Planar Sensor Pest Trap With Automatic Reset and Carcass Collection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pest control methods, such as trapping and poisoning, are unsatisfactory due to their inefficiency, potential harm to non-target species, and inability to collect animal bodies for study, while existing automatic traps are prone to false triggers and fail to contain the carcasses effectively.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a housing and a planar sensor system that uses infrared, ultrasonic, or laser sensors to detect pests, triggering an impacting member to rapidly kill the pest within the passage, and a rotatable floor to deposit the carcass into a collection bin, ensuring humane killing and efficient disposal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional traps utilize a spring loaded arm released by a catch, then the trap can catch and kill the animal, but the trap can only be used a single time before being required to be checked and reset by a user
Solution Approach 1:
The trap mechanism automatically resets itself after triggering. The spring-loaded arm is held in a reset position by a catch mechanism that automatically re-engages after the impacting member returns to its initial position, eliminating the need for manual intervention and enabling continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The catch mechanism is pre-positioned to automatically re-engage with the spring-loaded arm after impact, preparing the trap for the next use without requiring user action. This preliminary positioning ensures immediate readiness for subsequent pest detection and elimination.
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing automatic traps allow the body of the rodent to fall on the ground below the device, then predators will remove and eat them, but this prevents collection for the purpose of studying the efficacy of the device
Solution Approach 1:
A collection container is introduced as an intermediary element between the dropping mechanism and the ground. The container is positioned to receive carcasses from the dropping mechanism, preventing direct contact with the ground and enabling systematic collection for study purposes while still allowing the natural dropping action to occur.
3Extent of automation
If existing automatic traps utilize a trigger rod positioned in a chamber, then the trap can be automated, but the device is prone to false results due to movement of the device or the presence of other objects
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical trigger rod system is replaced with an optical sensor system that detects the presence of pests through non-contact means. The optical sensor emits light across the passage and detects interruptions or reflections caused by pests, triggering the impacting member without the mechanical complexity and false trigger issues of rod-based systems.
4Productivity
If poisons are used to control pests, then pest populations can be reduced, but other species which can also consume the poisoned bait or the bodies of the dead animals are poisoned or killed
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful poison substance is completely removed from the system and replaced with a mechanical/optical elimination method. The apparatus uses optical sensors to detect pests and an impacting member to physically eliminate them, extracting the toxic element entirely while maintaining pest control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The passage structure, which could potentially harm non-target species through poison, is converted into a beneficial contained environment. The narrow passage design naturally restricts access to target pest sizes, and the optical triggering system is calibrated to respond only to pest-specific movement patterns, turning the potential harm into selective benefit.
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 apparatus provides humane and efficient pest control by reliably killing pests without harming non-target species and allowing for the collection of carcasses for study, reducing stress on the pests and improving trap efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The planar sensor can be selected from the group consisting of infrared, ultrasonic and laser
Implementation Method 2
The planar sensor can be selected from the group consisting of infrared, ultrasonic and laser
Implementation Method 3
The planar sensor can be selected from the group consisting of infrared, ultrasonic and laser
Implementation Method 4
releases a spring loaded kill mechanism operable to impact and kill the rodent in the chamber
Implementation Method 5
the impacting member is operable to be released to rapidly move across the passage
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3~4
AI summary
An apparatus for controlling animal pests comprises a housing having a passage extending into the housing from an entrance, an impacting member movable across the passage and a planar sensor spaced apart from the kill bar by a predetermined distance along the passage towards the entrance, the planar sensor configured to sense the presence of the animal pest across a sensing plane across the passage wherein the impacting member is operable to be released to rapidly move across the passage when the planar sensor indicates the presence of the animal pest as passed through the sensing plane.