SELF-SETTING, REPEATING ANIMAL TRAP
The captured animal resets the trap for the next victim.
An animal enters a pivoting compartment held level by a counter-balance weight. Its weight tips the compartment downward, closing the entrance behind an arc-shaped shield and aligning a side exit with an opening into an attached carrying cage; a latch pin drops behind a stop to lock the compartment in this position. As the animal moves into the carrying cage, it raises a funnel-shaped projection that pivots an arm and lifts the latch pin. The counter-balance then returns the compartment to its set position, ready for the next animal.
“An object of the invention is to provide an improved trap with means to capture alive and unharmed a bird or animal and to automatically reset itself in position for catching additional victims, thus permitting the trapping of several birds or animals without needed attention by the user.”— John W. Gilbaugh, from the specification
And the world did not beat a path to his door.