Mechanical guns and projectors – Element – Projectile holder or carrier
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-01
2004-02-10
Ricci, John A. (Department: 3712)
Mechanical guns and projectors
Element
Projectile holder or carrier
Reexamination Certificate
active
06688297
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of archery. More particularly, it relates to arrow rest devices involved in accurate shooting of the new, faster, and more powerful bows of today. Archers may participate in several forms of shooting. The two most popular activities, bow hunting and target shooting, are greatly improved by arrow rests which provide little or no interference with an arrow being shot by the bow.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bows and arrows rank among man's oldest weapons, with the prehistoric man shooting game for their subsistence. Many types of bows were developed, including the short bow, English longbow, and the cross bow that came about in the middle ages. More recent has been the development of the compound bow that has greatly advanced the field archery. Every year between 1,500,000 and 4,000,000 people in Canada and the United States go bow hunting or take part in some form of archery competition. The sport has become especially popular in schools and colleges. The summer Olympic games included an archery competition from 1896 until the sport was dropped following the 1920 games. Archery was reintroduced in the 1972 summer Olympic games and still remains very popular today.
The two most popular archery activities are bow hunting and target shooting. In bow hunting, the archers hunt game with just the bow and arrow. Bow season usually precedes the regular hunting season, giving the archers some distinct advantages.
In target shooting, the archer shoots at a target to score points in competition with other archers. When an archer prepares to shoot, the arrow shaft is conventionally positioned on an arrow rest of some kind, the bowstring is set within the arrow nock, and the bowstring and arrow are drawn back. The archer aims through the area above the rest and beside the bow riser section called the window region. After the arrow is released and it passes by the position of the rest, a common occurrence is for the fletches or plastic vanes to strike the rest moving it out of the way. This causes the arrow to be deflected and wobble in flight. Very light weight carbon graphite arrows are often used adding to the problem when such arrows are deflected, even in the slightest.
For the avid archer that is striving for perfection this deflection by the rest during traverse of the arrow is a major problem and can only be resolved by some form of retracting arrow rest which moves to avoid contact with the moving arrow. Other rests incorporate a stationary or flexible element that the arrow is held against and these devices also have an undesirable effect on the flight of the arrow.
Various other types of drop away rests have been previously created. All share a feature that allow the arrow support arm to move out of the path of the arrow shaft and fletching when the arrow is released by the archer. Some of the other current designs depend on the arrow support arm to be pulled into the upright position when the bow is drawn, and to spring back out of the way when the arrow is released. This is accomplished by a physical connection from the arrow rest to either the cable slide or cable of a compound bow. The physical connection is in the form of a string, rubber tubing, or other similar item. There are a number of problems with this system of lifting the arrow supports arms. Strings can snag on branches while in the field or restrict the length the arrow can be drawn back, the rubber tubing can crack from exposure to UV light or break without warning, all can cause maladjustment or failure of the system.
The disclosed device herein generally relates to a device for improving the accuracy and refining the arrow rests for either bows or crossbows. More specifically, it relates to an improved magnetic drop-away arrow rest retro-fit conversion kit to be attached to the crossbar support block or which can be manufactured and attached to the support block at the factory as original equipment. The reason for the drop-away rest is to support the arrow, then to move completely away upon release before the fletches or vanes pass over the rest so they will not be damaged or the accuracy of the arrows flight affected.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,173 of Eugene L. Ferguson describes an arrow rest that is magnetically held in a position to support the arrow prior to being released. Upon release of the arrow, as the fletches or vanes pass the supporting means they will strike it, causing the release of the magnet and the supporting means will pivot to the side against the bow riser, out of the way to be manually reset. The action of the feathers or vanes striking anything, and the rest passing under the arrow, has the tendency to cause the arrow to wobble, affecting the accuracy of the shot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,286 of Bobby J. Thacker teaches of a bow, the center of which is constructed to permit an unimpeded, dead center flight of the arrow as it leaves the bow. This unique, unconventional bow and arrow has a cumbersome magnetic system with a special magnetically attracted point or pile for retracting the arrow rest out of the way as the arrow passes. This device would be difficult to adapt to any conventional bow and would require the archers to purchase special bows and arrows.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,473,058 of Edgell R. Terry discloses a bow and arrow rest, which includes a wire that is pivotally mounted near the middle of the bow. The wire is held in, place by a magnet that supports the arrow against a fixed support. When the arrow is released and the rest pivots under the arrow and out of the way against the bow riser, the support remains in a fixed position against the arrow. There is also no adjustment to the magnetic contact on the wire rest for arrows of different diameters or to fine tune the release mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,704 of Fernando Troncoso additionally describes an arrow rest that is spring or magnetically loaded to hold the arrow with a curve in the end of a wire support member against an adjustable plunger. Although all portions of this device are fully adjustable, when the device is set up and the arrow is released, the arrow still rides against the plunger as it passes the rest and the wire rest pivots under the arrow to the side against the riser.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,548,189 of Mitchell E. Pietraszek describes a ferromagnetic wire rest member that is pivotally attached to a mounting bracket and is biased into operative position. A permanent magnet permits the rest pin to be deflected from the operative position by the fletches of an arrow passing across the rest pin. This is another device that allows the rest to engage the fletches causing a wobble of the arrow during flight and affecting the accuracy of the shot.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,719 of Ernst Scheiterlein teaches of a hold down device for a crossbow arrow or bolt using a magnetic support and adjustably positionable in the tray beneath the ferro-magnetic arrowhead to hold the arrow against the arrow rest. This device is designed specifically for crossbows and has adjustment of the spacing of the magnet away from the arrowhead, but it does not describe any unique features in the rest for the arrow and would not function on a conventional bow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,136 of Richard D. Tone discloses an invention that relates to an arrow support mechanism including an arrow rest arm that is magnetically, weight, or spring-biased inward toward the side of the bow window so as to retract out of the path of a vane of the arrow just after it is released. With this patent, a rest arm that is slightly curved upward retains the arrow against an elastic “spine point” arm. Upon release, the curved end has to pass under the arrow to be retracted against the side of the bow riser section while still being held against the elastic “spine point” arm, both of which have adverse effects on the flight of the arrow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,069 of James F. Clark teaches of an arrow rest consisting of an articulated or telescoping pin having a spring-loaded retract mechanism to the side against the bow riser. This
Harms Donn K.
Ricci John A.
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