Mouse trap with guillotine killing mechanism

Abstract

A mouse trap having a guillotine killing mechanism is provided. The trap includes a housing with a door, a guillotine positioned to extend at least partly into an interior of said housing, a trigger mechanism including a lever and catch to hold the guillotine in a raised position to set the trap, and a spring for biasing the guillotine to a lowered killing position when the trigger mechanism is activated to release the guillotine from the raised position.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A mouse trap comprising:
 a housing having a floor and a body defining a housing enclosure, said body having two side walls defining a width of said body, said housing including a first pair of walls spaced from one another to form a guillotine channel, and a second pair of walls spaced from one another to form a trigger mechanism channel that is narrower in width than said width of said body and that extends generally perpendicular to said guillotine channel;   a guillotine movable in the guillotine channel and oriented substantially perpendicular to the housing floor;   a trigger mechanism including a lever and a catch operatively engaged with said lever, said catch being at least partly received within said trigger mechanism channel and configured to engage with and hold said guillotine in a raised position above the floor when the trap is set; and   a biasing member operative to move said guillotine rapidly to a lowered position adjacent the floor when the guillotine becomes disengaged from said catch through movement of the lever by a rodent inside the housing enclosure.   
     
     
         19 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said body has a front end that is open and a rear end opposite said front end that is substantially closed by an end wall, said end wall having at least one aperture therein;
 a door mounted to the housing adjacent the end wall and configured to fully close said substantially closed end when the door is closed; and   said biasing member including a spring that is operatively engaged between the housing and the guillotine, said spring biasing said guillotine to move rapidly to the lowered position upon disengagement from said catch.   
     
     
         20 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said first pair of walls are transverse to a longitudinal length of said housing and include a front wall and a rear wall spaced from one another to create the guillotine channel therebetween. 
     
     
         21 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 20 , wherein forward edges of the second pair of walls are in abutment with a rearward face of the rear wall of the first pair of walls, each wall of the second pair of walls having an oblong aperture therein positioned rearwardly of the forward edges, the oblong apertures of the second pair of walls being transversely aligned with one another with respect to the longitudinal length of said housing. 
     
     
         22 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 21 , wherein upper ends of the oblong apertures tilt rearwardly so that bottom ends of the oblong apertures are closer to the rear wall of the first pair of walls than the upper ends of the oblong apertures. 
     
     
         23 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 19 , further comprising an arm projecting forwardly into the housing enclosure from an inner side of the end wall, a forward end of the arm having a generally C-shaped cutout that is open toward the front end of the housing body, said lever including a generally cylindrical pivot bar that is received within the arm cutout, enabling the lever to pivot therein. 
     
     
         24 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 23 , wherein said lever includes a generally planar body having an arched upper edge from which a head extends upwardly and forwardly, said head having a rear side with a lip that engages a forwardly facing hook on the catch when the trap is set, the lever being positioned proximate to the end wall of the housing body when the trap is assembled. 
     
     
         25 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein the spring includes an upper leg and a lower leg joined by a curved portion, said upper leg positioned parallel with an upper surface of said housing inside the housing enclosure and said lower leg being angled downwardly with respect to said upper leg, a free end of said lower leg being operatively coupled with a lower end of the guillotine. 
     
     
         26 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 19 , wherein a rear surface of said guillotine includes a setting ledge and a recess located proximate to a bottom end of the guillotine, said setting ledge and said recess being operative with the trigger mechanism to hold the guillotine in a raised position to set the trap. 
     
     
         27 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 26 , wherein a forward end of the catch includes a forwardly extending arm that is generally parallel with a longitudinal length of the housing, a forward tip of the arm having a substantially flat upper setting platform, said setting ledge of said guillotine resting on said setting platform when the trap is set. 
     
     
         28 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 27 , wherein each wall of the second pair of walls has an oblong aperture therein, the oblong apertures being transversely aligned with one another with respect to the longitudinal length of said housing and upper ends of the oblong apertures tilting rearwardly so that bottom ends of the oblong apertures are closer to the front end of the trap than the upper ends of the oblong apertures. 
     
     
         29 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 28 , wherein the forwardly extending arm of the catch has a lateral projection on either side positioned rearwardly of the forward tip, said lateral projections being received within the oblong apertures formed in the second pair of walls. 
     
     
         30 . A mouse trap comprising:
 a housing having a floor and a body defining a housing enclosure;   a trigger mechanism including a lever and a catch assembly having a catch operatively engaged with said lever and a setting cover having a generally flat top and two generally vertical side walls, said catch being received between the side walls and secured to a lower surface of the setting cover top;   a guillotine oriented substantially perpendicular to the housing floor and extending at least partly into said housing enclosure, said guillotine configured to engage with said catch when the guillotine is pulled upwardly while downward force is applied to the generally flat top of the setting cover, engagement of said guillotine with said catch holding the guillotine in a raised position above the floor when the trap is set; and   a spring operatively coupled between the housing and the guillotine, said spring biasing said guillotine to move rapidly to a lowered position adjacent the floor when the guillotine becomes disengaged from said catch through movement of the lever by a rodent inside the housing enclosure.   
     
     
         31 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 30 , wherein said housing includes a first pair of walls that are transverse to a longitudinal length of said housing, said first pair of walls including a front wall and a rear wall spaced from one another to create a guillotine channel therebetween, said guillotine being received and movable within said guillotine channel. 
     
     
         32 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 31 , wherein said housing includes a second pair of walls that are substantially parallel with the longitudinal length of said housing, said second pair of walls being spaced from one another to create a trigger mechanism channel therebetween, said catch of said trigger mechanism being at least partly received within said trigger mechanism channel. 
     
     
         33 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 32 , wherein forward edges of the second pair of walls are in abutment with a rearward face of the rear wall of the first pair of walls, each wall of the second pair of walls having an oblong aperture therein positioned rearwardly of the forward edges, the oblong apertures of the second pair of walls being transversely aligned with one another. 
     
     
         34 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 33 , wherein upper ends of the oblong apertures tilt rearwardly so that bottom ends of the oblong apertures are closer to the rear wall of the first pair of walls than are upper ends of the oblong apertures. 
     
     
         35 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 30 , wherein a front surface of the guillotine is substantially flat and a rear surface of said guillotine includes a cutout that forms a setting ledge and a recess located proximate to a bottom end of the guillotine, said setting ledge and said recess being operative with the trigger mechanism to set the guillotine in a raised position to set the trap. 
     
     
         36 . The mouse trap as set forth in  claim 35 , wherein the spring includes an upper leg and a lower leg joined by a curved portion, said upper leg positioned parallel with an upper surface of said housing inside the housing enclosure and said lower leg being angled downwardly with respect to said upper leg, a free end of said lower leg being received in said recess proximate to the bottom end of the guillotine. 
     
     
         37 . A method of setting a mouse trap comprising:
 providing a mouse trap having a housing body and a floor defining a housing enclosure, said housing including a first pair of walls spaced from one another to form a guillotine channel that extends downwardly into the housing enclosure; a trigger mechanism including a lever and a catch assembly, the catch assembly including a setting cover and a catch operatively engaged with said lever and having a setting platform; and a guillotine biased downwardly and received within the guillotine channel and oriented substantially perpendicular to the housing floor and configured with a setting ledge that engages with a setting platform on said catch when the trap is set;   pressing downwardly on the setting cover while pulling up on the top of the guillotine until the setting ledge moves above the setting platform and then becomes caught on top of the setting platform to hold the guillotine in a raised position above the floor;   said guillotine biased to move rapidly to a lowered position adjacent the floor when the setting ledge on the guillotine becomes disengaged from the setting platform on said catch through movement of the lever by a rodent inside the housing enclosure.