Abstract:
A portable hunters armrest is useable with a wide variety of weaponry. The hunters armrest includes a base rod having a first end and an opposed second end with a strap coupled to the first end of the base rod. The strap is adapted to attach the hunters armrest to the hunter. At least one upper rod is adjustably attached to the second end of the base rod. Each upper rod has an armrest member at a distal end thereof. A plurality of upper rods may be provided usable with the base rod with each upper rod having a distinct armrest member thereon.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an arm rest, more particularly, the present invention relates to a portable arm rest worn by the user for steadying a pistol, rifle, bow or the like. 
     2. Background Information 
     Accuracy in shooting most hand held weapons is improved with the steadying of the weapon and/or the user&#39;s arm. A wide variety of supports have been developed to assist in this matter. Many of these supports are comprised of multi-legged structures which attach directly to the weapon, e.g. rifle tripods. These structures are often very cumbersome and can inappropriately limit or hinder the mobility of the user. Hunters, for example, will find it difficult to accommodate a separate large gun support. This can be particularly true where the hunter is perched in a tree stand or the like. -These prior art supports are often limited to a single type of weapon, minimizing their usefulness to the avid sportsman. 
     It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art and to provide a portable hunters arm rest useable with a wide variety of weaponry. A further object of the present invention is to provide a hunters armrest which is easy to use and easy and economical to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above objects are achieved with a hunters arm rest according to the present invention. The hunters armrest includes a base rod having a first end and an opposed second end. A strap is coupled to the first end of the base and is adapted to attach the hunters armrest to the hunter. At least one upper rod is provided having an armrest member at one end thereof. Each upper rod is adapted to be adjustably attached to a second end of the base rod. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the strap will extend through the first end of the base rod and the upper rod and will be telescopically received within the second end of the base rod. The strap which extends from the first end of the base rod and around the hunter will pivotably support the base rod relative to the hunter. 
     One embodiment of the present invention includes two separate upper rods with each upper rod having a different armrest member. A first upper rod may have an armrest member formed as a substantially spherical ball. The second upper rod may include an armrest member which bends away from the longitudinal axis of the base rod and includes a concave member. 
     These and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified in the description of the preferred embodiment taken together with the attached figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements as well. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 a  is a perspective view of a base rod and one upper rod forming a hunters armrest according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 1 b  is an end view of the base rod illustrated in FIG. 1 a;    
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base rod illustrated in FIG. 1 a  and  1   b  and a second upper rod forming a hunters armrest according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hunters armrest illustrated in FIG. 1 a  in operation; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hunters armrest illustrated in FIG. 2 in operation in a front support position; and 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the hunters armrest illustrated in FIG. 2 in operation in a second support position. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A hunters armrest  10  according to the present invention is illustrated in the figures. As will be evidenced hereinafter, the hunters armrest  10  of the present invention is particularly useful for steadying a hunter&#39;s aim. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to use by hunters or even to use by sportsmen. The hunters armrest  10  of the present invention can be used generally as a hand or arm support worn by the user for use in remote locations. Other applications may arise such as steadying photographic or other optical equipment. 
     The hunters armrest  10  of the present invention includes a base rod  12  with a rubber cap  14  at a first end thereof. The base rod  12  may be made out of a steel or other appropriate material giving appropriate strength to the hunters armrest  10 . The rubber cap  14  provides an ergonomic support for resting the hunters armrest  10  against the body of the user. The cap  14  additionally provides a broadened base for the base rod  12  to distribute the forces over a wider area against the user as will become obvious in the description of use of the hunters armrest  10 . A strap  16  extends through the base rod  12  and cap  14 . The strap  16  encircles the user to attach the hunters armrest  10  to the user, preferably around the waist of the user. The strap  16  may be formed out of any conventional material sufficient for attachment to the user, such as leather. 
     The base rod  12  is hollow as best shown in FIG. 1 b . A first upper rod  18  is telescopingly received in the hollow interior  20  of the base rod  12  at the second end of the base rod  12  spaced from the cap  14 . The first upper rod  18  includes a substantially spherical armrest member  22  at the distal end thereof. The base rod  12  includes an enlarged mounting portion  24  at the second end thereof to receive a set screw  26  therethrough. The set screw  26  communicates with the hollow interior  20  of the base rod  12  such that the set screw  26  bears against the first upper rod  18  when the first upper rod  18  is received therein to lock a first upper rod  18  in an appropriate position relative to the base rod  12 . 
     In operation, the hunters armrest  10  illustrated in FIG. 1 a , is attached to the user by the strap  16  extending around the user&#39;s waist as shown in FIG.  3 . The strap  16  may be tied around the user&#39;s waist or may include belt buckle type coupling or any other conventional attaching mechanism for attaching the strap  16  around the waist of the user. The first upper rod  18  is telescopingly received in the base rod  12  and secured in the appropriate position relative to the base rod  12  by tightening of the set screw  26 . The spherical ball  22  provides a steady, grippable member for the hunter. As shown in FIG. 3, a hunter using a rifle can extend his arm and grip the spherical armrest member  22 . This forms a very stabile triangular support configuration consisting of the user&#39;s extended arm, the user&#39;s torso and the hunters armrest  10  as shown in FIG.  3 . The user&#39;s weapon can be steadied on the upper portion of the user&#39;s hand and prevented from lateral movement relative to the hunters armrest  10  by the thumb and forefinger of the user. With the strap  16  encircling the user&#39;s waist, the strap  16  essentially will pivotably attach the base rod  12  to the user so that the user can move his extended arm slightly into a comfortable shooting position. 
     The first upper rod  18  may be formed from either steel or other appropriate material which has the required strength. The spherical armrest member  22  may be formed out of wood to form a comfortable easily gripped member which does not act as a heat sink for the hunter&#39;s hand. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the hunters armrest  10  with a second upper rod  28  for use with the base rod  12  of the present invention. The second upper rod  28  is slidably received within the hollow interior  20  of the base rod  12  in the same manner of the first upper rod  18  shown in FIG. 1 a . The second upper rod  28  includes a different shaped armrest member  32  at the distal end thereof. The armrest member  32  extends away from the longitudinal axis of the base rod and includes a concave portion as shown in FIG.  2 . As shown in FIG. 2 an upper end of the second upper rod  28 , which is extending to the armrest member  32 , will bend away from the longitudinal axis of the base member  12 . This bending of the upper portion of the second upper rod  28  will help center the load on the hunters armrest  10  as better illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second upper rod  28  provides a distinct type of armrest member  32  which has the concave portion for receiving the user&#39;s arms or hands. In operation, the hunters armrest  10  illustrated in FIG. 2 operates the same as the hunters armrest illustrated in FIGS. 1 a  and  2 . Specifically, the second upper rod  28  is telescopingly received within the base rod  12  at the appropriate position and secured by the tightening of set screw  26 . The hunters armrest  10  will form a triangular support with the user&#39;s torso and the extended arm of the user. As shown in FIG. 4 the hunters armrest  10  may be used to support the upper arm of the user such as in shooting a bow. Alternatively, the wrist and hands of the user may be supported by the hunters armrest  10  for shooting a pistol as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     It is intended that the hunters armrest  10  of the present invention be supplied with at least the first upper rod  18  and the second upper rod  28  together with the base rod  12  and strap  16 . With this combination, the sportsman obtains a very versatile armrest useable with a variety of weaponry. It should be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, it is anticipated that various different shaped armrest members may be provided. It is further anticipated that the armrest member may be designed to be attached directly to a specific weapon. The scope of the present invention is defined in the appended claims together with equivalents thereto.