Gravity-Actuated Live Trap Door with Weight-Sensitive Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing live trap devices often harm small animals due to mechanical mechanisms that can cause injury when trapping, and there is a need for a humane trapping solution that effectively captures animals without causing harm.
Innovation Solution
A live trap device featuring a housing with a hinged door and a plate that allows small animals to enter while being trapped by a movable release mechanism, which is triggered by the animal's weight, ensuring the door can be closed without harming the animal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional mechanical trap mechanisms are used, then trapping effectiveness is improved, but animal injury risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional spring-loaded snap traps with a gravity-based door closing mechanism. The door is held open by a release mechanism that simply drops when triggered, eliminating complex mechanical springs and levers that cause injury. The door closes gently under controlled gravity force rather than violent mechanical snap action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a plate as an intermediary element between the animal and the door mechanism. The animal stands on the plate to trigger the release, rather than directly interacting with the door or trigger mechanism. This intermediary plate provides a safe, non-threatening interface that reduces animal stress and injury risk.
2Reliability
If complex trigger mechanisms are used, then trapping reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates complex trigger mechanisms from traditional trap designs. Instead of using sophisticated spring-loaded triggers, pawls, and ratchets, the invention uses a simple weight-based release system where the animal's weight on the plate directly causes the door-holding mechanism to fail and the door to close.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent inverts the traditional trap logic by having the door naturally closed and using a release mechanism to open it temporarily, rather than having the door naturally open and using a mechanism to close it. This inversion simplifies the mechanism because the door's natural state (closed) is the safe state, and the release mechanism only needs to hold it open briefly.
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 device humanely traps small animals by allowing them to enter and stand on a plate, triggering the release mechanism to close the door, ensuring the animal is trapped safely without injury, allowing for repeated trapping and easy transport for release.
Implementation Method 1
A plate is hingedly positioned within the housing and the small animal stands on the plate when the small animal enters the housing
Data Source
AI summary
An animal live trap assembly includes a housing that has an entry way extending therein. The housing is positionable in an area known to be occupied by small animals such that the entry way is accessible to the small animals. A door is hingedly coupled to the housing and the door is positionable between an open position or a closed position for alternatively opening or closing the entry way. A plate is hingedly positioned within the housing and the small animal stands on the plate when the small animal enters the housing. A release is movably coupled to the door for retaining the door in the open position. The release is urged into an unlocking position when the small animal stands on the plate thereby facilitating the door to be positioned in the closed position to trap the small animal in the housing.