Abstract:
A handle to grip a broadhead arrow head enabling the handle and arrow head combination to form a knife suitable for hunting purposes. The handle includes a release button, a wrench, and a first and a second cavity. The first cavity accepts a shaft on the rear of the broadhead to aid in connecting the broadhead and handle. The release button activates a grip mechanism which locks the broadhead in the handle, while the wrench serves to aid in loosening or tightening the broadhead to the arrow shaft. The second cavity houses a sharpening guide which attaches to the handle and guides a sharpening rod at the correct angle to sharpen the broadhead.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    1. Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to broadhead archery arrows, herein referred to as simply broadheads, and more particularly to the multiple use of such arrow heads as well as a means for maintaining the sharpness of the arrow heads.  
           [0003]    2. Prior Art  
           [0004]    There are a number of prior art patents relating to archery arrows, knives with detachable blades, and means for sharpening such arrow heads and blades. The following patents are representatives of the prior art in these areas.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,515, illustrates a scabbard with angularly arranged abrasive elements to engage and sharpen a knife blade. As the blade and the abrasive element wear, there is nothing to correct the angle of the abrasive with respect to the blade in order to accurately re-sharpen the blade. In addition there is no provision for removal of the blade so that it can serve an additional function.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,469 illustrates a handle which grips a blade by means of a knob which is tightened against the blade to hold the blade in place. There is no provision to have the blade quickly locked in place, nor does this device have a sharpening guide to accurately set the sharpening angle.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,966 illustrates a knife with a blade sharpener stored in the handle. However, it fails to have a sharpening guide or a quick blade release mechanism.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,105 illustrates a blade handle which permits the blade to extend out of the handle. However, it fails to have a blade that can be conveniently detached for alternate use away from the handle.  
           [0009]    The present invention, which is described below, overcomes all the shortcomings noted above for the referenced prior art patents by providing a handle that permits quickly locking a broadhead into the handle, while at the same time, providing a sharpening guide in a jig arrangement with the handle to accurately sharpen the broadhead. It is a useful combination in that both sharpening the broadhead blade and providing a sharp knife are both quite advantageous while engaged in hunting activities. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a side view of a broadhead held by a handle.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional top view of the broadhead and handle with a release button which controls the grip mechanism used to secure the broadhead to the handle. The release button is in the release position in this Figure.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional top view of the broadhead and handle with the release button in the locked position.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a top view of the broadhead showing a necked-in portion used in conjunction with the release button to secure the broadhead to the handle.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a side view of the spring used in the release button grip mechanism to bias the button outwardly of the handle.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 6 is a side view of the broadhead and handle with a partial cross sectional view of the handle used to show the cavity for storing the sharpening guide. The guide, in this Figure is shown immediately adjacent to its storage cavity.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 7 is a side view of the broadhead and handle with a partial cross sectional view of portions of the handle showing the guide&#39;s position when stored within the handle.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 8 shows the handle with the guide attached in its operating position and a sharpening rod placed in two positions typically used to sharpen the broadhead.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 9 is a forward end view of the handle with the guide attached as in FIG. 8 and the sharpening rod passed through the guide hole and in contact with the broadhead&#39;s edge at an angle for sharpening the broadhead which is determined by the sharpening guide.  
     
    
     SUMMARY  
       [0019]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle which holds a broadhead arrow head to form a hunting knife.  
         [0020]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle for a broadhead which permits the broadhead to be secured to the handle by a gripping mechanism that requires no tools for activation.  
         [0021]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a handle which can be used to quickly grip and quickly release a broadhead.  
         [0022]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a sharpening guide for the broadhead which is stored within the handle and is quickly attached to the handle in its operating position.  
         [0023]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a sharpening guide which attaches to a handle, to use the handle and guide as a jig for correctly sharpening the broadhead.  
         [0024]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a wrench that may be used to tightening or loosening a broadhead on an arrow shaft.  
         [0025]    It is and object of the present invention to provide a handle for a broadhead which includes as an integral part of the handle a wrench for tightening or loosening a broadhead on an arrow shaft.  
         [0026]    The present invention includes a handle to grip a broadhead arrow head enabling the handle and arrow head combination to form a knife suitable for hunting purposes. The handle includes a release button, a wrench, and a first and second cavity. The first cavity accepts a shaft on the broadhead to aid in connecting the broadhead to the handle. The release button activates a grip mechanism which locks the broadhead in the handle, while the wrench serves to aid in loosening or tightening the broadhead to the arrow shaft. The second cavity houses a sharpening guide which may be attached to the handle to guide a sharpening rod at the correct angle to sharpen the broadhead arrow head.  
         [0027]    To use the invention, a shaft extending from the rear of the broadhead is easily inserted into the first cavity where it is seated and locked in position by merely pressing and releasing the release button. With the broadhead locked into the handle, the combination of the broadhead and handle can be used as a knife or the broadhead can be correctly sharpened using the handle as a jig in combination with a sharpening guide. To sharpen the broadhead, the sharpening guide is pressed into place on the handle and a sharpening rod is placed through a hole within the guide with its abrasive surface positioned across the broadhead&#39;s blade edge. The guide automatically places the sharpening rod at the correct angle with respect to the broadhead for sharpening the broadheads blade edges. The rod is then simply moved back and forth across the blade&#39;s edge to effect the correct sharpening of the broadhead.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0028]    [0028]FIG. 1 is a side view of a broadhead  1  held by a handle  2 , while FIG. 2 is a cross sectional top view of the handle and blade shown in FIG. 1. The handle, as shown in FIG. 1, has a central longitudinal axis running generally horizontally through it and it has two sides, the first of which is shown in FIG. 1. The second side is located directly opposite the first side. Both sides are generally parallel to one another and both are parallel to the central longitudinal axis. The handle includes a front or first end to the left and a second or back end to the right. It can be seen in this Figure that the broadhead  1  includes a first sharpened blade edge  1 F and a second sharpened blade edge  1 G and the broadhead is connected to the first end of the handle. The first end of the handle has a first cavity  10  with an opening  10 A. The opening  10 A is primarily in the form of a slot with a central axis that is positioned generally vertically and is designed to accept the broadhead. The broadhead is pushed into the slot and held within the first cavity to form a knife from the broadhead and the handle.  
         [0029]    The handle includes a second slot  5  for a sharpening guide  9 , a detent pin  5 A to hold the guide in the slot, a release button  3  to release the broadhead, an opening  6 A to a second cavity  6  within the handle for storing the guide  9  and a wrench  4  consisting of a first tooth  4 A and a second tooth  4 B, both teeth extending outwardly from the second end of the handle. The cavity  6  can be seen in FIG. 2. The wrench is used to connect and disconnect the broadhead from an arrow shaft.  
         [0030]    The second slot  5  for the sharpening guide is located on the upper portion of the handle&#39;s first or front end. The second slot forms an angle of typically 45° with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the handle but can range from 30 to 60 degrees to cause the sharpening guide to face the lower cutting edge of the arrow head so that a sharpening rod can be used to correctly address this edge during the sharpening operation. The release button is located in the middle of the handle, just to the right of the broadhead. The opening  6 A to a first cavity  6  is located in the upper portion of the second end of the handle. The wrench is located just below the opening  6 A on the second end of the handle.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 3 is a cross sectional top view of the broadhead arrow head and the knife handle while FIG. 4 is a top view of the broadhead arrow head  1  showing it to include a broadhead shaft  1 B which extends to the right of an unsharpened arrow head edge  1 I that is shown in FIG. 1. The broadhead arrow head is generally flat and approximate a triangle with three tips such as tips  1 J and  1 K with  1 J being the arrow point. The arrow head has two cutting edges  1 F and  1 G which meet in the point  1 J. A central longitudinal axis runs through the central arm  1 H of the arrow head and lies between cutting edges  1 F and  1 G. The central longitudinal axis of the arrow head extends from the arrow point  1 J through the central arm  1 H and all the way through the arrow head shaft  1 B. It can be seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and  3  that the arrow head shaft  1 B is connected to the arrow head along the unsharpened cutting edge of the arrow  1 I. The shaft portion of the broadhead include a flange  1 E, a neck  1 C, and a threaded end  1 D which is located at the right end of the broadhead shaft and is used to attach the broadhead to an arrow shaft. The arrow shaft typically includes a threaded socket designed to accept the threaded end  1 D of the broadhead.  
         [0032]    The release button  3  is shown in FIG. 2 in its blade release or downward position. Downward refers to the button being pressed downward into the knife handle. The release button is typically a short cylinder having a first and a second end. The first end of the cylinder faces outward and is referred to as the contact surface which is pressed to activate the button. A rod is either attached to or in contact with the second end of the button. The release button is shown in its blade grip or upward position in FIG. 3. This button includes on its rod a tapered down portion  3 A located immediate below the second end of the button. Below the tapered down portion  3 A is the remainder of the shaft portion  3 B which extends across the handle over the neck of the broadhead and into a first spring  7  which biases the button in an upward direction. In the upper part of the button shaft  3 B is a relieved area to allow the broadhead shaft  1 B to pass by the button. When the broadhead has fully entered into the first cavity and is seated, releasing the button results in the button rising along with the portion of the button shaft  3 B that has not been relieved. This unrelieved portion passes through the neck of portion  1 C of the broadhead shaft  1 B and rests on this portion of the broadhead shaft. This position of the release button locks the broadhead in the handle. The button must be depressed and held in the depressed position to release the broadhead from the handle.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3 is a side view of spring  7  used in the operation of the release button. FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional view of the handle  2  which is divided into two halves  2 A and  2 B. Half  2 A is the upper half, while  2 B is the lower half. The cavity  6  is for storing the sharpening guide  9  which can be seen the this Figure along with the magnet  13  used to hold the guide in the cavity.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 7 is a partial cross sectional view similar to FIG. 6 showing the guide  9  when stored in the cavity  6 .  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 9 is a forward end view of the handle. It shows the broadhead as seated into the handle. Note that the first slot  10 A which is the opening to the first cavity  10  is located at the first end of the handle and is designed to fit closely about the broadhead. As noted, when the broadhead is seated in the handle, the portion of the broadhead in contact with handle is captured by this slot, preventing the broadhead from rotating about its shaft. When fully seated, the broadhead is prevented from rotating by means of the first slot and prevented from moving in the handle&#39;s longitudinal direction by means of the release button. The broadhead is held firmly in the handle by these two means and therefore is usable as a knife. This fixed position of the broadhead with respect to the handle also facilitates accurate sharpening of the blade.  
         [0036]    A major problem with many prior art sharpening systems is the sharpening tool, which is usually an abrasive rod or stone. This tool in prior art applications is simply guided by hand across the blade edges. Often, the abrasive tools angle with respect to the blade is varied as it is moved from one area on the blade edge to the next. This result in uneven sharpening and eventually pitting which in its extreme provides an uneven blade edge with a saw-tooth-like edge.  
         [0037]    This problem is eliminated in the present invention by means of the sharpening guide  9  which is shown in FIGS. 6, 7,  8  and  9 . As can be seen in FIG. 6, the guide is a generally rectangular in shape with a horizontally positioned longitudinal axis. The guide includes first and second rectangularly shaped sharpening guide holes,  9 A and  9 B. The first guide hole  9 A is located near the left end of the guide, while the second guide hole  9  B is located near the right end of the guide. The guide also includes two depressions  9 C and  9 D in the middle of the guide, with depression  9 C being located over depression  9 D.  
         [0038]    This guide is inserted in the second slot  5  and is locked in place by detent pin  5 A which is spring loaded by spring  7 B and extends under spring pressure into depression  9 D. The slot  5  extends through the handle to let a portion of the guide extend out from the handle on both sides of the handle. A second pin, not shown, extends into depression  9 C. Balls may be substituted for the pins and more pins and depressions may be used if a stronger hold is desired.  
         [0039]    A sharpening rod, such as rod  11 , is placed through hole  9 B and also placed in a position to touch the broadhead blade edge  1 C as shown in FIG. 8. Because the rod has one end in hole  9 B, it is constrained to contact the blade edge at a specific angle which insures that the blade is sharpened properly without any gouging caused by attempting to sharpening at an improper angle between the rod and blade.  
         [0040]    The rod  11  typically is composed of three portions, a holder  11 C, located at one end of the rod, a central portion  11 A with an abrasive coating and an end  11 B opposite the holder end, with no coating, that is inserted in the guide holes.  
         [0041]    The guide holes are wide enough to allow the rod to cover a complete blade edge. A second position the rod can take is illustrated in FIG. 8, where rod  11  can be rotated along arc  12 A from the position of rod  11  at the side of the broadhead to the position of rod  12  which covers the tip of the broadhead.  
         [0042]    All of the blade edges of the broadhead can be reached by first using both holes in the guide, to permit sharpening both sides of a broadhead blade edge. The broadhead is then released from the handle, inverted, and reinserted in the handle to place the remaining blade in a position to be sharpened by the sharpening rod.  
         [0043]    When the sharpening has been completed, the guide may be released from slot  5  merely by applying finger pressure to the guide to force it out of the slot. The detent pins are rounded at their ends and will be forced back into the handle by the cam action of the depressions in the guide. Once released from slot  5 , the guide is stored in the first cavity  6  at the second end of the handle where it is held in the cavity by magnet  10 , which is located at the far end of the cavity and is secured to the handle. As can be seen in FIG. 7, a portion of the guide such as 25 percent of the guide extends outside of the handle where it can be gripped by the fingers and pulled free of the magnet when desired. The guide may be fabricated from a magnetic material or be attached to magnetic material to insure its being held in the cavity by the magnet. Alternatively, a releasable clip mechanism may be employed to hold the guide.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 1 shows the wrench  4  with projection teeth  4 A and  4 B located at the rear end of the handle. The opposite inside surfaces of these teeth are parallel. These teeth grip the central member  1 H of the broadhead to aid in attaching to or releasing the broadhead from an arrow shaft. The way in which the wrench engages the broadhead is shown in the upper portion of FIG. 8 where a second broadhead  1 A is being tightened onto an arrow shaft  13 .  
         [0045]    A preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein; however, the invention is not limited to a specific embodiment, but includes equivalent which will become obvious to those skilled in the art once exposed to the embodiment described herein. Included in such equivalent are variations in the sharpening guide to place the sharpening rod at the correct angle for wider or narrower broadhead arrow heads or other arrow heads which have blade edges in need of sharpening. Such variations in blade size can easily be accommodated by changing the size of the holes on the sharpening guide and the location of the guide with respect to the blade. The release button can be replaced by a number of mechanical equivalent including a screw clamp or a spring catch. The guide may be held in its cavity by spring clips rather than by a magnet.  
         [0046]    The present invention does not reside solely in a single feature, but encompasses the total combination of all the features presented herein.