BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tree stand frame that attaches to a rotational adjustment mechanism itself attached to a tree. The rotational adjustment mechanism allows roll leveling of the tree stand while a pitch adjustment subsystem located on the frame and interacting with the rotational adjustment mechanism also allows pitch adjustment. As such, the frame allows the tree stand to be leveled by a user on two different axis, both left and right and back and forth with respect to the tree.

2. Background of the Prior Art

Tree stands are very useful in the sport of hunting. Being located up in a tree, a tree stand elevates a hunter, allowing him or her to see over intervening brush and vegetation that might otherwise block the hunter's view of approaching game. This gives the hunter a better vantage point from which to prosecute the hunt.

As the name strongly implies and excluding box stands and tripod stands, tree stands are located up in and attached to a tree. The tree is selected as is the desired height within the tree to place the stand and the hunter installs the stand. While most hunters are quite adept at installing various tree stands, modern tree stand installation is not without its drawbacks. Chief among the drawbacks is the fact that very few trees grow perfectly straight. As such, in order to be both safe and comfortable on the tree stand, the hunter must level the tree stand prior to use. This can get quite problematic as the hunter may be twenty to thirty feet or more up in the tree while attempting to adjust the securement cables or metal brackets that secure the stand to the tree, all while making sure the hunter does not fall.

To address this problem, various leveling systems have been proposed to help a hunter level the tree stand. Such devices, which come in various architectures and work with varying degrees of efficiency, suffer from drawbacks of their own. Many prior art leveling systems are complex in both design and construction so as to make such devices expensive to manufacture, obtain, and maintain. Some devices are unusually difficult to use, especially when up in a tree. Still others require tools, sometimes specialized tools, adding to the load the hunter must carry during the hunt.

What is needed is a device that allows a hunter to level a tree stand that overcomes the above stated shortcomings found in the art. Specifically, such a device must allow a hunter, working high up in a tree, to be able easily adjust the tree stand in short order without the need for specialized tools. Such a device must be relatively simple in design and construction so that it is relatively inexpensive to produce as well as to maintain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The adjustable tree stand of the present invention continues to address issues with leveling a tree stand by a hunter that I first addressed in my U.S. Pat. No. 8,708,592, issued on Apr. 29, 2014, and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The adjustable tree stand of the present invention is a simple device that allows a single hunter to install and adjust the tree stand very quickly and without tools. Once the tree stand is adjusted as desired, the configuration is locked in for a stable platform from which to work off of. The adjustable tree stand is of very simple design, being produced using stand manufacturing techniques, so as to make the device relatively inexpensive and economically attractive to potential consumers for this type of device.

The adjustable tree stand of the present invention is comprised of a frame that has a first end and a second end. The frame also has a first extension, the first extension having a downwardly directed connector pin. A housing has a rotation wheel rotatably disposed therein. The rotation wheel has a second extension that protrudes outwardly from a central opening in the housing such that the second extension rotates in lock-step with rotation of the rotation wheel.

The second extension has an upwardly facing connector opening. The rotation wheel has an outer circumference. A threaded bolt passes through frame, this bolt being a part of the pitch adjustment subsystem. The housing is secured to a trunk of a tree and the frame is positioned so that the first extension is seated atop the second extension and the connector pin is received within the connector opening thereby connecting the frame to the housing. Rotation of the rotation wheel causes rotation of the second extension, which causes rotation of the first extension that is connected to the second extension via the connector pin-connector opening joinder, thereby causing rotation of the frame. The frame pivots with respect to the housing at the connector pin-connector opening junction so that rotation of the threaded bolt abuts against a bottom of the housing causing such pivot. A locking mechanism is attached to the housing such that the locking mechanism articulates between an unlocked position wherein the rotation wheel is free to rotate within the housing and a locked position wherein the rotation wheel is prevented from rotating within the housing. This locking mechanism is comprised of at least one pin opening disposed on the outer circumference of the rotation wheel and a lock pin that passes through the housing such that when the lock pin is received within the pin opening on the rotation wheel, the rotation wheel is prevented from rotating within the housing. The lock pin is spring-loaded to allow it to be lifted out of its pin opening, rotate the rotation wheel, and then have the spring bias the lock pin back into the pin opening the lock pin is then aligned with. A second locking mechanism is attached to the frame such that this locking mechanism articulates between an unlocked position wherein the connector pin is removable from the connector opening and a locked position wherein the connector pin cannot be removed from the connector opening. The housing has a series of teeth extending from a back thereof, the teeth designed to dig into the tree when the housing is secured to the trunk. A first platform may be attached to the first end of the frame while a second platform may be attached to the second end of the frame. The first platform is a seat and the second platform is a standing pad.

