Cane Toad Trap With Ramp Entry and Inward-Swinging Door
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional animal traps for cane toads are ineffective due to debris getting caught in the trapdoor mechanism, preventing proper closure and allowing escape, and require manual handling, which poses risks and is inefficient for disposal.
Innovation Solution
A box-shaped trap with a ramped entryway that allows cane toads to enter without debris obstruction and features a hinged trapdoor that swings inward, preventing outward opening, along with a hands-free disposal system using a waste bag attachment for inverted emptying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional swinging trapdoor is used, then the trap can be constructed with simple structure, but debris gets caught in the trapdoor mechanism preventing proper closure and allowing escape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the problematic trapdoor mechanism entirely and replaces it with a ramp-based entry system. The ramp has a downward slope that allows toads to enter the trap by walking down into the enclosure, while the trapdoor is replaced with a simple flap or opening that cannot be blocked by debris. This extraction of the complex trapdoor mechanism eliminates the debris-catching problem while maintaining secure closure through the ramp geometry itself.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a trapdoor that swings outward to open and inward to close (which gets caught on debris), the invention inverts the approach by using a ramp where the toad's own movement down the slope performs the entry function. The closure is achieved not by an active trapdoor motion but by the passive geometry of the ramp and the toad's inability to climb back up, thus inverting the active-closure mechanism into a passive-geometry-based system.
2Ease of operation
If manual handling is used to empty the trap, then the disposal process can be performed with simple equipment, but it poses risks of poison exposure and is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The trap is designed with a disposal mechanism that allows the captured toad to be emptied automatically without human hand contact. The system uses gravity-fed chutes or automated release mechanisms that propel the toad into a containment bag or disposal area, allowing the trap to serve itself in the emptying process. This eliminates the need for manual handling while maintaining simple overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary disposal bag or container that receives the toad through automated means. Rather than requiring direct hand-to-toad contact, the toad is transferred through an intermediate medium (the disposal bag or chute system) that acts as a mediator between the trap and the final disposal location, thereby protecting the operator from poison exposure while keeping the process simple.
3Reliability
If a raised lip is added below the trapdoor to prevent toad escape, then escape prevention is improved, but it deters cane toads from entering the cage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the raised lip feature that created the entry barrier problem. Instead of having a lip that toads must overcome to enter, the ramp-based system provides a smooth, downward-sloping entry path that naturally guides toads into the trap. The escape prevention function is achieved not by a physical lip barrier but by the geometry of the ramp and internal trap design, thus extracting the problematic lip while maintaining escape prevention through alternative means.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The trap effectively captures cane toads without debris interference and allows for safe, touchless disposal, reducing the risk of poison exposure and eliminating the need for manual handling.
Implementation Method 1
providing a ramp that provides a drop-off for causing a cane toad and debris attached to the cane toad to fall into the animal trap
Implementation Method 2
A trapdoor is hingedly attached to the upper edge of the entryway to allow the trapdoor to swing into open and closed positions in relation to the entryway
Data Source
AI summary
An animal trap (1) that provides ramped entryways for cane toads to pass through and a hands-free touchless method of disposing of cane toads captured in the animal trap that allows individuals to empty the animal trap without coming into contact with captured cane toads and/or the poison the captured cane toads secrete.