Abstract:
A manually movable decoy device adapted for luring animals comprising a tail attachment member, a tail shaft with a pulling arm, a ground shaft, and a decoy attached to the tail attachment member selected from the group consisting of a tail-feather, an animal tail, and a first decoy body. The ground shaft, incorporating a spring mechanism, rotatably supports the tail shaft. A pull line is attached to the pulling arm. After inserting the decoy device into the ground, routing the pull line using guide shafts, and optionally inserting a second decoy body into the ground, the pull line may be pulled to produce a side-to-side motion of the decoy device.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/915,078, filed Jul. 24, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,810 and entitled Method and Apparatus for Manually Activated Turkey Decoy, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to hunting decoys, and more specifically, to tail decoys and movable animal decoys. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Decoys of great variety in construction and purpose have been used to lure turkeys into range for effective hunting, harvest, and/or observation and study. While decoys often provide a life-like appearance, it has also been desirable for obvious reasons to make the decoy move in a life-like fashion in a manner that is exhibited by the represented animal. Faced with this challenge, practitioners in the art have endeavored on many occasions to so motivate a decoy. Previous attempts to create a realistic and effective decoy include: 
     Samara, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,322, discloses the use of a wind activated animal decoy. Specifically, the use of a turkey decoy with tail-feathers, which upon wind activation, causes the head to move up and down and side-to-side. 
     Brint, U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,356, discloses the use of a full body turkey decoy, having a tail, which uses a battery-powered electric motor and internal counter weights to simulate strutting turkey behavior. Furthermore, the invention shows a turkey decoy that, upon activation, causes the decoy to rotate intermittently on a support rod and also causes tail vibration. 
     Lenz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,427, discloses a battery-operated animal decoy mechanism having a motor. The motor has at least one projecting member which activates a tail flicking attachment, thus simulating the tail flicking of a live animal. 
     It is well-known among turkey hunters that during the turkey mating season, male (gobbler) turkeys attempt to find female (hen) turkeys with which to breed. This results in gobblers initiating a mating ritual involving the display of their tail-feathers, while moving them from side-to-side in what is known as a full strut. The gobbler&#39;s full strut is meant to attract the hen to the gobbler for potential mating. Similarly, other animals, such as deer, elk, and squirrels, also use their tails to attract their respective mates. 
     Prior art decoys suffer from various drawbacks, in that imperfect conditions and inherent limitations in the design and surrounding environment generally cause these decoys to exhibit a typical or unrealistic movement which may startle or warn the animal or may have no effect whatsoever. Prior art decoys designed to move with nature&#39;s forces (as disclosed in the &#39;322 patent, for example) lack controllable manual-motion. Similarly, the motion exhibited by electronically operated decoys (as disclosed in the &#39;356 patent, for example) is generally not representative of mating rituals. Also, motor-driven decoys have an amount of noise inherent in their operation that results in animals being scared away from the decoy and the immediate area. Additionally, unfavorable weather (e.g., rain, dampness, coldness, etc.) may adversely affect electronic components through corrosion and condensation. Furthermore, electronic mechanisms tend to wear down the power source (usually batteries) required for the decoy&#39;s movement, relatively quickly. This may result in the decoy failing to operate at critical times during the hunting period. Moreover, some states and hunting associations do not permit the use of electronically controlled decoys. Finally, prior art decoys fail to provide a means of portability, thereby, not allowing a user to change the decoy from a use-mode to a portability-mode in an efficient manner. 
     Due to these drawbacks and limitations, the aforementioned prior art is generally non-conducive to hunting wild animals. 
     Accordingly, what is needed, and has not heretofore been developed, is a manually activated, realistic decoy apparatus that simulates the natural movements inherent to the rituals of various animals. Field work using the present invention has confirmed that decoy movement is critical to the believability of the decoy&#39;s authenticity in the minds of the animals that may observe it. Furthermore, within a dominant animal&#39;s territory, if another animal attempts to lure the dominant animal&#39;s females, the dominant animal becomes upset and approaches the challenging animal to re-establish dominance among the females. Therefore, decoy movements may be used to not only attract females, but also males. 
     Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus that through controllable manual motion produces a natural, isolated movement. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus which is portable, lightweight, requires only a minimal number of elements, and requires only a minimal number of steps to utilize. This results in efficiency in set-up and preparation of the decoy, a critical aspect in hunting. Unlike the prior art, lighter components may also be utilized, such as arrow shafts, thereby resulting in a lighter and easier to carry decoy apparatus. Furthermore, the use of guide shafts allow the decoy apparatus to be used over and around varied terrain and obstacles, while also preventing the animals from tripping over the pull line utilized in the present invention. 
     It is an additional object of the present invention to provide such a decoy apparatus which utilizes real tails, as adding detail to the decoy, in order to draw animals to an even closer proximity, as compared to the use of artificial tails. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to allow the user to maintain a suitable distance from the decoy apparatus, while still achieving full operability over the invention. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a decoy apparatus which may be adapted to move not only the tail, but an entire decoy body. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lightweight decoy apparatus, which is simple and inexpensive in its design and construction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides, in the preferred embodiment, a manually movable decoy device adapted for luring animals comprising a tail attachment member, a tail shaft, a ground shaft, and a decoy attached to the tail attachment member. The decoy may be comprised of a tail-feather, an animal tail, or a first decoy body. The ground shaft, connected to the tail shaft by a spring mechanism, rotatably supports the tail shaft. A pull line is attached to the pulling arm of the tail shaft. After insertion of the decoy device&#39;s ground shaft into the ground, a second decoy body may be optionally inserted into the ground, forward and adjacent to the decoy device. Optional guide shafts may be inserted into the ground to route the pull line. The pull line may then be manually pulled to rotate the tail shaft assembly with respect to the ground shaft in a reciprocating manner, thereby causing controllable movement of the decoy. A plurality of brackets affixed to the tail attachment member, are adapted to retain the tail shaft, the ground shaft, and the guide shaft in a carry-mode configuration. Additionally, a carry cord is removably connected to the tail attachment member to allow a user to easily transport the entire decoy device. The foregoing and other features of the method and apparatus of the present invention will be further apparent from the description which follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The descriptions and drawings disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/915,078 are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Other important objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a movable tail decoy apparatus used in conjunction with a turkey decoy body, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a tail shaft assembly with a universal tail adapter plug, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of a ground shaft with a partial view of the tail shaft inserted therein, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 (excluding a tail attachment member, tail-feathers, pull line, and turkey decoy body), showing its rotational movement of the pulling arm, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of an optional guide stake, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a rear elevation view of an assembled tail shaft and ground shaft, including guide shafts, used in conjunction with a turkey decoy body, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of the tail shaft assembly, adapted to move an entire decoy, in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of the tail attachment member with a first carry plug, in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is an elevation view of an arrow decoy apparatus, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/915,078 and hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIG. 10 is a front view of the arrow decoy apparatus of FIG. 9 with a second carry plug, in a carry-mode configuration, in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows a manually activated decoy apparatus. Any animal decoy body, such as that of a turkey, deer, elk, squirrel, etc. may be placed adjacent the decoy apparatus  1 . In the preferred embodiment, a turkey decoy body  2  is placed adjacent the decoy apparatus  1 . The decoy apparatus  1  and turkey decoy body  2  are both inserted into the ground  3 , with the decoy apparatus  1  perpendicularly and centrally abutting the rear portion of the turkey decoy body  2 . 
     The decoy apparatus  1  is comprised of a tail shaft assembly  4  and a ground stake  20 , as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. The component parts of the present invention may be constructed from materials including, but not limited to plastic, nylon, aluminum, steel, and wood, with the components being joined by various means, including, but not limited to tension engaging, wedging, welding, bolting, threaded engagement, dowels, heat-shrink tubing, and gluing. 
     The tail shaft assembly  4  is comprised of a tail shaft  5 , with one end of the tail shaft  5  having a conical shape and the second end being attached to a tail attachment member  10  via a retaining clip  11 , with retaining clip  11  inserted into the body of the tail attachment member  10 . The tail attachment member  10  is crescent-shaped, having tail holes  12 , drilled within its outer curved edge. As depicted in FIG. 1, the depth, width, and placement of each tail-feather hole  8  is sufficient to accommodate a tail-feather  14 , therein. It is preferable to use real gobbler tail-feathers, as they add detail to the decoy, and thereby draw turkeys to an even closer proximity, as compared to the use of artificial feathers. The tail attachment member  10  maybe made of plywood (e.g., ¾″ thickness). 
     The tail attachment member  10  can also be configured to accommodate other animal tails, such as that of a deer, elk, or squirrel, through use of a universal tail adapter plug  16 . For example, FIG. 2 illustrates the tail shaft assembly  4  comprising a deer tail  18 . The universal tail adapter plug  16  is conically-shaped, tapered, and hollowed. The deer tail  18  is positioned within the universal tail adapter plug  16  and is optionally secured within the universal tail adapter plug  16  with a wire  17 . The tapered end of the universal tail adapter plug  16  is then inserted into any of the tail holes  12  of the tail attachment member  10 . Furthermore, in squirrel or predator hunting, it is effective to present the movement of more than one squirrel in conjunction with an appropriate calling. To this end, the tail attachment member  10  may accommodate more than one squirrel tail by utilizing a plurality of universal tail adapter plugs  16 , each occupying a different tail hole  12 . 
     Returning to the tail shaft  5  depicted in FIG. 2, a first spring arm  6  is affixed to the tail shaft  5  in a relatively central location in relation to the length of the tail shaft  5 . The first spring arm  6  is sufficient in length and diameter to removably accommodate a coil spring  7  thereon. Below and parallel to the first spring arm  6 , a pulling arm  8  is affixed to the tail shaft  5 . The free ends of both the first spring arm  6  and the pulling arm  8  comprise a dumbbell configuration, with integrally molded balls spaced about ¼″ apart and about ¼″ in diameter. This makes the molding process cheaper and easier. Washers may also be used to secure the coil spring  7  and the line  9  to the arms, instead of the dumbbells. 
     With continuing reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 depicts an assembled decoy apparatus  1 , comprised of the tail shaft  5  and a ground shaft  20 . The ground shaft  20  is comprised of a tapered fin  21  and a second spring arm  22 . Instead of a tapered fin  21 , a ½″ inch diameter steel disc may be welded to the lower end of the ground shaft  20 . The tapered fin  21  prevents the ground shaft  20  from moving after having been inserted into the ground  3 . The second spring arm  22  extends upwardly, terminating in a ball configuration. Additionally, the top of the ground shaft  20  includes a depth-stop means  28  within or external to the ground shaft  20 , sufficient in depth and diameter to rotatably accommodate the conical-shaped end of the tail shaft  5  therein. This results in the tail shaft assembly  4  resting coaxially within the ground shaft  20 . The depth-stop means may comprise any number of means, including but not limited to, drilling a co-axial hole in the top of a solid ground shaft  20 , or inserting a tapered dowel or other tapered cylindrical object within a hollow ground shaft, onto which the conical-shaped end of the tail shaft  5  may pivot. The ground shaft  20  may be of varying lengths or may be comprised of a shaft extension, allowing the user to adapt the ground shaft to decoys of different heights. For example, utilizing the deer tail  18  and its respective deer decoy body requires the deer tail  18  to be situated at a greater height than provided by the existing ground shaft  20 . Through use of a greater length ground shaft or shaft extension, the deer tail  18  can be vertically aligned with the deer decoy body. Further assembly of the decoy apparatus  1  requires the coil spring  7  that is removably attached to the first spring arm  6  of the tail shaft  5  to be looped onto the second spring arm  22 , extending from the ground shaft  20 . Additionally, a pull line  9 , preferably a 20 lb. test fishing line, is attached to the dumbbell configuration of the pulling arm  8 , by one of various means including, but not limited to looping, hooking, and tying. 
     With continuing reference to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , FIGS. 4,  5 , and  6  illustrate the operation and environment of the preferred embodiment of the decoy apparatus  1 . After the user has properly positioned the decoy apparatus  1  and the decoy body  2  into the ground  3 , as previously discussed and as depicted in FIG. 1, the user unravels the pull line  9  to a length that would allow him to maintain a hunting position that provides visibility of the decoy area and concealment from any potential prey. Upon assuming such a position, the user may pull on the pull line  9  to activate the decoy apparatus  1 . The pulling action causes the tail shaft assembly  4  to rotate upon its pivot point within the ground shaft  20 . Upon the commencement of this rotation, the coil spring  7  connecting the first spring arm  6  to the second spring arm  22  begins to elongate. The continuous tension created when the coil spring  7  elongates, accompanied by controlled pulls and releases on the pull line  9  by the user, provides for natural-in-effect, side-to-side movement of the tail feathers. The decoy apparatus  1  may therefore be manually manipulated (when using turkey feathers) in such a manner as to simulate a full strut, inherent to a gobbler&#39;s mating ritual. Turkeys observing such a tail movement will successfully and consistently be attracted to the immediate area in which the decoy apparatus  1  is situated. Employing the same side-to-side movement of the decoy apparatus  1  using other animal tails in conjunction with their respective decoy bodies, will yield similar results in live animals of that kind. 
     Due to the diverse topography of hunting grounds, a straight, clean line to the decoy apparatus  1  may not always be achieved, thereby requiring the pull line  9  to be guided around stationary environmental objects. This may result in the normal movement of the pull line  9  to be inhibited. For example, depending upon a user&#39;s position, a different angle may be required of the pull line  9  that may only be provided by the use of guide shafts, such as long guide shaft  24  and short guide shaft  25 . Furthermore, if the pull line  9  abuts an object such as a tree, entanglement of the pull line  9  may occur, resulting in unnatural motion being translated to the tail-feathers  14 . Consequently, such entanglement creates friction and abrasion, thereby weakening the strength of the pull line  9  and ultimately resulting in its tearing. Uneven terrain surfaces and elevations such as a hill may present similar problems. The aforementioned situations may create failure in the operation of the decoy apparatus  1  at critical times. In reference to FIG. 5, to counter such effects, the user may utilize a long guide shaft  24  to create angled approaches over and around obstacles. The short guide shaft  25  may be utilized around the immediate area of the decoy apparatus  1 , keeping the pull line  9  low to the ground  3 , thereby preventing approaching turkeys from tripping on the pull line  9 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the long guide shaft  24  may be fabricated of the same material as used in the tail/ground shaft, or any other suitable material may be utilized in its construction. The long guide shaft  24  is comprised of a tapered fin  21  (or flat disc) affixed to the bottom of the long guide shaft  24  and a heart-shaped washer  26  vertically affixed to the top of the long guide shaft  24 . The tapered fin  21  prevents the long guide shaft  24  from moving after having been inserted into the ground  3 . Preferably, the heart-shaped washer  26  has a split  27  in the top portion of one of its sides, to insert the pull line  9 . Almost any type of washer may be utilized, but it is preferred that the washer is of such design as to prevent the pull-line  9  from disengaging, as does the heart-shaped washer  26 . The short guide shaft  25  is similar in construction to the long guide shaft  24 , except for the differences in length. 
     FIG. 6 shows how both the long guide shaft  24  and the short guide shaft  25  may be optionally implemented in the use of the decoy apparatus  1 , by inserting the aforementioned shafts into the ground  3  and routing the pull line  9  through the heart-shaped washer  26  of each guide shaft. In order to maintain the fullest range of movement of the tail-feathers  14 , it is preferred that the guide shaft closest to the decoy apparatus  1  be situated at a 45° angle in relation to the rear of the decoy apparatus  1 . The user may operate the decoy apparatus  1  regardless of whether he uses the long guide shaft  24 , short guide shaft  25 , a combination of both types of shafts, or no guide shafts at all. 
     With continuing reference to FIGS. 1-6, FIG. 7 depicts an additional feature of the decoy apparatus  1 . In an alternative embodiment, the decoy apparatus  1  may be easily adapted to accept and to move the entire decoy body  2 . This is accomplished by constructing a decoy assembly  30  comprising the decoy body  2 , preferably a collapsible decoy with a bottom slot  31 . A sufficient number of support rods  33 , preferably dowels, are fitted into the tail holes  12  of the tail attachment member  10 , to provide support and stability for the decoy body  2 . This construction allows the user to utilize both a tail shaft assembly  4  comprising tail-feathers  14  and also a decoy assembly  30  while hunting. The manner of operation for moving the decoy body  2  is identical to the manner of operation for moving the tail-feathers  14 , as discussed above, with the exception, that instead of the tail-feathers  14  being manually and controllably moved, the entire decoy body  2  achieves such an effect. Whole-body animal decoys that may be utilized for this purpose include, but are not limited to turkey, hen, squirrel, deer, and elk decoys. Additionally, as a substitution for a whole-body animal decoy, silhouette decoys, such as a jake decoy comprised of ¾″ high grade foam, may be adapted to fit onto the tail shaft  5 . 
     With continuing reference to FIGS. 1-7, FIG. 8 depicts the tail attachment member with a first carry plug  39 . The first carry plug  39  is inserted into the body of the tail attachment member  10 . The free end of the first carry plug  39  can accommodate a carry cord  38 , which allows the user to easily carry the tail attachment member  10 . The carry cord  38  preferably comprises a {fraction (3/16)}″ black nylon lanyard. Additionally, the first carry plug  39  includes a safety ribbon hole  37  for securing a safety ribbon therein, so as to communicate to other hunters that the tail attachment member  10  is associated with the user and not the decoy apparatus  1 . 
     With continuing reference to FIGS. 1-7, FIG. 9 depicts an arrow decoy apparatus  41 , similar in form and function to the decoy apparatus  1 , but comprising a modified construction design and lighter components, as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/915,078, incorporated herein by reference. The arrow decoy apparatus  41  is comprised of an arrow tail shaft  42 , an arrow ground shaft  43 , and a long arrow guide shaft  44 . The arrow tail shaft  42  can be attached to the tail attachment member  10  through various means, including, but not limited to, using a first threaded bushing connection  45 . FIG. 10 depicts a portability mode  35  of the arrow decoy apparatus  41 , wherein the removable components of the arrow decoy apparatus  41  may be attached to the tail attachment member  10 , allowing the tail attachment member  10  to be transported as a unit to a hunting location by the user, where the user would reassemble the components into the operable arrow decoy apparatus  41 . More specifically, in the preferred embodiment, the arrow tail shaft  42 , the arrow ground shaft  43 , and the long arrow guide shaft  44 , are removably attached to a plurality of brackets  36  affixed to a planar surface of the tail attachment member  10 . The brackets  36  may utilize varied means of retaining the removable components, including, but not limited to a tensioning or clip system. By extending in a horizontal relation to the tail attachment member  10 , the removable components become unobtrusive to the user while the arrow decoy apparatus  41  is in the portability mode  35 . A second carry plug  40 , preferably of a triangular or round-shaped plastic construction, is attached to the body of the tail attachment member  10 . The free end of the second carry plug  40  can removably accommodate the carry cord  38 , to allow the user to carry the arrow decoy apparatus  41  around his or her neck. Additionally, the second carry plug  40  includes a safety ribbon hole  37  for securing a safety ribbon therein. 
     From the foregoing detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the invention set forth herein, it will be apparent that there has been provided a new, useful, and uncomplicated decoy apparatus, which through controllable manual motion, produces a natural-in-effect, isolated tail-feather or tail movement. The invention requires only a minimal number of elements, utilizes real feathers or tails, is quiet, requires no electrical power source, requires only a minimal number of steps to utilize, allows uninhibited control through unlimited guide shaft configurations, may be used in a wide range of weather conditions, allows for adaptation for moving an entire decoy, and provides a portability aspect. 
     The above invention has been described with reference to preferred and alternative embodiments. Obvious modifications, combinations, and alterations will occur to others upon reading the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.