Multi-Animal Nuisance Trap With One-Way Entry Doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pythons and other nuisance species, such as iguanas, pose a significant threat to native wildlife and ecosystems by preying on and competing with native species, leading to severe population declines and environmental destruction, and existing control methods are inadequate.
Innovation Solution
A trap designed to capture multiple animals in one setting, featuring a large box or cage with one-way doors, bait compartments, and anchor points, allowing pythons to enter but not exit, and optionally including camouflage, heating elements, and escape doors for non-target species.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional single-animal trap is used, then the trap structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it cannot capture multiple animals simultaneously and requires repeated trapping operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested trap structure where an inner trap containing bait animals is placed inside an outer trap. The inner trap is positioned within the containment volume of the outer trap, allowing pythons to enter the outer trap through one-way doors and pursue bait animals into the inner trap, thereby capturing multiple animals simultaneously while maintaining a manageable structural design
Solution Approach 2:
The trap system is divided into distinct functional segments: the outer trap provides initial capture and containment with one-way doors, while the inner trap serves as a secondary containment for bait animals. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling multi-animal capture without creating an overly complex monolithic structure
2Reliability
If bait animals are placed directly in the outer trap, then pythons can easily access them, but non-target species may also access and harm the bait animals before pythons arrive
Solution Approach 1:
The inner trap is nested within the outer trap to create a protected compartment for bait animals. This nested arrangement ensures that non-target species cannot access the bait animals without first entering the outer trap through one-way doors, which they cannot exit. The structure provides reliable protection while maintaining reasonable complexity through the use of a simple enclosed box design
3Reliability
If one-way doors are made small to prevent animal escape, then non-target species cannot escape easily, but target animals like pythons may have difficulty entering
Solution Approach 1:
The one-way doors are strategically positioned and sized according to their specific function: larger doors are placed at locations that facilitate python entry while maintaining the one-way functionality, and smaller doors are used where containment is the primary concern. This localized variation in door dimensions optimizes both containment effectiveness and animal entry ease without compromising overall system reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A trap catches multiple animals and/or other nuisance animals in one setting. The trap may include a larger confinement volume having a one-way entry door on at least one side and in other embodiments on all sides that remain active no matter how many animals are in the trap. The entry door is designed such that once the animal has started through the door it cannot turn back. Access to remove the animals is also provided. A large bait station that can hold several days of bait and be easily rebaited with minimal contact with the trap is also provided. An inner trap may be contained within the outer trap to the bait for the target animals trapped in the outer trap.