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laser/detector circuit

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Markos

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Hi all,
I would like to ask for some of your knowledge please...':?:'
I am trying to design a mouse trap which will use a laser and detector across an open area, that when the mouse breaks the beam, a mechanical system can be activated (or a motor switches on), and subsequently a box will fall and trap the mouse.
Their little brains are too clever for normal mouse traps in our house!!

Any Ideas for the electronic circuit I can use?

Thanks a lot....
Mark
 
i never dealt with mice or traps (actually i only saw mouse once
in my life if we don't count TV or visits to zoo) but i would try
something much simpler:
how about pcb etched in comb shaped pattern (like rain detector)?
all you need is one or maybe two transistor to get gain sufficient
to trigger relay or whatever you need to drop the box over the
target zone. some bait wouldn't hurt (maybe a butter or whatever
the little critters like) which should be placed in a way so it doesn't
cause false triggering (insulated from the PCB).
To get the fast response of the trap i would still use spring
loaded mechanism that has latch release (pulled) by small motor
or electromagnet.

this would allow capturing mice without injury so you can release
them at your enemy's house or potential customers for the trap. :p
 
Thanks alot for the help, although i'm not familiar with the "pcb etched in comb shaped pattern". Is this something which the mouse would walk over to set off some kind of signal?
 
Try a cat.

JimB
 
the pcb in comb pattern means that the mouse's foot would complete the circuit if it walked over it, which would trigger the motor or wutever
 
Markos said:
Ok, thanks for the info everyone...
Any ideas where I can find these comb PCBs?

You would etch them yourself, but it doesn't look like a practical way of detecting a mouse to me?.

Your original idea of an IR beam sounds far more likely to be successful, you don't need a laser (it would be pretty pointless!), just an IR LED and detector circuit.
 
i'm not sure why not? you can make it as sensitive as you please
and it is probably the cheapest way to do it. same principle was
used in some consumer electronics instead of buttons. my old
tv set used it to change channels (if you forget wher remote is).
 
panic mode said:
i'm not sure why not? you can make it as sensitive as you please
and it is probably the cheapest way to do it. same principle was
used in some consumer electronics instead of buttons. my old
tv set used it to change channels (if you forget wher remote is).

Most remotes work that way, the rubber buttons that press onto them are coated with a special conductive rubber to join across the tracks.

But I don't see how this would help to catch a mouse?, unless it's specially trained to wear conductive rubber boots :lol:
 
Sometimes simple is best. Have you ever tried "glue-traps?" We had a few really wiley mice in the shop that we refered to as "ninja mice." They could clean off all the regular traps, skip the others, etc. You need to find where their regular routes are, and place a glue trap. The glue has some scent added to it they like, and the trap appears as a safe object to them. We got them all first day we put the glue traps down.

One of the most ingenious traps I ever read about was a shop-vac hooked up with valves and IR sensors. The vacuum would run for a few seconds and build up a vacuum in its cannister, then sit and wait for a mouse to enter the baited hose. Upon breaking an IR beam, a valve would open, the mouse would get sucked into the cannister, the vacuum would "recharge" itself, then lie in wait. There was even a counter built into it. It was very elaborate, but effective.
 
Here's what you want. Once conduction between two contacts is detected, it switches on a transformer which dumps tens of thousands of volts through those same contacts.

I never did score a rat, but it was nuking one roach after another in my garage. I think it did a lot to knock down the roach problem.

**broken link removed**
 
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