US2494631A - Pulp decoy - Google Patents

Description

Jam l?, E95@ A, H. Riscal-1 29d-94,6%

PULP DEcoY Filed Sept. 5, 1946 Patented Jan. 17, 1950 UNITED PATENT' GFFQ' 3 Claims..

' 1i rEhe present invention relates. generally to, iinprovements in the art or producing molded ar ticlesy from fibrous pulpJ or; the like, and relates. morer particularly to improvements in the con.- struction and method of. producing aqua-tic decors. A primary object of my present invention isl to provide an` improved huntersf decoy- Which iS:v simple and durable. in construction and highly4 efficient in use, and which is especially adapted to. be. produced primari-ly-v oi relatively light; and inexpensive material` such-z as fibrous pulp.k

In hunting and relatedA sports, it has long been customary to usev life-like; imitation decors. to attract the gaine to localities selected by the hunter. For many years, such decoys were produced of wood either by. hand carving or;v by machine; but in more recent. years; decoys molded or otherwise formed` of relatively light. and in-. expensive materials such as paper pulp have` become extremely popular and extensively used by hunters. However, in the` manufacture of light Weight molded pulp decoys, it isnecessary tor provide meansfor causing the pulp-.shell forming the bodyto float and to; be maintainedV in upright. position on the waterl Furthermore, during the suction molding process, an openingI mustbe left inthe decoy body for introduction of the pulp stock into thel forming mold, and this opening must subsequently be tightly sealed in order to prevent possible leakage of waterA into the hollow eXternally-waterproofed' body. In the manufacture of molded pulp decoys,L ithasf heretofore been the practice in some. instances to introduce. the-r pulp stock into: the mold. through an opening in the recessed bottom of thebody thereafter covering the opening by means of a. buoyant plate or board conned and retained within the recess by suitable means such as aber pivotally mounted on the board and cooperable with an inner portion or the decoy body in the manner of a latch. In other cases, it has been the practice to. intro.- duce the pulp. stock through an.Y opening in the top wall of the. decoy body and to subsequently plug the opening while. providing. a separate buoyant plate for the imperforate bottom, the buoyant plate either beingltted into a recess or being secured in a' suitable manner directly to the substantially flat bottom. Although various sealing and adhesive substances such as pitch have heretoforebeen used in efforts to secure therighting boards in place and eliminate leakage, considerable diiiiculty hasI been encountered in these prior attempts to produce effective seals becausev of the. failure to'- eliminate' formation off air bubbles in the adhesive or thel like duringI applica-l tion. While theseprior molded pulp decoys have been manufactured, solct and used' by the thousands: with greaty success, the buoyant righting boards. and/or sealing plugs required careful tting and sealing in order to prevent the possible seepage off water intov the hollow pulp bodies during the long periods of exposure to the water while in use and production was somewhat complicated in the various assemblages heretofore proposed in eiorts to eliminate or prevent such possible leakage.

It is therefore amore specific object of my present' invention to provide an improved hollow molded pulp decoy wherein. the hollow body interior is eitectively sealed-i and the disadvantages attendant. the prior art structures are obviated.

Another specific object of this invention is to prov-ide animproved hollow molded pulp decoy wherein the pulp. stock is introduced into the mold through an opening in the bottom of the decoy body with the bottom opening being closedv by a buoyant balancing and righting board and eiectively/ sealed in a simple andV novel manner.

Another specific. object of my invention is to provide an improved hollow pulp decoy having the bottom opening. closed by a buoyant plate and sealedaga'inst seepage of' liquid in an efficient manner without the use ofv mechanical expediente such as special latch elements, screws or bolts.

Another specific, object of the present invention is. to provide an improved aquatic pulp decoy assemblage which may be readily manufactured andl assembled atA moderate cost, and which is adapted to eiectively withstand considerable abuse and' hard usage.

A further speciiic object of this invention is to provide.r an improved fibrous pulp decoy which is highly attractive and lifelike in appearance, which is composed of a. minimum number of available parts, and which will automatically assume upright or natural position when floating.

Still another specifici object oi` the invention is tot provide an improved exceedingly strong and durable light-weight decoy which may be readily formed primarily of' inexpensive paper pulp in accordance with an improved and simple method with the aid ot standard pulpv molding equipment atV low cost.

These: and other specic objects. and advantages of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description.

A clear. conception of the features constituting myy present invention, andof they method in which the. improved deco-JS. may be commercially produced., may be, had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specilication, wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. l is a central longitudinal vertical section through a typical swimming duck type of hunters decoy, embodying an inset wooden base board applied and sealed in accordance with my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the duck decoy of Fig. l, portions being broken away to reveal internal structure; and

Fig. 3 is a central transverse vertical section through the same decoy.

While the invention has been shown and described herein as being advantageously applied to a typical molded pulp hunters decoy of the swimming or floating type,` it is not my desire or intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict or limit the utility of the improvement, since the invention may obviously be more generally applied to various other types of decoys formed with hollow bodies and of any suitable moldable material such as newsprint pulp, papier-mch, or plastics.

Referring to the drawing, the typical duck decoy shown therein as embodying the invention comprises in general, a relatively light hollow shell of approximately uniform thickness form-ing a body of molded fibrous material such as paper pulp, the body 5 having a substantially fiat base 6 provided with an elongated downwardly open recess I having the bounding wall thereof terminating in an upper inwardly directed flange 8 to provide an opening 9 for feeding pulp stock to the mold and through which access may be obtained for coating the interior of the shell 5 with asphalt, tar, pitch or other adhesive and water-proof material I Il; a flat balancing or righting board I I impregnated and coated with a material such as tar or pitch I2 to snugly confine and adhesively secure the same within the lower recess 'l against the upper flange or wall 8 thereof; a heat sealed cloth or metallic composition foil I3 such as Plastine adhesively secured to and covering the bottom of the board I I, the cloth or foil I3 extending beyond the edges of the board to seal the joint between the board II and the wall of the recess 'I; and a relatively thick layer of asphalt, tar or the like I4 spread over the cloth I3 to substantially ll the recess l.

The body 5 and the integral side walls and upper wall 8 of the decoy may be simultaneously molded of fibrous pulp in the well-known type of suction molding machine, with the pulp Stock being fed through the opening S in the wall 8. The righting and balancing board II is preferably formed of a durable wood, and should be shaped to reasonably snugly fit within the recess 'I with suicient space remaining between the bottom surface of the board II and the lower surface of the rst base 6 to accommodate the cloth I3 and layer of asphalt I4 or the like which preferably extends throughout the entire horizontal area of the board II as well as the recess 1.

In actual production of the improved pulp decoys embodying my invention, the hollow bodies 5 may be initially produced with standard suction molding machines in a well known manner with recesses 'I formed in the bases thereof, the pulp being fed to the molds through the openings 9. After such initial step, the interiors of the shells 5 may be impregnated or coated with a waterproof material such as asphalt, tar or pitch.

Thereafter, the boards I I are dipped in a molten adhesive water-proof material such as used for coating the shell interiors and are positioned within the recesses and against the integral stop flanges 8 to close the openings 9. The heatsealed cloth or foil sheets I3 may then be positioned over the impregnated boards II, being secured thereagainst by the adhesive; and finally with each body 5 in inverted position, a quantity of molten adhesive material such as hot asphalt,

i tar or pitch is poured within the recess 1 over the heat-sealed sheet I3 so as to provide a sealing layer I4 of the adhesive which hardens as it drys.

During the process of assembling the decoys, the boards II should be positioned and rmly pressed in place within the recesses 'I immediately afterdipping and before the molten adhesive coating has had time to set or harden; and the cloth or foil sheets I3 should likewise be applied while the adhesive is still molten and tacky. The heat-sealed sheets I3 thereby seal the boards which invariably contain a considerable amount of moisture, from the final layer or deposit of molten adhesive, and in addition, these sheets serve to absorb a certain amount of heat from the molten adhesive, thereby eliminating formation of bubbles otherwise occurring in the layers I4. As the adhesive cools and hardens, the various parts become thoroughly adhesively attached and all of the joints are effectively sealed against leakage. The various parts coated with the adhesive are likewise water-proofed and reenforced thereby, and the body exterior may finally be suitably water-proofed and painted or otherwise decorated.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that the present invention provides an improved decoy assemblage and method of producing the same which is both simple and eiiicient. Decoys made in accordance with the invention are 'light and durable in construction and are effectively protected against moisture and possible leakage in addition to being selfrighting while afloat. By having the opening for introduction of the pulp stock in the base, the righting and balancing board serves to cover the opening without need for additional plugs; and this board is rmly secured and maintained in place within the recess with all joints being effectively sealed and the parts waterproofed by means of the adhesive. The application of the molten adhesive is simple and formation of air or water bubbles or blisters in the adhesive is effectively eliminated through use of the heat-sealed sheet I3 which seals the molten adhesive during application from the board which invariably contains moisture. This sheet I3 also absorbs some of the heat of the molten adhesive, thereby aiding in more rapidly cooling the molten material; and by virtue of the use of molten adhesive which hardens upon cooling and the use of which is rendered practical and highly successful because of the heat-sealed sheet, a simple and efficient means is provided both for attaching the board I I in place without resorting to the use of special fasteners as well as for sealing theboards without the need for providing an opening other than in the decoy base for the introduction of pulp stock and the attendant need for separate plugs. Obviously the improved assemblage is simple and decoys produced in accordance with the improved method may be rapidly produced at low cost and in large quantities, and attractive, durable, and lighti weight decoys which maybe manufactured with standard suction molding equipment are provided.

It should be understood that it is not desired or intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of production herein shown and described, for various modifications Within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A molded decoy comprising, a hollow body of molded material having a bottom recess, a righting board confined entirely Within said recess, a sealing sheet disposed over the external surface of said board also Within said recess, said sheet extending beyond the edges of said board and overlapping the adjacent portions of said body, and a layer of adhesive sealing material covering said sealing sheet Within said recess.

2. A molded decoy comprising, a hollow body of molded material having a bottom recess, a righting board confined entirely within said recess, a sealing sheet disposed over the external surface of said board also within said recess, and a layer of adhesive sealing material covering said sealing sheet within said recess.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 508,818 Curlin Nov. 14, 1893 749,909 Upham Jan. 19, 1904 2,247,450 Olsen July 1, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 327,063 Great Britain of 1930

Images