초록 ▼

A cage-like animal trap has a door mechanism at a front end of the trap which closes on an animal inside of the trap when the animal steps on an internal trip pan while going for bait positioned at the rear of the trap. The door mechanism has a main body panel pivoted to the roof of the trap and a r

A cage-like animal trap has a door mechanism at a front end of the trap which closes on an animal inside of the trap when the animal steps on an internal trip pan while going for bait positioned at the rear of the trap. The door mechanism has a main body panel pivoted to the roof of the trap and a reactor plate pivotally connected to the bottom edge of the body panel and urged away from the body panel by a spring. In the open position, the body panel and reactor plate are squeezed together and lie flat against the roof of the trap held in place by a hook-like trigger in the roof. When the trigger is released by an animal stepping on the trip pan, the body panel of the door is lowered by gravity and the reactor plate springs away from the body panel with its top edge sliding outwardly along the inside of the roof until it engages a stop at the front of the roof. A drop latch in the roof prevents the top edge of the reactor plate from sliding back to the open position of the door mechanism unless the catch is lifted from outside of the trap so that the trapped animal cannot open the door from inside the trap. The trap is disclosed in collapsible and non-collapsible versions.

대표청구항 ▼

[ I claim:] [1.] An animal trap comprising a base, side walls, a roof, a rear wall, a front end provided with an animal access opening, a door mechanism for the front end of the trap, a trip pan inside of the trap to be actuated by an animal going for bait strategically located within the trap and a

[ I claim:] [1.] An animal trap comprising a base, side walls, a roof, a rear wall, a front end provided with an animal access opening, a door mechanism for the front end of the trap, a trip pan inside of the trap to be actuated by an animal going for bait strategically located within the trap and a linkage between the trip pan and the door mechanism for closing the door mechanism and trapping the animal within the trap responsive to actuation of the trip pan, the door mechanism comprising a substantially impermeable main body panel having a top edge pivotally attached internally to the roof of the trap at a location spaced inwardly from said front end, a reactor element including upper, intermediate and lower portions, the lower portions of the reactor element being pivotally attached to a lower edge of the main body panel and a spring element connected between the main body panel and the intermediate portions of the reactor element urging the main body panel and reactor element apart, the door mechanism having an open position with the reactor element and main body panel squeezed together against the force of the spring element and being located substantially flat against the roof internally of the trap with the reactor element situated between the main body panel and the roof, said linkage including a trigger member for engaging the door mechanism and holding the door mechanism in the open position, said trigger member being movable to release the door mechanism by actuation of the trip pan by an animal entering the trap allowing the main body panel to drop by gravity to a closed position of the door mechanism accompanied by separation of the main body panel and reactor element effected by said spring element with said upper portions of the reactor element moving forwardly along the roof of the trap and wherein the main body panel in the closed position extends downwardly to the base of the trap and the reactor element extends across the front end of the trap, the roof of the trap having a stop for arresting the upper portions of the reactor element in the closed position of the door mechanism, a finger-engaging member secured to the lower edge of the door mechanism, the door mechanism being movable manually from the closed position to the open position by lifting up on the finger-engaging member, the spring element being a leaf spring, portions of the leaf spring being secured to the lower edge of the main body panel and defining a loop which forms the finger-engaging member to facilitate lifting of the door mechanism.