Mechanical guns and projectors – Spring – Bow
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-15
2001-06-12
Ricci, John A. (Department: 3712)
Mechanical guns and projectors
Spring
Bow
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244259
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of the invention pertains to archery bows. The invention relates more particularly to a mounting system for adjustably mounting a bow limb to a bow riser of an archery bow, wherein the bow limb may be adjustably pivoted and laterally restrained relative to the bow riser.
Archery involves a high degree of shooting precision and accuracy which is possible in part due to advanced bow configurations and designs. In particular, many modern bows utilize flexible bow limbs which are attached to opposite ends of a rigid bow handle, i.e. bow riser. This arrangement, together with the use of wheels or cams in a compound bow, provides an increase in the mechanical advantage of shooting an arrow. Moreover, adjustment of the attachment or pivot angle between the limbs and the bow riser has the additional benefit of varying the amount of force imparted to the arrow for a given pull distance on the bow string. Consequently, the relative bowstring tension and draw force required to pull the bowstring can be suitably adjusted to a preferential setting.
Perhaps the greatest problem with adjusting the attachment angle, however, is the tendency of the bow limb to twist sideways or misalign relative to the bow riser when the bowstring is pulled and/or released. This tendency can profoundly disrupt a shooters aim and accuracy. To address this problem, various devices and methods have been developed which enable adjustment of the attachment angles between the two bow limbs and the bow riser while restraining the bow limbs from experiencing lateral motion relative to the riser.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,970, a bow limb construction is shown using a single bolt to adjustably attach to a bow riser, and having a bushing with an elliptical bore to seat the bolt on the bow limb. However, in this arrangement the single bolt fastener operates alone to laterally restrain the limb relative to the riser. This configuration may be insufficient to provide the support required against lateral movement, especially when the bolt is sufficiently removed from the riser to produce a large attachment angle between the limb and the riser. Furthermore, because the bolt has a natural tendency under high axial pressures to orthogonally align itself with a longitudinal axis of the bow limb and thereby pivot relative to the riser, its rigidly fastened attachment to the riser may produce undesirable transverse stresses in the bolt.
Additionally, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,792, a compound archery bow is shown having a bow limb pivotally secured to a bow riser by means of a bolt fastener. A laterally opening pocket is provided on the riser to receive a nut which receives and secures the bolt fastener. Unlike the '970 patent, however, the '792 patent provides a projection 64 on the riser which engages a notch 62 on the limb to restrain lateral movement. However, the relatively thin and narrow projection may not be sufficient in providing the necessary restraint to prevent lateral movement. Moreover, and similar to the '970 patent, the bolt is again prevented from pivoting relative to the riser, which can be mechanically inefficient when adjusting the attachment angle between the bow limb and riser.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,779, an archery bow is shown provided with pivoting pocket members for attaching each limb to the bow handle. Each pocket has an upper recess for receiving and laterally supporting a limb, and pocket walls which extend away from the recess to straddle the sides of the handle. And in U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,320, a compound bow is shown having its bow limbs seated in a pocket formed in the riser itself in FIG. 23. In either case, the bow limb itself is seated in a pocketed area which supports the bow limb along its side edges. However, the wall structures providing the side restraining support in the '320 and '779 patents may not provide sufficient reinforcement to withstand large lateral loads. This can be seen in FIG. 23 of the '320 patent, where the bow limb is bordered by narrow sidewalls of the pocket portion of the riser, as well as in the '779 patent disclosing relatively thin shoulders 42, 44 of the recess. While suitably wide pocket sidewalls may provide greater lateral restraint, they may be unduly bulky and interfere with the overall slim design of typical archery bows.
In summary, therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a mounting system for adjustably mounting a bow limb to a bow riser, wherein the bow limb is laterally restrained relative to the bow riser in an efficient yet solid manner. Furthermore, an adjustable bow mounting system which pivotally compensates the strut assembly at various attachment angles would provide greater structural stability under the typically high bowstring tensions. It is also notable that due to the variations in bowstring tension which result from adjustment of the attachment angle, it would be further advantageous to provide a mounting system which measures and indicates relative bowstring tension at the various attachment angles.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple adjustable bow limb mounting system capable of efficiently adjusting the attachment angle between the bow limb and bow riser, while providing substantial and close-toleranced lateral reinforcement to restrain relative lateral movement.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a simple and mechanically efficient adjustable bow limb mounting system having an adjustable strut assembly capable of pivoting relative to the riser when the attachment angle between the bow limb and the riser is adjusted.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a simple and mechanically efficient adjustable bow limb mounting system having an adjustable strut assembly capable of correctably sliding along a slide surface of the limb inner end when the attachment angle between the bow limb and the riser is adjusted.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a mounting system which provides a quick and simple means for measuring relative bowstring tension as a function of the attachment angle between the bow limb and bow riser.
The present invention is for a mounting system for adjustably mounting a bow limb to a bow riser. In a first preferred embodiment, the mounting system comprises a riser mounting end of the bow riser having a mounting surface and a cavity below the mounting surface. The cavity has a pair of opposing cavity sidewalls parallel to a deflection plane of the archery bow. The mounting system additionally has a limb inner end of the bow limb which is preferebly positioned immediately against the mounting surface of the riser mounting end. The limb inner end has means for pivoting the limb inner end relative to the riser mounting end about a limb pivot axis which is normal to the deflection plane of the archery bow. Preferably a bottom surface of the limb inner end contacts the mounting surface of the riser mounting end when the limb inner end remains unpivoted. And the mounting system has an adjustable strut assembly which operates to adjust an attachment angle between the limb inner end of the bow limb and the riser mounting end of the bow riser. The adjustment angle is preferably measured between the bottom surface of the limb inner end and the mounting surface of the riser mounting end. The adjustable strut assembly includes upper means for connecting to the limb inner end of the bow limb which is adapted to laterally restrain the limb inner end relative to the adjustable strut assembly, central means for slidably and matingly engaging the pair of opposing cavity sidewalls whereby the bow limb and the bow riser are restrained from lateral movement relative to each other, lower means for pivotally connecting to the riser mounting end of the bow riser wherein the adjustable strut assembly pivots about a strut pivot axis normal to the deflection plane of the archery bow, and means for adjusting the distance be
Ricci John A.
Tak James S.
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