Patent Application
20230380407
This disclosure relates generally to facilities management and in particular to a system and method of deterring birds and other animals from entering into a region.
Birds and other animals are a known hazard to a variety of industries. In one instance, some industries require hazardous materials to be stored in an open surface pond for settling or dissipation of toxic or otherwise harmful components. Such settling ponds, can be quite large and include substances which may be toxic or otherwise harmful. In such environments, it is desirable to prevent birds and other animals from landing in the pond where they may be subjected to or injured by such substances.
Previous attempts to prevent birds from landing on such hazardous locations have not been satisfactory. In particular, some solutions have attempted to extend wires across the body of water so as to prevent birds passing through. However, such wires are relatively heavy when extending over a large body of water, thereby requiring substantial equipment for the installation and maintenance thereof. Furthermore, such wires provide only a limited visual deterrence to birds which may therefore inadvertently fly into the wires causing them to fall into the water. Examples of such systems may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,607 to Kastner et al.
Other systems have been proposed to provide a largely visual deterrence through the use of movable tow lines having deterrent devices suspended therefrom. In such systems however, include large motor assemblies which may be difficult and expensive to install and maintain.
According to a first embodiment, there is disclosed a system for deterring animals from entering a protected region comprising an elongate flexible member extending between first and second ends and a plurality of flexible elongate hanging members secured to and suspended from the elongate flexible member.
The system may further comprise anchors secured to a surface to either side of the protected region. The anchors may comprise posts. The system may further comprise a tensioning adjustor extending from at least one of the posts to the elongate flexible member.
The elongate flexible member may be formed of a strap material selected from the group consisting of a weave or webbing. The strap material may be substantially inelastic. The strap material may be selected form the group consisting of nylon, polyester polypropylene, nylon, plastics or fabrics. The hanging members may be selected form the group consisting of nylon, polyester polypropylene, nylon, plastics or fabrics.
The hanging members may be formed of strap material selected from the group consisting of a weave or a webbing. The hanging members may have a different color than the elongate flexible material. The hanging members may include a bright or reflective portion. The reflective portion may comprise strips along the length of the hanging members. The reflective portion may comprise a strip proximate to each of a first and second edge of the hanging member.
The hanging members may be spaced along the elongate flexible material at regular intervals. The hanging member may be secured to the elongate flexible material by stitching.
According to a further embodiment, there is disclosed a method of deterring animals from entering a protected region comprising providing an elongate flexible member with a plurality of hanging members therefrom, extending the elongate flexible member across the protected region and securing the ends of the elongate flexible member to an anchor so as to suspend the elongate flexible member above the protected region.
Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
The accompanying drawings constitute part of the disclosure. Each drawing illustrates exemplary aspects wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view.
Aspects of the present disclosure are now described with reference to exemplary apparatuses, methods and systems. Referring to
The elongate flexible member 12 comprises an elongate member extending between first and second ends 14 and 16. As illustrated, the first and second ends 14 and 16 may be connected to a cable 52, ropes or other members so as to permit connection of the elongate flexible member 12 to be secured to an anchor such as a post 50 or the like. The elongate flexible member 12 is formed of a strap or webbing material and has a substantially flat profile between first and second side edges 18 and 20, respectively. The elongate flexible material may be substantially non-elastic and formed in a width and thickness to provide sufficient strength to be suspended and pulled tight over the top of the protected region. In practice, it has been found that a width of between 0.5 and 2.5 inches (12 and 64 mm) has been useful for a nylon strap with a thickness of 1/32 inches (0.9 mm) although it will be appreciated that other sizes may be useful as well. In particular, the elongate flexible member may be formed of a suitable webbing, woven or fabric material including, but not limited to nylon, polyester polypropylene, nylon, plastics or fabrics. It will be appreciated that such fabrics and materials are substantially lighter than cables thereby assisting with the installation of the present system.
The hanging members 30 extend between first and second ends, 32 and 34, respectively and are formed of a suitable woven or fabric material including, but not limited to nylon, polyester polypropylene, nylon, plastics or fabrics. The hanging members 30 have a length and dimensions selected to be movable in a wind or breeze so as to create movement of the hanging members 30 thereby providing a visual indicator to birds. In practice, it has been found that length of between 12 and 48 (305 and 1219 mm) inches for a hanging member, and in particular between 20 and 24 inches (508 and 600 mm) with a width of between 0.5 and 2.5 inches (12 and 64 mm) has been useful for a nylon strap with a thickness of 1/32 inches (0.9 mm) although it will be appreciated that other sizes may be useful as well. Although the hanging members 30 are illustrated as substantially rectangular in shape, it will be appreciated that other outline shapes may be useful as well. The hanging member 30 may be formed of a length of strapping, by way of non-limiting example, by cutting a portion of the web strapping to the desired length and thereafter fusing the ends (generally indicated at 54) so as to prevent fraying or the like by the application of heat or an adhesive as is commonly known.
As illustrated in
The hanging member 30 may be formed of a color that is selected to contrast with the elongate flexible member 12, such as, by way of non-limiting example red, orange or yellow against a neutral elongate flexible member. Furthermore, the hanging member may include a reflective portion 42 there along to increase the visual deterrence for birds. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
While specific embodiments have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative only and not as limiting the disclosure as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/345,827 filed on May 25, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. It is intended that the above-referenced application may be applicable to the concepts and embodiments disclosed herein, even if such concepts and embodiments are disclosed in the referenced applications with different limitations and configurations and described using different examples and terminology.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63345827 | May 2022 | US |
