US20050081272A1

US20050081272A1 - Camouflage hood assembly

Info

Publication number: US20050081272A1
Application number: US10/686,625
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard Shaklee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-10-17
Filing date: 2003-10-17
Publication date: 2005-04-21

Abstract

A camouflage hood assembly including a mounting bracket for releasable attachment to a vertical support. A cord is suspended from the mounting bracket and has opposed ends. A hood, size to cover the head of a user, is secured to one of the ends of the cord and is formed of a light-transmissive webbing so that a user can see through the hood. A weight is secured to the other end of the cord. The weight is heavier than the hood such that releasing the weight causes the hood to be elevated.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to portable shelters suspended from diverse support means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While stalking their prey, it is not unusual for hunters to employ some sort of camouflage in order to avoid detection by game animals. To this end, numerous garments, screens, blinds, tree stands, and other structures have been proposed to conceal the presence of a hunter in the field. Unfortunately, these products do an imperfect job of concealing a hunter in that his head is often left exposed to view. Motion of the head of a hunter is frequently sensed by a game animal being tracked causing the animal to flee. Furthermore, much of the camouflage that is available in the marketplace is bulky, heavy, and difficult to move about while hunting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the problems associated with the known products used by hunters to conceal their presence from game animals, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a camouflage hood assembly of light weight and compact size that hides the movement of the head of a hunter from game animals yet permits the unimpeded movement of the limbs of the hunter while drawing a bow or aiming a firearm.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a camouflage hood assembly of the type described that features a hood that can be selectively elevated above the head of a hunter to permit him to sight his weapon without hindrance and, perhaps, initiate his pursuit of wounded prey. The hunter can accomplish elevation of the hood with minimal movement.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a camouflage hood assembly of the type described that is uncomplicated in its construction and that can be easily transported and set up. The hood assembly is intuitive to use and requires neither prolonged training to operate nor tools of any sort to move and assemble.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a camouflage hood assembly of the type described that offers to a hunter a 360° field of view. Thus, with the hood assembly in use, a hunter can track game animals approaching from any direction. The hood assembly has no blind spots.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a camouflage hood assembly that also serves as a screen or shield to keep flying insects away from the head of a hunter.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a camouflage hood assembly for the purposes described that is inexpensive to manufacture and fully dependable in use.
Briefly, the camouflage hood assembly in accordance with this invention achieves the intended objects by featuring a mounting bracket adapted for releasable attachment to a vertical support. The mounting bracket has a base portion for positioning against a vertical support and a cantilevered portion secured to, and extending outwardly from, the base portion. A pair of grommets is secured to the cantilevered portion in a spaced apart relationship. A threaded fastener penetrates the base portion for securing the mounting bracket to a vertical support. A cord is suspended from the grommets and has opposed ends extending through the grommets. A hood formed of a light-transmissive webbing is secured one end of the cord and is configured to cover the head of a user. A weight is secured to the other end of the cord. The weight is heavier than the hood whereby releasing the weight causes the hood to be elevated toward the cantilevered portion of the mounting bracket.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be more readily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of a camouflage hood assembly in accordance with the present invention having portions broken away to reveal details thereof.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the camouflage hood assembly of FIG. 1 shown mounted upon a tree and elevated above the head of a hunter so that the hunter can draw his bow in an unimpeded manner.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hood assembly mounted upon a tree and lowered over the head of a hunter to conceal such while waiting for a game animal.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the FIGS., a camouflage hood assembly in accordance with the present invention is shown at 10. Assembly 10 includes a mounting bracket 12, adapted for releasable attachment to a tree 14, and a hood 16, adapted for covering the head 18 of a hunter 20, suspended from bracket 12 by means of a cord 22. One end of cord 22 is attached to the top of hood 16 and the other end is attached to a weight 24 that is heavier than hood 16. By releasing weight 24, hood 16 is caused to elevate.
Mounting bracket 12 includes a base portion 26 and a cantilevered portion 28 that are releasably secured together. Base portion 26 is a short tube of square cross-section. Cantilevered portion 28, however, comprises a pair of tubes 30 and 32 of square cross-section with tube 32 being nested within tube 30. As shown, tube 32 is L-shaped, having a base leg 34 for snug yet releasable positioning within the top of base portion 26 and a transverse leg 36 extending at right angles from base leg 34 and telescopically receiving tube 32 in its free end.
Cantilevered portion 28 of mounting bracket 12 carries a pair of grommets 38 and 40 through which cord 22 extends. Grommet 38 is affixed to the bottom of transverse leg 36 of tube 30. Grommet 40, on the other hand, is affixed to the bottom of tube 32 and serves as a stop to prevent the full entry of tube 32 into tube 30.
A threaded fastener 42 is employed to secure bracket 12 to tree 14. Threaded fastener 42 includes a screw 44 that passes through base portion 26 and a crosspiece or handle 46 affixed to one end of screw 44 for manually turning screw 44. Preferably, screw 44 is pointed at its free end and of the self-tapping type, capable of boring itself into relatively soft supports like tree 14.
Hood 16 is configured like an inverted bowl with a circular top wall 48 from the periphery of which a cylindrical side wall 50 extends downwardly. Top wall 48 and side wall 50 are both formed from a fabric netting material having a weave of sufficient density to permit one whose eyes are located close to the material to peer through it yet hide the movement of anything placed behind the material from a distant observer. Such a material is usually more than fine enough to exclude flying insects such as mosquitoes from passage through it. If desired, the material may be provided with patches of woodland colors (not shown) to further camouflage assembly 10 while in use.
Hood 16 is retained in an open configuration by a pair of rigid hoops 52 and 54 having a diameter substantially the same as that of top wall 48. Hoop 52 is secured to the top of hood 16 at the junction of top wall 48 and side wall 50 by means of a ring-shaped pocket 56. Hoop 54, though, is secured by a sewn hem 58 to the bottom of side wall 50. Of course, any suitable means could be employed to secure hoops 52 and 54 within hood 16.
A pair of crisscrossing straps 60 is sewn onto top wall 48 to reinforce the top of hood 16. Straps 60 extend from one side of top wall 48 to the other and meet at right angles at the center of top wall 48. A ring 62 for attachment to cord 22 is stitched to straps 60 at their point of intersection atop top wall 48.
Cord 22, having any convenient length, is attached at one of its ends to ring 62 and is attached at the other of its ends to weight 24. Between hood 16 and weight 24, cord 22 extends through, and is supported by, grommets 38 and 40. It should be noted that the telescoping movement of tube 32 from tube 30 so as to extend the length of cantilevered portion 28 has no effect on the free movement of cord 22 within grommets 38 and 40.
Weight 24 is slightly heavier than hood 16 so that, when it is released, it will fall toward the ground thereby elevating hood 16 attached to the other end of cord 22. Preferably, weight 24 is made from a material of high density, such as lead, so that it will be very small in size as hood 16 described hereinabove is light in weight. A conventional fishing sinker can be employed as weight 24.
Set up and use of assembly 10 is straightforward. First, hunter 20 selects a location adjacent tree 14 for positioning a chair 64 upon which he can seat himself to observe the movements of nearby game animals. Then, hunter 20 positions base portion 26 of bracket 12 against tree 14 and turns handle 46 to drive screw 44 into tree 14 so as to secure assembly 10 to tree 14. Next, hunter 20 slides tube 32 from tube 30 to adjust the distance that hood 16 is suspended from tree 14 so that hood 16 is suspended directly above chair 64. Once done, hunter positions his head 18 under hood 16 and lowers hood 16 over his head 18 to wait for game animals to appear as illustrated in FIG. 3. Hunter 20 can now turn his head 18 in any direction to track an approaching animal without fear that the animal will detect movements of head 18.
When a game animal comes within range, hunter 20 can prepare to fire with a minimal amount of movement. Hunter 20 simply releases weight 24 from his grasp thereby causing hood 16 to elevate. Hunter 20, then, raises his weapon 66 for accurate sighting as shown in FIG. 2. Should the game animal be sufficiently close, hood 16 provides sufficient visibility and freedom of movement such that hunter 20 need not elevate hood 16 to aim and discharge his weapon.
When a hunting session is concluded, assembly 10 can be taken apart and collapsed for compact storage and transport. In this regard, cantilevered portion 28 is removed from base portion 26 and both are brought into a substantially parallel relationship. Further, hoops 52 and 54 of hood 16 are eased toward one another to collapse hood 16. The components of assembly 10 can now be grasped in a hand of hunter 20 and carried away from tree 14. Assembly 10 can be readily positioned in the trunk of a car or behind the seat of a pickup truck for subsequent use whenever it is needed.
While the invention has been described with a high degree of particularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto. For example, hood 16 need not be provided with either or both of rigid hoops 52 and 54, although such make hood 16 much more comfortable to wear for prolonged periods. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A camouflage hood assembly, comprising:

a mounting bracket being adapted for releasable attachment to a vertical support;

a cord being suspended from said mounting bracket, said cord having opposed ends;

a hood formed of light-transmissive webbing being adapted for covering the head of a user and being secured to one of said opposed ends of said cord; and,

a weight being secured to the other one of said opposed ends of said cord, said weight being heavier than said hood whereby releasing said weight causes said hood to be elevated.

2. A camouflage hood assembly, comprising:

a mounting bracket being adapted for releasable attachment to a vertical support, said mounting bracket including:

a base portion for positioning against a vertical support;

a cantilevered portion secured to, and extending outwardly from, said base portion;

a pair of grommets secured to said the cantilevered portion in a spaced apart relationship; and,

a threaded fastener penetrating said base portion for securing said mounting bracket to a vertical support;

a cord suspended from said pair of grommets, said cord having opposed ends, each of which extending through a respective one of said grommets;

a hood, formed of a light-transmissive webbing being adapted for covering the head of a user and being secured to one of said opposed ends of said cord; and,

a weight being secured to the other one of said opposed ends of said cord, said weight being heavier than said hood whereby releasing said weight causes said hood to be elevated toward said cantilevered portion of said bracket.

3. A camouflage hood assembly, comprising:

a base portion for positioning against a vertical support;

cord suspended from said pair of grommets, said cord having opposed ends, each of which extending through a respective one of said grommets;

a hood being adapted for covering the head of a user and being secured to one of said opposed ends of said cord, said hood including:

a top wall and a side wall extending downwardly from the periphery of said top wall, said top wall and said side wall being formed of open-weave netting; and,

a hoop secured to the periphery of said top wall; and,