping card 6 is mounted within the casing 2 against an inside face of the rear wall 33 and the flaps 39 extend forwardly to engage the front wall 31 to retain the card 6 against the rear wall 33. Only one face of the card 6 need be coated with the insect trapping adhesive, that is the face of the card 6 that is exposed within the casing 2. Additional access openings 36 may be provided in the lid panel 9 and the base panel 8, with corresponding openings 42 in each retaining flap 39 which align with the lid and base access openings 36 to allow through passage of insects into the interior 5 of the casing 2.

Referring now to Fig. 13, there is illustrated another insect trap according to a fourth embodiment of the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 50. This is largely similar to the insect traps described previously and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case, the elongate access openings 3 in the side walls 4 of the casing 2 are provided in a diagonal orientation on the side wall 4. Such an arrangement for the elongate access opening 3 may alternatively be provided in any of the other embodiments described herein also. Referring now to Fig. 14, there is illustrated a cardboard blank for forming a carton casing of another insect trap according to a fifth embodiment of the invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 60. This is largely similar to the insect traps described previously, in particular the embodiment of Figs. 8-12, and like parts are assigned the same reference numerals. In this case the elongate access slot 32 in the front wall 31 is arranged in a diagonal orientation on the front wall 31. A connector flap 61 at an outer free side edge 62 of the front wall 31 panel attaches to an inside face of the opposite end wall 35, adjacent a free edge 63 thereof to form the casing 2 which is retained in a collapsed flattened position for packaging as previously shown with reference to Fig. 12, and later popped up into the assembled in-use position for reception of the insect attracting card 6 when required as previously described.

In tiiis case also a different arrangement of cut-out flap 38 on the rear wall 33 is shown. The cut-out flap 38 has a stand flap 65 and an associated retaining flap 66. The stand flap 65 is connected to the rear wall 33 by a hinge fold line 67 and can fold outwardly perpendicular to the rear wall 33 as shown in Fig. 15. The retaining flap 66 is connected to the rear wall 33 by a hinged fold line 68 and can fold outwardly so it is perpendicular to the rear wall 33 and to the stand flap 65 as shown in Fig. 15. It has a central notch 69 at an outer free edge 70 to engage with an edge 71 of an opening 72 in the stand flap 65 within which the retaining flap 66 is located to hold the stand flap 65 in the deployed position shown in Fig. 15.

The terms '‘comprise" and “include”, and any variations thereof required for grammatical reasons, are to be considered as interchangeable and accorded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described which may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An insect trap (1 ), including: a carton casing (2) having at least one access opening (3) in a side wall (4) of the casing (2) to allow insects have access to an interior (5) of the casing (2), an insect trapping element (6) mounted within the casing (2) comprising a stiff panel or card (6) with an insect attracting pheromone and insect trapping adhesive on the card (6), the card (6) being engagable within the casing (2) with the pheromone and the insect trapping adhesive on the card (6) exposed within the interior (5) of the casing (2).

2. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the insect attracting pheromone is an aggregation pheromone which attracts both male and female fruit flies.

3. The insect trap (1) as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the insect trapping adhesive is provided on both faces of the card (6) and the card (6) is engagable within the casing (2) with both faces of the card (6) exposed within the interior (5) of the casing (2).

4. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insect trapping element (6) is demountabiy engagable within the casing (2).

5. The insect trap (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the casing (2) is of knockdown construction.

6. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the casing (2) comprises a blank having a plurality of hingedly interconnected panels (4,8,9), said panels (4,8,9) being foldable between a fiat packaging position and an assembled in-use position forming the casing (2).

7. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the assembled casing (2) has a rectangular section, having a rectangular base panel (8) with upwardly extending rectangular side panels (4) and a rectangular lid panel (9) hingedly mounted at a top of one of the side panels (4).

8. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in claim 7, wherein each side panel (4) has an access opening (3).

9. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the access opening (3) is an elongate slot in the side panel (4).

10. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insect trapping card (6) is mounted diagonally between opposite comers (14,15) of the casing (2).

11. The insect trap (1) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the insect trapping card (6) extends between the base panel (8) and the lid panel (9).

12. The insect trap (30) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the insect trapping element (6) is mounted against an inside face of a first side wall (33) of the casing (2), the insect trapping element (6) having a retaining flap (39) which extends outwardly from the insect trapping element (6) and engages with an inside face of an opposite second side wall (31 ) of the casing (2) to retain the insect trapping element (6) against the inside face of the first side wall (33).

13. The insect trap (30) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a side wall (33) of the casing (2) has a cut-out flap (38) hingedly connected to the side wall (33) which can be pulled out to form a standing support for the insect trap (30).

14. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base panel (8) is an automatic bottom.

15. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the base panel (8) forms a complete bottom.

16. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insect trapping card (6) is black, dark green or red.

17. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein an exterior surface of the casing (2) is covered with insect attracting colours and/or designs.

18. The insect trap (1 ) as claimed in claim 17, wherein said insect attracting colours include green and red designs.