Abstract:
A tree stand includes a planar load supporting platform having an inner end for abutting a tree trunk, a pair of two-section arms pivotally connected to sides of the platform for rotation between positions against such platform sides and erect positions in which they define armrests, a belt having a pair of ends slidable in said arms for forming a loop around a tree trunk to hold the stand on the tree, and a latch on the arms for locking the belt in the arms.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a tree stand. 
     2. Discussion of the Prior Art 
     Tree stands are usually two-piece apparatuses used primarily by hunters for climbing a tree and for supporting the hunters at elevated positions on the trunk of trees. As described in the inventors U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,546, issued Jul. 8, 2003 (which is incorporated herein by reference) and as is apparent from the list of references on the cover page of the patent, there is a large volume of patent literature relating to tree stands. 
     As also described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,546, in general existing tree stands are somewhat complicated, bulky and not readily stackable. Moreover, most tree stands do not include proper arm rests. It will be appreciated that sitting on a tree stand for a lengthy period without any arm support can be uncomfortable. Those stands that do include arm rests tend to be bulky. 
     GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple, collapsible tree stand, the elements of which are easy to erect and collapse and are flat in the collapsed condition. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a compact tree stand, which includes arm rests which can be stored flat in the non-use or transport position and easily rotated to and locked in an erect use position. 
     Accordingly, the invention relates to a tree stand comprising a planar load supporting platform having a pair of sides, an inner end for abutting a tree trunk and an outer free end; a support arm pivotally connected to each side of said platform, each said arm including a first arm section having one end pivotally connected to a platform side proximate said outer end and a second arm section pivotally connected at one end to a second end of said first arm section, said platform side and said first and second arm sections occupying separate parallel planes, whereby said arm sections can be folded into overlapping relationship against the platform side; a belt having a pair of ends slidable in second, free ends of said second arm sections for forming a loop around a tree; and latches on said second arm sections for releasably locking the belt in said second arm sections. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is described hereinafter in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a tree stand in accordance with the invention in the erect, use condition; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of an upper platform used in the tree stand of  FIG. 1  in the closed or collapsed condition; 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of a lower platform used in the tree stand of  FIG. 1  in the collapsed condition; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the lower platform of  FIG. 3  in the erect condition; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the lower platform of  FIG. 3  in the collapsed condition; 
         FIG. 6  is an isometric view of second embodiment of the upper platform in the erect condition; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the upper platform of  FIG. 6  in the collapsed condition; 
         FIG. 8  is a side view of the platform of  FIGS. 6 and 7  in the collapsed condition; and 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the platform of  FIGS. 6 to 8  in the erect condition. 
     
    
    
     It will be noticed that parts have been omitted from some figures of the drawings. This was done to make it easier to see the various elements of the invention. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of the tree stand includes upper and lower platforms indicated generally at  1  and  2 , respectively. The platforms  1  and  2  are used to climb a tree  3  and, once the desired location in the tree has been reached, the platforms are securely connected to the tree for use as a seat (platform  1 ) and a footrest (platform  2 ). 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the upper platform  1  is defined by a generally rectangular frame  4 , which includes straight sides  5  and one straight, outer end  6 . A pair of converging arms  7  interconnected by a crossbar  8  define the other, inner end of the frame  4 . Reinforcing bars  9  extend between the inner ends of the sides  5  and the crossbar  8 . A fabric seat  10 , which is shown in the folded condition in  FIG. 2 , is slidably mounted on the sides of the frame. When climbing a tree, the seat  10  is located near the outer end of the frame  4  and the user sits on the seat facing the tree  3 . When the platform  1  is at the desired location on the tree  3 , the seat  10  is slid to a position close to the tree and the user sits with his/her back to the tree. Wing-shaped teeth  11  are pivotally mounted on the free ends of the arms  7  by bolts  12  and nuts (not shown). The pivotable teeth  11  make the platform readily adaptable to trees of different shapes and diameters. The two teeth  11  can be at different angles to the free ends of the arms  7 . When the platform  1  is on a small diameter tree trunk, the sharp edges of the teeth  11  rotate towards each other and, on a large diameter tree, the teeth rotate in the opposite direction. 
     A pair of support arms  14  are pivotally connected to the sides  5  near the straight end  6  by bolts  15  and nuts  16 . Each arm  14  is formed of two sections, namely an outer section  17  and an inner section  18  (“outer” and “inner”) being used to denote the proximity to a tree trunk when the platform is in the use position). The outer section  17  is a short, flat strip of metal, which is pivotally connected to the tubular inner section  18  using a bolt  20  and a nut  21 . When the arms  14  are being moved to the open or erect condition of the platform  1  (which is shown in  FIG. 1 ) movement of the outer arm sections  17  is limited by an inclined stop  22 . The ends  23  of a generally V-shaped end wall or yoke  24  are pivotally connected to the inner ends of the arms  14 . The center of the yoke  24  is pivotally connected to the crossbar  8  by a hinge  25  so that the yoke and the arms  14  can be pivoted between the erect, use position of the platform shown in  FIG. 1  and collapsed position ( FIG. 2 ) for transport or storage of the stand. Because the sections  17  and  18  of the arms  14  are outside of the sides  5  of the frame  4  in the collapsed condition of the platform  1 , the arms lie in the same plane as the sides  5  and the outer ends  23  of the yoke  24  are sandwiched between the frame sides  5  and the arms  14 . The result is a flat platform, which when one inch tubes are used to form the sides  5  and the arm sections  18 , is not much more than one inch thick. 
     The platform  1  is retained in a fixed position on a tree trunk  3  by a belt  27 , which can be a length of conventional V-belt, and by a cord  28 . The free ends of the belt  27  are inserted into the open free ends of the arms  14 . Such free ends of the belt  27  are retained in the arm sections  18  by latches of the type described in the inventor&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,546. Each latch includes a lever  30  pivotally mounted in a slot in the inner end of the tubular arm section  18  and a helical spring  31  connected at one end to the lever  30  and at the other end to the arm  14 . The spring  31  biases the lever  30  into engagement with the belt  27 . Teeth (not shown) on the inner end of the lever  30  engage the belt  27  to lock it in one position. When the lever  30  is manually rotated towards the exposed belt loop, the belt is released and can be pulled out of or inserted into the arm  14  to lengthen or shorten the loop around the tree trunk  3 . 
     Once the platform  1  or  2  is in the desired position on a trunk  3 , the cord  28  is used to secure the platform in a horizontal position. A cord tensioner of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,546 is used for such purpose. The tensioner is a lever  33  pivotally connected to a block  34  ( FIG. 2 ) on the crossbar  8 . One end of the cord  28  is permanently connected to the crossbar  8 , and the other end under passes under the crossbar  8 , around the trunk  3 , under the crossbar  8  again, over one side of the lever  33  and through a V-shaped notch  35  in the outer, free end of the lever. When the lever  33  is rotated upwardly from the horizontal position shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  to the vertical position (not shown) the cord  28  is tensioned to securely anchor the platform  1  to the trunk  3 . In order to unlock the tensioner, it is merely necessary to pull the free end of the cord  28  out of the notch  35  which causes the lever  33  to rotate to the release position. 
     The lower platform  2  is similar in structure to the upper platform  1 . Like the upper platform  1 , the lever platform  2  includes a rectangular frame  38  defined by straight sides  39 , a straight outer end  40  and converging arms  42  at the inner ends of the sides  39  connected by a crossbar  43 . Wing-shaped teeth  44  are pivotally mounted on the inner ends of the arms  42  for engaging the tree  3 . A second crossbar  45  and bars  46  extending longitudinally between the outer end  40  and the crossbar  45  support a metal mesh floor  47 . The extra bars and the mesh floor  47  are required, because the lower platform  2  supports a stand user in the standing position when climbing a tree. A strap  50  for holding the platforms  1  and  2  together and for holding a user&#39;s feet on the floor  46  during climbing extends between the sides  39  of the lower platform  2 . During tree climbing, the user sits on the upper platform and tilts and lifts the lower platform  2  using his/her feet and the strap  50 , and then stands on the lower platform  2  and uses his/her hands to move the upper platform  1  to a higher position on the tree. Of course, the procedure is reversed when descending the tree. 
     A pair of arms  52  are pivotally connected to the sides  39  near the straight, outer end  40  by bolts  53  (one shown) and nuts  54  (one shown). Each arm  52  includes a tubular inner section  55 , and an outer section  56  defined by a short metal strip. The outer section  56  is pivotally connected to the inner section  55  by a bolt  57  and a nut  58 . When the arms  52  are moved to the erect positions ( FIG. 1 ) movement is limited by stops  60  (one shown). 
     The center of a generally V-shaped yoke  62  is pivotally connected to the crossbar  43  by a hinge  63  for rotation of the yoke between a collapsed position ( FIG. 3 ) and an erect position ( FIG. 1 ). The L-shaped ends  64  of the yoke  62  are pivotally connected to the inner ends of the arms  52 . 
     The platform  2  is retained in a fixed position on a tree  3  by a belt  66  and a cord  67 . Latches, similar to the latches on the upper platform, including levers  69  and springs  70 , are used to secure the ends of the belt  66  in the tubular inner sections  58  of the arms  52 , and the cord  67  is tensioned around the tree using a tensioning lever  72  similar to the lever  33  on the upper platform  1 . The lever  72  is pivotally mounted on the crossbar  45  and includes a notch  73  in the outer, free end thereof. In the case of the lower platform  2 , the lever  72  opens downwardly, i.e. has a generally inverted U-shaped cross section which is the reverse of the lever  33  on the upper platform  1 . In the non-use position, the lever  72  is vertically oriented. In use, the cord  67  extends over the crossbar  43 , around the tree  3 , again over the crossbar, beneath one side of the lever  72  and through the notch  73  in the free end of the lever. In the rest position, the lever  72  extends outwardly at an acute angle from the crossbar  45 . In order to tension the cord  28 , the user steps on the lever  72 , rotating it downwardly to the horizontal cord tensioning position shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 to 9 , a second embodiment of the upper platform  1  is similar to the first embodiment of the upper platform, except that the arms  14  are mounted inside of the frame  4  and soft pads  75  are provided on the inner sections  18  of the arms  14 . In addition, the frame includes a generally C-shaped (when viewed from above) outer end or extension  76 , which is pivotally connected to the sides  5  of the frame by the bolts  15  and the nuts  16  used to connect the arms  14  to the frame sides  5 . The extension  76  includes a cylindrical pad  77  on the outer end  78  thereof. The extension  76  can be rotated from the horizontal position ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ) upwardly or downwardly. In the upper position, the pad  77 , can be used as an arm or gun rest. In the lower position, the extension  76  defines a footrest, and by being down out of the way, gives a hunter or photographer a clear view of the area in front of him/her. Moreover, in the lower position, the extension  76  can be used as a seat when climbing a tree  3 ; in which case, the seat  10  remains in the ultimate use position near the inner, tree end of the platform  1 . When the platform  1  is in the use position, the user merely turns around and sits on the seat  10 . Stops  80  on the sides  81  of the extension  76  are used to prevent rotation of the extension beyond positions perpendicular to the remainder of the frame  4 . 
     While the tree stand has been described as including a pair of platforms  1  and  2 , in fact, each platform constitutes a tree stand. In the appended claims, the tree stand is defined as a single platform.