Abstract:
There is provided a trap for trapping animals including: at least one radio frequency (RF) device closely associated with the trap for the recording of activation data of the trap, at least one animal containment unit incorporated with the trap, and at least one sensor for detecting activation of the trap and passing an activation signal to the RF device. Preferably, the RF device is for transmitting RF signals to at least one receiving unit for enabling the real-time determination of a status of the trap.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the status of animal traps used for trapping animals (including insects) or detecting and monitoring their activities. The method and apparatus is particularly relevant for, though not exclusively so, small animals such as, for example, rats, mice, possums, hedgehogs, groundhogs, ferrets, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, cats, dogs, reptiles such as snakes and lizards, birds such as crows and magpies, and insects such as cockroaches, termites, spiders, and mosquitoes.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     There are currently several categories of animal traps in use throughout the world. One category of trap simply captures the animal without harming it; while another category of trap kills the animal. Such traps generally meet their objective of capturing, or capturing and killing, the animal. Such traps are usually employed where the use of poison is prohibited. However, the user of such traps cannot ascertain whether the trap has been activated without an on-site observation of each trap. This practice is inefficient in the time taken and the man-power required.  
         [0003]     There are also bait stations which do not trap any animals but merely count the number of visitations to the station. Unfortunately, the user of such stations cannot ascertain the incidence of visitations without physically counting the number of baits being consumed on site. This practice is also inefficient and time consuming. Such bait stations are useful as they do not impart negative experiences to the animals which would cause their fellow creatures to avoid the stations.  
         [0004]     The complexity and inconvenience of conducting such checks becomes more obvious when such traps are deployed by the hundreds in varied locations, such as, for example, in multi-storey buildings, shopping malls and large expanses of land including forests, trees, bushes and so forth. The task becomes even more complicated when the traps are deployed in the ventilation and sewerage systems of the buildings and other areas where ease of accessibility to people is quite limited.  
         [0005]     Health and hygiene issues also arise when such traps contain the trapped animals. There will be more adverse effects when the trapped animals are dead. If not cleared regularly, dead animals may decompose, thus attracting flies, cockroaches, ants and other parasites. The situation of parasites, maggots and germs emanating from such decomposing carcasses poses an extremely undesirable situation. This is especially so when the trap is placed in the ventilation system of buildings. Such traps should be cleared in a short time after it has been used to prevent the transmission of these parasites and germs to the tenants in the building.  
         [0006]     The instance whereby an animal is trapped but not killed must be attended to in a short time or the animal may die of hunger or thirst. This becomes extremely crucial if the trapped animal belongs to an endangered group of animals.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0007]     In order to provide a method and apparatus for determining the occurance of animal incidence, there is provided a trap for trapping animals including: at least one radio frequency (RF) device closely associated with the trap for the recording of activation data of the trap, at least one animal containment unit incorporated with the trap, and at least one sensor for detecting activation of the trap and passing an activation signal to the RF device. Preferably, the RF device is for transmitting signals to at least one receiving unit for enabling the real-time determination of a status of the trap.  
         [0008]     Preferably, the RF device includes: at least one power source, at least one RF transceiver, non-volatile memory, at least one microcontroller, and at least one re-setting means to erase information stored in the non-volatile memory.  
         [0009]     Advantageously, the receiving unit may either be mobile or fixed. Preferably, the mobile receiving unit includes: at least one power source, at least one display panel, at least one RF transceiver, non-volatile memory, at least one microcontroller, at least one control panel to control the collection and transmittal of data relating to the status of the at least one trap, at least one telecommunications transmitter to transmit information to a central station, and at least one synchronisation port to enable the downloading of information to the central station.  
         [0010]     Similarly, the fixed receiving unit includes: at least one power source, at least one RF transceiver, non-volatile memory, at least one microcontroller, and at least one telecommunications transmitter to transmit information to a central station. The fixed receiving unit may be located at a particular location.  
         [0011]     Advantageously, the fixed and mobile receiving unit may transmit RF signals after interacting with a mobile receiving unit which subsequently displays the status and location of activated traps by comparing with pre-programmed data in the mobile receiving unit.  
         [0012]     It is also advantageous that the mobile and fixed receiving unit can be connected to the central station to download data via a wireless telecommunication transmission. The mobile receiving unit may be connected to the central station to download data via a synchronisation port.  
         [0013]     Preferably, the fixed receiving unit may be connected to the central station to download data either via a wireless or a wired telecommunication transmission. When multiple fixed receiving units are deployed, the data may be relayed from one fixed receiving unit to the next by wired or wireless means before the last fixed receiving units may be connected to the central station to download data either via a wireless or a wired telecommunication transmission.  
         [0014]     Preferably, the transmission range of the RF signals lies between 0-100 m. It would be more ideal that the range of transmission of the RF signals lies between 5-70 m. It would be most ideal that the range of transmission of the RF signals is 50 m.  
         [0015]     It is advantageous that the trap requires the keying in of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) into the mobile receiving unit to be operable.  
         [0016]     There is also provided a method for determining the status of at least one trap for animals at a regular time interval. Preferably, the regular time interval is two days and the status of at least one trap includes the occurance of animal incidence.  
         [0017]     Advantageously, the trap is used to determine the occurance of animal incidence. It is also preferable that the status of the trap includes the occurance of animal incidence.  
         [0018]     Preferably, the RF signals may be transmitted intermittently, continuously, or only after interaction with the receiving unit. It is also preferable that the localised area can be chosen from a group consisting of: a building, a cluster of buildings, a plot of land less than one hectare. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     In order that the invention may be better understood and readily put into practical effect, there shall now be described by way of non-limitative example only preferred embodiments of the present invention, the description being in reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings in which:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows a representation of a trap employed in the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  shows the schematic representation of the Radio Frequency (RF) device incorporated in a trap;  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  shows the schematic representation of both the fixed receiving unit and the mobile RF receiving unit;  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  shows the schematic flow of the status of the trap(s) to the central station;  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  shows the sequence of steps in the method of finding out the status of a trap;  
         [0025]      FIG. 6  shows examples of the types of traps employable with the present invention; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 7  shows a possible appearance of the mobile receiving unit used in the present invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]      FIGS. 1 and 4  show a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1  shows a trap  20  for small animals either used for rodent population control or for determining the occurance of animal incidence. The trap  20  includes a RF device  8  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The RF device  8  includes a power source  14 , an RF transceiver  12 , non-volatile memory  16 , a microcontroller  9 , and a re-set button  7 . The trap  20  may have a power source (not shown) that may be powered by an electricity supply, solar energy or an independent power supply such as a battery. The power source  14  may be an internally or externally mounted battery. The trap  20  may be used in a similar role as a bait station, except that no baits are used and the counting is done by the incidences of the activation of a sensor  10 . This renders the trap to be usable in areas where the use of bait may be prohibited, such as in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.  
         [0028]     The non-volatile memory  16  may be used to store information relating to the details of when the trap  20  was activated and may be cleared when the re-set button  7  is pressed. The re-set button  7  may be pressed when an animal containment unit  1  is cleared. The microcontroller  9  may be used to control the operation of the trap  20 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the sensor  10  may be closely associated with the RF device  8 . The sensor  10  may be used to determine the presence of animals/insects going into the trap  20 . The sensor  10  may be a mechanical or electronic device or a combination of both. The sensor  10  may be positioned at the entrance of the trap  20  or may also be positioned anywhere on the base floor  3  of the trap  20 .  
         [0029]     When the sensor  10  is activated, the microcontroller  9  may control the RF transceiver  12  to transmit RF signals that “inform” all receivers of the RF signals that the trap  20  has been activated. The RF transceiver  12  may also transmit RF signals after interaction with a mobile receiving unit  24 . The RF signals may be continuously transmitted or may be transmitted only after being “awoken” through interaction with a mobile receiving unit  24 . The latter method is uses energy more efficiently.  
         [0030]     The trap  20  may be placed either indoors or outdoors. The positioning of the trap  20  may be determined by the behaviourial patterns of the animal/insect being sought. The traps  20  may be placed in a building. The traps  20  may be placed in exposed positions such as in rooms and corridors, or they may be concealed in locations such as, for example, ventilation and lift shafts, sewers, implanted around the foundational structure of the building and the like.  
         [0031]     The RF device  8  closely associated with the trap  20  has at least one RF transceiver unit  12  for the transmission of RF signals to either a fixed receiving unit  22  or a mobile receiving unit  24 . The RF transceiver  12  transmits RF signals once an animal triggers a sensor  10  in trap  20  after receiving a command from the microcontroller  9 . The RF signal may include an identity (ID) of the trap  20 . The RF signal may also include date/time stamping of when the trap  20  was activated and may also include the number of counts that the sensor  10  is activated. This facility may aid in projects whereby counting a population of animals/insects in a particular location may be required. The trap  20  may consist of at least one animal containment unit  1  for the trapped rodent or its carcass. The transmitted signals from the RF device  8  of the trap  20  may be recorded as trap-status information pertaining to each trap  20  in a non-volatile memory  54  of the fixed receiving unit  22  or recorded in a non-volatile memory  72  of the mobile receiving unit  24 . The RF device  8  may also transmit signals only after being “awoken” through interaction with the mobile receiving unit  24 . This step may save energy consumption by the RF device  8  by not continuously transmitting RF signals. The transmitted RF signals may also be transmitted intermittently.  
         [0032]     A schematic diagram of the fixed receiving unit  22  is shown in  FIG. 3 . It may include a RF transceiver  52 , non-volatile memory  54 , a telecommunications transmitter  56 , a microcontroller  58  and a power source  59 . The fixed receiving unit may also have a display panel  51 , a control panel  53  and a synchronisation port  55 . The fixed receiving unit  22  may have a power source  59  that may be powered by a wired electricity supply, solar energy or an independent power supply such as a battery. The RF transceiver  52  may receive RF signals sent from the trap  20 . The fixed receiving unit  22  may have RF signal processing capability and data storage capability to record the identity of the trap  20  that sent the RF signal and may include the time and date stamping of the received RF signal. This may show the date and time that the trap  20  was activated. The data relating to the number of activation counts of the sensor  10  in trap  20  may also be included in the transmitted RF signal.  
         [0033]     This information may be stored in the non-volatile memory  54  and displayed on the display panel  51  and may be automatically overwritten after a period of time, such as, for example, two weeks. The duration of time that the information stored in the non-volatile memory  54  may be dependent on the capacity of the non-volatile memory  54 . The larger the capacity of the non-volatile memory  54 , the longer the information can be stored without being overwritten. The trap  20  and the fixed receiving unit  22  may be positioned at a distance less than the lower limit of the transmission range of the RF transceiver unit  12  on the RF device  8  on a trap  20  and the RF transceiver  52  of the fixed receiving unit  22 . The microcontroller  58  and the control panel  53  may be used to control the operation of the fixed receiving unit  22 . The telecommunications transmitter  56  may be used to transmit information using either wired or wireless means to a central station  26 . Information may also be transmitted via direct connection using wires to the synchronisation port  55 . The control panel  53  may facilitate the entering of information like a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access the status of the traps  20 . The data relating to the number of counts encountered by a trap  20  over a period of time, such as for example, three days, a week or a fortnight may be re-set without physically pressing the re-set button  7  on the RF device  8  on a trap  20 . Resetting the RF device  8  may also be done via wired or wireless (remote) means.  
         [0034]     The mobile receiving unit  24  can also be represented in  FIG. 3 . Examples of the device can be seen in  FIG. 7 . It may include a display panel  60 , a RF transceiver  62 , a control panel  64 , a synchronisation port  66 , a microcontroller  68 , a power source  70 , non-volatile memory  72  and a telecommunications transmitter  74 . The mobile receiving unit  24  may have a power source  70  that may be powered by solar energy or an independent power supply such as a battery. The mobile receiving unit  24  may have RF signal processing capability and data storage capability to record the identity of the trap  20  that sent the RF signal and may include the time and date stamping of the received RF signal. This may show the date and time that the trap  20  was activated. The data relating to the number of activation counts of the sensor  10  in trap  20  may also be included in the transmitted RF signal.  
         [0035]     This information may be stored in the non-volatile memory  72  and may be automatically overwritten after a period of time, such as, for example, two weeks. The duration of time that the information stored in the non-volatile memory  54  may be dependent on the capacity of the non-volatile memory. The larger the capacity, the longer the information can be stored without being overwritten. The trap  20  and a user of the mobile receiving unit  24  may be positioned at a distance less than the lower limit of the transmission range of the RF transceiver unit  12  on the RF device  8  of trap  20  and the RF transceiver  62  of the mobile receiving unit  24 . The microcontroller  68  may be used to control the operation of the mobile receiving unit  22 . The telecommunications transmitter  56  may be used to transmit information using either wired or wireless means to a central station  26 .  
         [0036]     Information may be transmitted via direct connection using wires to the synchronisation port  66 . The display panel  60  may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a thin film transistor (TFT) display showing the status of traps  20  after interaction between either the fixed receiving unit  22  or the RF device  8  on the trap  20 . The display panel  60  may display any or all of the following: status of traps  20  in a particular locale, date/time of activation of traps  20 , number of counts of each trap  20 , map of a locale denoting the positions of each trap  20 , and so forth. The map display in the display panel  60  may be colour coded, where icons of a particular colour denote whether a trap  20  has been activated or not.  
         [0037]     The control panel  64  may facilitate the entering of information like a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to access the status of either the fixed receiving unit  22  or the traps  20 . The control panel  64  may be used as a phone keypad should the mobile receiving unit  24  have a phone function incorporated in it. The synchronisation port  66  may be used to download data from the mobile receiving unit  24  at the central station  26  for further analysis and/or archiving. The control panel  64  on the mobile receiving unit  24  may be used to key in a Personal Identification Number (PIN) unique to a location where the traps  20  are employed before data can be downloaded to the mobile receiving unit  24 . This prevents anyone with any RF transmitter/receiving unit from being able to make use of the traps  20  laid down by an existing pest control company. This protects the investment made on the apparatus and infrastructure by the incumbent pest control company.  
         [0038]     The user of the mobile receiving unit  24  need only be positioned at an easily accessible location, such as for example, a lift lobby, a corridor, a stair well and so forth. The mobile receiving unit  24  may then interrogate the fixed receiving unit  22  to obtain the status and identity of all traps  20  linked to the fixed receiving unit  22 . The locations of the traps  20  may be stored in the non-volatile memory  72  of the mobile receiving unit  24  whereby the status and location of activated traps may be obtained by comparing with pre-programmed data in the mobile receiving unit  24 . Alternatively, the user would be able to refer to a trap deployment chart to determine the location of the activated traps  20 . In this way, a user may be able to use a mobile receiving unit  24  to interrogate a fixed receiving unit  22  and thereby determine the status of all traps  20  linked to a fixed receiving unit  22 . Consequently, only the activated traps  20  will be attended to and subsequently re-set by clearing or replacing the animal containment unit  1  and depressing the re-set button  7  on the trap  20 . Resetting the RF device  8  may also be done via wired or wireless (remote) means.  
         [0039]     A user may use a mobile receiving unit  24  to interact directly with the RF device  8  on the traps  20  and obtain the status, identity and activation count of traps  20  on a particular level of a building. The user of the mobile unit  24  need only be positioned at a convenient location, such as for example, a lift lobby, a corridor, a stair well and so forth. The location, date/time of activation and activation count of traps  20  may be included in the RF signal sent from the RF device  8  on trap  20  to the mobile receiving unit  24 . There may be a plurality of signals being transmitted from RF device  8  on the trap  20 . The information stored in the non-volatile memory  72  of the mobile receiving unit  24  after interaction with the fixed receiving unit  22  may then be transmitted by the telecommunications transmitter  56  to a central station  26  for real-time analysis of any pest/infestation problem and data storage (archiving).  
         [0040]     The fixed receiving unit  22  and the trap  20  may be positioned at a certain distance from each other, such as, for example, 10 m, 20 m, 50 m, or 100 m. The optimal distance is 50 m. A plurality of traps  20  may be linked to one fixed receiving unit  22 . Preferably, there is a fixed receiving unit  22  for either a given number of traps  20  (eg. 10 traps) or for a given area (eg. level of a building, or an area of a pre-determined size such as, for example, less than one hectare). The transmission range of the RF signals used should preferably not extend beyond 100 m, as the signals may interfere with many devices used in the world today such as remote controls for electronic devices. The accuracy of the readings of the fixed receiving unit  22  may also be adversely affected due to extraneous signals from the RF devices  8  on the traps  20  in different buildings or locales that are actually linked to a different fixed receiving unit  22 . The information stored in the non-volatile memory  54  of the fixed receiving unit  22  may then be transmitted by the telecommunications transmitter  56  to the central station  26  for real-time analysis of any pest/infestation problem and data storage and archiving.  
         [0041]     The fixed receiving unit  22  may be positioned at a particular location. A fixed receiving unit  22  may also be employed in buildings whereby a user may use a mobile receiving unit  24  to interact with the RF transceiver  52  of the fixed receiving station  22  and obtain the status, identity and activation count of traps  20  on a particular level of a building. The location, date/time of activation and activation count of traps  20  may be included in the RF signal sent to the fixed receiving unit  22 . There may be a plurality of signals being transmitted from the RF device  8  in the trap  20 . The information stored in the non-volatile memory  72  of the mobile receiving unit  24  after interaction with the RF transceiver  52  of the fixed receiving unit  22  may then be transmitted by the telecommunications transmitter  56  to a central station  26  for real-time analysis of any pest/infestation problem and data storage(archiving).  
         [0042]     The fixed receiving unit  22  may be mobile such that it may be positioned at a particular location where it is turned on to receive any transmitted signals from RF devices  8  on activated traps  20 . The fixed receiving unit  22  then stores information in the non-volatile memory  54  regarding the activated traps  20 . The information may then either be accessed by mobile receiving unit  24  or it may be transmitted to the central station  26  for other purposes, such as, for example, analysing the severity of the infestation problem. Downloading may be by use of RF signals to the central station  26 , or by use of a telecommunications network (wireless or wired), or the like. The data from several fixed receiving stations  22  may be transmitted to a designated fixed receiving station  22  for the data to be consolidated and/or collated before transmission back to the central station  26 .  
         [0043]     The checking of traps  20  should be performed at regular intervals such that the trapped animals are cleared before decomposition of the carcasses set in. An appropriate interval may be two days. This may prevent the undesirable spreading of parasites and maggots that emanate from decomposing carcasses. Employing the traps  20  and using either the fixed receiving unit  22  or mobile receiving unit  24  eases the task of checking every trap  20  to determine its status. The employment of the system may result in an efficient method to check a large number of traps  20  in a building that using less working hours, less labour and consequently, less manpower to control the pest population in a building. As such, the amount of money payable for workers&#39; wages and for workmen&#39;s compensation due to injuries caused by accessing hard-to-reach places may also be subsequently reduced.  
         [0044]      FIG. 5  shows the sequence of steps in the method of employing the present invention. The traps  20  of the trapping system are initially deployed in regions where the animals/insects are most likely to populate/infest  30 . The traps  20  await activation  32  which occur when the sensor  10  in the trap  20  is triggered by an animal/insect moving into the trap  20  and subsequently getting trapped in the containment unit  1  of the trap  20 . In such a situation, the trap  20  may be considered to be activated. When the trap  20  is activated  34 , the RF tranceiver  12  in the RF device  8  closely associated with trap  20  may transmit an RF signal  36  to either a fixed receiving unit  22  or a mobile receiving unit  24 . The RF device  8  may also transmit signals only after being “awoken” through interaction with the mobile receiving unit  24 . Preferably, the transceiver  12  also receives an acknowledgement of receipt sent by either a fixed receiving unit  22  or a mobile receiving unit  24 . If no acknowledgement of receipt is received, trap  20  may resend the RF signal at regular intervals until the acknowledgement of receipt is received. The transmitted RF signal is received by either a fixed receiving unit  22  or a mobile receiving unit  24  and the signal is processed and recorded.  
         [0045]     When a user comes on-site in close proximity to the trap  20 , the user will use their mobile receiving unit  24  to interact with the RF device  8  on the trap  20  to determine the status of all traps  20 . The status of each trap  20  may become obtainable after processing the signal  38 . The status and identity of each trap  20  is then determined from pre-programmed data in the mobile receiving unit  24  and displayed on the display panel  60  of mobile receiving unit  24 , by audio signal, by both, otherwise as desired. Data relating to the status of trap  20  is forwarded to the central station  26  from either the fixed receiving unit  22  or the mobile receiving unit  24 . The data may be transmitted either via wireless or wired means  40 . Subsequently, the activated traps are either replaced or cleared and re-set to ready mode  42 . The transmitting range of the transmitter  12  in traps  20  is preferably quite limited so as to not interfere with other traps  20  or fixed receiving units  22 . This is similarly so for mobile receiving unit  24  and fixed receiving units  22 . The transmission range should be greater than their physical separation.  
         [0046]      FIG. 6  shows different type of traps that may be adaptable to be employed in the present invention. The traps employed may be for use against animals and insects, such as, for example, mice, rats, cockroaches, lizards, termites and the like.  
         [0047]     In another embodiment of the present invention, the trapping system may be used in the field of science to study species of animals. The trap  20  may be employed in the natural habitats of the animals being studied and the captured animals may be electronically tagged and then subsequently released into the wild. The trap  20  employed may be nonthreatening to the lives of such animals under observation.  
         [0048]     Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the technology concerned that many variations or modifications may be made to details of design or construction without departing from the present invention.  
         [0049]     The present invention extends to all features disclosed either individually, or in all possible permutations and combinations.