Patent Publication Number: US-5526800-A

Title: Adjustable archery arrow support assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally involves those devices used in archery to support the arrow on the side of the bow during target shooting and hunting conditions. More specifically, the invention relates to an archery arrow support device using a rigidly-constructed, spring-loaded yoke assembly as the supporting member. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As stated in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325, prior art has recognized the problems inherent in the drawing and releasing of a bowstring without causing inconsistent vertical and lateral displacement forces to be imposed on the arrow which influence it to assume inconsistent bending patterns on impact of release and during acceleration out of the bow. Vertical displacement force is intentionally achieved by nocking the arrow somewhat above the horizontal center line of force, influencing the arrow to assume a downward bend at the impact of release. Unintentional vertical displacement forces are present due to inconsistent release problems, variations in pressure in the archer&#39;s bow arm and hand, and unavoidable imbalances in the bow limbs, all of which are transferred to the bowstring and to the arrow nocked thereon. Lateral displacement force is generated by lateral displacement of the bowstring at the instant of release, the finger style of shooting causing the greatest degree of displacement, and modern mechanical release devices causing little or no lateral displacement. 
     Lateral displacement of the bowstring is also caused by any lateral movement of the archer&#39;s bow hand, wrist, arm, or body or by torque built into the bow during manufacture due to inconsistency in alignment and limb balance. Lateral displacement of the accelerating arrow shaft can be caused by interaction of vertical and lateral arrow-supporting members of the arrow support system. Prior art recognizes that any lateral displacement is undesirable using cushioning devices to compensate for it. 
     Arrow support devices which minimize these problems are disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325. The present invention is directed towards improving the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325. 
     Other devices are used to compensate for variations in vertical displacement, assuming that lateral displacement is not present when using mechanical release devices. Exemplary of additional archery arrow support devices of the prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,847,593; 2,665,679; 2,743,716; 3,059,631; 3,108,584; 3,285,327; 3,292,607; 3,372,686; 3,482,563; 3,494,347; 3,698,375; 3,757,764; 3,828,757; 3,871,352; 3,890,951; 3,918,428; 4,119,078; 4,324,221; 4,917,072; and 5,103,797. 
     In my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325, it was stated that both vertical and lateral displacement forces may be present during release and acceleration of the shot, and that it is apparent that if two displacement forces-one in the vertical direction and one in the lateral direction-act in combination on the arrow during release and acceleration, a net force is imparted to the arrow which will influence the arrow to bend along a theoretical net line of force. It is also apparent that if the vertical and lateral displacement forces are of inconsistent amplitude, the degree of difference between the values of the two forces will produce radial inconsistency of the theoretical net line of force, causing the arrow to bend and fly accordingly. 
     As known in the art, some archers use their fingers to grip the bowstring while drawing the bowstring backward to bend the bow, and to release the bowstring. Other archers use a release aid which prevents their fingers from touching the bowstring. It has been found that when using a properly tuned bow, finger shooters cause the first bend of the arrow to be generally toward 4:00  o&#39;clock and release aid shooters will cause the first bend of the arrow to be toward 6:00 o&#39;clock. 
     An arrow support device which could be adjusted to accommodate both finger shooters and release shooters, and the individual characteristics of both shooters, would thus enable a bow to be further tuned to the individual archer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention there is provided an adjustable archery arrow support assembly which permits an archery bow to be &#34;tuned&#34; to an individual archer&#39;s arrow releasing characteristics. The archery arrow support device of the invention is adjusted by rotating the archery arrow support device about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the vertical axis of the archery bow to which the adjustable archery arrow support device of the invention is attached. 
     The present invention has the advantage of permitting the skilled archer to rapidly and precisely tune his archery bow to compensate for the vertical and lateral forces imposed on the arrow which cause bending of the arrow during acceleration and release of the arrow from the bow. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partly cut-away, partly sectional, front elevational view of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, top view, taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the invention shown connected to an archery bow, the archery bow being shown in a fragmentary, partly sectional view; and 
     FIG. 5 is an elevational side view of the invention shown connected to an archery bow, the archery bow being shown in a fragmentary view. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is an improvement of my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325, which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 is shown the adjustable archery arrow support assembly of the invention generally indicated by the numeral 10. In FIGS. 4 and 5 the adjustable archery arrow support assembly 10 is shown attached to the handle section 11a of an archery bow 11. The adjustable archery arrow support assembly 10 includes a pair of elongated, generally non-resilient arrow support members 12 and 14, adapted with mounting flanges 12a and 14a, mounted to yoke 16 by suitable means such as screws 18 and 20 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. Arrow support members 12 and 14 and yoke 16 are intended to be as non-yielding as materials, space limitations, and weight considerations will allow, providing in combination an arrow support-yoke assembly, which moves as a unit as indicated in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,421,092 and 4,569,325. The outer tips of arrow support members 12 and 14 can be provided with a cushion material to minimize noise for hunting purposes. 
     Yoke 16, with arrow support members 12 and 14 attached thereto, is secured in pivot frame 21 by pivot pins 22 and 24. Spring holder arm 26 is connected to pivot frame 21 by screw 28. Spring holder arm 26 has an eye or hole 30 for receipt of one end 32a of coil spring 32. The opposite end 32b of coil spring 32 is connected to yoke 16 by ring 34. Ring 34 is rigidly attached to yoke 16. A stop 36 is rigidly connected to stop holder 37 to limit the rotation of yoke 16, and stop holder 37 is rigidly connected to pivot frame 21. Thus yoke 16 rotates or pivots about pivot pins 22 and 24 in the directions indicated by arrows 38 and 40 shown in FIG. 1 when an arrow is released therefrom. Coil spring 32 biases yoke 16 toward stop 36 during rotation or pivoting of yoke 16. 
     An arrow guide member 38a is preferably connected to pivot frame 21 by screw 40a, although if desired, arrow guide member 38 could be deleted. Arrow guide member 38a guides the point of the arrow toward arrow support members 12 and 14 when the arrow is being initially placed in the archery arrow support assembly 10. An arrow to be shot from archery bow 11 would be placed on arrow support members 12 and 14 with the arrowhead pointing in the direction of arrow 42 in FIG. 1. 
     Pivot frame 21 is forced against the pivot frame holder assembly generally indicated by the numeral 44 by screw 46 and keeper 50. Screw 46 is received in threads 48 formed in pivot frame 21 as shown in FIG. 3. Screw 46 extends through pivot frame holder assembly 44 and keeper 50, and screw cap or head 46a of screw forces keeper 50 into contact with pivot frame holder 44 when screw 46 is tightened. 
     Pivot frame holder assembly 44 includes two curved plates 44a and 44b through which extend screws 52 and 54. Pivot frame holder assembly 44 is rigidly connected to connecting plate 51 by screws 52 and 54. Spacers 53 and 55 separate curved plates 44a and 44b and screws 52 and 54 extend therethrough. Curved plate 44a preferably has a plurality of indicia 45 thereon. 
     Keeper 50 is generally &#34;U&#34;-shaped in cross-section and preferably has a threaded shaft 56 rotatably connected thereto as can be seen in detail in FIG. 2. Threaded shaft 56 has a cap or head 56a at one end and threads 56b. Curved plate 44b has a plurality of grooves or threads 44c therein for receipt of threads 56b of threaded shaft 56. Keeper 50 preferably has a &#34;V&#34;-shaped indicia 50a thereon for alignment with the indicia 45 on curved plate 44a. If desired, threaded shaft 56 could be omitted. 
     Connecting plate 51 is generally rectangular in shape and has pivot frame holder assembly 44 connected to the front face 51a. On the rear face 51b of pivot frame holder assembly 44 is &#34;V&#34;-shaped slide 58. On the top edge of connecting plate 51 are a plurality of parallel indicia 60. 
     Connecting plate holder assembly is generally indicated by the numeral 62 and includes two parallel rigid bars 62a and 62b. Preferably, bars 62a and 62b are generally rectangular in shape. Bars 62a and 62b are connected by screw 64 and screw 65. Bars 62a and 62b are separated by &#34;V&#34;-shaped slide 58 and spacer 70. Bars 62a and 62b have slots 72 and 74 which receive &#34;V&#34;-shaped slide 58. Bar 62a has a &#34;V&#34;-shaped indicia 63 thereon for alignment with the indicia 60 on connecting plate 51. If desired, although not preferred, connecting plate holder assembly 62 could be rigidly connected to connecting plate 51 and not be adjustable relative to connecting plate 51. 
     Flat plate 76 has bolt 78 extending therethrough to fasten connecting plate holder assembly 62 to bow 11 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Bolt 78 has large head 78a thereon. 
     The adjustable archery arrow support assembly 10 enables the archer to fine tune his bow 11 to compensate for the archer&#39;s individual arrow-releasing characteristics and the individual characteristics of bow 11. Pivot frame 21 can be selectively rotated as desired relative to bow 11 by loosening screw 46 and rotating threaded shaft 56 clockwise or counter-clockwise keeper 50 and pivot frame 21 in either direction indicated by the arrows 50b and 21a. If threaded shaft 56 were omitted, pivot frame 21 can be rotated relative to bow 11 by loosening screw 46 and rotating threaded keeper 50 and pivot frame 21 clockwise or counter-clockwise in either direction indicated by the arrows 50b and 21a. The rotation of pivot frame 21 enables the direction of the net force exerted upon the arrow by arrow support members 12 and 14 to be adjusted to maximize the accuracy of the flight of an arrow shot from bow 11. Precise adjustments may be made by noting and changing the alignment of &#34;V&#34;-shaped indicia 50a relative to indicia 45. 
     If connecting plate holder assembly 62 is not rigidly connected to connecting plate 51 and is adjustable relative to connecting plate 51, to adjust the distance of pivot frame from bow 11, screws 64 and 65 may be loosened and connecting plate 51 moved relative to plate holder assembly 62 to align &#34;V&#34;-shaped indicia 63 to a desired position relative to indicia 60. 
     The devices of the prior art provide for vertical and horizontal adjustment. The present invention provides a third adjustment for three dimensional tuning adjustments to achieve all possible angles of response to the bending of an arrow being shot from a bow. The result is a system that easily achieves accuracy not possible without adjustment in the third dimension. 
     Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, it should be understood that the invention is in no sense limited thereby, and its scope is to be determined by that of the following claims: