GAFF COVER

Abstract

The gaff cover provided herein may include a cover portion and a locking portion. The cover portion may be configured to substantially cover a spike of a gaff. The cover portion may include a plurality of hinge attachments, and the locking portion may include a plurality of hinges. The plurality of hinges may be coupled to the plurality of hinge attachments, such that the locking portion may hingedly rotate about the cover portion. When in a locked position, the locking portion may substantially cover a base member configured to connect the gaff to a climber. When in an unlocked position, the locking portion may be removable from the gaff.

Claims

1. A gaff cover comprising: a cover portion configured to substantially cover a spike of a gaff, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of hinge attachments; and a locking portion configured to hingedly rotate about the cover portion via a plurality of hinges coupled to the plurality of hinge attachments; wherein when in a locked position, the locking portion substantially covers a base member configured to connect the gaff to a climber; and wherein when in an unlocked position, the locking portion is removable from the gaff.

2. The gaff cover of claim 1, wherein an interior of the cover portion comprises a receiving portion configured to receive the spike of the gaff.

3. The gaff cover of claim 2, wherein the interior of the cover portion comprises a magnet configured to magnetically attach to the spike.

4. The gaff cover of claim 1, wherein the locking portion comprises a plurality of slots, wherein each of the plurality of slots is configured to receive a magnet.

5. The gaff cover of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of magnets are configured to magnetically attach to the base member.

6. The gaff cover of claim 1, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of stop portions, and wherein when the locking portion is in an open-most position, a portion of the locking portion abuts the plurality of stop portions.

7. The gaff cover of claim 1, wherein a length of the locking portion is configured to fit a length of the base member, and wherein a length of the cover portion is configured to fit a length of the spike.

8. The gaff cover of claim 1, wherein when in the locked position, the gaff cover substantially covers the gaff.

9. A gaff cover comprising: a cover portion configured to substantially cover a spike of a gaff, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of hinge attachments; and a locking portion configured to hingedly rotate about the cover portion via a plurality of hinges coupled to the plurality of hinge attachments.

10. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein when in a locked position, the locking portion substantially covers a base member configured to connect the gaff to a climber.

11. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein when in an unlocked position, the locking portion is removable from the gaff.

12. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein an interior of the cover portion comprises a receiving portion configured to receive the spike of the gaff, and wherein a magnet configured to magnetically attach to the spike is positioned within the receiving portion.

13. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein the locking portion comprises a plurality of slots, wherein each of the plurality of slots is configured to receive a magnet, and wherein each of the plurality of magnets are configured to magnetically attach to the base member.

14. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of stop portions, and wherein when the locking portion is in an open-most position, the locking portion abuts the plurality of stop portions.

15. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein a length of the locking portion is configured to fit a length of the base member, and wherein a length of the cover portion is configured to fit a length of the spike.

16. The gaff cover of claim 9, wherein when in the locked position, the gaff cover substantially covers the gaff.

17. A gaff cover comprising: a cover portion configured to cover a spike of a gaff, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of hinge attachments; and a locking portion configured to hingedly rotate about the cover portion via a plurality of hinges coupled to the plurality of hinge attachments; wherein when in an unlocked position, the cover portion covers the spike of the gaff and the locking portion is hingedly rotated about the cover portion such that the locking portion does not cover a base member of the gaff; and wherein when in a locked position, the cover portion covers the spike of the gaff and the locking portion is hingedly rotated about the cover portion such that the locking portion covers the base member of the gaff.

18. The gaff cover of claim 17, wherein an interior of the cover portion comprises a receiving portion configured to receive the spike of the gaff.

19. The gaff cover of claim 17, wherein a length of the locking portion is configured to fit a length of the base member of the gaff, and wherein a length of the cover portion is configured to fit a length of the spike.

20. The gaff cover of claim 17, wherein when in the locked position, the gaff cover substantially covers the gaff.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art climber;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a first perspective view of a gaff cover;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a second perspective view of the gaff cover of FIG. 2;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a rear view of a cover portion of the gaff cover of FIG. 2;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a third perspective view of the gaff cover of FIG. 2;

[0013] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a locking portion according to a first embodiment;

[0014] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a locking portion according to a second embodiment; and

[0015] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cover portion according to a third embodiment.

[0016] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, a specific embodiment thereof is shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiment disclosed, but to the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristics of the present invention, proportional relationships of the elements have not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures.

[0018] Turning first to FIG. 2, a gaff cover 25 may cover a gaff (such as the gaff 10 in FIG. 1) on a climber (such as the climber 1 of FIG. 1). The gaff cover 25 may include a cover portion 30 and a locking portion 35. The cover portion 30 may cover a spike of the gaff (such as the spike 15 of FIG. 1), and the locking portion 35 may cover a base member which connects the gaff to the climber (such as the base member 20 of FIG. 1).

[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the cover portion 30 of the gaff cover 25 may be hingedly connected to the locking portion 35. The cover portion 30 may include hinge attachments 40 which may receive hinges 45 attached to the locking portion 35. The hinge attachments 40 may be shaped such that the hinges 45 fit within the hinge attachments 40. As illustrated, the hinges 45 may be circular, and the hinge attachments 40 may be shaped such that the hinges 45 fit inside the hinge attachments 40. The hinges 45 may be rotatable within the hinge attachments 40 such that the locking portion 35 may hingedly rotate about the cover portion 30.

[0020] The locking portion 35 may be prevented from over-rotating via a plurality of stop portions 50 attached to or integrally formed with the cover portion 30. When the locking portion 35 is in an open-most position (as illustrated in FIG. 3), back ends of extension members 55 of the locking portion may abut the stop portions 50. The stop portions 50 may aid in preventing the locking portion 35 from over-extending, which may cause the hinges 45 to detach from the hinge attachments 40. In addition, the stop portions 50 may double as support members, so that the locking portion 35 may serve as a push lever whereby the user can quickly and easily remove the gaff cover 25.

[0021] To begin placing the gaff cover 25 over a gaff (such as the gaff 10 of FIG. 1), the spike of the gaff (such as spike 15 of FIG. 1) may be inserted into a receiving end 60 of the cover portion 30. The receiving end 60 may include a magnet 65, which may magnetize and attach to the spike, which as stated above, may be metal and may be magnetic. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the receiving end 60 of the cover portion 30 may be shaped to conform to the size and shape of the spike of the gaff. The receiving end 60 may be formed to fit various different sizes and shapes of spikes.

[0022] Turning now to FIG. 5, the locking portion 35 may hingedly rotate in order to be placed over the base member of the gaff (such as base member 20 of FIG. 1). Such hinged rotation may cause the gaff cover 25 to adjust from an unlocked position (as illustrated in FIG. 3) to a locked position (as illustrated in FIG. 5). When the gaff cover 25 is in a locked position and placed on the gaff, the gaff cover 25 may substantially cover the gaff with the cover portion 30 substantially covering the spike of the gaff and the locking portion substantially covering the base member of the gaff.

[0023] An interior 70 of the locking portion 35 may include slots 75 where magnets 80 may be placed. The magnets 80 may aid in holding the locking portion 35 on the base member of the gaff. When in a locked position and placed over the base member of the gaff, the magnets 80 may magnetically attach or connect to the base member of the gaff. The slots 75 may be positioned in a u-shape and may be positioned on various sides or faces of the gaff 10, which may aid in creating a strong magnetic connection. The slots 75 and magnets 80 may be any suitable size or shape.

[0024] When the gaff cover 25 is in the unlocked position, the locking portion 35 may release from the base member of the gaff (such as base member 20 of FIG. 1). When unlocked, a user may remove the gaff cover 25 from the gaff. In one embodiment, as stated above, a user may push on the locking portion 35 in order to release the cover portion 30 from the spike of the gaff. The gaff cover 25 may be installed onto the gaff when in an unlocked position or locked position. If in an unlocked position, a user may slide the spike into the cover portion 30 and snap the locking portion 35 to lock the locking portion 35 onto the base member of the gaff. If in a locked position, a user may slide the spike into the cover portion 30, and the locking portion 35 may slide over and attach to the base member of the gaff. These variable positions may allow the gaff cover 25 to substantially attach to the gaff 10 when the locking portion 35 is in the locked position and to easily detach from the gaff when the locking portion 35 is in the unlocked position. These variable positions may allow the gaff cover 25 to provide sufficient coverage of the spike 15 when the gaff cover 25 is in a locked position or unlocked position while attached to the spike 15.

[0025] When the gaff cover 25 is removed from the gaff 10 prior or during use, a user may attach the cover portions 30 and the locking portions 35 of the gaff cover 25 to one another via the magnets 80 on the interiors 70 of each of the cover portions 30 and locking portions 35. A plurality of gaff covers 25 may be attached via the magnets 80 when multiple climbers 1 are being used. In one embodiment, the magnets 80 may be strong enough to attach the gaff covers 25 to one another even when a bag (such as a ditty or bolt bag) is placed between the gaff covers 25. As such, the gaff covers 25 may be held in place on the bag (e.g., for storage purposes) when not in use on the gaffs.

[0026] When the gaff cover 25 is removed from the gaff 10 prior or during use, the gaff cover 25 may be placed at the bottom of the tree or pole to be climbed. In one embodiment, the gaff cover 25 may include a reflective component (not illustrated). The reflective component may allow a user to shine a flashlight or headlamp such that the reflective component of the gaff cover 25 reflects. This may allow a user to find the gaff cover 25. As such, the gaff cover 25 may be easily distinguishable from its surroundings even in low light or no light field conditions when the lineman or arborist descends from a pole or tree and needs to securely cover the gaff 10 of the lineman's or arborist's climber 1.

[0027] Turning now to FIG. 6, a locking portion 85, which may operate in a substantially similar manner as the locking portion 35 described above, may have a length L1. The length L1 may be configured such that the base member of the gaff may fit within the locking portion 35. As illustrated in FIG. 7, a locking portion 90, which may operate in a substantially similar manner as the locking portion 35 described above, may have a length L2. According to one embodiment, the length L2 may be longer than the length L1 of FIG. 6. This extended length L2 may be sufficient to cover a base member that has an extended length. Different brands of gaffs may have different sizes and shapes of base members. As such, the varying lengths of locking portions may solve a need in the industry for gaff covers which may be configured to cover all different sizes and shapes of base members. Although two lengths (L1 and L2) are illustrated in FIGS. 6-7, it should be understood that there may be nearly limitless options for lengths of locking portions and that the lengths may be designed in a manner suitable for the size of the base members of the gaffs.

[0028] Turning now to FIG. 8, a cover portion 95, which may operate in a substantially similar manner as the cover portion 30 described above, may have a length L3. The cover portion 95 may include internal contours which may accommodate multiple lengths, widths, and styles of spikes 15. Different brands of gaffs 10 may have different sizes, widths, and styles of spikes 15. Various embodiments of the cover portion 95 may include varying lengths and internal contours, which may be configured to substantially cover different sizes and shapes of spikes 15. Although one length L3 and internal contours are illustrated in FIG. 8, it should be understood that there may be nearly limitless options for lengths and internal contours of cover portions and that the lengths and internal contours may be designed in a manner suitable for the size of the spikes 15 of the gaffs 10. The cover portions 30 and 95 may be configured to attach to any size or length of the locking portions, including the locking portions 85 and 90 as set forth above.

[0029] As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications, applications, variations, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. Many such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications of the present constructions will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. All such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present inventions are deemed to be covered by the inventions which are limited only by the claims which follow.