Patent Grant
7913980
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to portable tree hoist, specifically hoist capable of raising and lowering game feeders or for dressing game animals.
2. Prior Art
When hunting large game such as deer, It is often times desirable and necessary to dress a fallen animal in the field. There are many advantages to field dressing. For example, by leaving behind the unwanted portions of the animal in the field you considerably reduce the overall weight for transportation of the desirable remains. Furthermore, prompt gutting decreases the temperature around the desirable meat reducing the chance of meat spoilage.
While field dressing of game animals is desirable, it also requires that you have means to elevate the fallen animal so that the exposed meat does not get soiled and contaminated. Often times the fallen animal is deep into wooded areas inaccessible by vehicle means. Therefore, there is a need for a portable, compact, lightweight hoisting device which can easily be attached to a tree and operated by a single individual.
Similarly, game feeders such as ones used to disperse corn to deer are often set up in remote wooded areas. These feeders are most commonly made with a drum which houses corn and includes a motor to dispense the corn at determined time intervals. Therefore, a portable, compact, lightweight hoisting device is desirable for lifting and lowering game feeders in remote settings.
Many hunters use a well known Block and Tackle Pulley Technology which utilizes a series of pulleys to reduce the amount of pull required to lift a desired weight. These systems include a hook at the upper end which are often attached to a tree limb for upper support. Another hook at the lower end can be connected to a gambrel for attachment to a deer carcass or for direct attachment to a game feeder (For more on “Block and Tackle Pulley Systems” see www.howstuffworks.com/pulley.htm). The problem exist with finding a tree limb strong enough to support the required weight and with the safety issues required to attach to such.
One prior art product utilizes a patented locking single pulley (U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,281 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,640) at the lower end and a separate free turning pulley at the upper end to create a Block and Tackle arrangement (The patented Rope Ratchet and the Hang-'em High Hoist can be viewed at www.roperatchet.com/index.shtml). The amount of force required to lift the desired weight is cut in half. While beneficial, a 2:1 pulling ratio is not sufficient for lifting large deer or even 35 gallon drum feeders filled with corn. In either case, the weight to be hoisted exceeds 200 pounds. Experimenting, I have found that a 4:1 ratio is needed to pull 200 pounds with any ease. My invention is designed with a 6:1 pulling ratio for these same concerns. Additionally, pulleys can not be added to the Hang-'em High Hoist as designed to increase the lifting ratio. The lower pulley which is the patented Ratchet Rope Pulley on the Hang-'em High Hoist does not have means to attach additional pulleys.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,675 to Roberts and Gribling, Jr. (1993) is a portable support assembly consisting of a vertical support, a horizontal support and a diagonal support. The disadvantages of this device is that the supported item has to be lifted onto the support assembly. Lifting fallen game such as white tail deer in this manner is cumbersome and generally requires more than a single individual. Secondly, a considerable amount of assembly is required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,534 to McGough (1996) is a portable game hoist which comprises a vertical backing member, a horizontal support frame and a diagonal brace with a winch support at the lower end. McGough's device is mostly welded and therefore is not collapsible to allow easy transport. Furthermore, McGough's device, as with most other comparable hoisting devices, utilizes a winch and cable for lifting. In all but one of the patents I researched, no specification was made for use of an automatic brake winch. It is a serious safety issue to hoist heavy items with a marine trailer type winch. For the lifting process, a marine trailer winch automatically holds the weight as the item is being raised but this is not true for the lowering process. For the decent, once the stop lever is released from the drum gear, the weight of the item hoisted must be manually held back. If you release the stop lever and let go of the handle, the hoisted item will fall suddenly and the winch handle will spin violently. The use of an automatic brake winch is designed to automatically hold the lifted weight during the assent and the decent. The problem with an automatic brake winch, as with a marine trailer winch, is that the added weight of a winch becomes a concern when a hand held portable hoist is desired. Furthermore, an automatic winch is more expensive than a marine trailer winch; and therefore, it becomes an overall cost concern. In addition, if a winch is connected to a compact hoisting frame and is attached to a tree out of reach, the winch operator must climb the tree in order to actuate the winch. If the hoisting device is designed so that the winch can be actuated at ground level with the support frame above, the portability of the unit is compromised.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,455 to Breedlove (1998) is a portable game hoist comprising a vertical member, a horizontal member, and a diagonal member. One disadvantage of this device is that the bottom portion of the hoist is not strapped to the tree. Instead, a sharp bracket attached to the bottom of the hoist engages the tree. If the hoist is bumped or bounces for any reason, the hoist could slide by the supporting post causing hoist failure. Also, some assembly is required at the point of use which may require the need for tools. Furthermore, the rope and pulley system described does not have a locking feature to prevent sudden hoist failure if hands slip from the rope. Also, hoisted items must be tied off to a near by tree or the like in order to hold the lifted weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,442 to Bounds (2000) is a game hoist comprising two vertical supports, two horizontal supports, and a diagonal support. One disadvantage of Bound's device is that it does not collapse into a compact unit for easy transport. A compact unit is oftentimes needed for field dressing of fallen game in dense locations. Secondly, because the winch is separated from the main frame, more set up time is required. When a hoisting device is primarily used for field dressing of fallen game, it is continuously being set up and taken down. Therefore, it is desirable to have a hoisting apparatus which minimizes the amount of set up and take down time required. Finally, the height of the gambrel in the maximum hoisted position is considerably lower than the uppermost horizontal member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,974 to Williams (2000) is a portable game support consisting of a upper arm and a lower arm. While in use, the upper arm is horizontal and is attached to a vertical columnar structure via a chain. The lower arm is diagonal and has two spikes to engage the tree or pole. The problem with William's game support is that the lower arm is not chained or strapped to the vertical columnar member; therefore, if the device is bumped or bounces for any reason, the lower arm could slide down the vertical columnar member causing the hoisted item to drop violently. Furthermore, the single pulley design shown is not sufficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,964 to Gearhart (2004) is a V-shaped hoist which has an upper frame designed similar to that of climbing tree stands. A rear retaining bar supports the weight on the rear side of the tree or pole, while a V-shaped blade bites into the hoisting side of the tree/pole. A winch is attached separately to the tree/pole via a winch bracket below the upper frame. The disadvantage of Gearhart's device is that it is not collapsible. While the unit can be partially disassemble into a single package for portability, it is bulky and would be cumbersome to carry by hand as are most tree climbing devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,695,688 (2004) by James an Alva Owens is a portable hoist designed to be attached to a tree or pole comprising a vertical member and a pivoting support arm. The pivoting support arm is near horizontal while in use. One disadvantage of this device is that the winch must be operated while attached up on the tree and may require elevation means to the operator of the winch. Also, a winch can easily fail if the winch gear locking lever is accidentally disengaged while under load. If this occurs, the load will drop immediately, possibly causing injury to person(s) tending to the lifted object. Another disadvantage of Owens' device is the lack of a diagonal support member which distributes part of the load back to the vertical columnar structure. Without a diagonal support or other means to distribute load, the removable bolt or ball pin is the main means for support. Over time the pin could shear, causing hoist failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,831 to Martin (1999) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,991 to Myers are examples of hoisting devices which require attachment to a vehicle such as an all terrain vehicle (ATV). This type of device can only be used where ATV use is allowed. ATV use is generally prohibited on state-owned game lands. Also, the use of ATV game hoists are obviously restricted to owners of ATV's.
Other patents and patent applications which may have some pertinence to the present invention may include;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,675 to Compton (2000)
U.S. Pat. No. 6,705,821 to Phillips (2004)
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,483 to Frommer (2001)
Patent Application No. 20040026675 to Green (2004)
Patent Application No. 20050136816 to Lake (2005)
Patent Application 20030000906 to Perkins (2003)
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention are:
Other objects and advantages are: to provide a hoist which can be temporarily supported to allow hands free strap attachment of the hoist to a tree or pole; to provide a hoist which will allow adjustment to the angle of the supporting arm relative to the angle of the tree; to provide a hoist that allows any single strap to fail without causing total hoist failure.
Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a portable game hoist which is collapsible into a compact, lightweight unit for easy transport. It is a further object of the invention to provide a portable hoist which is simpler and safer to hang and operate. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a portable hoist which can be operated while standing on the ground, clear of the hoisted object.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
Referring to
As seen in
A locking pulley support bolt 52 is attached to the distal end of the horizontal support 24 supporting the locking pulley 50. The locking pulley support bolt 52 is held in place by a locking pulley support bolt nut 54. A locking pulley support bolt washer 57 and a locking pulley support bolt bushing 56 are both attached to the locking pulley support bolt 52. A locking pulley release line 51 is attached to the locking pulley 50 and is draped over the locking pulley support bolt 52 at the locking pulley support bolt bushing 56. As seen in
My invention includes a method for temporarily hanging portable game hoist 10 to allow hands free attachment of upper ratchet strap 86 and lower ratchet strap 88 to a tree or columnar member. Hang assist strap 90, which is a cam style strap, houses hang assist strap hook 32. As seen in
Continuing in
As seen in
As seen in
To lower hoisted objects, simply pull slightly on hoist rope 92 enough to take the weight off of locking pulley 50. Holding tightly to hoist rope 92 in preparation to accept the weight of the lowered object, pull downward on locking pulley release line 51 which will activate locking pulley release 49. This allows clockwise rotation of all 6 pulleys, including locking pulley 50. Feeding hoist rope 92 upwards through locking pulley 50 will increase the amount of rope between the two sets of pulleys causing the snatch block 70 to descend towards the ground. As stated before, this is evident because the pulleys in the snatch block are the only pulleys that are not in a fixed position. Again, locking pulley release 49 must be activated to lower hoisted objects. If locking pulley release line 51 is set loose at anytime, the locking pulley release 49 will return to the locked position. Therefore, a single person can perform the lowering operation by using the left hand to control the locking pulley release line and the right hand to control the hoist rope 92. Again, start by pulling on hoist rope 92 to accept the full weight of the hoisted load with the right hand. Next, pull downward on pulley release line 51 to allow clockwise rotation of all six pulleys and maintain downward pressure on pulley release line 51 until you need to relock the load in place. Feed hoist rope 92 upward through locking pulley 50 until you can not reach any higher. At this point, set loose of the locking pulley release line 51 to relock the load. By locking the load, the right hand can be repositioned to repeat the above mentioned process until the load is grounded.
Portable game hoist 10 utilizes six pulleys in a block and tackle arrangement. Each pulley carries an equal amount of the total weight. For example, if holding a weight of 240 pounds, each pulley will have a weight of 40 pounds exerted upon itself. This also means that the amount of pull force required at the loose end of hoist rope 92 to begin counterclockwise rotation (as viewed from the left side of the preferred embodiment) of the six pulleys will also be roughly 40 pounds (roughly because the friction between the pulleys and their support bolts will slightly increase the pull force required). When in locked position and holding a weighted object, the position of the locking pulley 50 in relation to the other five pulleys is important. If the locking pulley 50 was located as seen in
As seen in
Continuing in
As seen in
Accordingly the reader will see that according to the invention, I have provided the only hoisting device that offers a block and tackle rope and pulley arrangement mounted directly to a collapsible and portable weight supporting frame where one of the pulleys in the block and tackle arrangement is a locking pulley with a release mechanism which can be operated out of arms reach by an attached rope. For an additional novel feature, consider the following: The combination of vertical support 20 and vertical chain support 76 as seen in
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the invention. For example, the flexible means provided by upper chain shackle 74, vertical chain support 76 and lower chain shackle 78 could be substituted for a single steel cable utilizing compression sleeves to form a loop at each end. Furthermore, other locking pulley devices with a release mechanism could be used in place of the Rope Ratchet locking pulley as described in my preferred embodiment. The use of the Rope Ratchet locking pulley is the currently preferred locking pulley for my invention. For another example variation, horizontal support 24 as well as the other frame components could be manufactured from high strength composite material to further reduce the weight and increase the portability of the device. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3568797 | Hardy | Mar 1971 | A |
| 5263675 | Roberts et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5435412 | Franklin et al. | Jul 1995 | A |
| 5562534 | McGough | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5820455 | Breedlove | Oct 1998 | A |
| 5975831 | Martin | Nov 1999 | A |
| 6045442 | Bounds | Apr 2000 | A |
| 6062974 | Williams | May 2000 | A |
| 6152675 | Compton | Nov 2000 | A |
| 6250483 | Frommer | Jun 2001 | B1 |
| 6695688 | Owen | Feb 2004 | B1 |
| 6705821 | Philipps | Mar 2004 | B2 |
| 6739964 | Gearhart | May 2004 | B2 |
| 7341507 | Julian, Sr. | Mar 2008 | B1 |
| 7476149 | Burrows | Jan 2009 | B2 |
| 20030000906 | Perkins | Jan 2003 | A1 |
| 20040026675 | Green | Feb 2004 | A1 |
| 20050136816 | Lake | Jun 2005 | A1 |
| 20080085669 | Burrows | Apr 2008 | A1 |
