Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to animated water fowl decoys (e.g., duck or goose) that similate wing flapping movement, particularly wing flapping movements that are made when such water fowl land from flight. 
         [0003]    2. Background 
         [0004]    Hunters frequently use decoys to attract game birds. Animated decoys can include mechanisms to replicate movements of feeding birds or landing birds in an attempt to lure other birds to a hunting location. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,780. 
         [0005]    Duck and goose windsocks and flags have been proposed that can be attached to strings and flown like kites. Other duck and goose flags can be appended to sticks or poles for a hunter to shake manually to impart flutter movements. 
         [0006]    Some decoy systems incorporate a staked decoy body to which movable parts are joined, such as a tail fan or wings. The movable parts may be moved by action of a pull cord attached thereto. See, e.g., U.S. 2012/0042561 A1; U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,638; U.S. Pat. No. 7,225,579; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,810. Many such decoy systems lack realism in their movements, making them less effective at luring game birds, such as water fowl, to the hunter&#39;s location. 
         [0007]    Improvements to animated decoy systems continue to be sought. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    A decoy system includes a mounting securable to a ground surface to which a pole is pivotably attached. A decoy flag is attached or joined at or near the top end of the pole. A resilient cord is attached or joined at or near one end to the pole and securable at or near its other end to a ground surface. The resilient cord may be an elastic band or a bungee cord that biases the decoy flag and flag pole to a down or grounded position. An upright associated with the mounting defines a pull cord pathway. A pull cord is secured at one end to the pole and traverses the pull cord pathway. The pull cord pathway may be a pulley. A hunter may tug on the pull cord to overcome the biasing force of the resilient cord and raise the flag pole and decoy flag up from the grounded position. Once the flag pole and decoy flag are raised, the hunter may tug on and release the pull cord to induce flapping or fluttering motion in the goose flag. 
         [0009]    In one embodiment, the decoy system further includes a pull cord redirection mechanism. The pull cord redirection mechanism has a pulley wheel mounted to a stake, with said stake securable to or into a ground surface. Where the redirection mechanism is used, the pull cord may be a longer length to permit the hunter to operate the decoy system at a greater distance from the decoy system. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar components: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a decoy system according to the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2A  is a right side elevation view of a redirection mechanism with a roller and a stake; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2B  is a left side elevation view of the redirection mechanism with a pull cord associated therewith; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2C  is a top plan view of the redirection mechanism with a pull cord associated therewith; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2D  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the redirection mechanism; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2E  is a left side elevation view of the redirection mechanism; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a left perspective view of the decoy system showing a mounting or bracket assembly with upright connected therewith and with flag pole and associated decoy flag; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4A  is a left side elevation view of the bracket assembly with upright connected therewith and with flag pole connected therewith; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4B  is a left side elevation view of the upright; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4C  is a rear elevation view of the upright; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4D  is a top plan view of a bracket piece forming one half of a bracket assembly; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4E  is a top plan view of a bracket spacer; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a left side elevation view of a flag pole; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a bottom plan view of a goose flag. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    Referring first to  FIG. 1 , a decoy system  10  includes a flag pole  12  having a top end and a bottom end. A decoy flag  14 , such as a goose flag, is appended or joined to the top end of the flag pole  12  and optionally is secured also to a mid-point of the flag pole. The flag pole  12  is secured for pivoting or rotational movement at its bottom end to a mounting comprising one or more brackets  16 ,  18 . The mounting is secured to a mounting surface, such as the ground, with one or more stakes  20 . An upright  24  having a top end and a bottom end extends upwardly from the mounting  16 ,  18 . The bottom end of the upright  24  is connected to the mounting, and the top end of the upright  24  defines an opening through which a pulley  34  is mounted on a shaft  32 . An eyelet  38  extends from a side surface of the flag pole  12 . A resilient cord  40  is linked to the eyelet  38 . A tether or pull cord  60  is linked to the eyelet  38  and traverses over the pulley  34 . 
         [0026]    Turning now to each component in more detail, the flag pole  12  (see  FIG. 5 ) may comprise any material with sufficient rigidity to withstand flexing motions and weather conditions for outdoor use. One suitable material is an aluminum tube with a ½-inch outer diameter and an length of about 30 to 40 inches, preferably about 36 inches. The aluminum tube may have a circular, square or other cross-sectional configuration. As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , the flag pole  12  comprises an aluminum tube with a square cross-section. 
         [0027]    To facilitate joining the flag pole  12  to the mounting  16 ,  18  for pivoting or rotational movement, a hole  64  is formed at or near the bottom end of the flag pole  12 . To facilitate appending or joining a flag  14  to the flag pole  12 , a hole  66  is formed at or near the top end of the flag pole  12 . To facilitate joining the eyelet  38  to the flag pole  12 , a hole  68  is formed along the length of the flag pole  12 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , the hole  68  is formed at a location between the upper end and the lower end, and preferably at a location that is along the lower half of the flag pole  12 . 
         [0028]    The decoy flag  14  may be a goose flag of canvas, polyester, rip-stop nylon, denim or other textile that is joined to a dowel rod, fiberglass rod, or other stay  78  extending across a top portion of the flag. See  FIG. 6 . The flag material should be of a kind suitable to withstand weather conditions for outdoor use, and of a color suitable as an attractant for waterfowl, such as but not limited to, black or brown or mixed color comparable to duck or goose feathers. The flag  14  generally has a configuration of an outline of a goose body with extended wings. The dowel or rod extending across the top portion stiffens the extended wing portions of the flag. A dowel or stay or other stiffening member may be provided at the goose body portion of the flag. The flag  14  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3  is representative of the type of flag that may be used in the decoy system  10  of the invention, but is not intended to be limiting. Other flags for other water fowl or game birds also may be used in the decoy system  10 . 
         [0029]    The top portion of the flag  14  is joined or fastened to a top portion of the flag pole  12 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the dowel or rod extending across the top portion of the flag is inserted through a receiving hole  66  in the flag pole  12 . In this embodiment, the dowel or rod  78  has a length of 49.5 inches and a diameter of ⅛ inch. It is held within double-reinforced piping  82  at the leading edges of the wing portions of the goose flag  12 . At one corner, a snap fastener  84  encloses the piping  82 . Loops of hook and loop fasteners  86  (e.g. Velcro) may be attached to the bottom surface of the goose flag  12  so that the goose flag  12  may be secured to other mounting surfaces. 
         [0030]    Optionally, a pin may extend from a side surface of the flag pole  12  to facilitate securing a bottom portion of the goose flag  14  to the flag pole  12 . Some goose flags are provided with roping or string extending from a bottom or body portion thereof. 
         [0031]    The eyelet  38  may be a conventional metal eyelet with a threaded neck portion that may be inserted into the hole  68  formed in the flag pole  12  and secured to the pole by nut connection or rivet connection or other desired fastener. See  FIGS. 3 and 4A . 
         [0032]    The mounting comprises a first base plate  16  and second base plate  18 . The mounting should be formed of a material that will withstand weather conditions for outdoor use. The base plates  16 ,  18  in one embodiment comprise stamped steel plates with pre-formed holes at various locations. The stamped steel plates may have a thickness of about ⅛ inch. The flat stamped steel plates are then bent at 90 degrees to form L-shaped brackets or base plates  16 ,  18 . Compare  FIGS. 4D and 4E  with  FIGS. 1 and 4A . Holes  72  in one portion of the base plates are adapted to receive stakes  20  for securing the base plates to a mounting surface, such as the ground. Holes  74  are adapted to receive pivot pin or shaft  22  that extends through the pole  12  to join the pole  12  to the base plates  16 ,  18  for pivoting or rotating movement about the pivot pin or shaft  22 . Holes  76  are adapted to receive rivots or other fastening means to join base plate  16  to base plate  18  to create the mounting. Holes  78  are adapted to receive pivot pin or shaft  30  to join the the bottom end of the upright  24  to the mounting. 
         [0033]    Alternatively, the mounting may be formed of a single construction, rather than as two separate base plates joined or fastened together. 
         [0034]    The upright  24  may comprise a metal bar that is bent at its upper end  28  to form an inverted U-shape. Holes  36  are formed through the upper end of the upright or bar  24 . A shaft or pivot point  32  is positioned through such holes  36  and receives a pulley wheel  34 . Holes  35  are formed in the lower end of the upright or bar  24 , and holes  37  are formed along the length of the upright or bar  24 . Holes  35 ,  37  are adapted for receiving fasteners to join the upright  24  to the first base plate  16  and second base plate  18 . See  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B and  4 C. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the upright  24  may be held between the upwardly directed walls of the base plates  16 ,  18  of the mounting. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 4A , the upright  24  may be joined to an outwardly facing surface of the upwardly directly wall of one of the base plates. 
         [0035]    As shown in  FIG. 4A , the resilient or elastic cord  40  may be joined at one end to the eyelet  38  of the pole  12 , such as by a knot or by connection to a carabiner  42  or other hook or fastening means. In this embodiment, the resilient or elastic cord  40  comprises a “Bungee” cord. The resilient or elastic cord  40  is secured to a mounting surface, such as the ground, at its opposite end. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the resilient or elastic cord  40  is attached to a stake  46  that is inserted into the ground to hold that end of the cord  40  to the ground. The resilient or elastic cord  40  biases the flag pole  12  to a grounded or down position. 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 4A , a pull cord  60  is joined at one end to the eyelet  38  of the pole  12 . The cord  60  contacts the pulley wheel  34  of the upright  24 . The bent upper end  28  of the upright  24  retains the pull cord  60  within the upright, keeping it from jumping off the pulley assembly when the cord is slack. When a hunter tugs on the pull cord  60 , the pulling force overcomes the biasing force of the resilient or elastic cord  40  so that the flag pole  12  is drawn upwards by pivoting upon pivot pin  22  associated with the mounting  16 ,  18 . The flag  14  is then displayed in a position above the ground. The wing portions of the flag  14  may be caused to flutter or twitch to replicate landing motions or feeding motions of a duck or goose by releasing and re-pulling the pull cord  60 . When the pull cord  60  is released, the biasing force of the resilient or elastic cord  40  draws the flag  12  to the ground. 
         [0037]    The pull cord  60  preferably is a rope or tie down generally braided of natural or synthetic fibers, such as cotton, nylon, polyester, and/or polypropylene. The pull cord  60  may comprise a single length of rope or tie down or a combination of sections of rope or tie down that extend to about  6  feet or to any desired length longer than about  6  feet. The length of the pull cord  60  determines how far from the decoy system  10  the hunter may be positioned while still activating the decoy system to move the flag pole  12  and induce flutter motions in the flag  12 . 
         [0038]    Referring to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  2 C,  2 D and  2 E, the decoy system  10  may include an optional redirection mechanism with a redirection pulley  50  that is mounted to a stake  54  disposed at a distance from the bracket plates  16 ,  18  of the mounting. The redirection pulley  50  comprises a pulley wheel mounted for rotation to a shaft  52  associated with the stake  54 . In one embodiment, the shaft  52  is mounted on a cantilever bracket assembly  56  or stand off attached or formed at or near the upper end of the stake  54 . The pull cord  60  may be threaded onto the pulley wheel of the redirection pulley  50  so that the pull cord may be pulled from a direction at an angle to the pulley  34  provided on the upright  24 . The pulley  34  may be positioned close to the side edge of the stake  54  so that the edge of the pulley closest to the stake  54  leaves a gap that is too small for the pull cord  60  to come off of the pulley  34 . The stake  54  may have a length of about 12 to 20 inches, preferably about 16 inches, and be formed of 16 gauge steel square tube. The cantilever bracket assembly  56  may be tack welded to one side of the stake  54 . The shaft  52  may comprise a bolt threaded through a hole formed through the cantilever bracket. 
         [0039]    The pull cord  60  may be of a longer length when the optional redirection pulley  50  is included as a part of the decoy system  10 . The pull cord  60  may have a length in the range of about 6 feet to about 200 feet. 
         [0040]    The pulley  34  associated with the upright  32  has the advantage of smoothly traversing the pull cord  60  through the desired back and forth motion while protecting such cord from wearing or fraying. The pulley  50  of the redirection mechanism similarly has the advantage of smoothly traversing the pull cord  60  through the desired back and forth motion while protecting such cord from wearing or fraying. 
         [0041]    Thus, various configurations of water fowl decoy motion systems are disclosed. While embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Moreover, the examples described herein are not to be construed as limiting. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the following claims.

Technology Category: 1