Tapered Base Mousetrap for Unstable Triggering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mousetraps require the mouse to reach and take the bait to trigger the striker, allowing the mouse to potentially steal the bait without being caught, and may cause suffering if the trigger mechanism is delayed or improperly set.
Innovation Solution
A mousetrap with a tapered base that becomes increasingly thinner from the mid-point of the coiled spring to the end, causing the striker to release when the mouse steps on any part of the platform, creating an unstable surface that triggers the trap regardless of the mouse's proximity to the bait.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mousetrap uses a flat base design, then the structure is simple and stable, but the mouse can stand on the trap without triggering it, reducing the catch success rate
Solution Approach 1:
The base is designed with an asymmetric tapered shape, being thinner at one end and thicker at the other. This asymmetric geometry creates an unstable platform that tilts when the mouse steps on it, automatically triggering the striker mechanism. The asymmetry transforms a stable flat surface into an inherently unstable one that responds to the mouse's weight distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The base thickness parameter is varied along its length, creating a gradient from thin to thick. This parameter change in the base geometry fundamentally alters the platform's stability characteristics, making it sensitive to the mouse's position and weight, thereby increasing the probability of triggering the trap.
2Reliability
If the bait is set properly on a flat base, then the trigger mechanism can function, but the mouse may still steal the bait without triggering the trap by reaching for it
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric tapered base creates an unstable surface that triggers the striker as soon as the mouse steps on any part of it, regardless of whether the mouse is attempting to take the bait or simply exploring. This eliminates the need for precise bait placement and prevents bait stealing by making the entire base surface a trigger zone.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of designing the trap to trigger only when the mouse interacts with the bait (traditional approach), this invention inverts the logic by making the entire base unstable and triggering the trap when the mouse interacts with any part of the base. This reverses the triggering condition from bait-specific to base-specific.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the trigger mechanism is delayed or improperly set on a flat base, then the mouse may be caught by body or tail causing suffering, but adjusting the trigger sensitivity makes the trap less reliable
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric tapered base provides immediate and consistent triggering as soon as the mouse steps on it, eliminating delayed triggering. The instability is built into the base geometry itself, ensuring that the trigger fires promptly when the mouse's weight causes the base to tilt, preventing the mouse from being caught by body or tail.
Solution Approach 2:
The base structure itself serves the dual function of supporting the trap components and providing the triggering mechanism through its asymmetric geometry. The base automatically tilts and triggers the striker when the mouse steps on it, without requiring additional sensitive adjustments or complex trigger mechanisms.
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
This design ensures a higher success rate of catching the mouse by triggering the trap upon stepping on the platform, eliminating the opportunity for the mouse to steal the bait and minimizing suffering, regardless of bait placement or mouse experience.
Implementation Method 1
When the mouse steps on any part of the top of the tapered base, the weight of the mouse causes the mousetrap to lurch downward
Data Source
AI summary
The improvement to the prior art mousetrap is the creation of a wedge cut from at or near the spring to the end of the mousetrap. The wedge length is from around the mid-point of the coiled spring to the end of the platform (the tapering occurs on the side of the bait portion of the trap). This tapering of the platform creates an unstable, tilting platform and as soon as the mouse steps onto it that increases the sensitivity of triggering the release of the striker, catching the mouse. The mouse could stand anywhere on the tapered platform, springing the trap and capturing the mouse on the platform, whether or not the mouse is close to the bait.