Abstract:
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a portable pocket survival snare that includes a manually windable wire snare within a low profile body assembly that incorporates a mounting loop. The storable manually windable wire snare is held in position within the body assembly, using a snap-mounted mounting ring assembly that is snapped into position around the outside perimeter of the body assembly. The mounting ring assembly is also used to position the pocket survival snare during use. The present invention also includes an escape proof sliding-locking noose and when used in conjunction with other elements of the present invention, engages automatically during operation. The wire snare is secured within the present invention using a press fit pin and then weaving the wire snare through a series of stress-relieving through-holes and non-stress-relieving through-holes that are incorporated into the invention.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a pocket survival snare and, more particularly, a pocket survival snare that can be manually stowed and provides a means to position and lock the pocket survival snare in the field. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Snares used to capture wild game for food consumption and furs have been used for survival purposes for thousands of years and can be particularly useful during survival situations that take place in the wilderness. Typically several snares are carried by the user into the wilderness as it is advantageous to set up multiple snares to increase the chances of capturing wild game. Although snares have been used for thousands of years to capture wild game there has been little evolution in snare design. Presently, individuals fashion snares using lengths of string, wire, or other cordage. A loop or noose is formed using a portion of the string, wire, or other cordage, by incorporating a slip knot or wire ferrules if wire is used. One of the many problems with current snares designs is that they are bulky, difficult to carry, and often become tangled with each other or other gear while being stowed in backpacks or other storage containers. In addition, current snare designs do not allow for quick deployment of multiple snares in the field without the need for tools or substantial amounts of additional materials. In addition, current snare designs do not provide a means to securely stow the string, wire, or other cordage during travel or when not in use. Current snare designs do not provide reliable locking mechanisms that can also be stowed during travel and quickly deployed during use. During use a snare must be set up in the field on a known animal path. Current snare designs do not provide a means to position the loop or noose over a known animal path without the use of additional sections of string, wire, or other cordage to mount the snare into position in the field. In addition, current snare designs do not provide a means to facilitate the engagement of the loop or noose during use. With current snare designs the user is required to use what ever materials that could be found in the wilderness to position and mount the snare so that the plane of the loop or noose hangs over the known animal path perpendicular to the ground. This can often be difficult or impossible in actual survival situations where raw materials are at a minimum. Also, a snare must be positioned in such a way as to allow the head and neck of the animal to be engaged while traveling forward along a known animal path but not allow the shoulders of the animal to pass through the loop or noose. Current snare designs do not provide a means to do so quickly and efficiently, and as a result, accomplishing this task can require considerable effort and substantial amounts of additional material not always available in the wilderness. Once the snare is set-up and the animal has engaged the snare, the loop or noose tightens around the animals neck or limb as the animal moves forward. To prevent the entire snare from detaching and being lost with the animal the free end of the snare must be connected to a solid object such as a tree branch. The animals struggles will sometimes be enough to cause the loop or noose to tighten trapping the animal within the snare. With current designs It is possible for the animal to free itself by causing the loop or noose to loosen. Current snare designs do not provide a means to both quickly mount the snare to a solid object and lock the loop or noose in the field without the use of a substantial amounts of additional string, wire, or other cordage to do so. The free end of the snare loop or noose can also be attached to a bent sampling, and or, some type of trigger mechanism. In this scenario the animal will be lifted into the air as the trigger mechanism is tripped by the animal&#39;s movement forward while engaging the loop or noose of the snare with their head and neck. Tripping the trigger mechanism causes the bent sapling to return to it&#39;s upright position hanging the animal unless the animal is able to escape before the trigger mechanism is released. Current snare designs provide no means to mount the snare to a bent sampling without the need for substantial amounts of additional string, wire, or cordage and do not provide a sure locking mechanism that cannot be disengaged by the animal&#39;s struggles. Ever since snares have been used to capture wild game in the wilderness there has been a need for one invention that would provide a complete snare system that included a storable wire snare, a deployable sliding locking mechanism, a means to mount the snare into position over a known animal path and or trigger mechanism, without the need for a substantial amounts of additional materials all in one portable, safe, durable device that could be carried in ones pouch or pocket. The present invention addresses the aforementioned problems by using a structural design that is aimed at minimizing the negative effects thus increasing the likelihood that the individual will carry the pocket survival snare and realize it&#39;s benefits. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided . . . a portable pocket survival snare that includes a manually windable flexible wire snare that is stowed within a body assembly that includes outside reflective surfaces and a mounting loop that is used to position and mount the pocket survival snare in the field during use. The manually windable flexible wire snare is wound within a body assembly that contains opposing side walls separated by a body wall spacer specifically sized for the diameter of the flexible wire snare thus minimizing physical profile of the invention. The storable manually windable wire snare is held in position within the body assembly, using a snap-mounted mounting ring assembly that is concentric to the body assembly and snapped into position around the outside perimeter of the body assembly. The mounting ring assembly is also used to position the pocket survival snare in the field during use. The present invention also includes a snare lock and escape proof sliding-locking noose that is mounted and stowed on the snap-mounted ring assembly and when used in conjunction with other elements of the present invention, are engaged automatically during operation tightening around the animals neck or limbs killing or disabling the animal instantly. The wire snare is mounted within the present invention by securing the wire snare to the mounting ring using a press fit pin and then weaving the wire snare through a series of stress-relieving through-holes and non-stress-relieving through-holes that are incorporated into the mounting ring, body assembly, and snare lock, that comprise the present invention. The present invention forms a complete snare system that can be carried in ones pocket or pouch and quickly deployed, mounted, or stowed in the field. 
     It would be advantageous to provide a . . . complete pocket survival snare system in one device that could be carried in ones pocket 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a . . . complete pocket survival snare system that could be quickly deployed in the field 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a . . . complete pocket survival snare system that could be quickly stowed in the field 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a . . . pocket survival snare that included a mounting ring that could be used to position the wire snare during use 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a . . . pocket survival snare that included a mounting ring that included a snare wire stress relief hole 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a mounting ring that worked in conjunction with a snare lock 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a mounting ring that worked in conjunction with a snare noose 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included an escape proof sliding-locking snare noose 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a mounting ring that could be snap mounted to a body assembly 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a body assembly that could be used to stow the wire snare 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a body assembly that incorporated a mounting loop that could be used to attach the wire snare to a trigger mechanism during use 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a body assembly side wall top that included an off-center stress relief wire mounting hole 
     It would further be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare that included a body assembly with reflective surfaces 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a pocket survival snare system that would allow the user to carry multiple snares without the risk of entanglement 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective in a exploded condition view of an exploded view of pocket survival snare; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a shows the pocket survival snare in working configuration with sliding-locking noose deployed; 
         FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b  show a top perspective view of a pocket survival snare in both closed and open configurations without sliding-locking noose deployed; and 
         FIG. 4   a - 4   c  show a perspective view of a different methods of deployment of the pocket survival snare in the field. 
     
    
    
     For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4   c  each element of the pocket survival snare  10  is briefly described. A full description of the function and operation of the pocket survival snare  10  will follow. The pocket survival snare  10  of the invention includes, a body side wall top  12  that has a center hole  22  to accommodate rivet  28 , an off center wire mounting hole  20 , and has a reflective outer surface. The body side wall top  12  is preferably fabricated from metal but could be fabricated from plastic or other suitable materials. Underneath the body side wall top  12  there is the body wall spacer  14  which also has a center hole  24  to accommodate rivet  28 . The body wall spacer  14  is preferably fabricated from metal although plastic or other suitable materials could be used. The body wall spacer  14  is designed to accommodate the specific wire snare  18  diameter being used and is very thin being approximately 0.040″ thick to provide just enough space for the wire snare  18  that is approximately 0.035″ thick to be wound within the assembled invention thus keeping the thickness of the assembled invention as thin as physically possible. Beneath body wall spacer  14  there is the body side wall bottom  16 . The body side wall bottom  16  also has a center hole  26 , to accommodate rivet  28 , has a reflective outer surface, and is preferably fabricated from metal although plastic or any suitable material could be used. To assemble the body assembly  48  of the pocket survival snare  10  the wire snare  18  must be securely mounted during assembly. The wire snare  18  is constructed using a small diameter solid or multi-strand cable wire that is flexible enough to be manually wound repeatedly without deforming or breaking. To mount the wire snare  18 , the wire snare  18  is woven through the off center wire mounting hole  20  from underneath the body side wall top  12  and then woven down and through the center hole  22  in the body side wall top  12 . The wire snare  18  is then woven through the body wall spacer  14  through hole  24  and through the body side wall bottom  16  through hole  26 . Once woven through through hole  26  a loop approximately 1.25″ in diameter is formed using the wire snare  18  to form the mounting loop  46 . Once the mounting loop  46  is formed the wire snare  18  is then woven back through through hole  26 , through hole  24 , and through hole  22 . The wire is left extended approximately ¼″ beyond the outside top plane of body side wall top  12 . The entire body assembly  48  is placed in a fixture and rivet  28  is inserted through holes  22 ,  24 , and  26 . Once the rivet  28  is in place the mandrel  38  of the rivet  28  is pulled though and snapped off the rivet  28  thus expanding the diameter of rivet  28 , and in the process, securely connecting body side wall top  12 , body wall spacer  14 , body side wall bottom  16  and wire snare  18  into one unit called the body assembly  48  and simultaneously securely forms the mounting loop  46 . The advantage of weaving the wire snare  18  through the body assembly  48  in this fashion is that nearly all of the stress placed on the wire snare  18  during use is taken off the junction between the rivet  28  wall and the wire and placed at the junction between the wire snare  18  and the inside edge of hole  20 . Once the body assembly  48  is assembled the wire snare  18  is woven through hole  32  in mounting ring  30  starting from the inside of mounting ring  30  and then through holes  36  and  37  in the snare lock  34 . Once the wire snare  18  is woven through holes  36  and  37  in the snare lock  34  the wire snare  18  is then woven through hole  38  that is positioned between and perpendicular to holes  32  and  42  in the mounting ring  30  and then woven through hole  42  in the mounting ring  30  from the outside of the mounting ring  30  down through and toward the inside of mounting ring  30  and then held in position and connected using wire pin  40  that is press fit into hole  42  thus securely mounting the wire snare  18  and slideably mounting snare lock  34  to the mounting ring  30  creating the mounting ring assembly  44 . Mounting the snare lock  34  and wire snare  18  to the mounting ring  30  in this fashion eliminates stress on the wire pin  40  during use, allows the user to form a sliding-locking noose  50  during use that is formed using the snare lock  34  in conjunction with the mounting ring  30 , allows the snare lock  34  to slide during use, and in addition, has many advantages and uses that will be explained below. The mounting ring  30  is a metal ring sized to snap fit between the body side wall top  12  and body side wall bottom  16  of the body assembly  48 , and is used in conjunction with the snare lock  34  to form an escape proof sliding-locking noose  50 , and also allows the body assembly  48  to be woven though the mounting ring assembly  44  during use as will be explained further in the text below. 
     In operation and referring to  FIGS. 1-4   c , the user would begin with the pocket survival snare  10  in the closed or stored position as shown in  FIG. 3   a . To use the pocket snare in the wilderness to snare wild game the user must first open the pocket survival snare  10  and release the wire snare  18  from the body assembly  48 . To accomplish this task the user simply holds the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  with their finger tips and presses the outside edge of the body assembly  48  with their thumb until the body assembly  48  releases and falls through the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44  towards the ground allowing the wire snare  18  to manually unwind from the body assembly  48 . Initially the open pocket survival snare  10  appears as shown in  FIG. 3   b  but there is one more step that must be done before the pocket survival snare  10  is fully deployed and ready for use. Now referring to  FIG. 2 , next the user must use the snare lock  34  and holes  32 ,  36 , and  37  to form the sliding-locking noose  50  of the pocket survival snare  10 . This is done by pulling the wire snare  18  through snare lock  34  holes  36  and  37  allowing the wire snare  18  to slide through hole  32  in the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44  forming a sliding-locking noose  50  of any desired diameter as shown in  FIG. 2 . Next the user must position the pocket survival snare  10  on a known or suspected animal path with the sliding-locking noose  50  positioned perpendicular to the ground at a height that will permit entry of the animal&#39;s head and neck into the sliding-locking noose  50  of the pocket survival snare  10 . The user can very quickly position the fully deployed pocket survival snare  10  in the field by hanging the left top portion of the sliding-locking noose  50  over the end of a broken tree branch, bush, or a stick pressed into the ground and then hanging the top right portion of the sliding-locking noose  50  over another broken branch, brush, or stick pressed into the ground using the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44 . Using the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44  to hang the pocket survival snare  10  into position prevents tangling and ensures smooth operation during use as all of the sliding elements of the invention are always held in the correct position relative to each other in space at all times. This allows the sliding-locking noose  50  to quickly and smoothly be engaged and tighten around the animal&#39;s neck or limb as the wire snare  18  is guided through hole  32  in the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44  and holes  36  and  37  in the snare lock  34  as to be explained further below Next the user would use the mounting loop  46  directly or by first weaving the body assembly  48  through the mounting loop  46  to attach the body assembly  48  end of the survival pocket snare to a rigid or flexible structure such as a short broken branch on a tree trunk or flexible trigger mechanism such as a bent sapling. When the animal&#39;s head and neck are engaged in the sliding-locking noose  50  the animal&#39;s struggles will cause the sliding-locking noose  50  to tighten. As the sliding-locking noose  50  tightens the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  slides towards the snare lock  34  preventing any movement of the snare lock  34  initiating a double locking system forming an escape proof locking mechanism. If a trigger mechanism, such as a bent over sampling, is used the animal&#39;s struggles will cause the trigger mechanism to be released lifting the animal into the air thus hanging the animal with the sliding-locking noose  50  that is held tight using the snare lock  34  and mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44 . Three typical pocket survival snare  10  set ups are shown in  FIGS. 4   a - 4   c . As can be seen in  FIG. 4   a - 4   c  one end of the sliding-locking noose  50  of the pocket survival snare  10  is looped over the top of a Y shaped broken tree branch that pressed into the ground, and the mounting ring  30  of mounting ring assembly  44  is used on the other side of the sliding-locking noose  50  to loop over the top of a second Y shaped broken tree branch pressed into the ground on the other side of the animal path. The body assembly  48  of the pocket survival snare  10  is then woven through the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  and using mounting loop  46  the body assembly  48  is mounted to a fixed tree branch or a trigger mechanism using a bent sapling as one of the working members of the snare system. Once the animal&#39;s head and neck engage the sliding-locking noose  50  the animals shoulders tug on the sliding-locking noose  50  causing the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  to be pulled off of the Y shaped tree branch pressed into the ground. If the body assembly  48  is attached to a fixed tree branch using the mounting loop  46 , the animals struggles will cause the sliding-locking noose  50  to tighten and lock automatically using the snare lock  34  together with the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  thus disabling or killing the animal instantly. If a bent sapling is used with a trigger mechanism, the animal&#39;s struggles will cause the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  to be pulled off of the Y shaped tree branch pressed into the ground thus releasing the trigger mechanism causing the sapling to snap back to its original position. This causes the sliding-locking noose  50  to tighten and lock in conjunction with the mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  automatically around the animals neck or limb with great force disabling or killing the animal instantly. To release the captured animal from the pocket survival snare  10  the user simply slides back the snare lock  34  and mounting ring  30  of the mounting ring assembly  44  and removes the sliding-locking noose  50  then winds the wire snare  18  back up into the body assembly  48  and the pocket survival snare  10  is ready for another use. 
     Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. 
     Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.