Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a trap designed
to trap and kill fur bearing animals in a humane
manner.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
For many years, it has been the widespread
practice in the fur trapping business to trap fur
bearing animals with the inefficient and cruel leg-hold
trap. The widespread use of this trap has caused many
animals to die lingering, painful deaths or suffer
serious injury if they are successful in escaping the
trap. The traps also catch many animals, including
birds, that are of no commercial value.
In recent years, there has been considerable
pressure exerted, mainly by environmentally minded
groups, to outlaw the use of leg-hold traps. Coincident
with this, there has been a strong need for the
development of a trap for fur bearing animals that kills
the anirnals quickly in a humane manner.
~umerous designs of traps, some purportedly
being humane in operation, are illustrated and taught in
the prior art. Some of these are identified and
discussed below.
Nerby, U.S. Patent No. 1,620,777, discloses a
choking trap with grips. The mechanics of this trap
prevent it from developing the impact and clamping force
required in a humane trap. As the power for one jaw is
transmitted through the horizontal wires 5, 6 and 7,
from one side to the other, this wire tends to twist and
not develop the required power necessary to kill the
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animal humanely.
Booth, U.S. Patent No. 1,782,253, discloses a
trap which has constricting arms which are powered to
pivot on two rivets. They do not interlock at the
centre point, which is very important for humane death.
In a trap of this design, the jaws tend to spread which
allows the animal to breath, or does not constrict the
circulation. The trap does not have provisions for
mounting and can only be used with the jaws down.
Johnson, U.S. Patent No. 4,109,407, discloses
a trap with curved jaws or grips. the trap is triggered
by a treadle which has proven to be generally
unreliable. The trap is powered by one jaw only. This
can be a disadvantage because it tends to throw the
animal out of the trap or injure it rather than catch
it. This trap does not fold up and hence is very bulky
and cumbersome for trappers to transport, especially the
model with double jaws. This trap appears to be
designed only for ground and burrow sets. As it states,
it is designed to catch the animal in the chest and
heart area and apply pressure to the body to kill it.
This would only apply to the type of animal the trap was
built for. Smaller animals would necessarily be caught
about the stomach area which is highly undesirable.
SUM~ARY OF THE INVENTION
I have invented a humane fur bearing animal
trap that has a number of very important advantages as
listed be~ow.
1) the trap is light in weight for the power
it produces,
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2) It is compact to transport.
3) There is less time involved in preparing
sets.
4) It is perfectly safe to set with settiny
tool.
5) It does not foul easily in stormy and
freezing conditions.
6) It cannot be used as a leg-hold device.
The mounting flange in my trap serves several
important functions.
1) It is designed to hold the trap rigid in
the set position which prevents the
tendency for the trap to throw itself in
various directions when fired or sprung.
This gives the trap consistency.
2) It releases the trap when sprung to
prevent the animal from pulling itself
free or in various painful positions after
it has been caught.
3) It hangs the animal which contributes to
the instant killing power of the trap. It
stops the animal from pulling against the
trap and prevents mice and othere
predators from damaging the pelt.
The invention is directed to a trap for fur
bearing animals comprising:
a) a pair of grips that are normally
juxtapositioned with one another and can
be drawn apart but upon release snap
together;
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b) grip powering means for snapping the grips
together when -the grips are released after
being drawn apart;
c) a release means that holds the grips apart
when they have been drawn apart and upon
activation permits the two grips to snap
together from the drawn apart position
and
d) means for mounting and holding the pair of
grips (a), powering means (b) and release
means (c) on a stationary object, which
means frees the pair of grips (a),
powering means (b) and release means (c)
when the release means (c) has been
activated.
A trap as described in association with a grip
spreading means such as is used to draw the pair of
grips apart. The spreading means may operate on a
hand-jack principle and may have two projections which
hold the grips and draw them apart when the hand-jack is
manually operated. In the trap described, the pair of
grips (a) may be curved.
A trap as described, wherein the grip powering
means (b) may be a coil spring mounted on a post and
frame which guides the movement of the pair of
grips (a).
A trap as described wherein the release means
may comprise a projection that rotates on the frame and
in a loaded position. holds the pair of grips (a) apart
after they have been drawn apart, and in a released
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position permits the pair of grips (a) to snap
together.
The projection may be manually moved to its
loaded position after the pair of grips (a) have been
drawn apart and the projection may be held in its loaded
position by a second means to which bait can be
attached, the second means being capable of being moved
out of position when the bait is taken, thereby
permitting the projection to move to a released
position.
In the trap described, the mounting means (d)
may be connected to the pair of grips (a), powering
means (b) and release means (c) by a chain which
suspends these components from the stationary object,
after the release means (c) is activated and the
components are freed from the mounting means (d).
DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIGURE 1 represents a plan elevation view of
the trap;
FIGURE 2 represents a side elevation view of
the setting tool for the trap,
FIGURE 3 represents a side elevation view of
the trap with the trigger set in place;
FIGURE 4 represents a plan elevation view of
the trap in a set position with the bait holding arm
omitted;
FIGURE 5 represents a perspective view of the
setting tool in position to spread the jaws of the
trap.
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FIGURE 6 represents a detail elevation view of
the trigger in set position with the bait holding arm;
FIGURE 7 represents a detail elevation view of
the trigger when sprung from the bait holding arm; and
FIGURE 8 represents a side elevation view of
the trap set in an upright position on the end of a log.
FIGURE 9 represents an end perspective view
showing the trap mounted on its side.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF_A_SPECIFIC
EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
Basically , the trap consists of a core
spring 10 mounted about a hollow cylindrical post 4
located at the end of the trap opposite the jaws.
Flanges 5 and frame 2 retain the spring 10 in position.
The two ends of the coil 10 extend respectively to form
two arms 8 which at an end removed from the coil 10 are
formed into two intertwining trap grips 6. A trigger 16
is mounted on a rotatable cross-arm 14 which extends
between two holders 12 connected to the frame 2 at the
end remote from the coil 10. Trigger 16 is constructed
to have a notch 20 at one end and a blunt end 18 at the
other which extends to the frame 2 when upright. A bait
holding arm 24 is connected to the cylindrical post 4 of
the trap by loop 22. ~ mounting plate designated by the
general numeral 30 is connected through chain 40 to the
cylindrical post 4. The mounting plate 30 consists of a
flat base plate 31 having two vertical sides 36, a
slightly curved flange 32 with two recesses 34 formed
therein.
The setting tool designated generally by
numeral 44 shown in FIGURE 2, consists of a cylindrical
rod 60 on which is positioned a width adjusting
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mechanism 46. The internal components of the width
adjusting mechanism 46 are conventional and do not
represent part of this invention. Basically, the width
adjusting mechanism 46 operates in a manner similar to a
conventional hand operated car bumper jack or caulking
gun. The adjusting mechanism 46 is made up of a
handle 47, a jack lever 48, and a rod guide 50. The rod
guide 50 has a grip insert point 52 extending downwardly
from it. The rod 60 extends through the mechanism 46
and has at the end adjacent the point 52 a grip
catch 56.
The trap of this invention is designed to trap
climbing animals only. Prior to setting the trap the
flat base plate 31 of the mounting plate 30 is nailed to
an exposed end of a log or a tree branch so that the
sides 36 extend outwardly and vertically from the log or
tree branch as is illustrated in FIGURE 8. The setting
tool 44 is then adjusted by pushing button 54 and
sliding adjusting mechanism 46 toward the catch 56 of
the setting tool 44, until the grip insert point 52 is
adjacent the catch 56. The point and the catch 56 are
then inserted in the gap 7 between the grips 6. The two
grips 6 are then drawn apart by jacking the jack
lever 58 until the grips 6 are drawn apart to a position
similar to that shown in FIGURE 4. The end 18 of the
trigger 16 is then positioned between the two
overlapping arms 8 so as to prevent the spring 10 from
forcing the grips 6 back into the neutral position shown
in FIGURE 1. The notched end 20 of the trigger 16 is
then placed over the point 27 in trigger receiver 26 of
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the bait holding arm 24. FIGURES 6 and 7 in particular
illustrate the respective positions of the trigger 16
and bait holding arm 24 in set and inset positions. The
notch 20, in the set portion (FIGURE 6) fits over
point 27 of arm 24. The grips 6 are thereby effectively
retained in the position shown in FIGURE 4. The grips 6
are then positioned to extend vertically above the end
of the tree branch or log by positioning the arms 8 so
that they rest within the recesses 34 of flange 32. The
bait can then be placed on the pointed end 28 of the
bait holding arm 24. The trap is then ready for use.
When an animal crawls along the log or tree
branch on which the trap is mounted (see FIGURE 8), it
will have to put its head through the grips 6 in order
to get at the bait. When the animal grabs the bait from
the pointed end 28 of the arm 24, the arm 24 will be
pulled toward the grips 6, This frees the notched end 20
of the trigger 16 from the point 27 so that it is no
longer contacting the bait holding arm 24. The blunt
end 18 of the trigger 16 is thus pushed out of position
by the force of the spring 10 acting through the arms 8.
The grips 6 thereupon snap to the neutral position as
illustrated in FIGURE 1. In the process, the two
grips 6 grap the animal tightly about the neck, often
immediately breaking the neck of the animal.
Simultaneously with closing of the grips 6, the arms 8,
in an attempt to resume their parallel position as shown
in FIGURE 1, will fall out of the recesses 34 of the
flange 32. This will result in the grips 6, arms 8,
spring 10, cylindrical post 4 and frame 2 and trapped
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animal falling vertically away from the mounting
flange 30 to a distance limited by the length of the
chain 40. The animal, if it has not instantly been
killed by the force of the spring 10 acting through the
grips 6 and arms 8, will likely be killed by the force
of the abrupt termination of the fall when the chain 40
is straight.
When setting the trap, it is desirable not to
force the grips 6 too far past the setting position.
The grips 6 should be opened just far enough to latch
the trigger 16 comfortably. By holding one's thumb on
the outer edge of the trigger 16, the mechanism 46 can
be released by pressing the button 42 on the rear of the
handle 47. The tension should not be held on the moving
part of the handle 47. Pushing forward slightly on the
mechanism 46 when releasing it enables it to be removed
very easily. When set, the trap will sit rigidly on its
mounting plate 30.
The trap can be used in an upright position,
or it can be mounted in other ways (for example on its
side) on various objects to trap various types of
animals. FIGURE 8 illustrates one way in which the trap
can be mounted on its side. A piece of 1" X 2" board 61
can be nailed to a log 62 by a spike 63. The trap can
then be nailed to the board 61 by two spikes 64.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the
art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many
alterations and modifications are possible in the
practice of this invention without departing from the
spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the
invention is to be construed in accordance with the
substance defined by the following claims.
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