JP7787573B2 - Trigger device for animal trap and animal trap - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a trigger device for an animal trap and an animal trap. More specifically, when used in combination with a leg-binding trap, even if soil or grass gets in around the pedal part of the trigger, the soil or grass will not interfere with the operation of the trigger, and the sensitivity of the trigger when an animal's foot pressure is applied is stabilized, preventing the trap from being misfired or resulting in an erroneous capture.

In recent years, damage to agricultural crops caused by wild animals such as wild boars has been on the rise, and local governments and other organizations are capturing and disposing of a certain number of these animals in order to maintain an appropriate number that allows them to coexist with humans. However, hunting using animal traps, for example, requires a certain level of skill, and the number of people engaged in hunting (hunters) is decreasing year by year as the population ages. For this reason, there is a need for a method that allows less skilled hunters, or even ordinary people, to efficiently capture target animals.

To improve the capture rate of animal traps, such as leg-binding traps, it is necessary to prevent so-called "missing trips," which occur when the trap fails to capture the animal despite being activated. Most missed trips in leg-binding traps occur when the animal's leg, such as a wild boar, is in a position where it cannot be trapped by the wire rope's loop, or when the animal's leg is in a position where it can be trapped by the wire rope's loop but the force applied to the foot is insufficient. One example of a device that prevents such missed trips is the animal trap trigger device described in Patent Document 1, proposed by the present inventor.

This conventional animal trap trigger device has a hook that hooks onto the ends of the fixed arm and lifting arm of the snaring trap body when they are closed; a foot member that is integral with the hook; and a foot member that has a through hole in the center or approximately the center. The trigger member is located on the underside of the foot member and passes through the through hole in the center or approximately the center, allowing it to move up and down from bottom to top. The tip of the trigger member protrudes from the tip of the foot member, and when the trap is set, the longitudinal tip is placed over the hook receiving portion at the edge of the setting hole. When the trigger member is deformed (flexed) by a load acting from above, the tip of the trigger member disengages from the hook receiving portion. The foot trap can only be activated when the animal's foot is in a position where it can be tied with the snaring loop of the wire rope and is stepped on with sufficient force.

JP 2015-109824 A

The above-mentioned conventional trigger devices for animal traps are quite useful in terms of preventing false triggers. However, when actually used in hunting situations, the following issues have been identified:

In other words, if a conventional animal trap trigger device, such as the one shown in Figures 1 to 7 of the prior art publication, is not used with the cover tube described below, there is a high possibility that dirt, grass, etc. will get in between the contact body of the trigger and the foot member when the trap is set. If this happens, when the animal's foot steps on the contact body of the trigger, the dirt, grass, etc. will get in the way, causing the sensitivity of the trigger to become unstable and preventing the contact body from being lowered sufficiently, making it difficult for the foot member to fall, and as a result, the foot trap may not activate.

To solve this problem, the above-mentioned animal trap trigger device is designed to fit a shrinkable, deformable cover tube around the contact body of the trigger. This prevents dirt and grass from getting inside the cover tube, i.e., between the contact body of the trigger and the foot member.

However, in actual use, the cover tube itself can deform inward due to the pressure of the surrounding soil and grass, and when it is crushed from above by the force of an animal's footsteps, it has been found that this can become a hindrance in the same way as the soil and grass that gets caught in between. As such, if the sensitivity of the trigger is not stable, there is a high possibility that the device will activate but not capture the target animal, or that it will mistakenly capture an animal other than the target animal, such as a protected species.

The present invention was devised in light of the above points, and aims to provide a trigger device for animal traps that, when used in combination with a leg-binding trap, prevents dirt or grass from getting in around the pedal part of the trigger, making it less likely that the dirt or grass will interfere with the operation of the trigger, and stabilizes the sensitivity of the trigger when the animal's foot pressure is applied, thereby preventing the trap from firing idiotically or catching animals by mistake, as well as an animal trap that uses the same.

(1) In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention comprises an engaging portion that can engage with the ends of the fixed arm and the lifting arm of the snare trap body, which has a wire rope that is biased in the direction of opening the fixed arm and the lifting arm by a biasing body, and which maintains the fixed arm and the lifting arm in a closed state when the fixed arm and the lifting arm open, a receiving portion that is formed integrally with the engaging portion and has a hole of a required size that penetrates the top and bottom surfaces to allow soil and grass to fall downward, and a flexible material that is located on the underside of the receiving portion. The trap comprises a spring plate member with its longitudinal tip protruding from the receiving part, and when the trap is set, its tip is hung over the receiving part on the edge of the trap hole; and a trigger unit attached to the spring plate member with a pedal that passes through the trap hole from bottom to top and is movable up and down. The pedal unit is block-shaped, with its side surface forming a plane approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member, and the tread surface on which the animal steps is formed approximately parallel to the spring plate member, and the tread surface is treated with an anti-slip coating.

The trigger device for animal traps of the present invention is set in a hole dug in an animal trail or similar, with the fixed arm of the snare trap body engaging with the tip of the lifting arm at the engagement part to maintain a closed state. The snare loop of the wire rope is tightened when the arms open, and the tip of the snare loop is set so that it surrounds a spring plate member that is placed in a receiving part at the edge of the trap hole. At this time, soil or grass is placed over the receiving part to camouflage the trap or to reduce the animals' wariness of the metallic smell.

When an animal traveling along the trail presses with sufficient force on the pedal portion of the animal trap trigger device inside the wire rope's shackle loop, the force of the foot acts from above, causing the spring plate member to bend and deform, causing the tip of the spring plate member to retract, releasing it from the latch receiving portion and causing the trigger portion to drop.

When the spring plate member bends and deforms, much of the soil and grass that was on the spring plate member through the hole to occupy the size of the hole when the trap was set falls downward through the opening of the hole as the spring plate member moves downward.

In addition, the pedal is block-shaped, with its sides flat and approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member, so even if there is some dirt or grass around it, it will not get caught on it and cause significant resistance. This means that the dirt or grass is less likely to get in the way of the pedal when it is lowered by the animal's pressure, ensuring stable sensitivity and operation of the trigger.

Furthermore, the tread surface that the animal steps on is treated with an anti-slip coating and is formed to be a flat surface that is approximately parallel to the spring plate member, making it difficult for the animal's foot to slip on the tread surface and preventing the foot from slipping significantly off the tread surface, ensuring that the force of the step is transmitted more reliably to the tread surface and stabilizing the sensitivity of the trigger unit.

As the trigger part falls downward as described above, the receiving part of the animal trap trigger device moves downward together with the engaging part, disengaging the engaging part from the ends of both arms and activating the snare trap body. At this time, the animal's legs are in a position where they can be snagged by the snare rings (near the trigger part) and are pressed down with sufficient force, so the legs penetrate deep into the trap hole and the base of the legs is snagged by the snare rings of the wire rope, allowing for a more secure capture of the animal.

Furthermore, when an animal's foot steps on the inside of the shackle ring with insufficient force, the spring plate member does not deform sufficiently even when a load is applied from above, and the tip of the spring plate member does not release from the latch receiving part, so the shackle trap body does not operate.

Furthermore, when an animal's foot does not step on the pedal portion of the animal trap trigger device but instead steps on the receiving portion with great force, there is almost no deformation or other effect on the trigger portion, so the trigger portion does not fall off and the tip of the spring plate member does not come loose from the latch receiving portion, so the snare trap body does not activate in this case either.

In this way, unless the animal's foot is in a position where it can be caught by the snaring ring and the foot is stepped on with enough force to cause the spring plate member to flex and deform, releasing the tip of the spring plate member from the latch receiver, the engagement between the fixed arm of the snaring trap body and the engagement part at the tip of the lifting arm cannot be released, and as a result the animal trap will not operate.

Therefore, with this animal trap trigger device, the snare trap body can be activated only under conditions that are likely to result in successful capture of an animal, i.e., when the animal's legs are in a position where they can be snagged by the snare ring, and the spring plate member is stepped on with enough force to flex and disengage the tip of the spring plate member from the latch receiver. This means that animals can be captured without the trap being idiotically activated, and the possibility of catching an animal other than the intended target is reduced.

On the other hand, under conditions where there is a high possibility of failing to capture an animal, i.e., when the animal's legs are in a position where they cannot be caught by the shackle ring, or when the legs are in a position where they can be caught by the shackle ring but the spring plate member is not stepped on with enough force to flex and disengage the tip of the spring plate member from the latch receiving part, the animal trap can be stopped from operating.

In this way, according to the present invention, stabilizing the sensitivity of the trigger unit makes it less likely for the animal trap to trip, thereby improving the capture rate. Bear populations are declining and bears are now protected species, so it is particularly important to prevent their erroneous capture. Bears have relatively large front paws (palms), so even if they step on the pedal part of the trigger unit with their toes, the rest of the palm is supported directly or indirectly by soil or other means on the support part, which does not easily deform. This distributes the load and prevents the pedal part from falling. This makes it difficult for the spring plate member to deform, preventing the trap from activating, thereby preventing the erroneous capture of bears.

(2) The trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention may also be configured so that the pedal portion is made of wood.

In this case, the pedal is made from trees that animals are familiar with in the natural forest, which can help ease the wariness of animals that are sensitive to metallic smells, further improving capture rates.

(3) The trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention may also be configured so that the spring plate member is formed to have approximately the same width as the latch receiving portion.

In this case, the spring plate member is supported across almost the entire width of the latch receiver. This makes the spring plate member less likely to bend or deform when pressure is applied from the animal's foot through the pedal, and it has excellent strength, particularly against twisting in the width direction. Therefore, even if pressure is applied to the edge of the pedal's tread surface, causing the foot to move away from a position where it can be tied with the tying ring, the spring plate member can be twisted significantly and come off the latch receiver, preventing the tying trap body from being activated and causing a false start.

(4) The trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention may also be configured so that the mounting surface of the pedal leg of the pedal portion that is attached to the spring plate member is formed in a horizontally elongated shape that is short in the longitudinal direction of the spring plate member.

In this case, because the mounting surface is short in the longitudinal direction of the spring plate member, the pedal leg that forms the mounting surface does not provide much resistance when the spring plate member tries to bend in the longitudinal direction due to the force of the animal's foot. As a result, the spring plate member bends with a relatively small force, making it possible to take advantage of the flexibility of the spring plate member to make fine adjustments to the sensitivity of the trigger, contributing to the stability of the trigger's sensitivity.

(5) The trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention may also be configured so that a through-hole is provided at the tip of the spring plate member at a position beyond the latch receiving portion, and a locking pin is removably inserted into the through-hole so that it is positioned outside the latch receiving portion.

In this case, the anti-slip pin is removably inserted into the through-hole so that it is positioned outside the latch receiver, preventing the tip from moving backward when the animal's foot pressure is applied to the trigger portion and the spring plate member attempts to bend downward. This allows the trigger portion and the snare trap body to be stably prevented from operating. Furthermore, by removing the anti-slip pin, this state can be released, making the trigger portion and the snare trap body operable.

(6) In order to achieve the above object, the animal trap of the present invention comprises a snare trap body having a wire rope that is biased by a biasing body in the direction of opening the fixed arm and the lifting arm, and tightens the snare loop when the fixed arm and the lifting arm open; an engaging portion that can engage with the ends of both arms of the snare trap body to maintain the fixed arm and the lifting arm of the snare trap body in a closed state; a receiving portion that is formed integrally with the engaging portion and has a hole of a required size that penetrates the top and bottom surfaces for dropping soil and grass downward; and a flexible material that is located on the underside of the receiving portion and The animal trap trigger device includes a spring plate member whose longitudinal tip protrudes from the receiving portion and whose tip is hooked over the hook receiving portion on the edge of the trap hole when the trap is set; and a trigger unit attached to the spring plate member and having a pedal that passes through the drop hole from bottom to top and is movable up and down. The pedal unit is block-shaped, with its side surface forming a plane approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member, and the tread surface on which the animal steps is formed approximately parallel to the spring plate member, with the tread surface having an anti-slip coating.

The animal trap of the present invention is a combination of a snare trap body and the above-mentioned animal trap trigger device, and a detailed explanation of the operation of the animal trap trigger device will be omitted here.

The animal trap is combined with an animal trap trigger device. First, the fixed arm and the lifting arm of the snare trap body are closed against the biasing force, and the tips of the fixed arm and the lifting arm are engaged at the engagement section to maintain the closed state.

The trap is then set in a hole dug in an animal trail or similar, and the wire rope's noose, which tightens as the fixed arm and lifting arm open, is set so that it surrounds the spring plate member whose tip is placed over the latch receiver at the edge of the trap hole, and the pedal part of the trigger. At this time, soil or grass is placed over the receiver to camouflage the trap or to reduce the animals' wariness of the metallic smell.

When an animal traveling along a trail presses its foot with sufficient force on the pedal part of the animal trap trigger device inside the wire rope's shackle, the animal's foot is in a position where it can be trapped by the shackle, so the foot penetrates deep into the trap hole inside the wire rope's shackle and the base of the leg is trapped, allowing the animal to be captured.

In addition, when an animal's foot presses on the trigger portion with insufficient force inside the shackle loop, the spring plate member does not deform sufficiently even with the applied force, so the tip of the spring plate member does not come loose from the latch receiving portion. Furthermore, when the animal's foot does not press on the pedal portion of the trigger portion of the animal trap trigger device, but instead presses on the receiving portion with a strong force, there is almost no deformation or other effect on the trigger portion, so the trigger portion does not fall off and the tip of the spring plate member does not come loose from the latch receiving portion.

In this way, unless the animal's foot is in a position where it can be caught by the snare ring and the spring plate member is stepped on with enough force to flex and deform, disengaging the tip of the spring plate member from the latch receiver, the engagement between the fixed arm of the snare trap body and the engagement portion at the tip of the lifting arm cannot be released, and as a result, the animal trap will not activate. In this way, according to the present invention, it is possible to capture target animals while minimizing the animal trap's false activation, thereby improving capture rates.

(7) The animal trap of the present invention can also be configured as a box-shaped trap with an opening at the top, an installation section for installing the snaring trap body, and a wire hook on the opening side for internally hooking the snaring ring, with the hook receiving section equipped with a setting aid provided on the opposite side of the installation section.

In this case, the setting aid is box-shaped, and the position of the hook receiver relative to the installation part of the noose trap body is also fixed. Therefore, when the noose trap body, animal trap trigger device, and setting aid are combined to set the trap, there is little change or misalignment in the way the tip of the spring plate member passed through the hook receiver engages with the hook receiver, and the animal trap operates stably as originally set.

In addition, trap holes made in animal trails, etc., do not need to be formed very precisely, as long as the trapping aid fits securely, and the animal trap can be set in a short amount of time. This makes it possible to minimize the scent of humans remaining at the trap setting site, which also contributes to improving capture rates.

In this specification and claims, the term "receiving portion on the edge of a trap hole" is used to include, for example, the upper surface edge of a receiving portion such as a wooden or metal plate that is fixed by burying it in the opening edge of a trap hole dug in the ground, or the opening edge of a metal or plastic box-shaped trap auxiliary that is buried in a trap hole dug in the ground and accommodated therein.

The shape of the opening of the trap is not particularly limited and may be any polygonal shape, such as a circle, oval, or square, but irregular shapes are also acceptable. Furthermore, if the tip of the pedal has a plate-shaped foot rest, for example, it is preferable that the foot rest be the same size as or smaller than the trap, in order to facilitate smooth downward movement of the pedal when the animal steps on it.

The present invention provides a trigger device for animal traps that, when used in combination with a leg-binding trap, prevents dirt or grass from getting in around the pedal part of the trigger unit and prevents the trigger unit from operating impedingly. It also stabilizes the sensitivity of the trigger unit when an animal's foot pressure is applied, preventing false trap activation and erroneous capture.

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a trigger device for an animal trap according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the animal trap trigger device shown in FIG. 1; 2A and 2B are explanatory side views of the trigger device for an animal trap shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a left side view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the animal trap of the present invention, showing the trapping state using a trapping aid. FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the animal trap shown in FIG. 4 in a set state. 1A and 1B show the movement of a trigger device for an animal trap, with FIG. 1A being an explanatory vertical cross-sectional view of the triggered state, and FIG. 1B being an explanatory vertical cross-sectional view of the spring plate member falling when the pedal portion is stepped on by an animal. 1A and 1B show the difference in operation between the trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention and a trigger device for an animal trap with a narrow spring plate member, where (a) is an explanatory diagram of the trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the trigger device for an animal trap with a narrow spring plate member. FIG. 10 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the trigger device for an animal trap of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 1 to 10. In the following description, the terms "front/rear" and "left/right" may be used to describe locations or directions. These terms are based on Figure 2, where the lower side corresponds to "front," the upper side corresponds to "rear," the right side corresponds to "right," and the left side corresponds to "left."

The animal trap trigger device T1 is made of stainless steel except for the pedal member 33, which will be described later, and comprises an engagement portion 1, a receiving portion 2, and a trigger portion 3. The engagement portion 1 engages with the ends of the fixed arm 61 and the lifting arm 62 of the leg binding trap 6, which will be described later, when they are closed, and is capable of maintaining the fixed arm 61 and the lifting arm 62 in the closed state.

The engagement unit 1 comprises a main body 10 having a hook 11 that hooks onto the tip of the fixed arm 61 and a hook 12 that hooks onto the tip of the lift-up arm 62, and a mounting base 13 that is attached to the main body 10 so that its angle can be adjusted freely (see Figures 1 to 3). The hook 12 is attached to one side of a square-shaped hook plate 14 that is screwed to the top of the main body 10.

The mounting fixture 15, whose main body is a plate with an L-shaped cross section, is screwed to the mounting base 13. A rectangular, plate-shaped receiving portion 2 is placed on top of a spring plate member 30 (described below) and screwed to the side plate (reference number omitted) of the mounting fixture 15. The receiving portion 2 has sufficient rigidity and strength to resist deformation even when stepped on by the paws of animals such as wild boars, deer, or bears.

The mounting fixture 15 has a predetermined length in the left-right direction (approximately the same length as the left-right width of the receiving part 2), and has upwardly protruding hooks 150 at both ends of the vertical plate (reference numeral omitted). When setting the animal trap, a shackle loop 690 of the wire rope 69 (described below) is hung on the outside of each hook 150.

The left and right edges of the receiving part 2 are angled slightly upward with the same width along their entire length, further increasing the rigidity of the receiving part 2. The length of the receiving part 2 in the front-to-back direction is designed to be slightly shorter than the length across the opening of the setup support tool 5 (described below) in the front-to-back direction (see Figures 4 to 6).

A rectangular drop hole 24 is formed in approximately the center of the receiving part 2, penetrating through the front and back surfaces. The left and right sides of the drop hole 24 are formed parallel to the left and right sides of the outer shape of the receiving part 2, and the front and rear sides are formed parallel to the front and rear sides of the outer shape of the receiving part 2.

The size of the drop hole 24 is not particularly limited, but can be set as appropriate as long as the receiving portion 2 has sufficient rigidity as described above and is large enough to allow at least the pedal member 33 (described below) to pass through vertically.

The spring plate member 30 is screwed to the underside of the receiving portion 2 of the fixture 15 so that it can be moved forward and backward within a certain range in the front-to-rear direction. This structure involves threading screws (number omitted) through elongated holes (number omitted) provided near the rear of both the left and right ends of the spring plate member 30, threading the spring plate member 30 into the fixture 15, and then tightening the screws to secure the spring plate member 30 in place at the desired position after sliding it.

The spring plate member 30 has a predetermined degree of flexibility and is approximately the same width as the receiving portion 2 (specifically, slightly wider than the receiving portion 2), but slightly narrower than the width of the hook receiving portion 50 of the setup support device 5 (described below). Near the left and right ends of the spring plate member 30, anti-vibration pieces 31 are provided, bent downward at a right angle. Furthermore, at the end of the spring plate member 30, a through hole 300 is formed in the middle of each anti-vibration piece 31.

When the anti-vibration pieces 31 are set into the opening of the trapping auxiliary device 5 (described below), they abut against the left and right inner surfaces, preventing malfunctions caused by the spring plate member 30 swaying sideways and getting caught on the trapping auxiliary device 5 when activated (falling). This stabilizes the movement of the spring plate member 30 when activated, even when a large external force is applied by an animal before or after trap activation.

This structure allows the position of the spring plate member 30 to be adjusted in the front-to-rear direction within a specified range. As described below, this adjustment allows the length of engagement of the tip of the spring plate member 30 with the latch receiving portion 50 located at the front end of the opening of the trapping aid 5 to be adjusted, thereby adjusting the sensitivity of the animal trap's activation.

The trigger unit 3 comprises the rectangular spring plate member 30 formed from a flexible metal plate, and a wooden block-shaped pedal member 33. While it is preferable to use wood for the pedal member 33, this is not a limitation and other materials, such as synthetic resin, rubber, plastic, or metals such as aluminum, can also be used. Furthermore, the term "block-shaped" as used in this invention is used to mean a solid mass of material with flat or curved surfaces.

As described above, the base end of the spring plate member 30 is fixed to the mounting base 13 together with the receiving portion 2, and is disposed on the back side of the receiving portion 2. The width of the spring plate member 30 in the left-right direction is slightly narrower than the hook receiving portion 50 of the setup auxiliary tool 5 (described below), and is considerably wider than the width of the drop hole 24.

As shown in Figures 1 to 9, the pedal member 33 has an approximately rectangular parallelepiped upper portion and a pedal leg 330, which is the same width as the upper portion but narrows from front to back, located approximately in the center of the lower portion in the front-to-rear direction. The bottom surface (reference numeral omitted) of the pedal member 33 slopes downward at a predetermined angle (approximately 20° in this embodiment) on the front and rear sides toward the pedal leg 330.

The pedal leg 330 is screwed to the underside of the spring plate member 30 at two locations, in a position that allows the pedal member 33 to pass through the drop hole 24 when stepped on. The mounting surface (reference number omitted) of the pedal leg 330 is short in the longitudinal direction of the spring plate member 30, so the pedal leg 330 does not provide much resistance when the spring plate member 30 tries to bend downward.

When attached, each side surface (number omitted) of the pedal member 33 forms a flat surface that is approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member 30. The tread surface (number omitted) on the top surface of the pedal member 33 is approximately parallel to the spring plate member 30, and is treated over almost its entire surface with grid-shaped grooves to provide an anti-slip surface 331 (see Figure 1, etc.).

The mounting position of the pedal member 33 may be adjusted to accommodate, for example, the diameter of the shackle ring 690, by providing multiple screw holes at appropriate locations. The length of the spring plate member 30 in the front-to-rear direction is formed to be slightly longer than the position of the hook receiving portion 50 when combined with the rigging aid 5 (described below), and the tip can be placed on and hooked to the hook receiving portion 50 on the edge of the opening of the rigging aid 5 (see Figure 6).

(effect)
The operation of the animal trap trigger device T1 and the animal trap W will be described with reference to FIGS.
The animal trap W is composed of an animal trap trigger device T1, a snare trap body 6, and a setting aid 5. The snare trap body 6 has a fixed arm 61 and a jump-up arm 62 that are pivotally supported at the base side, and both arms 61, 62 are biased in the opening direction via a torsion coil spring 63.

The tip of the fixed arm 61 has a pulley 64 and a hook 65, and the tip of the lifting arm 62 has a pulley 66 and a hook 67. A pile fixing device 68 for fixing a pile is attached near the tip of the fixed arm 61. A wire rope 69 is passed through the pulleys 64 and 66, and a shackle loop 690 is formed at the tip of the wire rope 69 so as to surround the pedal member 33.

The rigging aid 5 is made of stainless steel and has a roughly rectangular cylindrical shape with openings at the top and bottom. A mounting base member 51 for attaching the snaring trap body 6 is fixed to the side plate (number omitted) on the rear side (left side in Figure 5) of the rigging aid 5. Wire hooks 52 for internally hooking the snaring ring 690 are provided on the left and right sides of the opening above the mounting base member 51. The upper end of the side plate 53 on the opposite side from the mounting base member 51 forms the hook receiving portion 50.

The animal trap W is set in the animal trail as follows.
Please refer to Figures 4 and 5.
A trap hole 70 is formed at an appropriate location on the animal trail 7, and the trap auxiliary tool 5 is placed and stabilized in the trap hole 70. Next, the angle of the mounting base 13 relative to the main body 10 of the engaging part 1 of the animal trap trigger device T1 is adjusted so that the receiving part 2 and the spring plate member 30 are fixed horizontally, and the tip of the spring plate member 30 is hung on the hanging receiving part 50 of the trap auxiliary tool 5 so that it is passed over the receiving part 50.

The animal trap trigger device T1 is set by closing the fixed arm 61 and the lifting arm 62 of the binding trap main body 6 against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 63, engaging the hook portion 11 of the main body 10 of the engagement part 1 with the hook portion 65 of the fixed arm 61, and engaging the hook portion 12 of the main body 10 with the hook portion 67 of the lifting arm 62 (see Figure 6(a)).

A stake 680 is inserted into the stake fixing device 68 of the snare trap main body 6, and the stake 680 is driven into the soil by placing the stake fixing device 68 on the mounting base member 51 of the trapping auxiliary device 5. The angle of the snare trap main body 6 is also adjusted to match the slope of the sloped section leading to the trap hole 70.

The noose rings 690 of the wire rope 69 of the noose trap body 6 are externally hooked around each hooking claw 150 and internally hooked around the wire hook 52. In this state, the upper end of the pedal member 33 of the trigger unit 3 is at approximately the same height as the set noose rings 690. Finally, for camouflage or to reduce the metallic smell of the wire rope 69, etc., the entire animal trap W is covered with soil, grass, or leaves, etc., to set it up (see Figures 4, 5, and 6(a)).

When the foot 8a of an animal, such as a wild boar, traveling along the animal trail 7 steps on the pedal member 33, which is located approximately in the center of the lashing loop 690 of the wire rope 69, from above, a load is applied to the pedal member 33. The spring plate member 30 initially bends downward by approximately 15 to 20 mm from the attachment point of the pedal leg 330 of the pedal member 33. However, because the attachment point of the pedal leg 330 is short in the front-to-back direction (left-to-right direction in Figure 6), the pedal leg 330 does not resist the bending deformation of the spring plate member 30, and the spring plate member 30 deforms sensitively. Then, when the tip of the spring plate member 30 disengages from the latch receiver 50, the animal trap trigger device T1 drops suddenly (see Figure 6(b)).

At this time, if a small animal, rather than a heavy animal such as a wild boar, steps on the pedal member 33, the contact pressure between the front of the pedal member 33 and the soil or other material placed inside will act, providing sufficient load control. As a result, the trigger portion 3 of the animal trap trigger device T1 will not fall, preventing the animal trap W from operating and preventing the capture of a small animal that is not a target for hunting, a so-called mistaken capture.

In particular, bear populations are declining, and as mentioned above, they are a protected species. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the mistaken capture of bears. In order to do this, the animal trap trigger device T1 works as follows:

In other words, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the palm of the bear's front paw 8 is relatively large, so even if the toe of the bear steps on the pedal member 33 of the trigger unit 3, the rest of the palm will be supported directly by the receiving part 2, which does not easily deform, or indirectly via soil, etc. Alternatively, part of the palm may come into contact with the wire hook 52 of the rigging support device 5, and the load may be partially supported.

This distributes the load and prevents the pedal member 33 from falling, making the spring plate member 30 less likely to deform and preventing its tip from coming off the latching receiver 50, preventing the snare trap body 6 from activating. This prevents bears from being caught by mistake (see Figure 6(a)).

If the animal is a target for capture, such as a wild boar, the spring plate member 30 will bend and deform as described above with its tip resting and hooked on the hook receiving portion 50 so that it can move freely. When the animal's foot 8a presses on the pedal member 33 with sufficient force, part of the lower side of the pedal member 33 enters the hole 24, and eventually the tip of the pedal member 33 will no longer be hooked on the hook receiving portion 50, causing the animal trap trigger device T1 to fall (see Figure 6(b)).

At this time, when the lower part of the pedal member 33 first enters the hole 24, the soil and grass that had been resting on the spring plate member 30 through the hole 24, taking up almost the entire size of the hole 24, does not become trapped between the pedal member 33 and the spring plate member 30. Furthermore, because the bottom surfaces of the front and rear ends of the pedal member 33 slope downward toward the pedal leg 330, they do not offer much resistance to the descent of the pedal member 33, and so fall through the hole 24. This disengages the tips of both arms 61, 62 from the engagement portion 1 of the animal trap trigger device T1, and the snare trap main body 6 is activated.

When the snare trap main body 6 is activated, the animal's foot 8a presses with sufficient force on the pedal member 33, which is in a position where it can be snagged by the snare ring 690. This means that the animal's foot 8a is naturally positioned near the center of the snare ring 690 of the wire rope 69, which is set to surround the spring plate member 30. Therefore, as the animal trap trigger device T1 falls, the animal's foot 8a enters deep inside the trapping aid 5, and combined with the fact that the base of the leg (the base part) is snagged by the snare ring 690 of the wire rope 69, the animal can be captured more reliably.

Furthermore, since the trapping auxiliary tool 5 is a stainless steel box and the position of the hook receiver 50 relative to the mounting base member 51 is fixed, when the noose trap main body 6, animal trap trigger device T1, and trapping auxiliary tool 5 are combined to set the trap, there is little change or misalignment in the way the tip of the spring plate member 30, which is placed over the hook receiver 50, hooks onto the hook receiver 50, and the animal trap W operates stably as originally set.

Furthermore, when the animal's foot 8a does not touch the pedal member 33, for example, when it steps on the receiving portion 2, or when it steps on the edge of the pedal surface of the pedal member 33 with insufficient force, the deformation (deflection) of the spring plate member 30 does not become large, so the tip of the spring plate member 30 is unlikely to come loose from the latch receiving portion 50, and the snare trap main body 6 will not be activated.

Now, with reference to Figure 7, we will compare the differences in operation between the spring plate member 30 of the animal trap trigger device T1 of this embodiment and the spring plate member 30a used as a comparative example. Figure 7(a) shows the animal trap trigger device of the present invention, and (b) is a front view explanatory diagram showing an animal trap trigger device with a narrower spring plate member.

As shown in Figure 7(a), when the animal's foot 8a presses on the edge of the tread of the pedal member 33 fixed to the spring plate member 30 with insufficient force, the trap will almost certainly operate reliably as described above. Even when the animal presses on the edge with sufficient force, the trap will still be able to prevent missed trapping and erroneous capture. In other words, the spring plate member 30 used in the animal trap trigger device T1 is formed wide enough, slightly narrower than the latch receiving portion 50, making it relatively rigid and resistant to deformation such as twisting.

As a result, as shown in Figure 7(a), even when a relatively strong force is applied to the edge of the pedal member 33's tread surface, the spring plate member 30 is less likely to twist and bend, causing it to become disengaged from the latch receiving portion 50, thereby preventing the fastening trap body 6 from activating and resulting in a false catch or erroneous capture.

Here, as a comparative example, we consider what would happen if the spring plate member were formed narrower than the spring plate member 30 in this embodiment. First, as shown in Figure 7(b), the spring plate member 30a is formed to be considerably narrower, and slightly wider than the drop hole 24.

Even if the animal's foot 8a steps on the edge of the pedal member 33's tread surface rather than the center, the spring plate member 30a easily twists in the specified direction, tilting the pedal member 33a. For example, if the foot 8a slips and slides to the side, the spring plate member 30a to which the pedal member 33a is fixed falls. This activates the tether trap, but because the foot is positioned far from the center of the tread member, the tether loop 690 of the wire rope 69 cannot capture the foot 8a, resulting in an ineffective operation.

As such, when the animal trap trigger device shown in Figure 7(b) is used in combination with a leg-binding trap, the sensitivity of the trigger portion 3 is somewhat unstable when the animal's foot 8a acts on the pedal member 33a, particularly on the edge of the tread surface rather than the center. Even when the foot steps on a position that is off-center, the trigger portion 3 often falls, activating the trap. The animal trap trigger device T1 of the present invention solves this problem.

Other embodiments of the present invention will now be described.
Please refer to Figure 8.
The pedal member 33b of the animal trap trigger device T2 of this embodiment is composed of an upper member 334 having a non-slip surface 331 and a lower member 332 having a pedal leg 330 at its bottom. An insertion hole 333 is provided in the center of the upper surface of the lower member 332, and an insertion rod 335 that can be inserted into and removed from the insertion hole 333 is provided in the center of the lower surface of the upper member 334.

The height of the upper member 334 can be adjusted relative to the lower member 332 by inserting and sliding the insertion rod 335 into the insertion hole 333. As shown in Figure 8, when used in the field, the height can be fine-tuned by packing soil into the gap between the lower member 332 and the upper member 334. This height adjustment is performed based on the shackle ring 690 of the wire rope 69, and can be set appropriately depending on the type of animal to be captured, the quality of the soil, etc.

Please refer to Figure 9.
The animal trap trigger device T3 of this embodiment has a through-hole 300 formed in the portion of the tip of the spring plate member 30 that protrudes from the tip edge of the receiving portion 2 in the center of the width direction. The stopper pin 34 can be inserted into the through-hole 300 while being circumscribed by the wire hook 52 and the side plate 53. The stopper pin 34 is kept at a predetermined height by a hook portion (number omitted) that hooks onto the edge of the through-hole 300.

As a result, even if an external force, such as an animal's stepping force, acts on the pedal member 33 and causes the spring plate member 30 to bend downward, the stopper pin 34 stops the animal trap trigger device T3 from falling. In other words, the structure that inserts the stopper pin 34 acts as a safety device, making it possible to set the trap to a state where it will not be activated if necessary.

In this way, under conditions where there is a high possibility of failing to capture an animal, the snare trap main body 6 will not operate, which prevents the animal trap W from operating idly and reduces the possibility of catching an animal other than the target animal.

The terms and expressions used in this specification and claims are for explanatory purposes only and are not intended to be limiting in any way. They are not intended to exclude terms and expressions equivalent to the features described in this specification and claims, or portions thereof. It goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

W Animal trap T1 Trigger device for animal trap 1 Engagement portion 10 Main body 11 Hook portion 12 Hook portion 13 Mounting base 14 Hooking plate 15 Mounting device 150 Hooking claw 2 Receiving portion 24 Drop hole 3 Trigger portion 30 Spring plate member 31 Anti-vibration piece 33 Pedal member 330 Pedal leg 331 Anti-slip surface 5 Trap auxiliary device 50 Hook receiving portion 51 Mounting base member 52 Wire hook 53 Side plate 6 Leg binding trap 61 Fixed arm 62 Jumping arm 63 Torsion coil spring 64 Pulley 65 Hook portion 66 Pulley 67 Hook portion 68 Stake fixing device 680 Stake 69 Wire rope 690 Snare ring 7 Animal trail 70 Trap hole 8 Bear's front paw 8a Animal's paw 30a Spring plate member 33a Pedal member T2 Trigger device for animal trap 33b Pedal member 332 Lower member 333, insertion hole 334, upper member 335, insertion rod T3, animal trap trigger device 300, through hole 34, stopper pin

Claims (7)

an engaging portion that can be engaged with the tip of both arms of the snaring trap body, which has a wire rope that is biased in the direction of opening the fixed arm and the lifting arm by a biasing body and tightens the snaring loop when the fixed arm and the lifting arm are opened, to maintain the fixed arm and the lifting arm in a closed state;
a receiving portion that is formed integrally with the engaging portion and has a hole of a required size that penetrates the upper and lower surfaces and allows soil and grass to fall downward;
The trap comprises a spring plate member located on the underside of the receiving part, made of a flexible material, and having a longitudinal tip end projecting from the receiving part, the tip end of which is hung over a hook receiving part at the edge of the trap hole when the trap is set; and a trigger member provided on the spring plate member and having a pedal part which passes through the drop hole from bottom to top and is movable up and down.
The pedal portion is block-shaped, the side of which is a plane approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member, and the tread surface on which the animal steps is formed approximately parallel to the spring plate member, and the tread surface is treated with an anti-slip coating. 2. The trigger device for an animal trap according to claim 1, wherein the pedal portion is made of wood. 3. The trigger device for an animal trap according to claim 1, wherein the spring plate member is formed to have a width substantially the same as that of the latch receiving portion. 4. The trigger device for an animal trap according to claim 3, wherein a mounting surface of the pedal leg of the pedal portion that is mounted on the spring plate member is formed in a horizontally elongated shape that is short in the longitudinal direction of the spring plate member. 4. The trigger device for an animal trap according to claim 3, wherein a through hole is provided at the tip of the spring plate member at a position beyond the latch receiving portion, and a locking pin is removably inserted into the through hole so as to be positioned outside the latch receiving portion. a snare trap body having a wire rope that is biased by a biasing body in a direction to open the fixed arm and the lift-up arm, and the snare loop is tightened when the fixed arm and the lift-up arm open;
an engaging portion that can engage with the tips of the fixed arm and the lifting arm of the binding trap body to maintain them in a closed state; a receiving portion that is formed integrally with the engaging portion and has a hole of a required size that penetrates through the top and bottom surfaces for dropping soil and grass downward; a spring plate member that is located on the underside of the receiving portion and is made of a flexible material, with its longitudinal tip protruding from the receiving portion so that when the trap is set, the tip is hung on a hook receiving portion at the edge of the trap hole; and a trigger portion that is formed on the spring plate member and has a pedal portion that penetrates the hole from bottom to top and can move up and down, the pedal portion being block-shaped with its side surface forming a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the spring plate member, and the tread surface on which the animal steps is formed approximately parallel to the spring plate member, and the tread surface is treated with an anti-slip coating. The animal trap of claim 6, which is box-shaped with an opening at the top, has an installation section for installing the snaring trap body, and a wire hook on the opening side for internally hanging the snaring ring, and the hook receiving section is provided with a setting aid on the opposite side of the installation section.