Patent Application
20050252075
This invention relates to an insect trap apparatus that uses suction to draw insects into the trap. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved trap cup to be used in such an insect trap apparatus.
Suction-type insect traps are well known in the art. Effective prior art suction traps use heat, water vapor, chemical attractants and combinations thereof to lure insects to the trap apparatus. In operation, an outlet stream containing the various attractants is released from the apparatus, attracting insects to the vicinity of the apparatus. When the insects get within a capture zone, a fan or other suction source draws large amounts of air and the insects entrained therein into a trap inlet. The insects are filtered from the air before it exits through an outlet. After the insects are collected within the insect trap, they are dehydrated, killed or stored until removal.
Some insect traps utilizing a sieve or filter, such as a trap cup or a net, face several design problems. First, there is limited space in which to deposit and hold the insects. Consumers are not only bothered with frequently emptying the trap, but they may doubt the efficacy of the trap if only a few insects fall from the trap cup when it is emptied. As the insects accumulate in the trap cup, the surface area for allowing the air through the cup decreases. The entire floor of the cup is blocked when a monolayer of insects is collected. To gather a large number of insects before the trap cup is emptied, the trap cup needs to have porous sidewalls and should be fairly deep to allow air passage through the sidewalls of the trap cup.
Second, as the surface area becomes blocked with insects, less surface area is available for air flow through the trap cup. When the trap cup becomes filled with of insects, airflow through the insect trap apparatus is stifled. Although the fan continues to circulate air, power is wasted recirculating the air within the trap, rather than pushing it through the trap cup. If the fan motor has no thermal protection, it will eventually overheat from heat build-up in the recirculating air and could burn out. More likely, a heat sensor will shut the fan off before it overheats. In either case, the immediate result is that the fan stops working and the trap cup must be emptied before the trap again becomes operational.
The resultant block in airflow not only increases motor temperature, but reduces airflow as the available work from the fan converts from flow to pressure to overcome the added resistance. This reduction in airflow reduces the suction, lessening the effectiveness of the trap.
Third, the insect trap is often positioned inside, at or near the bottom of the housing, making viewing or emptying the trap inconvenient for the user. Some traps require the user to perform multiple steps, including shutting down the unit, before they can even check the level of insects in the trap. The trap must be shut down, the housing must be opened, a mesh bag removed, emptied and replaced, the housing closed and the trap restarted to empty the trap of mosquitoes.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a trap cup in an insect trap apparatus that is convenient for the user to empty and can hold a large capacity of insects without blocking the airflow through the trap.
The present insect trap apparatus features an improved trap cup. Emptying insects from the unit is easy and convenient for the user since the trap is located exterior to the housing and is easily positioned. Additionally, the trap cup has a large capacity for insects while maintaining good airflow.
More specifically, the present trap cup includes a wave-shaped screen having at least one trough and at least one crest. Preferably the wave is in the screen at the bottom of the trap cup, where insects collect in the one or more troughs and air flows freely through the one or more crests of the wave.
Additionally, the present trap apparatus includes a trap housing having at least one inlet and at least one outlet. A source of suction is associated with the housing and is in fluid communication with the inlet for drawing air and insects through the inlet. Insects are caught in the wave screen that is associated with the housing and in fluid communication with the inlet.
Improved airflow through the present insect trap overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art. The airflow can be directed through the trap so that insects can be separated in a location where they are conveniently accessed by the user for disposal. Versatility in air flow also allows receptacles for supplemental chemical attractants to be conveniently placed in areas where there is space for multiple receptacles to accommodate a variety of attractant sizes or types.
Use of the present wave screen makes efficient use of vertical space for both insect storage and airflow. Without making the trap cup larger, the effective surface area is increased considerably. As they are trapped, insects are mounded in the troughs of the wave and take up less surface area than if they were allowed to scatter over a flat surface. Protrusion of the crests above the mounds of insects provides surface for airflow in addition to that available through the sidewall.
The present wave screen is also partially self-cleaning and requires emptying less frequently than a conventional flat screen. Constant flow of air through the trap cup dehydrates and decomposes the insects caught in the trap cup. As the collected insect remains form mounds in the wave troughs, the weight of the collection of insects crushes those at the bottom of the mound, allowing the small pieces to fall through the screen and blow away in the breeze or drop unnoticeably into the grass.
Collection of insects in the trough of the wave provides reassurance to the user that the trap is operating properly. Where many insects are scattered over a large surface area, it may appear to the consumer that few insects are being caught by the trap. This perception may cause the user to be concerned that the trap is not operating correctly or that the trap is ineffective in catching insects. Concentration of the same number of insects in a smaller space makes it appear that significant numbers of insects have been captured, assuring the consumer that the trap is operating effectively.
The structure of the present insect trap also makes it more economical to manufacture. Conduits for fluid transfer are molded into other structural elements, providing fewer parts that need to be molded, stored and assembled. Less manufacturing and assembly labor can be used, since fewer parts are made and assembled. The cost of making the molds is reduced. Thus, the present insect trap can be more efficiently made than other popular suction traps, resulting in savings to both the manufacturer and the consumer.
Referring to
The present insect trap 14 burns propane fuel 32 supplied by a fuel line 34 from a fuel tank 36 (both shown in phantom) to generate combustion products and to provide heat to a thermoelectric generator (not shown) that powers electrical devices, such as the fan 16 and or a light 40 (
The insect trap 14 is preferably mounted to a cart, generally designated 46 (
As seen in
Any fastening technology for releasably mounting the wave screen 10 or trap cup 12 to the trap head 26 is suitable. Seen best in
Other means for attaching the trap cup 12 to the trap housing 66 are equally useful. The trap cup 12 could be attached using a press fit or friction fit closure, magnetic attraction, a lock or latch, a hinge, any type of fastener including pins, hooks or hook and loop fasteners. Attachment of the trap cup 12 is optionally facilitated by sliding the trap cup, twisting it, turning it, rotating it or squeezing it. Any structure for attaching the trap cup 12 to the trap housing 66 is suitable that permits the trap cup 12 to easily be emptied of insects.
As shown in
Although the wave screen 10 is optimally shown as being positioned on the bottom of a preferably rectangular, square or otherwise polygonal trap cup 12, the precise shape of the trap cup is not critical and could also be cylindrical. It is also contemplated that the amplitude of the wave 80 could project in any direction, besides the generally vertical one shown. If the portion of the wave 80 extends laterally outward from the center of the trap cup 12, the trough 74, the crest 76 of the wave 80 would extends inwardly toward the trap cup 12 center. In that orientation, after the insects fill the bottom of the trap cup 12, the airflow will exit through sidewalls 82 of the trap cup 12. Insects will tend to accumulate at the sidewall 82 and be pushed toward the troughs 74, leaving the crests 76 open to airflow. Although not as effective as when the wave screen 10 is on the bottom of the trap cup 12, the use of waves 80 around the sidewall 82 of the trap cup 12 will improve airflow through it. As shown, the sidewalls 82 are solid, however, the use of sidewalls through which air flows is contemplated, provided that the trapped insects are still retained.
A further advantage of piling up the insects at the bottom of the trough 74 is that it encourages natural decomposition of the insect remains. Continuous flow of air over the insects dehydrates them, leaving the remains dry and brittle. When the insects form a mound, the weight of the mound on the remains at the bottom of the trap causes the remains to disintegrate quickly and fall through the tiny openings in the wave screen 10.
The wave screen 10 can be made from any material that will maintain openings of an appropriate size to both trap insects and encourage airflow. Preferred materials are those that hold up in the outdoors, such as polymers or plastics, including, but not limited to polyethylene, polypropylene, polyimides, nylon, poly(methyl methacrylates), acrylics, acetates and polycarbonates. Metal mesh screens are suitable in the wave screen 10, particularly those that are not susceptible to rust, such as aluminum or stainless steel. Fabric mesh sieves are also useful in the wave screen 10, particularly those made of synthetics, such as nylon mesh screens. If the fabric is soft and pliable, supports (not shown) may be needed to hold the fabric in the wave 80 shape.
As shown in
The sidewalls 82 and lip 68 are part of a trap cup frame 90 that also includes an endwall 92. It is contemplated that the cup frame 90 and the wave screen 10 can be a single, unitary trap cup 12, or that the wave screen 10 and trap frame 90 can be at least two separate pieces. Wave screen 10 is attachable as a unit to the trap cup frame 90 by suitable mans, including adhesives, fasteners, sand______ the screen between frame pieces and the like. Utilizing a separate wave screen 10 facilitates its removal and replacement if desired, such as if the wave screen 10 should become damaged. However, in the preferred embodiment shown, the trap cup 12 is made of a plurality of sections 94 that include elements of both the trap cup frame 90 and the wave screen 10. The sections 94 are optionally releasably attached or permanently attached to each other. Preferably, each of the sections 94 is identical to each of the other sections for ease in manufacturing and assembly. In the embodiment shown, the trap cup 12 is formed of two sections 94, preferably identical, that releasably attach to each other by means of a spring latch 96 and a catch 98. Each endwall 92 is constructed from a latch end 100 of one section 94 releasably connected to the catch end 102 of another section 94.
Insects are removed from the suction air by the wave screen 10. The overall properties of the wave screen 10 will depend on the insects targeted to be caught and the volume of insects to be accommodated. Openings 104 in the wave screen 10 must be sufficiently small that the insects of interest cannot pass through it, but large enough to facilitate air through the wave screen 10. Thus, if the insect trap 14 is targeting gnats or no-see-ums, the wave screen 10 will be finer than if mosquitoes or flies are the intended target insects. The total surface area of the wave screen 10 is adjustable to provide sufficient air flow through the wave screen for a particular insect capacity. Preferably, the wave screen 10 is located at the exhaust opening 30, substantially closing the opening to insects but allowing the air to exit from the insect trap 14.
Varying the shape of the waves 80 in the wave screen 10 also changes airflow dynamics. When deeper waves 80 are used, the sides of the waves are steeper and the insects tend to pile in a more compact mound. The increase in vertical space is usable for increased airflow, since more open surface area is available at the wave crest 76 for the air to exit the wave trap. Although the crests 76 and troughs 78 are shown as being of uniform shape, it is contemplated that they could vary in any useful manner. For example,
Best shown in
In operation, the wave screen 10 and the associated trap cup 12 are attached to the insect trap 14 and the trap is started up. Suction from the fan draws inlet air 20 and entrained insects into the trap head 26 through an inlet 22. Before exiting the trap head 26, the air is screened or filtered to remove the insects, and the air 20 is exhausted to the environment. As the insects are caught by the wave screen 10, they slide down the smooth surface of the wave 80 and form a mound in the trough 74. Air exhausts through the crest 76 of the wave 80 even when the troughs 74 are blocked with insects. Periodically, the wave screen 10 is emptied to remove insect debris from the insect trap 14 by detaching the wave screen 10, pouring the insect debris from the trap cup 12 and replacing the trap cup 12.
While specific embodiments of the wave-shaped insect trap of the present invention have been shown and described for an insect trap, these embodiments describe the best mode of practicing the invention as it is now known. It is not intended to limit the invention, and a number of other possible frame or holder designed are contemplated. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.
