Improved Treadle Trap for Mice, Rats and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improved Treadle Trap for Mice, Rats and the like.
I, JAMES HENRY ATKINSON, of Hunslet Road, in the City of Leeds, Ironmonger,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows.-
This invention refers to traps intended for catching and killing mice, rats and the
like; and though provision is made for baiting them, the invention refers more
particularly to tiaps intended to act by the mere pressure of the foot of the animal
in rushing over the trap, as for example, in the case of mice infesting grocers
shops, which find so much food elsewhere in the shop, that the bait of a trap has
no special attraction for them These traps are usually placed near openings in
the skirting board, in narrow paths between boxes and the like, where the animals
can scarcely puss without stepping on the hinged Hap or treadle, to which the
designation treadle trap 18 owing
*
"
A tiap constructed in accordance with my invention consists of a treadle, a
compound spring and trapping frame and a catch lever
The treadle consists of a Hat piece of wood, conveniently nearly square in section,
and which is hinged close to and parallel to one of its sides, by any suitable means,
for example, by means of two short pieces of coppered wire in and projecting
from the sides adjoining the first mentioned side, and close to the same. These
hinged wues pass between inverted U shaped coppered wire staples, driven into
the base board of the tiap A similar staple is driven into the top of the treadle,
slightly farther from the side parallel to which the treadle is hinged than the hinge
axis of the treadle, and which constitutes the catch lever staple A coppered pin
may be diven through the centre of the treadle from the underside, to form a bait
pin It will be understood from the above description, that the treadle is some-
what nanower than and rests upon the base board.
I prefer however the following method of forming and hingeing the treadle,
which has the advantages of simplicity, cheapness and of providing a larger treadle
surface for the same size of trap In this case, the treadle is formed from the
base board itself, by running a saw cut from one end of the base board to, say about
two fifths of the length of the base board, in the middle of the thickness of the
board; and after wards a second saw cut is made across the top of the base board,
and nearly down to the inner end of the first mentioned saw cut This leaves a
piece of the base board hinged to the rest by a thin strip between the two saw
cuts to form a treadle. A catch lever staple is driven into the top of this treadle
close to the cross saw cut
The cross saw cut may if desired, be carried right through to the first mentioned
saw cut, so as to detach the treadle piece completely In this case a horizontal
staple is slipped over the catch lever staple, and the turned down ends of the hon-
zontal staple are driven into the base board, beneath or close to the spring above
mentioned, so that the treadle 18 not likely to be lost, and can be held in
slightly tilted position, by the engagement of the end of the catch lever in the
eatch lever staple.
a

page_text: The horizontal staple may also be used, when the horizontal saw cut is not
carried right through
Close to and parallel with the hinge side of the treadle, I provide a spiral spring
of coppered wire, one end of the wire of the spring being bent back and tuined
down, and the turned down ends driven into the base board The opposite end of
the spring wire is carried round the treadle, so as to form a rectangular trapping
frame, and the end continued through the centre of the hollow spring, forming the
fourth side of the said frame; and on emerging from the hollow of the spring, it
18 passed under and bent back round a U-shaped coppered wire staple, (driven into
the base board), and terminates just within the hollow of the spring A amilai
shaped coppered wire staple is driven into the base board at the opposite end of the
spring, over the corresponding end of that part of the frame wire passing through
the centre or hollow of the spring
A suitably bent wire catch level is hinged to a wire staple, driven into the centre
of the base board, close to the side or end farthest away from the treadle, whilst
the free end of the catch lever catches within the catch lever staple, the trapping
frame having been first drawn back against the pull of the spring, so as to be below
the catch lever, which it presses upwards Owing to the relative positions of the
hinge axis of the treadle and of the catch lever staple, the pressure from the spring
is transmitted to the catch lever staple in an upward direction, and tends to hold the
treadle tilted slightly upwards, and sufficiently to allow of the release of the catch
lever and trapping frame, when the treadle is afterwards depressed.
In order to facilitate and ensure the proper setting of the trap, I make the upper
end of the staple loop somewhat narrower than is usual, and form the end of the
catch lever with a swell at a very short distance from the end, so that when the
end of the catch lever is pushed as far into the loop of the staple as the swell will
allow, the catch lever 18 properly adjusted
Dated this 29th day of December 1898.
J CLARK JEFFERSON,
30, Park Row, Leeds, Agent for Applicant.
I, JAMES HENRY ATKINSON, of Hunslet Road, in the City of Leeds, Ironmonger,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same 18 to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement
-
This invention refers to traps intended for catching and killing mice, rats and the
like, and though provision is made for baiting them, the invention refers moro
particularly to traps intended to act by the mere pressure of the foot of the animal
in rushing over the trap, as for example, in the case of mice infesting grocers'
shops which find so much food elsewhere in the shop, that the bait of a trap has
no special attraction for them These traps are usually placed near openings in
the skirting board, in narrow paths between boxes and the like, where the animals
can scarcely pass without stepping on the hinged flap or treadle, to which the
designation "treadle trap" is owing
A trap constructed in accordance with my invention consists of a treadle, a
compound spring and trapping frame and a catch lever
The treadle consists of a flat piece of wood, conveniently nearly square in plan,
and which is hinged close to and parallel to one of the sides, by any suitable means,
for example, by means of two short pieces of coppered wire, in and projecting

page_text: from the sides adjoining the first mentioned side, and close to the same. These
hinged wires pass between inverted U shaped coppered wire staples, driven into
the base board of the trap. A similar staple is driven into the top of the treadle,
slightly farther from the side parallel to which the treadle is hinged than the hinge
axis of the treadle, and which constitutes the catch lever staple. A coppered pin
may be driven through the centre of the treadle from the underade, to form a bait
pin.
I prefer however the following method of forming and hinging the treadle;
which has the advantages of simplicity, cheapness and of providing a larger treadle
surface for the same size of trap In this case, the treadle 18 formed from the
base board itself, by running a saw cut from one end of the base board to, say about
two fifths of the length of the base board, in the middle of the thickness of the
board; and afterwards a second saw cut is made across the top of the base board,
and nearly down to the inner end of the first mentioned saw cut. This leaves a
piece of the base board, hinged to the rest by a thin strip between the two saw
cuts, to form a treadle. A catch level staple is driven into the top of this treadle
close to the cross saw out.
The cross saw cut may if desired, be carried right through to the first mentioned
saw cut, so as to detach the treadle piece completely. In this case a horizontal
staple is slipped over the catch lever staple, and the turned down ends of the hori-
zontal staple are driven into the base board, beneath or close to the spring above
mentioned, so that the treadle is not likely to be lost, and can be held in a
slightly tilted position, by the engagement of the end of the catch lever in the
catch lever staple
The horizontal staple may also be used, when the horizontal saw cut is not
carried right through.
Close to and parallel to the hinge side of the treadle; I provide a spiral spring
of coppered wire, one end of the wire of the spring being bent back and turned
down, and the turned down ends driven into the base board The opposite end of
the spring wire is carried round the treadle, so as to form a rectangular trapping
frame, and the end continued through the centre of the hollow spring, forming the
fourth side of the said frame; and on emerging from the hollow of the spring, it
is passed under and bent round a U-shaped coppered wire staple, driven into the
base board. A similar shaped coppered wire staple is duiven into the base board
at the opposite end of the spring, over the corresponding end of that part of the
frame wire passing through the centre or hollow of the spring
A suitably bent wire catch lever 18 hinged to a wire staple, driven into the centre
of the base board close to the side or end farthest away from the treadle, whilst
the free end of the catch lever catches within the catch lever staple, the trapping
frame having first been drawn back against the pull of the spring, so as to be below
the catch lever, which it presses upwards. Owing to the relative positions of the
hinge axis of the treadle and of the catch lever staple, the pressure from the spring
is transmitted to the catch lever staple in an upward direction, and tends to hold the
treadle tilted slightly upwards, and sufficiently to allow of the release of the catch
lever and trapping hame, when the treadle is afterwards depressed
In order to facilitate and ensure the proper setting of the trap, I make the upper
end of the staple loop somewhat narrower than is usual, and form the end of the
catch lever with a swell at a very short distance from the end, so that when the
end of the catch lever is pushed as fai into the loop of the staple as the swell will
allow. the catch lever is properly adjusted
And in order that my invention, and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, may be more readily and clearly understood, I have annexed hereto
the accompanying drawings of a mouse trap constructed in accordance with my
invention; Fig 1 shewing the trap when set, and Fig 2 when the trap has gone-
off.
From one end
A is the base board, consisting of a rectangular piece of wood

page_text: of this a saw cut b is made about the middle on slightly below the middle of the
thickness of the board, and parallel to the top and bottom surfaces. A second saw
cut is made transversely across the top of the board downwards These saw cuts
may be made to stop short of each other, so as to leave the slab d, which forms the
treadle, hinged to the base board by a thin strip, or the saw cuts may be run 5
completely through, the one into the other, so as to sever the treadle completely.
The base board thus forms a rectangular piece with a recessed portion in which the
treadle exactly fits.
Whether the treadle d 18 completely severed or not, it may be secured, or
additionally secured, to the base boaid a by hinge pins e, driven into the sides of 1
the treadle, and staples ƒ driven into the base board, as shewn for example in
Fig. 3.
It is not necessary however to hinge the treadle d to the base board a. It will
suffice merely to have a fice or loose connection to the base board, so as to prevent
the treadle becoming completely detached and lost. Two methods of thus loosely 1
attaching the treadled to the base board a are shewn, as examples, in Figs 1 and 2
respectively In Fig. 1 this is effected by forming a circular loop on the bait
pin h, the honzontal part of the pin wire being passed through the loop of the
catch lever staple, (to be shortly referred to), and the turned down end of the
pin wire driven into the base board
In Fig 2a horizontal staple 3 18 passed over the catch lever staple, and the
turned down ends of the horizontal staple are driven into the base board.
kis a compound sping and rectangular trapping frame, being the spring
portion, one end m of the spring wue passing honzontally back on the base
board, the extremity being turned down and driven into the base 2
board. The opposite end of the sping wire is carried round as a rectangulai
trapping frame, the fourth side being passed through the vertical hinge staples n n
diven into the base board, and through the centre of the sping coil
o 19 a bent catch lever, one end of which is looped through the vertical staple p,
duven into the base board near the back edge of the latter
The trapping frame is pulled backwards, as shewn in Fig 1, and the catch
lever passed over it, and the free end of the catch lever o inserted within the
loop of the catch lever staple ; for which purpose the treadle d must be tilted
slightly upwards at the front end, as shewn in Fig. 1. The tension of the spring k,
presses the trapping frame 1, and thereby through the catch lever o and the catch g
lever staple 2, holds the treadle d in the tilted position mentioned
The slightest pressure on the treadle d pulls forward the catch lever staple
from the end of the catch lever o, and frees the latter, allowing the tension of the
spring to lift and rotate the trapping framo 7, throwing back the catch lover, and
bringing the trapping frame violently back to the position shewn in Fig 2, 4
trapping the animal between it and the treadle d
It will be seen that owing to the above method of forming the treadle, the
treadle 18 of the full width of the base board, so that in case the trap is baited,
it is impossible for the animal to reach the bait without treading on the treadlo,
and where the trap is not baited, the animal is more likely to tiead on the treadle, 4
when running past or across the trap, than when the tieadle is much narrower
than the base board
It will be evident, that, as in the course in manufacture, the saw cuts b and c
are run into the base board in the same respective positions, and the pieces of wood
of which the base boards are formed are all of the same size, that the treadles and
recesses are also all of exactly the same size and shape, and consequently it 18
not material to this invention, (when the saw cuts are un through into each other),
whether the treadle attached to any particular base board is the very same piece of
wood which was cut out to form a recess in the said particular base board, since
any such treadle will fit the recess of, and may be connected to, any such base
board

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is..
-
1. In animal treadle traps the combination of a recessed base board a and a
treadle d of the same width as the base board a and fitting in the recessed portion
of the base board a with means for loosely connecting the treadle to the base board
substantially as set forth.
2. In animal treadle traps the combination of a base board a fitted with a com-
bined sping and trapping frame 17 and catch lever o and a treadle d, formed by
running two saw cuts b and c into the piece of which the base board a is formed,
and provided with a catch lever staple & substantially as set forth and illustrated.
3. In animal treadle traps the combination of a recessed base board a with a
treadle d fitting in the recessed portion of the base board, and loosely connected
to the base board so as to be capable of being slightly tilted by means of a looped
bait pin
h passed through the bow of the catch lever staple substantially as set
forth and illustrated in Fig. 1
In animal treadle traps the combination of a recessed base board a with a
treadle d fitting in the recessed portion of the base board, and loosely connected to
the base board, so as to be capable of being slightly tilted, by means of an hori-
zontal staple passed over the catch lever staple 2 substantially as set forth and
illustrated in Fig 2.
5 Animal treadle traps in the construction of which a treadle and a base board
are formed from one rectangular piece of wood by means of two saw cuts substan-
tially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated the 90th do
£1000
J CLARK JEFFERSON,
30, Park Row, Leeds, Agent for Applicant.