Claims
- 1. A capacitive pest monitor apparatus, comprising:
a) a plurality of capacitive electrodes; b) a capacitive sensing circuit, operatively connected to the capacitive electrodes, the capacitive sensing circuit detecting the capacitance of the of the electrodes and detecting changes in the capacitance due to pests passing over the capacitive electrodes and generating a pest detection signal; and c) a pest detection signal storage device, the storage device operatively connected to the capacitive sensing circuit, the storage device receives the pest detection signals and stores the signals for later analysis.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capacitive sensing circuit monitors the capacitance of the capacitive electrodes continuously.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capacitive electrodes run generally parallel to each other.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the capacitive electrodes extend completely around an area to be monitored.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capacitive electrodes are interdigitized with one another.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the capacitive electrodes completely cover the area to be monitored.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the storage device is a non-volatile memory device and further comprising:
a) a real time clock device which is arranged and configured to keep time and to provide real time clock signals; and b) a processor, operatively connected to the real time clock device and between the storage device and the capacitive sensing circuit, the processor monitoring the capacitive sensing circuit and storing the pest detection signals together with real time clock signals in the non-volatile memory device.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a trapping element.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the storage device is a data logger device cooperatively connected to a relay block, wherein the relay block is triggered by the pest detection signal and the data logger device senses the triggering of the relay block and stores the event.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the data logger device is arranged and configured to maintain a time signal which can be combined with the with the stored event.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a trapping element.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising sensors arranged and configured to accept additional manual input.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the manual input includes data on the condition of the pest monitor when it is inspected.
- 14. A capacitive pest monitor apparatus, comprising:
a) a plurality of capacitive electrodes; b) detecting means for detecting changes in the capacitance of the electrodes, the detecting means operatively connected to the capacitive electrodes and arranged and configured to generate a pest detection signal; and c) event storing means, operatively connected to the detecting means, for storing the number of pest detection signals as events, the event storing means arranged and configured to store each event with a real time indication of the time and date.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the detecting means monitors the capacitance of the capacitive electrodes continuously.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the capacitive electrodes run generally parallel to each other.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the capacitive electrodes extend completely around an area to be monitored.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the capacitive electrodes are in interdigitized with one another.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the capacitive electrodes completely cover the area to be monitored.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a trapping element.
- 21. A method of detecting the presence of one or more pests by detecting changes in capacitance between a plurality of capacitive electrodes, comprising:
a) measuring the capacitance of the electrodes; b) generating a pest detection signal upon measuring a predetermined change in the measured capacitive; and c) storing the number of pest detection signals as events combined with a real time indication of the time and date of each event.
- 22. A pest reporting system, comprising:
a) a pest report database; b) a plurality of capacitive pest detecting sensors, the capacitive pest detecting sensors associated with respective activity sensing pest devices, the sensors being arranged and configured to determine if a pest is in the area monitored by the sensor and to generate a pest signal, c) manual input sensors associated with the respective activity sensing pest devices, the sensors being arranged and configured to accept additional manual input; and c) a communication device, operatively connected to the capacitive pest detecting sensors and the manual input sensors, for receiving the pest signal and for communicating to the pest report database that a pest signal occurred and the specific activity sensing pest device at which the pest signal occurred, and wherein the pest report database is updated.
- 23. The pest reporting system of claim 22, wherein the activity sensing pest devices include a pest trap.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application claims priority from provisional application Serial No. 60/428,479, filed Nov. 22, 2002, and provisional application Serial No. 60/368,647, filed Mar. 29, 2002, and which are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60428479 |
Nov 2002 |
US |
|
60368647 |
Mar 2002 |
US |