Patent Application
20210223013
Disclosed herein is a tracking system for live game hunting.
Hunting of larger animals is a popular activity. Various bows and arrows are used in this past time. During a hunt, a user may penetrate an animal, but the arrow may pass through the animal, simply graze the animal, or otherwise fail to stay embedded in the animal. In this case, animals may be difficult to track, leading to frustration and waste.
A tracking device selectively attached to trajectory device, comprising may include a housing configured to house at least one location tracking component, at least one attachment mechanism fixed to the housing and configured to attach to a trajectory device to carry the housing on the trajectory device, and a hook extending from the housing and configured to engage with a portion of an animal upon impact of the trajectory device with the animal, wherein upon engagement of the hook with the animal, the housing and the hook are configured to separate from the trajectory device and attach to the animal.
A tracking device selectively attached to a trajectory device may include a housing configured to house at least one location tracking component, an attachment mechanism fixed to the housing and configured to attach to an arrow to carry the housing on the arrow, and a hook extending from the housing and configured to engage with a portion of an animal upon impact of the arrow at the animal, wherein upon engagement of the hook with the animal, the housing and the hook are configured to separate from the trajectory device and attach to the animal.
A tracking device selectively attached to trajectory device may include a housing configured to house at least one location tracking component to detect a geographic location of the housing, at least one attachment mechanism fixed to the housing and configured to attach to a trajectory device to selectively carry the housing on the trajectory device, and a hook extending colinearly with the housing from a distal end of the housing relative to the trajectory of the trajectory device to engage with a portion of an animal upon impact of the trajectory device at an animal, wherein upon engagement of the hook with the animal, the housing and the hook are configured to detach from the trajectory device and attach to the animal, thereby allowing the geographical location of the animal to be tracked.
The embodiments of the present disclosure are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the various embodiments will become more apparent and will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Described herein is a tracking system for hunting wherein an after-market tracking device may be arranged on an arrow. The tracking device may include a tracking chip configured to transmit geographical location. The tracking chip may be removable from the arrow and may become lodged on or within an animal upon the animal being struck by the arrow. The tracking chip, once embedded in the animal, may transmit the animal's geographic location. The location may be transmitted to a mobile device application and aid in tracking the animal. The chip may be a micro global positioning chip (GPS) or BLUETOOTH chip in a housing that may be attached to any arrow for easy and universal installation behind the broadhead. A protruding barb or hook may latch to the animal and detach the chip from the arrow as the arrow passes through the animal. Thus, regardless of weather, amount of blood, etc., the tracking device may allow a hunter to easily locate and recover its kill.
During use, such as during a hunt, the arrow 120 may be configured to penetrate or come into contact with a live animal 123. Such animals may include large game animals such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, antelope, bear, etc. Small animal species may also be hunted using a bow and arrow. While the examples herein disclose an arrow, other forms of ammunition may be contemplated, such as hooks for fishing, among others.
Referring now to
The arrow 120 may be any type of arrow including but not limited to carbon, wood, aluminum, fiberglass, etc. Various other spines may also be used, as well as various fletchings, balances, etc. Further, while the examples herein may illustrate a broadhead arrow point (see
The tracking device 130 may be arranged on a shaft 140 just below the arrowhead 135. The tracking device 130 may include a hook mechanism 145. The hook mechanism 145 may be a hook, barb, or other component configured to attach, or grip the animal. The hook mechanism 145 may be fixed to a tracking chip 150 arranged within a housing 160. The chip 150 may be any form of chip configured to transmit the geographic location of the same. The chip 150 may include a wireless transceiver and communicate via various wireless networks 125 (as illustrated in
During use, once the arrow 120 has been deployed from the hunting device 105, and upon coming into contact with the animal 123, the hook mechanism 145 may snag, or attach to the animal 123. The chip 150 may be fixed to the hook, but be removable from the housing 160 such that, upon engaging with the animal 123, the hook mechanism 145 and chip may detach from the housing 160 and the arrow 120. In the case that the arrow 120 penetrates the animal 123 and does not become lodged within the animal, the chip 150 and hook mechanism 145 may remain with the animal 123.
Referring back to
Once the chip 150 and hook mechanism 145 are attached to the animal 123, the chip 150 may transmit its location via the wireless network 125. The mobile application on the mobile device 110 may then report to the location to the user 115. Thus, while the arrow 120 may have exited or simply grazed the animal and is not lodged within the animal, the chip 150 may selectively adhere to the animal in order to allow efficient and simple tracking of the animal. The mobile application may allow the user to tack the animal and may provide for a map-like display. The mobile application may be configured to receive user interactions to provide for a customizable user experience.
Returning to
The tracking device 130 may be an aftermarket device configured to be added to an arrow 120. Once the chip 150 and hook mechanism have been used, the chip 150 and hook mechanism 145 may be discarded. However, in other examples, the chip 150 and hook mechanism 145 may be recovered, cleaned, and reattached to the housing 160 to be reused.
The chip 150 may include a power supply such as a battery. The battery, although not shown, may interface with the hook mechanism 145 and may be triggered upon detachment of the hook mechanism 145 from the housing 160. That is, a force or pull on the hook mechanism 145 may activate the battery, thus activating the chip 150. This may allow for conservation of power until the chip 150 tracking function is desired (e.g., once it attaches to an animal.) By activating the battery and chip 150 only during use or upon attachment to the animal 123, the stored energy of the battery is conserved.
The tracking device 230 may include at least one first attachment mechanism 265 arranged at an underside of the housing. The attachment mechanism 265 may be a loop-like washer as described above with respect to
The tracking device 230 may include a second attachment mechanism 270 configured to attach the tracking device 230 to the shaft 140. The second attachment mechanism 270 may be a washer or ring configured to slide over the shaft 140. Similar to the first attachment mechanism 265, the second attachment mechanism 270 may be arranged at the underside of the housing 260. The second attachment mechanism 270 may be separate and spaced from the first attachment mechanism 265. While two attachment mechanisms 265, 270 are illustrated and described herein, more or less may be included in the tracking device 230.
Unlike the first attachment mechanism 265, the second attachment mechanism 270 may be integrated with the tracking device 230 but may be selectively removeable therefrom. Upon impact, the tracking device 230 is configured to separate from the second attachment mechanism 270, with the second attachment mechanism 270 remaining on the arrow 120 while the tracking device 230 is imbedded into the animal. This is discussed in further detail below.
In the examples described with respect to
The tracking device 230 may include a hook mechanism 245. The hook mechanism 245 may extend from a distal end of the tracking device 230 relative to the trajectory of the arrow 120. When installed on the arrow 120, the hook portion extends toward the arrow 120. The hook mechanism 245 may extend colinearly with the housing. As explained above, the hook mechanism 245 may be a hook, barb, or other component configured to attach, or grip the animal. During use, once the arrow 120 has been deployed from the hunting device 105, and upon coming into contact with the animal 123, the hook mechanism 245 may snag, or attach to the animal 123. Upon engaging with the animal 123, the hook mechanism 245 may cause the tracking device 230 to detach from the shaft 140 of the arrow 120. In the case that the arrow 120 penetrates the animal 123 and does not become lodged within the animal, the tracking device 230 may remain with the animal 123.
Although one hook 245 is illustrated and described herein, more than one hook may extend from the housing 260. In some examples, multiple hooks may extend at various locations about the housing to further aid in engagement with the animal. Various sizes and shapes of hooks 245 may be used.
The support portion 280 of the projection 272 may define one or more notches 286 on one or both sides of the support portion 280. The notch 286 may cause the width of the support portion 280 to decrease at the space between the notches 286. The thinning of the support portion 280 may create a lower tensile strength at the support portion 280. During use, when the arrow 120 comes into contact with an animal 123 and the hook 245 engages with the animal, the hook 245 may create an opposing force from the trajectory of the arrow 120. By snagging the animal, the hook 245 may pull the tracking device 230, creating force at the projection 272. This force may create tension at the support portion 280 of the second attachment mechanism 270, causing the support portion 280 to break at the thinned portion. Upon this breaking, the housing 260 of the tracking device 230 may be separated from the shaft 140 of the arrow 120, allowing the housing 260 to be lodged within the animal 123 while the arrow 120 extends through, and possibly out of, the animal 123.
In addition to notches, the support portion 280 may form a weaker, break away portion created by a lower tensile strength. This may be done by a ramp down of the material width, by having holes or openings in the support portion 280, etc. That is, the break away point or portion may be strong enough to withstand trajectory through the air, but not the impact with the animal.
The tracking device 230 may be an after-market device including the second attachment mechanism 270 attached to the housing 260. Prior to use, a user may thread the shaft through the first and second attachment mechanisms 265, 270 to place the tracking device 230 on the shaft 140 prior to the arrowhead 135 being installed. Once the tracking device 230 is embedded in an animal, the second attachment mechanism 270 may remain on the shaft 140. The projection 272 may break off with the housing 260, leaving only the ring portion 282 and a portion of the support portion 280 on the shaft 140. The second attachment mechanism 270 may be removed by the user once the arrow is recovered and discarded. Additionally or alternatively, the second attachment mechanism 270 may be formed in such a way that it may be reused and reattached to a tracking device for subsequent use.
Accordingly, described herein is a tracking system for live game hunting that is easily configured for existing hunting devices, such as arrows for bow hunting. The tracking device may be placed on a user's existing arrow. Once deployed, the arrow may come into contact with the animal. Via the hook, a tracking chip may be lodged within the animal and transmit a wireless signal indicating the location of the animal to a user's mobile device. The mobile application on the user's device may allow for easy tracking of the animal regardless of the location of the arrow. The system may allow for simple, yet precise tracking of the animal in various weather conditions, any amount of daylight, and regardless of how or where the animal was hit. The low profile of the tracking device allows for unobstructed use during a hunt and does not require other devices other than the user's mobile device. The ability to easily track prey allows for less waste of natural resources, less frustration for hunters, and more efficient use of time.
The embodiments of the present disclosure generally provide for a plurality of circuits, electrical devices, and at least one controller. All references to the circuits, the at least one controller, and other electrical devices and the functionality provided by each, are not intended to be limited to encompassing only what is illustrated and described herein. While particular labels may be assigned to the various circuit(s), controller(s) and other electrical devices disclosed, such labels are not intended to limit the scope of operation for the various circuit(s), controller(s) and other electrical devices. Such circuit(s), controller(s) and other electrical devices may be combined with each other and/or separated in any manner based on the particular type of electrical implementation that is desired.
It is recognized that any controller as disclosed herein may include any number of microprocessors, integrated circuits, memory devices (e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or other suitable variants thereof) and software which co-act with one another to perform operation(s) disclosed herein. In addition, any controller as disclosed utilizes any one or more microprocessors to execute a computer-program that is embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium that is programmed to perform any number of the functions as disclosed. Further, any controller as provided herein includes a housing and the various number of microprocessors, integrated circuits, and memory devices ((e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)) positioned within the housing. The controller(s) as disclosed also include hardware-based inputs and outputs for receiving and transmitting data, respectively from and to other hardware-based devices as discussed herein.
With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc., described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc., have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than the order described herein. It further should be understood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed so as to limit the claims.
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/964,176 filed Jan. 22, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62964176 | Jan 2020 | US |
