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  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to portable shelters suspended from diverse support means.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     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  
       [0003]     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.  
         [0004]     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.  
         [0005]     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.  
         [0006]     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.  
         [0007]     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.  
         [0008]     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.  
         [0009]     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.  
         [0010]     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  
       [0011]     The present invention may be more readily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0012]      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.  
         [0013]      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.  
         [0014]      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. 
     
    
       [0015]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the accompanying drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     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.  
         [0017]     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.  
         [0018]     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 .  
         [0019]     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 .  
         [0020]     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.  
         [0021]     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 .  
         [0022]     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 .  
         [0023]     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 .  
         [0024]     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 .  
         [0025]     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 .  
         [0026]     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.  
         [0027]     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.  
         [0028]     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.