Patent Application
20230247977
A variety of insect traps have been invented and employed, although most of these traps kill and often disfigure the insects. Most of these earlier insect traps, for example, employ some form of adhesive material to trap their quarry, and in so doing coat the insect body (or its parts) with said adhesive material thus ensuring the insect dies. There have been trap designs that do manage to capture some insect species without killing them. These traps generally use attractants such as pheromones or kairomones usually in combination with a type of mechanical funnel structure.
Unfortunately, such traps are of quite limited utility because relatively few insect species can be attracted by (known) pheromones or kairomones, and not all insect species exhibit the behavior necessary to make them susceptible to being trapped by a funnel-like device. Therefore, for most insect species, no traps have previously been available which can capture them alive and intact.
One or more embodiments relate to a non-lethal insect trap, comprising a shaft connected to a two-axis gimbal, a transparent receptacle connected to the gimbal configured to surround an insect, a lid connected to the receptacle and means to rotatably cover and uncover the opening of the receptacle with the lid. Regarding the gimbal, a first axis is configured to automatically return the receptacle to an initial position while a second axis is configured to allow for manual adjustment without returning to an initial position. The trap further comprises a handle connected to the shaft, a cable internally routed through the shaft for connecting the handle with the lid and a spring connected to the lid and receptacle. The spring is configured to rotate the lid to the uncovered position when tension is released from the cable and rotate the lid to the covered position when tension is applied to the cable.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the embodiments will become understood with reference to the following description, appended claims and accompanying figures.
The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth, such as examples of specific percentages, components, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present design can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known components or methods have not been described in detail but rather in a block diagram to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present design. Thus, the specific details set forth are merely exemplary. Also, the features implemented in one embodiment may be implemented in another embodiment where logically possible. The specific details can be varied from and still be contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the present design. The term coupled is defined as meaning connected either directly to the component or indirectly to the component through another component.
Referring now to the drawings,
In an embodiment, the gimbal 104 is a two-axis gimbal, a first axis configured to automatically return the receptacle 106 to an initial position in line with the gimbal itself. The second axis of the gimbal 104 is configured to allow for manual adjustment of the position of the receptacle 106 without returning to an initial position. In an embodiment, the first axis of the gimbal 104 is spring loaded while the second axis is friction fit designed for manual manipulation. In an embodiment of the present invention the receptacle (e.g., cup, net, bag) 106 is transparent. Although the figures details the receptacle 106 being square in shape, it is understood that alternative shapes for the receptacle 106 may be used, e.g., circular, oval, rectangle.
In one embodiment, the means to rotatably cover and uncover the receptacle 106 with the lid 108 further comprises a handle (322
In one embodiment the trap 100 further comprises a spring 116 connected to the lid 108 and receptacle 106 and configured to rotate the lid 108 about the pivot point 110 to the uncovered position when tension is released in the cable 112 and the spring 116 is unloaded. Similarly, the spring 116 is configured to load and rotate the lid 108 to the covered position when tension is applied to the cable 112.
After step 504 method 500 continues with step 506 moving the handle (422
After step 508 the method 500 finishes with step 510 moving the handle (322
The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
References in the claims to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above-described exemplary embodiment that are currently known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are intended to be encompassed by the present claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. section 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or “step for.”
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. Serial No. 63/306952, filed Feb. 4, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63306952 | Feb 2022 | US |
