Abstract:
A hand held crossbow. The crossbow has a frame including a handle and a barrel. The crossbow holds an arrow by gripping the back end of the arrow against the top of the barrel. This gripping holds the arrow in place without any necessity of restraining the bow string. The crossbow is fired by releasing the gripper from the back of the arrow.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the invention is sporting goods and the invention relates more particularly to crossbows. 
     Most crossbows are fired by releasing the string thereof. Typically, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,786,461; 3,788,299 and 4,294,222, the bow string is held by a retainer wheel which has an arrow-holding notch in the periphery thereof and which is allowed to rotate when the trigger is pulled. There are also many crossbow patents which have a hook which restrains the bow string and which is moved either upwardly or downwardly, releasing the bow string. Such a triggering device is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,554,966; 3,224,427; 3,538,901; 4,030,473; 4,206,740 and 4,388,914. 
     Because of the substantial force which may be generated by a crossbow, the holding of the bow string creates a substantial point of wear of the bow string. Furthermore, the releasing of the bow string by moving a hook upwardly or downwardly can decrease the accuracy of the crossbow by providing an undesired downward or upward movement in the arrow. Furthermore, it is beneficial that the arrow be held in the bow, and the mere holding back of the bow string does not, by itself, accomplish this result. Thus, once the crossbow is cocked, the arrow, if not restrained, can fall out of the crossbow if it is pointed downwardly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, thus, an object of the present invention to provide a crossbow which may be fired without holding the bow string thereof and which securely holds the arrow in the crossbow when the crossbow is cocked. 
     The present invention is for a crossbow having a crossbow frame including a handle portion and a barrel portion. The crossbow also has a bow frame affixed to the crossbow frame near the front of the barrel portion thereof. The bow frame has a bow string affixed between the tips thereof. An arrow gripper arm is held by the crossbow frame near the rear of the barrel portion. The arrow gripper arm has sufficient gripping force to hold an arrow in place when the crossbow is cocked without any holding of the bow string. Trigger means are held by the cross bow frame adjacent the handle portion thereof, and the trigger means are linked to the arrow gripper means so that the pulling of the trigger means releases the arrow. Preferably, the gripper arm has an elastic pad on the gripping surface thereof. It is also preferable that the upper portion of the barrel adjacent the elastic pad on the gripper means also have an elastic pad thereon. It is also beneficial that a safety hook be provided which restrains the bow string in the event of failure of the gripper means. A beneficial means for operating the gripper arm includes a pressure plate which, when moved forwardly, closes the gripper means. The cross bow is beneficially a hand-held cross bow having surprising accuracy. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cross bow of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the gripper means of the cross bow of FIG. 1 in a cocked configuration. 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the gripper means of the cross bow of FIG. 1 in a released configuration. 
     FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the front of the cross bow of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The cross bow of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 and indicated generally by reference character 10. Cross bow 10 has a frame 11 which has a handle portion 12 and a barrel portion 13. A trigger 14 is held by the frame and is protected by a trigger guard 15. 
     Cross bow 10 has a bow 16 and a bow string 17 which propels an arrow 18 which is held in a groove 19 formed along the upper surface of the barrel portion 13. 
     The bow 16 is held in a removable bow-holding assembly indicated generally by reference character 20. Assembly 20 is held to the front of the barrel by a screw 21 shown best in FIG. 3. Assembly 20 includes a clear, plastic sight plate 22 and the arrow 18 is inserted into the cross bow through an opening 23 aligned with groove 19. 
     An important feature of the present invention is the manner in which the arrow is held and released from the cross bow. This is accomplished by the movement of a gripper bar 24 which has a pivot link 25 held by a pin 26 to the cross bow frame 11. The back of gripper bar 24 also has a pin 27 which links it to a pressure plate 28. Pressure plate 28 has a second pin 29 which is pivotally attached to a link arm 30. The base 31 of link arm 30 is restrained in a bearing cavity 32 which permits the forward and backward movement of pin 29 when moved either by the trigger 14 or the pressure plate 28. 
     Trigger 14 is held to frame 11 by pin 33. Trigger 14 also has a contact arm 34 which moves link arm 30 rearwardly when trigger 14 is pulled. Trigger 14 also has a safety arm 35 which has a safety hook 36 at its upper end. Safety hook 36 is capable of restraining the bow string 17, when the bow string is in a cocked configuration, in the event of failure of the gripper bar to hold the arrow. 
     In operation, the arrow 18, which has a conventional notch at the rear thereof, is inserted through opening 23 and pushed inwardly by pressing the cross bow and arrow against a surface and pushing forwardly on the cross bow. When the arrow is pushed all the way back, pressure plate 28 is moved forward and gripper bar 24 pivots about pin 26 and its undersurface abuts the end of the arrow. Preferably, gripper bar 24 has an elastomeric pad 37 on its undersurface. Also, preferably, an elastomeric pad 38 is affixed to the upper surface of the groove 19 so that the arrow may be firmly gripped without damaging the same. Typically, the arrow will be fabricated from wood, although fiberglass, metal or other materials may also be used. As trigger 14 is pulled, the safety hook 36 is first lowered from interference with bow string 17. Secondly, link arm 30 is moved rearwardly by contact with contact arm 34, thereby moving pressure plate 28 upwardly about pin 27 which causes gripper bar 24 to pivot about pin 26, releasing the upward force at pin 27 through link arm 30 which contacts the base of bearing cavity 32. It can be seen that the force generated at the elastomeric pads is substantial because of the force multiplication caused by the straightening of the line between pin 27, pin 29 and the base of bearing cavity 32. It should also be noted that pressure plate 28 is held within the cross bow by contact with the undersurface 39 of plate holding member 40. 
     In addition to the safety provided by safety hook 36, a second safety prevents the pulling of the trigger when the second safety has not been released. This is accomplished by the contact of safety latch 41 with safety latch cavity 42 formed in pressure plate 28. Safety latch 41 is held in place by a safety spring 43. It can be seen that the forward movement of safety release 44 moves safety latch 41 downwardly and permits pressure plate 28 to move upwardly when the trigger is pulled. Conversely, it can be seen that when safety latch 41 is in place in the safety latch cavity 42, that the trigger cannot be pulled because the pressure plate is not permitted to move upwardly. 
     Because of the location of pressure plate 28, it can be readily operated by the user&#39;s thumb when the arrow has been fully inserted. Furthermore, it can be seen that the downward movement of pressure plate 28 urges safety latch 41 into safety latch cavity 42. It can further be seen that the rearward movement of link arm 30 abuts the safety reset knob 45 which is integral with safety latch 41, thereby moving safety latch 41 rearwardly to permit the automatic placement of latch 41 into latch cavity 42. 
     The tension of the cocked bow can be adjusted by moving the bow inwardly or outwardly. This is accomplished by loosening screw 21 (see FIG. 2), moving the bow inwardly or outwardly along slot 46 and tightening screw 21 to hold the bow in its new position. The further forward the bow, the greater the bow tension when cocked. 
     While the cross bow of the present invention is discussed as a hand-held or pistol-like cross bow, the same principle is equally applicable to a conventional cross bow held against the user&#39;s shoulder. It can also be seen that the arrow is securely held in place when the cross bow is cocked, thereby making it unnecessary to use any other method for holding the arrow from falling out of the cross bow. It has been found that the use of a urethane elastomer for construction of pads 37 and 38 provides appropriate protection of wooden arrows, while at the same time exhibiting excellent wear. The gripping action caused by holding the end of the arrow provides a very smooth release for the arrow, while also providing excellent wear characteristics for the string. There is no sharp release of an arm against the string and, instead, the arrow is released and the string contacts only the notch of the arrow providing superior string life. 
     The present embodiments of this invention are thus to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive; the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.