WO2013156395A1

WO2013156395A1 - Device for catching and killing small mammals above ground

Info

Publication number: WO2013156395A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/057642
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans Rölli; Markus Büchler; Jean MALEVEZ
Original assignee: Andermatt Biocontrol Ag
Priority date: 2012-04-18
Filing date: 2013-04-11
Publication date: 2013-10-24
Also published as: CH706417A1; CH708251B1

Abstract

In order to provide an improved device for catching and killing small mammals such as mice and rats above ground, such a device having a substantially tunnel-shaped housing, which has a bottom part and a roof, is proposed. The housing has an outer inlet opening forming a tunnel entrance at each of the end faces. Inside the housing, a partition (20) having an inner inlet opening is arranged at a predetermined distance from each inlet opening, such that a vestibule (21) is formed between the outer inlet opening (19) and the partition (20) at both ends. The roof of the housing is formed by a cover (2), which has four slot-shaped openings, namely two cocking-lever slots (2a) for two cocking levers (3) to reach through from the trap and two setting-indicator slots (2b) for two setting indicator lever projections (4a) to reach through. A catching device is arranged between the two partitions (20), said catching device having a bait holder (17), two spring-loaded hammers (13) that can be cocked by the cocking levers (3), and two trigger plates. Each trigger plate (15) and the hammer (13) associated therewith are oriented toward one of the two tunnel entrances.

Description

Device for above-ground catching and killing of small mammals

Technical area

The present invention relates to a device for catching and killing small mammals such as mice and rats, a so-called small animal trap, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Background of the invention and prior art

Small rodents, such as the all-occurring mice, are not only carriers of human-transmitted diseases, but cause significant damage particularly in agriculture, the food processing industry, and in households through contamination and food depletion, and must therefore be removed. Accordingly, numerous different devices and methods have been developed and described for use with small rodents such as e.g. To catch and kill mice, respectively. Either the goal is to catch the animals alive and then lead them away, or the animals are killed, e.g. by poisoning, gasification, drowning, electrical shock or by mechanical action such as a shock or crushing. Mechanical drop traps have the advantage that they can be used repeatedly, bring about the death of the target animal quickly and are usually easy to use.

In the field of mechanical impact traps especially technically simple designs are commercially available. Generically, for example, impact traps from US 4 71 1049 A, EP 1 306 006 A1 or WO

2010/022 779 A1 become known. Such conventional impact traps consist of a base plate, a spring-loaded beater bar or a striking plate, a trigger plate, a bait holder and depending on the design of a locking lever or a retaining mechanism for fixing the bracket. Physical pressure on the release plate by the animal deactivates the retention mechanism, releasing the striker and killing the target animal. All these cases have in common that their open design for children or pets there is a certain risk of injury from the herunterschnellenden strap. Another disadvantage is often that the pressure which is necessary to trigger the trap is insufficiently matched to the weight of the target animal. Either the striker is too stiff, causing the target animal to eat the bait without triggering the trap, or the trigger mechanism is too sensitive and is activated early even with small shocks, making placement difficult. In both cases, catch sequences are missing or insufficient. Another disadvantage is the often insufficient impact force due to insufficient spring force of the spring elements. As a result, the animal is not killed immediately and suffers unnecessary pain. The cheap processing of many commercial small animal traps made of plastic or wood often shortens their life considerably. After a few operations, the first defects occur and a new purchase is therefore inevitable.

In order to reduce the risk of injury to the user or to pets, drop traps are sometimes designed so that one or two safety gears are housed in a housing, such as FR 2 583 717 A1, DE 2 912 050 A1, US 3 992 803 A or US Pat. No. 5,182,512. However, a housing actually only reduces the risk of injury if the distance between the inlet opening and the catching mechanism is sufficiently large. In the embodiments described in FR 2 583 717 A1, DE 2 912 050 A1, US Pat. No. 4,425,732 A, the catching mechanism is placed directly at the housing opening and erroneous release by means of grasping is very simple. Thus, from the patent FR 2 583 617 A1 a device for catching animals is known, in which the animals can penetrate via two lateral openings in the housing into a cylinder, on which two springs are fastened. Below these springs two tabs are attached, which are locked in place of the trap on the existing ball bearings. Once target animals invade, the tabs are pushed away with the head, whereupon the catch rings trigger and strangle the animals. A disadvantage of this construction is that a simple placement of the trap from the outside is not is possible. An efficient placement of the trap with a handle is therefore impossible. Furthermore, the risk of injury to children and pets is high because the trigger mechanism and the catch rings are placed directly at the housing openings. Through the small entrance openings, the inhibition threshold of the target animals to enter the trap is high. The trap is thereby avoided rather, catch sequences are missing. The assessment of whether animals have been caught must be made at close range, because from the outside it is not clear whether the trap has already been triggered or is still standing. This adversely affects efficient case control. It is known that in certain situations, the target animals are trapped only by a bait in the trap. A corresponding Koderhalterung is not available in this construction. Furthermore, the placement of the safety gear in a housing brings the following requirements for easy handling: It is necessary for an advantageous small animal trap in the context of the present invention, the housing has two inlet openings, each with a corresponding safety gear, so that it is irrelevant which side the target animal approaches the trap. For such a small animal trap, it is also necessary that the case can be activated from the outside and not engaged in the case for setting the case or the housing cover must be lifted. In addition, it should be immediately apparent from the outside whether the trap has been triggered or is still in an activated state. Furthermore, the captured animal should be easily, efficiently and safely removed from the case without it having to be touched.

In previous versions, only some of the above problems are solved. Presentation of the invention

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a small animal trap which solves all of the above problems. The object of the invention is achieved by a device according to claim 1.

The small animal trap according to claim 1 is a trap with housing, so a tunnel trap, which meets all the above requirements and united in a trap type: Due to the large distance of 10.5cm between the inlet and catch mechanism, the risk of injury to children and pets is minimal. Thus, the inlet opening can be made sufficiently large without increasing the risk of injury. A rather small entrance opening increases namely the inhibition of the target animals to enter the trap and thus reduces the success of the catch. Decisive for good catching success is rather the existence of an atrium, where the animal can dwell undisturbed before entering the baited trap area. The housing of the small animal trap according to the present invention has two opposite inlet openings. Two fixed safety gears are aligned towards each entrance. This can be two animals, which through the two opposite ends in the

Tunneling, being lured and caught independently of each other, which significantly increases the success of the catch. By means of two clamping levers both safety gears can be activated from the outside. To clamp the spring, the lid does not have to be lifted off and there is no risk of injury. By means of a control indicator it is clearly visible from outside at any time and from a distance, whether the trap is still activated or has already been triggered. A trapped animal can be removed from the trap by operating the release levers without having to open the case or touch the dead animal. The dead animal is simply dropped directly from the trap into a suitable collection container. The above-mentioned as well as the claimed and described in the following embodiments, according to the invention to be used elements are subject to their size, shape design, material usage and their technical conception no special conditions of exception, so that the well-known in the respective field of application selection criteria can apply without restriction.

Brief description of the figures

Further details, advantages and features of the subject matter of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which - by way of example - an inventive small animal trap is explained. In the drawings shows:

Figure 1 is an external view of a case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention from diagonally forward in both sides clamped state, wherein the protruding from the lid actuating lever extensions are recognizable;

Figure 2 is a view of the case according to Figure 1 obliquely from the front without cover and end face of the housing in both sides triggered condition;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the trap according to Figures 1 and 2 without the lid in both sides tensioned state, on both sides of a central axis transverse to the tunnel two safety gears are to be seen, which are each aligned to a tunnel end;

Figure 4 is a view of the inner housing of the case according to Figures 1 to 3 obliquely from the front with all components that are placed inside the inner housing, and the two clamping levers, which are outside on the side walls of the inner housing to recognize, in both sides tensioned state; Figure 5 is an illustration of the case according to Figure 1 obliquely from above of the three transverse to the housing direction, superimposed horizontal axes, in addition, a selection of components is shown to the clamping operation of a striker by means of

To illustrate cocking lever; It can be seen how, by movement of the clamping lever in the direction of the arrow, that is, during rotation about the bow axis, the Bügelhebefortatz lifts the striker until it finally engages the retainer tooth; the retainer spring and the striker spring are only halfway through;

Figure 6 is a side view of all trap components within the inner casing of the trap of Figure 1 (but without a spacer sleeve) when the trap is in a released condition; and

Figure 7 is a side view of all trap components within the inner casing of the trap according to Figure 1 (but without spacer sleeve) when the trap is in a stretched state. LIST OF REFERENCES

Character: Name:

1 housing

1 a Press tab with snap-in cams

2 lids

2a tension lever slot

2b Adjustment slot

2c Snap piece for snap lock

3 tension levers

3a tension lever handle

3b Ironing extension

3c recess for trigger axis 3d hole for ironing axle

Stella Show lever

4a Actuator lever extension

4b Free end of the control lever

4c Fixed end of the indicator lever

Embossing of the inner housing

inner housing

Ironing axis

Retainer axis

trigger axis

Stand Off

restrainer

1 1 a Retainer arm

1 1 b Spring arm eyelet of the retainer

1 1 c Impact stop

1 1 d Retention tooth

Retainer spring

12a spring arm of the retainer spring

striking bow

mainspring

release plate

15a retainer guide

15b Spring arm eyelet of the release plate

Trigger plate-spring

16a Free arm of the release plate spring

16b Fixed arm of the release plate spring

Bait Recording

Back dividers for tension levers

External entrance

partition wall

20a Inner entrance 20b guide for actuating lever

21 forecourt

Ways to carry out the invention

The trap shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 consists of a tunnel-shaped housing 1 with the dimensions 327 mm × 86 mm × 76 mm (L × W × H), preferably of injection-molded polypropylene or comparable material, which each have an outer inlet opening 19 at the opposite ends in the housing 1 and an inner inlet opening 20a. The inner inlet opening 20a is formed by a circular hole (preferably with a diameter of 45mm) in a partition wall 20, which is mounted opposite the outer inlet opening 19 by 80mm inside the tunnel. This creates a vestibule 21 at each end of the tunnel (see Figures 1 - 3). The roof of the housing is formed by the cover 2 which is preferably made of injection molded polypropylene or a similar material and four slot-shaped recesses: two long clamping lever slots 2a through which the two clamping levers 3 protrude from the trap and two short Stellanzeigeschlitze 2b, through which the both actuating lever extensions 4a of the actuating lever 4 protrude from the trap (see Figure 1). The lid 2 is fixed by four snap locks on the housing 1, but can be easily lifted and fixed again when needed. The cover 2 is detached from the housing 1 by pressing on the pressure tabs 1a from outside. As a result, the pressure tab 1a is bent inwards and the latching cam releases from the latching piece 2c of the lid 2. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the latching cams of the pressure tabs 1a are clearly visible.

The trap is configured such that a centrally arranged catching device has a bait receptacle 17, as well as two spring-loaded striking bars 13 and two release plates 15. Each trigger plate 15 (and its associated striker 13) is aligned towards one of the two tunnel entrances (see Figure 3). This allows two animals, which are separated by the two launch overlying ends into the tunnel, being lured and caught independently (simultaneously or sequentially). Both beaters

13 can be clamped independently by means of the two clamping levers 3. The bait is placed in the center of the tunnel in the bait receptacle 17 and serves for both safety gears, respectively, is visible from both ends of the tunnel forth.

In the center of the tunnel is a U-shaped inner housing 6 with the masses 120mm x 67mm x 70mm (L x W x H), the bottom of which is connected by blind rivets fixed to the bottom of the housing 1. On each longitudinal side there is a gap between the wall of the housing 1 and the wall of the inner housing 6 with its embossment 5 as a spacer. In each of these interspaces are each a clamping lever 3 and a return divider 18. The return dividers 18 are fastened by recesses in the wall of the inner housing 6 (see Figure 4). In the middle of the inner housing 6, three transverse, horizontal axis (from bottom to top: 7, 9 and 8), which extend through holes in the vertical side walls of the inner housing 6 are arranged transversely to the housing direction. The stirrup shaft 7 protrudes 2 mm on both sides beyond the side walls of the inner housing 6 and ends in the hole 3d at the base of the tension levers 3 (clearly visible in FIG. 4). Thus, the stirrup axle 7 serves the tensioning lever 3 when tensioning the striker spring

14 as a fulcrum (see the chapter "The tensioning of the safety gear" below). The stirrup axle 7 also carries the striking spring 14 (spring strength about 350-550 Nmm) and the two impact stirrups 13. The trigger axle 9 carries the two trigger plate springs 16 which The lure receptacle 17 is fixed from below to the trigger axis 9. So that the trigger axis 9 does not hinder the rotation of the clamping lever 3 when tensioning the safety gears, each clamping lever 3 has an arcuate recess 3 c for the Ends of the trigger axis 9 (clearly seen in Figures 4 and 5) The retainer shaft 8 carries the retainer spring 12, the retainers 11, the actuator lever 4, and the spacers 10. Each of the two spring arms the retainer spring 12 has an angled end which pierces the spring arm eyelet 11 b of the retainer 11 and ends in the retainer guide 15 a of the release plate 15. The spacers 10 are 12.8mm long and are preferably made of polyethylene or a similar material. The position indicator levers 4 are 85 mm long and are preferably made of acrylic glass (PMMA) or a comparable material, which is dyed for good visibility in a signal color (in the embodiment described here in the color red). All other components are made of chromium steel in the embodiment described here.

In addition to the inner housing 6, the striker spring 14, the retainer spring 12, the axes 7, 8, 9, and the bait holder 17 are all parts twice in an identical version available and in the mirror image (based on the center of the case in the Bait recording 17) arranged to each other. The symmetrical structure of the trap is particularly evident in Figures 3 and 5-7.

The safety gear in triggered condition:

Figure 6 shows the trap components inside the inner housing 6 when the trap is in a tripped condition. The fixed end 4c of the actuating lever 4 surrounds the spacer sleeve 10. The free end 4b of the control lever 4 lies in the guide 20b, which is formed by a vertical, 18mm long recess in the partition 20 (see Figure 2). In the tripped condition of the latch, the free end 4b of the control lever 4 lies on the lower end of the guide 20b, so that the vertical actuating lever lever projection 4a does not protrude from the cover 2 (as shown in Figure 2). In addition, the striker 13 is pressed by the impact spring 14 on the bottom of the inner housing 6 in the horizontal position. The trigger plate 15 is in an oblique position, with its front edge touches the bottom of the housing 6. The retainer spring 12 pushes the retainer arm 11a of the retainer 11 of FIG the trigger axis 9 away, whereby the release plate 15 is additionally fixed in an oblique position.

Clamping the safety gear:

In order to tension the striking spring 14, one grips the tensioning lever 3 on the tensioning lever grip 3a, which projects out of the cover 2 through the tensioning lever slot 2a, and moves the tensioning lever 3 towards the other end of the tunnel until it abuts against the retaining axis 8 and then back into his starting position. When moving the clamping lever 3 raises perpendicular to the clamping lever protruding Bügelhebefortsatz 3b the striker 13 of the triggered horizontal in the cocked vertical position and thus biases the striker spring 14 (see Figure 5). The Bügelhebefortsatz 3b runs in an arcuate recess in the side wall of the inner housing 6 (see Figure 4). Preferably, both tensioning levers 3 are always actuated with one another and both striker brackets 13 are tensioned so that the latch is activated from both inlet openings. The return divider 18 consists of a leaf spring and causes the clamping lever 3 is automatically returned to its original position after the clamping operation. This prevents a possible risk of injury to the user by the snap back of the clamping lever 3 when the case is triggered.

The free spring arm 16a of the release plate spring 16 is straight and the fixed spring arm 16b of the release plate spring 16 is angled at the end and ends in the spring arm eyelet 15b of the release plate 15 (clearly visible in Figures 6 and 7). When the tensioning lever 3 is actuated, not only the striking bow 13, but also the free spring arm 16a of the release plate spring 16 is pressed by the bow lifting projection 3b out of its triggered horizontal position into the tensioned, almost vertical position (see FIG. 5). The resulting spring tension would push the retainer guide 15a of the release plate 15 downward through the fixed spring arm 16b and thus raise the release plate 15. But this would also be a movement of the retainer 11 and thus the tensioning of the retainer spring 12 mean. However, since the force of the release plate spring 16 is not sufficient to tension the retainer spring 12, retainer 11 and release plate 15 remain in the same position. Only when by manual actuation of the clamping lever 3 of the beater bar 13 has been raised so far that the horizontal part of the striker 13 touches the retainer 11 at the beater stop 11 c and presses against it, the force is sufficient to the retainer arm 11a of the retainer 11 to move in the direction of the trigger axis 9 and thus to tension the retainer spring 12. The tooth of the retainer guide 15a now locks the spring arm 12a of the retainer spring 12 in the cocked position and thus the retainer arm 11a in the vicinity of the trigger axis 9. Thus, the trigger plate 15 remains in the raised, horizontal position. Now, when the tension lever 3 is moved back to the home position, the striker 13 is fixed by the retainer tooth 11d of the retainer 11 in a tensioned vertical position and prevented from coming down to the horizontal position. The trap is activated. In addition, the actuating lever 4 is pushed upwards by the horizontal part of the striking bar 13 (see FIG. 7), so that the setting indicator lever projection 4a of the setting indicator lever 4 protrudes from the lid 2, and indicates that the trap is activated (see Figure 1).

The triggering of the safety gear:

Attracted by the bait placed inside the trap in the bait receptacle 17, the target animal enters the atrium 21 through the outer entry opening 19 and finally through the inner entry opening 20a the inner housing 6 with the cocked striker 13 and the raised release plate 15. On the way to the bait, the animal on the trigger plate 15 and causes a tilting movement of the trigger plate 15 about the trigger axis 9. The fact that the trigger axis 9 is designed with a rectangular cross-section (see Figure 5), supports this tilting movement of the trigger plate 15. A weight of 6-8 grams on the trigger plate 15 is enough to trigger the trap. By the tilting down of the release plate 15, the retainer guide tion 15a and thus the tooth which fixes the retainer arm 11a. The tooth releases the spring arm 12a of the retainer spring 12 whereby the retainer spring 12 causes slight rotation of the retainer 11 about the retainer shaft 8. As a result of this rotation, the retainer tooth 11d which fixes the striking bow 13 is lowered and releases the striking bow 13. The striker 13 is pressed by the biasing force of the striker spring 14 from the cocked vertical position to the triggered horizontal position. The animal, which has triggered the case by kicking on the trigger plate 15, dies by means of a kick through the hammer 13. By the downward movement of the beater 13 also lowers the free end 4b of the actuating lever 4 and the actuating lever display 4a no longer protrudes from the lid 2. This makes it visible from the outside (without opening the trap) that the trap has been triggered.

Removal of the trapped target animal from the trap:

The release of the captured dead target animal from the trap is usually without the cover 2 must be lifted from the housing 1. The trap is held vertical with that half of the tunnel down, in which the trapped animal is located (indicated by the no longer externally visible indicator lever extension 4a). Now, a complete clamping movement is carried out with the clamping lever 3, that is, the clamping lever handle 3a of the clamping lever 3 is moved until it stops and back into the starting position. As a result, the striker 13 is raised, locked in a vertical position and released the captured dead target animal. It falls out of the housing 1 through the inlet openings 20a and 19. Due to the fully executed clamping movement, the trap is reactivated and immediately ready for use.

Claims

Device for catching and killing small mammals above ground with a substantially tunnel-shaped housing having a lower part and a roof, the housing having an outer inlet opening (19) on each end face, each forming a tunnel entrance, and within the tunnel-shaped housing in one A partition wall (20) is arranged at a predetermined distance from the inlet opening and has an inner inlet opening (20a), so that an atrium (21) is formed on both sides between the outer inlet opening (19) and the partition (20),

wherein the roof of the housing is formed by a cover (2) which has four slot-shaped recesses, namely two tensioning lever slots (2a) for the passage of two tensioning levers (3) out of the latch and two position indicator slots (2b) for the passage of two position indicator slots. Lever extensions (4a),

where the lid

(2) is releasably arranged on the lower part, preferably by snap locks,

and wherein the device further has a catching device arranged between the two partitions (20) with a bait holder (17) and two spring-loaded strike bars (13) which can be tensioned by the tensioning levers (3) and two release plates (15), each with one release plate (15 ) and its associated striker bar (13) is aligned towards one of the two tunnel entrances.

Device according to claim 1, characterized by a U-shaped inner housing (6) arranged approximately in the middle of the tunnel, the bottom of which is preferably firmly connected to the bottom of the housing (1) by blind rivets, between the wall of the inner housing (6) and the wall of the housing (1) the two clamping levers (3) are arranged.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that in the middle of the inner housing (6) three horizontal axes (7, 9 and 8) lying transversely to the direction of the housing are attached, which pass through holes in the vertical side walls of the inner housing ( 6), with a bracket axis (7) protruding on both sides beyond the side walls of the inner housing (6) and ending in a hole (3d) at the base of the clamping levers (3), so that the bracket axis (7) Clamping lever (3) can serve as a pivot point when tensioning the striker spring (14).

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the bracket axis (7) carries the striking spring (14) and the two striking brackets 13.

5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that a release axis (9) carries two release plate springs (16), the release plates (15), as well as a bait receptacle holder (18) and the bait receptacle (17).

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that each tensioning lever (3) has an arcuate recess (3c) for the ends of the release axis (9).

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that a retainer axle (8) carries a retainer spring (12), retainers (1 1), the position indicator lever (4) and spacer sleeves (10), the retainer axle (8) is longer than the other two axes (7 and 9).

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that both spring arms of the retainer spring (12) have an angled end, which penetrates a spring arm eyelet (1 1 b) of the retainer (1 1) and in a retainer guide (15a). Trigger plate (15) ends.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the position indicator levers (4) are colored in a signal color.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that the actuating display lever (4) each has a fixed end (4c), which is the spacer sleeve

(10) and have a free end (4b) lying in a guide (20b), the guide (20b) being formed by a substantially vertical recess in the partition (20).

1 1 . Device according to claim 10, characterized in that when the trap is triggered, the free end (4b) of the indicator lever (4) rests on the lower end of the guide 20b, so that the vertical indicator lever extension (4a) does not come out of the cover (2) protrudes and the striker (13) is pressed into the horizontal position by the striker spring (14) on the bottom of the inner housing (6).

12. The device according to claim 1 1, characterized in that the trigger plate (15) is in an inclined position when the trap is triggered, with its front edge touching the bottom of the inner housing (6) and the retaining spring (12). The retainer arm (1 1 a) of the retainer (1 1 ) can be pushed away from the release axis (9).