Tamper-resistant rodent bait station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10694736-B1
Application number	US-201715396809-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jan 2, 2017
Priority date	Jan 3, 2011
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

A pre-baited consumer bait station for rodents which is gnaw resistant and has other design features to make the bait station resistant to rodenticide access by children, dogs, other pets, domestic animals, and nontarget wildlife. An injection molded translucent cover is permanently locked to a base about the cover's edges and center by elastic actuated hooks which engage receptacles on the base. The cover forms a labyrinth joint with a peripheral wall of the base. Double walls on exterior portions of the peripheral wall strengthen the walls where they form part of a closely confining bait receptacle which surrounds a bait block on portions of all sides. Circuitous internal passageways limit access to the bait. An interior wall extends to support the cover center.

First claim

We claim:

1. A single use rodent bait station comprising:
a base having a floor and an upwardly extending outer peripheral wall, defining an interior and an exterior outer peripheral wall height;
a lid internally locked without provision for opening to the outer peripheral wall by a plurality of downwardly protruding prongs which engage retaining surfaces formed in the base, and overlying the base to define a bait station interior;
portions of the outer peripheral wall defining at least one rodent access opening;
an interior wall extending upwardly from the floor;
a bait receptacle defined between the interior wall and the outer peripheral wall; and
a portion substantially centrally located on the lid which extends downwardly into locking engagement with a central protrusion extending up from the base and extending from the interior wall without provision for opening, wherein the portion substantially centrally located on the lid is another downwardly protruding prong that is located within an area on the lid bounded by the plurality of downwardly protruding prongs.

2. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein the bait receptacle is accessible only using a bait access path defined between the at least one rodent access opening and the bait receptacle, the bait access path requiring a rodent to proceed by at least two 90° turns to reach a bait block positioned in the bait receptacle.

3. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein the interior wall extends upwardly from the floor substantially to the lid and extends into the bait station interior from the outer peripheral wall.

4. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein the outer peripheral wall has at least one corner with an included angle of less than 135°.

5. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , further comprising at least one reinforcing wall segment opposite the interior wall and extending from a first segment of the outer peripheral wall to a second segment of the outer peripheral wall to create a reinforced corner, the at least one reinforcing wall segment extending upwardly from the floor to substantially a same height as the interior height of the outer peripheral wall.

6. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein the outer peripheral wall includes one or more corners reinforced by one or more additional interior walls that extend between adjacent sides of the outer peripheral wall, and at least one side of the outer peripheral wall is reinforced by a first reinforcing interior wall spaced inwardly of the outer peripheral wall.

7. The single use rodent bait station of claim 6 , wherein at least one of the one or more corners forms part of the bait receptacle, and wherein the outer peripheral wall having the at least one of the one or more corners is reinforced by a second reinforcing interior wall spaced inwardly from the outer peripheral wall at the at least one of the one or more corners and joined to the outer peripheral wall.

8. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the outer peripheral wall defines a portion of the bait receptacle with an inner peripheral wall which extends parallel to and along at least part of the portion of the outer peripheral wall defining the bait receptacle, and wherein said inner peripheral wall is connected at a plurality of positions to the portion of the outer peripheral wall.

9. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein an upper peripheral edge of the base and an outer peripheral edge of the lid meet along a labyrinth joint.

10. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , further comprising a bait block positioned in the bait receptacle in the bait station interior, the bait receptacle being defined by a portion of the floor and a portion of the lid overlying said floor portion, and portions of the interior wall such that the bait block is secured against removal from the bait receptacle.

11. The single use rodent bait station of claim 10 , wherein the interior wall extends from the floor and the peripheral wall and extends substantially to the lid, such that the peripheral wall and the interior wall separate the bait block in the bait receptacle from the at least one rodent access opening, so that a bait access path defined between the at least one rodent access opening and the bait block requiring at least two 90° turns to reach the bait block in the bait receptacle.

12. The single use rodent bait station of claim 10 , wherein the interior wall separates the bait block in the bait receptacle from the at least one-rodent access opening, so that no line of sight passing through the at least one rodent access opening intersects the bait block, and so that the line of sight must be rotated at least substantially 180° to engage the bait block.

13. The single use rodent bait station of claim 10 , wherein the lid is translucent or transparent such that the bait block can be seen through the lid.

14. The single use rodent bait station of claim 1 , wherein the interior and exterior outer peripheral wall heights extend along an entire length of the outer peripheral wall.

Assignees

• Oms Invest Inc

Inventors

• Walsh James R
• Johnson Daniel C

Classifications

• A01M25/00

  Devices for dispensing poison for animals (A01M27/00 takes precedence; for insects A01M1/20) · CPC title

• A01M25/004 Primary

  Bait stations, i.e. boxes completely enclosing the bait and provided with animal entrances · CPC title

• A01M25/002

  Bait holders, i.e. stationary devices for holding poisonous bait at the disposal of the animal · CPC title