Abstract:
A new and improved all-terrain seat that is ideal for hunting, fishing, backpacking, camping, sports viewing, and the like. The all-terrain seat includes legs that are individually adjustable enabling the seat to be securely positioned on any surface, regardless of incline. The all-terrain seat is made from a lightweight material and is very portable as it may attach to a belt, easily fit inside a backpack, or be hand carried.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.: 60/624,400, entitled “ALL-TERRAIN SEAT” and filed Nov. 1, 2004. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to chairs and, more particularly, to an all-terrain, lightweight seat that is especially adapted for sloped or uneven surfaces.  
       BACKGROUND INFORMATION  
       [0003]     Many outdoor activities take place in terrain that is not flat. For example, hunters often have to trek through terrain that is uneven when pursuing elk or other prey. When set up to call an elk or other prey into gun or bow range, it is best to be concealed in a sitting or kneeling position. This often requires sitting or kneeling, for long periods of time, on ground that is rough and uneven.  
         [0004]     Many weapons, such as a bow that is used for bowhunting, require a clearance of six inches or more. Therefore, it is often not possible to sit on the ground. However, kneeling is also undesirable, as it becomes uncomfortable in a short period of time. Thus, a hunter often has to spend a considerable amount of time searching for a log or stump that provides enough clearance for their weapon.  
         [0005]     Chairs especially designed for outdoor activities such as hunting or fishing are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,183 discloses a hunting seat for inclined surfaces that includes a planar cushion with a transverse anchor pad. However, this seat is undesirable as it places the hunter close to the ground and does not provide enough clearance to enable a hunter to use a bow as described above.  
         [0006]     Many of these chairs even have adjustable-length legs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,163 discloses an adjustable leg, fishing chair with a leg assembly having spike members for penetrating into a sloped ground surface. The chair has U-shaped telescoping front and back leg members. However, this chair is designed for the slope of a riverbank and is not easily adaptable to very rough, mountainous terrain that may be too hard to penetrate with spikes. In addition, this chair also requires the front and back leg members to be adjusted as paired units.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,333 discloses a hillside chair with individually adjustable legs. However, this hillside chair is a folding chair that is too cumbersome for the hunter who needs a lightweight, easily packable chair for the long trek in pursuit of prey.  
         [0008]     Although there are many chairs designed for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. These chairs have shortcomings as described above. Therefore, a need exists for a lightweight, easily packable, all-terrain chair that provides sufficient clearance for the hunter and other users of the chair.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description when considered in connection with the Figures, where like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the Figures, and:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a seat in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a seat in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of a folded up seat in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a perspective view of a folded up seat in accordance with the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]     Embodiments of the present invention allow a user (e.g., hunter, sports spectator, camper, hiker, bird watcher, and the like) to use an all-terrain seat that is adjustable to fit any type of terrain. By individually adjusting the legs of the all-terrain seat, users are able to use the all-terrain seat on terrains of any incline. Moreover, the all-terrain seat may be used near obstructions such as trees, buildings, and the like, so that a hunter or other user can sit in very close proximity to the obstruction.  
         [0015]     The following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention makes reference to the accompanying Figures, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the following detailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.  
         [0016]     Turning now to the figures,  FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the all-terrain seat  100  of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment of all-terrain seat  100  includes a seat assembly  110  and leg members  120 ,  130 , and  140  that support seat assembly  110 . Each leg member comprises an upper and lower leg section. Leg member  120  comprises upper leg section  125  and lower leg section  127 . Leg member  130  comprises upper leg section  135  and lower leg section  137 . Leg member  140  comprises upper leg section  145  and lower leg section  147 .  
         [0017]     The upper and lower leg sections are removably attached such that each lower leg section  127 ,  137 ,  147  is configured to slide into and traverse the inside of the respective upper leg section  125 ,  135 ,  145 . In this manner, the upper and lower sections for each leg member are individually adjustable. That is, the user may adjust only one, two, or all three leg members, depending on the incline and other characteristics of the surface.  
         [0018]     Alternatively, in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, the lower leg sections could be configured to traverse the outside of the respective leg section.  
         [0019]     In addition, leg caps  150 ,  160 , and  170  may be attached to one end of lower leg sections  127 ,  137 ,  147  respectively, such that the leg caps make contact with the surface or terrain and may be used to further stabilize seat  100 . It will be appreciated that leg caps  150 ,  160 ,  170  distribute the load so that seat  100  may be used on any type of surface, including soft surfaces.  
         [0020]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, and with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the adjustable leg sections of each leg member have push buttons  128 , that allow the leg sections to easily attach, detach, and adjust for height. Thus, the legs may be individually adjusted so that the user can sit on any surface. At the touch of a push button, the legs may be detached and attached to seat assembly  110  for easy transport as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In accordance with another aspect of this embodiment, seat assembly  110  also comprises a quiet ball bearing raceway that enables the seat assembly to swivel 360 degrees. In accordance with another aspect of this embodiment, the legs may be adjusted to at least 20 inches in height, and lightweight seat (approximately 3.0 pounds)  100  is capable of supporting an individual weighing more than 350 pounds.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of another embodiment of an all-terrain seat  200  of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment of all-terrain seat  200  includes a seat assembly  210 , channels  222 ,  224 ,  226  and leg members  220 ,  230 , and  240  that support seat assembly  210 . Each leg member comprises an upper and lower leg section. Leg member  220  comprises upper leg section  225  and lower leg section  227 . Leg member  230  comprises upper leg section  235  and lower leg section  237 . Leg member  240  comprises upper leg section  245  and lower leg section  247 .  
         [0022]     Seat assembly  210  has channels  222 ,  224 ,  226  that are approximately parallel and extend through the seat assembly. In this manner, leg members  220 ,  230 ,  240  may be stored in the channels for easy transport as described below.  
         [0023]     The upper and lower leg sections are removably attached such that each lower leg section  227 ,  237 ,  247  is configured to slide into and traverse the inside of the respective upper leg section  225 ,  235 ,  245 . In this manner, the upper and lower sections for each leg member are individually adjustable. That is, the user may adjust only one, two, or all three leg members, depending on the incline and other characteristics of the surface. Alternatively, in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, the lower leg sections could be configured to traverse the outside of the respective leg section.  
         [0024]     In addition, leg caps  250 ,  260 , and  270  may be attached to one end of lower leg sections  227 ,  237 ,  247  respectively, such that the leg caps make contact with the surface or terrain and may be used to further stabilize seat  200 . It will be appreciated that leg caps  250 ,  260 ,  270  distribute the load so that seat  200  may be used on any type of surface, including soft surfaces.  
         [0025]     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, and with reference to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the adjustable leg sections of each leg member have push buttons  228 , that allow the leg sections to easily attach, detach, and adjust for height. Thus, the legs may be individually adjusted so that the user can sit on any surface. At the touch of a push button, the legs may be detached and slide into channels  222 ,  224 ,  226  on seat assembly  210  for easy transport. In accordance with another aspect of this embodiment, seat assembly  210  also comprises a quiet ball bearing raceway that enables the seat assembly to swivel 360 degrees. In accordance with another aspect of this embodiment, the legs may be adjusted from at least 16.5 inches to at least 23.5 inches in height, and seat  200  is capable of supporting an individual weighing more than 500 pounds. The seat is made from light weight, high impact strength plastic and thus the seat, in this embodiment, may weigh less than 5 pounds.  
         [0026]     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, and with reference to the accompanying figures, a “spike seat” model comprises a very lightweight adjustable leg seat that has individually adjustable legs that may extend up to 18 inches in height. The lower leg sections of this embodiment may optionally have spikes such that the seat can securely sit on various types of terrain. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, the seat weighs approximately three pounds due to the use of lightweight, high impact strength plastic.  
         [0027]     It will be appreciated that all-terrain seat  100 ,  200  has, inter alia, the following advantages: 
        individually adjustable legs—can be used on grass, in the woods, on the beach, and is designed for use on sloped or uneven surfaces.     lightweight—made from high impact strength plastic.     exceptionally portable—attaches to belt on waist, fit inside a backpack, or easily hand carried.     oversized leg caps—distributes the load so the seat can be used on all surfaces.        
 
         [0032]     Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, no element described herein is required for the practice of the invention unless expressly described as “essential” or “critical”.