It has become more important in the trapping business in recent years to increase the spring action of an animal trap so that the amount of force applied to the animal when the trap is actuated is sufficient to cause death rapidly rather than to allow the animal to suffer over a prolonged period. In addition further types of traps have been developed again with the intention of causing rapid death of the animal. These increased spring forces make the traps more dangerous to the persons setting the trap since inadvertent actuations of the trap while it is being set can cause at least a painful snap against the fingers of other body parts of the person and in some causes can cause a serious break in the bones of the person. Traps necessarily are very sensitive in order to allow actuation on delicate movement caused by the animal to be trapped.
Many types of traps include a pair of wires which are located closely adjacent when the trap is being set and then move rapidly apart when the trap is actuated. There are therefore devices presently on the market place which include a pair of hooks engagable over the adjacent parallel wires to hold those wires in their adjacent positions while the trap is set to insure that the trap cannot actuate inadvertently. One device presently available comprises an elongate shaft at one end which is provided a hook. A second hook member is slidable along the shaft and is spring biased toward the first hook at the end of the shaft. The operator therefore in placing the safety device over the trap, slides the second hook member along the shaft to increase the distance between the hook members and then engages the hook members around the two parallel wires. The spring action pushes the hook members together so that the hook members engage and hold the wires in the spaced position. Should the trap actuate inadvertently, the trap pushes the hook members apart against the spring action until the second hook member engages a stop thus preventing further movement of the two wires.
However this device is difficult to operate in that it is difficult to align the two hook members and in that the second hook member which slides along the shaft is difficult to move when wearing winter clothing.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds