Trap device for crawling insects such as bedbugs

Abstract

The present invention relates to a trap device (1) for crawling insects such as bedbugs, adapted to be fixed on a support leg (P) of a bed or seat, and which comprises: - an annular chute (2) with a U-shaped section arranged to surround the support leg (P), and in the bottom of which is formed a through opening, - a reservoir (3) fixed in a removable manner on the annular chute (2), in the extension of the through opening, which is adapted to receive the insects passing through said through opening, and - fixing means (4) for fixing the annular chute (2) on the support leg (P). Some of the external and internal surfaces of the annular chute (2) are of either rough or smooth type, adapted to allow the insects to enter the trap and not be able to leave it. Figure for abstract: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Trap device for crawling insects such as bedbugs Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of bed base or seat accessories.

[0002] It relates more particularly to a device for capturing crawling insects such as bedbugs before these insects can enter the mattress or the cushions of box springs or seats. State of the art

[0003] Attracted by the CO2 emissions and the heat of sleepers, bedbugs, or similar insects with hooked legs, climb up to mattresses or cushions through the feet of seats or box springs.

[0004] In bedding structures, particularly at the level of the box spring, it is therefore interesting to provide a device for capturing such harmful insects, to prevent any contact with the bed linen or the fabric of the seats or sofas.

[0005] There are already capture devices that use chemical insecticides that are not recommended for prolonged inhalation in bedding.

[0006] Some other devices use sticky surfaces that are impractical to clean and use a non-reusable consumable.

[0007] Sometimes these are simple open cups at the bottom of the foot giving the insect a chance to escape by simple air movements.

[0008] There is therefore a need to have an effective trap device for such insects, with a simple structure and easy to implement. Presentation of the invention

[0009] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the state of the art, the present invention proposes a trap device for crawling insects such as bedbugs, adapted to be fixed to a bed or seat support leg, characterized in that it comprises:

[0010] - an annular chute with a U-shaped section comprising an inner skirt arranged for surrounding said support foot, an outer skirt, a bottom, an upper opening and a central axis, which outer skirt and which bottom comprise a rough-type external surface, adapted to allow said insects to cling to it and move there,

[0011] which outer skirt and which inner skirt comprise a smooth-type internal surface adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to and remaining thereon. move,

[0012] the bottom of said annular chute comprising a through opening adapted for the passage of said insects,

[0013] - a reservoir removably fixed on said annular chute, in the pro along said through opening, which reservoir is adapted to receive said insects passing through said through opening,

[0014] the internal surface of said reservoir being of a smooth type adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to it and moving therein, and said reservoir being made of a transparent material making it possible to detect the presence of said insects, and

[0015] - fixing means for fixing said annular chute on said support foot.

[0016] Other non-limiting and advantageous characteristics of the trap device according to the invention, taken individually or in all technically possible combinations, are the following:

[0017] - the through opening is extended by a lower collar, and the tank comprises a side wall, a bottom and an upper tank opening, the inner profile of said side wall corresponding substantially to the outer profile of the lower collar to allow the removable fixing of the tank by fitting its upper opening onto said upper collar;

[0018] - the lower collar and the upper tank opening comprise complementary interlocking members adapted to removably lock their fitting;

[0019] - the interlocking members comprise: (a) a peripheral groove formed on the outer surface of the lower collar and (b) a plurality of bosses, adapted to cooperate with said peripheral groove, provided around the periphery of the upper reservoir opening;

[0020] - the fixing means comprise an upper wall in the general shape of disc, centered on the central axis of the annular chute, which upper wall extends inside said annular chute from an upper edge of the inner skirt, which upper wall comprises an upper face and a lower face which is arranged to come into contact with the top face of the support foot;

[0021] - the trap device is adapted to be fixed on a bed support leg or seat whose top face comprises a threaded rod for its attachment to a base such as a bed base, and said upper wall comprises a central orifice for the passage of said threaded rod;

[0022] - the trap device comprises a removable cap arranged to come and located on the upper face of the upper wall, the outer profile of said removable cover being positioned above at least part of the upper opening of the annular chute, this at a distance from an upper edge of said outer skirt, such that insects cannot reach said removable cover from said upper edge of the outer skirt;

[0023] - the removable cover is of substantially flat shape and comprises an external profile which corresponds substantially to the external profile of the external skirt of the annular chute, which removable cover comprises a central orifice for the passage of said threaded rod, and which removable cover preferably comprises at least one locking tenon, adapted to cooperate with a complementary orifice provided in the upper wall;

[0024] - the plane of the bottom of the annular chute is inclined relative to the horizontal, a once the trap device is in position on the support foot, so that its lowest point is located at the level of the through opening.

[0025] The present invention also relates to a bed or a seat comprising four support legs which are each equipped with a trap device as defined above.

[0026] Of course, the various features, variants and embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other in various combinations to the extent that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. Detailed description of the invention

[0027] Furthermore, various other characteristics of the invention emerge from the appended description given with reference to the drawings which illustrate non-limiting forms of embodiment of the invention and where:

[0028] [Fig-1] is a perspective view of a trap device according to the invention mounted on a support foot;

[0029] [Fig.2] shows the same trap device mounted on a support leg, seen here in vertical section;

[0030] [Fig.3] is a top view of the trap device illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, re presented here in isolation;

[0031] [Fig.4] is a vertical sectional view similar to [Fig.2], illustrating a variant of embodiment in which the trap device is equipped with a removable cover.

[0032] Generally speaking, in the following description, the concepts of low, high, vertical, horizontal, lower or higher, etc., are used by convention in reference to the trap device in place on its support foot.

[0033] Figures 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a trap device 1 for crawling insects such as bedbugs, which is adapted to be fixed to a support leg P of a bed or seat.

[0034] Here, the support foot P is generally cylindrical in shape and its horizontal section is circular.

[0035] The support foot P comprises a foot axis PI and it is delimited by a face of below P2 intended to rest on the ground, a cylindrical peripheral envelope P3, and a top face P4 corresponding to its top or its summit.

[0036] The support foot P comprises a threaded rod P5 arranged on the foot axis PI and which projects upwards from the top face P4, perpendicular to this top face P4.

[0037] Generally speaking, the trap device 1 is intended to be positioned between the support leg P and the associated seat or bed base.

[0038] At least some of the external surfaces of the trap device 1 are of the rough type, i.e. adapted to allow insects (and in particular bedbugs) to cling to them and move there, in order to be able to enter the trap; and at least some of its internal surfaces are of the smooth type, i.e. adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to them and moving there, so as not to be able to leave the trap.

[0039] The rough or smooth character of the corresponding surfaces is therefore defined according to the possibilities for insects to move on them, or not.

[0040] As can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, the trap device 1 comprises an annular chute 2 with a U-shaped section comprising an inner skirt 21 arranged to surround the support foot 1, an outer skirt 22, a bottom 23, an upper opening 24 and a central axis 25.

[0041] The inner skirt 21, the outer skirt 22 and the bottom 23 together define an inner annular space E.

[0042] The inner skirt 21 is here circular, and the diameter of its internal face corresponds, within clearance, to the external diameter of the peripheral envelope P3 of the support foot P.

[0043] The distance between the inner skirt 21 and the outer skirt 22 is adapted to be greater than the length of the insects to be trapped.

[0044] This distance can be at least 8 mm for bedbugs measuring 4 to 7 mm in length.

[0045] The bottom 23 of the annular chute 2 comprises a through opening 26 adapted for the passage of said insects. This through opening 26 is extended downwards by a lower collar 27.

[0046] The lower collar 27 surrounds the through opening 26 and it extends downwards from the bottom 23 of the annular collar 2.

[0047] The lower plane of this lower collar 27 is located substantially below the bottom 23 of the annular collar 2.

[0048] The outer skirt 22 and the bottom 23 comprise an external surface (opposite the inner annular space E) of rough type, adapted to allow insects to cling to it and move there; and the outer skirt 22 and the inner skirt 21 comprise an internal surface (oriented towards the inner annular space E) of smooth type, adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to it and moving around it.

[0049] The trap device 1 further comprises a reservoir 3 removably fixed to the annular chute 2, in the extension of the through opening 26, which reservoir 3 is adapted to receive the insects passing through said through opening 26.

[0050] To optimize the trap and ensure that the insects remain in the reservoir 3, the internal surface of this reservoir 3 is of the smooth type, adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to it and moving around there.

[0051] On the other hand, the reservoir 3 is made of a transparent or translucent material allowing the presence of insects to be detected from the outside.

[0052] The tank 3 comprises a side wall 31, a bottom 32 and an upper tank opening 33.

[0053] The internal profile of the side wall 31 preferably corresponds substantially to the external profile of the lower collar 27 of the annular chute 2 to allow the removable fixing of the reservoir 3 by fitting its upper opening 33 onto said lower collar 27.

[0054] Preferably, the lower collar 27 and the upper reservoir opening 33 comprise complementary fitting members adapted to removably lock their fitting.

[0055] In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, these interlocking members comprise:

[0056] - a peripheral groove 271 formed on the outer surface of the collar in lower 27 and

[0057] - a plurality of bosses 331, arranged around the perimeter of the upper opening of reservoir 33, and adapted to cooperate with the peripheral groove 271.

[0058] As can be seen in [Fig.3], the outer profile B of the outer skirt 22 is preferably substantially ovoid to enlarge the space available at the through opening 26.

[0059] The trap device 1 further comprises fixing means for fixing the annular chute 2 on the support foot P.

[0060] Here, these fixing means comprise an upper wall 4 which extends into the inner part of the annular chute 2, from the upper edge of the inner skirt 21.

[0061] The upper wall 4 is generally disc-shaped, centered on the central axis 25 of the annular chute 2.

[0062] It comprises an upper face 41, a lower face 42 and a central orifice 43 adapted for the passage of the threaded rod P5 of the support foot P.

[0063] It is understood that the upper wall 4 forms with the inner skirt 21 a sort of cylindrical housing intended to cover the upper part of the support foot P.

[0064] The trap device 1 is positioned between the support leg P and the bed base or the associated seat base. The lower face 42 of the upper wall 4 comes into contact with the top face P4 of the support leg P. The threaded rod P5 passes through the central orifice 43; and the bed base comes to rest on the upper face 41 of the upper wall 4.

[0065] The height of the inner skirt 21 determines the positioning height of the trap device 1 on the support foot P.

[0066] The upper edge of the outer skirt 22 extends in a horizontal plane A which is perpendicular to the central axis 25. And this horizontal plane A is located at a level substantially lower than that of the upper wall 4 (ideally at least 10 mm lower) to prevent insects from climbing directly onto the bed base.

[0067] As can be seen in [Fig.2], the plane H of the bottom 23 of the annular chute 2 is inclined relative to the horizontal, once in position on the support foot P, so that its lowest point is located at the level of the through opening 26.

[0068] This feature makes it possible to tend to drive or direct the insects towards the through opening 26 and therefore towards the reservoir 3.

[0069] As illustrated in [Fig.4], the trap device 1 according to the invention may comprise a removable cover 5 arranged to be positioned on the upper face 41 of the upper wall 4, in particular intended to mask the top of the annular chute 2 and to prevent bedding (sheets, duvet, etc.) from entering the interior annular space E.

[0070] The outer profile C (or peripheral edge) of this removable cover 5 is positioned above at least part of the upper opening 24 of the annular chute 2, at a distance from the upper edge of the outer skirt 22, so that insects cannot reach the removable cover 5 from this upper edge of the outer skirt 22.

[0071] The removable cover 5 may be in the form of a flat plate of generally ovoid shape, the external profile C of which corresponds substantially to the external profile B of the external skirt 22 of the annular chute 2.

[0072] The removable cover 5 comprises a central orifice for the passage of the threaded rod P5 of the support foot P.

[0073] This removable cover 5 also comprises at least one locking tenon 52 (here two locking tenons 52), provided projecting from its face intended to be oriented towards the upper wall 4, adapted to cooperate by fitting with one or more complementary orifices 44 provided in the upper wall 4.

[0074] The trap device 1 is advantageously obtained from standard injected plastic material.

[0075] The desired rough surfaces can be obtained by any suitable means, for example in injection tooling, by chemical finishing or by electroerosion.

[0076] On the other hand, smooth surfaces can also be obtained by any suitable means, for example by manual polishing.

Claims

Claims

1. Trap device (1) for crawling insects such as bedbugs, adapted to be fixed on a support leg (P) of a bed or seat, characterized in that it comprises: - an annular chute (2) with a U-shaped section comprising an inner skirt (21) arranged to surround said support leg (P), an outer skirt (22), a bottom (23), an upper opening (24) and a central axis (25), which outer skirt (22) and which bottom (23) comprise a rough external surface, adapted to allow said insects to cling to it and move thereon, which outer skirt (22) and which inner skirt (21) comprise a smooth internal surface adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to it and moving thereon, the bottom of said annular chute (2) comprising a through opening (26) adapted for the passage of said insects, - a reservoir (3) removably fixed on said annular chute (2),in the extension of said through opening (26), which reservoir (3) is adapted to receive said insects passing through said through opening (26), the internal surface of said reservoir (3) being of the smooth type adapted to prevent said insects from clinging to it and moving there, and said reservoir (3) being made of a transparent material allowing the presence of said insects to be detected, - fixing means (4) for fixing said annular chute (2) on said support foot (P).,

2. Trap device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said through opening (26) is extended by a lower collar (27), and in that said reservoir (3) comprises a side wall (31), a bottom (32) and an upper reservoir opening (33), the internal profile of said side wall (31) corresponding substantially to the external profile of the lower collar (27) to allow the removable fixing of the reservoir (3) by fitting its upper opening (33) onto said lower collar (27).

3. Trap device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said lower collar (27) and said upper reservoir opening (33) comprise interlocking members comple- elements (271, 331) adapted to removably lock their fitting.

4. Trap device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that said fitting members comprise: - a peripheral groove (271) formed on the outer surface of the lower collar (27) and - a plurality of bosses (331), adapted to cooperate with said peripheral groove (271), formed on the periphery of said upper reservoir opening (33).

5. Trap device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said fixing means (4) comprise an upper wall (4) in the general shape of a disc, centered on said central axis (25) of said annular chute (2), which upper wall (4) extends inside said annular chute (2) from an upper edge of said inner skirt (21), which upper wall (4) comprises an upper face (41) and a lower face (42) which is arranged to come into contact with a top face (P4) of said support foot (P).

6. Trap device (1) according to claim 5, adapted to be fixed on a support leg (P) of a bed or seat whose upper face (P4) comprises a threaded rod (P5) for its fixing on a base such as a bed base, characterized in that said upper wall (4) comprises a central orifice (43) for the passage of said threaded rod (P5).

7. Trap device (1) according to any one of claims 5 or 6, characterized in that it comprises a removable cap (5) arranged to be positioned on the upper face (41) of said upper wall (4), the outer profile (C) of said removable cap (5) being positioned above at least part of the upper opening (24) of said annular chute (2), this at a distance from an upper edge of said outer skirt (22), so that said insects cannot reach said removable cap (5) from said upper edge of the outer skirt (22).

8. Trap device (1) according to claim 7 taken under the dependency of claim 6, characterized in that said removable cap (5) is of substantially flat shape and comprises an external profile (C) which corresponds substantially to the external profile (E) of the external skirt (22) of said annular chute (2), which removable cover (5) comprises a central orifice for the passage of said threaded rod (P5), and which removable cover (5) preferably comprises at least one locking tenon (52), adapted to cooperate with a complementary orifice (44) formed in said upper wall (4).

9. Trap device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the plane (H) of the bottom (23) of the annular chute is inclined relative to the horizontal, once in position on said support foot (P), in such a way that its lowest point is located at the level of said through opening (26).

10. Bed or seat comprising four support legs (P), characterized in that said four support legs (P) are each equipped with a trap device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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