Methods and apparatus for producing animal sounds to lure animals

• US 6,757,574 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2000
• Issued: 06/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Extreme Dimension Wildlife Calls LLC
• Original Assignee: G&B Patent Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Martin, Tommy J., Gardner, William James
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei, Xu
• Application Number:
  US09/483,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20030093169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• Field of Search: 381/61, 381/124, 381/56, 116/22.A, 119/719, 119/174, 119/51.01, 367/139, 446/297, 446/397, 43/1
• US Class Current: 700/94
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 31/004 Game callers

Abstract

Method and apparatus for luring a member of an animal species to an area in an environment. In one aspect, a pre-recorded sound that simulates an environmental contact sound made by the animal species in the environment is played back to lure the member of the animal species to the area. In another aspect, first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second sounds made by the animal species in the environment are played back contemporaneously.

Claims

1. A method of luring an animal to an area in an environment, the method comprising acts of:

(A) operating a device that includes a recording medium having first and second separately pre-recorded sounds stored thereon, wherein the first pre-recorded sound simulates a first sound made by a species of animal in the environment and the second pre-recorded sound simulates a second sound, distinct from the first sound, made by a species of animal in the environment; and

(B) contemporaneously playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds,

wherein the contemporaneous playing back of the first and second prerecorded sounds produces a combination of sounds for luring the animal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) includes acts of:

playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds from a speaker positioned in the area; and

controlling the playing back of the first and second pre-recorded sounds from a controller that is housed separately and disposed remotely from the speaker.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the act (A) includes an act of controlling the playing back of the first and second pre-recorded sounds from a hand-held controller.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first pre-recorded sound simulates the sound of a step taken by a member of a species of animal, and wherein the method further includes an act of repeating the act (A) to simulate a sound of a member of a species of animal walking.

5. The method of claim 4, further including an act of varying a volume at which the first pre-recorded sound is played back between repetitions to simulate a sound of a member of a species of animal walking in a particular direction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) includes acts of:

providing an audio-recording medium having a plurality of audio messages recorded thereon, each audio message representing an animal sound, a first of the plurality of audio messages including the first pre-recorded sound and a second of the plurality of audio messages including the second pre-recorded sound;

receiving input from a user that identifies the first and second pre-recorded sounds for play-back; and

producing, from the first and second pre-recorded sounds, an output sound that simulates the first and second sounds.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising acts of:

receiving a volume control signal; and

changing a volume of the output sound in accordance with the volume control signal.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising an act of combining at least a portion of the first pre-recorded sound with at least a portion of the second pre-recorded sound to produce a combined output sound.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein act (A) comprises playing back the first pre-recorded sound, which simulates a vocal animal sound.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein act (A) comprises playing back the second pre-recorded sound, which simulates a second vocal animal sound different than the first vocal animal sound.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) includes an act of playing back at least one of the first and second pre-recorded sounds from a recording of a sound actually made by a member of a species of animal.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) includes an act of playing back at least one of the first and second pre-recorded sounds from a recording of a manmade sound.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein act (A) comprises playing back the first pre-recorded sound that simulates an animal sound made by a species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein act (A) comprises playing back the second pre-recorded sound that simulates an animal sound made by the species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein act (A) comprises playing back the first pre-recorded sound that simulates an animal sound made by a first species of animal and playing back the second pre-recorded sound that simulates an animal sound made by the first species.

16. An apparatus for luring an animal to an area in an environment, the apparatus comprising:

a recording medium storing first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second distinct sounds each made by a species of animal in the environment; and

a controller to play back the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously to produce a combination of sounds for luring the animal.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, further including a speaker to reproduce the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back and a user interface that enables a user to control the playing back of the first and second pre-recorded sounds, wherein the user interface is housed separately and can be disposed remotely from the speaker.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the user interface is a hand held unit.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the user interface is a touch pad including a plurality of buttons, wherein a first of the plurality of buttons corresponds to a playing back of the first pre-recorded sound and a second of the plurality of buttons corresponds to a playing back of the second pre-recorded sound.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, further including means for combining at least a portion of the first pre-recorded sound with at least a portion of the second pre-recorded sound to produce a combined output sound when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back contemporaneously.

21. The apparatus of claim 16, further including a speaker to reproduce the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back and a volume control that controls a volume at which the speaker reproduces the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back.

22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first pre-recorded sound simulates an environmental contact sound made by a species of animal in the environment and the second pre-recorded sound simulates one of a vocal sound made by a species of animal and an animal-to-animal contact sound made by members of a species of animal in the environment.

23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first pre-recorded sound simulates the sound of a step taken by a member of a species of animal, and wherein the controller can repeatedly play back the pre-recorded sound to simulate a sound of a member of a species of animal walking.

24. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller includes means for playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously.

25. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second pre-recorded sounds is recorded from a sound actually made by a member of a species of animal.

26. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second pre-recorded sounds is recorded from a man-made sound.

27. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second simulated sounds is made by a species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

28. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first simulated animal sound and the second simulated animal sound are made by a same animal species.

29. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a speaker to reproduce the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back.

30. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a first signal representing the first pre-recorded sound on the recording medium, the first pre-recorded sound simulating a first vocal animal sound; and

a second signal representing the second pre-recorded sound on the recording medium.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the second pre-recorded sound simulates a second vocal animal sound different than the first vocal animal sound.

32. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a battery to provide power to the apparatus.

33. An apparatus for luring an animal to an area in an environment, the apparatus comprising:

means for storing first and second pre-recorded sounds that simulate first and second distinct sounds each made by a species of animal in the environment; and

means for playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously to produce a combination of sounds for luring the animal.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein at least one of the first and second simulated sounds is made by a species of which the lured animal is a member.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the first simulated animal sound and the second simulated animal sound are made by a same species of animal.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

means for reproducing the first and second pre-recorded sounds when the first and second pre-recorded sounds are played back.

37. The apparatus of claim 37, further comprising:

a first signal representing the first pre-recorded sound on the recording medium, the first pre-recorded sound simulating a first vocal animal sound; and

a second signal representing the second pre-recorded sound on the recording medium.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the second pre-recorded sound simulates a second vocal animal sound different than the first vocal animal sound.

39. An apparatus for luring an animal to an area in an environment, the apparatus comprising:

a recording medium on which is stored a first signal representing a first pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a first animal sound made by a species of animal in the environment and a second signal representing a second pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a second animal sound, distinct from the first animal sound, made by a species of animal in the environment;

a user interface including a first button to select the first signal and a second button to select the second signal;

a controller to play back contemporaneously the first and second pre-recorded sounds, in response to the first button and second button being pressed, to produce a combination of sounds for luring the animal; and

a hand held unit to house the recording medium, the user interface and the controller during operation of the apparatus.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the first animal sound is made by a species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the first animal sound and the second animal sound are made by a same animal species.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the first pre-recorded sound simulates a first vocal animal sound.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the second pre-recorded sound simulates a second vocal animal sound different than the first vocal animal sound.

44. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

a speaker, housed separately from the hand-held unit, to reproduce the first and second pre-recorded sounds contemporaneously in response to the playback of the first and second pre-corded sounds by the controller.

45. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the user interface includes one or more controls to control a volume of the reproduced first and second pre-recorded sounds.

46. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a battery to provide power to the apparatus.

47. A method of luring an animal to an area in an environment using a hand-held unit that houses a recording medium and a user interface, the recording medium storing a first signal representing a first pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a first animal sound made by a species of animal in the environment and storing a second signal representing a second pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a second animal sound made by a species of animal in the environment that is different than the first animal sound, and the user interface including a first button to select the first pre-recorded sound and a second button to select the second pre-recorded sound, the method comprising acts of:

(A) controlling a simulation of the first animal sound by pressing the first button to reproduce the first pre-recorded sound; and

(B) controlling a simulation of the second animal sound that is contemporaneous to the simulation of the first animal by pressing the second button to reproduce the second animal sound, wherein the contemporaneous playing back of the first and second pre-recorded sounds produces a combination of sounds for luring the animal.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein act (A) comprises controlling the simulation of the first animal sound made by a species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein act (B) comprises controlling the simulation of the second animal sound made by the species of animal of which the lured animal is a member.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein act (A) comprises controlling the simulation of the first animal sound made by a first species of animal, and act (B) comprises controlling the simulation of the second animal sound made by the first species.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein act (A) comprises controlling the simulation of a first vocal animal sound.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein act (B) comprises controlling the simulation of a second vocal animal sound different than the first vocal animal sound.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein act (A) further comprises controlling the reproduction of the first pre-recorded sound by a speaker housed separately from the hand-held unit, and act (B) further comprises controlling the reproduction of the second pre-recorded sound by the speaker.

54. The method of claim 47, wherein the user interface includes one or more volume controls, and the method further comprises an act of:

(C) controlling a volume of the reproduced first and second pre-recorded sounds using the one or more volume controls.

55. The method of claim 47, wherein the hand-held unit further houses a battery, and the method further comprises an act of:

(C) providing power to the user interface and the recording medium using the battery.

56. An apparatus for luring an animal to an area in an environment, the method comprising:

a recording medium on which is stored a first signal representing a first pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a first animal sound made by a species of animal in the environment and a second signal representing a second pre-recorded sound that simulates at least a second animal sound, distinct from the first animal sound, made by a species of animal in the environment;

a user interface including a first button to select the first pre-recorded sound and a second button to select the second pre-recorded sound;

means for contemporaneously playing back the first and second pre-recorded sounds in response to the first button and the second button being pressed to produce a combination of sounds for luring the animal; and

a hand-held unit to house the recording medium, the user interface and the means for playing back during operation of the apparatus.