US2430645A - Decoy duck - Google Patents

Description

N0 11, 3947., H WLLS ET AL I 2,430,645

DECOY DUCK Filed'Nov. 15, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 claim 11 M 2716' Nw m 194-7.

J. H. MlLLS ET AL v DECOY DUCK Filed Nov 15, 1945 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors obem l}. Tanner el Patented Nov. 11, 1947 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE DECOY DUCK John H. Mills and Robert L. Tanner, Jr.,

Rockport, Tex.

Application November 15, 1945 Serial No. 628,726

3 Claims.

Our invention relates to improvements in decoy ducks, the primary object in view being to provide an inexpensive, efiicient decoy in the form of a duck quipped with an anchor line and with counterbalance means for stabilizing the same in the water against rolling and pitching, and which is particularly designed for storing away Within the body of the decoy all of the other parts to thereby form a compact, readily portable article with the stored parts readily available for use.

Other and subordinate objects also comprehended by our invention, together with the precise nature of our improvements and the manifold advantages thereof, will become readily apparent when the succeeding description and claims are read with reference to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of our improved decoy duck in a' preferred embodiment thereof,

Figure 2 is a view in bottom plan, with the stabilizer member and keeper swung into the cavity in the body,

Figure 3 is a detail view in side elevation of the combined head and neck part with a part ofbiihe anchor cable and the expander on said ca e,

Figure 4 is a detail View in side elevation of the anchor,

Figure 5 is a similar view of the expander,

Figure 6 is a view in longitudinal section of the decoy duck showing the manner in which the parts are stored,

Figure 7 is a view in bottom plan of the decoy duck with the parts stored, and

Figure 8 is a detail view of a modification of one of the parts of the invention.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, our improved decoy duck, as shown, comprises a body I, of the usual shape, and a separate combined head and neck part 2. The body I is provided, in the bottom thereof, with a storage cavity 3, preferably oval in shape, with rearwardly tapering side walls 4, and which is centered in the median plane of the body I in the rear of the combined head and neck part 2. The rear end of the storage cavity 3 is stepped to form a shallow recess 5 providing a stop for a purpose presently seen. At the front end of the storage cavity 3, a seat 6 is formed in the bottom of the body I, around a vertical through bore I in said body. At the upper end of the bore 1 a fiat, concentric seat 8 is formed on the body I around said bore 1 for the head and neck part 2. The head and neck part 8 embodies a neck portion 9 fiat bottomed to engage the seat 8. An anchor cable I0, preferably rope, has one end suitably socketed in and fastened to said neck portion 9. The anchor cable I0 is extended through the bore 1 and seat 6 and has fastened to the other end thereof a weight-type anchor EI. The anchor II embodies a short shank I2 adapted to slidably fit in the bore 1, a fiat faced circular head I3 adapted to fit into seat 6, and an end eye I4 through which the anchor cable Ill is looped, as at I5. The anchor cable It is adapted to slide freely through the bore I.

An expander -I6 is provided on the anchor cableIIl for insertion into the bore I to maintain the neck portion 9 seated on the seat 8 by frictionally retaining in the bore 1 the end of the anchor cable H] to which the head and neck part 2 is attached. The expander I6 comprises a sleeve I'l crimped around the anchor cable ID with resilient wire fingers I8 extending therefrom along said anchor cable and frictionally fitting in said bore 1.

I As will be seen, by pulling the expander I6 into the bore 1 from the top of the body I, the head and neck part 2 may be seated on the seat 8. By pulling on the head and neck part 2, the expander I6 may be pulled upwardly out of said bore 7 and the anchor cable I0 pulled through said bore 1 until the shank I2 of the anchor ii is slid into said bore 1 with the head I3 en gaged in the seat 6. The anchor cable It may then be passed rearwardly over one side of the body I and coiled and stored in the cavity 3, together with the neck and head part 2 and the expander II, all as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

A V-shaped stabilizer I9 is swingably mounted in the sides 4 of the cavity 3 by means of rightangled trunnion ends 20 journaled in lateral bores 2| in said sides adjacent to the front end of the cavity 3. The stabilizer I9 has the apex portion thereof counterweighted, as at 22, and is adapted to be swung into the cavity 3 with its counterweighted end, 22 disposed in the recess 5' against the stop formed by said recess.

A U-shaped spring keeper 23 is suitably connected by lateral coil spring ends 24 with straight terminals 25 thereon to the sides of the stabilizer I9 and to normally assume coplanar relation with respect to said stabilizer, and extend forwardly of the stabilizer when the latter is swung into the cavity 3.

In using the described decoy, the anchor cable I is pulled downwardly through the bore 1 until the expander I'G is pulled into said bore and the neck portion 9 of the head and neck part 2' is seated on the seat 8, all as previously described. The anchor cable 10, with the anchor Il, may then be used to anchor the body I in the water. When the body i is placed in the water, the stabilizer l9 swings, by gravity, into depending position, as shown in Figure 1., and stabilizes said body 1 against rolling laterally and upsetting. When the anchor cable [0, and the combined head and neck part 2, together with the expander iii, are stored in the storage cavity 3, the stabilizer may be. swung into said storage cavity, in the manner already described, and as shown in broken lines in Figure 1, with the keeper 23 yieldingly bearing against the coiled anchor cable l0 and the head and neck part 2, as shown in full lines in Figures 7 and 8. Thus the stored parts are held in the storage cavity 3 -and said parts prevent the stabilizer l9 and the keeper '23 from swinging out of said storage cavity. If desired, the bight end of the keeper 23 may be curved, as at 26, to frictionally interlock with the bottom "of the storage cavity 3, as shown by broken lines in Figure 1, when said stabilizer swings downwardly. Thus said stabilizer l9 yieldingly locks against "swinging out of the perpendicular when the body is in the water. This provides for stabilizing the body i against undue pitching.

It is preferable that the body I, together with the combined head and neck part '2, be formed of a suitable buoyant, light weight, inexpensive plastic.

A suitable bushing 21 may be provided for the bore 1 to take up wear therein, and similar bush-- ings, not shown, for the same purpose for the bores 2|. I

The foregoing will, it is believed, 'siifii'ce to impart a clear understanding 'of our invention without further explanation.

Manifestly, the invention, as described, is susceptible of modification without departing from the inventive concept, and right is herein reserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is: J

1. Ina decoy duck, a body having -''a bottom storage cavity therein and "an upper end seat thereon, a combined head and neck part adapted to engage said seat, a cable attachedat e'ne end to said part and slidably extended through said body for pulling therethrough in one direction to engage said part with said seat and for pulling in the opposite direction to provide for removal of said part from the seat and storing of said part, together with a section of the cable, in said storage cavity, and means to retain said cable section and part in said cavity and swingab'le into the cavity to confine said cable section and said part between said means and the bottom of said cavity, said means comprising a stabilizer for the body swingable out of said cavity into stabilizing position to permit said cable section and said part to be stored in said cavity, and a resilient keeper on said stabilizer for bearing against said part when stored in said cavity to yieldingly prevent the stabilizer from being swung out of said cavity.

'2. In a decoy duck, a body having a vertical through front end bore therein, a combined separate head and neck part adapted to seat on said body in upright position, an anchor cable attached at one end to said part and slidably extended through said bore .for pulling there- 'through to seat said part on said body, and an expander on said cable for pulling into said bore when said part is seated, and 'f-rictionally fitting in the bore to maintain said part seated.

3. In a decoy duck, a body having a vertical through front end bore therein, a combined separate head and neck part adapted to seat on said body in upright position, an anchor cable attached at one end to said part and slidably extended through said bore for pulling therethrough to seat said part on said body, and an expander on said cable for pulling into said bore when said part is seated, and frictionally fitting in the bore to maintain said part seated, said cable having an anchor on the other end thereof.

JOHN H. MILLS. ROBERT L. TANNER, JR.

REFER'ENCES CITED The folloWing references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,486,329 G'eorge Mar. 11, 1924 1,923,442 Kilgore Aug. 22, 1933 2,037,052 Wittman Apr. 12, 1936

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