Abstract:
A rodent bait station weight that securely anchors a bait station in place thereby preventing the bait station from accidentally being tipped over and spilling its toxic contents. The weight is made of recycled rubber and weighs approximately 8 lbs. The weight is contoured to fit the shape of the bait station thereby ensuring a uniform distribution of the anchoring weight. The weight is tough, durable, and weather resistant.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/173,291, filed Dec. 28, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to rodent bait stations and, more particularly, to specially configured weights for securing rodent bait stations. The rodent bait station weight prevents the accidental and incidental moving or tipping over of a bait station. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The pest control industry plays an important role in maintaining the health and safety of the community. Rodents such as mice and rats have long been known to be carriers of disease. Their efficient extermination significantly improves the physical and psychological well-being of a community. 
     A common method of vermin extermination involves the use of bait stations that contain a poisonous bait. However, a primary concern when using bait stations is that a bait station may be inadvertently tipped over or moved. If a bait station is accidentally tipped over, then the poisonous contents of the bait station are released and any unsuspecting pet or even a small child could come in contact with the poisonous bait with detrimental consequences. If the bait station is accidentally moved, the bait station could be less accessible to the rodents and therefore, less effective in eradicating the pest. Therefore, it would be extremely advantageous to have the bait station securely anchored in place thereby eliminating the possibility of accidental tipovers or inadvertent displacement. 
     The prior art describes a variety of rodent bait stations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 357,969 issued on May 2, 1995 to J. L. Brickey describes an ornamental design for a combined bait holder and weight. An exterminating device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,683,326 issued on Jul. 13, 1954 to C. N. Gardner et al. The exterminating device has a rectangular housing with an opening for a rodent to enter the device. A holder in the device contains poisonous bait for the rodent to consume. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,337 issued on Jun. 12, 1984 to C. G. D. Williams describes a rodent feeding station. The feeding station has a generally rectangular housing that forms an enclosure containing a separate bait cup which cooperates with the walls of the enclosure to form an inexpensive disposable product. The housing has a pair of initially covered holes which permit a rodent to enter the housing and travel to an opening offset from the holes which provide access to the bait cup. A vermin bait station is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,992 issued on Sep. 5, 1995 to R. J. Stewart. The bait station includes an outer housing and an inner housing slidably movable with respect to the outer housing. The inner housing is movable between open, closed, and extended positions. 
     None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a tough, durable rodent bait station weight to anchor a bait station firmly in place and thereby preventing the tipping over of the bait station and the spilling of the bait station&#39;s toxic contents. The weights of the present invention are configured to conform to the contour of the bait station thereby ensuring the proper distribution of the anchoring weight. The portion of the weight that is directly coupled to the bait station is denser than the remaining portion of the weight. This increased hardness at the point of attachment ensures a strong connection. A pair of parallel ridges on the weight elevate the bait station above the weight, and serve to function as a moisture release to remove excess moisture from the bait station thereby preventing bait station corrosion. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a rodent bait station weight to anchor a bait station firmly in place. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a rodent bait station weight that is easy to attach and remove. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a rodent bait station weight that is weather resistant. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a rodent bait station weight that prevents moisture from building up and corroding a bait station. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a rodent bait station weight for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a configured weight used to secure a rodent bait station according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an environmental, perspective of a configured weight anchored to a rodent bait station. 
     FIG. 3 is top perspective view of an anchored rodent bait station with the lid of the bait station up showing the location of the connecting bolt that secures the bait station to the underlying weight. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the configured weight. 
     FIG. 5 is an environmental, perspective view of a rodent bait station anchored to the configured weight of the alternate embodiment. 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention, as depicted in FIGS. 1-5, is a configured weight  100 ,  120  that is sized and dimensioned to secure a rodent bait station  104 ,  128  thereby preventing the bait station  104 ,  128  from tipping over and spilling its toxic contents. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the contoured weight or anchor  100  of the present invention. The preferred embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 is specially designed to accommodate a PROTECTA LP bait station  104  produced by Bell Laboratories. However, this specific design can accommodate bait stations produced by other manufacturers. The distinctive contoured configuration of the weight  100  is shown in FIG.  1 . The weight  100  is made from recycled rubber and weighs approximately 7 lbs. The weight  100  has a maximum length of 9¾ inches, a maximum width of 14⅛ inches, and a thickness of 1⅛ inches. The top edge of the weight is rounded back approximately ¼ of an inch. The anterior portion  101  of the weight  100  is a 1×4 inch solid rubber section with a hole  102  that extends through the weight  100 . The increased density of the anterior portion  101  ensures a strong and sturdy mechanical bond with the bait station (see FIG. 2) when the weight  100  and the bait station  104  are bolted together. 
     In this embodiment, the shape of the weight  100  is a modified pentagon. The hole  102  is centered and disposed approximately 2 inches from the front of the weight  100 . Two parallel elevations or ridges  103  that are 4 inches long and 4 inches apart are disposed about the midline  105  of the weight  100 . These ridges  103  are {fraction ( 3 / 16 )} of an inch high and function as moisture releases between the bait station  104  and the weight  100 . 
     FIG. 2 is an environmental, perspective of a configured weight  100  anchored to a PROTECTA LP bait station  104 . A rodent (not shown) enters the bait station  104  through a laterally disposed opening  108  in the bait station  104 . The contoured weight  100  holds the bait station  104  firmly in place despite the repeated and continuous activity of the rodents so that a large number of rodents can successfully consume the poisonous bait inside the bait station and die. 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of an anchored rodent bait station  104  with the lid  106  of the bait station  104  showing the location of the connecting bolt  110  that secures the bait station  104  to the underlying weight  100 . As is seen the bait station  104  has a base  112 , a back wall  107 , surrounding side walls  109 , and a lid  106  hingedly connected to back wall  107 . The lid may be opened as shown for replenishing poison bait and then securely closed for deployment in a rodent-infested location, the rodents being free to enter and exit laterally disposed holes  108 . 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the rodent bait station weight  120 . The weight  120  of the alternate embodiment is specially designed to accommodate the PROTECTA bait station  128  produced by Bell laboratories. However, this specific design can accommodate bait stations produced by other manufacturers. The weight  120  is made from recycled rubber and weighs approximately 8 lbs. The weight  120  is 11⅝ inches in length, 11⅝ inches in width, and has a thickness of 1⅛ inches. The square shaped weight  120  has rounded corners  130  with the top edge rounded back ¼ of an inch. The weight  120  has a 3¾ inches×8⅝ inches center section  123  that is harder/more dense than the periphery of the weight  120 . This centrally disposed solid section  123  is the portion of the weight  120  where the bait station  128  is anchored to the weight  120  using a ¼ inch bolt(not shown) and nut (not shown) once the hole  122  of the weight  120  and the hole  126  bait station  128  are aligned. The solid section  123  centralizes the weight distribution of the weight  120  which vastly improves the anchoring characteristics of the weight  120 . A pair of parallel ridges  121  that are 4 inches long, 4 inches apart, and {fraction (3/16)} of an inch in height run parallel to the solid section  123 . In this embodiment, the weight  120  has a square shape. The parallel ridges  121  serve as a moisture release between the bait station  128  and the weight  120 . 
     FIG. 5 is an environmental, perspective view of a PROTECTA bait station  128  with its lid removed. The bait station  128  is shown anchored to the configured weight  120  of the alternate embodiment. A cutaway view reveals the opening  126  of the bait station  128  into which a connecting bolt (see FIG. 3) is inserted. The lateral opening  124  is where rodents enter and exit the bait station  128 . 
     The rodent bait station weight of the present invention prevents the accidental tipping over of a bait station, for example, by the wind and the rodent bait station weight is economical to manufacture. 
     The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are intended to be illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and adaptations of the present invention as well as alternative embodiments of the present invention may be contemplated. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.