Flavored Tape For A Wild Bird/Animal Call
Disclosed is a flavored diaphragm-type animal call useful for mimicking the call of a wild animal. The call has a sound-producing unit with a vibratable membrane made of a synthetic material and a flavored unit that releases a flavored taste when the call is held in the mouth of the user. The flavored unit is an adhesive coated fabric tape which is substantially flat and attachable to the sound-producing unit. The adhesive coated fabric tape can be provided in a variety of flavorings. Additionally, the flavored unit is sculptable, i.e., it can be trimmed by the user to give the call a desired overall size and shape. Also disclosed are methods for flavoring the adhesive coated fabric tape.
The present application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 61/174,241 filed 30 Apr. 2009, to which the present application is a regular U.S. national application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is in the field of devices for mimicking the call of a bird or mammal. Specifically, the invention relates to diaphragm-type wild bird and animal calls that are held and operated inside the user's mouth. More specifically, the invention relates to a flavored tape for a diaphragm-type call held and operated inside the user's mouth.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONSince the beginning of mankind, hunting has been an activity for survival, and more recently sport. To help facilitate the drawing in of game, hunters mimic an animal's characteristic sounds. This may be accomplished by the hunter's vocalizations or a device to imitate the animal's sounds, a call.
For example, a turkey call may be a hand-held device such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,094. There are various other types of game calls including calls which the user inserts into the mouth as exemplified by U.S. Patent Application 2004/0209541. The user blows across the call thereby mimicking the sound of an animal or bird and are used for several hours in this way.
Many of these calls have an outer tape covering which contacts the roof of the mouth for attachment and is of an unpleasant taste to the user. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a more palatable experience of using the game call by covering the call with a flavored tape. Further, this tape may be sculptable in order to fit the contours of the roof of the user's mouth thereby providing a more comfortable using experience.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a flavored tape for a diaphragm-type animal call useful for mimicking the call of certain wild birds and mammals. In a preferred embodiment, the present animal call is especially useful as a wild bird call, and particularly as a wild turkey call. It is intended that the present call tape is flavored to make it more pleasant to be continuously held in the mouth of a user.
The present animal call has a sound-producing unit in combination with a sculptable flavored unit. The sound-producing unit has a vibratable membrane composed of a synthetic material. The membrane is caused to vibrate by a user when held in the user's mouth. The sculptable flavored unit is substantially flat and is attachable to the sound-producing unit. The flavoring is released when the call is held in the user's mouth. The flavored unit is sculptable by trimming it (e.g., with a pair of scissors) to a shape desired by the user to make the call comfortable and/or optimally effective in the user's mouth. The sound-producing unit and the sculptable flavored unit in combination are adapted to be held and operated in the mouth of a user to mimic a call of an animal. The animal call is then placed in a person's mouth, and when the user blows air over the diaphragm causing it to vibrate, a sound is generated that mimics the natural call of a wild bird or other animal.
Referring now to the drawings, the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated. Like elements in the drawings may be represented by like numbers, and similar elements may be represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix.
The present invention is a flavored diaphragm-type animal call 10. The animal call is useful for mimicking the call or cry of certain types of animals in the wild, especially certain wild birds. As shown in
The sound-producing unit 60 has a vibratable membrane 62 held in a frame 64. In a preferred embodiment, the membrane 62 is composed of a synthetic material.
The flavored unit 20 is substantially flat and is attachable to the sound-producing unit 60. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the flavored unit 20 is sculptable. The intent of the sculptable feature of the flavored unit 20 is to allow the perimeter edge 66 of the flavored unit 20 to be trimmed (sculpted) to a size and shape by a user to make the overall call 10 fit comfortably and be efficient to operate in the user's mouth. In a preferred embodiment, the sculptable flavored unit 20 is an adhesive coated tape 12.
As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the flavored unit 20 is flavored by placing pre-cut the fabric tape pieces 12 in a vacuum sealed, plastic bag or other sealing device with a dry flavoring, such as a tea bag or tobacco. After allowing an appropriate amount of time for the absorption of the flavoring by the pre-cut tape 12 to occur, the tape 12 is removed and ready to be used with the wild bird or animal call 10. In the embodiment illustrated, the flavored diaphragm-type animal call 10 is operable by the user to mimic the call of a wild turkey.
A preferred method as illustrated in
In another preferred method as illustrated in
In another embodiment, the flavored unit 20 is flavored by placing pre-cut the fabric tape pieces 12 in a vacuum sealed plastic bag or other sealing device with a moistened flavoring, such as tea leaves or tobacco hydrated with water. After allowing an appropriate amount of time for the absorption of the flavoring by the pre-cut tape 12 to occur, the tape 12 is removed and ready to be used with the wild bird or animal call 10. In the embodiment illustrated, the flavored diaphragm-type animal call 10 is operable by the user to mimic the call of a wild turkey.
In yet another embodiment, the adhesive (sticky) side 14 of the tape 12 may be pulled back from the backing piece 70 and a liquid flavoring oil is directly applied to the adhesive (sticky) side 14 of the tape 12. The adhesive (sticky) side 14 of the tape 12 is then replaced to the backing piece and ready for use. The preferred liquid flavoring oil is natural oil such as peppermint, but any flavored oil may be used.
While the above description contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the Scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible, which would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, and not just by the embodiments.
Claims
1. A flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) comprising:
- a sound-producing unit (60) having a vibratable membrane (62) composed of a synthetic material;
- a sculptable flavored unit (20), the flavored unit (20) being substantially flat and attachable to the sound-producing unit (60); and
- the sound-producing unit (60) and sculptable flavored unit (20) in combination being adapted to be held and operated in the mouth of a user to mimic a call of an animal.
2. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound-producing unit (60) and sculptable flavored unit (20) combination is operable by the user to mimic a call of a bird.
3. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound-producing unit (60) and sculptable flavored unit (20) combination is operable by the user to mimic a call of a turkey.
4. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) of claim 1, wherein the sound-producing unit (60) and sculptable flavored unit (20) combination is operable by the user to mimic a call of a coyote.
5. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit (20) is an adhesive coated fabric tape (12) and is attachable to the sound-producing unit (60).
6. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call (10) of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit (20) is sculptable by the user trimming away an outer perimeter (66) of the sculptable flavored unit (20) to provide the animal call (10) with a shape adapted to hold the animal call (10) in the user's mouth.
7. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with at least one flavoring selected from the group of dry flavorings consisting of: a tea flavoring; a tobacco flavoring.
8. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with at least one flavoring selected from the group of dry flavorings and placed in a vacuum sealed container.
9. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with at least one flavoring selected from the group of moist flavorings consisting of: a tea flavoring; a tobacco flavoring.
10. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with at least one flavoring selected from the group of moist flavorings and placed in a vacuum sealed container.
11. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with an oil flavoring.
12. The flavored diaphragm-type animal call of claim 1, wherein the sculptable flavored unit is flavored with a natural oil flavoring.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 28, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 4, 2010
Inventor: Robert H. Borhofen (Trinity, TX)
Application Number: 12/768,811
International Classification: A63H 5/00 (20060101);