Ideas for Products or Inventions: February 2008

Hello All - This posting looks at designing "Low-Cost Rat Catching Devices". The article titled "In India, new rat trap boosts low-caste tribe" caught my attention. The topics in this posting might be helpful in providing basic survival needs, making into products to sell, or instructions for people to make devices themselves. Good Luck on "making a better mousetrap"!
FYI - As a start, how about these old smoke related patents that have expired due to age (generally more than 20 years old from the filing date). Expired patents are free to use by anyone. From what I see - bee smokers, mole smokers, gopher smokers, and rat smokers are similar.
* BEE-SMOKERUS Pat. 559546 - Filed Jan 11, 1896
* FUMIGATORUS Pat. 588090 - Filed Mar 13, 1896
* DEVICE FOR EXTERMINATING GROUND - BURROWING ANIMALSUS Pat. 344682 - Filed Oct 28, 1885
* FUMIGATORUS Pat. 441690 - Filed May 22, 1890
* FUMIGATORUS Pat. 463367 - Filed May 19, 1891
* BEE-SMOKERUS Pat. 718689
* IMPROVED FUMIGATOR FOR SMOKING BEESUS Pat. 44427
* BEE-SMOKERUS Pat. 484172 - Filed Nov 19, 1891
* BEE-SMOKERUS Pat. 834121 - Filed Mar 5, 1906
* BEE-SMOKERUS Pat. 473724
* RAT TRAPUS Pat. 1399630 - Filed Feb 19, 1920
* RAT TRAPUS Pat. 3872619 - Filed Jan 9, 1974
* RAT-TRAPUS Pat. 710020 - Filed Feb 13, 1902
* D262732 Rodent trap Jan 19, 1982
* ANIMAL TRAPUS Pat. 1293894 - Filed Jun 15, 1915

To search for more Rat Catchers patents, try the following. Please remember that newer patents are probably not expired, and therefore active.

In the Patent List above, look at the "Citations" and "Referenced by" of each of the patents that interest you the most. By doing this, you're essentially finding "more like this".

For a Worldwide search, go to esp@cenet.
1 - In the "International Patent Classification (IPC)" field, copy and paste in the following - a01m17 OR a01k55
2 - In the "Keyword(s) in title or abstract" field, copy and paste in the following - smoke OR smoked OR smoking OR smokes
3 - Press SEARCH. View your results.

In addition, here's some other information you might find interesting.* Bee smoker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
* homemade bee smoker - Beesource Beekeeping Forums
* The Beekeeper's Smoker
* Rat Behavior and Biology
* Rat-Trap
* Rat-Catcher
* Full Revelations of a Professional Rat-catcher by Ike Matthews
* Studies in the Art of Rat-catching
by Henry C. Barkley
* Patent Boxes, for Catching and Destroying Rats and Other Vermin: Sold for ...
by Haycraft's & Co
* Rat-catching for the Use of Schools
by H C Berkley
* The Rat: A World Menace - Page 23
by Alfred Moore Hogarth

More....

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13 Rodent Control in Practice: Tropical Field Crops - Aphis - USDA

Controlling Rats and Mice around the Farm | Panhandle Agriculture

methods of sewer rat control - UNL Digital Commons - University of ...

rat reduction with indigenous methods - UNL Digital Commons

A review of the current knowledge of rodent behaviour in ... - DoC

Building a better rat trap: Technological innovation, human capital and ...

Building A Better Rat Trap Helps Alleviate Poverty - TCU - The Neeley ...

Rodent Pests of Arunachal Pradesh and Their Management Technical ...

trapping - the oldest profession - UNL Digital Commons - University of ...

Grain storage techniques ... - Rodent control - Control of rodent pests

A better rat trap - Appropriate technology: Journey to Forever

Rat trap - Wikipedia

Rats: if you can't beat them eat them! (Tricks of the trade observed ...

The 'modern' management of rats: British agricultural science in farm ...

Bucket rat trap - Appropriate technology: Journey to Forever

Protection from Rodent-borne Diseases with special emphasis on ...

Rats And How To Destroy Them (Traps And Trapping Series - Vermin & ...

Rodent problems in India and strategies for their management

Building a better rat trap: Technological innovation, human capital, and the Irula

Handbook of vertebrate pest control

Farmers' participatory research on rodent control in Punjab state: Survey, education, impact assessment and sustainability

Improvement in rat-traps

Improvement in game and rat-traps

Improvement in rat-traps

Traditional practices in pest management: some examples from North-East India

Rodent problems in tropical agriculture

Non-empirical validation of indigenous rodent control methods practiced in Northeastern India

Successful eradication of invasive rodents from a small island through pulsed baiting inside covered stations

Rodent pest management: principles and practices

Control of rats and mice, Vol. 1

A critical review of the development of rat control in Malaysian agriculture since the 1960s

Trapping-the oldest profession

An appraisal of the traditional post-harvest pest management methods in Northeast Indian uplands

Pest management in coconut gardens

Management of rodents in crops: the Pied Piper and his orchestra

Indigenous Traps for the management of Rodent outbreak in North Eastern Hill region of India

Bait additives as a means of improving acceptance by rodents¹

Physical control of rats in developing countries

Impacts of rodents on rice production in Asia

A review of commensal rodents and their control

The characteristics of rat populations

Traditional pest management practices in Kanyakumari district, southern peninsular India

Rodent control in India

Rats Information Portal - NYC.gov

13 Rodent Control in Practice: Tropical Field Crops - USDA APHIS

Rodent control (non-chemical) in lowland irrigated rice - IRRI Rice ...

The 'modern' management of rats: British agricultural science in farm ...

All India Rodent Seminar (1975), Ahmedabad, India, September 23 to ...

Proceedings of the First All-India Sanitary Conference Held at ...

Rat Catching

Studies in the art of rat-catching

Studies in the Art of Rat Catching - With Additional Notes on ...

Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching

Indian rat traps: desirable objects for undesirable subjects

Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching - the Original Classic Edition

Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching - Scholar's Choice Edition

Rats And How To Destroy Them (Traps And Trapping Series - Vermin & ...

Tales of a Rat-Hunting Man

	Practical trapping : being papers on traps and trapping for vermin, with a chapter on general trapping and snaring of birds, rat catching &c.
	Rat control for Alaska waterfront facilities
	Rat traps

Rat catching

	Rat catching
	Relative effectiveness of several bait and trap types for assessing terrestrial small mammal communities in neotropical rainforest

Studies in the art of rat-catching : with an introduction by brian coman.

Indian rat traps

Mouse and rat traps.

Rat traps : as made by the largest makers in the world ...

Promoting the use of rat traps over pesticides in Cape Town's peri-urban areas : an analysis of factors influencing rat trap adoption

	"When I wish to catch rats, I first stop their holes" - Gen'l Scott.
	"When I wish to catch rats, I first stop their holes." Gen'l Scott.
	Harpers Ferry. "When I wish to catch rats, I first stop their holes."

The rat problem : copy of a letter received by W. Rodier on the 15/7/20 from Councillor Geo. Jennison, F.Z.S.

Movements of the ricefield rat, Rattus argentiventer, near a trap-barrier system in rice crops in West Java, Indonesia

Rat Control for the Protection of Endangered Birds, Plants, and Tree Snails on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii

India: a rat extermination chamber with a closed lid under a grass-roofed shelter. Watercolour by E. Schwarz-Lenoir, 1915

The acceptability of rat trap use over pesticides for rodent control in two poor urban communities in South Africa

The very ratty problem : rodent catching and the plague

India: metal rodent traps, for plague prevention, being distributed in an Indian city. Watercolour by E. Schwarz, 1915

India: metal rodent traps in a pile, being baited by three Indian men. Watercolour by E. Schwarz, 1915

Rats: if you can’t beat them eat them! (Tricks of the trade observed among the Adi and other North-East Indian tribals)

	India: a laboratory in which dead rats are being examined as part of a plague-prevention programme. Watercolour, by E. Schwarz, 1915
	India: metal rodent traps in a pile; the rat-catchers gather under a grass-roofed shelter to be paid. Watercolour by E. Schwarz, 1915

India: a line of Indian men carrying metal traps for plague prevention on their heads, from the Health Department stables to be distributed in the nearby city. Watercolour, 1915

	[Studies in the Art of Rat-catching.] Rat-Catching for the Use of Schools ... Illustrated by Exell.
	The gentle art of rat-catching

Oral history interview with Michael W. Fall : 2005 June 29.

Mouse-Traps and Rat-Traps

Baker Donates Rat Traps

	PLAGUE PROTECTION AND RAT CATCHING AT PALERMO.
	NEED TO KNOW - Products - Rat traps and more

Promoting the use of rat traps over pesticides in Cape Town's peri-urban

A better rat trap : gallery

Note to Instructors: Building a Better Rat Trap

The Rat-Catcher's Prank: Interspecies Cunningness and Scavenging in Henry Mayhew's London

Efficiency of a New Reverse-Bait Trigger Snap Trap for Invasive Rats and a New Standardised Abundance Index

The acceptability of rat trap use over pesticides for rodent control in two poor urban communities in South Africa

	Rats: if you can't beat them eat them! (Tricks of the trade observed among the Adi and other North-East Indian tribals).
	The acceptability of rat trap use over pesticides for rodent control in two poor urban communities in South Africa
	Poultry egg components as cereal bait additives for enhancing rodenticide based control success and trap index of house rat, Rattus rattus
	Movements of the ricefield rat, Rattus argentiventer, near a trap-barrier system in rice crops in West Java, Indonesia
	Comparison of Captures Between Sherman Live Traps and Museum Special Kill Traps

Controlling sympatric pest mammal populations in New Zealand with self-resetting, toxicant-free traps: a promising tool for invasive species management

Pitfalls and Snap Traps for Sampling Small Mammals and Herpetofauna

Exploring Mouse Trap History

Ratcatchers

Bait, tral and zap rodents : what's new; Cummins - a proud history of progress : equipment

How to Catch Rats

Relative Efficiency of Rat Traps: Type of Trap Which Has Proved Most Effective in Manila

How to Catch Rats

[Rat catching force].

Bakli Bay, Hainan Island. c. 28 August 1945. Dutch officers and men at the prisoner of war (POW) Camp with their improvised rat traps. The Dutch supplemented their rations with the aid of these traps.

Note to Instructors: Building a Better Rat Trap

Rat Catching

Efficiency of a new reverse-bait trigger snap trap for invasive rats and a new standardised abundance index

In plantations with rat-catching company 16-18.6.68

	Studies in rat-catching.
	Mouse-Traps and Rat-Traps

Catching the rat.

	Observation on Rat Catching Effect of The Rat Clip in Ship
	Experimental production of the folding rat traps
	Rat-Catching Cats Are Bred to Protect France from Plague

RAT CATCHING. - John Gregory, well known to many of our readers

	Studies in the art of rat-catching / by H.C. Barkley.
	General George Hanger, to all sportsmen, farmers, and gamekeepers : Above thirty years' practice in horses and dogs; to feed and cure them of all common disorders and to save a dog which has been poisoned. Effectually to catch all vermin. The rat-catching secret ... On fowling-pieces, rifles, and muskets. To prevent partridges being taken at night by dragnets ...

Trap response of some southern African small mammals

Opportunities and challenges of distributed manufacturing for humanitarian response

Gerbille control : an aid to crop protection and plague prevention

Rat traps

An evaluation of the efficiency of rodent trapping methods: the effect of trap arrangement, cover type, and bait

Pitfalls and snap traps for sampling small mammals and herpetofauna

Studies in the Art of Rat-catching

A comparison of snap traps for evaluating small mammal populations

The relative effectiveness of three types of traps for small mammals in some Peruvian rodent communities

] Animal Pest Field Trial Report for Efficacy of DOC 200 versus Victor Professional Rat traps at catching rats in the Mangaone Core Area of the Te Urewera …

The Rat: Its History & Destructive Character

Indigenous Traps for the management of Rodent outbreak in North Eastern Hill region of India

Note to instructors: Building a better rat trap

Building a better rat trap: Technological innovation, human capital, and the Irula

Community participation and tropical disease control in resource-poor settings

Modifying the Victor® Easy Set® rat trap to improve the animal welfare of stoats and ship rats trapped in New Zealand

A Voluntary Trap Approval scheme to end trap welfare inequality in the UK

The Ka Mate reverse-bait snap trap–a promising new development

Design of an embedded system and cloud backend for remote monitoring of smart traps

Mechanical performance of rat, mouse and mole spring traps, and possible implications for welfare performance

Buying a Rat Trap... And More (Natural History Essays)

" Rat-Killing" for Prevention of Plague

Efficiency of a new reverse-bait trigger snap trap for invasive rats and a new standardised abundance index

Trapping-the oldest profession

Olfaction in rodent control

17. Farmer Participatory Research on Rat Management in Cambodia

Also, find your local library at Libweb and ask about Rat Catching Devices.
You could ask for help from an Engineering School. Find schools at All Engineering Schools.

So what can you do with all this information? Here's some suggestions.
+ You could make and sell the device described in the expired patent. Please note that just because something is patented or written, it might not work all that well or might not be safe in today's standards. Use your own judgment, or seek help, to stay safe and out of trouble.
+ You could "translate" the expired patent into easy-to-understand instructions for others to make the device. These instructions could use easy-to-find materials, like trees, plants, rocks, people, scrap materials, etc.
+ You could recruit the inventors or authors to help you, since they are experts in their field. Some of the inventors of older patents might be retired now and might be looking for something to do.
+ Existing manufacturers of Rat Catching Devices could use this information to make their already fine products even better, more efficient, or less expensive.
+ Build on the work of others. Maybe, use patent images instead of starting with a blank sheet of paper. Computer model other's designs and make the designs better or cheaper or simpler. You don't have to "reinvent the wheel" . Design around active patents.
+ You could use the information to brainstorm new ideas.

That's about all for now. As background, the site "Design for the Other 90%" said to "GET INVOLVED", so I did. I plan to continue posting these LOW-COST DESIGN TOPICS on my Blog for a while yet. Let me know if you have a topic you would like covered. I'm open to suggestions on improving my blog format, too. Please e-mail me directly.. I hope you find this helpful. I'm sure you can do much better though! Good Luck!

For more of my LOW COST DESIGN TOPICS - Click on the tag below "design for the other 90%".

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Thanks!

Saturday, February 09, 2008

] Animal Pest Field Trial Report for Efficacy of DOC 200 versus Victor Professional Rat traps at catching rats in the Mangaone Core Area of the Te Urewera …