Hand-Held Insect Eliminator

Abstract

This Hand-Held Insect Eliminator is a device comprising two flaps of optimal size and shape, which are connected at one end by a hinge. Intelligently designed integrated finger housings at the hinged end allow the device to be easily opened and snapped shut by a wide variety of hand and finger sizes. The device can be used on many types of insects, whether flying, hanging, crawling, or at rest. It can be operated in mid-air, against a wall, ceiling, or directly against a surface, or just above a surface, depending on the type and location of the insect. The device incorporates a unique containment grid which allows the elimination to be done cleanly.

Claims

1. A hand-held insect eliminator, comprising: A pair of identical lightweight solid flaps, each having an interior face and an exterior face, nominally tapering from ¾ of an inch to ⅜ of an inch in thickness, hinged together at the thicker end, each with an integrated ellipsoidal finger housing at the hinged end for grasping and operating, similar to some aspects of prior art, but with a novel feature that makes this device unique and superior to prior art, said novel feature being a containment grid defined by an array of interconnected grooves to contain the liquid resulting from crushing an insect between the flaps. The critical dimensions of the device are as follows: the identical flaps are 4 inches in width by 10 inches in length, having a containment grid comprised of a perimeter rectangle groove ¼ of an inch from each edge of the interior face, and an interior array of grooves comprised of two sets of parallel grooves in a cross-hatch pattern, intersecting at 90-degree angles to each other and terminating at 45-degree angles into the perimeter rectangle, said parallel grooves being not more than ½ of an inch apart from each other, all grooves being 1/32 of an inch in depth and 1/32 of an inch in width.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0012] The objects and advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated and understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, which shows a top perspective view of an insect eliminator of the present invention, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which an insect eliminator device comprises an identical pair of flaps, each of which has an interior face 2 and an exterior face 1. The interior face 2 of one flap faces the interior face 2 of the other flap. Research and testing determined the optimal length, width, and color of the flaps, said color being a red of 670-700 nm wavelength. The flaps each have a front end 5 of 4 inches width, a connector end 3 of 4 inches width, and a pair of side ends 7 of 10 inches length. The front end 5 of each flap is opposite to its connector end 3 and perpendicular to its side ends 7. A pivoting flap connector 4, such as a hinge, is attached to the connector end 3 of each flap. The thickness of each flap from exterior face 1 to interior face 2 decreases from ¾ of an inch at the connector end 3 to ⅜ of an inch at the front end 5. The side ends 7 of each flap are rounded at their intersection with the front end 5, providing the operator with the means to eliminate a crawling insect by easily picking it off walls, clothing, table tops, lamp shades, etc. The integrated finger housing 6 was designed using biometric research to yield the optimum location, size, and shape to allow utilization by a wide range of operator hand and finger sizes. Finger housing 6 is integrated into the exterior face 1 of each flap, arising perpendicularly from exterior face 1 not more than ⅝ of an inch from the connector end 3 of each flap, with an ellipsoidal opening of 1 inch in height, 2 inches in width, and 1 inch in length, which allows the operator's thumb to engage one flap and at least one finger to engage the other flap. Each flap has a grid 8 on its interior face 2, which is defined by an array of interconnected grooves designed for maximum containment of the remains of the crushed insect. The grid 8 is comprised of a perimeter rectangle groove ¼ of an inch from each edge of interior face 2 and an interior array of grooves not more than ½ inch apart from each other, intersecting at 90-degree angles to each other and at 45-degree angles to the perimeter rectangle, said grooves all being 1/32 of an inch in depth and 1/32 of an inch in width. Dimensions given herein have been carefully researched, calculated, and tested to provide complete crush containment of a wide variety of insects. Data was obtained from multiple sources, including researchgate.net, University of Florida (entnemdept.uff.edu), animaldiversity.com, and physicsforum.com, which yielded the following information. The common housefly (Musca domestica) ranges in size from 4 to 8 mm, with an average length 6.4 mm and an average mass of 12 mg. S. bullata, a fly common in the northeastern U.S. can be up to 17 mm in length and 45 mg in mass. Common hornets can reach 30 mm with an average mass of 480 mg. Reported density of these insects is 100 kg/m{circumflex over ( )}3. Containing insects of this larger size requires two critical attributes of the grid 8: a circuitous path to the edge of the array and sufficient volume. The circuitous path is achieved by having the interior array grooves intersect the perimeter rectangle groove at 45-degree angles, as this prevents any fluid from moving directly along the shortest path to any edge of the device. The total volume of the grooves is even more critical. Since a 480 mg hornet as likely to be at or near the maximum size normally encountered, its mass can be used with the 100 kg/m{circumflex over ( )}3 density to calculate its volume, and thus the maximum volume the device would be required to contain:

(0.00048 kg)×(1 m{circumflex over ( )}3/100 kg)×(1E9 mm{circumflex over ( )}3/m{circumflex over ( )}3)=4800 mm{circumflex over ( )}3=0.29 cubic inches

Using the flap and grid dimensions given above, the containment grid's total volume is calculated by adding up the total length of all the grooves on one flap, then multiplying it by their width and depth, then multiplying by two, to account for the other flap:

(146 inches×0.03125 inches×0.03125 inches)×2=0.29 cubic inches

The two calculated volumes being equal shows that the large insect will be fully contained. Furthermore, assuming the insect is not entirely liquidous, it should still be fully contained even if not crushed directly in the center of the grid. Smaller insects will be fully contained even if crushed close to the edges of the grid. It has been clearly shown here that the critical design and dimensions delineated above yield an insect elimination device of optimum utility and functionality, superior to any prior art.