Rodent trapping apparatus

1 . A rodent trapping apparatus for trapping rodents, the rodent trapping apparatus comprising:

a lid configured to be disposed on a bucket, the lid including a top surface, wherein the lid comprises a longitudinal slot having two opposing longitudinal edges;

two sidewalls provided on the top surface, with a respective sidewall of the two sidewalls along each longitudinal edge of the longitudinal slot, wherein the two sidewalls extend up to an edge of the lid;

a transverse connecting member connecting the two sidewalls thereby forming a tunnel over the longitudinal slot, a proximal end of the tunnel being located at the edge of the lid due to the two sidewalls extending up to the edge of the lid;

a bait compartment located at a distal end of the tunnel, the distal end of the tunnel being formed by a distal connecting portion of the transverse connecting member and two distal segments of the two sidewalls;

a swivel platform located within and along the longitudinal slot, wherein the swivel platform is configured to swivel about a pivot axis, wherein the pivot axis is located between the distal end and the proximal end of the tunnel, wherein the bait compartment is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis is greater than a distance between a nose and a center of gravity of a rodent to be trapped, wherein the swivel platform is in an inclined position at an angle of inclination greater than 0 degrees which represents a horizontal orientation of the swivel platform to reduce a time between rotation of the swivel platform and corresponding sliding of the rodent, and

wherein the swivel platform comprises a loading element configured to reset the swivel platform, due to a weight of the loading element, after the rodent is trapped inside the bucket, by moving the swivel platform from a vertical position to the inclined position;

a locking pin configured for locking the rodent trapping apparatus in an enabled state or a disabled state; and

a first securing structure comprising receiving members mounted to the lid such that the receiving members are positioned below the swivel platform and are adapted to disable movement of the swivel platform such that the swivel platform cannot pivot about the pivot axis during the disabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus when the locking pin is inserted into the receiving members such that the locking pin extends across and underneath the swivel platform;

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the proximal end of the tunnel and the pivot axis lies in the range of 3 to 10 inches,

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is located at the edge of the lid extending beyond an outer perimeter of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket,

wherein the lid includes an overhang portion that extends beyond an edge of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket, to accommodate the swivel platform and the tunnel having dimensions sufficient to trap rodents larger than a predetermined size; and

wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis lies in the range of 5 to 11 inches.

2 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the angle of inclination of the swivel platform is less than or equal to 45 degrees, wherein the swivel platform initiates the rotation as the rodent moves towards the bait compartment, wherein the inclined position of the swivel platform causes the rodent to begin sliding earlier as compared to the horizontal orientation, thereby reducing time available for the rodent to reverse the rotation of the swivel platform.

3 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the bait compartment includes a U-shaped cover and a material of the cover is stainless steel.

4 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:

at least one second securing structure mounted to the cover and mountable to the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket and adapted to lock the cover with the bucket, during the enabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus.

5 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a ramp configured to be provided between ground and the top surface of the lid, wherein the ramp connects the ground level with the top surface of the lid at the proximal end of the tunnel.

6 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the transverse connecting member further comprises an inclined connecting portion connecting the two sidewalls and providing an inclined section to the tunnel.

7 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lid comprises a portion extending downwards to a predetermined depth to create a rim structure, wherein when the lid is disposed on the bucket, the rim structure is adapted to run along an inner surface of a peripheral wall of the bucket to prevent rodents from accessing the edge of the bucket, while maintaining a minimum predetermined distance from the inner surface.

8 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lid, the two sidewalls, the transverse connecting member, the bait compartment and the swivel platform are of modular units and are connected together to form the rodent trapping apparatus using one or more securing members.

9 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the swivel platform comprises a first portion positioned below the proximal end of the tunnel, the first portion comprises the one or more securing members for connecting the swivel platform with the lid, the one or more securing members comprises one or more magnets of varying magnetic strength, adapted to increase a distance that a rodent must travel along the swivel platform from the proximal end of the tunnel toward the distal end of the tunnel before the swivel platform rotates.

10 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the swivel platform comprises a second portion positioned below the distal end of the tunnel.

11 . A rodent trapping apparatus for trapping rodents, the rodent trapping apparatus comprising:

a lid configured to be disposed on a bucket, the lid including a top surface, wherein the lid comprises a longitudinal slot having two opposing longitudinal edges;

two sidewalls provided on the top surface, with a respective sidewall of the two sidewalls along each longitudinal edge of the longitudinal slot, wherein the two sidewalls extend up to an edge of the lid;

a transverse connecting member connecting the two sidewalls thereby forming a tunnel over the longitudinal slot, a proximal end of the tunnel being located at the edge of the lid due to the two sidewalls extending up to the edge of the lid;

a bait compartment located at a distal end of the tunnel, the distal end of the tunnel being formed by a distal connecting portion of the transverse connecting member and two distal segments of the two sidewalls; and

a swivel platform located within and along the longitudinal slot, wherein the swivel platform is configured to swivel about a pivot axis, wherein the pivot axis is located between the distal end and the proximal end of the tunnel,

wherein the lid, the two sidewalls, the transverse connecting member, the bait compartment, and the swivel platform are modular units and are connected together to form the rodent trapping apparatus using one or more securing members,

wherein the bait compartment is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis is greater than a distance between a nose and a center of gravity of a rodent to be trapped,

wherein the swivel platform is in an inclined position at an angle of inclination greater than 0 degrees which represents a horizontal orientation of the swivel platform to reduce a time between rotation of the swivel platform and corresponding sliding of the rodent, and

wherein the swivel platform comprises a loading element configured to reset the swivel platform, due to a weight of the loading element, after the rodent is trapped inside the bucket, by moving the swivel platform from a vertical position to the inclined position;

a locking pin configured for locking the rodent trapping apparatus in an enabled state or a disabled state; and

a first securing structure comprising receiving members mounted to the lid such that the receiving members are positioned below the swivel platform and are adapted to disable movement of the swivel platform such that the swivel platform cannot pivot about the pivot axis during the disabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus when the locking pin is inserted into the receiving members such that the locking pin extends across and underneath the swivel platform;

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the proximal end of the tunnel and the pivot axis lies in the range of 3 to 10 inches,

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is located on the edge of the lid extending beyond an outer perimeter of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket, and

wherein the lid includes an overhang portion that extends beyond an edge of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket, to accommodate the swivel platform and the tunnel having dimensions sufficient to trap rodents larger than a predetermined size.

12 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the swivel platform is in the inclined position at the angle of inclination, along the longitudinal slot, wherein the angle of inclination of the swivel platform lies in the range of 2.5 to 45 degrees.

13 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis lies in the range of 6 to 12 inches.

14 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the distance between the proximal end of the tunnel and the pivot axis lies in the range of 5 to 8 inches.

15 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the transverse connecting member further comprises an inclined connecting portion connecting the two sidewalls and providing an inclined section to the tunnel.

16 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the lid comprises a portion extending downwards to a predetermined depth to create a rim structure, wherein when the lid is disposed on the bucket, the rim structure is adapted to run along an inner surface of a peripheral wall of the bucket while maintaining a minimum predetermined distance from the inner surface.

17 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the bait compartment includes a cover and a material of the cover is stainless steel.

18 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 17 , further comprising:

at least one second securing structure mounted to the cover and mountable to the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket and adapted to lock the cover with the bucket, during the enabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus.

19 . A rodent trapping apparatus for trapping rodents, the rodent trapping apparatus comprising:

a lid configured to be disposed on a bucket, the lid including a top surface, wherein the lid comprises a longitudinal slot having two opposing longitudinal edges;

two sidewalls provided on the top surface, with a respective sidewall of the two sidewalls along each longitudinal edge of the longitudinal slot, wherein the two sidewalls extend up to an edge of the lid;

a transverse connecting member connecting the two sidewalls thereby forming a tunnel over the longitudinal slot, a proximal end of the tunnel being located at the edge of the lid due to the two sidewalls extending up to the edge of the lid;

a bait compartment located at a distal end of the tunnel, the distal end of the tunnel being formed by a distal connecting portion of the transverse connecting member and two distal segments of the two sidewalls;

a swivel platform located within and along the longitudinal slot, wherein the swivel platform is configured to swivel about a pivot axis, wherein the pivot axis is located between the distal end and the proximal end of the tunnel;

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel comprises one or more securing members for connecting the swivel platform with the lid, the one or more securing members are one or more magnets of varying magnetic strength adapted to increase a distance that a rodent must travel along the swivel platform from the proximal end of the tunnel toward the distal end of the tunnel before the swivel platform rotates,

wherein the bait compartment is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis is greater than a distance between a nose and a center of gravity of a rodent to be trapped,

wherein the swivel platform is in an inclined position at an angle of inclination greater than 0 degrees which represents a horizontal orientation of the swivel platform to reduce a time between rotation of the swivel platform and corresponding sliding of the rodent, and

wherein the swivel platform comprises a loading element configured to reset the swivel platform, due to a weight of the loading element, after the rodent is trapped inside the bucket, by moving the swivel platform from a vertical position to the inclined position;

a locking pin configured for locking the rodent trapping apparatus in an enabled state or a disabled state; and

a first securing structure comprising receiving members mounted to the lid such that the receiving members are positioned below the swivel platform and are adapted to disable movement of the swivel platform such that the swivel platform cannot pivot about the pivot axis during the disabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus when the locking pin is inserted into the receiving members such that the locking pin extends across and underneath the swivel platform;

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is disposed at a distance from the pivot axis, wherein the distance between the proximal end of the tunnel and the pivot axis lies in the range of 3 to 10 inches,

wherein the proximal end of the tunnel is located on the edge of the lid extending beyond an outer perimeter of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket, and

wherein the lid includes an overhang portion that extends beyond an edge of the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket, to accommodate the swivel platform and the tunnel having dimensions sufficient to trap rodents larger than a predetermined size.

20 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the distance between the bait compartment and the pivot axis is in the range of 5 to 12 inches.

21 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the distance between the proximal end of the tunnel and the pivot axis lies in the range of 5 to 8 inches.

22 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the angle of inclination of the swivel platform lies in the range of 2.5 to 45 degrees.

23 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , further comprising a ramp configured to be provided between ground and the top surface of the lid, wherein the ramp connects the ground level with the top surface of the lid at the proximal end of the tunnel.

24 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the transverse connecting member further comprises an inclined connecting portion connecting the two sidewalls and providing an inclined section to the tunnel.

25 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the bait compartment includes a cover and a material of the cover is stainless steel.

26 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 25 , further comprising:

at least one second securing structure mounted to the cover and mountable to the bucket when the lid is disposed on the bucket and adapted to lock the cover with the bucket, during the enabled state of the rodent trapping apparatus.

27 . The rodent trapping apparatus as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the lid comprises a portion extending downwards to a predetermined depth to create a rim structure, wherein when the lid is disposed on the bucket, the rim structure is adapted to run along an inner surface of a peripheral wall of the bucket while maintaining a minimum predetermined distance from the inner surface.