Abstract:
An audio trapping lure includes a housing defining an interior area for containing electronic components including a processor, a daylight sensor, a body heat sensor, cell phone transmission capabilities, and a speaker. The audio trapping lure includes digital sound files of the distress cries of prey of a predator to be hunted or trapped. Under the control of programming, the processor causes predetermined distress cries to be emitted through the speaker at predetermined intervals of time and for a predetermined duration. The audio trapping lure is activated only when the daylight sensor indicates it is dark. The audio trapping lure is deactivated when the body heat sensor detects the proximity of a heat source, indicating the predator has already been trapped. The cell phone text function is activated upon the deactivation of the device by the body heat sensor indicating an animal has been trapped.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to audio trapping lures and, more particularly, to an audio trapping lure that operates only at night with actual recordings of prey animals&#39; distress calls at predetermined time intervals of time and volume. The present invention deactivates and transmits a call or text message after determining that a predator is likely to have been trapped. 
     The trapping of predatory animals such as coyotes, bobcats, and fox always include the use of some sort of lure to attract these animals. There are many commercial liquid lures on the market, each designed for a specific animal. There are also lures that create sight appeal such as fur and feathers and then there are the seldom used audio lures. 
     The audio lures of the past have used live roosters or guineas in cages positioned in the woods to attract predators with the sounds they emit. The downfall with this sort of audio lure is that they make very little sound, if any, after dark—the very time when predators are hunting—or do not make sounds throughout the night hours. 
     There have also been electronic audio lures available to the trapping industry but they typically emit continuous high-pitched bird chirping sounds every few second and run continually. They are less than effective in hunting and virtually useless in the trapping industry. Further, the existing devices do not cause appropriate prey distress sounds having a controlled duration of emission and having a predetermined variable volume. 
     A cell phone text feature will greatly help trappers, letting them know if a catch has been made and its exact location. Another advantage of this feature is that several states have a 48-72 hour trap check law. This sometimes results in an animal enduring unnecessary stress in being in the trap for several days. This may actually be considered inhumane and would be deterred with this new cell phone feature. 
     Today&#39;s predator hunters have the latest technology available to them in the form of electronic predator distress calls. These calls have actual recordings of live prey animals in distress and are very lethal. But to be effective, the volume and durations of the calls must be monitored and controlled by the hunter. The trapping industry has not yet benefited from this technology. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have an audio trapping lure that emits the distress cries of a predator&#39;s prey at realistic intervals of time and at predetermined volumes and volume variations. Further, it would be desirable to have an audio trapping lure that operates only after darkness is detected so as not to attract other humans and their dogs to the trap site and to not utilize battery power during daylight hours when predator movement is less likely. In addition, it would be desirable to have an audio trapping lure that deactivates when the body-heat of a predator is detected which is indicative that the predator has already been trapped. Still further, it would be desirable to have a text message sent to the trapper&#39;s phone giving a unit number and therefore location of the deactivated device indicating a predatory animal has been trapped. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An audio trapping lure according to the present invention includes a housing defining an interior area for containing electronic components including a processor, a daylight sensor, a body heat sensor, cell phone transmission capabilities, and a speaker. The audio trapping lure includes digital sound files of the distress cries of prey of a predator to be hunted or trapped. Under the control of programming, the processor causes predetermined distress cries to be emitted through the speaker at predetermined intervals of time and for a predetermined duration. The audio trapping lure is activated only when the daylight sensor indicates it is dark. The audio trapping lure is deactivated when the body heat sensor  26  senses the proximity of a heat source, indicating the predator has already been trapped. The cell phone text function is activated upon the deactivation of the apparatus by the body heat sensor. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide an audio trapping lure that emits the distress cries of a predator&#39;s prey at predetermined intervals of time and at predetermined volumes and volume variations. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide an audio trapping lure, as aforesaid, that deactivates when the heat of a predator is detected which is indicative that the predator has already been trapped. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide an audio trapping lure, as aforesaid, that sends a text message to a remote cell phone when the apparatus is deactivated by the body heat sensor and which indicates an identifier or number of the device and therefore the location. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide an audio trapping lure, as aforesaid, that is activated only at night. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 a    is a perspective view of an audio trapping lure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1 b    is a front view of the audio trapping lure as in  FIG. 1   a;    
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating electronic components of the audio trapping lure as in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the logic performed by a processor executing programming. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     An audio trapping lure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3  of the accompanying drawings. The audio trapping lure  110  includes a processor  20 , a daylight sensor  24 , a body heat sensor  26 , a cell phone module  36 , and related electronics situated on or in a housing  12 . 
     The audio trapping lure  10  includes a housing  12  that defines an interior area of sufficient size to hold the electronic components of the present invention. Preferably, the housing  12  is constructed of durable materials as the predator audio trapping lure  110  will be positioned outdoors in use and will, therefore, be subjected to potentially harsh weather conditions such as rain, snow, and extreme temperatures. As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the housing  12  may include a generally rectangular or box-shaped configuration with a speaker  32  situated so as to transmit sound in a generally forward direction. However, other housing configurations may also be suitable, such as a circular configuration that emits sound in a 360 degree pattern. 
     A battery  28  is situated in the interior area of the housing  12  and configured to provide electrical current to the electronic components described below. The battery  28  may be electrically connected to a status or “low-battery” light  34  positioned on an exterior of the housing  12  and configured to indicate when the battery  28  may need to be replaced. A processor  20  is positioned in the interior area of the housing and electrically connected to the battery  28 . Alternatively, appropriate circuitry may be utilized rather than a processor  20  executing programming instructions. A memory  22  is electrically connected to the processor  20 , the memory  22  configured to store data in suitable data structures. Specifically, the memory  22  may include data such as sound files of prey distress cries. The memory  22  may also include data structures associated with volume data, time duration data, a counter of sound emission cycles, and the like. Programming instructions to be executed by the processor  20  may also be stored in the memory  22 . A timer  30  or similar circuitry is connected to the processor  20  and utilized to determine if a sound has been emitted for a predetermined amount of time as will be described further later. The timer  30  may also be accessed to calculate a “pause” between sound data emissions. 
     A daylight sensor  24  may be situated on an exterior surface of the housing  12  and be in data communication with the processor  20 . Similarly, a body heat sensor  26  may be situated on or inside the housing  12  and is in data communication with the processor  20 , the body heat sensor  26  being configured to sense the proximity of body heat indicative of a predator as will be described in more detail below. A speaker  32  is situated in the interior area of the housing  12  and electrically connected to the processor  20 , the speaker  32  being configured to emit sounds as directed by the processor  20 . 
     Components and circuitry pertaining to a cellular telephone is situated in the housing  12  and is referred to herein as a “Telephone Module  36 .” Specifically, the telephone module  36  is electrically connected to the processor  20  and, as such, is operatively connected to the body heat sensor  26 . When the body heat sensor  26  detects heat indicative of an animal having been trapped, the processor  20  actuates the telephone module  36  to transmit a text message or voice call to a predetermined or user-set number such that a trapper is notified that an animal has been caught, as will be discussed in more detail below. 
     In use, the housing  12  may be situated adjacent a predator trap (not shown) and activated to function according to the logic illustrated in the flowchart shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates a process  100  carried out by the processor  20  executing programming instructions. At step  102 , the processor  20  determines if the daylight sensor  24  indicates darkness versus the presence of ambient light. If it is determined to be dark, then the process  100  proceeds to step  103 ; otherwise, the process  100  just loops to step  102  again. At step  103 , the processor  20  actuates the speaker  32  to begin emitting predetermined sound data stored in memory  22 . For instance, the speaker  32  may emit the sounds of a bird or animal that is representative of the prey of a predator of the type seeking to be trapped. Preferably, the sounds are actual recorded sounds of the prey that the animal to be trapped is most likely to be lured by. The process  100  then proceeds to step  105 . 
     At step  105 , the processor  20  causes the timer  30  to be initiated. For instance, the timer  30  may be configured to count down from a predetermined time or may count up from zero to a predetermined time duration. The process  100  proceeds to step  107 . At step  107 , the process  100  causes the processor  20  to increment a counter, the counter being a data structure that represents the number of times that an animal distress cry data file has been played, e.g. the number of cycles of playing a distress call. The process  100  proceeds to step  104 . 
     At step  104 , the processor  20  determines if it is time for a “Volume Boost” cycle. In one embodiment, the speaker volume of an audio trapping lure  10  will be doubled for one 8 to 10 second emission of the audio trapping lure and then returned to a normal level. This may amount to a louder blast of the distressed cries about every fifth time the distressed cries are transmitted. The processor  20  determines if it is time for a volume boost by reviewing the counter data structure. If the processor  20  determines from the counter that a boost is indicated, then the process  100  proceeds to step  106 ; otherwise, control is forwarded to step  108 . At step  106 , the volume parameter is increased to a predetermined level and the process  100  returns control to step  103  where a predetermined distress cry is emitted by the speaker  32  at the raised volume level. The processor  20  will return the volume to an original level at the end of the boosted volume sequence. 
     At step  108 , the processor  20  determines if emission of a distress cry sequence (as initiated at step  103 ) has reached a predetermined duration. For instance, the sound of a distressed prey is preferably played for about 8 to 10 seconds although other periods of time would also work. If the processor  20  determines that the time duration for playing the distress sound data has elapsed, then the process  100  proceeds to step  110 ; otherwise, the process  100  loops again to step  108  to again test for the time duration. It is understood that the processor  20  may query the timer  30  to determine the time duration of sound data emission. It is also understood that the timer  30  may be actuated to begin counting when sound emission is first actuated at step  103 . 
     At step  110 , the processor  20  executes programming instructions in cooperation with the timer  30  to pause operation of the process  100  for a predetermined time. In one embodiment, there may be a 3 minute pause in between each 8-10 second broadcast of prey audio sounds although other pause and broadcast durations are possible. After the pause, the process  100  proceeds to step  112 . 
     At step  112 , the processor  20  determines if the body heat sensor  26  has detected heat indicative of a predator in close proximity to the housing  12 . It is understood that the housing  12  should be positioned by a trapper in close proximity to the trap itself (not shown). If heat is detected, then the process  100  proceeds to step  114 ; otherwise, the process  100  returns to step  102  and the process  100  begins again. At step  114 , the emission of signals is deactivated, such as by preventing current from flowing from the battery  28  to other components until reset by a trapper. The assumption is that when body heat is sensed, a predator has been successfully trapped and there is no further need to emit distress cries. In an embodiment, it may be required that heat be detected for at least a predetermined period of time before determining that an animal has been trapped so as to avoid false alarms that may be caused by brief presence of a bird or the like near the heat sensor. 
     When the emission of animal distress sounds is deactivated at step  114 , the process  100  proceeds to step  116 . At step  116 , the telephone module  36  is actuated to transmit a text message or call to a predetermined or user-set number such that a trapper is notified that an animal has been caught. In this manner, the stress on a trapped animal can be minimized. It is understood that transmission of a text message may also include an identifying code associated with the audio tracking lure  10  so that a trapper is informed as to which unit has trapped an animal and its location. 
     Accordingly, a trapper may set his trap to catch a predator. Then, the audio trapping lure  10  may be positioned in very close proximity to the trap (or even inside a trap housing) and activated to begin emitting sounds that imitate the cries of common prey of the predator being sought. The audio trapping lure  110  functions as described above according to process  100 . If at any point the body heat sensor  26  senses heat indicative of the presence of a predator, the audio trapping lure  110  is deactivated by operation of the processor  20  on the assumption that a predator has been trapped. When the speaker emission is deactivated, the cell phone module  36  is actuated to transmit a text or voice message to a predetermined phone number so as to indicate to a trapper that an animal has been caught and needs to be processed without delay. The text message may also identify the unit that was activated so that the trapper knows the location of a potentially trapped animal. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.