Abstract:
The support devices of the present invention are simple and inexpensive devices. They are for use on the arrow rest ledge of the handle of, e.g., a compound bow and are used in conjunction with conventional fixed and fall away arrow rests. They do not rely on automatic triggers or manipulation by the archer using the hand holding the handle prior to the release of the arrow. In one embodiment, a “pin” support device consists of straight pins fixed to a support base and positioned ahead of a fall away rest. In another embodiment, a “loop” support device, used with a fixed arrow rest device, uses a spring biased wire loop attached to a support base which goes over the arrow to keep the arrow on the arrow rest. The support devices either automatically fall away from the arrow or the arrow moves away from the support device so that there is no interference in the flight of the arrow or contact with the fletching as the arrow passes by.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED CLAIMS 
   This application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/369,885, entitled “Arrow Support Device for Archery Bow”, filed on Apr. 3, 2002, and the specification thereof is incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to archery devices. Specifically, it relates to a support device for attachment to a bow and for use in conjunction with an arrow rest. 
   Developments in the field of archery have resulted in a move away from the use of and reliance on the traditional arrow rest ledge that is found is part of the handle of an archery bow to support the arrow as it is drawn and aimed. Typically, the fletching on the arrow will touch or strike the arrow rest ledge as the arrow leaves the bow and this can result in shooting inaccuracies. This would be true whether the shooting is at targets in a competitive environment or in the field during hunting. The move is toward a more sophisticated, narrower, and less intrusive arrow rest. The narrow or minimal arrow rest is desirable because it means that there is a minimal contact of the arrow and its support as the arrow is drawn and released. But, the problem with using the smallest possible arrow rest is that before the arrow is drawn back, prior to release, the arrow can fall off the arrow rest because of the influence of wind or movement whether the archer is shooting at targets or hunting. When the arrow falls off, the shooter must take the time to replace it. In a timed target shooting event, this will tend to put further pressure on the shooter. If the shooter feels that the arrow is not stable on the arrow rest, it will be distracting and keep the shooter from giving their full attention to hitting the target. 
   The need to retain the arrow on the arrow rest or replace the arrow on the arrow rest, has lead to the development of a number of devices for that purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,309 to Sheliga discloses a manually operated arrow holder and replacer which is operated by a moveable lever that mechanically links to a replacer which is moved into and out of an arrow holding position by the manually operated lever. In the non-holding position, the replacer acts like a cradle to catch the arrow if it falls off the arrow rest, while moving the lever will move the replacer to a vertical orientation to replace the arrow back on the arrow rest. The design operates by moving the replacer into a flat horizontal position when shooting and requires manipulation of the lever with one of the hands on the bow. U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,502 to Ray discloses the use of support legs mounted to the exterior side wall of a handle visor section of an archery bow where the support legs are used in conjunction with an alignment leg to guide an arrow between the guide legs and the alignment leg. U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,356 to Chappell discloses an arrow holder which has a trigger operated at the front of the handle and a retainer that holds the arrow against the bow as the arrow is drawn. Pressing a finger pull causes the retainer to rotate away from the arrow before the drawn arrow is released. U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,895 to Troncoso, Jr. teaches an arrow rest used in conjunction with a second device which is in the form of a blade bent up and forked or notched to blocking an arrow shaft that gripping it to prevent the arrow from rolling it off the rest. The blade is designed to be easily flipped down and out of the way when the vanes of an arrow just shot by the bow strike it. 
   Additional examples of support devices used in association with arrow rests and which function like those discussed earlier include U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,005 to Schiff; U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,323 to Townley; U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,842 to Bradley; U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,362 to Cook; U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,699 to Gerber; U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,530 to Van Drielen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,958 to Laffin; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,007 to Saunders. 
   While most of these patents recognize that some devices are necessary to stabilize the arrow and hold it in position prior to its release, they also recognize that if the device remains in position, they will interfere with the flight of the arrow or produce some contact such as with the fletching which can change the flight of the arrow. Therefore, these devices have been developed with a lot of sophistication. For example, these devices rely on the movement of the arrow or strings to trigger the release of the holder or guide device. Alternatively, these devices rely on manually operated trigger devices that are operated by the archer and located near the handle or riser of the bow to move the retention device from the path of the arrow just prior to its release. The problem with these devices is that the additional step that the archer must take is distracting and the physical step of triggering imparts unnecessary motion during the shooting process. Also, the triggering of the release of the holder imparts motion as well. 
   Arrow rests which minimize the contact with the arrow while providing support have generally fallen into two categories. These include fixed arrow rests and fall away or drop away arrow rests. Examples of fixed arrow rests providing nominal contact include U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,919 to Davis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,769 to Troncoso; U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,381 to Mizek; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,251 to Harwath et al. These type of rests are not absolutely fixed in that they are usually spring tensioned and adjustable depending upon the arrows being shot and other factors. Further, the arrow rest is not necessarily a single support, but could be such. Often, the arrow rest may consist of two support pieces that are spaced apart and allow the fletching on the arrow to shoot through the gap. 
   The “fall away” or “drop away” arrow rest supporting the arrow in a manner similar to the fixed arrow rest but operates by having the arrow rest is fixed to a rotating shaft. The shaft will rotate usually using an actuator cord tied to, for example, the tuning strings of a compound bow. As the arrow and tuning strings are drawn back, the actuator cord is also drawn rearward, causing the support shaft for the arrow rest to rotate which, in turn, causes the arrow rest that is fixed to the support shaft to move and raise the support point for the arrow. The arrow rest will rise from a generally horizontal orientation toward a more vertical orientation through an arc of approximately 45°. When the arrow is released, the tension on the actuator cord is released, and the arrow rest moves back in a direction of the riser. This is accomplished by a spring, magnets, or similar devices that go into compression due to the pull of the cord and the compressive force acts to move the arrow rest when the tension of the cord is released. This allows the arrow rest to fall or drop away from the arrow back to its rest position. The arrow which is now released in flight has nothing in its path to touch or interfere with its flight. Examples of fall away arrow rests include U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,832 to Piersons, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,528 to Eckert; U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,635 to Evans; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,492 to Savage. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is the result of the discovery that a simple support device for use on the arrow rest ledge of the handle of a compound bow and in combination with an arrow rest will keep the arrow on the arrow rest despite the action of wind and motion on the arrow before it is shot. In one embodiment, a “pin” support device in employed that consists of straight rods or pins fixed to a support base and positioned ahead of a fall away rest. The rest is described as “fall away”, but it actually lift up as the arrow is drawn back and then falls away on release of the arrow. The support device will maintain the arrow on the arrow rest when the arrow is not drawn, but when the arrow is in the fully drawn position, the support device will not be in the position to interfere with the flight or the fletching of the arrow. 
   In another embodiment, a “loop” support device, is used with a fixed arrow rest device, and comprises a wire which will loop over the arrow when it is not drawn to keep the arrow on the arrow rest. A “fixed” arrow rest is also one that falls away, in that it is in a relatively fixed position when and as the arrow is drawn back, but falls away upon release of the arrow. Both the “pin” and “loop” support devices are used with “drop away” arrow rests and that term will be used for both. Although, the lift up and drop away arrow rest is preferred for use with the “pin” support device. The loop is attached to a support base and is spring-biased to fall off the arrow when the arrow is in the drawn position. In use, the support device is looped over the arrow (or the arrow is passed through the loop) so that the loop rotates from a generally horizontal orientation to a more vertical orientation. The spring tension keeps the loop on the arrow to hold it in place on the arrow rest until it is in a fully drawn position. As the arrow is drawn back towards the fully drawn position, the tip of the arrow will move past the loop and the loop will fall away from the arrow automatically due to the spring tension. When the loop is employed with broadhead arrows, the rollers or wheels can be added to the loop so that the rollers will rotate on the axis of the loop. This will facilitate the passage of the loop over the broadhead arrow point. 
   The support devices of the present invention are simple and inexpensive devices. They do not rely on automatic triggers or manipulation by the archer using the hand holding the handle prior to the release of the arrow. They automatically fall away or the arrow moves away from the support device so that they will not interfere in the flight of the arrow or contact the fletching as the arrow passes by. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a complete understanding of the objects, techniques and structure of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a compound bow employing a loop support device in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a detailed view of the riser section of the bow shown in  FIG. 1  employing a loop support device in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a side view of a compound bow employing a loop support device in accordance with the present invention, but shown in the fully drawn position; 
       FIG. 4  is a detailed view of the riser section of the bow of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded view of one embodiment of a loop support device of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is an isometric view of one embodiment of a loop support device in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a side view in the relaxed position of a bow employing a pin support device in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 8  is an isometric view of an embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates generally-cylindrical pins; 
       FIG. 9  is a side view of a bow in a drawn position and employing a pin support device in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 10  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates tapered pins; 
       FIG. 11  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates oval pins; 
       FIG. 12  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates triangular pins; 
       FIG. 13  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates tapered rectangular pins; 
       FIG. 14  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a pin support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates hexagonal pins; 
       FIG. 15  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a loop support device in accordance with the present invention which illustrates a loop and spring coil made from flat spring wire; and 
       FIG. 16  is an isometric view of another embodiment of a loop support device in accordance with the present invention which employs a roller at the end of the loop. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   As noted, the present invention is directed to a support device for use on a bow, preferably a compound bow, although it is not limited to such use and can be used on other types of bows. For convenience, the invention will be described as used on a compound bow. Further, the device is used with an arrow rest and keeps the arrow on the rest until the arrow is drawn for shooting. 
     FIG. 1  shows a compound bow employing one embodiment of the support device of the present invention. The bow shown is a typical compound bow having a riser section  1 , handle  2 , limbs  3  and  4 , an idler wheel  5 , a compound cam  6 , and being strung such that there is an upwardly acting tuning cable  7 , a downwardly acting tuning cable  8 , and a bow string  9 . Also shown is an arrow  10  having a tip  11 , a fletching  12 , and a knock  13  which is attached to bow string  9 . As is typical in a compound bow, also present are a cable guide  14  and a cable slide  15 . 
   The bow also employs an arrow rest  16  which is in held in a relatively fixed position by a support shaft  17  which is attached to the handle  1  or the riser  2  via a bracket  18 . The arrow rest  16  may be adjusted by rotating the support shaft  17  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction via an adjustment mechanism that is known in the art but is not shown. The fixed arrow rest supports are known in the prior art and is use of a particular fixed arrow rest is not critical to the present invention. 
   The loop support device in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  6  is generally indicated by the numeral  19  in FIG.  1 . As seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the support device consists of a base  21  combined with a wire support device  22  which is attached to base  21 . The support device can be made from a single piece of wire, bent so that a U-shaped support section  23  is attached to a pair of spring sections  24  and  25  which, in turn, are attached to legs  26  and  27 . The shape of the wire loop is not critical. The shape is generally U shaped, but it does not have to be a narrow U-shape as shown in FIG.  6 . It could be described as more toward semi-circular in shape, which for the purposes of this application will be referred to as “U-shaped”. The open part of the “U” is then attached to the base. The size is not critical although the loop should define an opening large enough to accommodate an arrow and will preferably be in the range of about 5 to 13 millimeters in diameter. The device is assembled by passing legs  26  and  27  through holes  28  and  29  in base plate  21  and bending the legs back toward the bow string as shown by dotted lines of bent leg  30 . Leg  27  will be bent in the same way. The general orientation of the device is such that the U-shaped section  23  or loop will point away from the bowstring. The base plate  21  can be affixed to the arrow rest ledge  20  of handle  2 , for example, using a double-sided adhesive foam pad  31  having release sheets  32  and  33  which are removed to expose the adhesive surfaces  34  and  35 . Surface  35  would be adhered against the arrow rest ledge  30  of handle  2 , while surface  34  would be adhered to the underside  36  of support base  21 . The base of the spring biased loop  19  could be attached to the arrow rest ledge  20  by other means such as screwing, nailing, using snaps, using magnets, using hook-and-loop fastener, or the like, or need not be attached to base plate  21  at all. Loop  19  could be attached directly to arrow rest ledge  20  by, for example, fixing legs  27  and  28  to ledge  20  using an adhesive or other bonding composition or by embedding or fixing legs  27  and  28  in the upper surface of ledge  20 . The benefit of using a base plate is that the guide device can be placed where the user desires it or where it is appropriate if short arrows are being used. The use of the base plate provides flexibility and versatility. 
   The loop support device, including the loop and the base, can be made from a variety of materials, including aluminum, copper, steel, and plastic. The base, as well as the loop, can be coated or provided with a variety of colors and finishes. For example, it may be desirable to have a less reflective or a dark color finish when the bow is used for hunting so the guide is not visible to prey or reflective of sunlight. It preferred that the loop be made from a light weight sturdy material such as steel wire having a thickness of 0.001 to 0.01 inch, with about 0.0029 inch wire being further preferred. The thickness of the wire is not critical since the same spring tension can be achieved by varying the turns of the coil. For example, a thicker wire would use less turns, while a thinner wire would use more turns to produce the same spring tension. Further, although a “U” shape is shown for the loop, other geometries are contemplated and could be employed. For example, the loop could have a square shape, a rectangular shape, a triangular shape, or the like geometries. Still further, the loop support device could be formed from one piece of wire as shown and is preferred, or could be made from separate pieces which are assembled. For example, the spring mechanism need not be a double torsion spring as shown and other spring mechanisms can be employed. Thus, for example, the spring mechanism could be a single spring attached to a support member to provide the bias for a “loop” used to hold the arrow on the arrow rest to move to a rest position which does not interfere with the flight of the arrow. Alternatively, the spring could be a flat coil spring or springs and the loop and spring coils could be made from one or more pieces of flat spring wire such as wire  62 , as shown in FIG.  15 . Still further, the loop could employ wheels or rollers which rotate around the axis of the loop wire and which facilitate the passage of the loop over the arrow point of the arrow such as roller  60  illustrated in FIG.  16 . This might be particularly helpful where the arrow head is a broadhead. 
   The use of an adhesive pad allows the support device to placed in different locations on the arrow rest ledge, depending upon the length of arrows employed or other choices or conveniences of the shooter. As shown in  FIG. 6  by arrow  38 , the U-shaped part of the loop support device is moveable up, or pivots, by operating against the springs  24  and  25  and, when released, the springs will return the U-shaped portion back to a rest position as shown. With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the arrow is placed through the support device  22 , a U-shaped portion  23  of the support device serves to hold arrow  10  when it is nocked, but not drawn. In this way, wind or movement or contact with bushes, for hunters, will not make the arrow fall off the arrow rest  16  due to the restraint of the loop. When the arrow is in the drawn position, as is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the tip  11  of the arrow is reached and the loop will slide or fall off the end of the arrow and return to the rest position because of the bias of the springs  24  and  25 . At this point, the arrow is fully drawn and the weight of the arrow will maintain the arrow on the arrow rest. Once the arrow is released, the support device has moved out of the way and will not interfere with the flight of the arrow nor touch the fletching of the arrow. Further, because the device of the present invention can be made with small gauge wire, the forces involved in restraining the arrow and returning the device to its rest position are very slight. The movement of the loop off of the tip of the arrow is not enough to be a distraction to the shooter or influence the flight of the arrow. 
     FIG. 8  shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention for use in conjunction with a fall away arrow rest. In this embodiment, the pin support device consists of a base  40  and a pair of pins  41  and  42 . The pins or rods are generally cylindrical, but could be other shapes such as ovals, hexagons, squares, rectangles, triangles, and other geometric shapes. Thus, the “pin” could have a cross-section that was rectangular in that its cross-section described a long thin rectangle. The pin shape is preferred since it does not require extra materials and is effective. The additional shapes are for esthetics, and not critical to function. The base and the pins can be made out of any materials known to mankind, including metals such as aluminum, copper, steel, or mixtures or alloys of these. They could also be made from plastic, rubber, polymeric materials, or even wood. The pins  41  and  42  can be made as an integral part of the base  40  such as by molding the whole device from plastic or the pins can be made separately out of, e.g., aluminum, and assembled by joining the pins with the base by pushing the pins into holes  43  and  44  in base  40 . Further, the pins need not be uniform in shape like a cylinder and could have other shapes such as, for example, a narrower top and a thicker bottom so that they taper from top to bottom. The tapered pin share  50  is illustrated in  FIG. 10 , and additional examples of other pin shapes are illustrated in  FIGS. 11-14 , and include oval-shaped pins  52  (FIG.  11 ), triangular-shaped pins  54  (FIG.  12 ), rectangular-shaped pins  56  (FIG.  13 ), and hexagonal-shaped pins  58  (FIG.  14 ). A preferred embodiment would involve using tapered pins having one end which are readily inserted into holes in the base and pushed through to engage the larger end in the hole where it is supported and held in place. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 7 and 9 , when the arrow is in the rest position, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the pins of the support device will keep the arrow on the arrow rest  46 , which in this embodiment is a fall away arrow rest. When in the drawn position, as shown in  FIG. 9 , actuator cord  45  will pull on the support shaft  47  attached via support  48  to handle  2  and cause the support shaft  47  to rotate. This in turn will cause the arrow rest  46  to rise and with it the arrow (as shown by the arrows under the arrow  10 ) and place the arrow in position above the height of the pins  41  and  42  of support device  39 . 
   Support device  39  is mounted on arrow rest ledge  30  using a double-sided adhesive foam pad  31  as discussed earlier. As note above, the support device  39  could be mounted using other securing means, such as such as screwing, nailing, using snaps, using magnets, using hook-and-loop fastener, or the like, or need not be attached using a base plate  21 , at all. Further, base  40  could be made from two pieces, e.g., two rectangular pieces like the single piece shown, but which are moveably fixed to each other, such as by a pin and slot or other means, so that one of the pieces can be fixed while the other can be moved, e.g., linearly, to adjust the position of the pins  41  and  42 . This would allow for adjustment depending upon the length of the arrow being shot. Still further, an adjustable base could be employed for a loop support device as well. Pins  41  and  42  could be attached directly to arrow rest ledge  20  by, for example, fixing pins  41  and  42  to ledge  20  using an adhesive or glue or other bonding composition or by embedding the pins in the upper surface of ledge  20 . The benefit of using a base plate is that the guide device can be placed where the user desires it, where it is appropriate if short arrows are being used, and allows modification of the bow after its manufacture. The use of the base plate provides flexibility and versatility. The location of the device  39  on arrow rest ledge  30  is not critical. What is important is that it be located such that pins  41  and  42  will maintain arrow  10  on rest  46  in the rest position and, when arrow  10  is in the drawn position, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the arrow will be at least three centimeters above the height of the pins. Since pins  41  and  42  are made of materials which can be trimmed once the device  39  is in place so that the height of the pins can be positioned appropriately. The pins are made of a material which is sturdy enough to keep the arrow on the arrow rest, but which can be readily cut or trimmed with scissors or shears or a knife. Further, the spacing of the pins is not critical. Usually, they will be space such that they will accommodate the largest arrow, e.g., a number 2613, or a smaller arrow, such as an ACC. Thus the spacing will be in the range of 5 to 13 millimeters to accommodate a variety of sizes. The spacing need not be overly generous since the arrow when drawn will be above the tops of the pins and will not have to pass through the support device. 
   Thus, it can be seen that the objects of the invention have been satisfied by the structure and its method for use presented above. While in accordance with the Patent Statutes, only the best mode and preferred embodiment has been presented and described in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.