Patent Application
20060169309
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable shelters and similar outdoor enclosures, for providing a hidden location for a hunter or naturalist to occupy in the field, while observing or waiting for game or other wildlife. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hunting blind, shelter or similar outdoor enclosure having structure for noiseless opening, closure, and adjustment of door and window flaps.
2. Description of the Background Art
When out in the field for moderate or long periods, hunters often spend time in hunting blinds to disguise themselves from game, and also to protect themselves from inclement weather. As game approaches the blind, the hunter must position himself and his weapon to obtain a clear sight line to the game, and the structure of the blind obscures the game's view of these small movements of the hunter.
However, the structure of the blind can also obscure the game from the view of the hunter. As game approach the blind or pass around the blind, the hunter may adjust the size of the window or door openings to obtain a better view, or may need to shift to alternate window or door openings, depending upon the path of the game about the blind.
Conventional blinds provide zippers or hook and loop fasteners to secure the door or window flaps to the side walls of the blind. Operation of these conventional fastening structure can be very noisy, and may startle the game and thereby diminish or negate any advantage achieved by the hunter hidden within the blind. When a wild animal is startled, the animal is apt to quickly depart and leave the offending area. It will be appreciated that this result will be displeasing to the hunter.
Similarly, naturalists, nature photographers, and environmental scientists often work out in the field, such as in forest or wilderness areas. Naturalists often wish to approach wild animals as closely as possible without being detected, in order to photograph or observe the animals in their natural habitat, while disturbing them as little as possible. Accordingly, these people also find it useful to achieve silent opening, closure, and adjustment of door and window flaps.
Many designs for hunting blinds are known. Class 135, subclass 900 is provided in the U.S. Patent Classification System for the listing of hunting blinds and ice-fishing shelters.
Guggisberg (U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,115) and Dobberstein (U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,197) are examples of references which disclose tent-like structures having door and window openings and which include fastening structures for securing covers over these openings.
Although the known devices are useful for their intended purposes, a need still exists in the art for an improved structure for obtaining silent opening, closure, and adjustment of door and window flaps in a hunting blind.
The present invention relates to a portable hunting blind or similar enclosure that provides concealing cover to a hunter in the field. An enclosure according to the present invention includes use of a magnetic member to adjustably and releasably fasten window or door flaps to the side walls of the blind in a substantially noiseless manner.
An enclosure according to the present invention includes side walls, and further includes at least one opening formed in a side wall for use as a door or window. The opening is provided with a cover which allows selective opening, closure, and adjustment of the size of the opening. The cover may be in the style of a flap, wherein one or more edges of the flap are permanently secured to the side wall adjacent to the opening, and the remaining edges are selectively and detachably secured to the side wall of the blind around the opening using magnets or other substantially noiseless fastening structure. Alternatively, the cover may be in the style of a patch, wherein the cover is completely separable from the blind, and one or more edges are selectively and detachably fixed around the opening using substantially noiseless fastening structure.
In a first illustrative embodiment, the noiseless fastening structure provides a peripheral edge of the cover with a magnetic member such as a long magnetic strip or short magnet segment, and providing the periphery of the opening with a cooperating material such as a second magnetic strip or a metallic strip. When the edge of the cover is placed adjacent to the periphery of the opening, the magnetic member is releasably secured to the cooperating material within the periphery of the opening by the magnetic attraction of the two components. Because there are no interconnecting parts (as found in zippers and hook and loop fastener), securement and release of the magnetic member to the cooperating material are effectively noiseless. Any slight clicking noise that may result from the initial contact of the two components can be reduced or eliminated by sewing the components into the fabric of the blind.
The cooperating material may be placed about the peripheral edge of the opening in an orientation and position which mirrors the placement of the magnetic member on the cover. Alternatively, the cooperating material may be provided along the entire peripheral edge, regardless of the arrangement of the magnetic member within the cover, so as to maximize adjustability of the cover over the opening, and to minimize effort required to position the cover over the opening.
In one embodiment of the invention, the enclosure includes a plurality of door and window openings, positioned about the side walls so as to provide viewing of the exterior, substantially in all directions.
In another embodiment of the invention, the enclosure may be a tent-like structure formed of flexible fabric and including a roof section and a fabric support structure, such as resiliently flexible poles or the like. The flexible fabric enclosure is provided with a plurality of door and window openings, each of which includes a selectively openable cover. Cover flaps may be provided for these openings, and such flaps may be located either on the inside or on the outside of the structure.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the enclosure may have solid walls with a plurality of door and window openings, each of which includes a selectively openable cover.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable hunting blind or similar enclosure having door and/or window flaps that allow substantially noiseless opening, closure, and adjustment of these openings.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, the reader is referred to the following detailed description section, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following detailed description and in the drawings, like numbers refer to like parts.
Referring now to
The enclosure 10, 10′ may be a tent-like structure formed of flexible fabric and an associated support structure, such as resiliently flexible poles or the like. The flexible fabric enclosure is provided with a plurality of door 22 and window 24 openings 30, each of which includes a selectively openable cover 40.
It is understood, however, that the enclosure 10 may instead be formed of rigid materials, such as solid, thin panel walls and roof components, and also include a plurality of door and window openings, each of which includes a selectively openable cover.
The openings 30 in the side walls 20 are determined to be doors 22 or windows 24 depending upon their size and position within the side wall 20. At least one door 22 is provided for access into the interior space, and a plurality of windows 24 are used, to permit visual observation of the surroundings in multiple directions from the interior of the enclosure 10.
Each opening 30 is provided with a cover 40 for covering placement over the opening 30. The cover 40 allows for selective opening and closure of the opening 30, and adjustment of the size of the opening 30. Each cover 40 is sized to be slightly larger than the opening 30 it covers. In the embodiments shown in
The cover 40 may have a shape that is identical to that of the opening 30 that it covers. However, it is within the scope of this invention to provide covers 40 that are not the same shape as the openings 30. For example, a square cover 40 may be used to cover a circular or semicircular opening 30 (
Referring now to
The cover 40 may be in the style of a cover flap 40″, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2-4, the cover 40 may be made in the style of a removable patch 40′, wherein the patch-type cover 40′ is completely separable from the enclosure 10, and one or more edges of the patch-type cover 40′ are selectively fixed to the periphery 36 of the opening 30 using substantially noiseless selectively detachable magnetic fastening structure.
In one embodiment of the invention, the noiseless selectively detachable fastening structure includes a magnetic strip 50 provided at a peripheral edge 46 of the cover 40, and a cooperating material 60, such as a second magnetic strip or a metallic strip which will attract a magnet, provided at the periphery of the opening 30. When the peripheral edge 46 of the cover 40 is placed adjacent to the periphery 36 of the opening 30, the magnetic strip 50 is releasably secured to the cooperating material 60, at the periphery of the opening 30, by the magnetic attraction between the two components.
Although the invention is described herein as the cover 40 being provided with the magnetic strip 50, and the periphery 36 of the opening 30 being provided with the cooperating material 60, it is understood that the invention will function equally well if the cover 40 is provided with the cooperative material 60, and the periphery 36 of the opening 30 is provided with a magnetic strip 50.
The magnetic strip 50, where used, may be formed from a long, thin, narrow, continuous body. It may be provided in a single piece extending along the periphery of the cover (
An alternative arrangement includes providing magnets 50, 52 only in strategic locations, such as at the corners of the cover (
The cooperating material 60 may be placed about the periphery 36 of the opening 30 in a size (for example, strip 60 or segment 62), an orientation, and a position which mirrors the placement of magnets 50, 52 on the cover 40. Alternatively, the cooperating material 60 may be provided along the entire periphery 36, regardless of the arrangement of the magnets 50, 52 within the cover 40, so as to maximize adjustability of the cover 40 over the opening 30, and to minimize the effort required to position the cover 40 over the opening 30.
Both the magnets 50, 52 and the cooperating material 60 may be glued on, or otherwise affixed to the respective surfaces of the fabric that forms the side wall 20 or cover 40. When the magnets 50, 52 and the cooperating material 60 are affixed to the surface of the cover 40 and enclosure side wall 20, respectively, it is very easy to visually target the placement of the magnet 50, 52 over the cooperating material 60 when the enclosure is assembled. This surface positioning also maximizes the interaction between the magnet 50, 52 and the cooperating material 60.
However, it is also within the scope of this invention to sandwich both the magnet 50, 52 and the cooperating material 60 between layers of fabric. For example, when the edges of the cover fabric are turned under and sewn during manufacture, the magnetic strip 50 or magnet segment 52 can be inserted into this folded edge and sewn in place. The cooperating material can likewise be sewn into the periphery 36 of the opening 30. This construction is aesthetically attractive, and the fabric cover over the interacting components provides additional sound dampening. A further advantage to this construction is that it makes it easy for the patch-style cover 40′ to be secured over the opening from either the interior or the exterior of the enclosure 10, depending on the preference of the user.
In one illustrative embodiment, as shown in
The material used to form the cover 40 may be identical to the fabric which is used to form the side walls 20 of the enclosure 10. However, in one optional embodiment, the cover material may be made visually transparent or translucent. Such materials may include, but are not limited to, a transparent plastic or a plastic mesh screen.
In another embodiment, the cover 40 may be formed of two separate layers joined along a top edge thereof. The outer layer consists of the fabric used to form the walls of the enclosure, and the inner layer is a generally visually transparent material.
It is understood from the foregoing examples that a hunting blind or enclosure 10 in accordance with the invention may be provided in a wide assortment of shapes and sizes, so long as at least part of the enclosure employs structure for essentially noiseless selective opening, closure, and adjustment of covers 40 for openings 30 in the side wall 20.
Referring now to
Also in the embodiment of
When the peripheral edge 146 of the cover flap 140 is placed adjacent to the periphery of the window opening 130, the corresponding material 160 enables the peripheral edge 146 of the cover flap 140 to be releasably secured to the periphery 136 of the opening 130, by the magnetic attraction of the two components.
It is also noteworthy that in a hunting blind application, when a hunter in the blind wishes to remove the window cover flap 140 from the window opening 130 in order to shoot a gun or arrow outwardly through the window at a game animal located close to the window opening, the cover flap can be removed from the opening either in complete silence, or with only the slightest noise. This provides an advantage in avoiding “spooking” the game, as contrasted with the noise generated by the movement of opening a metal or plastic zipper.
Although the present invention has been described herein with respect to a number of preferred embodiments thereof, the foregoing description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art will realize that many modifications of the preferred embodiments could be made which would be operable. All such modifications, which are within the scope of the claims, are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention.
The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e), based on U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/645,925, filed Jan. 22, 2005. The disclosure of this priority document is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60645925 | Jan 2005 | US |
