Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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01 Rodents have plagued mankind for centuries
02 bringing desease and pestilance into major population
03 centers and competing directly with mankind for food
04 either by direct consumption or by fouling the stored
05 materials with their droppings, dirt, and parasites.
06 There have been many solutions proposed in
07 the past to control or reduce rodent populations, and
08 the most effective to date has been the use of
09 poisoned baits.
The technique employed by users of these
11 baits is to place the bait in an area infested by
12 rodents, particularly along the walls in areas where
13 rodents have been seen traveling in.
14 The rodents passing through the area
detect the poisoned bait and perceiving it as a food
16 source, consume the poison causing their dernise.
17 Some of the prior art devices which have
18 been developed to contain and deliver rodenticides are
19 characterized by U.S. patent Nos. 1,561,644 issued
11/1925 to Hanson, 2,480,724 issued 8/1949 to
21 Feussner; 2,568,168 issued 9/1951 to Query; 2,626,089
22 issued 1/1953 to Osfar; 2,690,029 issued 9/1954 to
23 Mullen; 2,725,664 issued 12/1955 to Mullen; 3,352,053
24 issued 11/1967 to ~nderson; 4,026,064 issued 5/1977 to
Baker; 4,349,982 issued 9/1982 to Sherman, and Foreign
26 Patent 648419 issued 7/1937 in the Federal Republic of
27 Germany.
28 These devices are defective for the
29 following reasons: they are bulky, cumbersome,
fragile, susceptable to rupture and in cases to
31 spillage of their contents and, they present a
32 potential haæard to children and domestic animals.
33 Most of the devices only afford the illusion of
34 protecting the bait from contaminating the
environment.
36 On the whole, prior art devices do not
37 advance the state of the art of rodenticide
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01 containment and will not fully meet the current laws
02 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and will
03 in most cases endanger children and pets if placed in
04 areas that are accessible to them.
05 An object of the present invention is to
06 improve the state of the art by improving on the
07 SXERMAN PATENT and provide an even more tamper-proof
08 device that will wi-thstand indoor and outdoor usage
09 and will withstand high traffic and abuse in food
processing areas, warehouses, farms, schools, and
11 homes.
12 A further object of the instant invention
13 is the provision of a tamper-proof roden-t bait
14 container that has a system of internal and ex-ternal
baffles that will prevent children from reaching into
16 the box to tamper with its contents.
17 Another object of the instant invention is
18 to provide a tamper-proof bait station in which the
19 design of the cover protects the contents from weather
and the elements, keeping the bait palatable for a
21 longer period of time.
22 Still another object of the invention is
23 to provide a tamper-proof baiter with a novel hidden
24 method of closure that will foil or inhibi-t the
possibility of unauthorized persons from opening the
26 unit and exposing its contents.
27 Still another object of the instant
28 invention is to provide a tamper-proof bait station
29 with internal ba~fles that direct the rodent to the
farthest point in which the bait is located, thereby
31 insuring the least possible contact of the bait by
32 unauthorized personnel or non-target species.
33 Yet another object of the invention is to
34 provide a tamper-proof baiter whose floor is designed
with a slope that moves the rodent poison to a desired
36 position within the structure, collecting it and
37 securing it, out of the reach of anyone trying to
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01 reach in from the outside.
02 And finally, the invention provides a
03 method of floor mounting, that when the baiter is
04 secured to the floor, will allow easy removal of the
05 unit for cleaning and servicing, but will inhibit or
06 foil movement of the ba:iter due to the tampering of
07 small children, domestic pets, wildlife, or in the
08 normal day to day activities of a commercial
09 establishment.
Rodents, being nocturnal in nature, feed
11 in low or no light environments and require the
12 perception of night in order to feel comfortable
13 feeding. This "security" of night feeding stimulates
14 the rodents natural instincts and insures that they
consume more food (or rodenticide) upon coming in
16 contact with the food source.
17 With the introduction of "one feed"
18 rodenticides, bait stations should be replenished more
19 often and a minimum of this powerful poison should be
used on each servicing of the device.
21 This insures the most economical use of
22 expensive baits and the least possible exposure to
23 baits by non-target species. It also allows the best
24 possible use of poisoned baits in ridding an area of
large numbers of rodents.
26 To practically fulfill the need for more
27 servicing of the baiter and, to provide the rodent
28 with a habitat that imitates night conditions, a bait
29 station, constructed of materials that are
translucent, allowing the user to see in and measure
31 visually the amount of bait left, to audit rodent
32 activity and, to provide the rodent that enters the
33 baiter with the illusion of night, would significantly
34 increase the efficasy of the entire bai-ting system.
An embodiment of the invention is a
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01 tamper-proof rodent bait station having a base member
02 with first and second compartments divided by a
03 partition, the partition containing openings at each
04 of its ends and forminy a baffle that inhibits
05 spillage of bait from the second compartment, and
06 including a cover member capable of being secured to
07 the base member by means integral with the bait
08 station. The bait station contains apertures which
09 open into the first of the compartments in the
interior of the bait station, the apertures marking
11 the ends of an internal passageway extending parallel
12 to the partition and to a wall of the bait station.
13 The bait station contains two tunnel members, each
14 extending outwardly from a respective aperture on the
sides to form a pathway parallel with the wall, and in
16 line with the internal passageway, for the rodents to
17 enter and exit the bait station. The base includes
18 deflective baffles, each positioned partially and
19 angularly into the passageway for providing security
in relation to poisoned bait in the second
21 compartment, while allowing a rodent to traverse the
22 passageway freely and, to obtain line of sight from
23 one side to the other side prior to entering the bait
24 station. The deflective baffles provide tamper-proof
protection in combination with the tunnel members,
26 whereby, access of hands are prevented from reaching
27 around the deflective baffles into the second
28 compartment on the side closest to the respective
29 tunnel member, th~ tunnel members elongating the
distance to the second compartment to deny access of
31 hands from reaching through a partition opening
32 located at the opposite side of the bait station.
33 These and other objects, advantages and
34 novel features of the invention will become apparent
from the following description of the invention when
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01 considered in conjunction with the accompanying
02 drawings.
03 Figure 1 is a detail drawing of the
04 invention with the cover and base in place and the
05 unit secured to a substrata and against a ver-tical
06 wall. Figure 1 demonstrates no-t only the mechanical
07 configuration of the baiters internal structure but,
08 also that of the material that the baiter is
09 constructed of that provides a translucent quality and
that allows the contents of the baiter, the rodent
11 activity and the bait consumption, to be viewed
12 without removal of the baiters cover.
13 Figure 2 appears out of consecutive order
14 following Figure 3 and illustrates a top plan view of
the bait station showing the perspective and detail of
16 the construction and interior detail including the
17 internal baffles, the floor mounting feature, the
18 sloped floor collecting bait, and the locking feature.
19 Figure 3 is a cross sectional detail view
of the cover and base showing the side detail, the
21 floor mounting detail, the sloped floor, and the
22 hidden locking feature.
23 Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view
24 of the tamper-proof rodent bait station container
which comprises the instant invention.
26 Figure 5 shows the floor mounting unit
27 consisting of an independent tray with channels
28 designed to accept the lips formed on the baiter at
29 sides and rear.
Figure 6 is a cross section of the floor
31 mounting unit showing two possible methods of mounting
32 the tray to the floor, double sided tape and screws,
33 both being demonstrated.
34 Figure 7 demonstrates the co-operation
between the baiter and the floor mounting unit.
36 As can be seen by reference to Figure 4,
37 the tamper-proof rodent bait station container is
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01 designed generally as 10 an~ comprises a cover member
02 28 and a base member 26.
03 rrhe cover member 28 is a solid body that
04 includes two entrance holes contained in the tunnel
05 structure 12, three rear slots 24 that co-operate with
06 the base cams 20 and three front embossments 30 that
07 co-operate with the base 18 to lock the unit
08 securely. The entire cover structure 28 is made of
09 solid material and will repel the entrance of water
from rain or cleaning operations and foil attempts of
11 children or pets to touch its contents.
12 The elongated tunnel structure 12 provides
13 an opening for the rodent to enter the station and,
14 when fastened to the floor, and against a vertical
wall, produces a path that directs the rodent into the
16 container while conforming to proven patterns of
17 rodent behavior.
18 The elongated tunnel entrance 12 also
19 directs a hand or other object towards the shielding
baffle 14 and prevents contact with the bait which is
21 contained in the base structure 26 and collected in
22 the recess formed by the sloping floor 22.
23 As seen in Figure 4, the base unit 26 is
24 constructed with three raised members 18 a-t its front
and three cams at its rear 20 which co-operate with
26 cover members 30 and 24.
27 Reviewing Figure 3 we see that when the
28 embossment 30 on the cover member 28 are inserted into
29 the raised members on the base 18 and the cover is
pressed downward, the slots on the cover 24 are locked
31 into the base cams 20 to complete A solid closure that
32 resists any upward motion to open them.
33 Figure 3 also demonstrates the lip 32,
34 which is formed in base memeber 26, to provide a
method of sliding the baiter into a separate channel
36 fixture as shown in Figure 5 that is mounted to the
37 floor for added security of the bait station to a
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01 floor surface.
02 Referring to Figure 1 we see the baffle
03 wall 14 in place and reviewing Figure ~ -the baffle
n4 wall 14 is shown in perspective as it blocks direct
05 entrance to the area that contains the rodenticide.
06 Figure 2 shows the path of a rodent entering the
07 baiter and demonstrates that because of the angle of
08 the tunnel structure 12 and the corresponding angle of
09 the baffle 14, it becomes impossible for a hand to
reach in and contact the posion located at the area it
11 has been collected in by the sloped floor 22. A
12 rodent, because of its size and the fluid s-tructure of
13 its body, will have no difficulty in entering and
14 traversing the baiter.
Figure 3 shows the relationship between
16 the tunnel opening in the tunnel structure 12, the
17 baffle wall 14 and the sloped surface 22.
18 The angular construction of the cover
19 28 deflects blows by brooms and feet and protects the
baiter from damage.
21 Figures 3 and 4 also show the co-operation
22 of the cover and the base to form a tight, fitted
23 structure that withstands abuse.
24 As demonstrated in Figures 4 and 3, the
unit is mounted to the floor by keyhole slots 16 which
26 provide a method of fastening the unit to the floor
27 and yet allow the unit to be removed for cleaning and
28 servicing.
29 This novel mounting feature protects the
baiter from being moved and the dislodging of the bait
31 by children and pets.
32 When mounted to a horizontal strata and
33 against a vertical surface such as a wall, the baiter
34 cannot be opened because its rear wall, which contains
the slots 24, cannot be flexed to allow the cams on
36 the base 20 to free themselves.
37 The only way to service the contents then
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01 becomes to free the baiter from the floor and flex the
02 rear wall to move the slots 24 off the cams 20 and
03 then to lift the rear of the baiter upward which will
04 allow the front 30 to disengage from the base slots
05 18.
06 It should be noted tha-t the cover member
07 28 is construc-ted to overlap the base member 26 and is
08 the dominant structure in the overall configuration of
09 the total rodent baiter.
This configuration provides additional
11 protection to the rodenticide from moisture and
12 assists in keeping the bait fresh when the baiter is
13 placed in proximity to moisture.
14 The base unit 26, contains a lip on two
sides which extend past the cover, at floor level,
when the top and bottom members are joined together.
17 This lip 32, provides a method of mounting
18 the unit to a separate floor mounted channel as shown
19 in Figure 5 and allows the baiter to be slid out of
the floor mounting channel, which is glued or
21 otherwise secured to the floor, for servicing and
2~ cleaning.
23 Figure 1 showing the material construction
24 of the baiter also demonstrates the use of a
translucent material that will provide the interior o~
26 the baiter with a spectrum of light in the night
27 shades. This coloring of the interior light is
28 accomplished by utilizing a plastic or other material,
29 of translucent quality, that converts natural or
artificial light in the surrounding environment to
31 shades of red, blue, green or other colors that will
32 simulate night and dim lighting in the baiters
33 interior.
34 Figure 5 depicts the floor mounting unit
96 that can be secured to a substrata by alternate
36 means such as screws 90 and double sided tape 92. As
37 shown in Figure 5, the floor mounting unit consists of
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01 an independent tray, with channels 94, formed in -the
02 side and rear of the unit to hold the baiter in place
03 when the tips o the baiter have been slid into the
04 channels.
05 Also depicted in Figure 5 is the use of
06 raised bosses 98 to hold the inserted baiter 10
07 tightly in place when fully inserted into the mounting
08 unit. Figure 7 shows the bait station in co-operation
09 with the floor mounting unit 96. We clearly see the
lips 32 of the baiter 10 being slid into the channels
11 94 of the mounting unit 96. The mounting unit 96 has
12 been secured to the floor through the use of double
13 sided tape 92 or as an alternate screws gO. The
14 entire unit fits together to form an integrated rodent
bait that is securely mounted to the floor and resists
16 the efforts to tamper with its contents or to remove
17 it from the area in which it has been installed.
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