Sportsmans blind

[57] ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a portable, collapsible sportsman’s blind comprising a lower course of side-by-side rigid hinged sections and an upper course of similar sideby-side rigid hinged sections. The upper and lower courses are hinged together. When installed, a partial enclosure may be provided by folding the sections with respect to each other. When collapsed for transport, the courses as well as the sections may be folded into juxtaposition.

Claims, 4 Drawing Figures

<img file="US3709237A_D0001.tif" />

PATENTEDJAH 91973

3,709,237

<img file="US3709237A_D0002.tif" />

Y32

ATTORNEYS.

3,709,237

SPORTSMANS BLIND

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prior art discloses numerous approaches for providing collapsible, portable blinds for hunters. Typical disclosures are found in U. S. Pat. Nos. 2,159,273; 2,827,729; 2,841,159; 3,018,857 and 3,323,530. It will’ be apparent from an inspection of these disclosures that a need exists for a simple, inexpensive collapsible sportsman’s blind which may be installed with a minimum of effort.

A reference bearing superficial resemblance to this invention is U. S. Pat. No. 2,420,898 wherein a foldable tent structure of A-shape is disclosed. This tent comprises a plurality of rigid frames connected by a flexible hinge wherein the individual frames are spanned by wire mesh material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple, inexpensive collapsible sportsman’s blind which may be readily placed and dismantled.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible, portable sportsman’s blind comprising a pair of hinged courses each comprising a plurality of sideby-side rigid hinged sections and means for immobilizing hinging movement of the courses upon placement of the blind.

In summary, this invention comprises a sportsman’s ³θ blind including a first course having a plurality of sideby-side rigid first sections, means connecting adjacent first sections for hinging movement about a first section axis; and a second course having a plurality of side-byside rigid second sections, means connecting the first ³⁵and second courses for hinging movement about a course axis and means connecting adjacent second sections for hinging movement about a second section axis residing in a plane common with the first section axis and perpendicular to the course axis, the improvement comprising means for immobilizing hinging movement about the course axis upon placement of the blind, the immobilizing means comprising means maintaining adjacent first and second sections generally coplanar and means angularly positioning pairs of side-by-side sections and fixing the first sections vertically to a ground surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a view of the sportsman’s blind of this invention illustrating the device spread out on a horizontal surface;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the device of FIG. 1 taken substantially along line 2—2 55 thereof as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the sportsman’s blind of this invention when placed and ready for use;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the collapsed sportsman’s ⁶⁰blind ready for transport.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, there is provided a sportsman’s blind 10 comprising as major components a lower series or course 12 of side-by-side rigid lower sections 14 and an upper series or course 16 of side-byside rigid upper sections 18. The lower and upper courses 12, 16 are mounted for folding movement about a course axis 20 and means 22 are provided for immobilizing hinging movement about the course axis 20 upon placement of the blind 10 as shown in FIG. 3.

Adjacent lower sections or panels 14 are connnected for hinging movement about a first section axis 24. Adjacent upper sections or panels 18 are connected for hinging movement about a second section axis 26 residing in a plane common with the first section axis 24 and perpendicular to the course axis 20.

An important part of this invention resides in the immobilizing means 22 whereby the courses 12, 16 are prevented from folding about the course axis 20 without the use of elaborate braces, guy wires and the like. The immobilizing means 22 comprises a flap 28 extending from the lower edge of each of the lower sections 14. The flaps 28 include one or more apertures 30 which may be suitably reinforced as by the use of rings 32. The immobilizing means 22 also includes a plurality of stakes 34 which are used to affix the flaps 28 to the underlying ground surface 36. The immobilizing means 22 also includes the relationship between the axes 20, 24,26 as will be more fully apparent hereinafter.

During placement of the blind 10, a flap 28 of one of the lower sections 14 is staked to the ground 36. An adjacent section 14 is angularly positioned with respect to the section 14 previously staked while maintaining the adjacent upper sections 18 coplanar with the sections 14 being staked. The stakes 34 are then used to affix the flap 28 of the adjacent section 14 to the ground 36.

The placement procedure is continued until all of the flaps 28 are staked to the ground 36. It will be seen from FIG. 3 that the upper course 16 is not braced by external struts or the like but instead remains in place since folding movement about the course axis 20 is prevented by the angular relationship between the sideby-side sections 14, 18. It will accordingly be apparent that the sportsman’s blind 10 is of simple construction. The blind 10, when assembled, preferably defines at least three sides of a polygon to increase stability from 45 wind. The end sections of blind 10 may be spaced apart to provide a convenient entrance.

Referring to FIG. 4, the sportsman’s blind 10 is illustrated in its collapsed, portable condition. When it is desired to remove the blind 10, the stakes 34 are removed from the ground 36 and the blind 10 is laid out on the ground as shown in FIG. 1. The upper course 16 is folded along the course axis 20 over the lower course 12. The side-by-side sections 14, 18 are then folded along the section axes 24, 26 to achieve the configuration illustrated in FIG. 4.

Another important feature of the blind 10 resides in the construction of the rigid sections 14, 18 and in the construction of the hinges between the sections 14, 18 and between the courses 12, 16. The sections 14, 18 each comprise a rigid frame 38, 40. The frames 38, 40 are preferably of regular quadrilateral configuration and are conveniently square. The frames 38, 40 may preferably comprise a wire annulus formed into the desired configuration. The covering of the blind 10 preferably comprises one piece of flexible sheeting 42 folded along a fold line 44 extending along one edge of the blind 10. The sheeting 42 may be of any desirable

3,709,237 type, such as plastic or fabric, although fabric is preferred.

The sheeting 42 is stitched along a line 46 providing a fold line between the flaps 28 and the first sections 14. The remainder of the periphery of the blind 10 is 5 stitched along lines 48, 50, 52. The sheeting 42 is then stitched along the course axis 20 and along the first and second sections axes 24, 26 to captivate the frames 38, 40 and create flexible hinges between the side-by-side sections 14,18 and between the lower and upper cour- 1θ ses 12, 16. The reinforcing rings 32 may be installed on the flaps 28 in a conventional manner.

It will accordingly be seen that the sportsman’s blind of this invention may be expeditiously manufactured and readily installed and dismantled. From FIG. 4, it ¹⁵will be apparent that the device may be collapsed into a compact unit for storage and transportation. To illustrate this feature one embodiment of this invention wherein the sections 14, 18 are approximately 2 feet square may be assembled into a 2 feet X 4 feet blind ²⁰and folded into a bundle approximately 2 feet square and less than 2 inches in thickness.