Abstract
A rodent trap (1) for catching and killing rodents, in particular mice and/or rats comprises clamp means (2) at least having an upper jaw part (3) and a lower jaw part (4). The upper jaw part (3) is able to swing relative to the lower jaw part (4) from an open position to a closed position in which it hits and kills a rodent. The upper jaw part is at least partially rotatable around a jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw). A lifting lever (5) for releasing the clamp means (2) from the opened position is comprised. The lifting lever (5) is activatable by a rodent on the first side (f) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw). A force means enables the clamp means (2) to change from the open position into the closed position when released. The force means in particular is at least one spring. The lifting lever (5) comprises a latch means (7) on a latch side (LS) of the lifting lever (5) which is arranged on a second side (s) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw), opposite of the first side (f) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw).
Claims
1. Rodent trap (1) for catching and killing rodents, in particular mice and/or rats, comprising clamp means (2) at least having an upper jaw part (3) and a lower jaw part (4), wherein the upper jaw part (3) is able to swing relative to the lower jaw part (4) from an open position to a closed position, in which it hits and kills a rodent, the upper jaw part (3) being at least partially rotatable around a jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw) a lifting lever (5) for releasing the clamp means (2) from the open position, the lifting lever (5) being activatable by a rodent on a first side (f) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw), a force means (6), in particular at least one spring, enabling the clamp means (2) to change from the open position into the closed position when released, the lifting lever (5) comprising a latch means (7) on a latch side (LS) of the lifting lever (5) being arranged on a second side (SS) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw), opposite of the first side (FS) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw).
2. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) is only activatable by being lifted upwards, and away from the lower jaw part (4) of the trap (1).
3. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) comprises a rodent accommodating element (8), and having an at least partially a rounded shape, arranged opposite of the latch side (LS).
4. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that the force means (6) in the closed position exerts a closing force on the upper jaw part (3) and the lower jaw part (4) such that both jaws (3, 4) are pressed against each other, wherein a longitudinal centerline (CL) of the force means (6) is located beside the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw), on the first side (FS) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw).
5. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the force means (6) in the open position exerts a lower force on the upper (3) and the lower jaw part (4) than in the closed position, in particular substantially close to no force, wherein the longitudinal centerline (CL) of the force means (6) is aligned with the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw) or located slightly on the first side (FS) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw).
6. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a first length (L1) of the lifting lever (5) on first side (f) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw) is longer than a second length (L2) of the lifting lever (5) on the second side(s) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw).
7. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper jaw part (3) comprises a latch receiving element (9) to be latched in the open position by the latch means (7).
8. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a rotational length (Lrot) of the lifting lever (5) is longer than a latch length (L.sub.latch) of the latch means (7).
9. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a bait holding element (10) is arranged in the vicinity of the lifting lever (5), and beneath the rodent accommodating element (8), wherein the bait holding element (10) extends from beneath the rodent accommodating element (8) to substantially a front part (15) of the lower jaw part (4).
10. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that a distance between the front part of the lower jaw part (4) and the rodent accommodating element (8) substantially perpendicular to the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw) is for a mouse trap in a range of 10 mm to 30 mm or for a rat trap in a range of 30 mm.
11. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the bait holding element (10) includes a cap (11).
12. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the bait holding element (10) is part of the lower jaw part (4).
13. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) comprises a lever rotational axis (A.sub.lever) which is arranged on the second side (s) of the jaw rotational axis (A.sub.jaw), wherein the latch means (7) are arranged at least partially substantially perpendicularly above or slightly beside the lever rotational axis.
14. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) comprises a substantially two-prong fork shaped end (12) on the latch side (L) of the lifting lever (5).
15. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 14, characterized in that the lower jaw part (4) comprises a blocking element (13) which is arranged between the two prongs of the fork shaped end (12) of the lifting lever (5) to prevent the lever to release from the lower jaw part (4).
16. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 13, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) comprises a fixing element (17) being arranged at the lever rotational axis (A.sub.lever), wherein the fixing element (17) is arranged in a slot (18), wherein the slot (18) preferably comprises at least one holding element (19).
17. Rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting lever (5) has a length of 3 to 7 cm, for a mouse trap and has a length of 8 to 13 cm for a rat trap.
18. System for refilling a rodent trap (1) according to claim 1 comprising a syringe with bait refill.
19. Method of refilling a rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the rodent trap (1) is arranged in the open position and the bait is refilled, preferably into a bait holding element (10), using a syringe comprising bait, preferably peanut butter.
20. Method of catching and preferably killing a rodent comprising the step of positioning a rodent trap (1) according to claim 1, on a surface and putting the rodent trap (1) into the open position.
Description
[0054] FIG. 1: A side view of a rodent trap according to the invention,
[0055] FIG. 2: a longitudinal section to a rodent trap according to FIG. 1,
[0056] FIG. 3: a perspective view of a rodent trap according to FIG. 1 in the open position,
[0057] FIG. 4: an alternative embodiment of a rodent trap according to the invention in the perspective view,
[0058] FIG. 5: an alternative embodiment of a trap according to FIG. 4,
[0059] FIG. 6: a perspective view of a trap according to the invention without upper jaw part,
[0060] FIG. 7: a perspective view of a trap according to the invention from the back side in the open position,
[0061] FIG. 8: a perspective view of the trap according to the invention from the back side in a closed position,
[0062] FIG. 9: a perspective view of the trap according to the invention in a closed position,
[0063] FIG. 10: a cross sectional view of the trap according to FIG. 9.
[0064] FIG. 1 shows a rodent trap 1 in the open position. The rodent trap 1 comprises clamp means 2. The clamp means 2 comprise an upper jaw part 3 and a lower jaw part 4. In the open position, the upper jaw part 3 is lifted away from the lower jaw part 4. Both jaw parts 3, 4 comprise an edge as a front part of the jaw part 3, 4. Inside the rodent trap 1 lifting lever 5 is arranged to release the latch means (not shown) which keeps the upper jaw part 3 in the open position, when a rodent is inside the trap. When the upper jaw part is released from the latch means (not shown) force means 6 in form of a single garter spring, forces the upper jaw part 3 into the direction to the lower jaw part 4 such that the front ends of both jaw parts are moved to each other. The force means 6 have a longitudinal centreline CL which is arranged substantially perpendicular to a jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw see FIG. 3. The lifting lever 5 comprises rodent accommodating element 8 which has a funnel shaped opening for accommodating the nose of a rodent. The lifting lever 5 is activatable by a rodent on a first side FS of the jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw(see FIG. 3). The latch means 7 are arranged on a latch side LS of the lifting lever 5 and are arranged on the second side SS of the jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw (see FIG. 3). The second side SS is arranged opposite of the first side FS of the jaw rotational axis. The distance D between rodent accommodating element 8 and front side of the lower jaw part 4 is substantially 15 mm for a mouse trap and substantially 40 mm for a rat trap. Apart from the force means 6, which is a garter spring, the rodent trap is made from plastic material to accommodate the force means 6 in the rodent trap the upper jaw part 3 and the lower jaw part 4 comprise spring grooves. The spring grooves are arranged such that the force of the force means 6 is distributed optimally.
[0065] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the rodent trap 1 according to FIG. 1. In the section additional to the features al-ready shown in FIG. 1, the latch means 7 and the bait holding element 10 are visible. The latch means 7 engage latch receiving element 9 in the upper jaw part 3. A funnel shaped rodent accommodating element 8 is additionally shown. The bait holding element 10 is partly arranged beneath the funnel shaped element 8 and extends beyond the funnel shaped rodent accommodating element 8 to entice a rodent into the trap. The force means 6 is arranged in the two force means slots of the upper jaw part 3 and the lower jaw part 4 respectively. To open the trap 1 and put the upper jaw part 3 into an open position, the user has to push down activating lever 14 into the direction of the lower jaw part 4. The upper jaw part 3 then swings around the jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw (see FIG. 3) into the open position. When the latch means 7 are released, the upper jaw part 3 swings back around the jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw into the closed position. The lifting lever 5 comprises a rotational length L.sub.rot which extends from the front of the rodent accommodating element 8 to the rotational axis A.sub.lever of the lifting lever 5. The latch means 7 comprise a length L.sub.latch which extends from the rotational axis A.sub.lever of lifting lever 5 the point of the latch means 7 where to latch means hook into the latch receiving element 9. The rotational length L.sub.rot of lifting lever 5 is larger than the latch length L.sub.latch to enable a small movement of the lifting lever 5.
[0066] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a rodent trap 1 according to the invention in an open position. The upper jaw part 3 swings around jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw from an open into a closed position and vice versa. To activate the rodent trap 1 the user has to push down activating lever 14. A first length of L1 of the lifting lever 5 which is the length of the lever between a jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw and front of rodent accommodating element 8 is larger than a second length L2 (see FIG. 6) of lifting lever 5 arranged between jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw and end of the two-prong fork shaped end 12 of the lifting lever 5 (see FIG. 6). The two prongs of two-prong fork shaped end 12 and kept away from each other in by blocking element 13.
[0067] FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the rodent trap 1 of FIG. 3 in the open position. In this embodiment the bait holding element 10 is covered by a cap 11 to keep the bait fresh. The cap 11 extends beyond the lower jaw part 4 and comprises a handle to easily remove the cap 11. This leads to a visibility to a user even in the closed state of the trap 1 that the bait is still covered by a cover. Furthermore, in this perspective the two-prong fork shaped end 12 of the lifting lever 5 is visible. Between the two prongs of the two-prong fork shaped end 12 blocking element 13 is arranged to keep the prongs apart as soon as the lifting lever 5 is arranged on the lower jaw part 4. Furthermore, in this figure the latch receiving element 9 of upper jaw part is visible. All of the features correspond to the previous figures.
[0068] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the cap 11 without handle. Still the cap 11 extends beyond the front part 15 of the lower jaw part 4. This leads to a visibility to a user even in the closed state of the trap 1 that the bait is still covered by a cover. Furthermore, in this perspective the two-prong fork shaped end 12 of the lifting lever 5 is visible. Between the two prongs of the fork blocking element 13 is arranged to keep the prongs apart as soon as the lifting lever 5 it arranged on the lower jaw part 4. Wings 16 are provided on the cap 11 to keep the lifting element in a lifted position when the cap is on the bait holding element.
[0069] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the rodent trap 1 without showing the upper jaw part 3. The first length L1 of a lifting lever 5 is larger than the second length L2 of lifting lever 5. The lever rotational axis A.sub.lever is arranged in parallel to the jaw rotational axis A.sub.jaw. The latch means 7 are arranged close to the lever rotational axis A.sub.lever such that the distance the lifting lever 5 needs to be moved at the rodent accommodating element 8 is larger than the distance the latch means 7 needs to move to activate the trap.
[0070] FIG. 7 shows a back side view of the trap 1 according to the invention. The latch receiving element 9 of upper jaw part 3 is explicitly visible. All other features correspond to the previous figures.
[0071] FIG. 8 shows the back side view of the trap 1 in a closed position. The latch means 7 is not connected to a latch receiving element 9. Additionally, the two-prong fork shaped end 12 of lifting lever 5 is clearly visible. All other features correspond to the previous figures.
[0072] FIG. 9 shows an alternative embodiment to the trap in FIG. 1 differing from the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the design of the lifting lever 5 and the design of the upper jaw part 3. The upper jaw part 3 comprises a dormer-shaped element 20. The dormer-shaped element 20 allows for a larger rodent accommodating element 8 while the trap 1 still can be as small as possible. The lifting lever 5 comprises a fixing element 17 being arranged at the lever rotational axis A.sub.lever. The fixing element 17 is arranged in a slot 18. The slot 18 comprises two holding elements 19. The fixing element 17 has a rectangular shape (see FIG. 10). In a mounted position as shown in FIG. 9 the fixing element 17 is kept in the slot 18 by two holding elements 19. Nevertheless, the lifting lever 5 can be rotated around lever rotational axis A.sub.lever
[0073] FIG. 10 show a cross section of the lifting lever 5 and the lower jaw part 4. The fixing element 17 has a rectangular shape, while the longer sides of the rectangle are parallel to the lever length. the shorter sides of the rectangle are perpendicular to the lever length. When assembling the trap 1 the lifting lever 5 is brought in a position substantially perpendicular to the lower jaw part 4 and the fixing element 17 is inserted into the slot 18. The lifting lever 5 is then brought to the mouted position in the lower jaw 4 such that the fixing element 17 is fixed in the slot 18 by holding elements 19. The lifting lever 5 is thus fixed in the slot 18.
