Patent Publication Number: US-9426975-B2

Title: Raccoon trap cap

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Various types of traps have been commercially available for many years for use by fur trappers, such as raccoon traps. One of the most common types of raccoon traps includes a tubular body in which bait is inserted, with a trigger which is set and then tripped by a raccoon&#39;s paw when the raccoon tries to withdraw the bait from the tubular body. The trigger is tripped only in one direction, when the paw is being pulled out of the tubular housing. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,787 (Bonnot) for a spring-loaded trap with a one-way trigger. When the trigger is tripped, a spring biased clamp traps the raccoon&#39;s leg before the paw is withdrawn from the housing. This type of trap is more humane to the animal, and causes little or no injury to the animal. However, some raccoons escape the trap without setting off the trigger, due to the one-way action of the trigger. Also, the wire loop anchor of the Bonnot trap cannot be pushed into hard or frozen ground, and cannot be anchored in a tree, wooden post or other solid structure. The Bonnot trap also cannot be used in water since the anchor is too short. Applicants co-pending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 12/773,303 filed on May 4, 2010 and entitled RACCOON TRAP addresses these deficiencies of conventional raccoon traps, and is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Another problem with conventional traps is that the opened end of the trap allows small animals, particularly mice, to enter a trap and steal the bait, without tripping the trigger. It is virtually impossible for a trapper to see from a distance, for example driving by the traps, whether the bait remains in a set trap. Rather, the trapper must look directly into the opened end of the tubular body to inspect the bait. If the bait has been stolen by a mouse or other small animal, the unbaited trap will not attract a raccoon. 
     Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved animal trap having a removable cap to preclude bait from being stolen. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a raccoon trap cap which prevents a mouse or other small animals from entering the trap body to access the bait. 
     A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a raccoon trap cap which loosely fits over the open end of the trap body and can be easily removed by a raccoon seeking the bait inside the trap body. 
     Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an animal trap cap having a grip portion which an animal can use for removing the cap from the trap body. 
     Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a raccoon trap cap having vent holes to allow bait aroma to escape from the trap body. 
     These and other objectives of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A removable cap is provided for a raccoon trap to prevent mice and other small animals from entering the trap to steal the bait. The trap includes a hollow body with a spring loaded trigger. Bait is placed inside the body and then the trap is set so that when a raccoon reaches its paw into the housing to get the bait, the trigger will be tripped and the spring will catch the raccoon in the trap. The cap of the present invention is loosely set into the open end of the trap after the trap has been baited and set. The cap has a tubular body without an outside diameter less than the inside diameter of the trap body, and a top having a diameter greater than the inside diameter of the trap body, such that the cap will sit on top of the trap body. The cap includes a grip portion, such as a wire ring, which the raccoon can manipulate to remove the cap from the body to gain access to the bait and thereby trip the trigger to catch the raccoon in the trap. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded side elevation view of a raccoon trap with the cap of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the raccoon trap with the removable cap mounted therein. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the cap. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of the cap. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The trap  10  of the present invention includes a tubular body or housing  12  which is closed at the rear end  14  and opened at the front end  16 . The trap  10  includes an animal paw restraint formed by a spring-loaded wire frame  18  with a U-shaped arm loop  20  extending through a pair slots  22  at the forward end  16  of the tube  12  so that the lower end of the arm  20  is movable across the diameter of the tube. The wire frame  18  is pivotally mounted on an axle  19  at the rear end  14  of the tube  12 , such that the arm  20  is movable between a set or open position and a released or closed position. A spring  21  on the housing  12  biases the wire frame  18  to the released position. An elongated latch  24  is pivotally mounted adjacent the front end  16  of the tubular housing  12  so as to be movable between a first position engaging the wire frame  18  to hold the wire frame  18  and arm  20  in the set position, and a second position disengaged from the wire frame  18  so as to release the frame  18  and arm  20  from the set position. In the set position, the latch  24  overlies the wire frame  18  and is secured by a hook  26  on the upper end of the trigger  28  of the trap  10 . The trigger  28  is pivotally mounted on a cross bar  30  on the outside of the housing  12  and extends into the housing  12  through a slot  34  in the housing  12 . As best seen in  FIG. 2 , the hook  26  on the upper end of the trigger  28  extends laterally and overlies the rear end or tip of the latch  24 , and thereby prevents the latch  24  from disengaging the wire frame  18 , and thereby maintaining the wire frame  18  and arm  20  in the set position. 
     The preferred form of a trap anchor is shown in  FIG. 1  wherein the anchor is formed by a ¼″ cold rolled steel stake  36  having a sharp point on the end which can be pushed into hard or frozen ground, and can be nailed or pushed into a tree, bridge piling, or other solid structure. The pointed steel stake  36  can be attached to a longer wooden stake with a hole in the top end to receive the steel stake  36 . Thus, the wooden stake extends the length of the trap anchor  36  so that the trap  10  can be used in water, such as a creek or river, with the wooden stake being pushed into the creek or river bed, with the housing  12  residing above the water so that the bait in the housing does not get wet. As further shown in  FIG. 1 , a round washer or plate  40  is welded to the steel stake  36  so as to keep the trap  10  stable, and prevent turning or rotation of the trap  10  when the anchor  36  is set in sand, mud or loose dirt. 
     An alternative anchor for the housing  12  is in the form of a U-shaped wire-type anchor (not shown) at the rear end  14  which is pushed into the ground and then rotated 90° to retain the trap  10  in the ground. Another form of the anchor is a rod (not shown) welded to the tubular housing and extending downwardly, with a wire or plate member at the lower end to prevent rotation of the trap. The plate may be any shape, such as an inverted triangle, which facilitates insertion into the ground. 
     A chain  44  is connected to the anchor with the opposite free end  46  staked to the ground or other object to further secure the trap  10  against movement by an animal caught in the trap  10 . The round or curved perimeter edge of the washer or plate  40  on the stake  36  prevents the chain  44  from becoming tangled or caught on the stake  36 . Once an animal is caught in the trap  10 , it is desired that the animal be able to pull the stabilizing stake  36 ,  42  out of the ground or wood, but still be controlled by the anchor at the far end  46  of the chain  44 . The goal is to keep the trapped animal as comfortable as possible. With this type of leg trap  10 , and without chain entanglement, the raccoon may even be found sleeping with the trap  10  on its foot when the trap is checked by the trapper. 
     The first end  45  of the chain  44  is preferably connected to the trap  10  via a flat steel bar  48  which freely rotates on the steel stake  36  above the plate  40 . The first end  45  of the chain  44  is riveted or connected to the bar  48  for rotation. The chain  44  may include multiple sections connected by a swivel  50 , as well as a swivel  50  at the second end  46  of the chain  44 . Thus, there are multiple pivot or swivel points between the trap anchor  36 ,  42  and the far end  46  of the chain  44  to preclude twisting or entanglement of the chain  44 . 
     In use, bait, such as a marshmallow, candy or other sweetened food can be inserted into the tubular housing  12  behind the trigger  28  before the trap  10  is set. The bait may also be very small pieces or a liquid which can be poured into the housing after the trap  10  is anchored and the trap is set. After the trap  10  is set, the anchor  36 ,  42  can be pushed into the ground. When the animal, such as a raccoon, reaches its paw into the trap  10  to get the bait, if the trigger leg  32  is pushed rearwardly by the raccoon&#39;s paw, the hook  26  on the upper end will move or pivot forwardly and disengage the latch  24  via a notch  52  in the latch  24 , as seen in  FIG. 2 . Alternatively, if the raccoon&#39;s paw gets behind the trigger leg  32  and then pulls the leg  32  forwardly, the hook  26  at the upper end of the trigger  28  will pivot rearwardly and disengage the end of the latch  24 . When the trigger hook  26  disengages the latch  24 , the spring  21  quickly forces the wire frame  18  upwardly, thereby pulling the wire arm  20  toward the closed position and trapping engagement with the raccoon&#39;s leg, so that the raccoon cannot escape from the trap  10 . 
     Thus, the two-way acting trigger  28  can be moved both forwardly and rearwardly by the animal&#39;s paw to disengage the latch  24  and trip the trap  10  so as to catch the raccoon in the trap  10 . The anchor chain  44  of the trap  10  holds the trap  10  until the trapper returns. 
     The trap cap of the present invention is designated by the reference numeral  110  in the drawings. The cap  110  can be used on the two-way acting trap  10  described above and shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or on a conventional one-way trigger trap such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,658,787 and as disclosed in Applicant&#39;s co-pending application Ser. No. 12/773,303. 
     The cap  110  includes a body  112 , which preferably is a cylindrical tube, but alternatively can be a solid member. A top  114  is provided on the body  12 , with a grip portion  116  connected to the top  114  of the cap  110 . In the drawings, the grip portion  116  is shown to be a wire loop with opposite ends extending through a central hole  118  in the top  114  of the cap  110 . It is understood that the grip portion  118  may take other forms and shapes and be connected to the top  114  in other ways without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, a grip can be formed integrally with the top  114  or can be welded thereto. The top  114  also may have one or more vent holes  120  which allow the bait aroma to escape the trap body  12  to attract a raccoon. 
     The cap body  112  fits loosely into the opened end  16  of the trap  10 . The outside diameter of the body  112  is less than the inside diameter of the trap body  16 . The diameter of the cap  114  is greater than the inside diameter of the trap body  16 , and preferably is approximately the same diameter as the outside diameter of the trap body  12 . Thus, the cap  110  sits loosely on top of the trap body  12 . 
     The cap  110  is placed on the trap body  12  after the trap  10  is baited and set and the stake  36  is inserted into the ground or other object to hold the trap  10  in a substantially upright position. The cap  110  cannot be removed by a mouse or other small animal, and thus prevents such small animals from getting into the trap body  12  and stealing the bait. However, a raccoon, which has substantial dexterity in its paws, can easily remove the cap  110  from the trap body  12  by manipulating the grip portion  116 . Alternatively, the raccoon can insert a toenail into one of the holes in the top  114  of the cap  110  and pull the cap  110  out of the trap body  12 . The loose fit of the cap body  112  in the trap body  12  permits easy removal of the cap  110  by a raccoon. Then, the raccoon can access the bait and trip the trigger and thereby be caught by the trap  10 . 
     The invention has been shown and described above with the preferred embodiments, and it is understood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may be made which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention. From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.