spider-catching device

Abstract

Spider catching device comprising a catching head at the front end of a support rod (3), formed from a catching hood (1) open at the bottom, a tine plate (2) and lateral guide cheeks (17) for the tine plate (2), and a movement and actuation mechanism formed from a telescopic push lever (4, 5), a tensile force transmission element (13), and an actuation button (15 or 19) attached to the support handle (14 or 19) at the rear end of the support rod (3).20), characterized in that the prong plate (2) has tapered prongs (32) in the region of its free ends, and in that, via the movement and actuation mechanism, the prong plate (2) slides under the spider and closes the capture hood (1) with the spider caught therein, wherein the prong plate (2) moves just above the support edge of the capture hood (1), guided in lateral guides (10), wherein a return spring (9) also serves to reopen the capture hood (1) by retracting the prong plate (2) when the actuation button (15 or 20) attached to the holding handle (14 or 19) is released, and in addition, the locking button (16 or 21) attached to the holding handle (14 or 19) can be used to keep the capture hood (1) closed for carrying away the spider.

Description

[0001] The invention presented is a device for catching and removing spiders, thus a type of cleaning device.

[0002] Removing spiders from homes has proven difficult because the animals try to escape. If you catch them with a broom, for example, they will try to flee from it as well. Furthermore, the spiders are often injured in the process. When removing cobwebs, the spiders often run away anyway, and if you don't catch them, they will soon spin new webs.

[0003] The device described in this invention, however, enables the quick and easy capture and removal of spiders without harming them. To use it, the capture hood, attached to a handle at the front of the device, is placed over the spider, and the operating button located at the rear of the handle is pressed. This causes a prong plate to slide under the spider, closing the capture hood with the spider now trapped inside. In a suitable embodiment, the device can also be used for other animals, such as flying insects, grasshoppers, beetles, and scorpions.

[0004] The current state of the art is evident from the printed materials. EP 0 615 687 A1 US 2008 / 0 040 967 A1 DE 196 36 247 A1.

[0005] Document EP 0 615 687 A1 describes a device for capturing insects, spiders, and other small animals. The device has a capture chamber open at the bottom, which can be closed with a flexible slider. However, the slider is a solid component with a straight front edge, meaning that when the slider is closed, the captured spider's legs could be crushed between the front edge of the slider and the front edge of the capture chamber. Furthermore, the upper wall of the capture chamber slopes down at a rather sharp angle to the lower edge at the front of the chamber, meaning that when the slider is closed, it could push the spider into the front of the chamber and crush it.

[0006] Furthermore, it appears that only solid material is intended for the capture chamber, and not air-permeable material to prevent the air stagnation that occurs when the device is placed on the ground, because agile flying insects are not easy to catch, as they react to the air stagnation of the capture device and can probably also use this air stagnation to fly away quickly, which is why fly swatters also exist in air-permeable designs.

[0007] The device also appears to have only a short handle, making it difficult to reach higher areas such as ceilings or upper wall areas.

[0008] The document US 2008 / 0 040 967 A1 also depicts a device that can be used to catch spiders and insects.

[0009] However, this device also uses a slider designed as a full-surface component with a straight front edge to close a trap open at the bottom, which poses the risk of the captured spider and its legs being crushed between the front edge of the slider and the front edge of the trap chamber when the slider is closed.

[0010] And it also appears that this device does not have an air-permeable capture hood to prevent air stagnation when the device is placed on the ground, so that it will probably be difficult to catch fast flying insects with it.

[0011] Patent DE 196 36 247 A1 describes a device with a capture chamber open at the front, which can be closed with a louvered door. However, even with this device, closing the louvered door causes spiders to be scraped away from the surface on which they are sitting, creating the risk of them being crushed between the front edge of the louvered door and the edge of the capture chamber. Furthermore, this device also apparently lacks a capture chamber made of air-permeable material, so that the resulting air stagnation causes agile flying insects to be driven away when the capture chamber is closed.

[0012] Furthermore, the thread running along the center of the trap opening for closing the louvered door is a nuisance, as spiders could get trapped behind it when the trap chamber is put on.

[0013] And the pull cord, which runs completely freely from the end of the operating lever to the collection chamber, makes the device susceptible to damage.

[0014] All of the devices described in the three aforementioned documents lack provisions to prevent spiders from being trapped between the front edge of the trap door and the opposite edge of the trap when the door is closed. Furthermore, they lack provisions to prevent flying insects from being disturbed by the resulting air stagnation when the trap door is placed over the insect.

[0015] The devices are probably not suitable for catching large arachnids such as tarantulas or scorpions.

[0016] The drawings show: Fig. 1. The spider-catching device in its usual form, suitable for catching house spiders from walls and ceilings, shown in perspective and partly in sectional view to illustrate the mechanics; Fig. 2 the spider-catching device in its usual design in a sectional view of the catching head and the mechanism; Fig. 3. The spider catching device in the version with downward-facing handle and a stronger operating button located on it for larger devices, such as those suitable for catching larger ground spiders; Fig. 4. The capture head of the device as a sectional view; Fig. 5 the catch hood with the tine plate and the guides on both sides for the tine plate, in sectional view transverse to the direction of the support rod; Fig. 6 the prong plate for ordinary device designs in top view; Fig. 7. The capture head in perspective view, with two push levers for large versions of the device, for catching large ground spiders; Fig. 8 the sectional view, in the version used for large catching devices, of the front area of ​​the catching hood with beveled tine support edge and the correspondingly beveled tine tips below.

[0017] The device essentially consists of a captive hood (1) open at the bottom, a flat prong plate (2), a handle (3), and an operating mechanism. To catch a spider, first place the device with the captive hood over the animal so that it cannot escape. Then, by pressing the operating button (15 or 20) located on the handle, slide the prong plate under the spider. The device with the captured spider can then be lifted. If a transparent material is used for the captive hood, the spider can be seen and observed inside, which facilitates capture.

[0018] The prong plate (2) moves in a lateral guide (10), formed by guide edges (11), just above the mounting edge of the capture hood, so that when the hood closes, the prong plate slides under the spider. The prongs (32) of the prong plate, which taper at their free ends, serve to push the spider's legs into the spaces between the prongs, thus preventing injury to the animal. Behind the capture hood (1), lateral guide cheeks (17) extend the guide for the prong plate. The cover (12) of the capture head's movement mechanism protects the mechanism and prevents the lateral guide cheeks from being forced apart. If necessary to prevent deflection of the prong plate, it is provided with a stiffening rim along its rear edge.

[0019] For catching house spiders from ceilings and walls, the more manageable design with a handle (14) attached lengthwise to the end of the support rod and an actuation button (15) that can be pressed towards the support rod is more suitable. Fig. Figure 2 shows such a design. In contrast, for larger devices for catching larger ground spiders, the design with a downward-facing handle (19) and a stronger operating button (20) located on it provides better handling of the catching device and the application of greater pressure to the operating button. Fig. Figure 3 illustrates such a design.

[0020] A telescopic push lever (4, 5) serves to convert the pulling motion originating from the actuating button (15 or 20) on the handle into the movement required to insert the tine plate. Because the push lever converts a pivoting motion into a longitudinal motion, a two-part telescopic lever is used to compensate for the required length difference. The upper telescopic section (4) of the telescopic push lever is pivotally mounted in the direction of insertion of the tine plate by a swivel joint (6) attached to a bracket (18) located slightly below and attached to the handle. The force transmission element (13) coming from the actuating button on the handle is attached to the upper end (7) of the upper telescopic section. The lower telescopic section (5) of the push lever is positioned slightly higher at the rear edge of the tine plate and is connected to it by a swivel joint (8).The telescopic push lever translates the relatively short movement of the force transmission element originating from the actuation button on the handle into a counter-rotating and amplified movement. A return spring (9) retracts the push lever and thus the tine plate when the actuation button on the handle is released, thereby reopening the grass catcher. A locking button (16 or 21) is also located on the handle to keep the device closed.

[0021] Catching large tropical spiders requires a correspondingly large version of the device. If the spider is caught from the ground, dirt can get into the guides of the tine plate and cause it to jam on one side when closing. Therefore, such models of the spider-catching device use a mechanism with two coupled push levers.

[0022] For implement designs with a large or wide catch hood and thus also a large or wide tine plate, a double telescopic push lever (22, 23) is used to prevent the tine plate from jamming laterally when inserted into the catch hood. This lever consists of two two-part telescopic push levers, with both levers mechanically coupled via a pivot axis (25). The two push levers, comprising a right-hand push lever (22) and a left-hand push lever (23), engage with their lower ends near the lateral ends of the tine plate at its rear edge by means of pivot joints (31). However, in implement designs with a double push lever, the traction force transmission element (13) does not engage directly with the push levers, but rather centrally in the area of ​​the support rod at an additional lever (24) that is attached to the pivot axis (25).The pivot axis transmits the movement from the auxiliary lever to the two push levers. The pivot axis is guided centrally by retaining tabs (26) below and attached to the support rod. To support the forces occurring in the area of ​​the push levers when the tine plate is moved, pivot axis support bearings (27) are located near the respective push lever on the side plates. Fig. Figure 7 represents the essential functional parts of such a capture head.

[0023] An additional problem with device designs featuring a large or wide catching hood and thus a correspondingly large tine plate arises from the fact that the tine plate can deflect under the weight of the captured animal. To prevent deflection, wide tine plates are fitted with a stiffening rim (28) at their rear edge. Additionally, when the tine plate is closed, the tine tips are supported at the lower front edge of the catching hood by means of a chamfer (29) on their underside that rises towards them. This chamfer slides onto a similarly chamfered support rim (30) on the front lower edge of the inside of the catching hood when it is closed, thus providing support for the tines. Fig. Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the relevant areas of the catch hood and tine tips.

[0024] The spider-catching device is also suitable for catching many other types of animals, although this may require adjustments to the design of the device.

[0025] When removing flying insects such as mosquitoes and flies, the problem arises that the air stagnation when the trap is put on dislodges the insect. Therefore, devices suitable for flying insects require a sufficiently air-permeable trap to prevent this air stagnation. Such an air-permeable trap for catching flying insects thus consists of a sufficiently large surface area of ​​a mesh structure or contains a sufficient number of perforations.

[0026] Furthermore, the tine plate must have a sufficiently fine tine structure so that small insects cannot slip between the tines.

[0027] For catching scorpions, a larger and more mechanically robust version of the device is needed. A version with a double push lever, a stiffening rim at the rear edge of the tine plate, and supported tine tips is suitable for this purpose.

[0028] To maintain a sufficient safety distance when catching dangerous venomous spiders until they are under the capture hood, extension poles, possibly telescopic poles, can be used.

[0029] The advantages of the spider-catching device are that spiders can be caught and removed quickly and easily, that damage to the animals is avoided, that the device also enables the safe removal of dangerous venomous spiders, that with appropriate design of the device even large tropical spiders can be caught, and also in the avoidance of soiling walls, ceilings, furniture and floor during spider removal.

Claims

[1] Spider catching device comprising a catching head formed at the front end of a support rod (3), consisting of a catching hood (1) open at the bottom, a tine plate (2) and lateral guide cheeks (17) for the tine plate (2), and a movement and actuation mechanism consisting of a telescopic push lever (4, 5), a force transmission element (13), and an actuation button (15 or 20) attached to the support handle (14 or 19) at the rear end of the support rod (3), characterized by, that the prong plate (2) has prongs (32) that taper in the area of ​​its free ends, and that, via the movement and actuation mechanism, the prong plate (2) slides under the spider and closes the capture hood (1) with the spider caught therein, the prong plate (2) moving just above the support edge of the capture hood (1), guided in lateral guides (10), a return spring (9) also serves to reopen the capture hood (1) by retracting the prong plate (2) when the actuation button (15 or 20) attached to the holding handle (14 or 19) is released, and the locking button (16 or 21) attached to the holding handle (14 or 19) can also be used to keep the capture hood (1) closed for carrying away the spider. [2] Spider-catching device according to claim 1, characterized by , that versions exist which have a catch hood (1) which is permeable to air. [3] Spider-catching device according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by , that it consists of a larger and more stable design, comprising a double push lever (22, 23) consisting of two telescopic push levers (22, 23) coupled by means of a pivot axis (25), which with their lower ends are attached to the tine plate (2) near its rear edge by means of pivot joints (31) close to its side edges, wherein the tine plate (2) also has a stiffening edge (28) along its rear edge to prevent deflection, and wherein the tines (32) of the tine plate (2) additionally have a chamfer (29) rising towards the underside of the free tine ends, and a correspondingly chamfered support edge (30) is located on the lower front edge inside the catch hood (1). [4] Spider-catching device according to claims 1, 2 and 3, characterized by, that in one embodiment of a holding handle (14) located at the rear end of the support rod (3) with actuating button (15) a holding handle (14) attached longitudinally to the end of the support rod (3) and an actuating button (15) to be pressed towards the support rod (3) is used, while in another embodiment a holding handle (19) attached to the end of the support rod (3) pointing downwards and an actuating button (20) located on the front of it to be pressed towards the handle (19) is used. [5] Spider-catching device according to claims 1, 2, 3 and 4, characterized by, that an essential component of the movement mechanism is a two-part telescopic push lever (4, 5) which is pivotably attached to the catch hood (1) slightly below the support rod (3) with its upper telescopic part (4) by means of a swivel joint (6), and wherein a tensile force transmission element (13) is attached to its upper end (7), while the lower telescopic part (5) is attached with its lower end to the tine plate (2) near its rear edge by means of a swivel joint (8), whereas in a embodiment for larger or wider spider-catching devices a double telescopic push lever (22, 23) is used, consisting of two two-part telescopic push levers (22, 23) mechanically coupled to each other via a pivot axis (25), which are attached near the lateral ends of the tine plate (2) near its rear edge by means of swivel joints (31).

Images