Patent Publication Number: US-2021186002-A1

Title: Hunting blind

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 62/950,696, filed Dec. 19, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to hunting equipment, and more particularly to a blind in which a person can be housed to hide the person from game. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Hunters commonly used enclosures referred to as blinds to hind themselves from game being hunted. Such blinds may be used for other purposes too. One type of blind comprises a frame and a fabric cover forming a tent-like enclosure. Blinds typically have zippered door openings, which can be noisy and undesirable for hunting. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a hunting blind comprises a housing adapted to define an interior sized and shaped to receive a person for hiding the person. The housing includes a selectively openable window or door including a closure that when open defines an opening. The closure comprises first and second closure strips having respective lengths and corresponding mating structure. The mating structure is arranged to mate the first closure strip with the second closure strip to close the opening. The mating structure of the first closure strip comprises a first rib having a longitudinal axis extending lengthwise of the first closure strip. The mating structure of the second closure strip comprises a first channel having a longitudinal axis extending lengthwise of the second closure strip, the first rib being receivable in the first channel to mate the first and second closure strips to close the closure. The closure includes a slider on the first and second closure strips. The slider is movable along the first and second closure strips in a first direction to mate the first and second closure strips by forcing the first rib into the first channel. The slider is movable along the first and second closure strips in a second direction opposite the first direction to separate the first rib from the first channel to open the closure to define the opening. 
     Other objects and features of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a left perspective of a hunting blind of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a right perspective of the hunting blind; 
         FIG. 3  is a front elevation of the hunting blind; 
         FIG. 4A  is a rear perspective of the hunting blind having a door thereof shown in a closed configuration; 
         FIG. 4B  is a view similar to  FIG. 4A  but showing the door in an open configuration; 
         FIG. 4C  is a perspective of an interior of the blind showing a rear side of a front of the blind; 
         FIG. 5  is a fragmentary perspective of the hunting blind showing part of a rear door closure of the blind in an open configuration; 
         FIG. 6  is a section of the rear door closure in the closed configuration; 
         FIG. 7  is a section of a closure strip of the rear door closure; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective of a portion of the closure strip; 
         FIG. 9  is a top perspective of a slider of the door closure and closure strips received therein separated from a remainder of the blind; 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective of the slider and door closure strips; 
         FIG. 11  is a bottom perspective of the slider; 
         FIG. 12  is a top perspective of the slider; 
         FIG. 13  is a top view of the slider; 
         FIG. 14  is a bottom view of the slider; 
         FIG. 15  is a right side view of the slider; and 
         FIG. 16  is a left side view of the slider. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference numbers indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A hunting blind of the present disclosure is generally indicated by  10 . The hunting blind (broadly, “enclosure”) includes a frame  12  and a housing  14  supported by the frame. The housing  14  defines an interior in which a person or persons sit or stand to hide the person for hunting, photographing wildlife, or other purposes (e.g., shelter, sleeping). It will be appreciated that aspects of the present disclosure can be incorporated in other types of enclosures. 
     The frame  12  includes a plurality of supports  12 A and connectors  12 B (e.g., “hubs”) configured to support the housing  14  to define the interior. In the illustrated embodiment, the hunting blind  10  is designed to be portable. The frame  12  can be arranged in a compact stowed (e.g., collapsed) configuration and in an operational or deployed configuration to support the housing  14  to form the interior. In other embodiments, the frame can be less portable and/or non-collapsible. 
     The housing  14  includes a roof  16  and a plurality of side walls  20 ,  22 ,  24 . In the illustrated embodiment, the housing  14  includes a front side wall  20 , a left side wall  22 , and a right side wall  24 . The side walls  20 ,  22 ,  24  are arranged to provide the blind  10  with a generally triangular shape as viewed from above. Other shapes and/or other numbers of side walls can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The housing  14  comprises a main body formed of fabric. The main body can comprise one or more pieces of fabric secured (e.g., sewn, adhered, fused, welded, etc.) together to form the main body. Other materials can be used together with or instead of the fabric without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the roof  16  and plurality of side walls  20 ,  22 ,  24  of the main body are formed of water-impermeable fabric, water-repellant fabric, and/or gas-impermeable fabric having a camouflage pattern. It will be appreciated that gas-impermeable fabric would better maintain scent of a person inside the blind to avoid spooking animals near or downwind of the blind. 
     The housing  14  includes a plurality of windows and a door. Each of the side walls  20 ,  22 ,  24  includes a similar window. The windows can be opened and closed as desired to provide an improved view and/or permit firing of a weapon out of the blind, and the door permits ingress and egress. The windows comprise respective upper and lower window panels  30 A,  30 B and screen panels  32 A,  32 B all of which can be selectively opened and closed. The window panels  30 A,  30 B can be formed of fabric of the same type as the remainder of the housing  14 . The screen panels  32 A,  32 B can be formed of material that permits greater visibility through the screen panels. The window panels  30 A,  30 B extend laterally across the window openings, overlap when closed, and can be opened by moving the upper panels  30 A upward and the lower panels  30 B downward to open the window opening therebetween, as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . The window screen panels  32 A,  32 B are shown in a closed configuration in which upper panels overlap lower panels for closing the window opening with the screen panels. The window screen panels  32 A,  32 B can be opened in a similar fashion as the window panels  30 A,  30 B to provide unobstructed view or shooting out of the window openings. It will be appreciated that windows of the blind can include closures such as discussed below with respect to the door without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the door is located at the rear of the blind  10 . The door comprises portions of the left and right side walls  22 ,  24  (forming respective left and right door panels) and the meeting of the left and right side walls at a rear upstanding edge of the blind. In the illustrated embodiment, the blind  10  is taller at the rear corner of the blind (generally vertical or upstanding rear edge of the blind) than at the front right and left corners of the blind (generally vertical or upstanding front left and right edges of the blind). The door comprises a door closure  40  extending along the rear upstanding edge of the blind  10 . The closure  40  includes first and second closure strips  42 , and a slider  44  configured to join and separate the closure strips depending on whether the slider is moved upward or downward. The first closure strip  42  extends along an edge of the right door panel  24  and the second closure strip  42  extends along an edge of the left door panel  22 . 
     The closure  40  is shown in closer detail in  FIGS. 5-10 . The closure strips  42  have respective front (exterior) and rear (interior) faces. In  FIG. 5 , the front faces of the strips  42  face out of the page, and the rear faces face into the page. In  FIG. 9 , the front faces of the strips  42  face downward, and the rear faces face upward. On the other hand, in  FIG. 10 , the front faces of the strips  42  face upward, and the rear faces face downward. 
     The closure strips  42  can be formed to have the same construction as each other and mounted on the housing in opposite orientations such that the front face of one strip has the same construction of the rear face of the other strip. The closure strips  42  have lengths extending along the height of the blind. The closure strips  42  have thicknesses measured in a forward-to-rearward direction between surfaces of the front and rear faces. Desirably, the closure strips  42  are made of plastic (e.g., extruded plastic) or another suitable material (or combination of materials). In one embodiment (not shown), the connecting strip  50  is made of fabric and the mating strip  52  is made of plastic. Other configurations can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Each closure strip  42  includes a connecting portion  50  and a mating portion  52 . The connecting portion  50  is configured to be connected to the respective left or right door panel  22 ,  24 . In the illustrated embodiment, the fabric of the left and right door panels  22 ,  24  is folded over and sewn by stitching  54  to the respective connecting portions  50 . The connecting portions  50  can be connected to the panels  22 ,  24  in other ways (e.g., adhering, fusing, welding, fastening, etc.) without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The mating portions  52  include mating structure configured to mate to form a closure connection to close the door. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating portions  52  are mirror images of each other. When the mating portions  52  are mated, one of the mating portions overlaps the other mating portion (in a front-to-rear direction), and the connecting portions  50  extend laterally in opposite left and right directions away from the mated mating portions. Each mating portion  52  comprises a web  52 A extending from the connecting portion  50  and two ribs  52 B extending from the web. The web  52 A includes a first segment extending transversely (forward/rearward) from the connecting strip  50  and a second segment offset from the connecting strip and extending from the first segment generally codirectionally (laterally) with the connecting strip. The arrangement is such that the mating portion  52  of a closure strip  42  is relatively thick (forward-to-rearward dimension) compared to the connecting portion  50 . 
     The ribs  52 B and web  52 A bound channels  52 C. Flanges  52 D (broadly, “keepers” or “retainers”) extend transversely with respect to the ribs  52 B into the channels  52 C ( FIG. 7 ). The ribs  52 B and flanges  52 D in section define hooks configured for mating with hooks of the other mating strip  52  to maintain the closure connection. The ribs  52 B and channels  52 C have respective longitudinal axes extending lengthwise of the closure strips  42 . The arrangement is such that the ribs  52 B of each mating strip  52  are receivable in the channels  52 C of the other mating strip, and the flanges  52 D of the opposing mating strips engage each other in opposing retaining relationship to retain the ribs in the channels. The channels  52 C are sized to make a generally tight conformance fit with the mated ribs  52 B and flanges  52 D. Desirably, but not necessarily, the webs  52 A, ribs  52 B, channels  52 C, and/or flanges  52 D are generally continuous along the length of the mating strips  52  such that when the mating strips are mated, the closure connection is continuous along its length and substantially water and/or gas impervious. Desirably, the ribs  52 B and channels  52 C are at least longer than the height of the slider (e.g., at least 1 inch long). 
     The slider  44  has a top end (facing upward in  FIG. 5 , out of the page in  FIG. 9 , and to the right in  FIG. 15 ), a bottom end (facing downward in  FIG. 5 , out of the page in  FIG. 10 , and to the left in  FIG. 15 ), opposite left and right sides (facing left and right, respectively, in  FIGS. 5 and 10 ), a front face (facing outward in  FIG. 5  and upward in  FIG. 10 ), and a rear face (facing inward in  FIG. 5  and downward in  FIG. 10 ). The slider  44  includes an upper mouth  60  at the top end of the slider, and two lower mouths  62 , at the bottom end of the slider. The mouths  60 ,  62  define openings  60 A,  62 A in the respective top and bottom ends of the slider  44  out of which the closure strips  42  extend. The slider  44  includes side openings  64  out of which the connecting portions  50  of the closure strips  42  extend from the slider. The left and right side openings  64  extend from the top opening  60 A to respective ones of the bottom openings  62 A. The mating portions  52  of the closure strips  42  are received in throats  70  ( FIG. 13 ) of the slider extending upward from the bottom mouths  62 . The throats  70  converge inside the slider  44  leading to the upper mouth  60  for the closure strips  42  to extend out of the upper mouth together. The slider  44  includes fences  74  extending from the top opening  60 A to respective ones of the bottom openings  62 A. The fences  74  cause the side openings  64  to be narrower (forward-rearward dimension) than the throats  70 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , a first fence  74  extends forward, and the other fence  74  extends rearward, such that the intersection of the left side opening  64  with the top opening  60 A is rearward with respect to the intersection of the right side opening  64  with the top opening. The mating portions  52  define tracks captured in the throats  70  of the slider  44 . The arrangement is such that the mating portions  52  of the closure strands  42  are captured in the throats  70 , with the fences  74  obstructing the mating portions from exiting laterally out of the left and right side openings  64 . It will be appreciated that the directions referred to herein (e.g., top, bottom, left, right, front, rear, etc.) are for ease of reference in the description, and other arrangements can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The slider  44  is movable in a first closing direction (e.g., downward) to close the closure and in a second opening direction (e.g., upward) opposite the closing direction to open the closure. As the slider  44  moves in the closing direction, the slider slides over the mating portions  52  of the closure strips  42 , and the mating portions are forced together by the top mouth  60  such that the mating portions are mated. The slider  44  includes a separator  80  (e.g., wedge) below the top mouth  60  that separates the throats  70  below the top mouth. As the slider  44  slides in the opening direction, the separator  80  separates (e.g., wedges apart) the mating strips  52 . During upward and downward movement of the slider  44 , the fences  74  maintain the mating portions  52  in the throats  70  of the slider to prevent the closure strips  42  from inadvertently exiting the slider laterally. 
     The slider  44  includes pull connectors  90  and corresponding pulls  48  (e.g., fabric, metal, or rope tab and/or loop) pivotably connected to the slider for grasping by a user to pull the slider. The pull connectors  90  are provided on the front (outside) and rear (inside) faces of the slider. 
     It will be appreciated that other embodiments of closure strips can be used without departing from the present disclosure. A mating portion of a closure strip can include at least one of a rib, flange, and/or channel. Mating portions having various types of mating ribs and channels and/or retainers and keepers can be used. Desirably, but not necessarily, when the mating portions are mated, the formed closure connection is continuous and optionally substantially water and/or gas impervious. The closures of the present disclosure are believed to be quieter than toothed zipper closures and thus preferable for hunting or wildlife photography contexts in which animals can be spooked by noise. 
     Slide closures such as disclosed herein can be used to close openings other than door openings without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, such closures can be provided along one or more peripheral edges of a window panel for closing a window opening with a window panel. Moreover, other types of door panels can have similar types of closures. The closure disclosed herein can be used for closing various types of openings (e.g., door openings, window openings). It will be understood the door disclosed herein can function as a window and can be referred to as a window or a door. 
     It will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims. 
     As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.