Abstract:
The invention is a insect trapping device comprising a truncated, tapered hollow body such as a truncated cone or pyramid having a nondrying glue substantially covering its interior surface. The glue has a removable covering that protects it when it is in its package or ready to deploy configuration. It may be placed on a horizontal surface with the large opening facing down or hung in an overhead position with the large opening facing up. The device may be sized for different applications: a large version placed over dung in a field will capture house flies, while a smaller version put on a countertop using overripe fruit as an attractant will capture fruit flies. Various embodiments are presented that allow the embodiment to be folded, stacked, or flattened for storage. The invention traps members of the insecta class (e.g. flies), members of the arachnid class (e.g. spiders) and other arthropods.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application No 61/022,951 filed Jan. 23, 2008 by the present inventor. This provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to devices that trap insects; more specifically to devices that trap insects using a nondrying glue such as found on flypaper and glue boards. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There are many types of insect traps designed to capture and kill insects, both flying and crawling. A very common type uses a nondrying glue that the insect sticks to upon contact. Traps using nondrying glues are a mature product area. Coiled flypaper ribbons, flypaper boards and sheets using nondrying glue are currently widely available. There are also numerous patents addressing more elaborate products using nondrying glue; they often incorporate additional features such as lights to attract the insects, containers to catch insect corpses, and capabilities to fold the invention to facilitate shipping and storing. 
         [0004]    However all these products have one or more limitations, and their commercial success is extremely limited. They may be messy to deploy, unpleasant to look at, expensive to build, and have limited marketability because of their restricted use. Therefore, there is a need for a simple device that is inexpensive to manufacture, may be displayed nicely in its packaged configuration on a merchant&#39;s shelf, does not have an unpleasant appearance when in use, is easy to deploy and dispose of, and can be designed for a wide range of price points. The invention presented herein achieves all of these objectives. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The inventive solution presented here is a insect trapping device comprising a truncated, tapered, hollow body such as a truncated cone or pyramid. It incorporates a nondrying glue such as that used in flypaper that substantially covers its interior surface. It optionally accommodates user-supplied attractants, such as dung for houseflies or overripe fruit for fruit flies. It may be packaged by folding, stacking, or lying flat, depending upon the design details. The invention therefore overcomes the limitations of the prior art as it is easy to package, deploy and dispose of, may be manufactured cheaply, accommodates the insect&#39;s user-supplied natural attractants, hides the captured insects from public view when in use, and may be applied in a variety of different applications—from use in an open field or inside a barn to sitting on a kitchen countertop. 
         [0006]    The inventive solution has many features that add to its usefulness. It is manufactured from materials based upon cost/benefit considerations chosen to meet both desired price points and its effectiveness for its intended use. It can be manufactured using stiff cardboard, plastic or other materials, and may be waterproofed or not. The color and indicia on the exterior may be selected for aesthetic considerations, as when it is used on a kitchen counter, or may be used to attract insects as when used in a field. The nondrying glue can be selected to meet its intended applications. It may contain attractants such as pheromones and/or poisons such as insecticides. Glues intended to capture fruit flies will have a different viscosity and other properties than glues that capture houseflies. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate the terms annulus and annulus segment. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1C  illustrates a truncated cone constructed from an annulus segment. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 2A ,  2 B and  2 C illustrate the concept of a truncated, tapered hollow body. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates a first embodiment in its deployed configuration. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate the first embodiment in its packaged and ready to deploy configuration. 
           [0012]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate a second embodiment in its packaged and ready to deploy configuration. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5C  illustrates a third embodiment in its ready to deploy configuration. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 6A through 6D  illustrate three different deployment scenarios of the first embodiment. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate designs for a four-sided truncated pyramid in its deployed and packaged configuration. 
           [0016]      FIGS. 8A through 8C  illustrate designs for a six-sided truncated pyramid in their deployed and packaged configurations. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Definitions 
         [0018]    The terms sticky, annulus and annulus segment, insect, truncated, tapered hollow body, and embodiment configurations are defined here. 
         [0019]    Sticky is used in this specification as a noun to specify a nondrying glue that is used to trap insects as commonly used in flypaper and fly boards. The actual composition of the sticky depends on the intended application. Sticky may contain an attractant that will lure the insects, and contain insecticides that will kill the insect once it is trapped. 
         [0020]    The term annulus refers to a sheet that has the shape of the area between two concentric circles. Referring to  FIG. 1A , the annulus  102  is the shaded portion between the concentric circles  104  and  106 . Referring now to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the term annulus segment  110  refers to an annulus that has a segment removed where the segment is the smaller area between two radial lines  108   a  and  108   b  emanating from the center of the annulus. The annulus segment in  FIG. 1B  is the shaded area. 
         [0021]    The term insect is defined in this specification to be interpreted generally as used in ordinary conversation. It includes members of the insecta class (e.g. flies), members of the arachnid class (e.g. spiders) as well as other arthropods (excluding crustaceans). 
         [0022]    An embodiment of the invention has three configurations; the packaged configuration, the ready to deploy configuration and the deployed configuration. The packaged configuration is the configuration when is in on a merchant&#39;s shelf. The ready to deploy configuration is the configuration where is has its final form ready to be put into use, but the nondrying glue covering is in place. The deployed configuration is when it is put in use and able to catch insects.  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  3  respectively show these three configurations for the truncated cone of the first embodiment. 
         [0023]    The term truncated, tapered hollow body refers to a hollow body that has two open ends, a larger open end and a smaller open end, and is tapered from the larger open end to the smaller open end such that several of these bodies of the same dimension are stackable. Examples of truncated, tapered hollow bodies are the truncated cone  228 , the truncated four-sided  402  and six-sided pyramids  406 , the beehive tapered cone  232  and the curved tapered cone  234 . 
         [0024]    Referring now to  FIG. 2A , the conical truncated tapered hollow body  114   a  is shown. It is stacked on two other conical truncated tapered hollow bodies  116   b  and  116   c  of the same dimensions.  FIGS. 2B and 2C  respectively show two other examples of truncated, tapered hollow bodies, the beehive truncated, tapered hollow body  116   a  and the curved truncated, tapered hollow body  118   a.  As shown in the figures, the beehive hollow bodies  116   a ,  116   b  and  116   c  are stacked. Similarly, the curved hollow bodies  118   a,    118   b  and  118   c  are stacked. 
       Embodiment One 
       [0025]      FIG. 3  displays the first embodiment in its deployed configuration  202 . It consists of a hollow, substantially rigid, truncated cone  204  with a small opening  206  at the narrow end of the tapered cone and a second larger opening  208  at the wider end of the cone. Its interior surface  212  is substantially coated with sticky. 
         [0026]      FIG. 4A  illustrates the first embodiment in a packaged configuration as it would be stored or displayed in a merchant&#39;s store.  FIG. 4B  shows the ready to deploy configuration of the first embodiment constructed by reconfiguring the packaged configuration into a conical shape. 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the ready to deploy configuration  220  of the first embodiment, constructed from the packaged configuration  214 , consists of the truncated cone  204 , with sticky  210  substantially covering the interior surface  212  of the truncated cone  204 . The sticky is covered by a removable covering  218 . The truncated cone  204  is constructed from a flat material, such as heavy cardboard, in the shape of an annulus segment  204 a. The annulus segment  204   a  is joined  216  at the radial edges  216 a and  216   b  of the annulus segment  204   a  using an adhesive strip  222  after removing the adhesive strip covering  224 . 
       Embodiment Two 
       [0028]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate the construction of a second embodiment in its packaged configuration and its ready to deploy configuration. Referring to  FIG. 5B , the ready to deploy  226  configuration of the second embodiment has the same structure of the ready to deploy configuration of  FIG. 4B , but with one difference. Instead of constructing the truncated cone  204  from an annulus segment  204   a , the truncated cone  228  is already manufactured as a hollow body. The truncated cone  226  has sticky  210  applied to its interior  212 . The covering  218  is made from an annulus segment  218  as in  FIG. 4A .  FIG. 5A  shows how this embodiment is packaged. Referring to  FIG. 5A , several or many units of the second embodiment  228  are stacked one on top of the other  230 . This will display nicely on a merchants shelf and will pack nicely for shipping.  FIG. 5B  show a ready to deploy unit. It is essentially the same as shown in  FIG. 4B . 
       Embodiment Three 
       [0029]      FIG. 5C  illustrates a design for a third embodiment, the beehive design, that is in its ready to deploy configuration. The single beehive  232  has sticky  234  substantially covering its interior  236  (not shown in the figure). It also has a removable covering cover for the sticky  238 . As in the second embodiment, the third embodiment is stackable as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
         [0030]    The size of the various embodiments may vary widely depending on their intended use.  FIG. 6A  shows the first embodiment of the insect trap used in a field where large animals, such as cows or horses, graze. A pile of animal dung  302  lies on the ground and attracts flies. The insect trap is placed over the dung, and will trap the flies as they are attracted to the dung. In this application the cone is relatively large, the height typically about 40.5 cm (16 in). A “muck bucket” filled with manure or other substances that attracts flies found in a field may also be used. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6B  shows a much smaller version of the first embodiment of the insect trap  202  that is used indoors on a flat surface, such as a counter or table. In this case the insect trap lies on a flat level surface. As show in the figure the insect trap has attractants  304  resting on the surface that will attract the insect. If fruit flies are the insect to be caught, the attractants may be a slice of overripe fruit. Alternately, the trap may not have an attractant; the sticky may incorporate an attractant that will lure the insects. As compared to  FIG. 6A , this version typically may be approximately 25 cm (10 in) or smaller in height. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 6C and 6D  show a third application. Here the insect trap is used indoors, such as in a barn. It is hung with the truncated cone  202  inverted with the wide end  308  facing the ceiling. String  306  is attached to the insect trap and to a rafter  310  in the barn.  FIG. 6D  illustrates this embodiment. The size of this embodiment may be similar to that of  FIG. 6A  and may contain a similar attractant. Also shown in  FIG. 6D  is a user supplied attractant  312  attached by a mechanism such as a hook and a string  314 . 
       Embodiment Four 
       [0033]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate a fourth embodiment. Referring now to  FIG. 7A , a truncated, tapered hollow body in the shape of a four-sided pyramid  402  replaces the tapered truncated hollow cone of the first embodiment. Although not shown in the figure, it has sticky applied to its interior surface and has a removable covering to protect the sticky. In its packaged configuration, the fifth embodiment may be folded nicely for packaging. Referring to  FIGS. 7A and 7B , to fold the fifth embodiment for packaging, edge  404   b  is moved towards edge  404   a  and the unit is folded as shown in  FIG. 7B . For this embodiment the material that is used to make the pyramid must have sufficient flexibility and the dimension of each side must depart slightly from the sides of a regular pyramid in a manner such that the folds may be made and the folded embodiment lies flat. 
       Embodiment Five 
       [0034]    In a fifth embodiment, shown in  FIG. 8A , a tapered truncated hollow hexagonal pyramid replaces the truncated, tapered hollow cone of the first embodiment. This also folds nicely as the cross segment shown in  FIG. 8B  has its edges labeled to describe the folding technique. First edge  206   a  is folded inward so edge  406   f  is moved towards edge  206   b.  Then edge  206   e  is folded inward so its edge  206   c  moves towards it. The whole unit is then flattened for packaging. As in the fourth embodiment, the dimension of each side of the truncated hexagonal pyramid will depart slightly from the sides of a regular pyramid so the inside folds may be made and the folded embodiment will lie flat. 
         [0035]    The disclosure presented herein gives five embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are to be considered as only illustrative of the invention and not a limitation of the scope of the invention. Various permutations, combinations, variations and extensions of these embodiments are considered to fall within the scope of this invention. Therefore the scope of this invention should be determined with reference to the claims and not just by the embodiments presented herein.