US 6,199,314 B1Granted

Mouse trap cocking device

OwnerEverett B. Ballardinventor

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Abstract

A housing includes a closed bottom, closed sides, an open receiving end and a closed rear end. The housing is adapted to receive a platform of a conventional mouse trap therein. A cocking handle includes a pair of handle arms attached to pivotal connections on the sides, and terminating at a cross-bar. A pair of bow urging arms are also attached to the pivotal connections. The bow urging arms have tabs at the distal ends thereof, which are adapted to be positioned beneath a bow of the mouse trap when the platform is slid into the housing of the cocking device. A safety latch is pivotally connected to the housing above the receiving end. By rotating the cocking handle, the bow urging arms urge the bow to a cocked position. The catch member is then pivoted inward to maintain the bow in the cocked position until the locking arm of the mouse trap is engaged in the bait pedal of the mouse trap.

Claims2

Dependent claims

A mousetrap cocking device comprising:

a flat housing adapted to receive a platform of a conventional mousetrap therein, the housing having two ends and two sides, which are adapted to align with sides of a mousetrap;
a pair of pivotal connections each mounted on a top of a side of said housing;
a pair of bow urging arms, each of the bow urging arms pivotally connected to one of said pivotal connections, said bow urging arms each having a tab extending inwardly therefrom, said tabs being positionable under a bow;
a cocking handle having two handle arms pivotally mounted on said pivotal connections adjacent said bow urging arms and adapted to urge the tabs of said bow urging arms against a bow of a mousetrap to set a bow to a cocked position;
a safety latch mounted on one end of said housing;
wherein said cocking handle includes spurs configured to engage notches within said bow urging arms to move said tabs against a bow when the cocking handle is pivoted to move a bow to a cocked position with said safety latch retaining a bow in a cocked position.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.