Pest electrocution device with infrared detector
First Claim
1. A device for electrocuting pests, comprising(a) at least one reference electrode and at least one non-reference electrode, including a plurality of non-reference electrode regions, each of the non-reference electrode regions being spaced apart from a portion of the reference electrode exclusively by an insulating gap defining a distance between each non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode to ensure that one foot of a pest to be electrocuted cannot by itself bridge the distance between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode and complete a circuit between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode, the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode being electrically isolated from one another and arranged to be both contacted by parts of a body of a pest to be electrocuted,(b) an infrared detector responsive to infrared radiation emitted by a pest, said infrared detector providing output signals indicative of the presence of a pest, and(c) a circuit responsive to said output signals, said circuit providing high voltage between the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode when the output signals are indicative of the presence of a pest.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device for electrocuting pests includes first and second electrodes and an infrared detector. The infrared detector is responsive to infrared radiation emitted by a pest and provides output signals indicating the presence of a pest. A circuit responsive to the output signals and responsive to sensing current flowing between the first and second electrodes, which indicates that a pest is present and in contact with the electrodes, provides high voltage across the first and second electrodes when a selected one of the output signals and the sensing current indicates that a pest is in contact with the electrodes.
32 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A device for electrocuting pests, comprising
(a) at least one reference electrode and at least one non-reference electrode, including a plurality of non-reference electrode regions, each of the non-reference electrode regions being spaced apart from a portion of the reference electrode exclusively by an insulating gap defining a distance between each non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode to ensure that one foot of a pest to be electrocuted cannot by itself bridge the distance between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode and complete a circuit between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode, the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode being electrically isolated from one another and arranged to be both contacted by parts of a body of a pest to be electrocuted, (b) an infrared detector responsive to infrared radiation emitted by a pest, said infrared detector providing output signals indicative of the presence of a pest, and (c) a circuit responsive to said output signals, said circuit providing high voltage between the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode when the output signals are indicative of the presence of a pest.
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10. A device for electrocuting pests, comprising
(a) at least one reference electrode and at least one non-reference electrode, including a plurality of non-reference electrode regions, each of the non-reference electrode regions being spaced apart from a portion of the reference electrode exclusively by an insulating gap defining a distance between each non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode to ensure that one foot of a pest to be electrocuted cannot by itself bridge the distance between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode and complete a circuit between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode, the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode being electrically isolated from one another and arranged to be both contacted by parts of a body of a pest to be electrocuted, (b) an infrared detector responsive to infrared radiation emitted by a pest and located to detect proximity of a pest to the reference and non-reference electrodes, said infrared detector generating output signals representative of the proximity of the pest to the reference and non-reference electrodes, (c) a control circuit in electrical communication with the infrared detector for activating a high-voltage generator in response to the infrared detector output signals, (d) said high-voltage generator being activated by the control circuit to provide high voltage between the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode for a predetermined time period, the duration of the predetermined time period and the magnitude of the high voltage being sufficient to electrocute the pest.
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14. A method of electrocuting a pest comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a device having at least one reference electrode and at least one non-reference electrode, including a plurality of non-reference electrode regions, each of the non-reference electrode regions being spaced apart from a portion of the reference electrode exclusively by an insulating gap defining a distance between each non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode to ensure that one foot of a pest to be electrocuted cannot by itself bridge the distance between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode and complete a circuit between the non-reference electrode region and the portion of the reference electrode, the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode being electrically isolated from one another and arranged to be both contacted by parts of a body of a pest to be electrocuted, and an infrared detector responsive to infrared radiation emitted by the pest and generating output signals indicative of the presence of the pest, and a circuit responsive to said output signals indicative of the presence of the pest, (b) comparing the infrared detector output signals with an infrared threshold, (c) causing said circuit to provide high voltage between the at least one reference electrode and the at least one non-reference electrode when the infrared detector output signals exceed the infrared threshold. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification