Patent Application
20250221394
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The disclosure relates to insect devices and more particularly pertains to a new insect device for capturing flying insects. The device includes an ornament and a tube that is slidably integrated into the ornament. The tube can be extended out of the ornament or the tube can be contained within the ornament. An adhesive sleeve is wrapped around the tube for capturing flying insects when the tube is extended out of the ornament. A base is coupled the tube and a plurality of lights is coupled to the base for emitting light.
The prior art discloses a variety of insect capturing devices that includes an insect trap device which includes a base structure and a decorative cover for the base structure, a fly trap device that is structured to resemble a potted plant and a yellow jacket trap device that includes a perforated cylinder and a sleeve that is positionable around the perforated cylinder. In no instance does the prior art disclose an ornamental insect capturing device that includes an ornament and an adhesive tube that is positionable in a deployed position having the adhesive tube being exposed or a stored position having the adhesive tube being stored within the ornament.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an ornament that is substantially hollow and a gripping element that is integrated into the ornament. A tube is slidably integrated into the ornament and the gripping element releasably engages the tube. The ornament is positionable in a stored position has the tube contained within the ornament and the ornament is positionable in a deployed position having the tube extending outwardly from the ornament. An adhesive sleeve is wrapped around the tube to capture flying insects that land on the adhesive sleeve. A base is coupled to the tube and the base is positionable on a horizontal support surface. A plurality of lights is each coupled to the base such that each of the lights emits light when the lights are turned on.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A tube 26 is slidably integrated into the ornament 12 and the gripping element 14 of the ornament 12 releasably engages the tube 26. The ornament 12 is positionable in a stored position having the tube 26 being contained within the ornament 12. Conversely, the ornament 12 is positionable in a deployed position having the tube 26 extending outwardly from the ornament 12. The tube 26 has an upper end 28, a lower end 30 and an outer surface 32 extending between the upper end 28 and the lower end 30. The outer surface 32 has a first portion 34 extending upwardly from the lower end 30 and the outer surface 32 has a second portion 36 extending between the first portion 34 and the upper end 28. The second portion 36 has a diameter that is less than a diameter of the first portion 34. The tube 26 has a well 38 extending into the upper end 28 and the well 38 in the tube 26 has a bounding surface 40 that is threaded. The tube 26 has a first groove 42 that is integrated into the first portion 34 of the outer surface 32 and the first groove 42 extends around a full circumference of the first portion 34. Furthermore, the first groove 42 has a bounding surface 44 that is concavely arcuate with respect to the first portion 34 of the outer surface 32 thereby facilitating the nub 24 on the ornament 12 to slide into and out of the first groove 42.
An adhesive sleeve 46 is wrapped around the tube 26 and the adhesive sleeve 46 is comprised of an adhesive material thereby facilitating the adhesive sleeve 46 to cap56ture flying insects 48 that land on the adhesive sleeve 46. The adhesive sleeve 46 has a bottom end 50 which abuts a top surface 52 of the first portion 34 of the outer surface 32 of the tube 26 when the adhesive sleeve 46 is positioned around the tube 26. The adhesive sleeve 46 has a top end 54 is aligned with the upper end 28 of the tube 26 when the adhesive sleeve 46 is positioned around the tube 26. Furthermore, the adhesive sleeve 46 may be infused with a chemical attractant for attracting the flying insects 48 to land on the adhesive sleeve 46.
A cap 56 is provided which has a head 58 and a stem 60 extending downwardly from the head 58. The stem 60 has an outside surface 62 that is threaded and the stem 60 is insertable into the well 38 in the upper end 28 of the tube 26 having the outside surface 62 of the stem 60 threadably engaging the bounding surface 40 of the well 38 in the upper end 28 such that the head 58 rests against the upper end 28 of the tube 26. The top end 54 of the adhesive sleeve 46 abuts the head 58 when the cap 56 is attached to the tube 26 for retaining the adhesive sleeve 46 on the tube 26. The head 58 has an exterior surface 64 and a second groove 66 is integrated into the exterior surface 64. The second groove 66 extends around a full circumference of the exterior surface 64 and the second groove 66 has a bounding surface 68 that is concavely arcuate with respect to the exterior surface 64 thereby facilitating the nub 24 in the ornament 12 to slide into and out of the second groove 66. The nub 24 engages the first groove 42 in the first portion 34 of the outer surface 32 of the tube 26 when the tube 26 is positioned in the stored position. Additionally, the nub 24 engages the second groove 66 in the exterior surface 64 of the head 58 of the cap 56 when the tube 26 is positioned in the deployed position. Additionally, the nub 24 may be comprised of a resiliently compressible material, including but not being limited to rubber or silicone, thereby facilitating the nub 24 to deform to facilitate the nub 24 to be removed from the first groove 42 or the second groove 66.
A base 70 is coupled to the tube 26 and the base 70 is positionable on a horizontal support surface 72 thereby facilitating the tube 26 to be vertically oriented. In this way the tube 26 is positioned to facilitate the flying insects 48 to land on the tube 26. The base 70 has a top surface 74 and a bottom surface 76; the lower end 30 of the tube 26 is coupled to the top surface 74 of the base 70 and the tube 26 is centrally positioned on the base 70. Additionally, the base 70 has a diameter that is greater than a diameter of the tube 26. A plurality of lights 78 is provided and each of the lights 78 is coupled to the base 70 such that each of the lights 78 emits light when the lights 78 are turned on. Each of the lights 78 is positioned on the top surface 74 of the base 70 and the lights 78 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed around the tube 26. Furthermore, each of the lights 78 may comprise a light emitting diode or other type of electronic light emitter than can emit light in a variety of colors.
A processor 80 is integrated into the base and the processor 80 receives an actuate input and a de-actuate input. The processor 80 is electrically coupled to each of the plurality of lights 78; each of the plurality of lights 78 is turned on when the processor 80 receives the actuate input and each of the plurality of lights 78 is turned off when the processor 80 receives the de-actuate input. A pair of sensors 82 is each integrated into the tube 26 and each of the pair of sensors 82 is electrically coupled to the processor 80. Each of the pair of sensors 82 is aligned with the first groove 42 in the first portion 34 of the outer surface 32 of the tube 26. Each of the pair of sensors 82 is engaged by the nub 24 in the ornament 12 when the tube 26 is in the stored position. The nub 24 in the ornament disengages the pair of sensors 82 when the tube 26 is in the deployed position. Furthermore, the processor 80 receives the actuate input when the nub 24 engages the sensors 82 and the processor 80 receives the de-actuate input when the nub 24 disengages the sensors 82. A power supply 84 is positioned in the base 70, the power supply 84 is electrically coupled to the processor 80 and the power supply 84 comprises at least one battery.
In use, the adhesive sleeve 46 is positioned around the tube 26 and the cap 56 is threaded into the tube 26 to retain the adhesive sleeve 46 around the tube 26. The ornament 12 is slid downwardly over the tube 26 and the ornament 12 is positioned in the deployed position thereby exposing the adhesive sleeve 46 on the tube 26. In this way flying insects 48 can be captured on the adhesive sleeve 46 when the flying insects 48 land on the adhesive sleeve 46. Additionally, the lights 78 are turned on when the tube is in the deployed position for illuminating the area in which the ornament 12 is positioned. The ornament 12 is positioned in the stored position to conceal the tube 26 within the ornament 12 such that the flying insects 48 on the adhesive sleeve 46 are not visible to an observer. Furthermore, the lights 78 are turned off when the tube 26 is in the stored position. The ornament 12 is removed from the tube 26 and the cap 56 is uncoupled from the tube 26 to facilitate the adhesive sleeve 46 to be replaced when the adhesive sleeve 46 becomes covered with the flying insects 48.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
