CPU-controlled, rearming electronic animal trap with three-killing-plate configuration
First Claim
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1. An electronic pest trap comprising:
- a trap body having a power source and a mechanism for placing said trap into an active standby mode;
a plurality of killing plates positioned within said trap body;
a high-voltage automatic rearming circuit coupled to said killing plates, said circuit, with said trap in said active standby mode, automatically activating in response to detection of a pest body adjacent a pair of said killing plates such that said power source delivers a high-voltage pulse train through said circuit to said killing plates for a time period;
a central processing unit configured to terminate current flow to said killing plates upon completion of said time period; and
said circuit being configured, following termination of said current flow, to detect an absence of a pest body adjacent said killing plates and being further configured to automatically rearm said trap to said active standby mode in response to detecting said absence.
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Abstract
An electronic animal trap with a CPU-controlled, rearming, three-killing-plate configuration and extended killing cycle for trapping and exterminating larger rodents such as rats. The high-voltage output circuit is connected to a pair of killing plates which are activated with a high-voltage pulse train for a killing cycle when a pest of known impedance is sensed across said pair of plates. A third killing plate, electrically coupled to a first plate of said pair of plates, is brought to the voltage level of the first plate within approximately 1 msec of circuit activation for increased kill and escape-prevention capabilities.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An electronic pest trap comprising:
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a trap body having a power source and a mechanism for placing said trap into an active standby mode; a plurality of killing plates positioned within said trap body; a high-voltage automatic rearming circuit coupled to said killing plates, said circuit, with said trap in said active standby mode, automatically activating in response to detection of a pest body adjacent a pair of said killing plates such that said power source delivers a high-voltage pulse train through said circuit to said killing plates for a time period; a central processing unit configured to terminate current flow to said killing plates upon completion of said time period; and said circuit being configured, following termination of said current flow, to detect an absence of a pest body adjacent said killing plates and being further configured to automatically rearm said trap to said active standby mode in response to detecting said absence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 16, 17)
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5. A method for exterminating a pest using an electronic pest trap having a high-voltage rearming circuit electrically coupled to a plurality of killing plates, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) placing the trap into an active standby mode; b) automatically activating said circuit upon detection of a pest positioned to be simultaneously contacting a pair of said killing plates; c) delivering, by said circuit upon said automatic activation, a high-voltage pulse train to said pair of killing plates for a specified time period; d) detecting whether the pest is still positioned to be simultaneously contacting the pair of said killing plates after said specified time period; and e) automatically rearming said trap to said active standby mode upon determining, in response to said step of detecting, an absence of said pest. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An electronic pest trap comprising:
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a trap body having a power source and side walls that define an elongated passageway leading from a trap entrance to a trap back wall; a plurality of killing plates positioned within said trap body and adjacent one another in spaced relationship along said elongated passageway so that each plate is at a different distance from said trap entrance; a high-voltage automatic rearming circuit coupled to said killing plates, said circuit, with said trap in an active standby mode, being configured to automatically activate upon detection of a pest positioned to be simultaneously contacting a pair of said killing plates such that said power source delivers a high-voltage pulse train through said circuit to said killing plates; and said circuit being configured to automatically rearm said trap to said active standby mode in response to a determination that the pest is no longer positioned to be simultaneously contacting a pair of said killing plates. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 18, 19)
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Specification