Abstract:
The laser game marker comprises a battery compartment, flexible tube, and laser compartment. A reversible spike in the battery compartment allows the device to securely attach to a tree, wood, or other porous surface. The flexible tube allows the laser to point or mark the freshly killed game while hunting. The laser game marker is a device for marking the exact position of the first shot or freshly killed game.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a laser, and in particular to a laser having a flexible and/or bendable lighted end used for marking game while hunting. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     There are many patents related to laser pointers indicating the wide scope of such inventions. Numerous laser pointers have been provided in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,684 to Wilson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,766 to Lee; U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,700 to Huang; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,438 to Maes all are illustrative of such prior art. While these units are designed as laser pointers they are not flexible or bendable. As such, they would not be suitable for the purpose of marking and tracking freshly killed game while hunting. 
     The problem is that an animal is often not instantly killed by the hunter. Most animals can travel very fast when wounded and can travel a long distance. Blood is the best evidence of how well an animal is hit, and often provides the most visible trail to recovering the animal. The hunter must track the wounded animal. Following the wounded animal&#39;s blood trail is an essential skill that must be developed to responsibly retrieve game. Many times the hunter can not find the beginning of the blood trail. Before leaving the stand the hunter must find a waypoint to know where the animal was standing when the shot was taken. The instant invention accurately pinpoints the location at which the animal is hit by the first shot so as to mark the beginning of the blood trail. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention comprises a battery compartment, flexible tube, and laser compartment. A reversible spike in the battery compartment allows the device to securely attach to a tree, wood, or other porous surface. The flexible tube allows the laser to point or mark the freshly killed game or blood trail while hunting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout: 
         FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of the laser game marker with the spike in the inward position according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side perspective view of the laser game marker with the spike in the outward position according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side perspective view of the laser game marker&#39;s flexible tubing and removable laser compartment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side perspective view of the laser game marker with dual laser compartments according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Thicknesses and dimensions of some components may be exaggerated for clarity. 
     Referring now to the drawings, the laser game marker, designated broadly at  10 , is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-4 . The laser game marker  10  primarily consists of three major components: battery compartment  35 , laser compartment  55 , and flexible tube  45 . 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , the battery compartment  35  is a T-shaped cylindrical structure which is internally lined on the surface with a metallic sleeve  37 . The battery compartment  35  has three openings: bottom  22 , top  24 , and side  26 . 
     The bottom opening  22  accommodates a battery  80 . The bottom opening  22  is provided with female threads  30  to mate with the male threads  25  on the bottom plug  15 . The bottom plug  15  includes a pushbutton switch  85 , a washer  42 , and a negative post  20  to contact the negative side of the battery  80  inside the battery compartment  35 . The batteries may be AA, AAA, watch batteries, or any other type battery that will fit into the compartment  35 . The pushbutton switch  85  may be a simple ON/OFF switch or it may include electronics to provide an intermittent flash. 
     The top opening  24  is provided with female threads  30  to mate with the male threads  25  on the top plug  40 . The top plug  40  includes a positive post  27  to contact the positive side of the battery  80  on one end and a flexible tube  45  on the opposite end. 
     The side opening  26  is provided with male threads  25  to mate with the female threads  30  on the spike holder  70 . The spike holder  70  includes a reversible spike  75  with a large head that is approximately the diameter of the spike holder  70 . The spike  75  is used to attach the game pointer to a tree or other porous object. The spike  75  may be a simple nail or it may have threads to twist into the porous object. When the game pointer  10  is not in use, the reversible spike  75  points inward and is totally enclosed by the spike holder  70  as best shown in  FIG. 1 . When the game pointer  10  is in use, the reversible spike  75  is exposed and points outward as best shown in  FIG. 2 . The spike  75  is secured in an outward position by the large nail head sandwiched between the spike holder  70  and side opening  26 . As an alternate method of attachment, the laser game marker  10  may include a clip for attachment to the tree stand. 
     The laser compartment  55  is firmly mounted on the extreme distal end of the flexible tube  45 . The laser compartment  55  is typically metallic and bullet shaped. The laser diode module  60  is totally enclosed within the laser compartment  55 . A lens  65  is provided on the end of the laser compartment to collimate the laser light. 
     A flexible metallic tube  45  connects the laser compartment  55  on one end with the top plug  40  and washer  42  on the opposite end. The flexible metallic tube  45  and other components may be covered by heat shrink tubing, tape, or other material to provide water resistance to the laser game marker  10 . A single conductor  50  runs from the positive post  27  on the top plug  40  through the flexible tube  45  to the laser compartment  55 . Only a single conductor  50  is required since the metallic sleeve  37  inside the battery compartment  35 , the metallic flexible tube  45 , and metallic laser compartment  55  serve to complete the electrical circuit to the negative post  20  on the bottom plug  15 .  FIG. 4  shows an alternate design which provides a Y-shaped battery compartment  36  and dual laser compartments  55 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the laser compartment is readily replaceable to accommodate different color lasers. The distal end of the flexible tube  45  is provided with male threads  25  to mate with the female threads  30  inside the laser compartment  55 . Laser diode modules  60  provide power typically less than or equal to 5 mW at wavelengths about 650 nm for a red laser light. Other laser diode modules  60  may provide blue or green laser light. 
     In low light operation, with the laser game marker  10  in the OFF position, the hunter unscrews the spike holder  70  to expose the reversible spike  75 , and places the spike  75  in the outward position. The hunter uses the spike  75  to secure the laser game marker  10  to a tree trunk near the deer stand. After the hunter kills a deer or other game, the hunter turns the laser game marker  10  to the ON position and bends the flexible tube  45  so that the bright laser light is aimed directly at the spot where the game was standing upon firing the first shot. This allows the hunter to go directly to the spot to find the blood trail. The hunter can continue hunting while knowing that the precise location of the first hit is clearly identified for later harvest. The hunter recovers the animal and easily finds the tree stand by following the bright laser light. 
     The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. For example, the metallic sleeve inside the battery compartment could be eliminated if two conductors; instead of just one conductor, is run through the flexible tubing. Also, the laser compartment may be mounted such that they are activated and positioned via a remote control device. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the claims.