THE STRIKE TRAP FOR CATCHING MICE AND RATS

Abstract: A trap for the extermination of mice etc. with a spring-loaded striker unit (12) which can be released from a raised, loaded position by an activizing element (31) connected to a swivelling release lever (14). To improve the enticement effect and the probability of extermination the striker unit (12) is mounted on a support (11) which surrounds the location (43) of the bait. There is an opening (44) on one side as the release lever (14) has an element (35) which protrudes into the opening. The bait should be located (43) directly on the surface beneath the trap. Furthermore, the support should have a facing unit (19) with an opening into the bait location (43), so that the striker unit's (12) active element (26) swings downwards towards and beyond this face upon release.

Description: The strike trap for catching mice and rats The invention consists of a strike trap for rodents, particularly mice and rats. The strike trap is as described in the introduction to claim 1. Many proposed mouse and rat traps existing, attempt to kill the animals with a spring-loaded element which swings downwards. A common construction has a spring-loaded swivelling striker which is held in a loaded position by a swielling strut whose free end can be loosely connected to a mobile bait holder. Such traps are difficult to load and can be sprung without the animal being in a central position in the impact zone. Further, there is a complicated bait holder with only space for a small bait. Another important disadvantage is that after such traps have been in use for a while, they exude repellent odours which makes them badly suited for their purpose. The main object of this invention has therefor been to design a strike trap with improved use characteristics, particularly a trap which provides greater enticement and the certain extermination of the animal. A specific aim has been to construct a trap which can be used with animals of differing size and which can employ larger baits than is usual. Another object was to design a trap which is easy to load and prepare prior to setting it out. These objects have been met by this new invention - the strike trap, outlined in the characteri¬ zing part of patent claim 1. As will be shown, this trap offers a number of decisive advantages. It is a trap with satisfactory use characteristics which can be maintained on a long-term basis. It can be manufactured from indestructible, odourless materials which cannot be attached by external forces or exude unwanted, repellent odours which hamper its enticement effect. The invention will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings, where: Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross-section along a longi¬ tudinal plan of one embodiment of the invention, while Figs. 2,3 and 4 show the front plan, the back plan and the top plan of the trap respectively. The trap in the example has four main parts: A stand or support 11, a striker 12, a spring 13 and a release lever 14. Each of these parts and the linkage between them will be described below. The support 11 has two parallel plate-shaped side walls 15 which have smoothly decreasing length towards the top edge 16. These side walls are connected to a transverse wall 17 towards the back and a transverse support 19 with an upwards-facing strike face 20 at the bottom at the front edge 21. The transverse support 19 is extended into the base plate of the support 11 through a transverse plate 22. The purpose of this is to reduce the possibility of mispositioning the bait. At the top edge 16 along the front 21 there is a continuous groove 23 on each side wall 15 which runs obliquely downwards towards the back from the top edge. The bottom of this groove is rounded. It serves as a support for pivot pins 24 for the striker 12. This part of the design will now be described in more detail. The transverse wall 17 at the back edge 18 has a notch 25 just in from the edge to hold the back end of the spring 13. The striker 12 is mainly a U-shaped hoop with a strike pin 26 supported between two arms 27, each arm 27 having a pivot pin 24 on its free end. These are located in the groove 23 so that the strike pin 26 can swivel from an upper, loaded position to a lower position making firm contact with the animal's neck. The arm 27 is shaped so that the strike pin 26 reaches just to the strike face 20 on the transverse support 19, whilst it can pass through on the inside. The strike pin 26 and the strike face 20 will combine to kill an animal that enters the trap and releases the striker. The means of operation is as follows. The striker 12 also has a transverse lug 28 which is supported by a short arm 29 on each side, upto the side walls 15 in such a way that the inner ends of the arms 29 are connected to their respective arms 27 by their respective pivot pins 24. The longi¬ tudinal axis for each arm 29 generally forms a right angle with the longitudinal axis of the adjoining arm 27. The transverse lug 28 forms a point of attachment or abutement for the spring 13 as outlined below. On one side of the striker 12 there is a protruding arm 30 which is designed to restrain the striker 12 when it is in a raised position using a locking lug 31 on the release lever 14. This arm 30 is plate-shaped and has a notch 32 on its free end. As the outer edge of the arm 30 protrudes slightly outwards to a rounded lug 33 a good grip is obtained during loading. The release lever 14 has been generally designed along the same lines as the striker 12, with two arms 34 which hold the release support 35. The latter has two teeth 36. On their free ends, the arms 34 are mounted so that they can swivel on their respective protruding axle pivots 37 which are located in holes 39.through each of the side walls 15 at the top. The holes 38 are about on a level with the grooves 23 and are located inside these in relation to their common front edge 21. The arms 34 are bent with a short inner part 3 A and a longer forward-facing outer part 34B holding the release support 35 at their free end. The inner part of the arm 34 is furnished with a projection or a locking lug 31 inclined towards the striker 12 and the notch 32. The notch 32 and the projection 31 are designed so that they can be restrained when the striker 12 is swung upwards and the release lever 13 moved forwards as far as possible. The striker 12 is now held locked in a raised, loaded position with the spring 13, as in figure 1, fully wound. The alter- native position of the spring is shown by a broken line. If the release support 35 is moved lightly, the projection or locking lug 31 will no longer be restrained by the notch 32 and release the striker 12. The teeth 36 prevent smaller animals getting to far into the trap without touching the release support 35. Should the release support 35 be over-extended this will lead to an increased load and an insecure locking position for the release lever 14. The spring 13 is a band-shaped steel spring and is streched between the lower edge of the transverse wall 17 in a bend 13 over the side walls and forward to the transverse lug 28. Each end of the spring 13 has an inward bend so that a firm grip is made upon the res¬ pective end attachments. At the transverse lug 28 there is an outer 40 and an inner bend 41. These are adjusted so as to lie against each of the transverse tag's two sides according to whether it is in the loaded or released position. Apart from the spring 13, the other parts of the trap illustrated are made of plastic in the usual way. This elleviates corrosion and similar un¬ desirable effects. In use, the trap is placed over a bait 41 which is easily fitted into the open space between the side walls 15 (fig.l). The bait or baits should not be attached to any part of the trap, rather should be located on a level surface before the trap is placed in position. When the striker 12 is fixed in the loaded position shown, the trap is ready for use. In some cases, such as outdoor use, the trap can be anchored to a surface by a nail through a hole or a line 10 (not shown). The trap is only accessible for animals from one side in order to avoid unintentional release. This will increase the catch reliability and avoid injuring animals by a stray blow. As the striker will no be released unless animals enter the trap, this reduces unnecessary strain upon the construction following unintentional releases. 20 When released the striker will hit the animals neck, almost regardless of the size of the animal. The blow will have a horizontal component which will snetch the head away from the rest of the body and increase the probability of death. As the invention alleviates the difficulty of fixing the bait onto any part of the trap, this eases its setting up and makes it possible to use bigger and more odourous baits than in existing traps. This also alleviates the deposit of bait remains on the trap which cannot only be unhygenic and reduce the enticement effect but may possibly impair the working mechanisms. The invention enables the trap to be loaded with one hand by pointing the trap downwards and pushing lug 33 backwards. Emptying after a strike can be carried out in the same way as loading without having to touch the animal. By using an alternative design, the striker 12 can be locked in a loaded position without requiring a locking element of one of the side walls 15 has a stopper which allows the striker to swing past its neutral position relatively to the action of the spring 13. The spring 13 can thereby hold the striker in an open position. In this case, the release lever 14 must have a projection above the swing axis of the striker 12 so that it can move the striker past the neutral position. By this design, the loading and setting of the trap becomes even more straight forward. The spring 13, which alternatively can be a coil spring, can be fixed in a tensed position between the striker 12 and the support 11. In a further alternative embodiment, the striker 12 can have pivot pins with a knife edge, the striker being journalled to be pivoted past its neutral position as described above. The release lever 14 will be provided with a protrusion (not shown), which on pivoting of the lever upwards, away fra the bait 41 engage the arm 30 and thus move the striker 12 out of its engagement and past its neutral position. Different from the more simple embodiment mentioned above, the release lever 14 and the arm 30 of the striker will have a locking enganement in loaded position of the trap.

Claims: Claims : 1. Strike trap for the capture and exter¬ mination of rodents such as mice and rats etc. , with a spring-loaded striker means (12) which can be released 5 from a raised, loaded position by an activizing element (31) connected to the swivelling release lever (14),wherein the striker means is journalled on a support means (11) enclosing the location (43) of a bait 0 (41), said support having an access opening (44), said release lever (14) being provided with a member (35) protruding into the space between the location of the bait and the opening, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the striker means (12) is journalled with a pivoting 5 axis arranged vertically above the release lever (14), the support (11) being provided with an edge member (19) adjoining the opening (44) to the bait, and that the striker means has an active member (26) being pivotable down towards and beyond this edge member upon release. 2. Strike trap according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a support (11) is shaped so that the bait is located (43) directly on the surface below the trap. 5 3. Strike trap according to claims ' I or 2 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the support (11) comprises two side walls (15) which surround the bait location (43), a transverse support (19) extending between the side walls at the lower edge of one end and 0 the striker means (12) being mounted at the top edge of the side walls. 4. Strike trap according to claim 3, c h a r c t e r i z e d in that the striker means (12) comprises two swivelling arms (27) which hold the $ striker means' active element (26) between their free ends, the arms being mounted on their respective side walls (15). 5. Strike trap according to one ofthe claims 1-4,c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the spring loaded 0 means (12) is provided to be held in a loaded position by moving the latter past the neutral position relatively to its strike movement under spring load, and to be maintained there by the release lever (14). 6. Strike trap according to claims 1-5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that it includes a band-shaped spring means (13) which extends from an abutment (25) at the back of the holder to a tran¬ sverse lug (28) on the striker means (12).

Inventors: LANGLI OLA K, LANGLI, OLA, K.
Applicants: LANGLI KARL, LANGLI LARS, LANGLI, KARL, LANGLI, LARS
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A01M23
IPC codes: A01M23