Pest trap, pest trap arrangement and pest trap set

Abstract

Pest trap for detecting insects, comprising a first housing body (1) having a housing back wall (10) and a planar adhesive carrier (2) having an adhesive layer (22) provided with adhesive, wherein the first housing body (1) is provided with at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) for the replaceable reception of the adhesive carrier (2), characterized in that the first housing body (1) is provided with at least one mounting bracket (16, 17) for attaching the housing body (1) to a substrate surface (U), wherein the mounting bracket (16, 17) is designed such that the housing back wall (10) is spaced away from the substrate surface (U) when the housing body (1) is attached to the substrate surface (U), and that the first housing body (1) and the at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) are designed such thatthat the adhesive carrier (2) is replaceably mounted on a front side (10') of the housing rear wall (10), wherein a front surface (21) of the adhesive carrier (2) having the adhesive layer (22) faces away from the housing rear wall (10).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a pest trap for detecting insects according to the preamble of claim 1. It further relates to a pest trap assembly according to the preamble of claim 8 and a pest trap set according to claim 11.

[0002] Pest traps are used in professional settings not only to detect insects, but also to monitor sensitive areas, such as food processing or food storage facilities, or other hygienic facilities, such as the pharmaceutical industry. This type of pest monitoring must be performed visually at regular intervals and therefore requires considerable time.

[0003] It is common practice to set up pest traps covered with adhesive film in sensitive locations and to check them regularly for the presence of insects stuck to the adhesive film. The adhesive layer is usually coated with an insect attractant, such as a pheromone. If the adhesive film becomes covered with too many insects, the adhesive film or the entire pest trap must be replaced. Since these pest traps are usually made of plastic, it can happen that plastic pieces break off when the adhesive film is replaced. This is particularly problematic in the food industry, as such plastic fragments can enter the production process and can no longer be detected.

[0004] Regular monitoring of pest traps requires a time-consuming visual inspection of the adhesive strip, even if it turns out that no pests are attached to it. This monitoring often requires opening the pest trap first to access the adhesive strip. Especially if the pest trap is set up in a difficult-to-access location, such as inside a food processing machine or an air conditioning system, the pest trap must also be exposed first, which requires additional work time.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a pest trap and a pest trap assembly that can be monitored with less personnel effort.

[0006] The part of the problem directed at the pest trap is solved by a pest trap having the features of claim 1. The part of the problem directed at the pest trap arrangement is solved by a pest trap arrangement having the features of claim 8.

[0007] A pest trap for detecting insects is provided with a first housing body having a housing rear wall and a flat adhesive carrier, which has an adhesive layer provided with an adhesive, wherein the first housing body is provided with at least one adhesive carrier holder for replaceably receiving the adhesive carrier. The adhesive layer can additionally contain an insect attractant, for example a pheromone. This pest trap is characterized in that the first housing body is provided with at least one fastening holder for attaching the housing body to a substrate, wherein the fastening holder is designed such that the housing rear wall is spaced from the substrate when the housing body is attached to the substrate, and that the first housing body and the at least one adhesive carrier holder are designed such that the adhesive carrier is exchangeably received on a front side of the housing rear wall, wherein a front surface of the adhesive carrier having the adhesive layer faces away from the housing rear wall.

[0008] The advantage of this pest trap is that the adhesive carrier, which can be pushed into and pulled out again along the rear wall of the housing into the first housing body between the rear wall of the housing and the at least one adhesive carrier holder, when the first housing body is attached to or on the surface using the fastening holder, can be gripped at the edge with the thumb and index finger due to the distance from the surface without having to touch the adhesive surface. This makes replacing the adhesive carrier easier, as the fingers of a service employee carrying out this replacement work do not come into contact with the adhesive, or only to a very small extent, and therefore do not need to be cleaned after each replacement process. If the replacement work is carried out with gloves, these hardly become dirty either.If thin silicone or other thin rubber-like gloves are used for this purpose, they won't be damaged by sticking to and then coming off the adhesive. Thus, replacing the pest trap according to the invention can be done faster and with less wear and tear. Furthermore, no moisture pockets can form between the substrate and the rear wall of the first housing body.

[0009] Further preferred and advantageous design features of the pest trap according to the invention are the subject of subclaims 2 to 7.

[0010] It is advantageous if the front surface of the adhesive carrier, which has the adhesive layer, is essentially completely visible and not covered by the first housing body. This allows the adhesive surface formed by the front surface of the adhesive carrier coated with the adhesive to be fully visible without any disassembly work. It is particularly advantageous if only this visible front surface forms the adhesive surface and the back of the adhesive carrier is not coated with adhesive. This prevents insects from also adhering to the back of the adhesive carrier, which is difficult to see, and thus prevents the adhesive carrier from having to be removed from the housing body for meaningful monitoring.

[0011] Preferably, the first housing body can be coupled to a second housing body such that the second housing body overlaps the front surface of the adhesive carrier at a distance, with the two housing bodies together forming a base housing. The second housing body shields the adhesive surface from direct exposure to dust in dusty environments, thus preventing or slowing down any negative impact on the adhesive effect. It is particularly advantageous if the wall of the second housing body is provided with at least one viewing opening or at least one transparent viewing window, which also facilitates and accelerates visual inspection.

[0012] It is also advantageous if the adhesive carrier held by the at least one adhesive carrier holder is arranged in front of a housing rear wall of the first housing body, with the front surface of the adhesive carrier provided with the adhesive being located on its front side facing away from the housing rear wall. The housing rear wall can advantageously be provided with at least one support body on its side facing the adhesive carrier, whereby a nearly flat position of the adhesive carrier can be achieved.

[0013] Preferably, the first housing body, the at least one adhesive carrier holder, and preferably also the second housing body are made of metal. Such a metal construction is significantly more durable and less prone to wear than conventional plastic constructions. The metal embodiment of the pest trap according to the invention also eliminates the problem described above of plastic fragments falling into food production. Should something break off from a metal adhesive carrier holder and fall into the food production process, despite the greater durability of metal bodies, it will be detected by commonly provided metal detectors and can be removed.

[0014] Preferably, at least one wall of the first housing body and / or one wall of the second housing body is provided with access openings for insects. Such – usually small – access openings exploit the insects' instinct to seek the source of the attractant in a cave and make it difficult for the insects to escape from the housing.

[0015] Particularly advantageous is an embodiment of the invention that can be combined with other embodiments and in which the first housing body and / or the second housing body is provided with an image capture device designed to capture a surface of the adhesive carrier provided with an adhesive layer. Equipping the pest trap with at least one image capture device facilitates monitoring, as the pest trap no longer needs to be opened for purely monitoring purposes. The image data can be transmitted from inside the pest trap to the outside, and the image can be viewed on an external monitor, for example, on a smartphone.For this purpose, the image data is preferably transmitted wirelessly from a data transmission device functionally connected to the image capture device to a receiver provided outside the housing, for example via Bluetooth or another wireless data transmission method. This embodiment of the invention also has the advantage that the pest trap does not need to be exposed first if installed concealed.

[0016] It is particularly advantageous if the image capture device is attached or can be attached in or to the second housing body. This creates a modular system in which the basic variant comprises the first housing body equipped with the adhesive carrier. Optionally, in a first expansion stage, the second housing body without the image capture device can be added as dust protection. In a third expansion stage, the image capture device can then be subsequently attached to the second housing body, or a special second housing body already equipped with the image capture device can be used. In the simplest variant, the image capture device can be provided with a readable image data memory, which is either permanently integrated into the image capture device or inserted into the image capture device as a removable memory module.In a more convenient variant, a wired or the previously described wireless data transmission device can be provided.

[0017] A pest trap assembly encompassed by the invention is provided with at least one pest trap according to the invention equipped with at least one image capture device. The image capture device of the at least one pest trap is connected or connectable to an evaluation computer for image and / or data transmission, wherein the evaluation computer is equipped with executably stored evaluation software. Thus, a monitoring system consisting of several pest traps according to the invention equipped with at least one image capture device can be created, in which the recorded images can be automatically evaluated. This allows for quick identification of which pest trap has caught insects, without the need for a person carrying out the monitoring to visually inspect the respective pest trap.

[0018] It is advantageous if the evaluation software is configured to count images of insects captured on the adhesive layer and to issue a warning message if a predetermined threshold is exceeded. This variant of a pest trap assembly according to the invention enables automatic quantitative monitoring of a large number of pest traps according to the invention and can also issue a specific warning message for each pest trap.

[0019] It is particularly advantageous if the evaluation software is designed to identify and / or classify images of insects captured on the adhesive layer and output appropriately structured information. This variant makes it possible to even determine the species of captured insects when evaluating the detected hits, thus enabling a qualitative monitoring statement. It is particularly advantageous if this qualitative statement is combined with a count of the individual insect species captured as a quantitative statement.

[0020] Finally, the invention is also directed to a pest trap set with a pest trap according to the invention with a first housing body and at least one variant of a second housing body which can be coupled to the first housing body in such a way that the second housing body overlaps the front surface of the adhesive carrier at a distance, wherein the two housing bodies together form a base housing.

[0021] This pest trap set allows the first housing body, equipped with the adhesive carrier, to be inserted individually. The front side of the adhesive carrier, which is provided with the adhesive layer, is visible and enables rapid visual monitoring of the pest trap. However, the pest trap set also allows a variant of the second housing body to be placed onto the first housing body, thereby forming a pest trap that is essentially closed except for the access openings for the pests, which may be desirable, for example, in a dusty environment. This arbitrary combination of the first and second housing bodies is made possible by standardized coupling means on the housing bodies, for example, coupling tabs and coupling hooks or conventional snap-lock connections.For example, a pest trap can initially be operated openly with only the first base body and - if the requirements or operating conditions change - supplemented by a variant of a second housing body.

[0022] In this case, a first variant of the second housing body preferably forms a protective cover for the first housing body.

[0023] Alternatively, a second variant of the second housing body preferably forms a monitoring cover for the first housing body, for which purpose the second housing body is provided with an image capture device. This embodiment of the pest trap with an image capture device, as described above, enables the monitoring of the adhesive carrier to be carried out remotely or even automated.

[0024] For the reasons already described above, it is particularly advantageous if the first housing body, the at least one adhesive carrier holder and preferably also the second housing body are made of metal.

[0025] Finally, it is also advantageous if at least one wall of the first housing body and / or one wall of the second housing body is provided with access openings for insects.

[0026] Preferred embodiments of the invention with additional design details and further advantages are described and explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] It shows: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a first housing body of a first embodiment of a pest trap according to the invention with an inserted adhesive carrier from the front; Fig. 2 a perspective view of the first housing body of a pest trap according to the invention with inserted adhesive carrier from the rear; Fig. 3 a perspective view of a first variant of a second housing body that can be coupled to the first housing body to form a second embodiment of a pest trap according to the invention; Fig. 4 a perspective view of a third embodiment of a pest trap according to the invention, in which the first housing body is coupled to a second housing body of a second variant provided with an image capture device; Fig. 5 a horizontal section through the pest trap after Fig. 5 along a plane with the line VV in Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 a schematic representation of a pest trap arrangement with interconnected pest traps according to Fig. 4.

[0028] In Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a first housing body 1 of a pest trap 101 according to the invention for detecting insects. The first housing body 1, which is U-shaped in horizontal section, has a housing rear wall 10, from whose respective longitudinal side a side wall section 11, 12 extends forward at a substantially right angle. In the example shown, the first housing body 1 is a stamped and bent sheet metal part made of a metal, preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The two side wall sections 11, 12 form the free legs of the U-shaped cross-section. The housing rear wall 10 and the side wall sections 11, 12 together form a wall 13 of the first housing body 1. On the Fig. 1 The front side of the first housing body 1 facing the viewer is open and forms a basic housing body of a pest trap set.

[0029] On the left side wall section 11 and on the right side wall section 12, three retaining tabs 14', 14'', 14''' of a right adhesive carrier holder 14 and 15', 15'', 15''' of a left adhesive carrier holder 15 are formed, each distributed over the height of the first housing body 1. The retaining tabs 14', 14'', 14''', 15', 15'', 15''' are each formed from a lug extending inward from the associated side wall section 11, 12. The respective lug consists, for example, of a sheet metal tab bent inward from the side wall.

[0030] Between the respective retaining tab 14', 14'', 14''', 15', 15'', 15''' and the housing rear wall 10, a gap is formed into which a flat adhesive carrier 2 can be inserted or clamped from one side of the housing base body 1 along the front side 10' of the housing rear wall in such a way that it can be easily replaced. In the inserted or clamped state, the adhesive carrier 2 lies with its rear surface 20 facing the housing rear wall 10 ( Fig. 2) essentially flat against the rear wall 10 of the housing.

[0031] On the front side of the adhesive carrier 2 facing away from the rear surface 20, the latter has a front surface 21 provided with an adhesive layer 22. The rear surface 20 is adhesive-free. An attractant, for example an insect-specific pheromone, is incorporated into the adhesive, or such an attractant is applied to the adhesive layer 22. Insects that come into contact with the adhesive are held by the adhesive on the front surface 21 of the adhesive carrier 2. The first housing body 1 and the holding tabs 14', 14'', 14''', 15', 15'', 15''' of the respective adhesive carrier holder 14, 15 are designed such that the front surface 21 of the adhesive carrier 2, in the plan view of the open side of the first housing body 1, faces in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1 is substantially completely visible and is not covered by the first housing body 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the front surface 21 of the adhesive carrier can be provided with a grid 23, for example printed, which facilitates the counting of adhering insects when visually inspected by a human observer B.

[0032] Fig. Figure 2 shows the first housing body 1 in a perspective view from its rear side. Two fastening tabs 16, 17 are provided on the housing rear wall 10. These form a fastening bracket for the first housing body 1 and allow the first housing body 1 to be attached to a base surface U (not shown), for example, a building wall W or a floor, by means of fastening means such that the housing rear wall 10 is spaced from the base surface. For this purpose, the fastening tabs 16, 17 are provided with support surfaces 16', 17' that are spaced from the rear side 10'' of the housing rear wall 10.

[0033] In Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 further shows left and right coupling tabs 18, 19 projecting outwards laterally beyond the side wall sections 11, 12, each having a receiving opening 18', 19' for receiving a coupling hook 34, 35, 44, 45 of a second housing body 3, 4, which will be described further below.

[0034] Fig. Figure 3 shows a first variant of a second housing body 3, which forms a cover for the first housing body 1 and which has a U-shaped horizontal cross-section. The second housing body 3 has a housing front wall 30, from whose respective longitudinal sides a side wall section 31, 32 extends rearward at a substantially right angle. In the example shown, the second housing body 3 is a stamped and bent sheet metal part made of a metal, preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The two side wall sections 31, 32 form the free legs of the U-shaped cross-section. The housing front wall 30 and the side wall sections 31, 32 together form a wall 33 of the second housing body 3.

[0035] On the free longitudinal edge 31', 32' of the respective side wall section 31, 32, rearwardly projecting left and right coupling hooks 34, 35 are provided and configured to engage in a respective receiving opening 18', 19' of the left and right coupling tabs 18, 19 of the first housing body 1. In this way, the second housing body 3 can be coupled to the first housing body 1 in the manner of a lid, and the two coupled housing bodies 1, 3, together with the adhesive carrier 2, form a second embodiment of a pest trap 102 according to the invention.

[0036] Both the wall 13 of the first housing body 1 and the wall 33 of the second housing body 3 are provided with access openings 13', 13'', 13''', 33', 33'' for insects, through which insects - attracted by the attractant - can penetrate into the interior of the pest trap 102 formed by the first housing body 1 and the second housing body 3 coupled thereto, which interior is enclosed on at least four sides.

[0037] A third embodiment of a pest trap 103 according to the invention is shown in Fig. 4. In this variant, a second housing body 4 also forms a cover for the first housing body 1. This second variant of a second housing body 4 is like the one in Fig. The first variant shown in Figure 3 is U-shaped in horizontal cross-section. This second housing body 4 also has a housing front wall 40, from whose respective long sides a side wall section 41, 42 extends rearward at a substantially right angle, although the side wall sections 41, 42 have a greater depth than the short side wall sections 31, 32. This second housing body 4 is also a stamped and bent sheet metal part made of a metal, preferably aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The two side wall sections 41, 42 form the free legs of the U-shaped cross-section, and the housing front wall 40 and the side wall sections 41, 42 together form a wall 43 of this variant of the second housing body 4.

[0038] In this variant, too, rearwardly projecting left and right coupling hooks 44, 45 are provided on the free longitudinal edge 41', 42' of the respective side wall section 41, 42 and are designed to engage in a respective receiving opening 18', 19' of the left and right coupling tabs 18, 19 of the first housing body 1. In this way, this variant of the second housing body 4 can also be coupled to the first housing body 1 in the manner of a lid, and the two coupled housing bodies 1, 4, together with the adhesive carrier 2, form the third embodiment of a pest trap 103 according to the invention. In this embodiment, too, the wall 43 is provided with access openings 43', 43'' for insects.

[0039] On the inside of the housing front wall 40, an image capture device 5 is arranged, which is arranged with its image sensor surface 50 in an image capture direction R ( Fig. 5) is directed onto the front surface 21 of the adhesive carrier 2 provided with the adhesive layer 22 in such a way that the front surface 21 of the adhesive carrier 2 provided with the adhesive layer 22 is captured as an image essentially over its entire surface - in the horizontal extension and in the vertical extension of the adhesive layer 22 - as shown in the horizontal section through this embodiment of the pest trap 103 in Fig. 5 is symbolically represented. The triangle 51 symbolizes the image angle captured in the horizontal extension.

[0040] In addition to the access openings 13', 13'', 13''', 33', 33'', 43', 43'' in the walls 13, 33, 43, the respective pest trap 101, 102, 103 can be open on its top side and / or on its bottom side, as shown in Fig. 4 through the upper opening 46 and into Fig. 5 is exemplified by the lower opening 47.

[0041] In Fig.Figure 6 shows a schematic representation of a pest trap assembly 100 comprising a plurality of pest traps 102, each equipped with an image capture device 5. The pest traps are connected to an evaluation computer 106 for data transmission via a respective data line 104 or wirelessly. For wireless connection, the respective image capture devices 5' are provided with a respective data transmission device 5'', which is functionally connected, for example, via radio or near-field communication (NFC), to a data communication device 105 of the evaluation computer 106.

[0042] The image data captured by the respective image capture devices 5, 5' and transmitted to the evaluation computer 106 are processed in the evaluation computer 106 by evaluation software stored therein. The images of insects captured on the adhesive layer 22 are counted, and a warning message is issued if a predetermined threshold value is exceeded. Additionally, the evaluation software is configured to identify and / or classify images of insects captured on the adhesive layer 22 and to output appropriately structured information about the type and number of insects captured.

[0043] Reference signs in the claims, the description and the drawings serve only to improve the understanding of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. List of reference symbols

[0044] They refer to: 1 first housing body 2 flat adhesive carrier 3 second housing body in a first variant 4 second housing body in a second variant 5 Image capture device 5' image capture device 5'' data transmission device 10 Rear panel 10' Front of 10 10'' back of 10 11 left side wall section 12 right side wall section 13 Wall 13' access opening 13'' access opening 13''' access opening 14 right adhesive carrier holder 14' retaining tab 14'' retaining tab 14''' retaining tab 15 left adhesive carrier holder 15' retaining tab 15'' retaining tab 15''' retaining tab 16 Mounting tab 16' support surface 17 Mounting tab 17' support surface 18 left coupling tab 18' recording opening 19 right coupling tab 19' recording opening 20 rear area 21 front surface 22 Adhesive layer 23 grids 30 Housing front panel 31 short side wall section 31' free longitudinal edge 32 short side wall section 32' free longitudinal edge 33 wall 33' access opening 33'' access opening 34 left coupling hook 35 right coupling hook 40 front panel 41 Side wall section 41' free longitudinal edge 42 side wall section 42' free longitudinal edge 43 wall 43' access opening 43'' access opening 44 left coupling hook 45 right coupling hook 46 upper opening 47 lower opening 50 image sensor area 51 horizontal angle of view triangle 100 pest trap arrangement 101 Pest Trap 102 Pest trap 103 Pest trap 104 data line 105 Data communication device 106 evaluation computers A Arrow B Observer R Image capture direction U subsurface area W building wall

Claims

[1] Pest trap for detecting insects, comprising a first housing body (1) having a housing rear wall (10) and a flat adhesive carrier (2) having an adhesive layer (22) provided with adhesive, wherein the first housing body (1) is provided with at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) for replaceably receiving the adhesive carrier (2), characterized byin that the first housing body (1) is provided with at least one fastening holder (16, 17) for attaching the housing body (1) to a base surface (U), wherein the fastening holder (16, 17) is designed such that the housing rear wall (10) is spaced from the base surface (U) when the housing body (1) is attached to the base surface (U), and in that the first housing body (1) and the at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) are designed such that the adhesive carrier (2) is exchangeably received on a front side (10') of the housing rear wall (10), wherein a front surface (21) of the adhesive carrier (2) having the adhesive layer (22) faces away from the housing rear wall (10). [2] Pest trap according to claim 1, characterized bythat the front surface of the adhesive carrier (2) having the adhesive layer (22) is substantially completely visible and is not covered by the first housing body (1). [3] Pest trap according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the first housing body (1) can be coupled to a second housing body (3; 4) in such a way that the second housing body (3; 4) overlaps the front surface of the adhesive carrier (2) at a distance, the two housing bodies (1, 3; 1, 4) together forming a base housing. [4] Pest trap according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized by that the first housing body (1), the at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) and preferably also the second housing body (3; 4) are made of metal. [5] Pest trap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat at least one wall (13) of the first housing body (1) and / or one wall (33; 43) of the second housing body (3; 4) is provided with access openings (13', 13'', 33', 33'', 43', 43'') for insects. [6] Pest trap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the first housing body (1) and / or the second housing body (4) is provided with an image capture device (5) which is designed to capture a surface of the adhesive carrier (2) provided with an adhesive layer (22). [7] Pest trap according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized by that the image capture device (5) is mounted or can be mounted in or on the second housing body (4). [8] Pest trap assembly (100) comprising at least one pest trap (103) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized bythat the image capture device (5) of the at least one pest trap (103) is connected or connectable to an evaluation computer (106) for image and / or data transmission, wherein the evaluation computer (106) is equipped with executably stored evaluation software. [9] Pest trap assembly according to claim 8. characterized by that the evaluation software is designed to count images of insects captured on the adhesive layer (22) and to issue a warning message when a predetermined threshold value is exceeded. [10] Pest trap assembly according to claim 8 or 9, characterized by that the evaluation software is designed to identify and / or classify images of insects captured on the adhesive layer (22) and to output correspondingly structured information. [11] Pest trap set with a pest trap according to claim 1 or 2 with a first housing body (1) and at least one variant of a second housing body (3, 4) which can be coupled to the first housing body (1) in such a way that the second housing body (3; 4) overlaps the front surface of the adhesive carrier (2) at a distance, wherein the two housing bodies (1, 3; 1, 4) together form a base housing. [12] Pest trap set according to claim 11, characterized by that a first variant of the second housing body (3) forms a protective cover for the first housing body (1). [13] Pest trap set according to claim 11, characterized by that a second variant of the second housing body (4) forms a monitoring cover for the first housing body (1), for which purpose the second housing body (4) is provided with an image capture device (5) according to claims 6 and 7. [14] Pest trap set according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized bythat the first housing body (1), the at least one adhesive carrier holder (14, 15) and preferably also the second housing body (3; 4) are made of metal. [15] Pest trap set according to one of claims 11 to 14, characterized by that at least one wall (13) of the first housing body (1) and / or one wall (33; 43) of the second housing body (3; 4) is provided with access openings (13', 13'', 33', 33'', 43', 43'') for insects.

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