Abstract:
A waterproof cabinet, speakers, power source, processor, and solar panel which together operate to emit high frequency sound waves that can repel mosquitoes and other flying pests.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to ultrasonic and sonic devices for repelling insects and in particular to ultrasonic and sonic devices for repelling mosquitos. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The prior art discloses a variety of inventions for repelling mice, rodents, deer and insects by means of transmission of ultrasonic and sonic signals. For example, U.S. Pat. 5,602,523 discloses a square wave signal output in the ultrasonic frequency range with harmonic distortion for repelling deer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,438 discloses a tube inserted in the ground for creating audible vibrations to repel rodents. U.S. Pat. No. 2,922,999 discloses a system for repelling birds with ultrasonic sound. U.S. Pat. No. 3,886,492 discloses a sonic device designed specifically for repelling insects. The &#39;492 patent discloses that insects can be repelled by duplicating the sounds of natural predators and that by using sounds at certain frequencies and at certain intensities, insects can be excluded from predictable dimensional areas. The &#39;492 patent discloses that it is known in the art that female mosquitos have an antipathy to sonic frequencies from 11 to 12 kilohertz and from 36 to 38 kilohertz. The &#39;492 patent further discloses that “since only the female mosquitos bite and since the males will follow the exodus of the females, the problem of eliminating mosquitos may be solved by generating sonic frequencies concentrated in these ranges.” The &#39;492 patent focuses on the sonic waveform and providing a multitude of frequencies to avoid high intensities which would be objectionable to humans. 
     What is needed beyond the prior art is a practical device that can employ the principles known in the art in a practical and useful way. An outdoor device that can sonically repel insects would reduce or eliminate the need to spray the air with chemicals. (Burning oil, one way of repelling mosquitos, causes pollution). Persons within the zone of the device would not need to apply repellant to their skin. A device that can emit the appropriate signals and that can be installed outdoors and moved as necessary would be desirable. Moreover, a device that could operate on batteries so that it could be located independently of a power source would be desirable. Furthermore, a device that could operate for long periods without recharging or battery changes would be desirable. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention meets the needs identified above by providing a waterproof cabinet, speakers, power source, processor, and solar panel which together operate to emit high frequency sound waves that can repel mosquitoes and other flying pests. The cabinet can contain one, two or four speakers, solar cells in a panel on the top of the cabinet, a rechargeable nicle-cadmium battery, electrical wiring and circuitry, and a circuit board or an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip to generate wave forms of frequency above the range of human hearing. The output strength would be in the range of 100 db to 135 db. The device, when activated, emits ultrasonic sounds to replicate the wing-beat frequency of the Dragonfly, the mosquito&#39;s most significant predator and sonic sounds to replicate the wing-speed sound of the male mosquito (to repel females who have already mated). Additionally, the device may emit sonic frequencies from 11 to 12 kilohertz and from 36 to 38 kilohertz. One speaker can generate 90 degree coverage (about 1,000 square feet), and four speakers can provide 360 degree coverage (about 2-3,000 square feet). The device can be hung from a tree limb or overhang. Alternatively, the device can be mounted on a free standing pole with base. Therefore, the device can be easily installed and maintained. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers represent like parts of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the invention mounted on a pole. 
     FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the base of the pole. 
     FIG. 3 is a detail view of a swivel hook for hanging the device. 
     FIG. 4 is bottom view of the device cabinet. 
     FIG. 5 is an interior view of the cabinet. 
     FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the device supported by hanging. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIG. 1, guard  10  is shown with cabinet  30  and pole  20 . Cabinet  30  has top  32  and sides  36 . In the preferred embodiment cabinet  30  has four sides  36 . Top  32  has solar panel  37  affixed to top  32 . Guard  10  may operate without solar panel  37 . In the preferred embodiment, Solar panel  37  consists of photovoltaic cells utilizing flat-plate modules of cut and polished wafer-like cells of crystalline silicon which would be obtained from commercial manufacturers. Bottom  34  is not seen in FIG.  1  and attaches to pole  22 . Pole  22  is fixedly engaged to stand  24 . Top  32  has a plurality of hooks  38  for alternative mounting of cabinet  30  by means of supporting wires connected to hooks  38 . Each of sides  36  has aperture  35 . Support  20  has pole  22  and base  24 . In the preferred embodiment, pole  22  is approximately six feet long and base  24  is approximately 9 inches in diameter. Base  24  has base top  25  and base bottom  26  (not shown). Base bottom  26  has a plurality of spikes  28  fixedly attached to base bottom  26 . Persons skilled in the art will be familiar with a variety of ways to construct pole  22  and that pole  22  can be in one piece or in a plurality of interconnecting sections. In the preferred embodiment, pole  22  is made from heavy-duty coated stainless steel tubing and base  24  is made from coated stainless steel. Likewise, a variety of ways of fixedly or removably attaching pole  22  to base  24  and fixedly or removably attaching spikes  28  to base bottom  26  are known to persons skilled in the art. Cabinet  30  may be constructed from any suitable material such as plastic or polystyrene. In the preferred embodiment, cabinet  30  is constructed so that top  32  and sides  36  are sealingly engaged. Top  32  and sides  36  may be made from one piece of material. 
     FIG. 2 depicts base bottom  26  of base  24  with spikes  28  affixed to base bottom  26 . Four spikes  28  are shown in FIG.  4 . However, persons skilled in the art will know that any number of spikes could be utilized depending on the length and thickness of the spikes utilized. Selecting the optimum number of spikes is within the knowledge of persons skilled in the art. In an alternative embodiment, a single large screw is fixedly engaged to base bottom  26  so that base  24  can be screwed into the ground until base bottom  26  contacts the ground. 
     FIG. 3 depicts a detail view of hook  38 . Hook  38  has hook arm  38   a  and hook base  38   b.  Top  32  has hook hole  39  for receiving hook arm  38   a.  When assembling top  32 , hook arm  38   a  is inserted into hook hole  39  and hook base  38   b  is attached to hook arm  39   a . Persons skilled in the art will be familiar with a variety of methods of affixing hook base  38   b  to hook arm  39   a.    
     FIG. 4 depicts a bottom view of cabinet  30 . Bottom  34  has mounting plate  90  attached by means of a plurality of securement devices  92 . In the preferred embodiment securement devices  92  are screws. Mounting plate  90  is fixedly attached to pole  22 . Pole  22  may be attached to mounting plate  90  by a variety of means known to persons skilled in the art such as a threaded connection between pole  22  and mounting plate  90  or inserting pole  22  into a socket on mounting plate  90 . Bottom  34  also has test switch  94  and power switch  96 . Test switch  94  and power switch  96  are connected by wires to power source  50  (not shown). 
     FIG. 5 depicts the interior of cabinet  30 . A plurality of speakers  40  are attached to sides  36  and are sealingly engaged to apertures  35  (not shown in FIG.  5 ). Speakers  40  have a very high frequency response and a size to conform to sealing engagement with aperture  35  of side  36  of cabinet  30 . Processor  60  is affixed to cabinet  30  by processor bracket  62 . Processor  60  is connected to speakers  40  by output wires  70 . Processor  60  is connected to power source  50  by power wire  72 . Battery  50  is affixed to cabinet  30  by brackets  54 . Panel wires (not shown) connect solar panel  37  (not shown in FIG. 5) to power source  50  and processor  60 . In the preferred embodiment, power source  50  is a rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery. However, power source  50  may be any suitable battery whether rechargeable or not which is capable of operating processor  50  and speakers  40 . In the preferred embodiment, processor  60  may be a simple circuit board or an integrated circuit chip designed and fabricated by conventional processes to produce ultrasonic sounds to replicate the wing-beat frequency of the dragonfly and the wing-speed sound of the male mosquito. Additionally, processor  60  may be designed to emit sonic frequencies from 11 to 12 kilohertz and from 36 to 38 kilohertz. 
     FIG. 6 shows hanging guard  80  with ring  84  and suspension wires  82  affixed to hooks  38 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.