Easy set tunnel form animal trap

An impact kill animal trap comprising:

• an elongated enclosure with an opening at least at one end including a top, a bottom, a front, and a rear, the opening being configured to form an entrance for an animal;
• a power spring biasing a strike bar, the strike bar being pivotable at the rear of the enclosure about a pivot axis, the pivot axis being parallel to an elongate axis of the enclosure, the strike bar including two continuous side arms, each of said side arms extending from a proximal end within the enclosure to a distal end beyond the enclosure, the proximal end comprising a kill segment and the distal end comprising a press segment;
• a set mechanism at the front of the enclosure, the set mechanism configured to selectively hold the strike bar in a bottom set position against a bias from the power spring, the strike bar, in the bottom set position, extending past the front of the enclosure to the strike bar distal end;
• a trip tray pivotally attached to the enclosure at a trip tray pivot at the front of the enclosure, the trip tray including an upper set position and a lower tripped position within the enclosure, the trip tray biased by a tray bias spring toward the upper set position;
• a release latch of the set mechanism selectively linked to the trip tray and to the strike bar such that movement of the trip tray from the upper set position to the lower tripped position causes the latch to move and disengage from the strike bar allowing the strike bar move from the bottom set position toward the rear of the enclosure, the strike bar moving to an uppermost tripped position under the bias of the power spring whereby the kill segment is adjacent to the rear of the enclosure;
• and
• a base forming a support structure mounted near the bottom of the enclosure, the support structure extending outward beyond the front of the enclosure to a distal end of the support structure, the support structure being vertically aligned with the strike bar distal end in the strike bar set position;
• wherein, when the trap rests on a horizontal support surface in a tripped condition, the strike bar forms an acute angle of at most 80 degrees in relation to the horizontal support surface with the strike bar distal end substantially forward of pivot axis.

An impact kill animal trap comprising:

• an elongated enclosure with an opening at least at one end including a top, a bottom, a front, and a rear, the opening being configured to form an entrance for an animal;
• a strike bar pivotal at a rear of the enclosure about a pivot axis, the pivot axis being parallel to an elongate axis of the enclosure, a power spring biasing the strike bar to rotate about the pivot axis, the strike bar including two side arms, each of said side arms extending continuously from a proximal end within the enclosure to a distal end beyond the enclosure;
• a set mechanism at the front of the enclosure, the set mechanism being configured to selectively hold the strike bar in a bottom set position against a bias from the power spring, the strike bar, in the bottom set position, extending past the front of the enclosure to the strike bar distal end of the side arms;
• a trip tray pivotally attached to the enclosure at a trip tray pivot at the front of the enclosure, the trip tray including an upper set position and a lower tripped position within the enclosure, the tray being biased by a tray bias spring toward the upper set position;
• a release latch of the set mechanism selectively linked to the trip tray and to a cross bar of the strike bar such that movement of the trip tray from the set position to the tripped position causes the latch to move and disengage from the strike bar allowing the strike bar move from the bottom set position toward the rear of the enclosure, the strike bar moving to an uppermost tripped position under the bias of the power spring;
• and
• a base forming a support structure mounted near the bottom of the enclosure, the support structure extending outward beyond the front of the enclosure, the support structure being vertically aligned with the strike bar distal end in the set position of the strike bar;
• wherein the latch includes a proximal end pivotally attached to the base at a latch pivot, and in a set position of the tray, a tray release edge of the latch is slidably engaged with a trip tray cam of the tray, the latch is biased by both of a latch bias spring and the power spring to press the tray at the trip tray cam, and the tray is separately biased by the tray bias spring to hold the tray in a position at the tray release edge of the latch,
• wherein, in the tripped position, the tray release edge of the latch is biased by the latch bias spring to remain disengaged from the trip tray cam, and
• wherein the trip tray cam is outside of the enclosure and biased by the tray bias spring to move away from the front of the enclosure.