Animal trap with animal entrance encouraging means

An animal trap apparatus with an entrance encouraging means for urging an animal into a trap, said apparatus comprising:

• an enclosure having an interior space bound by a base, upright walls standing upward from the base, and a roof spanning between the upright walls at a height spaced above the base, the enclosure comprising an access-way into the interior space through an absence of, or opening in, an end wall at a respective end of the enclosure;
• and
• an entrance-urging mechanism comprising:
• a pushing unit pivotally supported at a location outside the interior space of the enclosure and adjacent the access-way thereof, the pushing unit being pivotal about an axis generally parallel to a plane of the access-way for movement between a withdrawn position in which the access-way is unobstructed by the pushing unit and a working position in which the pushing unit substantially obstructs the access-way;
• an actuator coupled to the pushing unit and operable to effect movement thereof from the withdrawn position into the working position;
• and
• an animal detection device coupled to the actuator and operable to detect presence of an animal at an approach area residing outside the interior space of the enclosure and adjacent to the access-way within a travel path followed by the pushing unit between the withdrawn and working positions, the animal detection device being arranged to effect movement of the pushing unit into the working position upon detection of the animal at the approach area, whereby the pushing unit urges the animal toward and through the access-way into the interior space of the enclosure;
• wherein the detection device comprises:
• a movable floor underlying the travel path of the pushing unit;
• a fulcrum beneath the movable floor at a distance spaced forwardly from the access-way, the movable floor being biased about the fulcrum into a default position in which a front end of the movable floor on a first side of the fulcrum opposite the access-way resides at ground level and an opposing rear end of the movable floor on a second side of the fulcrum adjacent the access-way resides in a raised state elevated above ground level;
• and
• a sensing switch operably associated with the movable floor and installed in a control circuit with the actuator such that downward movement of the rear end of the movable floor about the fulcrum, and associated upward movement of the front end of the movable floor, as an animal traverses over the fulcrum on said movable floor changes a state of the sensing switch to activate the actuator through said control circuit.