Stand for all terrain vehicle

A hunting stand for an all terrain vehicle is characterized by a collapsible frame connected with the vehicle and including front and rear pairs of legs formed of hinged upper and lower sections pivotal between folded and extended positions. A locking sleeve is slidably connected with each leg for locking the hinges when the leg sections are in the extended position. A pair of braces are releasably connected between the front and rear legs on each side of the stand to stabilize the legs when they are in the extended position. A platform is connected with the top of the frame to define a support surface. When the leg sections are in the folded position, the platform is arranged generally vertically behind the seat of the vehicle. When the leg sections are in the extended position, the platform is arranged horizontally and is spaced above the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
When hunting in flatlands or in areas where timber has previously been 
cut-over, trees are not available for standard hunting stands. The present 
invention was developed to provide an extensible hunting stand which may 
be directly mounted on an all terrain vehicle. A hunter rides the vehicle 
to the desired hunting location, unfolds and erects the stand, and then 
climbs to the top of the stand which provides convenient, elevated hunting 
position. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
Hunting stands for all terrain vehicles are well-known in the patented 
prior art as evidenced by the U.S. patents to Tarner U.S. Pat. No. 
4,614,252, Rodgers, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,831 and Hale U.S. Pat. No. 
4,696,374. The Tarner and Rodgers patents, for example, disclose portable 
stands that are partially supported by the vehicle and which abut against 
a tree for further support. These devices are therefore unsuitable for use 
in flatlands or in areas where a forest has been harvested since no trees 
are available to support the stand. 
The hunting stand disclosed in the Hale patent is partially supported by 
the vehicle and partially supported by the ground. A major drawback of 
this stand is that its height is limited. Moreover, like the other prior 
stands, it is rather cumbersome and difficult to erect and strike. 
The present invention was developed in order to overcome these and other 
drawbacks of the prior devices by providing a hunting stand for an all 
terrain vehicle which is mounted on and supported directly by the vehicle. 
Owing to a unique hinge and hinge lock assembly, the device may be quickly 
erected and struck between folded and extended positions. Furthermore, the 
hinges and hinge locks enhance the overall stability of the stand, 
particularly when in the extended position. Finally, with its unique 
design, the stand is folded out of the way of the driver of the all 
terrain vehicle and provides a back rest for stability and comfort. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
stand for an all terrain vehicle including a collapsible frame mounted on 
the vehicle and a platform connected with the frame to define a support 
surface. The frame includes front and rear pairs of legs, each leg having 
upper and lower sections which are connected together by tapered hinges. 
Owing to the hinge connection, the sections of each leg are pivotal 
between a folded position where the sections are arranged generally 
horizontally at an acute angle relative to each other and an extended 
position where the sections are arranged end to end. A tapered locking 
sleeve is slidably mounted on each leg and is adapted to slide over the 
tapered hinge of the leg to lock the hinges and prevent movement of the 
leg sections when they are in the extended position. Braces are removably 
connected between the front and rear legs on either side of the stand to 
stabilize the legs of the stand when they are in the extended position. 
With the locking sleeves released and the leg sections in the folded 
position, the platform is arranged generally vertically behind the seat of 
the vehicle to define a seatback portion thereof. When the leg sections 
are unfolded and locked in their extended positions, the platform is 
arranged horizontally above the vehicle in spaced relation. 
According to a more specific object of the invention, each brace has one 
end pivotally connected with the lower section of a rear leg adjacent the 
hinge and the other end of the brace is removably connected with the lower 
section of a front leg adjacent the hinge. More particularly, the 
removably connected end of the brace comprises a hook portion which 
latches with a projection on the front leg lower section. By lifting the 
hook portion of the brace, the hook portion is released from the 
projection and simultaneously strikes the hinge locking sleeve to raise 
the sleeve from its locked position, thereby enabling the sections of the 
front leg to move to the folded position. 
The pivotally connected end of the brace is provided with a cam surface 
which abuts against the rear leg locking sleeve when it is in its locking 
position. When the brace is lowered, the cam surface pushes upwardly on 
the locking sleeve to raise the sleeve from its locked position enabling 
the sections of the rear leg to move to the folded position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the stand 2 of the present invention is mounted on 
an all terrain vehicle 4. The stand, which is often referred to as a 
hunting stand, is shown in its folded condition in FIG. 1, in a partially 
extended position in FIG. 2, and in its fully extended erect position in 
FIG. 3 wherein it provides an elevated support platform for a hunter to 
locate game and the like. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, the stand comprises a collapsible frame 6 formed 
of any rigid lightweight metal such as aluminum and having a pair of front 
legs 8, 10 and a pair of rear legs 12, 14. Each leg includes an upper 
section 8a, 10a, 12a, 14a and a lower section 8b, 10b, 12b, 14b, 
respectively. The sections of each leg are joined together by hinges 16 
shown more particularly in FIGS. 5 and 6. The hinged connection of the leg 
sections enables the legs to be pivoted between the folded position of 
FIG. 1 wherein the sections are generally horizontal and arranged at an 
acute angle, and the extended position of FIG. 3 wherein the sections are 
arranged end to end. 
Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the hinged connection of the sections 8a, 
8b of the front leg 8 will be described, it being understood that the 
sections of the remaining legs are connected in a similar manner. The 
hinge 16 comprises a pair of plates 18, 20 which are tapered outwardly 
from top to bottom as shown in FIG. 5. A lateral hinge pin 22 passes 
through an opening in the lower portion of the hinge plate 18, through 
aligned openings in the top of the leg lower section 8b, and through an 
aligned opening in the hinge plate 20, whereby the lower section 8b of the 
leg may pivot about the pin 22. Similarly, a second lateral hinge pin 24 
passes through aligned openings in the upper portion of the hinge plates 
18, 20 and in the bottom of the leg upper section 8a, whereby the upper 
section may pivot about the pin 24. 
A rigid metal tapered sleeve 26 is slidably mounted on each leg above the 
hinge thereof as shown in FIG. 5. When the sleeve is located away from the 
hinge, the leg sections are free to pivot about the hinge pins between 
their folded and extended positions. However, when the sleeve is moved 
downwardly to cover the hinge as shown in FIG. 4, the sleeve, whose taper 
conforms with the taper of the hinge, is wedged against the hinge to 
prevent the leg sections from pivoting about the hinge pins, thereby 
locking the hinge and the leg sections in the extended position. 
Referring once again to FIG. 4, the stand according to the invention also 
includes a pair of braces 28, 30 arranged between the front and rear legs 
on either side of the stand. More particularly, the rear end 28a of the 
brace 28 is pivotally connected with the lower section 12b of the left 
rear leg 12 by means of a pivot pin 32. The front end of the brace 28 
defines a hook portion 28b which latches about a lateral projection 34 
extending from the front left leg 8. In this manner, the brace 28 is 
releasably connected between the legs 8 and 12. The second brace 30 is 
connected between the front right leg 10 and the rear left leg 14 in the 
same manner as the brace 28. 
A unique feature of the braces is that when they are positioned 
horizontally to interconnect to front and rear legs on opposite sides of 
the stand, they are arranged just below the hinges of each leg. As noted 
above, when the stand is in its extended position shown in FIG. 4, the 
braces are hooked about the projections on the front legs and the sleeves 
slide down the legs either by gravity or by manual force to cover the 
hinges and lock the hinges and the leg sections in the extended position. 
When it is desired to strike the stand, an upward force applied to the 
hook end of each brace releases the hook from the corresponding projection 
and simultaneously engages the bottom of the sleeve on the associated leg 
to lift the sleeve above the hinge, thereby enabling the front leg 
sections to pivot about the hinge pins toward the folded position. The 
rear end 28a of the brace 28 and the rear end 30a of the brace 30 both 
contain cam surfaces 28c, 30c. After the hook ends of each brace have been 
released, downward movement of each brace causes the cam surfaces 28c, 30c 
to engage and lift the associated sleeve above the hinge of each rear leg 
to release the hinge and allow the rear leg sections to pivot toward the 
folded position. 
A further unique feature of the braces 28, 30 is that each contains a 
turnbuckle 36 for adjusting the length of each brace. Thus when the braces 
are connected between the respective front and rear legs, the turnbuckles 
can be adjusted to shorten the braces slightly to draw the legs together 
to tighten the stand, increasing its structural integrity. The turnbuckles 
also enable an adjustment of the distance between the front and rear legs 
where the stand is to be mounted on vehicles of different length. 
Mounting of the stand to the all terrain vehicle will be described with 
reference to FIG. 4. A pair of brackets 38 are fixed to the top rear 
portion of the vehicle. The rear leg sections 12b, 14b are rotatably 
connected with the brackets, respectively, such as by pivot pins 40. A 
second pair of brackets 42 is also fixed to the vehicle at the front 
thereof. The lower sections 8b, 10b of the legs 8, 10 are inserted in the 
brackets 42 and held in place by the pin 44. Preferably, only the front 
legs are removably connected with the vehicle, thereby enabling folding 
and erection of the stand. 
A platform 46 is connected with the upper ends of the leg upper sections 
using pivot pins 48 which enable the legs to pivot within sockets 50 
beneath the platform 46. Tension adjusting screws are 51 are connected 
with the sockets to enable the platform to be used with different sized 
frames. A telescoping swivel seat 52 may be releasably connected with the 
platform as shown in FIG. 7. Alternatively, a padded cushion 54 may be 
connected with the platform as shown in FIG. 8. 
The frame also includes cross bars 56 connected between the pair of front 
legs and between the pair of rear legs. In addition to strengthening the 
stand, the cross bars serve as steps whereby a hunter may climb up onto 
the platform. 
A further benefit obtained by the unique hunting stand according to the 
invention is that the platform defines a backrest for the driver of the 
vehicle when the stand is in the folded position as shown in FIG. 1. The 
stand is positioned completely out of the way of the driver in a compact 
folded configuration. Moreover, the folded frame defines a rack to which 
the hunter's catch can be secured for transport. 
Erecting the frame can easily be done in a matter of seconds. The leg upper 
sections are first unfolded about the hinge pins as shown in FIG. 2. Next, 
the front legs are connected with the front mounting brackets 42 and the 
stand is in its fully extended position. Finally, the braces 28, 30 are 
hooked to the projections on the front legs and the sleeves 26 are wedged 
onto the hinge 16. If necessary, the turnbuckles 36 are tightened to fully 
secure the frame. 
While in accordance with the provisions of the patent statute the preferred 
forms and embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will 
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be 
made without deviating from the inventive concepts set forth above.