Rotatable, portable blind

Abstract

A collapsible, portable, lightweight enclosure or blind designed to hide and obscure a hunter, photographer, or individual observing wildlife while seated in a circular, dome shaped enclosure. It has a fully rotatable (360 degrees) seat/base and has retractable arms extending upwards from the base and rising vertically to support a series of arches that create a domed shape enclosure and support a retractable fabric canopy and side walls. The dome or canopy is releasable and can retract or fall out of the way in order to allow a clear and unobstructed view of the sky above, and also allows the user to stand for better positioning for shooting (gun or camera) or making a field observation. The cylindrical shape and domed configuration allows a constancy of shape while being rotated, which is much less noticeable to birds and animals, and reduces the chance of frightening them away. The retractable canopy/dome can also serve as an umbrella. Spring steel or light weight aluminum (tent) tubes are used as arches for support for the dome cover and can retract and collapse together to allow the entire unit to be stored in a small backpack for portability and ease of set up.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed in Provisional application Ser. No. 60/816,457 filed Jun. 26, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to portable Hunter Blinds for use primarily by game hunters or wildlife photographers. The invention portrayed is a new concealment structure or blind practical for both hunting and wildlife observation.

2. Description of related Art

Hunters have developed many means of concealing themselves from animals, the most obvious are camouflaged clothing and permanent or semi-permanent structures, including tree stands. Nearly all of the means presently available, other than camouflaged clothing suffer from the problem that the hunter must set up the blind as a permanent or semi-permanent structure. This requires the hunter to plan ahead, select the desired location, erect the structure prior to hunting, and then return to the site when ready to hunt. Even a semi-permanent structure such as a tree stand suffers from the problem that in the event the hunter desires to move the structure, he will make considerable noise during the move, thereby eliminating the element of surprise that is necessary for the hunter's goal to be accomplished. Other designs have very limited portability and maneuverability, and are either too heavy for ease of transport to new locations, or are of a static design and do not allow sufficient movement within the blind for “tracking” and following the game in flight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention shows, through the following figures and illustrations, an improved portable blind which is easily moved, quickly and quietly set up as a hunter's blind or photography station, and has the following advantages:

• • a hunter's blind that is both portable and lightweight.
  • a hunter's blind that may be readily and quietly modified to permit the hunter to change his position quickly from sitting to standing.
  • a blind which allows the hunter or photographer to rotate to permit tracking the flight of game or the movements of quarry and to allow a full 360 degree viewing of the sky.
  • a blind that allows the user to instantly reorient and rotate the entire structure to another position without frightening game away.
  • a hunter's blind that may be quickly, quietly and easily setup in a desired position and location.
  • a hunter's blind that may be quickly, quietly and easily taken down from a first site and quickly, quietly and easily setup at a second site.

These and other features of the invention will become apparent when considered in view of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of the assembled seat base showing the coupler.

FIG. 2 shows the seat with fully collapsed arms and the base reversed ready for transport or storage.

FIG. 3 is a skeletal view of the framework showing the seat base with the swivel in the middle, the curved arms extended upward and opened and the dome support arches.

FIG. 4 is the upper dome unit skeleton with arches opened showing the positions of the arches when fully opened for use.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the blind with the top canopy extended.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the canopy with the inner flap extended and showing magnet positioning.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the canopy top showing the mesh fabric position in the front flap.

FIG. 8 is the canopy top showing magnet placement.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the dome showing adjustable cord positions sewn on the interior of the sides and back of the canopy material.

FIG. 10 is a close up view of the open hem on the fabric to allow the dome arches to slide through and position the dome material.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the base (seat) with cushion seat and proper positioning on the unit.

FIG. 12 shows a side view of the seat with seat cushion and attachments (strap and loops).

FIG. 13 shows detail of front tie loops for cushion.

FIG. 14 is a front view of the seat with cushion attached showing strap loops.

FIG. 15 is a top view of the seat cushion.

FIG. 16 shows the detail of the leaf camouflage as applied to the blind.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following statements all refer to FIGS. 1 through 14 which show the components and structure of the invention. The illustrations show one particular embodiment of the invention, and other alternative configurations and designs consisting of varied sizes, differing covering materials, and colorations are, of course, possible.

The seat base consists of a set of tubular frames which can be collapsed for transport (FIG. 2) and can be rotated and locked open into opposing stable pyramid shapes with a coupler (FIG. 1) to stabilize the seat base for sitting while allowing the top unit of the base to rotate by use of a swivel in the middle, between the two connected pyramidal shapes.

Two tube sections with partially retractable arms are attached on opposite sides of the seat base (FIG. 3) and rise upward into a curved, nearly vertical position to form the support arms for the dome support arch unit. The curved support arms may be either one piece which fold down for transport or partially retractable arms for transport or storage, the latter are locked into a stable position with a cam lock.

The dome support unit (FIG. 5) consists of multiple support arches which can swivel and are connected to two opposing trapezoidal connecting (cam) units which can be inserted into the two support arms to create a canopy frame for the cloth dome or other canopy covering (FIG. 6), in an umbrella like fashion. The trapezoidal cam unit allows the dome arches to lock the arches into a preconfigured position as illustrated (FIG. 9). The angles shown for the canopy top allow the opening in the front of the unit for viewing (FIG. 4), while the cam mechanism units holding the arches can release to allow the user to quickly open the dome and stand for shooting or photography. The swivel seat base also allows a seated shooter to rotate the unit while tracking a moving quarry. The cloth or canopy covering the top and sides is further held in place by sewn-in magnets along the hem of the cloth. (FIG. 7) Additionally, a mesh fabric canopy top window may be sewn into the dome (FIG. 6) for vision while providing protection from insects and weather.

Also provided are adjustable cord positions sewn into the covering fabric which allows the length of the side drop cloths to be adjusted for the proper height. FIG. 9 shows a close up of an open hem on the fabric covering which allows the arches on the dome to slide through and attach the main fabric to the unit. FIG. 7 shows an interior view of the covering fabric with the sizes and magnet placements in the hem. FIGS. 10-14 show the firm seat cushion in detail from multiple views.

The invention portrayed is a new concealment device for hunting and wildlife observation. There is a need for this device as more people have interest in hunting from the ground or cannot climb a tree to safely enter a tree stand. This device unlike other ground blinds is extremely portable and may be quickly assembled and fully deployed by the user. It is comprised of only a few basic parts, including the seat/base unit, the canopy arches (dome) and the blind covering.

The Blind covering may be made of nearly any type of lightweight material (cloth, plastic, or other type). The blind covering material is made with a camouflage design thereon. There may be several different camouflage designs, one for each of the various seasons of the year, or one for variations in terrain or environment. The Blind material uses magnets to ensure a convenient closure method. Multiple design attachments may also be added, such as synthetic leaves, grass, or branches to simulate natural elements. The blind covering canopy and sides are made in such a way to be easily removed from the unit so that different camouflage patterns may be employed to accommodate the different backgrounds found in nature during different seasons.

The base unit (seat) uses a collapsible configuration which is compact and made from steel or other rigid, sturdy material. The upper frame unit (dome) arches are constructed of spring steel or lightweight tent tubing, such as Easton® corded tubing or other tubing with flexible characteristics which can be compressed into a smaller circle for storage. The entire unit, when the base is collapsed, and the dome arches are retracted and compressed into a small circle, may be contained in a backpack. The ease of transport allows the user to set up the blind at any convenient site very quickly, by simply attaching the dome unit onto the base and sliding on the canopy and sides. The firm foam seat keeps the user off the cold earth, and the releasable dome with the retractable fabric canopy allows the user to stand quickly to follow moving quarry. The rotational unit allows a 360 degree view of the environment, and the symmetrical shape (cylinder with dome canopy) allows rotational movement without “spooking” the game or quarry.

Although many other types of blinds have been tried, this blind is superior as configured as an integrated unit that is both light weight, compact and portable, and simple to set up, with increased functionality allowed with the built-in rotational base/seat and integrated attached superstructure (arms, arches and releasable canopy).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention has been described in terms of a single embodiment and that variations in the details can be made without avoiding the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A portable observation blind comprising:

a seat assembly rotatably mounted on a support;

support arms extending upwards from the seat assembly for supporting a curtain-like base member capable of extending around the seat assembly such as to obscure the seat assembly from view outside of the blind; the seat assembly and base member capable of rotating freely about the support; and

a dome support arch unit mounted on the support arms and extending over the base unit so as to completely cover the base unit, the arch unit being retractable and adapted to rotate to a folded position exposing the top of the base unit, allowing a person inside of the base unit to stand without obstruction.

2. The blind of claim 1 wherein the base unit is circular.

3. The blind of claim 1 wherein the base unit and arch unit are made of fabric.

4. The blind of claim 1 wherein the base unit and arch unit are camouflaged to blend in with the environment.

5. The blind of claim 4 wherein the camouflage is applied to the blind as discrete pieces or units.

6. The blind of claim 1 wherein the arch unit is supported by flexible ribs attached to the support arms, allowing the arch unit to be removed and folded for storage or transport.