Vermin Identifying and Exterminating Machine

Abstract

A vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 comprises a motion sensor camera 14 with a means of pre-programing one or more specific target images and user alert mechanism, a projectile firing de

Description

Description Field of Invention: 1. The present invention relates to a machine which is interfaced with via an associated software application and is used to identify and exterminate vermin, especially small to medium-sized vermin classified animals such as rats and mice by firing a projectile using safe and no hazardous material. State of the Art: 2. Vermin is a classification given to nuisance animals that spread disease and / or destroy crops and livestock. Animals that are commonly classified as vermin include rodents such as rats and mice. The present invention is not limited to small to medium-sized rodent vermin but could also be utilised to humanely exterminate other types of vermin classified animals such as pigeons. 3. Rats and mice both belong to the Order Rodentia but rats are classified as mediumsized rodents and mice are classified as small rodents. The most common types of household pest rats are the Brown or Norwegian Rat (Rattus norvegicus) and the Common Black Rat (Rattus rattus). Both types of rat are classified as commensal organisms due to their propensity to exploit human food supplies and they often reside close to or within human habitations. 4. Brown rats have a preference for fresh grain and dry food goods and will mark their territory by urinating on the remaining of the food supply. Furthermore, brown rats are highly aggressive and will attack any animal that is smaller than them which can include birds and even kittens and puppies. 5. In the United Kingdom the most common pest species of mice are the House mouse (Mus musculus domesticus) and the Field mouse or Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) much like rats, they present a risk to public health and can cause significant damage to crops and buildings. 6. Rats and mice are a major spreader of pathogens such as Salmonella and Listeria which cause considerable illness and can both be fatal when the pathology develops into sepsis, meningitis and / or encephalitis. These pathogens use the urine of rats and mice, faeces and blood as a vector to infect humans. Mice have a propensity to nest close to food supplies which results in contamination of those food supplies which in turn presents an infection risk to humans through food poisoning. Both rats and mice have a compulsion to gnaw at electric cables, water pipes, gas pipes, and wood etc. which results in significant damage to property. 7. Black rats have an average gestation period of 21 to 24 days and produce litters of between 3 to 6 pups whilst brown rats have an average gestation period of 21 days and produce litters of between 6 to 11 pups. Furthermore, female brown rats have the capacity to become pregnant at the age of only 90 days. As is well documented, rats have the capability to breed and spread extremely quickly. Therefore, an effective method for exterminating rates during an infestation is crucial to prevent the problem getting out of hand. 8. Prior art for extermination of rodent vermin includes the use of poisons like Brodifacoum and Diphacinone. The disadvantage of this prior art is the collateral and potentially fatal damage that these poisons can do to unintended consumers and their pollution of the environment. Brodifacoum incurs a considerable risk as it will persist for some time and has the capability to then kill birds and small animals such as cats and puppies. On the other hand, Diphacinone is the more commonly used poison due to its increased rate of breakdown within the environment. However, Diphacinone is extremely toxic to even humans and large pets. This again incurs a significant risk to children and animals if accidental ingestion occurs. 9. Another version of the present prior art for exterminating rodent vermin includes the use of various types of traps. However, these traps come with another set of disadvantages. Rodents and rats in particular, are well understood to possess a high level of intelligence which can pose a significant obstacle when developing rat traps to address infestations. Commonly used methods of killing rodents involve the use of glue boards and snap traps. However, these can present a serious ethical issue and are largely considered to be inhumane. This is due to the strong survival instincts of rats which will lead them to gnaw off limps to free themselves if necessary. Electric traps are the more humane option here but again all these traps can present the risk of pets being harmed or even killed accidently. Furthermore, the use of traps requires strategic planning, time, and effort to deploy many traps in an infested area with water and / or food to entice the target rodent. The dead or injured rodents will then have to be retrieved from the traps regularly and the traps would then have to be redeployed on a persistent basis. Furthermore, rats that have been merely injured will then have to be killed prior to disposal. These drawbacks coupled with the significant intelligence of mice and especially rats can make the extermination of rats and mice an exhausting never ending task. 10. It is an aim of the present invention to address these issues by providing a machine which can accurately and efficiently identify and then kill rats and mice within a locality. Statement of Invention: 11. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a vermin identifying and exterminating machine, hereafter referred to as the machine, comprising: a motion sensor camera with a means of pre-programing one or more specific target images; a projectile firing device such as an air gun or dart gun with associated aiming mechanism; ammunition for the projectile firing device such as pellets or darts made with food grade material; a processor; a motherboard to connect the processor, power supply, storage device, memory modules; an electronic memory storage means such as a hard drive to store temporary recordings, software applications and preferences, store / share data and a corresponding operating system; an associated software application such as a computer application or mobile application which alerts the user when a matching target to the pre-programmed image is identified and provides the capability to aim and fire the projectile firing device; a wireless signal connection means such as Wi-Fi or a wired connection to a router to communicate with the associated software application on its respective device such as a mobile phone or computer; a power source comprising of a battery or a means of connecting directly into mains electricity; and a body for the motion sensor camera, projectile firing device, power source, wireless signal connection means, electronic memory storage means, motherboard, stand or attachment means and other internal components. 12. The present invention possesses a motion sensor camera and thermal night vision camera which tracks movement in even low light conditions and possesses a preprogrammed image which is set to wirelessly alert the user via an associated software application when the motion sensor camera identifies the vermin matching the pre-programmed image. Therefore, other non-preprogramed targets such as house pets and humans etc. would not activate the camera. The machine will only activate when the animal corresponding to the pre-programmed image comes into its field of view. 13. The software application can be used on all devices capable of next stage operation such as a mobile or computer. The software application will then produce an alert message to the user with a live picture from the target finder. The application has a user friendly built-in view-finder which facilitates the targeting of the identified vermin. The machine is equipped with a projectile firing device such as an air weapon, air soft gun, .177 air gun or any other projectile firing device which complies with the relevant laws of the licensing country. The projectile firing device would hold multiple cases of pellets, bullets or darts specially made for this purpose from food grade material and the force required for the purpose.. The user then serves to act as a fail safe by which they are able to review the surrounding environment of the live camera feed provided by the application and then ensure that the identified target is the intended target and that there is no risk of collateral damage to human, animals, pets, property etc. The user can then remotely aim the projectile firing device and instruct the machine to fire a projectile from the projectile firing device. The projectile would then be intended to strike the target at high velocity and kill the target vermin quickly and with minimal pain to present a more humane option to the prior art. 14. Furthermore, the present invention would provide the user with the novel capability of checking the machine's target prior to issuing a command to kill the target. This ensures that the present invention is far safer to humans and other animals than the prior art. 15. Additionally, the present invention allows the user to aim the projectile firing device within the motion sensor camera's field of view so that the intended target vermin need only be in a general location in view of the motion sensor camera and is not required to interact with a specific trap for the device to function effectively. The machine also incurs no collateral pollution and can be equipped with projectiles that, whilst capable of killing small to medium sized rodents and birds, would only cause minor harm to humans or large animals like dogs. 16. A further advantage of the present invention would be its functionality to be equipped with a laser with associated aiming mechanism and sonar sound device to provide non-lethal options to scare the target vermin away from the locality. 17. Advantageously, in addition to possessing a motion sensor camera to detect any minor movement in its field of view, the machine could also be equipped with a thermal / infrared night vision camera so that it can detect even small amounts of thermal radiation in the dark to provide the capability of identifying and targeting in high and low light environments. 18. Preferably, the associated software application for the machine could be preprogrammed with a corresponding image to identify such as a rat or mouse etc. which would be uploaded via the associated software application. The machine could then start recording and send an alert message to the user's corresponding device via a wireless connection over the Internet™ or another communications network when it identified the pre-programmed image in its field of view. The machine would then directly feed the footage from the cameras to the associated software application which could have a user friendly built-in view-finder which would facilitate the targeting of the identified vermin and the firing of the projectile firing device remotely via a wireless connection over the Internet™ or another communications network. The associated software application would also allow the user to zoom in on the image for targeted precision with a crosshair to achieve better aim. 19. Preferably, the associated software application for the machine could be opened by numerous authorised users on multiple devices. If the associated software application is being used by multiple users then they can decide by mutual consent who will be the primary user operating the associated software application. 20. Preferably, the associated software application would produce a noise and coordinated vibration when the alert message is generated so that the user will be alerted to the notification as long as they are within hearing distance of the respective device or can feel the device. Therefore, they will not have to be looking at the screen of the device to be made aware of the notification. 21. Advantageously, the machine could include multiple projectile firing devices such as a pellet gun and dart gun so that the user could decide which type of ammunition was most appropriate to the relevant identified target. The pellet gun and dart gun could fire pellets and darts respectively, filled with a precision controlled formula which would serve to kill the target animal in a quick, painless and humane manner when the compound is injected into the animal. The dart gun would also facilitate the user being able to fire more effectively at a target from a greater distance than with the pellet gun. 22. In one embodiment, the machine could be equipped with projectile firing devices which comprise of an air soft gun, .177 air gun or any other projectile firing device which complies with the law of the relevant licensing country. The machine would be capable of firing multiple rounds from each gun and the ammunition could then be refilled when the magazines become empty. The details of the stock of ammunition and firing order could be operated, managed and executed via the associated software application. Furthermore, the pellets will be used in accordance with the relevant country's laws, safety guidelines and human and animal health and safety standards. In addition the pellets and darts will be made with food grade material as, the rodents are continuous moving and hard to target in nights the failed ammunition can mix with food or consumed by human, animal or pets. 23. In one embodiment, the machine could include one or more batteries as a power source but also possess a power socket so that it may draw and store power from a mains circuit. The battery would then allow the machine to operate without an external power supply which would add to the functionality of the machine being able to be placed in a more versatile range of locations which do not have easy access to an external power supply. 24. Preferably, the machine could possess a laser beam and sonic sound device which would serve as non-lethal alternatives which could be aimed at the target rodent by the user of the associated software application to annoy and frighten the target rodent so that it would flee the locality. Then if the laser and sonic sound device were ineffective the user could utilise one of the guns to exterminate the rodent. 25. In one embodiment, the machine could include an ethemet socket as a wireless signal connection means to communicate with the associated software application via a wireless connection such as Wi-Fi over the Internet™ or another communications network, particularly when the user desires a faster and more reliable Internet™ connection. 26. Advantageously, the machine could include an inserted Wi-Fi chip to communicate wirelessly with the associated software application. 27. Advantageously, the machine could possess one or more magazines of ammunition and the ammunition could comprise of pellets, darts, bullets of food grade material and any other type of projectile which complies with the relevant laws of the licensing country. These magazines would allow for convenient ammunition refill by inserting ammunition into the magazines opening at the top of the machine. 28. Advantageously, the machine could recognise how many rounds of ammunition it had remaining in its respective magazines and could then provide a live count of how much ammunition was within each magazine that would be displayed to the user via the associated software application. 29. Preferably, the machine could possess an on / off switch on the exterior of the machine to ensure safety and retention of power when the machine is not in use. 30. Advantageously, the machine would be made of lightweight materials which would facilitate it being easy to carry and transfer from location to location. It would have the capability to both be placed and operate effectively on the floor, on a raised surface or attached to a wall or ceiling via suitable attachments. 31. Preferably, the machine would be a decorated show piece which suits and enhances the ambiance of the place and provides multiple options for colour choices so that the machine matches or compliments the colours of the walls, ceilings and / or furniture. 32. In a preferred embodiment, the body of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine can be made of metal, plastic, wood or any sustainable material which is capable of protecting the components inside the box from all weather conditions and other sources of damage. Brief description of the drawings: 33. An example of the present invention will now be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 34. Figure 1 shows multiple perspectives including the front view, back view, top view, bottom view and side view of a vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to the present invention; 35. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the components of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine (not including wires and cables) according to the present invention; 36. Figure 3 shows a perspective cutaway view of the inside of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to the present invention; and 37. Figure 4 shows pictures of an associated mobile software application in operation for the vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to the present invention. Detailed Description of Drawings: 38. Figure 1 shows a drawing of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 comprising of a body 12 which resembles a cuboid. The longest sides of the body 12 are denoted as the front and back and the shorter sides which are approximately two thirds as long are the two remaining sides. The height of the body 12 is approximately a quarter the length of the body's 12 front and back. Therefore, the top and bottom of the body 12 have the largest surface area. 39. The front of the body 12 possesses two circular openings on the right which are located directly one above the other and have approximately the same diameter. The camera lens of the motion sensor camera 14 is fixed within the top opening in the body 12 with the remaining components of the motion sensor camera 14 housed directly behind the lens within the body 12. The camera lens of the thermal night vision camera 16 is located in the bottom opening with the remaining components of the thermal night vision camera 16 housed directly behind the lens within the body 12. On the left of the front of the body 12 is another circular opening in which the barrel of a pellet gun 18 is fixed with the remaining components of the pellet gun 18 housed directly behind within the body 12. The opening in which the pellet gun 18 is housed is approximately twice the diameter of the opening in which the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16 are housed. At the front of the body 12, to the right of the pellet gun 18 opening is another circular opening in which a laser 20 is housed so that the laser beam 20 can be fired outside of the body 12 and the components of the laser 20 are housed within the body 12 directly behind the opening. The circular opening in which the laser 20 is housed is approximately the same diameter as the openings of the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16. At the front of the body 12, to the right of the opening in which the laser 20 is housed, is a further circular opening housing the barrel of a dart gun 22, which has approximately the same diameter as the opening in which the pellet gun 18 is housed. The other components of the dart gun 22 besides are housed directly behind within the body 12. 40. On the top of the body 12 at the front left is a rectangular space with its longest sides running parallel with the sides of body 12 and its shortest sides running parallel with the front and back of the body 12. This rectangular space is situated directly above the pellet gun 18 and acts as a pellet gun magazine 24 in which pellets are loaded into the pellet gun so that they may be fired from the barrel of the pellet gun 18 upon command. On the top of the body 12 to the right of the pellet gun magazine 24 is another identically sized rectangular space which is positioned directly above where the dart gun 22 is housed within the body 12. This rectangular space is the dart gun magazine 26 and functions the same way as the pellet gun magazine 24 but instead serves as a space in which to load darts into the dart gun 22 so they may be fired from the dart gun 22 upon command. Both the pellet gun magazine 24 and the dart gun magazine 26 possess a push or slide open door mechanism which requires manual force by the user to push or slide the door open when inserting ammunition and then can be pushed or slid closed to protect the magazines 22, 24 from debris. At the back left of the top of the body 12 is a rectangular space in which a battery 28 of complimentary size is housed which serves to power the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10. This rectangular space's longest side runs parallel with the back and front of the body 12 and its shortest sides run parallel to the sides of the body 12. The battery also possesses a push or slide open door mechanism which requires manual force by the user to push or slide the door open when removing the battery and inserting the battery where necessary. Additional openings and spaces can be present for necessary extra equipment. 41. At the back right of the top of the body 12 is a circular power button 30 which serves as an on / off switch for the power to the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10. On the right of the back of the body 12 is a power socket 32 which is represented here by a rectangle with two symmetrical lines within it to give the impression of a power socket 32 with two inputs. The power socket 32 is connected to the battery 28 which is housed inside the body 12 and links directly with the power socket 32 so that a plug may be inserted into the power socket 32 which would then serve to feed electricity from a mains circuit through the power socket 32 and directly into the connected battery 28 which sits directly behind the power socket 32. Alternatively, the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 could be solely powered by mains electricity. On the right of the back of the body 12 but to the left of the plug socket 32, is the ethernet socket 33 which is illustrated here by a shape resembling the outline of an ethernet socket 33 input. The ethernet socket 33 serves to connect the vermin identifying and exterminating device 10 to a wireless connection over the Internet™ or another communications network so that the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16 may feed live footage to the associated software application via a wireless connection to the Internet™ or another communications network and the user of the software application would then in term be able to view that footage from their computer or mobile device and then send instructions over the Internet™ or another communications network via the wireless connection from their computer or mobile device via the associated software application. The number of sockets of the present invention can be increased or decreased depending on what connections are required. The sizing of the various openings, spaces and sides of the body 12 of the present invention can vary depending on the necessary installations. 42. Figure 2 shows a drawing of some of the components housed within the body 12 shown in Figure 1. These components include the pellet gun 18 which is shaped as a cuboid with a tube which runs through its centre and has a circular opening at one of the smaller width ends of the pellet gun 18. This tube serves as the barrel of the pellet gun 18 in which the pellets (represented here as ovals within the pellet gun 18) would be loaded and then fired from the pellet gun 18. The laser 20 is also represented by a cuboid with a tube which runs through its centre and has a circular opening at one of the smaller width ends of the laser 20. It is from this tube that the laser beam 20 would be fired. The dart gun 22 is represented here by a cuboid with a tube which runs through its centre and has circular opening at one of the smaller width ends of the dart gun 22. This tube serves as the barrel of the dart gun 22 in which the darts (represented here by multiple pin shaped representations within the dart gun) would be loaded and then fired from the dart gun 22. The motion sensor camera 14 is here represented by a cuboid with a circular opening on one of its longest sides. The circular opening serves as the location of the lens from which the motion sensor camera 14 views the surrounding environment to track movement. The thermal night vision camera 16 is represented here as a cuboid with identical proportions to the motion sensor camera 14 so that the motion sensor camera 14 may slot above the thermal night vision camera 16 within the body 12. Again, the thermal night vision camera 16 has a circular opening the same as the motion sensor camera 14 where the lens is located for viewing the surrounding environment. The battery 28 is represented here as a cuboid which is complimentary to the size of the rectangular space used to house the battery 28 as shown in Figure 1. The sonic sound device 34 is represented here by a cuboid with 6 lines of varied length running along its top surface to identify it as a device for producing sonic sound. The speaker of the sonic sound device 34 is housed within the body 12 directly behind the laser 20 as pictured in Figure 3. The motherboard 36 is represented here as a square with numerous smaller squares and rectangular shapes positioned randomly along its surface to give the general impression of a circuit along the motherboard 36. The hard-drive 38 is represented here by the largest cuboid. 43. Figure 3 shows a drawing of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 in a cutaway view so that the components housed within the body 12 are visible. However, the wires and cables are not shown in this illustration. The body 12 is as described in Figure 1 but is shown here in a translucent view to aid in understanding the location of the various components. The motion sensor camera 14 is represented here as in Figure 2 and its camera lens fits complimentarily with the circular opening in the body 12 which is located on the top right of the front of the body 12 (as described in Figure 1). The identically shaped thermal night vision camera 16 slots directly below the motion sensor camera 14 with its camera lens fitted complementarily inside of the circular opening in the body 12 which is located on the bottom right of the front of the body 12 (as described in Figure 1). The pellet gun 18 is shown here as in Figure 2 and is housed on the left of the front of the body with the tube of its barrel aligning in a complimentary fashion with the circular opening on the left of the front of the body 12 so that the pellets (illustrated here by oval shapes within the pellet gun 18) can be fired from the barrel of the pellet gun 18 using an application of force through the barrel such as pressurised air so that the pellet is fired out of the front of the corresponding circular opening of the pellet gun 18. To the right of the pellet gun 18, at the front of the body 12, the laser 20 (which is shown here as in Figure 2) is housed which is positioned so that the laser 20 pointer end of the laser 20 is fixed in a complimentary fashion within its corresponding circular opening (as described in Figure 1). Therefore, the laser beam 20 can be fired from the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 through the circular opening. The sonic sound device 34 (shown here as in Figure 2) is housed directly in alignment behind the laser 20 so that the longest sides of the sonic sound device 34 rim parallel with the sides of the body 12 and its shortest side align behind the laser 20. The dart gun 22 is shown here as in Figure 2 and is housed to the right of the laser 20, at the front of the body 12 so that the tube denoting its barrel is aligned in a complimentary fashion with its corresponding circular opening (as described in Figure 1). The darts (illustrated here by an icon resembling a pin) are positioned within the tube of the dart gun 22, which serves as the barrel of the gun and facilitates the darts being fired through the corresponding circular opening of the dart gun 22 when force is applied to the dart through the barrel such as that of pressurised air. The hard drive 38 (shown here as in Figure 2) is housed within the body 12, directly behind the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16 so that the longest side of the hard drive 38 runs parallel with the sides of the body 12 and one of the shortest sides of the hard drive 38 are positioned directly behind and in alignment with the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16. Therefore, the hard drive 38 is housed so that one of it's longest sides runs flush with the right side of the body 12, and it is approximately equidistant from the front and back of the body 12. The motherboard 36 (shown here as in Figure 2) is housed at the back right of the body 12 so that the square representing the mother board is fixed in the right angle where the bottom, back and right side of the body 12 meet. Therefore, the motherboard 36 is positioned between the hard drive 38 and the back of the body 12. The power button 30 is situated at the back right of the top of the body 12 (as in Figure 1) so that it is positioned directly above the motherboard 36 on the exterior of the body 12 to provide easy access to the user. The power socket 32 (shown here as in Figure 1) is positioned on the right of the back of the body 12 on the exterior of the body 12 (as in Figure 1). The ethernet socket 33 (shown here as in Figure 1) is positioned on the right of the back of the body 12 but to the left of the socket 32 on the exterior of the body 12 (as in Figure 1). The battery 28 (shown here as in Figure 2) is housed within the body 12 at the back left of the body 12 so that it is located in alignment with its corresponding rectangular space (as illustrated in Figure 1). Therefore, the battery 28 is housed directly in front of the power socket 32 and ethernet socket 33 and directly behind the pellet gun 18 and sonic sound device 34. 44. Figure 4 shows the associated software application for the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 as a mobile software application on a smart phone. Reference Image 15 of Figure 4 shows a picture of the pop-up notification message displayed on the lock screen of the mobile device informing the user that a mouse has been detected. At the bottom of the screen is a command titled 'Swipe up to open', the user can follow this instruction to instantly open the mobile application so they may quickly confirm the target and fire the device 18, 20, 22, 34 of their preference before the rodent moved out of the field of view of the machine 10. Reference Screen 16 of Figure 4 shows a picture of the user interface of the mobile application in which the user is displayed a live feed from the relevant cameras 18, 22 of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 on the top portion of the mobile device screen. The target is highlighted with a box which surrounds the target to aid in their identification. Below the live feed within approximately three fifths of the rest of the screen there are touch screen commands to zoom in and out of the image directly below the live feed and then below this there are 4 commands. One command is titled 'Shoot round bullets' to fire pellets, one command is titled 'Shoot dart bullets' to fire darts, one command is titled 'Use sonic sound' to fire sonic sound at the target, and the final command is 'Use laser beam' to point a laser beam 20 at the target. At the bottom of the screen there is an indication of the percentage of battery 28 life remaining for the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10. Reference image 17 of Figure 4 shows a picture of the user interface for the mobile application when they have selected the 'Shoot round bullets' command. This transitions into a view in which the title of 'Shoot round bullets' is listed at the top of the screen and approximately % of the screen displays the live feed from the associated cameras 14,16 of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10. A cross haired reticle is displayed on screen targeting the mouse which assists the user with aiming the chosen device 18, 20, 22, 34 at the target. At the bottom centre of the screen is a command titled 'Shoot' to fire the pellet at the mouse in order to kill it. Use of the Invention: 45. Firstly, the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 must be placed on the ground, a raised surface or alternatively attached via a bracket to a wall or ceiling. The user may position the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 tactically in a location where the target rodents may be frequenting to consume food or the machine 10 could be placed directly outside of a nest. 46. The user could then insert a plug from the mains electricity into the power socket 32 of the machine 10 to charge the battery 28 (as shown in Figure 3) of the machine 10 so that the machine 10 may be used without having to be plugged into a mains power source or so that it can draw directly from the mains power source whilst in use and would then not require use of the battery 28. Both are viable options depending on where the machine 10 is located and its access to mains power. 47. The user could then insert an ethernet cable to the ethernet socket 33 (as shown in Figures 1 and 3) of the machine 10 to connect the machine 10 to the associated software application via a wireless connection (such as Wi-Fi) to the Internet™ or another communications network. Alternatively, the machine 10 could have a Wi-Fi chip or other device to connect the machine 10 wirelessly to the associated software application. 48. The user would then ensure that the machine 10 was loaded with sufficient ammunition by opening the sliding doors at the top of the pellet magazine 24 and the dart magazine 26. The user would then load as many rounds of the respective ammunition as they deemed necessary within the capacity of the respective magazines 24, 26. The user would then close the sliding door so that no debris could enter the magazines 24, 26. 49. The user would then press the power button 30 on the top of the body 12 of the machine 10 to turn the machine's 10 power on. 50. Once the user is satisfied with there position of the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10, they would download the associated softwa re application (as shown in Figure 4) onto a computer, mobile or other compatible device. The associated software application would be linked to the vermin identifying and exterminating machine 10 via a wireless connection (such as Wi-Fi) to the Internet™ or another communications network. The user would then upload an image of the target vermin to the associated software application (in this case it could be an image of a mouse). The associated software application would then transfer the uploaded image of the mouse to the machine 10 via the wireless connection to the Internet™ or another communications network and the image would be stored as a pre programmed image on the electronic memory storage means or hard drive 38 within the machine 10 (as shown in Figure 3). The electronic memory storage means or hard drive 38 would serve to store all digital content such as temporary recordings, the relevant software, application preferences, data and the operating system of the machine to ensure the machine functions accordingly The motherboard 36 within the machine 10 would serve to connect the various hardware components of the machine 10 such as the processor, power supply, storage device, and memory modules to ensure the machine 10 may transfer information between its various components and function accordingly. 51. The pre-programmed image of the mouse would serve as a specification for the motion sensor camera 14 and thermal night vision camera 16 of the machine 10 (as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3). The motion sensor camera 14 would be sensitive to even minor movement in its field of view whilst the thermal night vision camera 16 would facilitate the machine's 10 functionality in identifying the target in all types of lighting conditions. When the pre-programmed image (in this case a mouse) is matched with a mouse in the field of view of the cameras 14,16, an alert message would be sent via the ethernet socket 33 or alternative wireless connection means to the associated software application via the Internet™ or another communications network. 52. The associated software application would then produce a notification alert message which would pop-up on the screen of the user's device to alert them to the identification of the pre-programmed target (as shown in Figure 4). Due to the wireless connection of the associated software application to the machine 10, via the Internet™ or another communications network, the user could be at work whilst the machine 10 was at their home and yet they would still be able to operate the machine 10 via the associated software application. The user can then swipe up on their screen to instantaneously open the associated software application which shows a live feed of the view of camera's 14,16 with the target encompassed by a highlighting square. The user is then able to check the cameras 14,16 have correctly flagged the intended target prior to utilising any of the projectile firing devices 18, 20, 22, 34. This prevents the machine 10 shooting at an unintended target such as a pet, human or item of property in the surrounding environment. This avoids the significant issue caused using poisons and various traps which are known to harm or kill unintentional targets. The live feed is surrounded by a user interface which provides the user with various options to deal with the target. On the user interface there are commands titled 'Shoot round bullets' to fire pellets of food grade material, one command is titled 'Shoot dart bullets' to fire darts of food grade material, one command is titled 'Use sonic sound' to fire sonic sound at the target, and the final command is 'Use laser beam' to point a laser beam 20 at the target (as shown in Figure 4). The percentage of the machine's 10 battery 28 life is also shown in the user interface, at the bottom of the screen. The user interface also provides commands to zoom in and out on the camera to assist with identifying and aiming the device used 18, 20, 22, 34. 53. When selecting to fire any of the respective devices 18, 22, 20, 34, the user would select the corresponding command which would transition the associated software application into a new user interface with the live feed encompassing a larger section of the screen and a cross hair reticle around the target to assist with aiming the desired device 18, 20, 22, 34 at the target. The user would then have the option to fire the selected device 18, 20, 22, 34 via a command at the centre of the bottom half of the screen once they had aimed the reticle and confirmed their target (as shown in Figure 4)- 54. The user has the option to deal with the target via non-lethal means with the sonic sound device 34 and the laser beam 20 which can be used in conjunction with one another to scare the target away from the location. If a lethal means is desired, then the user may select to use the pellet gun 18 or dart gun 22. The dart gun 22 could be selected to fire a dart from the barrel of the dart gun 22 using force such as pressurised air. The darts and pellets contain a specific sedative formula of required dosage to kill the desired target quickly and in a humane painless manner. The pellet gun 18 would serve to fire a pellet by forcing the pellet through the barrel of the pellet gun 18 using a force such as pressurised air. The pellet then travelling at high velocity would hit the target to kill it quickly and in a more humane manner than poisons or many traps such as glue traps and snap traps. 55. It is also important to note that whilst the pellet and darts are capable of killing rodents like mice or rats, these forms of ammunition would be non-lethal to large animals and humans. There are every chances that the fired ammunition do not hit the target and can mix in food or consume by others and that's why it is specially made with food grade material. 56. The now dead target (in this case a mouse) could then be collected by the user using appropriate sanitary safety wear to dispose of the mouse appropriately in compliance with the health and safety standards of the relevant licensing country. 57. Numerous variations and modifications to the illustrated constructions may occur to the reader familiar with the art without taking the device outside the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine, comprising:a motion sensor camera with a means of pre-programing one or more specific target images;a projectile firing device such as an air gun or dart gun with associated aiming mechanism;ammunition for the projectile firing device such as pellets or darts made with food grade material;a processor;a motherboard to connect the processor, power supply, storage device, memory modules;an electronic memory storage means such as a hard drive to store temporary recordings, software applications and preferences, store / share data and a corresponding operating system;an associated software application such as a computer application or mobile application which alerts the user when a matching target to the pre-programmed image is identified and provides the capability to aim and fire the projectile firing device;a wireless signal connection means such as Wi-Fi or a wired connection to a router to communicate with the associated software application on its respective device such as a mobile phone or computer;a power source comprising of a battery or a means of connecting directly into mains electricity; anda body for the motion sensor camera, projectile firing device, power source, wireless signal connection means, electronic memory storage means, motherboard, stand or attachment means and other internal components.

2. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to Claim 1,in which the projectile firing device holds multiple cases of pellets, bullets or darts made with food grade material..

3. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to Claim 2, which is equipped with a laser with associated aiming mechanism and sonar sound device to provide non-lethal options to scare the target vermin away from the locality.

4. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine is equipped with a thermal / infrared night vision camera.

5. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the associated software application for the machine is preprogrammed with a corresponding image to identify, such as a rat or mouse etc., which is uploaded via the associated software application.

6. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the associated software application has a user friendly built-in viewfinder which facilitates the targeting of the identified vermin and the firing of the projectile firing device remotely via a wireless connection over the Internet™ or another communications network.

7. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the associated software application allows the user to zoom in on the image for targeted precision with a crosshair to achieve better aim.

8. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the associated software application for the machine could be opened by numerous authorised users on multiple devices.

9. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the associated software application would produce a noise and coordinated vibration when the alert message is generated so that the user will be alerted.

10. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine could include multiple projectile firing devices such as a pellet gun and dart gun so that the user could decide which type of ammunition was most appropriate to the relevant identified target.

11. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine could be equipped with projectile firing devices which comprise of an air soft gun, .177 air gun or any other projectile firing device using specially made with food grade material.

12. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to Claim 11, in which details of the stock of ammunition and firing order could be operated, managed and executed via the associated software application.

13. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine could include one or more batteries as a power source and also possess a power socket so that it may draw and store power from a mains circuit.

14. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any precedingClaim, in which the machine could include an ethernet socket as a wireless signal connection means to communicate with the associated software application via awireless connection, such as Wi-Fi over the Internet™ or another communications network, especially when the user desires a faster and more reliable Internet™ connection.

15. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine could include an inserted Wi-Fi chip to communicate wirelessly with the associated software application.

16. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any preceding Claim, in which the machine could possess one or more magazines of ammunition and the ammunition could comprise of pellets, darts, bullets made with food grade material and any other type of projectile.

17. A vermin identifying and exterminating machine according to any precedingClaim, in which the machine possesses an on / off switch on the exterior of the machine to ensure safety and retention of power when the machine is not in use.

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