Light assembly for archers arrow

An archers arrow having a body, a head, fletching and a nock, has a bore in the body adjacent the fletching. A sleeve on the nock is secured within the body, and mounts on its interior a normally open electrical circuit including a lamp and a battery assembly, with the lamp nested within the nock, and the nock being of a light transmitting plastic material. A manual switch is movable on the body to close the circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Absent direct visual contact with the impact point of an arrow there is 
long existed the difficulty of retrieving the arrow in the dusk or after 
darkness. Heretofore, having direct visual contact with the impact point 
of an arrow which has hit its mark and particularly in the case of a deer 
or other animal wounded fatally or non-fatally, there has long been the 
problem of locating the animal after dusk or in darkness. Heretofore, 
animals such as a deer or other animal which has been non-fatally struck 
by an arrow, will normally within a short period break off a portion of 
the arrow and travel in the woods a distance before falling. There has 
long existed the problem of locating the animal at some point beyond the 
point of impact. 
THE PRIOR ART 
According to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,948 of February 1974 granted to John 
M. Ratkovitch, there is disclosed the use of a radio transmitter in the 
tip of a hunting arrow having an antenna carried on the shank for use in 
conjunction with a direction finding receiver carried by the hunter. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,890,841 of December 1932 issued to R. D. Brown, disclosed 
an illuminated knife. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,066 January 1968 issued to H. Gawlick, et al, discloses 
a tracer bullet that is ignited upon impact. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,029 dated December 1960 issued to L. D. Jackson, 
discloses a marine marker that disperses die for location identification. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,101 of Oct. 13, 1959 issued to Fay J. Butler is 
directed to an illuminated fishing float. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,771 of July 3, 1962 issued to Michael Hreno is directed 
to an illuminated fishing bobber. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,079 of August 1978 and issued to Lynn Drury is directed 
to an illuminated drum stick or baton. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,723 of November 1967 and issued to Ming et al discloses 
a pocket flashlight having a batter, incandescent lamp and an electric 
switch connected together in series. 
These patents were revealed in a search of the Patent Office records 
conducted in the following areas: 
Class 43, subclasses 6 and 17.5; Class 102, subclass 87; Class 116, 
subclasses 202, 203 and 209; Class 124, subclass 22; Class 200, subclass 
60; Class 250, subclasses 483, 484, 485, 486, 487, 488 and 489; Class 273, 
subclasses 416, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422 and 423; and Class 362, 
subclasses 34, 84, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 and 119. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An important feature of the present invention is to incorporate within body 
of the arrow a normally open electrical circuit which includes a lamp and 
a battery assembly together with a manual switch on the body adapted to 
close said circuit. 
A further feature is to provide a power operated light source within an 
archers arrow by which absent direct visual contact of the impact point 
thereof the lighting of the arrow or a portion thereof will facilitate the 
user's location of such arrow in dusk or nightfall or in dark or poorly 
lighted areas. 
A further feature includes a hunter's arrow with an elongated body having a 
bore therein adjacent the fletching thereof and wherein a transparent 
sleeve arranged on one end of the nock is projected into and secured 
within said body within the bore wherein the nock is constructed of a 
light transmitting plastic material having a bore therein adjacent one 
end. A normally open electrical circuit includes a lamp and a battery 
assembly nested within said sleeve and body and with the lamp positioned 
within the nock. 
A further feature provides a sub-assembly which includes a tubular 
insulator having a pair of insulated conductors therein at their one end 
adapted for connection to the respective contacts of a lamp, with one of 
the other ends of said conductors connected to the contact on a battery 
projected within said insulating sleeve and wherein the other end of the 
other conductor terminates in a switch normally spaced from another 
contact of the battery. Said circuit provides a unit assembly normally 
nested within the nock mounted sleeve and wherein the nock and sleeve in 
such unit assembly are projected as a unit into the bore of said arrow. A 
further object is to provide in the electrical circuit either an 
incandescent lighting source energized by said battery or a florescent 
lamp such as a neon lamp together with sufficient electrical components 
within the circuit to provide the proper current and voltage for 
energizing such lamp. 
These and other objects will be seen from the following specification and 
claims in conjunction with the appended drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to the drawing a hunters arrow is fragmentarily shown at 11 in 
FIG. 1 and includes an elongated body 13, which may be constructed of 
fibre glass or alternatively of a light transmitting plastic material in 
whole or part. In the illustrative embodiment the body has an elongated 
bore 15, and at one end a conventional arrow head 17. 
A conventional fletching 19, tri-part in construction, is applied to and 
extends radially outward of the body adjacent the rear end thereof and 
forwardly of the nock 21. Said nock is preferably constructed of plastic 
such as a translucent plastic which is light transmitting or is suitable 
nylon or other plastic material. 
In the illustrative embodiment the nock 21 is separable from body 13 and 
upon one end thereof has connected thereto elongated plastic transparent 
sleeve 23. Said sleeve is adapted for snug projection and securing within 
an end portion of said body. The nock adjacent one end at its connection 
with the sleeve 23 has therein an axial bore 25 or recess adapted to 
receive a lamp 27 having a filament 29 or alternatively the lamp 27 may be 
of a florescent type such as a neon tube having the conventional 
florescent coating and electrical assembly generally indicated at 29. 
The lamp, regardless of its type includes a pair of elongated leads 31 and 
33, there being a suitable insulator sleeve 35 surrounding lead 31 with 
one end of lead 31 connected to an elongated conductor 37 FIG. 3, which 
terminates in the contact 39. 
The other lead 33 joins an intermediate electrical component 43 which forms 
a part of an electrical circuit. Component 43 terminates in the conductor 
41 having at its end switch contact 45. A ceramic or other insulator 47 is 
interposed between conductors 37 and 41. Elongated insulating sleeve 49, 
preferably of a ceramic material, receives toward one end thereof an 
assembly which includes conductors 37 and 41 and the intermediate 
insulator 47. Sleeve 49 has an apertured flange 51 intermediate its ends. 
The switch contact 45 is nested with an outwardly opening slot 65 within 
insulator sleeve 49. A suitable battery 55, cylindrical in form, such as a 
2.8 voltage Lithium battery in the case of an incandescent lamp, has an 
axial contact pin 57 at one end which is projected through the bore of 
flange 51 in said insulator, and in the assembled position shown is in 
engagement with contact 39. Said battery at one end is snugly projected 
within the bore 53 of the insulator sleeve 49, and in the position shown 
its outer contact surface 59 is normally spaced from flexible switch 
contact 45. 
The switch arm 61 having slotted support portions 63 at its opposite ends, 
is nested within a lateral aperture 67 within body 13 and extends into the 
adjacent slot 65 formed within insulator 49 and is normally in engagement 
with switch contact 45. 
The circuit between the battery and the lamp and the respective conductors 
37 and 41 is completed by a manual longitudinal adjustment of the switch 
arm 61 upon the arrow body 13 such that switch arm moves the switch 
contact 45 into engagement with contact 59 of the battery. 
The lateral aperture 67 within the arrow body 13 shown in FIG. 1 as 
adjacent the fletching 19 and is conveniently located thereon for limited 
longitudinal adjustment of switch arm 61 for closing the electrical 
circuit, just before the arrow is released from the conventional bow. 
In the illustrative embodiment, the elongated transparent sleeve 23 which 
is connected to the nock 21 is frictionally projected into or otherwise 
secured and retained within the bore 15. In the illustrative embodiment 
said sleeve is of reduced diameter with respect to the diameter of the 
nock so that upon assembly of the nock and the sleeve 23 within bore 15, 
the nock is in end to end engagement with the arrow body and forms a 
smooth continuation thereof, in FIG. 3. 
Broadly defined, a normally open electrical circuit including a lamp 27 and 
a battery assembly with electrical connections is nested within the sleeve 
23 and the body 13 and the lamp 27 is nested within the bore 25 in nock 
21. Accordingly the manual switch means 61 is in the form of a switch arm 
guidably mounted upon the body and within an aperture 67 therein, adapted 
for limited longitudinal movement sufficient to close the normally opened 
circuit energizing the lamp. 
In the illustrative embodiment illumination from the lamp is transmitted to 
the exterior of the arrow body by the light transmitting plastic material 
forming the nock 21. As above set forth, portions of the body 13 of the 
arrow adjacent the nock and light source may also be of a light 
transmitting plastic material further transmitting light from the light 
source. The entire body 13 may be constructed of a plastic light 
transmitting material. 
In the event that a neon lamp is used as at 27, then in that case the 
electrical circuit will include such sufficient power transmitter means as 
will energize the florescent or neon lamp. 
In the event that a florescent or neon lamp 27 is employed adapted to be 
energized by a suitable battery 55 of sufficient power, there would be 
incorporated into the electrical circuit a conventional choke or starter 
and inductor and wherein the power transmitting means schematically shown 
at 43-29 includes an invertor circuit raising battery voltage modifying 
the current to AC current of sufficient power to initially activate the 
choke or starter in the circuit and interconnected into the main circuit 
for the florescent lamp 27 energizing the same, all on a conventional 
manner. 
Since the circuitry involved for the electrical power activation of a 
florescent or neon lamp is conventional, further detailed explanation 
thereof is omitted. 
In the illustrative embodiment the electrical circuit per-se includes lamp 
27 with its leads 31 and 33 in insulated relation, at their respective 
ends connected to the adjacent ends of the conductors 37 and 41 insulated 
at 47 therebetween, and with said conductors nested within an insulator 
sleeve 49. The insulator sleeve has a bore 53 and snugly and removably 
receives an inner end portion of the battery 55 with one contact 57 in 
registry with contact 39 on conductor 37. The other conductor 41 has a 
switch contact 45 normally nested within an outwardly opening aperture 65 
in the insulator sleeve 49 and normally spaced from the secondary contact 
surface 59 of the battery. 
This complete assembly as a unit is projected into the nock mounted sleeve 
23 so that the lamp 27 is positioned and nested within the nock bore 25. 
So assembled as a unit, nock and the connected sleeve 23 are projected 
snugly and frictionally into the bore 15 of the arrow body assuming the 
relative position of the parts shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. At this time the 
electrical circuit is normally open and is closed on manual movement of 
the switch arm 61 from the position shown in FIG. 3 in a direction towards 
the head 17 sufficient to move the contact 45 into engagement with the 
battery contact 59. 
One form of electrical switch means is described in the foregoing 
Specification as a manual switch upon the body of the arrow, it is 
contemplated that other switches could also function to accomplish the 
same result. For example a switch may be a mercury switch, a magnetic 
switch, or an inertia switch capable of closing the electrical circuit to 
the power source as desired. 
Another form of electrical switch means may include a photo electric cell 
normally maintaining the circuit open during daylight. Under reduced 
daylight conditions including dusk, the switch automatically closes to 
energize the light circuit. 
Another form of electrical switch means includes the use of a remote radio 
signal to activate a receiver switch on the arrow to close such circuit. 
Having described my invention reference should now be had to the following 
claims.