Three-Way Trigger Mechanism for Live Animal Trap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional live animal traps often fail to capture animals effectively, as they can bypass the trigger and escape with bait without tripping the door, especially smaller animals that do not push or pull the trigger fore and aft, leading to incomplete capture.
Innovation Solution
A live animal trap with a three-way trigger that can be actuated in rearward, lateral, and potentially longitudinal directions, featuring a spring-biased trigger and a sliding or hinged door mechanism, ensuring the animal cannot escape once bait is accessed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional one-way or two-way trigger is used, then the trap structure remains simple, but animals can bypass the trigger and escape without the door closing
Solution Approach 1:
The trigger mechanism is extended from one-way or two-way actuation to three-way actuation, allowing the trigger to be moved laterally to the left or right in addition to forward and rearward movements. This dimensional expansion ensures that animals using different approaches or movement patterns cannot bypass the trigger, thereby improving capture reliability without significantly increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The trigger mechanism is designed to respond to multiple types of animal interactions (pushing, pulling, lateral movement) through a single integrated structure. The trigger can be actuated from any direction along its travel path, making it universally effective against various animal behaviors and sizes, thereby improving reliability while maintaining functional unity
2Reliability
If a three-way trigger with multiple movement axes is implemented, then escape routes are eliminated, but the trigger mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The trigger mechanism is extended from one-way or two-way actuation to three-way actuation, allowing the trigger to be moved laterally to the left or right in addition to forward and rearward movements. This dimensional expansion ensures that animals using different approaches or movement patterns cannot bypass the trigger, thereby improving capture reliability without significantly increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple actuation directions (forward, rearward, lateral) are integrated into a single trigger mechanism that responds to any of these movements. By combining multiple functional responses into one unified trigger structure, the design achieves high reliability without proportionally increasing complexity, as the trigger components work together in an integrated system
3Ease of operation
If a spring-biased trigger mechanism is used, then the trigger can be reset automatically, but the device requires more components
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-biased trigger mechanism automatically resets itself after being actuated, without requiring manual intervention. The spring stores energy when the trigger is set and automatically returns the trigger to its original position after release, enabling the trap to be reused immediately. This self-resetting capability significantly improves ease of operation while adding only a single spring component to the system
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 three-way trigger mechanism virtually eliminates escape routes, ensuring a higher likelihood of animal capture by allowing activation through multiple movement axes, enhancing the trap's effectiveness and safety.
Implementation Method 1
A trigger can be moved from a set position to hold the front door open and a tripped position to allow the front door to close
Data Source
AI summary
A trap for capturing small animals, such as raccoons, includes a housing with front and rear doors, and a three-way trigger which is actuated by an animal trying to reach bait located in the housing and behind the trigger. The trigger can be moved longitudinally forward to a set position which holds the door open to release the door to a closed position. The trigger can be actuated or tripped in either left or right lateral directions, or in a rearward longitudinal direction to release the door to a closed position. The trigger is spring biased toward the set position. The front door slides vertically within guide tracks extending along opposite lateral edges of the front door, or alternatively, is hinged for pivotal movement. The back door can be opened for positioning bait inside the housing.