Improvements in Vermin Traps.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 1st June, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 1st Mar., 1893-Accepted, 29th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vermin Traps.
I, MANSFELDT HERON HUMBLE of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby,
Solicitor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to traps especially used for catching mice and rats though
they may be employed for other vermin, the traps being of the kind known as
perpetual traps, that is to say, the trap re-sets itself each time after an animal is
caught. The trap may be made as a whole, complete in itself, or the operative
portion of it may be supplied separately and secured upon any suitable receptacle
such as a box, packing case wire cage or the like, the invention relating to the
operative portiou.
In carrying this invention into effect I prefer to employ a pair of centrally
pivotted doors, although a single one may be used. There is however a consider-
able advantage in employing two doors as should the animal, finding the door on
which he first walks sinking below him, make a spring off it, he would be likely
to lan1 upon the second door through which he would almost certainly fall. The
fact of the sinking of the first door would make it almost impossible for the animal
to jump backwards so that he is compelled to jump forwards on to the second door.
The trap or the upper portion thereof is provided with a flat top having openings
for the doors in which as above stated they are centrally pivotted preferably by
means of brass screws having axial perforations with conical ends into which
suitable pins or equivalent pass from the side or through the side of the trap thus
making a very delicate needle-point bearing. In actual practice the end of a
stout darning needle passed through the side of the trap, which may advantageously be
made of wood or metal will serve the purpose. Underneath that section of the
door which rises up I prefer to place plain or perforated zinc, glass or other
suitable material so as to block that portion of the trap when the door is turned
and thus prevent unauthorized exit from the interior. Provision, such as the
introduction of a pin through a hole in the side of the trap into or over the rising
portion of the door, enables me to fix the door so that the top of the trap may be
employed for a time as a well accustomed run for the animals before the trap is set
for operation. The side walls 1 prefer to carry up above the level of the doors so
as to prevent the animals from springing off sideways when they feel the doors
giving way under them.
The bait may be suspended upon a rotating wood or other wheel or structure
rotating on a spindle head between needle point bearings as in the case of the above
doors so that when touched such bait will slip away from the animal and prevent
his actually eating it.
Glass or perforated zinc may be provided where desired for the purpose of
inspecting the interior of the trap and any suitable means may be employed for
withdrawing the animals from the trap or allowing them to jump out. Conveniently
the trap may be made with a wire or perforated zinc bottom to facilitate the
drowning of the animals.
Dated this 1st day of June 1892.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Vermin Traps.
I, MANSFELDT HERON HUMBLE of Chesterfield, in the County of Derby,
Solicitor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention relates to traps especially used for catching mice and rats though
they may be employed for other vermin, the traps being of the kind known as
perpetual traps, that is to say, the trap re-sets itself each time after an animal is
caught. The trap may be made as a whole, complete in itself, or the operative
portion of it may be supplied separately and secured upon any suitable receptacle
such as a box, packing case, wire cage or the like, the invention relating to the
operative portion.
In carrying this invention into effect I prefer to employ a pair of centrally
pivotted doors, although a single one may be used. There is however a consider-
able advantage in employing two doors, as, should the animal, finding the door on
which he first walks sinking below him, make a spring off it, he would be likely to
land with considerable impetus upon the second door through which he would
almost certainly fall. The fact of the sinking of the first door would make it
almost impossible for the animal to jump backwards so that he is compelled
to jump forwards on to the second door. The trap or the upper portion thereof
may be provided with a flat top having openings for the doors in which as above
stated they are centrally pivotted preferably by means of brass or other screws
having axial perforations with blunt conical ends into which suitable pins or
equivalent pass from the side or through the side of the trap thus making a very
delicate needle-point bearing. In actual practice the end of a stout darning needle
let into the axial perforation in the screw, which latter may advantageously be
made of wood or metal will serve the purpose. The screws may themselves (if
formed of hard material) be advantageously made to form a fine point in lieu of
having a separate needle or other point let into the above mentioned axial perfora-
tion. Underneath that section of the door which rises up I prefer to place plain
or perforated zinc, glass, wood or other suitable material so as to block that portion
of the trap when the door is turned and thus prevent unauthorized exit from the
interior. Provision, such as the introduction of a pin through a hole in the side of
the trap into or over the rising portion of the door, enables me to fix the door so
that the top of the trap may be employed for a time as a well-accustomed run for
the animals before the trap is set for operation. The side walls I prefer to carry
up above the level of the doors so as to prevent the animals from springing off
sideways when they feel the doors giving way under them.
The bait may be suspended upon a rotating wood or other wheel or structure
rotating on a spindle head between needle point bearings as in the case of the
above doors so that when touched such bait will slip away from the animal and
prevent his actually eating it.
Glass or perforated zinc may be provided where desired for the purpose of
inspecting the interior of the trap and any suitable means may be employed for
withdrawing the animals from the trap or allowing them to fail or be thrown out.
Conveniently the trap may be made with a wire or perforated zinc bottom to
facilitate the drowning of the animals.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view partly broken away of a trap constructed according
to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 which latter figure is a

page_text: Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a single trap constructed according to this
invention.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The trap shown in Figure I consists of a body A A A², one end of which as
shown, may be provided with a hinged door or equivalent A³ for allowing the
animals which have been caught in the trap to fall out to be killed by drowning or
otherwise and at its top which generally may be flat is provided with an opening A*
in which are mounted two doors B pivotted on centres C so that they may descend
at their meeting edges in the manner indicated with regard to one of the doors in
Figure 1. The centres C may consist of pointed brass screws fitting in the manner
hereinafter described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, into metal cups let into
the edges of the doors B; or these centres may be replaced by other supporting
devices.
At the upper part of the walls A are provided side walls D which may constitute
merely extensions of the walls A or as shown in the accompanying drawings, these
side walls may be attached to A in any convenient manner. Beneath the part of
each of the doors B which is adapted to be raised, there is provided a sheet E of
glass, perforated or unperforated zinc, wood, or other material, so as to prevent the
escape of any animals from the trap when the door or doors have been lowered by
the weight of the animal. These plates or sheets E also serve for preventing the
doors B from swinging too far to enable them to recover their normal position.
F is a wheel or frame mounted on a shaft F" which may be supported between
centre points F2 (one only of which is shown in the accompanying drawings)
screwing into or otherwise supported in the boards D, this arrangement being such
that the frame F may freely rotate between the centres F².
G are holes formed in one or both of the walls A and doors B for receiving a
pin or equivalent when it is desired to fix the doors in their closed position so as,
for example to accustom the animals to run across it.
H are the boards or equivalent which rest upon the ground and upon the upper
part of the trap so that the animals may freely walk up these planks and on to the
doors B.
In using the before described trap, it is advantageous to first get the animals
accustomed to it and allow them to run freely across the trap, this being provided
for by the insertion of pins in the holes G as before described, the doors under
such an arrangement being secured in their closed position. When it is considered
that the animals have become accustomed to running across the trap the bait I may
be secured on the frame or wheel F and the before mentioned pins be removed
from the holes G after which the animals in their endeavour to reach the bait or to
run across the trap will tilt one or both of the doors B so as to be projected into
the body of the trap after which the doors B will automatically assume their
horizontal position to be ready for catching the next animal venturing upon the
doors B. The doors B may be suitably counterweighted so that they will always
return to their horizontal position after being deflected in the manner described.
The boards D prevent the animals from jumping sideways off the trap when
they find that the doors B are falling beneath their weight and by reason of
the frame F being lightly pivotted, the animals cannot eat the bait because as
soon as they touch it, it moves away from them, simultaneously with the falling
of one or both of the doors B consequently the trap will always be set and
ready for catching animals.
In the trap shown in Figures 2 and 3, the doors B instead of being flat, as shown
in Figure 1, incline at their meeting edges towards each other, and in this example
the body or frame A A' A' (the sides of which are perpendicular instead of
inclining outwards as in Figure 1) is provided at its ends with ledges A* by means
of which it may be supported over a zinc or equivalent trough or other device
into which it is intended the animals shall fall or be received and which may
be filled with water for the purpose of drowning them. The centre points C in this
example are screwed into and adjustable through flanged nuts C₁ which may be

page_text: These
advantageously screwed to the walls of the frame as shown in Figure 3.
flanged nuts C are tapped in order to receive the thread of the pointed screw C.
As before described the ends of the doors B are provided with metal cup-pieces (2
which are fitted to the doors B preferably by means of pins C³ formed in part with
the said cups and which pins fit in the holes drilled in B for receiving them.
A2 in this example are bevelled ledges upon which the doors B normally rest.
These bevelled ledges serve several important purposes. First by extending as
they do from the side of the box A A¹ towards the axis on which the doors B
revolve they prevent the unauthorized egress of the animals from the trap. Second
they form a solid footing for the animal on which to approach the bait thereby
giving it great confidence right up to the point (the axis of the doors B) when the
doors B will fall suddenly from the weight of the animal in walking over the trap.
Third in regulating accurately the normal position of the doors B. The doors B
are weighted as at K or K¹ so as to normally hold them in the positions in which
they are shown in full lines in Figure 2. The weight K may be simply a leaden
ball secured on the end of a bent wire K² one part of which is threaded so that it
may be screwed more or less through the tapped nut K³ secured to the outer edge
of B so as to provide for the adjustment (by the gradual advancement or retirement
by means of the threaded bent wire K2 acting on the tapped nut K³) of this
counterweight; or as shown at K the counterweight may be in the form of a box
into which a suitable number of shots or small weights may be placed.
L is a framing mounted on the walls A¹ and through the cross-piece of which is
fitted a screw L provided with an eye L2 for the suspension therefrom of a hook L³
upon which is placed cheese or other bait to be used. The screw L' enables the
distance between the doors B on which the animal stands and the bait to be varied
and so that such bait may be placed either just out of reach of the animal so as to
preserve the bait or so nearly out of reach of the animal as to make it probable
that in trying to reach it he will fall suddenly from the solid part of the door B
(supported by the bevelled ledge A²) on which he is standing on to the other and
falling side of the axis of the door B and thus fall into the trap. M are stops for
preventing the doors B from being swung too far when they are depressed or tilted
at the time of catching the animal.
The trap is set by placing boards or the like on the walls A and inclining down-
wards to the floor or other support on which the trap is placed so that the animals
may walk from the floor up these boards. The animals in their endeavour to reach
the bait suspended on the hook L³ will then pass on to the doors B and on reaching
the downwardly tilting portions of these doors, the doors will swing on their pivots
and the animals will be precipitated into the vessel J which may, if desired, be filled
with water so as to drown them. Immediately after the animal has cleared the
door B the counterweight will immediately cause the door to resume its normal
position. Instead of the trap having two doors as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of
the accompanying drawings, it may only have one, as shown in Figure 4, such trap
consisting substantially of half of the apparatus shown in the other figures with one
of the walls A' of the trap continued upwards so as to be considerably above the
level of the trap and thus form a "dead end" by which the animal is prevented
from jumping forwards when he feels the door B giving way under him.
Although the doors B are herein described as centrally pivotted it is to
be understood that these need not be pivotted exactly at the centre but
approximately so.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. In a vermin trap the combination of two doors such as B approximately
centrally pivotted and provided with counterweights approximately meeting at the
centre line of the trap and resting upon supports substantially as described and
Cillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 2. In a vermin trap a door such as B approximately centrally pivotted and
adapted to turn in one direction only and overbalanced or weighted sufficiently to
cause it after turning to re-assume its normal position upon its support substantially
as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a vermin trap the combination with a tilting door of supporting centre
points and a counterweight substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
4. In a vermin trap the combination with one or more doors adapted to give way
under the weight of the animal of a swinging and adjustable bait support above
them substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the
accompanying drawings.
5. In a vermin trap the combination with one or two horizontally pivotted doors
of a rotating bait support such as F F1 F2 substantially as described and illustrated
in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
6. In a vermin trap the combination with a hollow box or case having at its top
one or more horizontally pivotted doors such as B of two side walls such as D
substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
7. A vermin trap consisting of a body such as A A' A² one or more
tilting doors
such as B supported on centres adjustably counterweighted as at K K2 K3 or K¹
bait supporting device such as L L L L and one or more stops M the whole
substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4 of the accompanying
drawings.
8. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete vermin
trap substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying
drawings.
Deted Akt 9041
20th day
'ebruary
1000
MANSFELDT HERON HUMBLE.
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.