Rodent trap with diverter

A rodent trap comprising a platform having a flat upper surface; a spring loaded trapping member pivotally movable between cocked and actuated positions; a retaining arm pivotally mounted on the platform at one end thereof and adapted to hold the trapping member in a cocked configuration, the retaining arm having a free end; a diverter mounted on the platform and having a vertical wall portion formed with an open ended slot; the diverter having a bait anchor extending forwardly and substantially parallel to the free end of the retaining arm when the retaining arm overlies the trapping member, whereby bait inserted over the free end of the retaining arm and the one end portion of the bait anchor serves to hold the retaining arm in overlying relationship with the trapping member.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Conventional spring loaded traps tend to be overly sensitive to movements 
during setting and placement of the traps, oftentimes resulting in 
accidental and premature actuation. This is due primarily to the manner in 
which the retaining bar is engaged with the bait platform by a detent at 
the end of the bar. Specifically, the detent is designed to "catch" on a 
projection in the bait platform, after the bait has been placed on the 
platform. This arrangement has proven to be effective but highly sensitive 
to subsequent handling of the trap, e.g., placing in the desired location 
in the cocked position. 
This invention seeks to reduce the above mentioned sensitivity while, at 
the same time, maintain a high degree of efficiency and reliability. To 
this end, a unique bait anchor is employed which cooperates with the free 
end of the retaining bar. Specifically, these two components serve to hold 
the bait, but do not engage each other. It is the bait itself which 
"straddles" the retaining bar and bait anchor, and which holds the 
retaining bar in its position overlying the cocked, spring-loaded trapping 
member. In order to insure that the retention bar will be held in place, 
the bait must have sufficient consistency. As the rodent chews on the 
bait, the retention bar is freed, thereby causing the trapping member to 
close under the influence of a conventional coil spring. 
In a second and preferred embodiment of the invention, the bait anchor is 
formed as part of a diverter or shield element which guides the rodent 
around the trap in order to have access to the bait. Thus, the rodent must 
approach the bait from the front of the trap, thereby making the trap more 
reliable and effective. 
It will be appreciated that the trap construction in accordance with this 
invention is less complex than conventional traps and therefore, reduces 
the cost of manufacture. In addition, the trap construction facilitates 
the application of the bait to the trap, the setting of the trap in the 
desired location and the trap can accommodate various kinds of bait, both 
soft and hard. 
Accordingly, the present invention provides a rodent trap comprising a 
platform having a flat upper surface; a spring loaded trapping member 
pivotally movable between cocked and actuated positions; a retaining arm 
pivotally mounted on the platform at one end thereof and adapted to hold 
the trapping member in a cocked configuration, the retaining arm having a 
free end; a diverter mounted on the platform and having a vertical wall 
portion formed with an open ended slot adapted to receive the free end of 
the retaining arm; the diverter having a bait anchor extending forwardly 
and substantially parallel to the free end of the retaining arm when the 
retaining arm overlies the trapping member, whereby bait inserted over the 
free end of the retaining arm and the bait anchor serves to hold the 
retaining arm in overlying relationship with the trapping member. 
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent 
from the detailed description which follows.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the trap 10 in accordance with one 
exemplary embodiment of this invention is a mousetrap which includes a 
standard base or platform 12 (wood or other suitable material) having a 
flat upper surface 14. The generally rectangular trapping member or bail 
16 is fixed to the upper surface 14 of the platform 12 via brads 18, 20. A 
coil spring 22 overlies the forward leg 24 of the trapping member and, by 
means of spring extension arm 26, biases the trapping member in a 
clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the forward leg 24 
serving as a pivot or axle. The trap construction as defined above is 
conventional. 
A retaining arm 28 is loosely pivotally mounted on the platform upper 
surface 14 by another U-shaped brad 30 which is driven into the platform. 
The arm 20 is adapted to extend over the trapping bar 16, beyond the end 
24, as shown in the Figures. The free end 32 of arm 28 cooperates with a 
bait anchor 34 which includes a vertical portion 36 and a 90.degree. angle 
portion 38 which extends horizontally away from the spring 22. Anchor 34 
may be rigid wire or other suitable material. With the trapping member 16 
cocked as shown in FIG. 1, the free end 32 of the retaining arm 28 is 
located above and substantially parallel to the bait anchor portion 38 as 
best seen in FIG. 1, i.e., in both horizontal and vertical alignment. 
Bait 40 can then be inserted over the elements 32 and 38, with the bait 
itself holding the retaining arm 28 over the trapping bar to maintain the 
latter in the cocked position. In this regard, the bait 40 must have 
sufficient consistency to hold the free end 32 in place, to prevent 
premature actuation. I have discovered that gum drops, raisins and many 
other common household food particles for example, provide the required 
holding power and serve well as bait. This eliminates the need for 
specially manufactured bait. 
Referring to FIG. 3, the free end 132 of the retaining arm and the 
horizontal end portion 138 of the bait anchor may be sharpened with, e.g., 
45.degree. tapers or bevels, in order to facilitate the placement of 
harder bait such as peanuts or certain seeds preferred by mice. 
With the bait in place, the trap is easily placed in the desired location, 
and the retaining arm and bait anchoring configuration as described above 
are less sensitive to slight movements, so that the user need not be as 
concerned with accidental actuation during placement of the trap. When the 
mouse begins to feed on the bait, the arm 28 will be freed and the 
trapping member 16 will spring to the closed or trapping position. 
With reference now to FIGS. 4-6, a trap in accordance with a second and 
preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The trap 42 includes 
a standard base or platform 44 having a flat upper surface 46 with a 
generally rectangular trapping member or bail 48 fixed to the upper 
surface 46 in a conventional manner (similar to the embodiment illustrated 
in FIGS. 1-3), utilizing brads 50, 52 and a coil spring 54 which extend 
over the forward leg 56 of the bail 48. Extension arm 58 of the spring 54 
biases the trapping member in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in 
FIG. 4, with the forward leg 56 serving as a pivot or axle. 
A retaining arm 60 is loosely pivotally mounted on the upper surface 46 of 
the base or platform 44 by means of a brad 62, again in conventional 
fashion. The retaining arm 60 is adapted to extend over the trapping bar 
or bail 48 beyond the forward leg 56. In this embodiment, a diverter or 
shield component 64 replaces the bait anchor 34 utilized in the embodiment 
shown in FIGS. 1-3. The diverter or shield 64 is generally L-shaped, with 
a horizontal base or mounting portion 66 and a vertical diverter portion 
68. The base 66 may be secured to the upper surface 64 of the platform 44 
by any suitable means, including staples, brads, adhesive or the like. A 
slot 70 is formed in the center portion of the vertical portion 68, with a 
horizontal tab 72 extending forwardly at the base of the slot 70. The tab 
72 thus serves as a bait anchor, much in the same way as bait anchor 34, 
while the slot 70 guides the free end of the retaining arm 60 into 
position adjacent the tab 72. The diverter or shield 64 is preferably a 
unitary member formed of a suitable plastic material. 
With reference to FIG. 4, it may be seen that the retaining bar 60 is 
rotated over the bail 48 with the forward end of the retaining bar moved 
downwardly through the slot 70 into substantially parallel mating 
engagement with the bait anchor 72. The bait 74 can then be inserted over 
the anchor 72 and forward end of retaining bar 60, with the bait having 
sufficient consistency to hold the retaining bar 60 in place and thus 
prevent premature actuation. With this arrangement, in order to reach the 
bait 74, the rodent must approach the bait from the front of the trap, 
i.e., from within the trapping zone, thereby eliminating the possibility 
of the rodent straddling the retaining bar 60 while approaching the bait 
from behind and simply being thrown away from the tap upon actuation. 
While the trap construction as described above relates primarily to 
mousetraps it will be appreciated that the unique construction is equally 
applicable to other and larger rodent traps, for example, rat traps. 
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently 
considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be 
understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed 
embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various 
modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and 
scope of the appended claims.