Animal husbandry – Animal controlling or handling – Bird
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-30
2001-09-04
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Animal controlling or handling
Bird
C052S101000, C043S112000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283064
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pest repelling device, and more particularly to a device which may be secured to a building, statue or the like to discourage birds and other pests from resting thereon.
Devices carrying electric charges for discouraging birds and other pests are known and described for example in Burdick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,808, issued Dec. 22, 1998, Morros, Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 2,049,509, filed Aug. 19, 1991, Shaffer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,893, issued Dec. 27, 1966, Plevy et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,802, issued Feb. 20, 1973, Robinson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,854, issued Jan. 30, 1968 and Bayes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,048 issued Nov. 10, 1981. These devices generally provide a pair of spaced wires carrying an electrical charge, so that when the feet of a bird contact them, they short out and provide a shock to the bird. Such prior art devices 15 require one to make a choice between a relatively flexible cable, such as that of Shaffer, Bayes or Robinson, which can be bent in a variety of shapes to follow the contour of a support service, and the relative rigidity of a device such as that of Plevy et al, which must be preformed to the shape of the structure on which it is to sit, providing a better base for support on another surface. As well, with such prior art systems, because the base on which the wires sit will expand and contract at a significantly different rate than the wires, when exposed to the normal outdoor conditions for which such devices are designed, there is a trade off between leaving the wires fully exposed, in which case they may work themselves loose from the base through repetitive heating and cooling cycles, and a fully secured arrangement where the wires are partially embedded in the base which may reduce the exposure of the wires and thereby impede the device's effectiveness.
Sherdan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,941, issued Nov. 17, 1987 and Cleveland, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,163,658, and 5,096,162 issued Nov. 17, 1992 and Mar. 17, 1992, respectively describe and illustrate electric fence constructions and are of general background interest. Link, U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,303, issued Jan. 20, 1953, describes and illustrates a perforated support for electrical conductors to reduce the collection of moisture and the like.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a deterrent strip for mounting on inanimate objects to discourage birds or other pests from resting there, which strip will be more adaptable to a variety of conditions. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a strip which will provide better exposure of the wires while at the same time securely hold those wires in place on the base even during conditions of changing temperature, when the base and wire expansions and contractions occur at different rates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is provided an elongated deterrent strip for mounting to an inanimate object to discourage birds and other pests from resting on that object. The strip comprises a base of electrically non-conductive material. The strip in lateral cross-section has peripheral edges normally lying in a plane and a raised concave center portion. The base has spaced notches along each edge to provide flexibility to the base, whereby the base may be bent both out of the plane and within the plane. The strip further comprises two electrically conductive wires secured to and extending along the upper surface of the base, over the notches. The wires are spaced so that animal's feet will contact both wires when on the base. The wires are connectable to an energy source so that the animal's feet will short the wires when perched on the strip, giving a mild shock to the animal to discourage them from continuing its perch on the strip. The wires are crimped in undulating fashion along their length, to provide them with give so that they will not disassociate from the base when it is bent or when the wires and base expand and contract at different rates.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the wires are crimped in undulating fashion along the length of the base.
The wires are secured by clips formed in the base, the clips gripping and securing the wires preferably at low points on their undulations. As well, the notches each extend inwardly from an edge beyond the center of the concave portion below both wires. These features facilitate the bending of the deterrent strip both within its plane and outside of its plane, while at the same time holding the wires securely in place on the base during the varying temperature conditions to which the strip will be exposed during use.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2626303 (1953-01-01), Link
patent: 3294893 (1966-12-01), Shaffer
patent: 3366854 (1968-01-01), Robinson
patent: 3717802 (1973-02-01), Plevy et al.
patent: 4262169 (1981-04-01), Lanton, Jr.
patent: 4299048 (1981-11-01), Bayes
patent: 4355201 (1982-10-01), Wilson, Sr.
patent: 4706941 (1987-11-01), Sherdan
patent: 5096162 (1992-03-01), Cleveland
patent: 5163658 (1992-11-01), Cleveland
patent: 5850808 (1998-12-01), Burdick
patent: 6006698 (1999-12-01), Negre
patent: 2049509 (1991-08-01), None
Djukastein Erik
Snow Roger
Carella Byrne Bain et al
Contech Electronics Inc.
Hand Francis C.
Price Thomas
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