US 4,127,961 A · Apparatus for entrapping insects

Abstract

A clean and simple trap for insects. The apparatus includes an ultraviolet lamp mounted in an intermediate portion of a frame, the lamp being disposed behind a clear lens which is transparent to ultraviolet light. A blower or fan is mounted above the lens and projects a curtain of air across the face of the lens. Removable canisters are supported by canister side supports which are disposed below the lens. The removable canisters have an extremely tacky adhesive on the side facing the blower. The unit may also include a dispenser for an airborne attractant such as an odor attractant or a sex attractant. Insects attracted to the unit are caught in the curtain of air and are thrown against the tacky material on the disposable canister. The adhesive acts to entrap the insects as all an insect has to do is to touch the adhesive with a wing, leg, or any other part of its body to become attached to the adhesive. Upon substantially complete coverage of the tacky material with insects the canister is detached from the unit and a new canister is then attached.

Claims12

Dependent claims

An apparatus for entrapping insects comprising in combination:

a frame including canister support means mounted on one end of the frame;
an ultraviolet light supported by the frame between the ends thereof;
blower means mounted on the other end of the frame, the blower means having a discharge portion exhausting a concentrated, non-turbulent high velocity air curtain directly towards said one end of the frame across the ultraviolet lamp;
and
a disposable canister removably secured to the canister support means, the canister including a backing strip formed of sheet-like material, one side of the backing strip being coated with an extremely tacky adhesive, the disposable canister being removably secured to the canister support means in such a manner that the side coated with the extremely tacky adhesive faces the blower means.

2 more elements

An apparatus for entrapping insects comprising in combination:

blower means adapted to discharge a concentrated high velocity air curtain, said blower means including a centrifugal fan mounted within a fan housing, said fan housing being provided with an inlet opening and a discharge portion;
a generally upright frame having an upper generally box-like end, an intermediate portion, and a lower end, the box-like end having a forward lower surface provided with a cutout portion and an aperture in another surface, the fan housing being mounted within the box-like end with the discharge portion of the fan housing being in communication with the cutout portion in the forward lower surface and the inlet opening of the fan housing being able to receive air from the aperture and from behind the forward lower surface, the intermediate portion having a back wall the upper end of which forms the back of the box-like end and spaced apart sidewalls extending away from the back wall, and the lower end including a pair of canister side supports, each of said canister side supports being provided with a plurality of generally vertically extending air passages and opposed hooks on the front and rear edges;
a lens transparent to ultraviolet light, the lens being supported by the forward portion of the spaced apart sidewalls of the intermediate portion of the frame with the upper edge of the lens lying behind the cutout portion;
an ultraviolet lamp mounted within said frame between the lens and the back of the intermediate portion;
and
a disposable canister removably secured to said canister side supports, said canister being formed of a generally rectangular sheet-like material coated on one side with an extremely tacky adhesive, said sheet being provided with apertures adjacent each corner of said sheet, the hooks on the canister side supports passing through said apertures to removably hold said disposable canister in place with the side bearing the tacky adhesive facing the blower means;
whereby the high velocity air curtain is discharged across the face of the lens and into the disposable canister causing any insects entering the air curtain to be thrown against the tacky adhesive to become entrapped thereby, a portion of the air curtain being discharged through the vertical air passages in the canister side supports, and another portion of the air curtain passing behind the lens and over the lamp and then back to the inlet in the fan housing to cool the lamp.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus for entrapping insects

Life of this patent

Apparatus for entrapping insects

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12