Abstract:
The present invention is directed toward a hunting projectile for quickly and efficiently channeling blood flow from wild game for a quicker kill. The present invention provides a series of strategically placed and shaped perforations in the hollow shaft of a projectile to enable a quicker and more humane death of wild game without affecting the flight of the projectile.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is directed toward a hunting device for quickly and efficiently channeling blood flow from wild game for a quicker kill. In particular, the present invention provides a series of strategically placed and shaped perforations in the hollow shaft of a projectile to enable a quicker and more humane death of wild game without affecting the flight of the projectile.  
         [0003]     2. Background Information  
         [0004]     For centuries humankind has hunted prey using the tried and true tools of the bow and arrow. Pressed both by the necessity of obtaining nourishment and by the enjoyment of sport, centuries of development focused on faster and more accurate flight of the arrow to allow for deeper penetration into the vital organs of the wild game. These advances, of course, focus on providing the hunter with precise hits to these relatively small target areas in order to quickly and ethically render the kill. However, rare is the hunter who can precisely hit these targeted areas consistently in the excitement of the hunt. More often than not, hunters slightly miss these targeted vital organs resulting in a wounded, fleeing animal. Furthermore, although the animal may be fatally wounded, the longer the animal lives, the more it will suffer and the less likely it will be recovered.  
         [0005]     In such a case the only hope of a timely kill and recovery of the animal is by providing an open channel to encourage excessive blood loss. The advantages to the encouragement of such blood loss are twofold. First, the animal will die more quickly and humanely due to the excessive blood loss without the opportunity to travel a great distance from the initial site. Secondly, the blood flow will allow for more easily tracking the animal to its final resting place. Unfortunately, the typical hunting arrow currently in use fails to encourage such blood flow. In fact, the typical arrow design works counter to the notion of providing for excessive blood flow by partially, if not completely, sealing the wound post entry, leaving only the small surface area around the outside circumference of the arrow shaft itself in which to allow any blood flow at all. This results in a slow bleeding and a laborious, extended death for the animal.  
         [0006]     Several solutions have been attempted to provide some sort of blood flow channel to at least allow better tracking of a wounded animal. U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,310 by Morrison provides a hunting arrow having an elastomeric device attached to the inside of the hollow shaft of a hunting arrow. The arrow shaft in Morrison has several holes near the point end. Morrison&#39;s theory of operation is that blood will flow from the wound into the arrow shaft through the holes. Subsequently, when the animal runs by a tree breaking off the external portion of the arrow, the elastomeric tubing will remain to channel blood flow out of the wound. However, Morrison falls short in a number of areas. First, the elastomeric tubing inserted into the arrow shaft significantly alters the weighting and balance of the arrow resulting in a less predictable and less accurate arrow flight. Secondly, the design relies on the fortuitous circumstance of the wild game managing to shear the arrow such that the external portion of the arrow is removed and the internal elastomeric tubing remains. Therefore, unless the arrow shaft breaks off subsequent to the animal being struck, the arrow promotes blood flow from the wound no differently than a conventional arrow currently used in the art.  
         [0007]     Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,069 by Rouse provides an arrow for blood tracking having a plurality of holes extending therethrough from the exterior of the arrow wherein the walls of the holes are slanted toward their outer ends. Rouse further provides at least one hole in the mid-portion of the shaft, at least one hole substantially spaced forward the mid-portion, and at least one hole substantially spaced rearward the mid-portion. However, Rouse falls short in a number of areas as well. First, Rouse discloses only three holes throughout the shaft of the arrow. Although this may allow some blood into and out of the shaft, this would not provide the excessive blood flow necessary to quickly bring about the kill, as most wild game&#39;s blood clots several times more quickly than that of humans. Secondly, because of the small number of holes (1) near the point of the arrow, the more likely the chances that it will become plugged with bone or tissue, further restricting or eliminating blood flow altogether. Finally, Rouse discloses circular holes that are outwardly slanted toward the rear (nock end) of the arrow in order to prevent the arrow from whistling; however, not only does this increase the manufacturing complexity because of the difficulty of angle-drilling into the extremely thin wall of an arrow shaft, it also impedes the path of the blood flow into and out of the arrow shaft by providing more surface area on which to clot.  
         [0008]     In another attempt at channeling blood flow from wild game, U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,585 by Sutherland et al. provides an arrow with an insert with a hole near the point end of the arrow and a nock with a hole in it. The theory behind Sutherland et al. is that blood from the wound will enter the hollow shaft arrow through the hole provided in the insert near the point end, flow through the shaft, and exit through the hole in the nock insert. Again, this design falls short in a number of areas as well. First, Sutherland et al. adds the complexity and cost of an additional insert in order to provide for the possibility of encouraging blood flow. Secondly, Sutherland et al. discloses merely one hole in the additional insert near the point end of the arrow. Again, this fails to provide the necessary communication with the hollow shaft to provide the excessive blood flow necessary to hasten a timely kill. Furthermore, since only one hole is provided for encouraging blood flow from the wound, the chances are high that the inlet will become plugged with tissue or bone further restricting or eliminating the blood flow altogether. Finally, the single hole in the nock insert of the arrow not only reduces the strength of the nock itself, it also fails to encourage sufficient blood flow to render a timely kill.  
         [0009]     Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,652, Rhodes, Jr. provides an arrow including a sliding adapter with a slotted through hole near the point end of the arrow and a hollow shaft with a circular pin hole and a slotted through hole provided for communication with the holes in the adapter. The theory of Rhodes, Jr. provides an arrow for hunting with the adapter in an extended position in which the aforementioned through holes are closed. When the arrow impacts the game, the adapter retracts, thereby aligning some portion of the slotted through holes allowing some fluid communication between the animal&#39;s wound and the hollow arrow shaft. Another through hole is provided closer to the nock end of the arrow for allowing exit of fluids. Thus, Rhodes, Jr. falls short in a number of areas as well. First, the sliding adapter adds complexity and cost to the system as well as adding a level of operating complexity to the hunter in that the hunter must ensure that the adapter portion is full extended prior to the shot. Otherwise, the through holes will dramatically affect the arrow&#39;s flight path. Additionally, the minimal surface area of the slotted through holes near the point end of the arrow increase the odds that the holes will become plugged with tissue or bone, thereby dramatically reducing blood flow from the wound and prolonging the kill. Also, the through holes near the nock end of the arrow present two drawbacks. First, the circular shape of the holes increases the resistance of the spinning arrow during flight resulting in a potentially erratic flight path and the potential for a “whistling” sound to be produced during flight. Secondly, the minimal number of holes disclosed fails to encourage the excessive blood flow necessary to bring about a timely kill, as wild game&#39;s blood clots extremely quickly.  
         [0010]     In view of these limitations of products currently known in the art, a tremendous need exists for a hunting projectile that encourages excessive blood flow from wild game to bring about a quick and efficient kill as well as provide for more easily tracking wounded game while maintaining the integrity of the projectile&#39;s flight path and aerodynamic characteristics. Applicant&#39;s invention, by its novel design provides a solution in view of currently available devices.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that encourages excessive bleeding from the wound of the animal for a quick and timely kill.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that encourages excessive bleeding from the wound of the animal for easily tracking the wounded animal.  
         [0013]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game with excellent aerodynamic characteristics.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that maintains the flight path integrity of a traditional hunting projectile.  
         [0015]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that is simple to manufacture.  
         [0016]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that is economical to manufacture.  
         [0017]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that has no moving parts.  
         [0018]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game that encourages excessive bleeding from the animal&#39;s wound regardless of where the animal is impacted.  
         [0019]     In satisfaction of these and other related objectives, the present invention provides a hunting projectile for channeling blood out of wild game for a quicker and more efficient kill. The hunting projectile of the present invention provides for excessive blood flow from the wound of wild game regardless of where the animal is impacted while eliminating any negative effects on the flight path of the projectile. As will be subsequently described in greater detail, the present invention provides a series of specifically designed and placed perforation throughout the shaft of a projectile in order to encourage such excessive blood loss with minimal impact on the flight characteristics of the projectile.  
         [0020]     The preferred embodiment of the present invention incorporates a hollow, elongated, cylindrical shaft with a proximal end and a distal end as is currently known in the art. The proximal end of the shaft contains a threaded engagement for a hunting point as currently known to one skilled in the art. The distal end of the shaft contains an engagement for a nock, as is also currently known in the art. Additionally, the distal, or nock, end of the shaft is further characterized by fletching as is currently known to one skilled in the art.  
         [0021]     As previously mentioned, the novelty and non-obviousness of the present invention is exemplified in the characteristics employed to the projectile shaft itself. The projectile shaft of the present invention, in its preferred embodiment, is characterized by a series of specially designed and placed perforations. These perforations of the outside wall of the projectile shaft are characterized by small slots running longitudinally along the length of the projectile shaft. The slotted perforations are further characterized by a funnel shape ranging from their widest point, at the outer wall of the cylindrical shaft to their narrowest point, at the inner wall of the cylindrical, projectile shaft.  
         [0022]     The novel, yet unobvious arrangement of these slotted perorations, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention are such that three (or more) longitudinally arranged rows of such slots run from near the point of the projectile to the fletching of the projectile, substantially in line with the fletching itself. Finally, along the length of the individual fletching itself, the slotted, funnel shaped perforations continue juxtaposed to such fletching.  
         [0023]     In operation, the projectile of the present invention provides an elegant solution to the known problems currently associated with the prior art in a number of areas. First, both the shape and the alignment of the perforations eliminate the negative effects on the flight of the projectile that the standard holes contained in the prior art present. A standard round hole in a projectile shaft results in two negative effects on its flight path by creating both a “whistling” sound as the projectile rotates and by creating random air currents along the shaft of the projectile resulting in an erratic flight path. However, the funnel shaped slots of the present invention running substantially in line with the fletching both eliminates the “whistling” sound and standardizes the air currents along the projectile shaft, resulting in a silent, precise, and repeatable flight path. Thus, contrary to the projectiles found in the prior art, the hunter can rest assured that the projectile of the present invention flies just as accurately as the standard projectile as known in the art.  
         [0024]     Secondly, both the number and shape of the perforations of the present invention encourage excessive blood flow from wild game much more efficiently than anything currently known in the art. One aspect that sets the present invention apart from the prior art is the sheer number of perforations along the length of the shaft. This ensures that although some of the perforations may become plugged with tissue or bone, many more will remain, allowing excessive blood flow from the wound of the wild game into the shaft of the projectile. Similarly, since the slotted perforations run throughout the length of the shaft, the hunter is assured that no matter the angle at which angle the projectile is lodged nor how much of the projectile shaft is protruding, excessive blood flow will be encouraged from the wound to ensure a timely, humane kill. Finally, the funnel shape further promotes excessive blood loss by encouraging blood flow from the wound into the projectile shaft itself. Thus, the numerous novel, yet unobvious attributes of the present invention clearly distinguish it from the current state of the art hunting projectiles.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]     Applicant&#39;s invention may be further understood from a description of the accompanying drawings, wherein unless otherwise specified, like referenced numerals are intended to depict like components in the various views.  
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a top, plan view of the hunting projectile of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is a top, plan view of a slot in the shaft of the hunting projectile of the present invention.  
         [0028]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a slot in the shaft of the hunting projectile of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0029]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a hunting projectile for channeling excessive blood flow from wild game is generally designated by numeral  10 . As best seen in  FIG. 1 , hunting projectile ( 10 ) is comprised of a cylindrical, elongated, hollow shaft ( 12 ), with a proximal end ( 14 ) and a distal end ( 16 ). In the preferred embodiment, proximal end ( 14 ) of shaft ( 12 ) is configured to reversibly engage with point ( 18 ), while distal end ( 16 ) of shaft ( 12 ) is configured to engage with nock ( 20 ). Additionally, shaft ( 12 ) is configured with fletching ( 22 ) near its distal end ( 16 ). Each of the preceding elements are currently known to one skilled in the art.  
         [0030]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , shaft ( 12 ) contains a series of slotted perforations ( 24 ) running longitudinally along the length of shaft ( 12 ). As best seen in  FIG. 3 , slotted perforations ( 24 ) are characterized by a funnel shape tapering from its widest point at the outer surface of shaft ( 12 ) to its narrowest point at the inner surface of shaft ( 12 ). This feature of a series of slotted perforations ( 24 ) contributes to two novel functions of hunting projectile ( 10 ). First, the funnel-shape prevents the formation of random air currents about shaft ( 12 ) of hunting projectile ( 10 ) as it rotates along its flight path, resulting in a more precise and accurate flight path. Additionally, the funnel shape to the slotted perforations ( 24 ) promotes blood flow from the wound of the animal into the hollow shaft.  
         [0031]     Another novel feature of hunting projectile ( 10 ), which is best seen in  FIG. 1  is the alignment of slotted perforations ( 24 ) along shaft ( 12 ). As previously stated, slotted perforations ( 24 ) are longitudinally aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of shaft ( 12 ). However, the longitudinal axes of the rows of slotted perforations ( 24 ) are also configured in line with each vane ( 26 ) of fletching ( 22 ). This novel feature contributes significantly to properly aligning the air currents and reducing the wind resistance of hunting projectile ( 10 ) as it spins throughout its flight, resulting in a straighter, more accurate flight path than perforated projectiles currently known in the art.  
         [0032]     In operation, hunting projectile ( 10 ) functions as follows. As projectile ( 10 ) is projected toward its target, both the shape and alignment of slotted perforations ( 24 ) promote a precise and accurate flight path, while simultaneously reducing any “whistling” or wind noise. After hunting projectile ( 10 ) strikes and embeds into the target animal, blood flow from the wound is promoted into hollow shaft ( 12 ) via the funnel shape of the numerous slotted perforations ( 24 ). The excessive blood flow is then channeled through hollow shaft ( 12 ) and out of the number of slotted perforations ( 24 ) in the remaining portion of shaft ( 12 ) extending from the wound itself. Finally, the excessive blood loss weakens the animal and hastens the kill, resulting in a quicker, more humane death for the animal, and an animal which the hunter can easily track to its final resting place.  
         [0033]     Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.