Abstract:
A system and method for generating game sounds in a directionally adjustable manner which includes a friction pan call of the type having a circular flat top playing surface and a plurality of holes on generally opposing sides of a substantially cylindrical sound chamber wall, and a method whereby holes or portion of a hole are successively closed in an incremental rotating manner around the call so as to help to create a sound emulating a moving sound source.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/710,942 filed on Aug. 13, 2004, and which has now been allowed, which was a continuation of Ser. No. 10/604,377 filed on Jul. 15, 2003, which application has now been allowed and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,608 B2, and which itself was a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/682,058 filed on Jul. 16, 2001, and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,504 entitled “DIRECTIONALLY ADJUSTABLE TURKEY PAN CALL”, by the same inventors, which applications and patents are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention generally relates to game calls, and more particularly relates to turkey pan calls, and even more particularly relates to methods and systems for directionally generating a sound. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   For years, the typical turkey pan call has been a circular friction call with a circular playing surface disposed above a generally cylindrical sound chamber with at least one hole in the bottom from where sound propagates. 
   While these bottom-holed turkey friction pan calls have been used extensively in the past, they do have some drawbacks. First of all, the hunter often rests the call on the hunter&#39;s leg. This tends to attenuate the sound produced by the call. Secondly, a hunter often wants to project the sound in a particular direction. To do this, the hunter would need to tip the call on its side and point the bottom of the call in the desired direction. This makes it difficult to play, because the top playing surface is then vertical. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,531 is an example of a call which does not have bottom holes used for sound emission. It does have an open bottom side, but it teaches placing this angled edge against the caller&#39;s body for support. The sound is emitted from two holes in the cylinder walls. This call is capable of emitting sound in a side direction, but it does not have the capability for easily changing the direction of the sound emission over a wide range of directions. Because of the slanted bottom opening, it is difficult to change the direction of emission by 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 180 degrees. 
   Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for generating and directionally emitting sounds from a turkey friction pan call in an efficient manner. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for direction emission of sound from a turkey friction pan call in an efficient manner. 
   It is a feature of the present invention to utilize a plurality of sound emitting holes on opposing sides of a generally cylindrical sound chamber. 
   It is another feature of the present invention to include a plurality of opposing pairs of holes on opposing sides of the call. 
   It is an advantage of the present invention to achieve improved efficiency, making a full range of sound propagation directions. 
   The present invention is an apparatus and method for providing directionally adjustable sound emission from a turkey friction pan call, 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 “wasted motion-less” manner in a sense that motion of the call and the caller&#39;s hands to achieve a wide range of directional sound motion has been greatly reduced. 
   Accordingly, the present invention is a system and method including a turkey friction call with a plurality of holes disposed on generally opposite sides of a sound chamber of a turkey friction pan call. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     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: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a turkey friction pan call of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a turkey friction pan call of the present invention which includes a “C”-shaped sound blocking ring disposed on the call. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Now referring to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like matter throughout, and more specifically referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a call of the present invention generally designated  100 , including a top playing surface  102  which can be any shape but a circular shape is believed to be preferred. The top playing surface is generally disposed during normal use facing upward. Bottom side  104  is on an opposite side of the call  100  from the top side  102 . Top side  102 , bottom side  104  and sound chamber cylinder wall  106  together form a resonant sound chamber. The prior art calls typically would have holes in the bottom side  104  through which the sound can exit.  FIG. 1  shows a plurality of holes  120 ,  122 ,  130 ,  132 ,  140 ,  142 ,  150  and  152  in the sound chamber cylinder wall  106 . Holes  120  and  122  are disposed approximately 180 degrees apart as measured around the circumference of the pan call  100 . Holes  120  and  122  need not be exactly 180 degrees apart, but if hole  120  is pointed generally in a northerly direction in the field, then hole  122  would be generally in a southerly direction. Similarly, hole pairs  130 - 132 ,  140 - 142 , and  150 - 152  are on generally opposing sides of the call  102 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it would be preferred to have at least eight holes disposed around the sound chamber cylinder walls. 
   Now referring to  FIG. 2 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the present invention, which includes a “C”-shaped sound blocking ring  202  disposed around the sound chamber cylinder wall  106 . Sound blocking ring  202  preferably can be rotated around the call  100  to select the holes which are blocked and the holes which are left open for sound emission. Sound blocking ring  202  can be a resilient member which merely clips around the sound chamber cylinder wall  106 , and it may be disposed between top and bottom circular ridges  204  and  206  respectively. Sound blocking ring  202  may be sufficiently resilient so that a gripping bias force is applied to the sound chamber side wall when the sound ring is disposed thereon. 
     FIG. 2  also shows a first strap  210  and a second strap  212 , which are preferably adapted and configured using Velcro to adhere to each other. Other means of attaching the call  200  to an arm or a leg are envisioned as well, such as buckles, snaps, strings, elastic bands etc. 
   In operation, the apparatus of the present invention as described in  FIG. 1  could function as follows: 
   The hunter or caller (note: this call could be used by persons other than hunters) holds the call  100  in the palm of one hand. A striker is held in the other hand, and the call is operated in a well-known manner. If none of the holes  120 ,  122 ,  130 ,  132 ,  140 ,  142 ,  150  and  152  are blocked by the caller&#39;s hand, then the sound emitted by the call will be omni-directional. However, if the caller wishes the sound to go only in one direction, then the caller need only grasp the call, so that the caller&#39;s hands and fingers cover the holes oriented in a direction other than the desired direction of sound propagation. 
   At times, a caller may want to make a sound of a turkey walking in a large circle pattern. With the aid of the present invention, the caller can grasp the call  100  or even rest the call on the caller&#39;s leg, lap or even strap it to a leg or even the caller&#39;s arm (or a sleeve disposed around the caller&#39;s arm) if sound blocking ring  202  is used. The caller can then make a series of calls or sounds using a striker in the well-known manner, the difference being that the caller may block all but one or two of the holes during the sound generation. With each successive generation of a sound, the caller can switch the open holes to an adjacent hole. This is done by either covering the holes with the fingers or by rotating the sound blocking ring  202 . The process is repeated until the sound has been emitted over a wide range of direction, at least 180 degrees. This is all done without any need to move the call itself. More particularly, if a caller first covered all holes except hole  120 , then made a sound with the call, then covered all holes except  130  and then made a sound with the call, then the caller covered all holes except  140  and made a sound with the call, it would sound as if the turkey were walking in a counter clockwise direction. 
   Throughout this description, reference is made to a turkey pan call because it is believed that the beneficial aspects of the present invention would be most readily apparent when used as a turkey call; however, it should be understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited to turkey calls and should be hereby construed to include other non-turkey calls as well. 
   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.