Patent Application
20180263236
The present invention relates generally to animal traps. More particularly, the present invention relates to a rodent trap for trapping and disposing rodents such as rats and mice.
Rodents such as mice and rats are a significant nuisance and source of danger, and can invade a home or a commercial establishment to seek food, water, and warmth. In farming, harvesting, and storing of food grains, rodents cause a heavy and irreplaceable loss by damaging and contaminating the food grains. Further, rodents damage and contaminate food stored not only in silos and but also in local buildings such as bakeries and restaurants causing significant financial loss to such businesses. They contaminate food by eating, urinating and depositing feces on food. More than often, they cause electrical fires by chewing electrical wires. Further, rodents act as vectors, for a variety of diseases such as Leptospirosis, by carrying fleas, lice, and ticks. Also, rodents proliferate in large numbers rapidly. Thus, there is a dire need to get rid of the rodents.
Rodents are generally controlled through the use of poison or traps. The more common of these is the use of chemical pesticides as the poison. However, chemical pesticides are not usually effective to efficiently eliminate and dispose of large number of rodents. Further, the pesticides contaminate soil, atmosphere, and other elements of the environment. Moreover, such pesticides adversely affect the health of pets and humans who are, or may be, exposed to them.
Another method to control the menace of rodents is to trap in the rodent traps. There are typically two types of rodent traps. A first type of rodent trap kills and mutilates the trapped rodent. An example of the first type of rodent trap is a spring-loaded snap trap. These rodent traps are inexpensive. However, they are unsanitary and unsightly after the animal has been trapped, dangerous to pets and children, and difficult to set. A second type of rodent trap traps a rodent alive in an enclosure. The second type of rodent trap, by design, can be either disposable and/or reusable. Generally, the second type of rodent trap is more expensive as compared to the first type of rodent trap. This is because the second type of rodent trap has an excessive number of component parts with expensive mold and assembly costs. Further, rodent traps are generally made of metal to improve the life time of the trap. However, rodent traps made of metal get damaged due to rodent excrement that might cause rusting of the metal.
Many of the traps disclosed describe an entrapment set-up to lure the rodent into the trap, and its weight or the eating of bait triggers a closing mechanism to effectively lock the rodent inside the trap One such trap is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,144,667 to Souza having a self-locking disposal rodent trap. The trap is slightly greater than the size of the animal and once it enters, it cannot leave. Another is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,517 to Leyerle et al describing a bait station having an interior mechanical rodent trap.
A rodent trap is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,422. The patent discloses a repeating animal trap with tilting floor assembly. As the animal crawls in to the repeating animal trap, through an entrance opening along the pathway, the weight of the animal causes the floor to tilt and triggers a door member. When the door member is triggered, it attains a raised position. Once the door member attains the raised position it blocks any attempt by the animal to return to the entrance opening. However, the described repeating animal trap includes a complex structure with multiple components such as multiple flanges and catches. Hence it is expensive to manufacture. Further, the design of the repeating animal trap is such that it is inconvenient for cleaning in case the animal poops in the assembly.
A first type of rodent trap is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,857. A rodent enters the trap disclosed in the patent and crawls towards a bait. The floor tilts because of the weight of the rodent, and activates a treadle platform. The weight of the rodent on the treadle platform causes a treadle to rotate. This rotation causes a trip lever that supports a door to move such that the door closes. With the door closed an air tight seal chamber is formed. Thus, when the oxygen in the air tight seal chamber is used up the trapped rodent dies. However, this method of killing a rodent appears inhuman. Further, the rodent trap can only be used once and has to be disposed along with the dead rodent. Moreover, the rodent trap includes a complex structure and hence is expensive to manufacture. Further, many a times, the dead rodent is disposed of in an unsanitary manner and leads to decomposing the body, resulting in a spread of foul smell.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need for a rodent trap that has a simple structure, is durable, is reusable, and allows good sanitary conditions to be maintained.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rodent trap (interchangeably called “trap”) that uses few components and has a simple structure.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rodent trap that is reusable and durable.
A rodent trap includes a housing, a central separation mount, a top plate, first and second door members, and first and second trip levers. The housing has a bottom wall, a first side wall, and a second side wall that form first and second entrances. The central separation mount is attached to the housing and separates the housing into first and second traps. The top plate is attached to the central separation mount. Further, the first door member is attached to the housing to allow closure and opening of the first entrance. The first trip lever includes a first arm that is movably attached to the first door member, a first fulcrum mount, and a first food tray for holding bait. When a rodent enters the rodent trap, the weight of the rodent on the first food tray causes the first trip lever to engage with the first door member such that the first door member closes the first entrance, thereby trapping the rodent inside the first trap. The second door member is attached to the housing to allow closure and opening of the second entrance. The second trip lever includes a second arm that is movably attached to the second door member, a second fulcrum mount, and a second food tray for holding bait. When the rodent enters the rodent trap, the weight of the rodent on the second food tray causes the second trip lever to engage with the second door member such that the second door member closes the second entrance, thereby trapping the rodent inside the second trap.
While the description herein is geared towards a double rodent trap, essentially 2 in 1 trap wherein 1 trap will secure 2 rodents, it is understood that it can be built as a single rodent trap. The size can vary as desired by the user and as needed to trap the particular size of rodent.
The trap can be built of plastic (clear, opaque, or colored), metal, or wood. Although wood may be a bit difficult but not impossible.
The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the claims, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which:
As used in the specification and claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term “an article” may include a plurality of articles unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Those with ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements in the Figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the Figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements, in order to improve the understanding of the present invention.
There may be additional components described in the foregoing application that are not depicted on one of the described drawings. In the event such a component is described, but not depicted in a drawing, the absence of such a drawing should not be considered as an omission of such design from the specification.
Before describing the present invention in detail, it should be observed that the present invention utilizes a combination of system components which constitutes a rodent trap. Accordingly, the components and the method steps have been represented, showing only specific details that are pertinent for an understanding of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein;
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
The first arm 402 of the first trip lever 114 is movably attached to the first door member 108 by way of the fifth aperture 702. The first arm 402 passes through the third aperture 606 of the top plate 118. The first trip lever 114 is attached to the first and second extensions 302 and 304 by way of the first rod 322 passing through the fifth and sixth holes 314 and 316. The first rod 322 provides support to the first fulcrum mount 404. The second arm 502 of the second trip lever 116 is movably attached to the second door member 110 by way of the sixth aperture 704. The second arm 502 passes through the fourth aperture 608 of the top plate 118. The second trip lever 116 is attached to the third and fourth extensions 306 and 308 by way of the second rod 324 passing through the seventh and eighth holes 318 and 320. The second rod 324 provides support to the second fulcrum mount 504.
When the rodent trap 100 is not in use, the first and second entrances 104 and 106 are open. The fifth aperture 702 of the first door member 108 is held by the first notch 412 and the sixth aperture 704 of the second door member 110 is held by the second notch 508. Further, the first and the second food trays 406 and 506 are upright. In
To trap a rodent in the first trap, bait is placed on the first food tray 406. When the rodent enters the rodent trap 100 through the first entrance 104 to eat the bait, it places its weight on the first food tray 406. Thus, the weight of the rodent causes the first trip lever 114 to tilt about the first rod 322. The first arm 402 releases the first door member 108 from the first notch 412. Thus, the first door member 108 tilts about the first and second projections 706 and 708 in a manner such that the first entrance 104 gets closed. The fifth aperture 702 of the first door member 108 is then held by the first rough patch 414 of the first arm 402. This mechanism ensures that the rodent is unable to push the first door member 108 and stays trapped inside the first trap. Similarly, when the rodent is trapped in the second trap the sixth aperture 704 of the second door member 110 is then held by the second rough patch 510 of the second arm 502.
Thus, as the aforementioned rodent trap 100 uses lesser number of components as compared to the prior art rodent traps, it has a simple design. Thus, the components of the rodent trap 100 can be easily disassembled and reassembled. Further, it is easy to set-up the rodent trap 100 i.e. to place the bait in the food tray. Moreover, with a simple design of the rodent trap 100, two rodents can be trapped simultaneously in the first and second traps. As the aforementioned rodent trap 100 is made of either clear plastic or Plexiglas material, it is transparent and helps to easily identifying whether a rodent is caught in the rodent trap. Further, if the trapped rodent poops in the trap, the rodent trap 100 is unaffected by the fecal matter or other such excreta of the trapped rodent. Thus, the rodent trap 100 made of plastic (clear, opaque, or colored) does not get rusted due to the fecal matter of the rodent and is durable. Moreover, the bottom wall of the trap may include holes for easy cleaning of the rodent trap. Hence, the rodent trap 100 allows good sanitary conditions to be maintained. Further, the rodent trap 100 may be used as either a catch and release trap by releasing the trapped rodent to another location or a trap and kill by using a poisonous bait. As the rodent trap 100 can be used as a catch and release trap and does not mutilate the rodent, the rodent trap 100 is a more humane as compared to the rodent trap 100 described in the prior art. Further, the rodent trap 100 is reusable.
Alternate embodiments of the trap 100 include one or more parts of the rodent trap 100 combined together. This allows for fewer parts to attach, or possibly lose when the trap is not in use. As an exemplary implementation, the housing 102, the first and second entrances 104 and 106, the central separation mount 112 and the first and second trip levers 114 and 116 can be combined together to form a unit. Further, the first and second door members 108 and 110 can be removably mounted to the unit by means of the first through fourth holes 212-218 and the first through fourth projections 706-712 to form the assembly. Such an assembly reduces complexity and the time taken to set up the rodent trap 100.
Another embodiment of the rodent trap 100 includes the housing 102, the first entrance 104, the central separation mount 112, the first trip lever 114, and the first door member 108 form the assembly. Such an assembly forms a rodent trap 100 which can be set up in places with space constraints. The rodent trap 100 can further be made of different sizes to trap different rodent species. An exemplary but not limiting embodiment of the rodent trap 100 has, considering a length of the housing 102 as reference, a breadth and a height of the housing 102 as approximately 30% and 45%, and preferably about 31% and 43% of the length of the housing 102, respectively. Lengths and breadths of the first and second food trays 406 and 506 are about 10% and 20%, preferably about 19% of the length of the housing 102, respectively. Lengths of the first and the second trip levers 114 and 116 are about 25%30%, preferably about 26% of the length of the housing 102. The first and second notches 412 and 508 are placed at a distance of about 10% of the length of the housing 102 from the top of the first and second trip levers 114 and 116, respectively. Lengths of the first and second fulcrum mounts 404 and 504 are about 10% to about 15%, preferably about 12% of the length of the housing 102, and lengths and breadths of the first and second door members 108 and 110 are about 25% to about 40%, preferably about 38% and 26% of the length of the housing 102, respectively. Lengths of the third and fourth apertures 606 and 608 are approximately 10% of the length of the housing 102, a length and breadth of the top plate 118 is about 25% to 30%, preferably about 29% and 26% of the length of the housing 102, respectively, and length of the first and second rods 322 and 324 are about 30% to about 35%, preferably about 31% of the length of the housing 102, respectively.
Another exemplary but not limiting embodiment of the rodent trap 100 in accordance with the exemplary ratios can include the dimensions: the length, breadth, and height of the housing 102 are each approximately: 10½″, 3¼″, and 4½″, respectively, the length and breadth of the first and second food trays 406 and 506 are about 1″ and 2″, respectively, the length of first and second trip levers 114 and 116 are about 2¾″, the first and second notches 412 and 508 placed at a distance of about 1″ from the top of the first and second trip levers 114 and 116, respectively, the length of the first and second fulcrum mounts 404 and 504 are about 1¼″, the length and the breadth of the first and second door members 108 and 110 are about 4″ and 2¾″, respectively, the lengths of the third and fourth apertures 606 and 608 are about 1″, the length and breadth of the top plate 118 are about 3″ and 2¾″, respectively, and the length of the first and second rods 322 and 324 are about 3¼″. These dimensions are provided to allow one of skill in the art to reproduce the trap, but it is understood the dimensions can vary based on the desired size trap for the trapping of a particular sized rodent.
The present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Although selected embodiments have been illustrated and described in detail, it may be understood that various substitutions and alterations are possible. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings may recognize additional various substitutions and alterations are also possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and as defined by the following claim.
