FLY TRAP

Abstract

An improved fly trap in the form of a sign that can attract and trap flies before they enter an establishment or once the flies are inside of an establishment. The fly trap uses an attractive element in the form of a plurality of LED lights, preferably blue LED lights, to coax flies to enter the sign. Adjacent the LED lights is a roller on which adhesive paper, or fly paper, is mounted. Flies that land on the fly paper are captured, and when the paper is full or need to be changed, the roller is actuated to present fresh fly paper.

Claims

1. A fly trap, comprising: a housing having a front panel; a scrolling sheet of fly paper located inside the housing; a plurality of LEDs disposed on the front panel; and openings on the front panel adjacent the LEDs to provide a path from outside the housing to the fly paper; wherein the LEDs are disposed on alphanumeric characters that are disposed on the front panel.

2. The fly trap of claim 1, wherein the LEDs emit light having a wavelength in the blue spectrum.

3. The fly trap of claim 2, further comprising a motor adapted to scroll the sheet of fly paper.

4. The fly trap of claim 2, further comprising a supply roll in the housing and adapted to feed the scrolling sheet of fly paper.

5. (canceled)

6. The fly trap of claim 1, further comprising a circuit board to control an illumination of the LEDs.

7.-11.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a front view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0008] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, taken along lines 2-2;

[0009] FIG. 3 is a front view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0010] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 3, taken along lines 4-4;

[0011] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 3, taken along lines 5-5; and

[0012] FIG. 6 is an elevated, perspective view of the fly paper roller and processor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a first preferred embodiment of a fly trap in the form of a sign that can be hung over an entry way, in areas where flies tend to be present, or the like. The sign 100 comprises a housing 105 that supports a sheet 110 of fly paper, which preferably may be mounted on a pair of rollers 115 such that the fly paper can be taken off a roll 120 and continuously replenished when necessary with fresh fly paper. The roll 120 and the fly paper 110 can be advanced either by use of a motorized element 125 or a hand crank (not shown) so that a user does not need to touch the fly paper itself. In a preferred embodiment, the fly paper 110 can be advanced from outside the housing 105 either by the crank or using a button to actuate the motor and rotate the roller 115. As flies collect on a first surface of the fly paper, the fly paper is advanced along the rollers 115 to expose new fly paper, until the roll 120 is depleted.

[0014] The front panel 135 of the housing 105 preferably includes a plurality of LEDs 150 to attract the flies to the fly paper 110. The LEDs 150 may be mounted on a printed circuit board 160 that lights the LEDs, in either a constant or blinking pattern. In a preferred embodiment, the LEDs emit light in the blue wavelength spectrum to increase the attraction. This is because it has been discovered that insects are more highly attracted to UV light and blue light. These insects do not readily see light in the red wavelengths, which correspond with warmer colors. The LEDs 150 may be located on alphanumeric characters such as letters O P E N that serve as the function of the sign. The fly paper 110 is inside the housing 105 and adjacent the letters carrying the LEDs 150, such that flies will become attracted to the LEDs, enter the housing 105, and become trapped on the fly paper 110.

[0015] FIGS. 3-6 show an embodiment of the invention where the housing 105 of the present invention includes openings 170 in the front panel 135 that allows flies to come into contact with the roll of fly paper 110. The two rollers 115 are mounted on a side wall 180, and a controller 185 is linked via cable 190 to a motor that can be used to rotate one of the rollers 115 to scroll the fly paper 110.

[0016] The fly trap 100 of the present invention can be modified from the foregoing description and depictions without departing from the scope of the present invention. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that there are certain substitutions and modifications to the foregoing, and the scope of the invention is intended to include all such substitutions and modifications. Therefore, unless expressly specified, the invention is not to be limited to any figure or description, but rather the scope of the invention is measured by the appended claims using their customary and ordinary meanings.