Method and apparatus for supporting an archery bow from a surface

An archery bow holder for holding an archery bow in a desired position and orientation by supporting an archery bow counterweight from a surface. The archery bow holder comprises a bow counterweight support and a threaded shaft extending therefrom. The threaded shaft is twisted into the surface; and the bow counterweight is inserted into the bow counterweight support, thereby supporting the archery bow from the surface.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for 
holding and supporting an archery bow from a tree trunk, tree limb, fence 
post or other surface. More particularly, the invention provides a method 
and apparatus for hanging or supporting the bow by holding the bow 
counterweight. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
When hunting with archery bows it is desirable that the bow be able to be 
properly held and supported off of the body of the hunter. Further, many 
contemporary archery bows contain sophisticated sighting equipment and 
tuned counterweights which make it desirable that the bow not be laid on 
the ground, dropped, or otherwise subjected to physical shocks. Further, 
laying a bow on the ground subjects it to unnecessary moisture, dirt, etc. 
which adversely affects the sights, counterweights, and the structure of 
the bow itself. 
Devices are known for hanging an archery bow from a surface in a generally 
upright, that is vertical, position. For example, the Fecko U.S. Pat. No. 
5,310,150 discloses a bow hanger which is a long rod that has a threaded 
end screwed into a tree and a hook on the opposite end from which the bow 
is hung. While the hanger disclosed in the '150 patent is capable of 
suspending the bow in the ready position, it has the disadvantage of 
requiring a relatively complex looped motion to unhook the bow from the 
hanger. The hanger has a further disadvantage of being relatively large 
and is difficult to pack and carry. Other devices are known which rest on 
the ground or other horizontal surface and support the bow in a generally 
upright position, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,106,044, 4,474,296, 
4,360, 179. While all of the above devices work reasonably well, they have 
the disadvantages of first, not being designed for use off of the ground. 
Further, such devices do not present the bow to the hunter in the optimum 
position ready for shooting. In addition, such devices are often 
relatively large and may be awkward and difficult to carry, set up, break 
down, and pack with the other equipment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
To overcome the disadvantages described above, the present invention 
provides an archery bow holder which is compact, lightweight, and easy to 
attach to a surface from which the bow is to be hung or supported. In 
addition, the archery bow holder of the present invention may be mounted 
at any elevation that is convenient to the location of the hunter. 
Further, the present invention provides an archery bow holder that 
presents the bow to the hunter in an optimal position ready for shooting. 
Therefore, the archery bow holder of the present invention is also useful 
when the hunter is stationed in a tree or other elevation off the ground. 
According to the principles of the present invention and in accordance with 
the described embodiments, the present invention provides an archery bow 
holder which supports or holds an archery bow counterweight and its 
associated archery bow from a surface. The archery bow holder has a 
generally tubular body with an internal bore shaped to receive the archery 
bow counterweight. A connecting element has one end connected to the 
tubular body and an opposite end shaped to engage and penetrate the 
surface from which the archery bow is to be supported. Therefore, when the 
archery bow counterweight is inserted in the internal bore of the tubular 
body, the archery bow counterweight and its associated archery bow are 
held or supported from the desired surface. 
In a further embodiment, the invention provides a method of holding an 
archery bow from a surface by screwing a connector of a bow counterweight 
holder into the surface. The method further includes the step of inserting 
the bow counterweight into an internal cavity of the bow counterweight 
holder thereby supporting the archery bow counterweight and the archery 
bow from the desired surface. An archery bow held by its counterweight can 
be located at the optimum position for the hunter with an arrow supported 
in the bow and ready for immediate use. The bow holder of the present 
invention permits the bow to be easily and quickly removed from the holder 
and the arrow released without any interference with the bow holder. 
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become 
more readily apparent during the following detailed description in 
conjunction with the drawings herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1, the archery bow holder 10 is shown holding an archery 
bow 12 from a desired surface 14. The desired surface 14 may be a surface 
of a tree trunk, a tree limb, a fence post, or other object 15 which the 
archery bow holder 10 can penetrate or be otherwise attached thereto. The 
archery bow 12 has an archery bow counterweight 16 extending outwardly 
from a forward side 18 of the bow 12. The archery bow holder 10 is 
generally T-shaped and is comprised of a bow counterweight support 24 and 
a connecting element 26 extending therefrom. The connecting element 26 is 
inserted through the desired surface 14 and into the object 15 at a 
desired position and orientation. The bow counterweight 16 is then slid 
into the bow counterweight support 24, thereby holding the bow 12 from the 
desired surface 14. 
The archery bow counterweight support or holder 24 has a generally tubular, 
and preferably cylindrical, body which has an internal cavity or bore 28 
extending centrally and longitudinally through the counterweight support 
24. The bore 28 is preferably a through-bore extending over the full 
length of holder 24, so that the holder 24 is open at both ends. The bore 
28 is shaped to receive the bow counterweight 16. A connecting element 26 
includes a shaft 29 having one end 30 rigidly connected to an outer 
surface 32 and preferably at an approximate longitudinal midpoint of the 
counterweight support 24. The shaft 29 of the connecting element 26 
lateral extends outwardly preferably in a direction generally 
perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline 36 of the counterweight 
support 24. The opposite end 34 of the connecting element 26 preferably 
has a taper 38 extending from a distal end of the shaft 29. The taper 38 
has screw threads or other helical surfaces 40 which facilitate 
penetration of the connecting element 26 through the desired surface 14 
and into the object 15 
In use the archer manually grips the generally T-shaped bow holder 10 and 
positions the end 34 of the connecting element 26 at a desired location 
against the surface 14. The archer then applies a force directed along the 
centerline 42 of the connecting element 26 toward the desired surface 14. 
While applying that force, the archer rotates the archery bow holder 10 in 
a rotational direction, for example, a clockwise direction, which causes 
the threads 40 to engage the object 15; the bow holder 10 is screwed into 
the object 15. 
The archery bow holder 10 is rotated a number of times such that it can 
withstand a force in the generally vertically downward direction which is 
at least equal to the weight of the archery bow 12. The archery bow holder 
10 is further rotated such that the end 46 of the counterweight support 24 
through which the counterweight is to be inserted is generally at the 
vertical height at least equal to and preferably greater than the vertical 
height of the other end 48 of the counterweight support 24. Next, the 
archery bow counterweight 16 is slid or inserted into the longitudinal 
bore 28 of the counterweight support 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, 
the archery bow 12 is maintained in any desired position and orientation 
as determined by the archer. Further, when supported by the bow 
counterweight, an arrow 60 can be loaded in the bow so that it is ready 
for immediate use. Most arrows include ends which frictionally engage the 
string to keep the arrow 60 in a ready position. The present invention 
permits a hunter to take advantage of this feature by supporting the 
counterweight at an oblique downward angle which permits the arrow to rest 
on the bow shaft. In addition, because of the small size of the bow holder 
and because there are no limitations on the position or orientation in 
which the bow is supported, the bow can be supported at an orientation 
that permits the hunter to grab the bow and move it to a shooting position 
with a simple and continuous motion that blends and is compatible with the 
firing motions practiced by the hunter. Consequently, with the 
counterweight support, the archery bow may be quickly removed from the 
archery bow holder 10 and fired without interference therefrom. Also, the 
bow holder of the present invention is lightweight and easy to carry and 
pack with other equipment. 
While the invention has been set forth by a description of the embodiment 
in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit 
the claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will 
readily appear to those who are skilled in the art. For example, while the 
counterweight support 24 is illustrated as a hollow or tubular cylinder 
open at both ends, the counterweight support 24 may be closed at one end, 
for example, the end 48. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 2 the archery 
bow holder 10 may be comprised of a multilateral counterweight support 50 
which has any number of sides. Further, the counterweight support may be 
constructed such that its outer surface does not completely extend around 
and fully enclose the internal longitudinal bore 52. With that 
construction the counterweight support contains a peripheral opening 54 
that extends longitudinally the entire length of the counterweight support 
50. With such an embodiment, the counterweight support is preferably made 
from a malleable material, for example, aluminum, brass or copper, and the 
archer can manually increase or decrease the opening 54 by moving the 
edges 62, 64 apart or together, respective, thereby enlarging or reducing 
the size of the internal cavity 52 to accommodate different sizes of the 
archery bow counterweight 16. Also illustrated in FIG. 2 the archery bow 
holder 10 can be connected to a surface regardless of its orientation as 
illustrated by the oblique surface 56. 
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the tubular bow counterweight holder 70 is 
connected to the object 15 by a flexible strap 72 such as a nylon strap 
which can be wrapped around the object 15 which may be a tree trunk, tree 
limb or post to form a closed loop configuration around the object 15. The 
flexible strap 72 is connected to the holder 70 to maintain the centerline 
36 of the holder 70 both substantially tangential to an outer perimeter of 
the closed loop configuration of the holder 70 and substantially 
perpendicular to a radial direction of the closed loop configuration. The 
ends of the strap 72 are joined together by a buckle, S -hooks, velcro 
pads or other connector 74. Alternatively, the flexible strap may be a 
rubber strap, for example, a bunji cord, the ends of which are stretched 
around the object 15 and connected by S-hooks. 
In any event, all of the above embodiments support a bow from a tree, post 
or other object by simply slipping the bow counterweight into a bow 
counterweight support. The bow counterweight support can be modified in 
its structure as long as it is effective to support the weight of the 
archery bow and preferably an arrow in a desired position and orientation 
selected by the hunter. Departures may be made from the details described 
herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.