Patent Application
20190059355
The present invention relates to rat traps and, more particularly, to multi-catch units which have the capacity to catch and store multiple rodents.
Rodents have plagued humans with disease infestation, disease transfer, and have been known to cause damage to structures and dwellings. Rats in particular have been growing in population faster than they are able to be eradicated in some metropolitan cities. Rats can carry disease-causing viruses such as sapoviruses, cardioviruses, kobuviruses, parechoviruses, rotaviruses, hepaciviruses, and Seoul virus. Rats carry fleas that are vectors of diseases such as bubonic plague, typhus, and spotted fever. In addition, some people have an allergic reaction to the presence of rodent feces, hair, or urine.
One such example of rat problems in metropolitan cities is exemplified in New York City, which has had a longstanding rat population problem. In 1860, The New York Times reported that a newborn infant had died prior to rats eating part of its face and one foot. The NYC Health Department undertook an anti-rat campaign in 1921 that involved rat-proofing as well as trapping and killing rats, (Quarterly Bulletin (New York (N.Y.). Dept. of Health). 1921-22)
Rats in New York have been known to overrun restaurants after hours and crawl up sewer pipes, (Barry Bearak (Jul. 14, 1994). “New York Losing the Rat Race: East Side, West Side, vermin are all around the town. But budget cuts and a trash incinerator ban have made this an especially miserable summer for weary residents and wary exterminators.” Los Angeles Times. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2016), as well as enter apartments through toilets, (“See How Easily a Rat Can Wriggle Up Your Toilet”, National Geographic. Retrieved Aug. 23, 2015). They have attacked homeless people, eaten cadavers in the city morgue, and bitten infants and young children to get food off their faces. (Wilsey, Sean (Mar. 17, 2005), “Some of them can read” London Review of Books. 27 (6). pp. 9-10. Retrieved Apr. 5, 2010).
In 2003, a fire station in Queens was condemned and demolished after rats had taken over the building, (Cilgann, Corey (Aug. 7, 2003). “A Detested Emblem of Decay Is Scurrying Back. Ah, Rats!”, The New York Times. Retrieved Apr. 6, 2010). In 2007, a morning news program featured a live report of a pack of rats overrunning a pair of fast food restaurants in Greenwich Village. In one of the restaurants, a KFC, numerous rats so severely infested the restaurant that they were visible in groups from the street, through the windows (Chan, Sewell (Dec. 5, 2006). “In Epic Battle, the Rat Patrol Adjusts Its Aim and Digs In”, The New York Times. New York.).
According to New York City Health Department statistics, there were 86 rat bites reported in 2010. Many bites go unreported (Alison Bowen (Dec. 26, 2014). “100 New Yorkers bitten by rats each year”. Metro.). In 2011, a video of a rat climbing on a sleeping man's face on the subway went viral (Josh Sanburn (Jan. 14, 2011). “Shocking NYC Subway Rat Video: Some Say It's Staged, But New Yorkers Know Better”. Time). Rats are so common that ex-Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer quipped in 2013, “The rats don't scurry. They walk right up to you and say, ‘How are you, Mr. Borough President?’” (Rebecca Hiscott. “City Fights Back Against Upper West Side Rat Infestation”. Observer)
In 2014, New York City Councilman Mark D. Levine said at a public hearing that “We've had rats who are going into cars and eating out electrical cables. We have rats that are entering homes. (Tina Susman (May 30, 2014). “New York City declares war on rats”. Los Angeles Times.) He described the problem as “epidemic” on some streets in Manhattan. (Tina Susman (May 30, 2014). “New York City declares war on rats”. Los Angeles Times.). That year, YouTube videos of rats on subway tracks and in a subway car in New York City went viral, as did videos of rats in a Dunkin' Donuts in Manhattan. In June 2014, residents at adjacent Upper West Side buildings started a rent strike, demanding an end to the rat problem. Also in 2014, Allerton Coops in Bronx Park East received three Notices of Violation from the Health Department and was fined for their inadequate response to a severe rat infestation. (2015, “Pizza Rat: Our newest obsession”. CNN. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2015).
The video was trending worldwide on Twitter and Facebook within 15 hours of the YouTube upload, and garnered 5 million views within two days. (“The three stages of going viral in 2015, according to the Pizza Rat meme”. The Washington Post. Sep. 22, 2015. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2015).
In early 2016, another video of a rat climbing on a sleeping subway rider was uploaded to social media. The uploader was criticized for his choice to film the incident and post it online rather than intervene. (Rat filmed climbing on sleeping commuter on New York subway”. Daily Telegraph. Mar. 30, 2016. Retrieved Sep. 12, 2016)
With all of these known issues of rat problems, many have invented very clever devices to trap, kill, and contain the rodents.
Some other solutions that have been presented by others in the past include means whereby an individual rodent was captured or killed. However, with the quantities of rats or rodents needing to be controlled, these single catch solutions simply don't provide adequate coverage of infested areas which would require too numerous a count of traps to be cost effective. Multiple-catch traps have been previously invented, whereby a container is attached to the primary trap, enabling the containment of rats or rodents in a solution such as vinegar, to subdue or kill the rodent Means of drowning, electrocution, shock, and lethal trauma have all been used in prior art forms to rid society of an overabundance of these rodents. However, the problem with each of these solutions is that it is required that a human physically open these traps to gain knowledge about the count of rodents collected, and manually reset springs or mechanisms to re-initialize the count of the number of rodents collected in an area where the trap was placed.
This is not only cumbersome, but can be costly for a multiplicity of traps which are placed around a city to be monitored in such a manor.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rodent trap with a containment chamber which allow the capture, counting, containment and reporting of captured rodents such as rats or mice. The electromechanical trap has at least three main components; a microcontroller with memory, a sensor or switch, a stepping motor, an LCD display, and a cellular radio with one or more antennas. As the rodent influences a sensor by way of movement or pressure which causes a change in continuity of the circuit, a microcontroller is awakened from a sleep mode and actuates the rotation of a stepper motor, revolving a trap door to move the rodent to the containment location, count the capture, and report the count digitally.
It would be advantageous to provide a digitally activated trap door using a stepper motor, governed by a microcontroller, which eliminates the need for manually wound kinetic energy coils or springs to actuate the trap door or paddlewheel.
It would also be advantageous to provide a digital signal to an IC counter and RAM or Flash memory for future retrieval of the count associated with the serial number of the trap.
It would further be advantageous to provide an output monitor for reporting the count data, and other optional data such as battery life to an LCD screen, and to a transmitting radio such as a cellar radio to enable transmittal of the information to a cellular network for retrieval and notification, eliminating the need for unwarranted visits to the Digital Rodent Collection Trap.
A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:
For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.
The rodent climbs the entry ladder 160 to gain access to the paddle-wheel trap floor. The rat is drawn or enticed up the entry ladder 160 and across the paddle-wheel trap floor to approach a feeder tray 200, where it smells food or other attractant. Upon moving across the trap floor of the paddle-wheel trap, the rodent initiates a sensor signal which is sent to the microcontroller 170, beginning the rapid actuation process shown in the process flow diagram 250 of capturing the rodent or rat. At the same time that the stepper motor 220 rotates the paddle-wheel trap, the containment doors 140 are opened while rotating about the containment door hinge 190, and acted upon by the trap door rotor shaft which is affixed to the containment door counter-weight 230 being acted upon by the cam wheel gear 240, fastened to the trap door rotary shaft. The containment door counter-weight 230 resets the trap by closing the containment doors 140. The containment doors 140 are only opened by the cam wheel gear 240 at time of actuation. The paddle-wheel trap door 150 resets automatically with the stepper motor 220.
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.
Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.
