Animal trap with three way trigger

Abstract

A trap for capturing small animals, such as raccoons, includes a housing with front and rear doors, and a three-way trigger which is actuated by an animal trying to reach bait located in the housing and behind the trigger. The trigger can be moved longitudinally forward to a set position which holds the door open to release the door to a closed position. The trigger can be actuated or tripped in either left or right lateral directions, or in a rearward longitudinal direction to release the door to a closed position. The trigger is spring biased toward the set position. The front door slides vertically within guide tracks extending along opposite lateral edges of the front door, or alternatively, is hinged for pivotal movement. The back door can be opened for positioning bait inside the housing.

Claims

1. A trap for catching and releasing animals, comprising: a housing having forward and rearward ends; a door on the forward end of the housing; a trigger assembly on the housing, and having a longitudinal rotational axis and a tip offset from the axis; a catch on the door which extends rearwardly to retentively engage the tip of the trigger assembly to hold the door open; and the trigger assembly being actuable in three different directions to disengage the tip from the catch upon movement of the trigger in each of the three different directions and thereby causing the door to close.

2. The trap of claim 1 wherein the three different directions include left and right lateral directions and a rearward direction.

3. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger assembly is movable in a longitudinal direction and in a lateral direction.

4. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger assembly is spring biased toward a set position.

5. The trap of claim 1 wherein the door slides up and down between open and closed positions.

6. The trap of claim 5 further comprising tracks for slidably receiving opposite lateral edges of the door.

7. The trap of claim 1 further comprising a finger on the trigger assembly extending through the housing so as to set the trigger assembly from outside the housing.

8. The trap of claim 1 further comprising a lock on the door engaged by the trigger assembly when the door is closed to lock the door against opening.

9. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger assembly has a pair of diverging fingers extending downwardly inside the housing.

10. The trap of claim 1 further comprising the door being hinged to the housing for pivotal movement between open and closed positions.

11. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger assembly includes a straight rod and the tip is bent from the rod.

12. The trap of claim 11 wherein the tip is on the forward end of the rod.

13. The trap of claim 1 wherein the tip is on the forward end of the trigger assembly.

14. The trap of claim 1 wherein the tip is formed by two bends in the trigger assembly.

15. The trap of claim 1 wherein the trigger assembly includes a rod and the tip is parallel to the rod and spaced upwardly from the rod.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the animal trap of the present invention, with the front door in an open position.

(2) FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the animal trap of FIG. 1, with the front door in the closed position.

(3) FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the trap of FIG. 1, with the sliding front door open.

(4) FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, with the trigger moved to the right.

(5) FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, with the trigger moved to the left.

(6) FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

(7) FIG. 7 is an enlarged view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

(8) FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the front door of the first embodiment.

(9) FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the guide track for the front door of the first embodiment.

(10) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the back door of the trap of the first embodiment.

(11) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the linkage assembly for the trap trigger of the first embodiment.

(12) FIG. 12 is a side elevation view of the linkage assembly of the first embodiment.

(13) FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the live animal trap according to the present invention, with the hinged front door in an open position.

(14) FIG. 14 is an enlarged view showing the latch components of the second embodiment with the front door in a closed position.

(15) FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the latch components of the second embodiment with the front door in an open, set position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(16) A first embodiment of the animal trap of the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 in FIGS. 1-12. The trap 10 is intended to capture animals, such as skunks, raccoons, possums, and other fur bearing or nuisance animals in a live condition for release or other uses.

(17) The trap 10 includes a housing 12, which may be in the form of a tube, a cage, or other structure which forms a compartment for containing the animal. The Figures show a cylindrical tubular housing 12, though other shapes may be utilized. For example, the compartment may be round, square, rectangular, or triangular in cross section. The housing 12 includes and opposite front and rear-ends. A front door 16 is mounted on the front of the housing 12 and a rear door 18 is mounted on the rear of the housing 12. In the preferred embodiment, the front door 16 is a guillotine type door, slidably mounted on a pair of tracks 20 for movement between a raised, open position and a lowered, closed position. In a preferred embodiment, the rear door 18 is pivotably mounted to the housing 12 on hinges 22 so as to be moveable between opened and closed positions. It is understood that the rear door can alternatively be slidable rather than hinged.

(18) The trap 10 includes a trigger 24 mounted on an elongated rod 26 extending longitudinally within the housing 12 adjacent the top of the housing. The trigger 24 extends downwardly inside the housing 12, and may have any shape, such as a pair of diverging arms 25. The trigger 24 may have more or less arms or fingers and different configurations than the V-shaped arms 25 shown in the drawings. The rod 26 is slidably mounted to the housing for movement forwardly and rearwardly, and is spring biased to a forward position. The trigger 24 includes a finger 28 extending through a slot 30 in the top of the housing 12. The trigger 24 and rod 26 form a linkage assembly 27 which can be mounted as a unit to the housing.

(19) When the front door 16 is in the raised position, the trap 10 can be set by pushing or pulling the finger 28 forwardly so that the forward end of the rod 26 engages a catch 32 on the inside of the door 16, so as to retain the door 16 in the opened position. Before setting the trap 10, bait can be inserted into the housing 12 rearward of the trigger 24. For example, bait can be inserted through the open front or rear ends of the housing 12 when the front or rear door is opened. In the preferred embodiment shown in the photographs, the rear door 18 has a shelf or pocket 34 mounted or otherwise attached on the inside of the door and adapted to hold the bait when the rear door 18 is pivoted closed.

(20) When the bait aroma attracts an animal, the animal can walk through the open front door 16 of the trap and continue rearwardly toward the bait, which is behind the trigger 24. When the animal engages either of the downwardly diverging trigger arms 25, the trigger will be pushed rearwardly such that the forward end of the rod 26 disengages the catch 32 to allow the door to drop by gravity to the closed position, or the arms 25 will be pushed laterally left or right by the animal, which will rotate the rod 26 out of engagement with the catch 32, such that the front door 16 will close. In the unlikely event that the animal gets past the trigger 24 without tripping their trap, there is a second opportunity for the trigger 24 to be tripped when the animal moves from the rear of the housing 12 and forwardly to push the trigger arms 25 left or right and thereby release the catch 32.

(21) Thus, the trigger 24 can be actuated in three directions: rearward, left, or right. This three-way trigger action virtually assures that an animal will trip the trigger when moving to retrieve the bait in the rear of the trap 10. Alternatively, the trigger movement may be limited to left and right lateral movement, without forward or rearward longitudinal movement. When the trigger 24 is tripped, the front door 16 will slam shut, and cannot be pushed open by the animal inside the housing 12 since the edges of the door are retained in the tracks 20.

(22) The catch 32 is located on the inside surface of the front door 16, adjacent the bottom edge. When the door 16 is closed, the forward end of the rod 26 overlies a rearwardly extending tab 36 on the top edge of the door, to preclude the door from accidentally opening. The tab 36 is angled at approximately 45-degree angle, such that when the door drops from the opened position to the closed position, the tab 36 will push the rod 26 rearwardly. A spring 37 biases the rod 26 forwardly. A removable pin 38 may be provided to retain or lock the rear door 18 in the closed position.

(23) FIGS. 13-15 show an alternative embodiment of the animal trap 10A. The trap 10A is in the form of a wire cage, with opposite sidewalls 40, a top wall 42, and a bottom wall 44. A front door 46 is hinged to the top wall 42 so as to be movable between a lowered, closed position and a raised, open position. The door 46 extends substantially horizontally in the open position.

(24) The wire cage trap 10A includes a trigger 48 with diverging fingers, similar to the trigger 24 of the trap 10. The trigger 48 is attached to a rod 50 which extends longitudinally on top of the top wall 42. Support plates 52 rotatably support the ends of the rod 50. The forward end 51 of the rod 50 has an L-shape so as to extend downwardly through the top wall 42, as seen in FIGS. 14 and 15.

(25) The front door 46 includes a catch post 54 which extends upwardly beyond the top wall 42 when the door 46 is closed, as seen in FIG. 14. When the door 46 is opened, the post 54 extends rearwardly beneath the front end of the rod 50. When the trap 10A is set with the door 46 open, the rod tip 51 overlies the catch post 54, as seen in FIG. 15, to retain the door 46 in the open position. When an animal moves the fingers of the trigger 48 left or right, the rod 50 rotates about its axis to disengage the front tip 51 from the post 54, such that the door 46 falls by gravity to the closed position. The door is retained in the closed position by a pair of lock rings 56 which extend around the door and door frame as described in Applicant's copending patent application Ser. No. 15/199,062, published application 2017/0000105, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. When the door is open, the rings 56 are at the upper corners of the door, and when the door is closed, the rings 56 are at the lower corners of the door. Thus, the lock rings 56 prevent an entrapped animal from pushing the door open and escaping from the trap 10A.

(26) As seen in FIGS. 14 and 15, the rod tip 51 and the catch post 54 are round, which provides a sensitive set position for the trap 10A. If it is desired to make the trap 10A less sensitive, the surfaces of the tip 51 and/or the catch post 54 can be flat, or a rubber coating or sleeve can be provided on the tip 51 and/or the catch post 54 to increase the friction there between, thus making the trap 10A easier to set, without accidental tripping or release of the rod tip 51 from the catch post 54.

(27) The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.