The present invention relates to taxidermy, and more particularly to a display unit configured to hold and retain a turkey beard for display.
There are a variety of taxidermy specialties in the hunting and outdoor industries in North America. One popular specialty involves the antlers of deer, elk and other cervids, which are displayed to memorialize the hunt or the animal. Another popular specialty involves the beard, spurs and/or feathers of turkeys. With regard to the latter, male turkeys grow beards on their chests. The beards often reflect the age of the turkey. The longer the beard, the older the turkey in most cases. Many hunters prefer taking an older turkey to reflect their hunting skills because older birds frequently are more difficult to harvest. Most hunters retain the beard of harvested turkeys in one form or another for the memories. After time, however, the beard can end up laying around, stuffed in a drawer, or collecting dust on a shelf.
Many times, however, after a turkey is harvested, it can be mounted as a full body mount by a taxidermist. Other options include displaying a fan of feathers of the turkey on a plaque, accompanied by the spurs and/or feet, and the beard of the turkey. A common do-it-yourself option for turkey taxidermy is to modify a shotgun shell (used to harvest the turkey) and secure the beard within the brass portion of the shell with hot glue. By doing so, the hunter can also retain the shotgun shell they used to harvest the turkey, along with the beard to capture the memory. All the above solutions above require a significant amount of time and money with a taxidermist, or a considerable time investment for a hunter to mount and preserve the turkey beard on their own.
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in the field of turkey beard taxidermy to preserve the beard and incorporate it into an easy to use display unit.
A turkey beard display unit and method of displaying a turkey beard is provided.
In one embodiment, the turkey beard display unit can include a tubular body defining an interior compartment, a longitudinal axis extending through an upper end and a lower end; and multiple arms projecting inward toward the longitudinal axis in an array about the longitudinal axis so as to surround the longitudinal axis and/or an insertion opening aligned with the longitudinal axis.
In another embodiment, the arms are configured to penetrate into a plurality of hairs under a connective tissue of a turkey beard, when the turkey beard is at least partially inserted through the insertion opening. With this action, the connective tissue can remain trapped between the upper end and the lower end with the connective tissue being concealed within the tubular body and suspended above the plurality of arms.
In still another embodiment, the arms can project radially inward toward the longitudinal axis, with each terminating at an arm tip. A first arm tip on a first side of the longitudinal axis can be between 0.1 inches and 0.75 inches, or between 0.2 inches and 0.5 inches away from a second arm tip on an opposing second side of the longitudinal axis.
In yet another embodiment, the arms can be configured to bend so that arm tips thereof move toward an upper end of the tubular body as the connective tissue engages the arms. The arms also can rebound away from the upper end of the tubular body after the connective tissue passes the arms so the arm tips intermingle and penetrate between and individual, adjacent hairs of the beard.
In even another embodiment, the display unit can include a hanger secured to the tubular body. The hanger can define a hole through which a cord can be installed to hang or secure the tubular body in a display configuration.
In a further embodiment, a method of displaying a turkey beard is provided. The method can include inserting a turkey beard into a tubular body so that connective tissue of the turkey beard that is joined with multiple hairs passes by a plurality of arms projecting inward toward a longitudinal axis of the tubular body such that the connective tissue passes by the plurality of arms to thereby enter an interior compartment. The arms can penetrate into the hairs to secure the turkey beard to the tubular body.
In still a further embodiment, the method can include bending the arms so that arm tips thereof move toward an upper end of the tubular body as the connective tissue engages the arms. In some cases, the arms can rebound away from the upper end of the tubular body after the connective tissue passes the plurality of arms.
In yet a further embodiment, the arms can bend inward toward the interior compartment during the inserting step as they are pushed by the connective tissue. The arms can include arm tips. Each arm tip can move in an arc away from the longitudinal axis during the inserting step.
In even another embodiment, the tubular body can include an enlarged, optionally elliptical or oval opening that can accommodate multiple turkey beards installed in the display unit simultaneously.
The current embodiments provide an apparatus and method for efficient and aesthetically pleasing display of a turkey beard from a harvested turkey. Where included, the arms provide a quick and easy installation of the beard relative to the body and display unit. The arms can effectively trap the beard in place so that it remains installed indefinitely. In cases where a hanger is provided, the display unit can be hung or carried with a cord. The display unit also can be configured so that glue, cement or other secondary fasteners are not used to secure the beard to the display unit.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the description of the current embodiment and the drawings.
Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may be implemented in various other embodiments and are being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.
With reference to
Optionally, a display unit 10 can include one or more tubular bodies and sets of retention arms as described below. In some cases, two, three, four or more interior compartments can be defined in a single tubular body, which can be segmented and can include multiple sets of retention arms associated with the interior compartments or tubular bodies. With this construction, multiple beards can be secured relative to respective interior compartments with the retention arms.
With reference to
The lower end 22 as illustrated can include one or more retention arms 40. These arms 40 can project inward, optionally toward the longitudinal axis LA or generally toward an opposing side of the sidewall 24 or tubular body 20. The arms can be arranged in an array about the longitudinal axis LA so as to surround it. These arms can optionally surround an insertion opening 44 that can be disposed inwardly from the sidewall 24.
As shown in
As further shown in
The first arm 41 can extend inward and can terminate at an arm tip 42. This arm tip can be a pointed, rounded or angled edge or end of the arm 41. This arm tip 42 can be the closest portion of the arm 41 to the longitudinal axis LA in the opposing side wall of the tubular body for 20. This arm tip 42 can be distal from the base 43 of the first arm 41. The base 43 can connect to the sidewall 24 directly. The base 43 also can include a radiused portion 43R that faces toward the interior compartment 23. This radiused portion can provide extra support to the cantilevered part of the first arm 41 extending to the arm tip 42. The arm 41 as shown can generally be in the form of a triangular element. Optionally, the arms can be square, rectangular, rounded or other type of element. Further optionally, the arms can be in the form of bristles, fibers or strands.
When an optional triangular element as shown, the arm 41 can become wider as it extends away from the longitudinal axis LA toward a sidewall 24 of the tubular body 20. The arm 41 also can be wider at the base 43 than the tip 42. This can allow the tip 42 to bend and flex in direction F as shown in
The arm tips of each of the respective arms 40 can, as mentioned above, extend inwardly, and can define the innermost portion of the insertion opening 44. As illustrated in
With reference to
More particularly, as shown in
As the first beard end 104 of the beard is pushed into the interior compartment, the arms bend, flex, deform, move or otherwise are modified from their original unbiased mode shown in
In some cases, the distance D1 between the first arm tip 42 of the first arm 41 and the second arm tip 48 of the second arm 47 on an opposite side of longitudinal axis LA can change during the insertion and securement steps. For example, the distance D1 can increase when the connective tissue 103 and/or the hairs 102 enter the insertion opening 44 defined between the arm tips. As the arms flex, the distance D1 can further increase. After the connective tissue has passed the arms, and the beard 100 is gently pulled in direction M shown in
When the connective tissue 103 and the first beard end 104 have been satisfactorily inserted into the interior compartment 23, the connective tissue 103 optionally can be past the arms 40. Optionally, when this occurs, the arms 40 can rebound away from the upper end 21 of the tubular body 20. For example, as shown in
With the turkey beard 110 installed in the unit 10, the arms and/or arm tips thereof can penetrate between and among the hairs of the turkey beard, optionally below the connective tissue. The connective tissue can be trapped within the interior compartment. Optionally the connective tissue can be trapped between the lower end 22 and the upper end 21 of the tubular body, and optionally above the arms 40. With the turkey beard inserted into the display unit 10, and optionally trapped with its beard's upper end 104 in the interior compartment 23, the beard 100 can be firmly secured to the display unit 10. Thereafter, the display unit 10 can be optionally joined with a cord extending through the opening 33 of the cap 30 and displayed in a desired orientation and/or location by user.
In the embodiments shown, the turkey beard 100 optionally can be fully installed in the tubular body 20 and in particular the display unit 10 without the use of any glue, cement or adhesive. The arms can effectively secure the turkey beard 100 and the tubular body completely and entirely relative to the other components of the display unit 10. Of course, in some limited applications, a user can add newer cement to yet further secure the turkey beard relative to the tubular body 20 and display unit 10.
Directional terms, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “inwardly,” “outer” and “outwardly,” are used to assist in describing the invention based on the orientation of the embodiments shown in the illustrations. The use of directional terms should not be interpreted to limit the invention to any specific orientation(s).
In addition, when a component, part or layer is referred to as being “joined with,” “on,” “engaged with,” “adhered to,” “secured to,” or “coupled to” another component, part or layer, it may be directly joined with, on, engaged with, adhered to, secured to, or coupled to the other component, part or layer, or any number of intervening components, parts or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly joined with,” “directly on,” “directly engaged with,” “directly adhered to,” “directly secured to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between components, layers and parts should be interpreted in a like manner, such as “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent” and similar words. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The above description is that of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments of the invention or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described invention may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Further, the disclosed embodiments include a plurality of features that are described in concert and that might cooperatively provide a collection of benefits. The present invention is not limited to only those embodiments that include all of these features or that provide all of the stated benefits, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the issued claims. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular. Any reference to claim elements as “at least one of X, Y and Z” is meant to include any one of X, Y or Z individually, any combination of X, Y and Z, for example, X, Y, Z; X, Y; X, Z; Y, Z, and/or any other possible combination together or alone of those elements, noting that the same is open ended and can include other elements.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/245,294, filed Sep. 17, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63245294 | Sep 2021 | US |