TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a mounting apparatus that may be used to mount shed antlers so that the antlers may be displayed. More particularly, the mount apparatus according to the invention is defined by an elongate bar member that includes multiple attachment points to which plural antlers may be attached.
BACKGROUND
Ungulates such as deer, elk and moose shed their antlers annually, and then grow a new set. Most typically, antlers are shed between January and April, although many factors can have an effect on when the antlers are shed, such as where the animal lives, its age, etc. Antler regeneration occurs through the spring and summer months.
Many people find so-called “shed antlers” to be very desirable. For example, outdoorsmen and women prize shed antlers for display and artists used shed antlers in the creation of many types of artworks. One of the more famous and recognized uses of shed antlers is at Jackson Town Square park in Jackson, Wyo., where there is an enormous arched gate at each of the four corners of the park that is made entirely of interwoven elk antlers.
Given the desire of many people to display shed antlers and use them in the creation of artistic works, there is a need for devices that provide a way to display them. However, like snowflakes, every shed antler is different from all others and as such it can be very difficult to design an apparatus that facilitates display. There are known devices for mounting animal trophies and one such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,459,601 for “Trophy Mount.” The mount described in that patent is designed to mount and display a “European mount,” which is typically a display using an animal's skull with associated horns or antlers. In order to mount the skull on the device of the '601 patent, the trophy mount utilizes a prong and associated arms that fit into a specific anatomical parts of the skull. But shed antlers are of course devoid of the animal's skull and the device of the '601 patent does not offer a way to mount and display shed antlers.
There is a need therefore for apparatus that facilitates mounting and display of shed antlers.
The present invention comprises a mount apparatus that provides a simple and convenient way to display shed antlers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will be apparent by reference to the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective of the shed antler mount according to the present invention in which the mount oriented in a vertical orientation as it typically would be when mounted on a wall.
FIG. 2 is a close up perspective view taken of one end of the shed antler mount shown in FIG. 1 and showing the mount attached to a wall.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shed antler mount according to the invention and as shown in FIG. 1, mounted vertically on a wall, and including tethers attached to attachment nodes.
FIG. 4 is a close up perspective view of the lower end of the shed antler mount according to the present invention, similar to the view of FIG. 2, except the mount in FIG. 4 includes tethers attached to attachment nodes.
FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a shed antler mount according to the invention on which plural shed antlers have been attached to plural tethers.
FIG. 6 is a close up view of the mount shown in FIG. 5 to illustrate the attachment of shed antlers to tethers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It will be understood that relative directional terms are used at times to describe components of the invention and relative positions of the parts. As a naming convention, the plane of the floor in a living or work space is considered to be a generally horizontal surface. The ceiling is a plane that in most installations is parallel to the floor, though not always. Other relative directional terms correspond to this convention: “upper” refers to the direction above and away from the ground plane; “lower” is generally in the opposite direction, “inward” is the direction from the exterior toward the interior of the adaptor, “vertical” is the direction normal to the horizontal ground plane, and so on.
Turning now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 a first embodiment of a shed antler mount 10 according to the invention is shown mounted in a vertical orientation to a wall 12. Mount 10 comprises an elongate rod or bar 14 that has a standoff 16 at each end extending transverse to the axis of bar 14. Each standoff 16 has a foot plate 18 at the distal end of the standoff. The footplates 18 have a bore 20 so that a fastener 22 such as a bolt (FIG. 2) may be used to connect the mount 10 to the wall 12. Elongate bar 14 and standoffs 16 are shown in the drawings have a square cross sectional configuration but the invention is not limited to any particular shape for these components. Further, while metal components are preferred for ease of manufacturing and strength, the mount 10 may be made of other materials including wood, plastic, composites and the like and combinations of these materials. As detailed below, the rod 14 defines the base to which shed antlers are mounted with a mounting system.
With specific reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, plural attachment nodes identified in the drawings generally with reference number 30 are defined along the length of elongate bar 14. As detailed below, the attachment nodes 30 are used in combination with tethers to attach shed antlers to the mount. The attachment nodes 30 can take on numerous different structural characteristics to accomplish their intended function: namely, as attachment points for tethers that in turn attach shed antlers to the mount. In a first preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the attachment nodes 30 are defined by an elongate rod 26 that is formed into a sinuous or sinusoidal wave form and which is attached to elongate bar 14 on the outer-facing surface 28 thereof. More specifically, elongate rod 26 is sinuous to define plural adjacent peaks 50 and adjacent valleys 32. The rod 26 is attached to the outer-facing surface 28 of elongate bar 14 by attaching the rod 26 at valleys 32. For example, where rod 26 is metal and elongate bar 14 is metal, the rod may be attached to the bar by tack welding 24 the rod to the bar at plural contact points at the valleys 32 where the rod is in contact with the outer surface 28 of the bar. Plural tack welds 24 are preferred, and ideally the rod 26 will be tack welded 24 at each point where a valley 32 makes contact with the outer surface 28. It will be appreciated that, and as shown graphically in FIG. 2, this manner of construction defines plural openings 34 between the peaks 50 and the elongate rod 14—there is an opening 34 between each adjacent valley 32. It will further be appreciated that the plural openings 34 may be formed in numerous other ways with numerous other structures. To name a few examples, rod 26 may have plural zigzags rather than the smooth sinuous form shown in the drawings, other serpentine shapes, or it may have right angles to define the plural openings. The plural openings could also be formed with independent devices such as loops that are individually attached along the length of bar 14.
Attention is now turned to the drawings of FIGS. 3 and 4. Plural flexible tethers 36 are attached to mount 10—as explained below, a shed antler may be attached to each of the flexible tethers. More specifically, a single tether 36 is attached to rod 26 at each attachment node 30, that is, at an opening 34. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, each tether 36 is defined by a length of leather cord. The two ends of the cord are aligned and tied with a knot 25 to rod 26 at an opening 34 to define a closed loop 38. Leather is a preferred material for flexible tethers 36 because it fits with the natural look of mount 10. However, any flexible material may be used according to preference. And the loops 38 may be accomplished in numerous other ways. To name a few examples, fabric cord may be used instead of leather. Cord may be easily tied or welded to define the loops, and cord stops of various types may be used instead of tying.
Plural shed antlers 40 are shown attached to mount 10 in FIGS. 5 and 6. A whole (i.e., intact) shed antler 40 includes a basal structure/area known as a coronet or burr 42 that corresponds to the point where the antler grows from the animal's skull—called the pedicle. When the antler is shed, there is a slightly enlarged area at the coronet. To attach an antler 40 to a tether 36, the coronet is inserted into the loop 38 and the loop is tightened around the antler to securely attach the antler to the tether. The loop may be tightened around the antler in many ways, for example, with another length of leather cord, or by twisting the tether 36, or with a mechanical stop on the tether such as a spring-loaded cord stop, etc.
Plural shed antlers 40 may be attached to mount 10 by attaching an individual antler to each of the tethers 36. The best results are achieved working from the lowermost tether and working upwardly to attach subsequent antlers, but the specific order of attachment is not important. When plural antlers 40 are attached to the mount 10 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 the points 44 of neighboring antlers may be interwoven with each other to present a very attractive way to display the antlers.
Those of skill in the art will recognize that certain modifications of the structures described above may be made without changing the nature or scope of the invention. For example, in its broadest sense the invention is defined by means for defining plural attachments nodes to which shed antlers may be attached to an article. The attachment nodes may be defined, as described above, with a sinusoidal rod that is attached to an elongate rod. But attachment nodes according to the invention may also be made with a spirally wound rod that is wrapped around a base member and secured thereto. And, for example, the “base member” can take on the form of other utilitarian objects such as a lamp, a horizontal bar, or even a trellis or a wedding arch.
While the present invention has been described in terms of preferred and illustrated embodiments, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill that the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited to those embodiments, but extend to the various modifications and equivalents as defined in the appended claims.
Patent Application
20170239979
