Natural Scent Storage System

Abstract

A storage cabinet for disguising a hunter's gear with a natural, outdoor scent. The device is an upright locker with a hinged door and a plurality of hooks and shelves for storing hunting clothing and gear. A removable scent tray is provided under a lowermost shelf. The tray holds natural items, such as leaves, twigs, dirt and other outdoor odorous material that have been provided to cloak a user's garments in a natural scent for disguising the user's presence in the wild. The tray and its contents are easily removed and dumped once depleted of their natural scent. Storing hunting gear in the locker for prolonged periods allows the gear to soak up a natural scent from the items below. The hunter or outdoorsman then dons the naturally scented apparel to conceal any unnatural or noticeable odors, allowing the user to blend into the natural environment of a prey habitat.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 430,779 filed on Jan. 7, 2011, entitled “Natural Scent Storage System.”BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to the field of hunting and focuses on a means for removing human scent from articles of hunting gear and equipment that are used during the hunting of game animals. More specifically, the present invent aims to reduce the amount of human scent harbored in a hunter's clothing and gear by exposing and permeating the hunter's clothing and gear with scents from natural items such as dirt, leaves, branches, twigs, moss and bark.[0004]2. Description of the Prior Art[0005]Hunting is a very popular outdoor activity. Large game animals, in particular, provide a unique challenge to a hunter because these animals tend to have an exceptional sense of smell, enabling them to detect the scent of a human from great di...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0022]In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of human scent reducing devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new means of permeating hunting gear with natural scent wherein the same can be utilized as an inexpensive means for disguising unnatural or human scent associated with hunting gear and for providing a convenience and easily operated and replenished scent storage locker.

[0024]It is another object of the present invention to provide a means of reducing human scent in hunting gear that is more affordable and easier to use than other commercially available options, wherein the replenishable scent material may be gathered from the wild or from an outdoor location, requiring no further purchased material for operation.

[0025]It is another object of the present invention to provide a means of reducing human scent in hunting gear that does not require the hunter to engage in overly-involved hunting techniques to avoid scent detection by the hunted animal.

[0027]Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hunting gear storage locker with a means of storing natural items inside the locker that is easily removable, while removal of the natural items does not require the disruption of the other articles stored inside the locker.

Problems solved by technology

Large game animals, in particular, provide a unique challenge to a hunter because these animals tend to have an exceptional sense of smell, enabling them to detect the scent of a human from great distances.

However, this means of hunting is often uncomfortable and undesirable, as one must stay perched in a tree for extended periods of time waiting for an animal to wander within range.

Furthermore, many hunters enjoy the act of stalking or following their prey, which cannot be accomplished when confined to the heights of a tree stand.

The fickle nature of the changing direction of the wind makes staying successfully downwind a challenge and sometimes ineffective means of concealing scent.

Sprays can be expensive and inconvenient, as they require repeat application and a manual process for applying the scent.

Furthermore, some sprays can be dangerous to inhale, or may cause skin or eye irritation upon application.

However, natural materials, such as leaves, bark and small twigs, naturally decompose and break down as they dry out.

The grating covering the woodsy item storage compartment in the device lid will not prevent small quantities of natural debris from raining down through the grating and onto clothing and equipment that is stored inside the trunk.

Furthermore, the natural materials within the grated compartments require frequent changing, refreshing and replenishing because the scent associated with the natural materials will become exhausted over time.

Furthermore, removal of the natural materials is a complicated endeavor.

Neither method completely removes the remnants of the natural material from the bottom of the trunk, thus some small amount of old, scent-depleted debris will exist at the bottom of the Himes trunk.

The Van Zee device does not introduce natural scents into the hunting gear that it houses.

A common problem associated with scent absorbing materials is that they become saturated and must be either replaced or rejuvenated.

A limitation to the Lombardi device, shared by the Van Zee device, is that neither device introduces natural scents into the hunting gear housed within the device.

A common problem associated with scent absorbing materials, such as activated carbon, is that they become saturated and must be either replaced or rejuvenated.

Activated carbon has a limited absorption capacity before the carbon becomes saturated with human scent and must be refreshed and rejuvenated.

This is a time consuming and involved process as the hunter must disassemble the device, place the lining in the dryer, run the dryer for the recommended time and then reassemble the device before use.

Equipment capable of producing such oxidizing agents, while effective, is often costly.

An additional concern, besides the cost associated with the Elrod method, is that while ozone is a natural smell, it is not a common smell, and is typically associated with a lightning bolt strike.

Rather than having a concealing or luring effect, the generation of ozone may inadvertently alert the animal to the presence of humans.

Since the scents come from materials found at the hunting site, it is difficult for an animal to detect a human in the area, since the hunter's clothes and gear have been permeated with natural scents from the surrounding environment.

Images