Abstract:
An apparatus for calling wild game. The apparatus may be used for calling wild turkeys. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a barrel that receives an air flow and a bell which is the part where sound is emitted. The apparatus also includes a sound chamber made-up of two parts that are fixed together to create one sound chamber, where the sound chamber is inserted into the bell. The call also includes latex reeds, wherein the latex reeds cover the openings in the sound chamber.

Description:
This application claims priority of Provisional Application No. 61/647,757, filed 16 May 2012, and entitled “Wild Game Call.” 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a game call. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this invention relates to a wild game call. In the preferred embodiment, the call is used for wild turkeys. 
     In an effort to call wild game, various devices have been proposed. Prior art designs attempt to produce natural animal sounds. The sounds emitted from these designs may attract a variety of wild game, such as turkeys, to the caller. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment, an apparatus for calling wild game by a user is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a barrel that is blown into by the user and a bell which is the part where sound is emitted. The apparatus also includes a sound chamber made-up of two parts that are fixed together to create one sound chamber, where the sound chamber is inserted into the bell. The call also includes latex reeds, wherein the latex reeds cover the opening in the sound chamber. 
     In another embodiment, an apparatus for calling wild game by a user includes a barrel having a mouthpiece and an outlet, a bell configured to engage the outlet, with the bell containing a cavity, and a sound chamber configured to be received within the cavity, the sound chamber having a first cylindrical portion having a sound inlet and a second cylindrical portion having a sound outlet. The apparatus also includes a first reed operatively associated with the sound outlet and second reed operatively associated with the sound inlet. In one embodiment, the reeds are constructed of a flexible material, which may be a latex material. The sound outlet and the sound inlet may be axially offset so that a skewed sound path is formed. In one embodiment, the reed in the outlet occupies less than half the area of the outlet and the reed in the inlet occupies less than half the area of the inlet. In another embodiment, the barrel and the bell comprise a flexible material, such as an elastomeric material, so that pressure can be applied by the hands of the user to the barrel and bell thereby changing the cross-sectional area which varies the sound emitted. The sound emitted emulates that of a wild turkey in one embodiment. 
     In another embodiment, an apparatus for calling wild game is disclosed. In this embodiment, the apparatus includes a barrel having a mouthpiece and an outlet, a bell operatively attached to the outlet, with the bell containing a cavity therein and an exit, wherein the exit is a dome structure having an opening in a wall portion of the dome structure, and a sound chamber configured to be received within the cavity, the sound chamber having a first cylindrical portion having a sound inlet and a second cylindrical portion having a sound outlet. The apparatus may further include a first reed operatively associated with the sound inlet of the sound chamber and a second reed operatively associated with the sound outlet of the sound chamber. In one disclosed embodiment, the dome structure may contain a plurality of openings in the wall portion. 
     In yet another embodiment, an apparatus for calling wild game by emitting a sound is disclosed. The apparatus includes a barrel that receives an air flow in a barrel inlet, a bell configured to allow the sound to be emitted, a sound chamber inserted into the bell, the sound chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a first reed covering a portion of the inlet of the sound chamber, a second reed covering a portion of the outlet of the sound chamber, wherein the first and second reed are constructed of a flexible material. The apparatus may also include a bellows device, operatively attached to the barrel inlet, for creating the airflow directed into the barrel inlet so that the sound may be emitted from an outlet of the bell when the user shakes the bellows device. In one embodiment, the bellows device comprises a cylindrical body having a plurality of undulation members formed thereon, with the body having a first open end configured to engage the barrel inlet and a second closed end having a weight therein, and wherein the undulation members are configured to create the air flow through the sound chamber and out the outlet of the bell when the user shakes the bellows so that a sound is emitted. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a side view of the call. 
         FIG. 1B  is a cross-sectional view taken from line B-B of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1C  is a cross-sectional view taken from line A-A of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the barrel. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the bell. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the barrel attached to the bell. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the sound chamber. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of one of the sound chamber components. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of one of the two components of the sound chamber coupled together. 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the call. 
         FIG. 9A  is a side view of a third embodiment of the call. 
         FIG. 9B  is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 9A  taken along line A-A. 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the bellows device. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the bellows device seen in  FIG. 10 . 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view of the bellows device of  FIG. 10  operatively attached to the call of  FIG. 1A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1A , a side view of the call  2  will now be described. The call  2  includes the barrel  4  that is adapted to be connected to the bell  6 . As seen in  FIG. 1A , the sound chamber  34  (not seen in this view) is inserted into the bell  6 . In one embodiment, the barrel  4  and the bell  6  comprise a flexible material, such as an elastomeric material. The elastomeric material used in the preferred embodiment is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a durometer of 70. It should be noted that hard plastics or wood could also be used, but without the ability to squeeze and bend as to change the volume and tone. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1B , a cross-sectional view taken from line B-B of  FIG. 1A  will now be described. It should be noted that like numbers refer to like components in the various drawings. The barrel  4  has a mouthpiece section  10  (also referred to as barrel inlet  10 ), wherein the mouthpiece section  10  has a first larger opening  12  that extends to a smaller opening  14 . The smaller opening  14  is optional and does create additional pressure on the latex reed due to the smaller diameter. The inner portion  16  of the mouthpiece section  10  is generally conical and generally extends to the radial section  18 . As seen in  FIG. 1B , the outer portion  20  is also generally conical in shape. 
     The bell  6  has an output portion  22  that extends to an internal section  24  that has a generally decreasing diameter. The inlet portion  26  is configured to cooperate with the radial section  18  of the mouthpiece section  10 . Hence, the inlet portion  26  has an outer diameter surface  28  that engages the radial section  18 . The inlet portion  26  has an inner diameter surface  30 , wherein the inner diameter surface  30  forms a cavity area, seen generally at  32 . The cavity area  32  is configured to receive the sound chamber  34 . In one embodiment, the sound chamber  34  comprises a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion as will be more fully discussed later in this application. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1C , a cross-sectional view taken from line A-A of  FIG. 1A  will now be discussed. Hence, in this view, the sound chamber  34  portion along with the surface  28  of the bell  6 , as well as the barrel  4  is depicted. An outer surface portion of the bell  6  is also depicted. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the barrel  4 . As depicted, the barrel  4  includes the mouthpiece section  10  along with the first opening  12  that extends to the inset second smaller opening  14 . Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a perspective view of the bell  6  will now be described. In the view of  FIG. 3 , the output sound portion  22  is shown which extends to the outer diameter surface  28 , wherein the outer diameter surface  28  extends to the inner diameter surface  30 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a perspective view of the barrel  4  attached to the bell  6  is shown. As illustrated, the output sound portion  22  of the bell is shown, along with the mouthpiece section  10  and first opening  12  and the inset second smaller opening  14 . In one embodiment, the user blows onto the mouthpiece section  10  and a sound emulating a wild game is emitted from the output sound portion  22 . 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the sound chamber  34 . The sound chamber  34  includes a first cylindrical part  40  and a second cylindrical part  42 , wherein the first part  40  and second part  42  are connected together such as by snapping the two halves together. The first cylindrical part  40  has a partial disc  44  covering the opening and the second cylindrical part has a partial disc  46  covering the opening as shown in  FIG. 5 . A latex reed  48  covers the remaining open area relative to the disc  44  and the latex reed  50  covers the remaining open area relative to disc  46 , such as seen in  FIG. 5 . Also, a tape  52  can be applied about the periphery of the sound chamber  34  for holding the latex reeds  48 ,  50  in place. The tape  52  may be a double sided tape. Hence, the latex reeds  48 ,  50  are skewed relative to each other. For instance, as noted by the sound path arrows  54  (entering),  56  (within the inner portion), and  58  (exiting), the sound path traveling the sound chamber  34  in this skewed pattern in conjunction with the vibration of the latex reeds generate sound. The latex reeds are commercially available from Pioneer Game Calls (www.pioneerturkeycalls.com) under the trade name Latex Reeds. It should be noted that in another embodiment, the latex reeds are not axially offset but could be in-line with each other to create a different sound. Also,  FIG. 5  shows that the reeds in the outlet and the inlet occupies less than half the area of the outlet, but in another embodiment the reeds could occupy a greater area to achieve a different tone. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the sound chamber second cylindrical part  42  of the sound chamber  34 . Hence, the partial disc  46  covering a part of the opening is depicted along with the latex reed  50  is shown cooperating with the partial disc  46 . Openings  60 ,  62  are shown which will cooperate with a receptacle tab for snapping the cylindrical part  42  with the cylindrical part  40  (cylindrical part  40  not shown in this view). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , a perspective view of one of the two components (namely cylindrical part  40  and cylindrical part  42 ) of the sound chamber  34  coupled (i.e. snapped) together is illustrated. This view also depicts the partial disc  44  and the latex reed  48 . A tab  64  is used to snap the cylindrical part  40  and the cylindrical part  42  together as shown. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the call. In the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , the barrel  4  and the sound chamber  34  are essentially the same as the first embodiment already described and the description will not be repeated. The bell is seen generally at  70  and has an outer diameter surface  72  that basically decreases in size in the direction of the flared exit output  74 . Extending internally, the inner bore  76  is of generally constant inner diameter size, with the inner bore  76  configured to engage the sound chamber  34  as previously described. At the sound output end, the exit E is shown, wherein the exit E is smaller in diameter size than the diameter of the inner bore  76 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9A , a side view of the third embodiment of the call will now be described. The call  102  seen in  FIG. 9A  includes the barrel  104  that is adapted to be connected to the bell  106 . As seen in  FIG. 9A , the sound chamber  108  is inserted into the bell  106 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9B , a cross-sectional view taken from line A-A of  FIG. 9A  will now be described. The barrel  104  has a mouthpiece section  110 , wherein the mouthpiece section  110  has a first larger opening  112  that extends to a smaller opening  114 . The inner portion  116  of the mouthpiece section  110  is generally conical and generally extends to the radial section  118 . As seen in  FIG. 9B , the outer portion  120  is also generally conical in shape. 
     The bell  106  has a distal end  122  that comprises a dome structure, wherein the dome distal end  122  contains opening  123   a  and opening  123   b . The bell  106  has an internal section  124  with a wall portion  125  and the openings  123   a ,  123   b  are contained through the wall portion  125 . The inlet portion  126  is configured to cooperate with the radial section  118  of the mouthpiece section  110 . Hence, the inlet portion  126  has an outer diameter surface  128  that engages the radial section  118 . The inlet portion  126  has an inner diameter surface  130 , wherein the inner diameter surface  130  forms a cavity area, seen generally at  132 . The cavity area  132  is configured to receive the sound chamber  134 . In one embodiment, the sound chamber  134  comprises a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion as previously discussed. 
     The sound is emitted from the openings  123   a ,  123   b . It should be noted that other openings that may exist within the wall portion of the dome structure. In one embodiment, a total of three openings are provided about the wall portion  125  of the dome  122 , and wherein opening  123   a  is larger in area than the other openings. The plurality of openings allows the user to change tone and volume by covering and uncovering the holes, either in multiples or single. As noted in the previous discussion of  FIGS. 1-8 , in one preferred embodiment, the sound through the sound chamber is a skewed sound path  134  due to the sound&#39;s inlet and outlet being axially offset. Ultimately, the wild game sound exits the call  102  through openings  123   a ,  123   b.    
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , a perspective view of the bellows device  150  will now be described. With this embodiment, the bellows device  150  may be used with the call  2 . The bellows device  150  is generally a cylindrical body  152 , with the body  152  having undulations, and more specifically, undulation member  154  and undulation member  156 . The body  150  has a first opened end  158  and a second closed end  160 . The opened end  158  will engage and cooperate with the call  2  and the closed end  160  will contain a weight, as will be more fully described below. The bellows device  150  is shaken by the user to create an air flow. 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the bellows device  150  seen in  FIG. 10 . In this view, the weight  162  is shown (sometimes referred to as the plug  162 ). The inner surface portion  164  has a complimentary contour relative to the undulations  154 ,  156 , with the inner surface portion  164  leading to the inner surface portion outlet  166 . The inner shape of the bellows device  150  and the weight  162  allows for the user to shake the bellows device  150  thereby creating an air flow that will exit the open end  158 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12 , a cross-sectional view of the bellows device  150  of  FIG. 10  operatively attached to the call  2 . As noted earlier, the bellows device  150  will be constructed of a flexible material, such as an elastomer. The flexibility of the bellows device  150  can be characterized as an elastomeric material with a durometer less than  60 . In one embodiment, the bellows device  150  is silicone rubber, which is very flexible, and capable of bending easily and returning to its original shape. The inner surface portion outlet  166  will cooperate and engage with the outer portion of the barrel  4  as seen in  FIG. 12 . Hence, the inner portion  166  sealingly engages the outer portion of the barrel  4 . In this way, the air flow “AF” will be created in the inner portion of the bellows device  150  by the shaking and the air flow will be channeled through the call  2 , and ultimately the sound exits the bell  6 . According to the teaching of this disclosure, the bellows device  150  may be removed in order to use the call  2  as previously discussed. 
     An aspect of the disclosed call is that it does not require the user to manipulate the latex reed with the user&#39;s lips. The user only has to create an air flow. During operation, generated air flow is channeled into the bell, it travels through the sound chamber causing the latex reeds to vibrate and then sound is produced and exits the call from the bell. The sound that exits at the bell is the sound that emulates the wild game call. 
     Another aspect of the present disclosed call is that an accurate sounding call is produced and the user can control the cadence of the sounds with created air flow through the call. Air flow is created by the user blowing into the call or with the bellows device. 
     It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawing disclose any additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claims below, the inventions are not dedicated to the public and right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved.