This invention is generally related to apparatuses for installing steps or hooks to a structure and, more particularly, to apparatuses for installing a step to a tree.
During hunting season, hunters attempt to gain certain advantages over their prey, as well as advantages over other hunters hunting the same prey. For example, certain advantages may be gained to a bow hunter that is perched well above the ground in comparison to a bow hunter perched in a ground-based location. More specifically, because of natural obstructions near the ground, target angles may be more advantageous when the hunter is elevated. Moreover, a higher elevation also facilitates avoiding early detection of the hunter by prey on the ground.
It is therefore common for hunters to hunt from tree stands that are secured within trees at various heights above the ground. In order to facilitate providing the required means for climbing the tree, some hunters are known to use a self-tapping hook, commonly referred to as a tree step. At least some known tree steps are characterized by a threaded portion that is inserted into the tree. While some of these tree steps are designed to be manually coupled to the tree, for example by manually rotating a foot peg portion of the tree step, in some cases, depending upon the density of the material to which the tree step is being coupled, a relatively high amount of rotational force may be required for coupling the tree step to the tree. Further, it is sometimes necessary to pre-form (e.g., hammer-puncture, pre-drill) a hole in the tree such that rotation of the tree step results in coupling of the tree step to the tree.
In such cases, a driving tool may be used to couple the tree step to the tree. Conventional driving tools developed for such purpose include, for example, a drill to which a portion of the tree step is temporarily coupled, such that actuation of the drill results in rotation of the tree step, which in turn couples the tree step to the tree. The use of such driving tools to install the tree step, however, may require the use of both of the hunter's hands, which may be inconvenient to the hunter, especially when the hunter is already resting above ground. Conventional tools may include hingedly mounted latches or fasteners (e.g., screws, bolts, knobs) that have to be rotated with one hand while holding the rest of the driving tool and tree step with the other hand, in order to secure the tree step to the tool. Moreover, conventional tools may include non-metallic components which, in the hunting environment, may tend to fail (e.g., break).
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide apparatuses and related methods that facilitate the coupling of tree steps or hooks to a structure such as a tree, and which addresses these and other problems associated with conventional apparatuses designed for that purpose.
In one embodiment, a drill insert is provided for coupling a step or hook to a structure. The insert has a gripping portion configured to engage the step or hook, and a supporting portion. The supporting portion has an interior channel for slidably receiving the gripping portion, and an elongate end that is configured for insertion into the chuck of a drill and which extends along a longitudinal axis. The gripping and supporting portions are slideable relative to one another along the longitudinal axis, with selective sliding motion between the gripping and supporting portions being effective to selectively lock and release the step or hook relative to the insert. The insert may include a depression in one of the gripping or supporting portions, and a détente that is selectively received within the depression for restricting movement of the gripping and supporting portions relative to one another.
In a specific embodiment, a biasing member urges the détente toward the depression. Alternatively or additionally, the insert may include a retaining element in one of the gripping or supporting portions. The insert may also have a pair of spaced confronting surfaces in the other of the gripping or supporting portions, with the extent of the sliding motion of the gripping and supporting portions relative to one another corresponding to engagement of the retaining element with the spaced confronting surfaces. Additionally or alternatively, the retaining element may be positioned so as to prevent decoupling of the gripping and supporting portions from one another.
The insert may include a ramp in the other of the gripping or supporting portions and which is positioned for engagement with the retaining element, with movement of the retaining element along the ramp being effective to tighten the grip of the step or hook by the insert. The retaining element, in a specific embodiment, is a pin. The pin may extend along a pin axis, with such pin axis being spaced from the longitudinal axis of the insert. The gripping portion may include a first notch that is configured to receive the step or hook therein and which may be oriented so as to receive the step or hook in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis.
Additionally or alternatively, the supporting portion may include a second notch that cooperates with the first notch to substantially surround a cross-section of the step or hook so as to restrict movement of the step or hook, relative to the insert, in two directions along the longitudinal axis. The supporting portion may include a third notch that is spaced from the second notch and which cooperates with the first and second notches to restrict movement of the step or hook, relative to the insert, in a direction that is transverse to the longitudinal axis. The insert may be free of rotatable fasteners. The insert may also be free of non-metallic components.
In a specific embodiment, a pin extends in the interior channel of the supporting portion and is positioned to engage the gripping portion at spaced surfaces to prevent decoupling of the gripping and supporting portions from one another. In that embodiment, a ramp is located in the gripping portion between the spaced surfaces and is positioned for engagement with the pin, with movement of the pin along the ramp being effective to tighten the grip of the step or hook by the insert. Additionally or alternatively, the insert may have a depression in a surface of the interior channel of the supporting portion, and a détente in the gripping portion is urged toward that surface of the interior channel by a biasing member and is engageable with the depression. The détente in that embodiment is adapted to restrict the sliding motion of the gripping and supporting portions when engaged in the depression.
In another embodiment, an apparatus is provided for coupling a step or hook to a structure. The apparatus includes a drill having a chuck, and an insert that has a gripping portion configured to engage the step or hook and a supporting portion. The supporting portion has an interior channel for slidably receiving the gripping portion, and an elongate end extending along a longitudinal axis and configured for insertion into the chuck. The gripping and supporting portions are slideable relative to one another along the longitudinal axis of the insert, with selective sliding motion between the gripping and supporting portions being effective to selectively lock and release the step or hook relative to the insert.
In yet another embodiment, a method is provided for coupling a step or hook to a structure. The method includes coupling an elongate end of an insert into a chuck of a drill, with the insert having a gripping portion and a supporting portion having the elongate end and an interior channel slidably receiving the gripping portion opposite the elongate end. The gripping portion is slidable along a longitudinal axis between an extended position and a retracted position. The method includes engaging the step or hook in the gripping portion while in the extended position and sliding the gripping and supporting portions of the insert relative to one another to the retracted position to lock the step or hook relative to the insert.
The method may include moving a pin in the interior channel of the supporting portion along a ramp of the gripping portion to thereby tighten grip of the step or hook by the insert in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis. Additionally or alternatively, the method may include engaging an outwardly biased détente of the gripping portion with a depression of the supporting portion to thereby restrict slidable movement of the gripping and supporting portions relative to one another from the retracted position.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.
With respect to the figures and, particularly, to
The apparatus 10 includes a drill 26, which may, without limitation, be a powered drill and may additionally be a cordless powered drill, and an insert 30 that is partially received within a chuck 32 of the drill 26. The insert 30 is configured to be secured in the chuck 32 of the drill 26 in conventional ways and is further configured to engage the tree step 14 such that, when the drill 26 is actuated, the tree step 14, and, in particular, the threaded first segment 16, is rotated into coupling engagement with the tree 12. As discussed in further detail below, the design of the insert 30 allows the user to selectively engage and lock the tree step 14 relative to the apparatus 10 (particularly relative to the insert 30) via a simple, single-handed operation. The design of the insert 30 also allows the user to unlock the tree step 14 relative to the apparatus 10 via a single-handed operation.
The illustrated embodiment, additionally, permits selectively locking and unlocking the tree step 14 relative to the apparatus 10 without the use of any rotational elements, such as hingedly-mounted latches, or rotatable fasteners such as bolted knobs, bolts, or screws, which may require the use of both hands, i.e., utilizing one hand to support the drill, driving tool, and tree step, and the other hand to turn the fastener to lock (or unlock) the tree step 14 in place. Moreover, all functional components of the exemplary insert 30, which are described in detail below, are made of suitably chosen strong materials, such as metal, which minimize the likelihood of failure (e.g., fracture) of such components during use. This may be particularly desirable in the hunting environment, for example, where the apparatus 10 may be exposed to less-than-ideal storage and/or in-use forces.
With continued reference to
With continued reference to
The slidable, retracting movement of the gripping portion 54 also causes the first segment 16 of tree step 14 to be received along a U-shaped notch or channel 70 of top leg 59a of supporting portion 50. Third notch 70 further restricts relative movement of the tree step 14. Specifically, the third notch 70 restricts movement of the tree step 14 in a direction transverse and, in this embodiment, orthogonal to the axis 38 such as the direction denoted by arrow 67.
The spaced locations of the first and second notches 64, 68 of the gripping portion 54 also restrict rotational movement of the tree step 14. Specifically, by engaging the tree step 14 at two spaced locations along the length of the second segment 18, the insert 30 prevents rotation of the tree step 14, relative to the apparatus 10, in the plane defined by the second segment 18. Accordingly, any rotation of the tree step 14 during installation of the step 14 is solely attributable to actuation of the drill 26, which enhances control of the movement of tree step 14 during such installation.
In the locked or retracted condition of the tree step 14, as illustrated in
With continued reference to
The curved shape of the exemplary depressions 80a, 80b of the illustrated embodiment provide a relatively smooth transition between the substantially extended and substantially retracted positions of the gripping portion 54 relative to the supporting portion 50 (
Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the described apparatus 10 may additionally or alternatively have other types of features restricting relative movement of the supporting and gripping portions 50, 54 in the substantially retracted position (
Insert 30 also includes a retaining element that prevents full disengagement between the supporting and gripping portions 50, 54 from one another. In the illustrated embodiment, the retaining element takes the form of a pin 90, which extends along a pin axis 92 that is offset (i.e., spaced) from the axis 38 of insert 30, as illustrated in
Pin 90 also facilitates tightening the grip of tree step 14 by the apparatus 10. Specifically, as the gripping portion 54 moves toward the fully retracted position, any external force exerted by the user toward the tree 12 (arrow 99) causes the pin 90 to engage and ride along a cam or ramp 100 of the gripping portion 54. The ramp 100 is oriented such that further movement of the pin 90 in the direction of arrow 99 moves the gripping portion 54 laterally (i.e., transverse to the axis 38, as in the direction denoted by arrow 103) relative to the supporting portion 50, which causes the first and second notches 64, 68 to tighten the grip of second segment 18 in the direction of arrows 103, 105. Such tightening provides further control to the user during the installation of the tree step 14 and does not require the use of both of the user's hands, further enhancing the single-handed operation of the apparatus 10. Moreover, this feature permits insert 30 to adjust its grip of steps or hooks 14 of different diameters.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of one or more embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept.