Games using tangible projectile – Projectile – per se; part thereof or accessory therefor – Arrow – dart – or shuttlecock; part thereof
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-23
2002-08-06
Ricci, John A. (Department: 3712)
Games using tangible projectile
Projectile, per se; part thereof or accessory therefor
Arrow, dart, or shuttlecock; part thereof
Reexamination Certificate
active
06428434
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to arrowheads, and more particularly to arrowheads having a pivotal blade selectively positionable in a plurality of different open penetrating configurations so as to be enabled to define a plurality of corresponding different cutting diameters thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
Arrows have long been used for war, hunting and competitive sports. A conventional arrow has a shaft, a nock at one end that receives the bow string, an arrowhead or point that attaches to the opposite end, and fletchings. The fletchings are glued to the shaft near the nock end, and help to stabilize the arrow in flight by causing it to rotate. Arrowheads generally have a pointed forward end, and an opposite threaded shaft end that attaches the arrowhead to the arrow shaft. Arrowheads are also attached to the forward end of arrow shafts by glueing and other methods.
Arrowheads come in a variety of different sizes and configurations depending on their intended use. For example, there are specifically designed arrowheads for competitive target shooting, shooting fish, hunting birds or small game animals, and for hunting big game animals.
Arrowheads used for hunting kill the game animal by cutting vital organs such as the lungs and vascular vessels such as arteries, which causes rapid hemorrhaging and/or suffocation. Quick and humane kills are dependent on accurate shot placement, and upon the amount or volume of the animal tissue that is cut. Hunting arrowheads that cut more tissue are more lethal, and therefore are better. The volume of tissue that is cut is determined by the cutting diameter of the arrowhead, the number of blades it contains, and by the distance the arrowhead penetrates into the animal. The cutting diameter of an arrowhead is determined by how far each cutting blade extends outward from the arrowhead body. The further the blades extend outward the larger the cutting diameter is, and therefore the more cutting potential the arrowhead has.
A common type of arrowhead used in hunting is the fixed-blade arrowhead, which has a pointed tip end used for penetrating, and generally triangular shaped fixed-blades or non-pivotal blades that each have a razor sharp edge for cutting. Conventional fixed-blade arrowheads blades are held in a fixed position on the arrowhead, and most such blades are replaceable. The replaceable blades attach to the arrowhead body in longitudinal grooves called blade slots. The tip of the arrowhead may be separably attachable to the arrowhead body or may be integral with it. Arrowheads for hunting are generally known as broadheads.
Another popular type of arrowhead for hunting is the blade-opening arrowhead. Blade-opening arrowheads are generally known as mechanical broadheads. Blade-opening arrowheads, like conventional fixed-blade arrowheads generally have an elongate arrowhead body, a tip end, and a threaded opposite end. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads have an attachment end which attaches the blades to the arrowhead body by a pivot pin, so that the blades can pivot or rotate between a closed position and an open position. Blade-opening arrowhead blades are generally an elongate substantially rectangular shape and also have a free non-attached end situated opposite the attachment end. The blades of blade-opening arrowheads are also received in blade slots, which are machined or formed into the side of the arrowhead body. The pivotal blades of blade-opening arrowheads are held in the closed position while in-flight until the arrowhead penetrates a game animal or target by various different methods including: conventional rubber O-rings, rubber bands, tight fitting plastic sleeves, tape, heat-shrinkable sleeves, and other wrap materials as well as by magnetism, various spring systems, friction detents and other frictional mechanisms. When the pivotal blades of blade-opening arrowheads are retracted or folded into the closed position, a substantial majority of each blade is generally housed within its corresponding blade slot. This feature gives blade-opening arrowheads the ability to attain significantly increased aerodynamic performance over fixed-blade arrowheads, due to the significantly decreased exposure the retracted blades have with the air when the arrow is rotating while in flight. Such increased aerodynamic performance results in the desirable features of: faster shooting arrows, flatter arrow trajectories, increased penetration energy and enhanced repeatability of accuracy, while also providing a wide diameter cut in the game animal when the razor sharp blades open at impact with the animal.
Blade-opening arrowheads come in a variety of different types and styles. The most common type of blade-opening arrowhead has blades that are pivotally connected to the arrowhead body at a location near the rear end of the arrowhead body. This makes it so that when the blades are folded into the retracted position a leading blade end of each blade positioned near the tip of the arrowhead protrudes outward from the arrowhead body. The leading blade ends of such blade-opening arrowheads rotate away from the arrowhead body in a rearward direction when penetrating an animal. Particularly, the leading blade ends catch on the animal's surface and serve to lever or rotate the blades into the fully open position, thus exposing the sharp cutting edges of the blades to a fully open cutting diameter position and cutting the animal. Another type of blade-opening arrowhead has pivotal blades that rotate in a forward direction to the fully open position when penetrating an animal. The blades of these forward blade rotating blade-opening arrowheads are rotated toward the open position by a variety of different mechanisms, but all also define a fully open cutting diameter when in the open position.
Yet another type of arrowhead used for hunting has pivotal blades that are exposed at a full cutting diameter position while the arrowhead is in-flight. Such arrowheads also generally achieve better aerodynamic performance than fixed-blade arrowheads because by design each pivotal blade only attaches to a corresponding arrowhead body at a single location so that with their substantially elongate shaped blades such arrowheads have significantly decreased blade surface area exposure with the air while in-flight.
The optimal size of cutting diameter desirable in an arrowhead can vary depending on the type of animal being hunted and on the strength of the archers bow. Generally, wider cutting diameter arrowheads generate more friction when penetrating a target than do narrower cutting diameter arrowheads, and therefore wider cutting diameter arrowheads penetrate proportionally less depth. It is desirable for an arrowhead to penetrate as deep in the game animal as possible so as to maximize the volume of animal tissue that is cut, as well as to create both an entry hole and an exit hole on both sides of the animal for blood to drain therefrom so as to leave a more followable or noticeable blood trail. Accordingly, archers shooting less powerful bows (all other factors being equal) would need to use a narrower cutting diameter arrowhead to obtain equal penetration depth as that which more powerful bows would achieve with a wider cutting diameter arrowhead. Small game animals such as wild turkeys do not present as tough of a target or as thick of a target for arrowheads to penetrate through as do big game animals—like elk or whitetail deer. Accordingly, archers shooting both big game animals and small game animals with the same cutting diameter arrowhead may have to use a stronger bow to obtain sufficient penetration when hunting big game animals. Alternatively, a narrower cutting diameter arrowhead would likely provide sufficient penetration in big game animals without requiring the archer to use a more powerful bow.
A major problem associated with conventional arrowheads such as blade-opening arrowheads and other pivotal blade arrowheads is that such arrowheads are only capable of producing one cutting diameter each w
LandOfFree
Arrowhead with a pivotal blade selectively positionable in a... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Arrowhead with a pivotal blade selectively positionable in a..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Arrowhead with a pivotal blade selectively positionable in a... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2890678