Abstract:
A game call having a mouthpiece with an internal latex diaphragm and secured to said mouthpiece is a diaphragm plunger which is operable by pressing an artificial tongue-like pliable section into contacting with the diaphragm, thereby changing the pitch of the sound produced.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/907,336 filed Mar. 29, 2005, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention generally relates to game calling, and more particularly relates to manually operated game calls, and even more particularly relates to an apparatus and method for calling game using variable pitch sounds and without requiring tongue or lip manipulations to adjust the pitch.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     In the past, hunters have used various devices to call game, such as the ubiquitous tube call, in which air is blown through a mouthpiece and over a reed to generate sound. Other calls have used a flexible bellows, plunger or bulb attached to a tube call to eliminate the need for blowing through the mouthpiece. Other hunters have used in-the-mouth diaphragms to generate sound. Still other calls have used latex diaphragms in conjunction with calls, with most components being located external to the mouth.  
         [0004]     While those calls have many advantages, they also have significant drawbacks. First of all, the skill required to successfully operate the in-the-mouth diaphragm call is often more than is possessed by inexperienced hunters or hunters who may use such a call only a few days or weeks each year. Many hunters are intimidated by such calls, fearing that they are difficult to blow correctly.  
         [0005]     Secondly, the tube call and the external to-the-mouth diaphragm calls have suffered from limited ability to easily vary the sound produced by the call.  
         [0006]     Thirdly, the calls using bellows, plungers and bulbs have often had limited operational characteristics, owing to the lessened airflow control that a bellows often has in comparison to a mouth-blown call.  
         [0007]     Consequently, there exists a need for improvement in game calling methods and apparatuses.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     It is an object of the present invention to provide an easily operated game call having pitch variation capabilities, especially for emulating elk sounds which have non-uniform pitch variations during the duration of the call sequence.  
         [0009]     It is a feature of the present invention to include a diaphragm plunger for controlling pitch.  
         [0010]     It is an advantage of the present invention to allow for manipulation of the diaphragm plunger in an easy-to-use fashion.  
         [0011]     It is another advantage of the present invention to increase the certainty that the call will produce an appropriate sound.  
         [0012]     The present invention is an apparatus and method for calling game which is designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated objects, include the above-listed features and achieve the already articulated advantages. The present invention is carried out in a “fear-less” approach in a sense that the amount of fear of making errant sounds which often are produced by multi-pitch in-the-mouth diaphragm calls, especially when used by a novice or infrequent game caller, is dramatically reduced, as well as the fear of gagging or choking on an in-the-mouth call is also reduced.  
         [0013]     Accordingly, the present invention is an apparatus and method for calling game which includes an external mouth-blown diaphragm call having a manually operative plunger coupled to a mouthpiece for manipulating airflow and a diaphragm disposed within an air chamber within the mouthpiece, whereby variable position of the plunger provides for variation of sound produced by the diaphragm.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The invention may be more fully understood by reading the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a call of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a perspective inlet end view of a call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a perspective outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a partially exploded view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is an outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1  where the plunger is not depressed and the latex is undisturbed.  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is an outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1  where the plunger is depressed and the latex has been contacted by the artificial tongue. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     Now referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like matter throughout, and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , there is shown an apparatus of the present invention generally designated  100 , which includes a mouthpiece end  102  and sound exiting end  104 . A diaphragm plunger  106  is shown disposed above an artificial tongue or pliable plunger pad top  108 . Plunger  106  pivots around pivot pointy  105  and has pad engaging protuberance  107 . The call  100  has a body which is broken along line  111  into a top body section  110  and bottom body section  112 , which are held together by first “O” ring  114  and second “O” ring  116 . The above components, except for the “O” rings and the pliable plunger pad top  108 , are preferably made of durable stiff plastic, such as PVC (polyvinylchloride), ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene( ) or other suitable substitute.  
         [0023]     The “O” rings  114  and  116  are preferably circular rings of circular material (having a circular cross-section) such as rubber or similar material which is suitable for any particular design needs. Surface features, such as ridges or channels in the top and bottom body sections  110  and  112 , may be included to help retain the “O” rings in predetermined positions.  
         [0024]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plunger  106  may be detachable from the top and bottom body sections  110  and  112 , so as to permit manipulation of the artificial tongue or pliable plunger pad top  108  by direct interaction with a finger or thumb.  
         [0025]     Now referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown an inlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0026]     Now referring to  FIG. 3 , there is shown an outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0027]     Now referring to  FIG. 4 , there is shown an exploded view of the call  100  of  FIG. 1 . Artificial tongue or plunger pad top  108  is shown inverted to expose a bottom plunger pad portion  410 , which may, but need not be smooth, and forms a portion of the top body section  110 . The artificial tongue or pliable plunger pad top  108  and plunger pad smooth bottom portion  410  are preferably made of a material such as ibeflex, santoprene or other substitute which is r5elatively much more pliable than the material of the remainder of the top and bottom body sections  110  and  112 . Call  100  includes a removable tone trough diaphragm insert  400  having a “U”-shaped latex clamping member  402 , a tone trough or sound chamber dome  406  and a diaphragm  404  having a free edge  405 . Tone trough diaphragm insert  400  fits upon seat flange  416  inside the bottom body section  112 . Tone trough diaphragm insert other than the diaphragm itself is preferably made of a material similar to the material of the top and bottom body sections  110  and  112 . The diaphragm is preferably a latex or other suitable material which can be used to generate sounds as a result of vibration as air moves over the diaphragm. The use of diaphragms in such a manner is well known in the art. Similarly, the use of a tone trough dome  406  with a tone trough or non-uniformly curved underside surface  408 , in combination with a diaphragm, is also well known in the art. It should be understood that while the embodiment shown has a diaphragm and dome combined as a single unit, these two could be separate components, or the dome could be an integral part of the bottom section  112 .  
         [0028]     The pliable plunger pad  108  may be constructed so as to provide a structure to simulate a human tongue so as to mimic the interaction which occurred in the past between a human tongue, a latex diaphragm and a dome, such as in prior art tone trough-type in-the-mouth game call as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,563.  
         [0029]     Now referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a partially exploded view of the call of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0030]     Now referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1  where the plunger  106  is no6 depressed and the latex  404  is undisturbed.  
         [0031]     Now referring to  FIG. 7 , there is shown an outlet end view of the call of  FIG. 1  where the plunger  106  is depressed and the latex  404  has been contacted by smooth bottom portion of artificial tongue  410 . The latex  404  is disposed between a narrow gap between non-trough portions  407  of the dome  406  and the artificial tongue  410 .  
         [0032]     In operation, the present invention accomplishes the goal of generating sounds suitable for calling game as follows:  
         [0033]     Air is blown into the mouthpiece end  102  along airflow axis  120 ; the diaphragm  404  vibrates inside the call  100 , thereby generating a sound; the plunger  106  is depressed, causing the smooth side of plunger pad  410  to constrict the passage available for airflow. This constriction may result in a venture effect to occur, whereby the speed of airflow increases through the constricted area. A change in airflow speed may change the sounds being generated by the vibrating diaphragm. The plunger pad  410  may be further depressed so as to engage the diaphragm  404  so as to change the vibration states of the diaphragm  404 , thereby changing the sound generated by the call  100 . As the plunger  106  is depressed further, the plunger pad  410  further engages the diaphragm  404 , further changing the sound generat6ed. The diaphragm can be pressed into contact with the underside of the sound chamber dome  406 , thereby limi8ting the amount of the diaphragm which is available for vibration the diaphragm can be further depressed so that the only area of the diaphragm which is not in contact with the sound chamber dome is the central area spanning the tone trough  408 . At this point, the plunger  106  is fully depressed, the airflow passage is at a minimum size, resulting in maximum airflow velocity (assuming constant air being blown into the inlet port) and the amount of the diaphragm available for vibration is at a minimum. When the plunger  106  is released, the resilient pliable segment returns to its original position, the airflow passage returns to its original size, and the sound generated by the call returns to the sound generated earlier. The manipulations of the plunger while the call is being blown permits for a widely variable range of sound output from the call so as to better emulate the sound of a wild animal.  
         [0034]     These well-known sounds made by a cow elk and elk fawns are referred to herein as natural elk calls. While elk may each have a unique call, they have common characteristics which are well known to hunters and designers of elk calls. The tuning of the present invention and the optimization of the parameters of this call during design and manufacture are often done by careful listening to the sound produced by an individual familiar with these natural elk calls. While it is possible to use sophisticated electronic sound-measuring equipment, it is believed that the present invention may be readily manufactured without such equipment, if an individual who is familiar with such natural elk calls assists in the process. It is also believed that the present invention is readily adaptable for use in calling many other types of game animals. The diaphragm may be changed, or multiple diaphragms may be used, the size and shape of the call  100  may be changed as well to address peculiar sound requirements for different types of animals.  
         [0035]     The term “sound chamber” is used throughout to suggest that sound may be reflected off walls and thereby affect the nature or direction of the sound. “Sound chamber” as used herein does not necessarily require that a resonant frequency exist within the sound chamber.  
         [0036]     The term “diaphragm” is used herein to refer to any sound-producing material such as latex, which is capable of generating sound when air passes over the diaphragm. Multiple layers of latex are also contemplated as well. “Diaphragm” shall not be read to include a longitudinal reed which is held only at one end and has an elongated curved free surface which extends substantially beyond the structure which grasps the end of the reed.  
         [0037]     It is thought that the method and apparatus of the present invention will be understood from the foregoing description and that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construct steps and arrangement of the parts and steps thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing all of their material advantages. The form herein described is merely a preferred exemplary embodiment thereof.