Patent Publication Number: US-7717103-B2

Title: Arrow rest assembly for an archery bow

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   The field of the present invention relates to archery bows. In particular, an arrow rest assembly for an archery bow is disclosed herein. 
   An arrow rest is a structural member attached to an archery bow, typically on the bow&#39;s riser or handle, that is arranged to support the shaft of the arrow when the bow is drawn or shot. Such support of the shaft can typically enable the archer to shoot more accurately. 
   Early examples of arrow rests typically comprised rigid, fixed structures. However, such structures interfere with the fletching of the arrow as the fletching passes the arrow rest during shooting of the arrow with the bow, reducing arrow velocity and degrading the accuracy of the bow. This interference could be reduced somewhat, but not eliminated, by a variety of adaptations. In one example, the fixed arrow rest is made somewhat resilient to reduce interference with the fletching. A resilient arrow rest can be made by resiliently biasing (e.g., with a spring) a rigid rest into its support position, or by forming the rest using one or more resilient materials. In another example, a rigid arrow rest is arranged to facilitate passage of the fletching, e.g., by having a bifurcated or forked end of the rest that contacts the arrow, leaving a gap for passage of the fletching. The width of such a gap is limited to less than the arrow shaft diameter, and effectiveness of such an arrangement depends on proper alignment of the fletching of the nocked arrow with the gap. 
   Later arrow rests were developed using a “fall-away” design wherein the arrow rest is spring or resiliently biased downward (i.e., away from the arrow) and pulled upward to the arrow-supporting position by drawing the bow. This movement is typically achieved by connecting (e.g., with a connecting tie or similar structure) the arrow rest to one of the bow&#39;s cables, so that movement of that cable during drawing of the bow pulls the arrow rest up into its arrow-supporting position. The arrow rest is therefore in proper position to support the front end of the arrow when the bow is drawn. Upon firing the bow, movement of the bow&#39;s cables releases tension on the connecting tie and enables the arrow rest to nearly immediately fall away from the arrow in response to the bias on the rest. Such a fall-away rest moves out of the path of the arrow fletching, but typically only supports the arrow during a relatively small portion of its flight while it is still in contact with the draw cable. While the elimination of interference of the rest with the fletching is desirable, it is achieved at the expense of support of the arrow during only a very limited portion of its flight during firing of the bow. 
   It is therefore desirable to provide a fall-away arrow rest that substantially reduces or eliminates interference between the arrow fletching and the rest while nevertheless supporting the arrow shaft during a majority of its flight during shooting of the arrow by the bow. 
   A wide variety of arrow rests or arrow rest assemblies are available. One example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,832 entitled “Fall-away arrow rest assembly” issued Apr. 4, 2000 to Piersons. 
   SUMMARY 
   An arrow rest assembly comprises (i) a support member, (ii) a rotating member, (iii) an arrow rest connected to the rotating member, (iv) a lever comprising first and second lever arms, and (v) a linkage coupling the first lever arm and the rotating member. The rotating member is rotatably mounted on the support member at a first pivot point of the support member, and is biased toward a rest position against a rotation stop. The lever, which comprises first and second lever arms, is rotatably mounted on the support member at a second pivot point of the support member, and is biased toward a cocked position. The linkage couples the first lever arm and the rotating member. The support member, the rotating member, the lever, and the linkage are arranged so that: (i) with only substantially negligible force exerted on the second lever arm, the lever assumes its cocked position in response to its bias; (ii) in response to an external force exerted on the second lever arm to rotate the lever away from its cocked position against its bias, the first lever arm urges the linkage against the rotating member so as to rotate the rotating member away from its resting position against its bias; and (iii) in response to the rotating member being rotated against its bias by the linkage past a release position, the linkage allows the rotating member to rotate to its resting position in response to its bias. 
   The support member is arranged to be connected to an archery bow so that the arrow rest is positioned (i) to support, with the rotating member in its rest position, the shaft of an arrow nocked and ready for drawing or drawn and ready for shooting, and (ii) to allow, with the rotating member at or past its release position, substantially unimpeded passage of the fletching of the arrow during shooting of the arrow by the bow. The second lever arm is arranged to be connected to a cable of the bow so that (i) the cable exerts only substantially negligible force on the second lever arm with the bow drawn, and (ii) the cable exerts a force on the second lever arm, during only the latter portion of a time interval corresponding to shooting of the arrow by the bow, that urges the linkage against the rotating member so as to rotate the rotating member away from its resting position and past its release position against its bias. 
   Objects and advantages pertaining to arrow rests may become apparent upon referring to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings and disclosed in the following written description and/or claims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS. 1-4  illustrate schematically the arrangement and operation of an exemplary arrow rest assembly for an archery bow. 
       FIGS. 5-8  illustrate schematically the arrangement and operation of another exemplary arrow rest assembly for an archery bow. 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  illustrate schematically exemplary archery bows incorporating an arrow rest assembly. 
       FIGS. 11-14  illustrate schematically operation of an archery bow incorporating an arrow rest assembly. 
       FIGS. 15-17  illustrate schematically several alternative arrow rests. 
   

   The embodiments shown in the Figures are exemplary, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure and/or appended claims. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     FIGS. 1 through 4  illustrate schematically the arrangement and operation of an exemplary arrow rest assembly  10  that comprises (i) a support member  102 , (ii) a rotating member  104 , (iii) an arrow rest  106  connected to the rotating member  104 , (iv) a lever  108  comprising first and second lever arms  108   a  and  108   b , respectively, and (v) a linkage  110  coupling the first lever arm  108   a  and the rotating member  104 . 
   The rotating member  104  is rotatably mounted on the support member  102  at a first pivot point  102   a  of the support member  102 . The rotating member  104  is biased toward a rest position against a rotation stop  102   b  (as in  FIG. 1  or  4 ) by a spring  104   a . A linear spring wrapped around a portion of the rotating member  104  is shown in the  11  figures; any other suitable spring, bias mechanism, or biasing arrangement can be employed. The lever  108  is rotatably mounted on the support member  102  at a second pivot point  102   c  of the support member  102 , and is biased toward a cocked position (as in  FIG. 1 ; spring or bias mechanism not visible). Any suitable spring (e.g., a torsion spring or linear spring), bias mechanism, or biasing arrangement can be employed to bias lever  108  toward its cocked position. 
   The support member  102 , the rotating member  104 , the lever  108 , and the linkage  110  are arranged so that: (i) with only substantially negligible force exerted on the second lever arm  108   b , the lever  108  assumes its cocked position in response to its bias (as in  FIG. 1 ); (ii) in response to an external force exerted on the second lever arm to rotate the lever away from its cocked position against its bias, the first lever arm  108   a  urges the linkage  110  against the rotating member  104  so as to rotate the rotating member  104  away from its resting position against its bias (as in  FIG. 2 ); and (iii) in response to the rotating member  104  being rotated against its bias by the linkage  110  past a release position (as in  FIG. 3 ), the linkage  110  allows the rotating member  104  to rotate to its resting position in response to its bias (as in  FIG. 4 ). 
   It should be noted that arrow rest  106  and rotating member  104  can comprise a unitary structure (i.e., a single, integrated part), or they can comprise multiple, discrete parts assembled together. Arrow rest  106  can include a two-pronged structure resembling an “hourglass” or a split “Y” shape ( FIG. 15 ), a flattened structure with a “V”- or “U”-shaped notch ( FIGS. 16 and 17 , respectively), or any other shape or configuration suitable for supporting a shaft of an arrow and at least partly restricting lateral movement of the supported arrow while also enabling longitudinal movement of the arrow when it is shot. A shaft  106   a  is shown in  FIGS. 15-17  that connects the arrow rest  106  to the rotating member  104 . Any other arrangement for connecting the arrow rest  106  and the rotating member  104  can be employed. 
   The phrase “time interval corresponding to shooting of the arrow by the bow” refers to the time interval beginning with release of the drawn bowstring (i.e., draw cable) by an archer and ending with the arrow leaving the bowstring and with the bow, bowstring, and cables returning to their rest positions “at brace” (neglecting any subsequent rebound, recoil, oscillations, or vibrations). 
   The support member  102  is arranged to be connected to an archery bow  20  so that the arrow rest  106  is positioned (i) to support, with the rotating member  104  in its rest position (as in  FIG. 1  or  4 ), the shaft of an arrow nocked and ready for drawing or drawn and ready for shooting, and (ii) to allow, with the rotating member  104  at or past its release position (as in  FIG. 3 ), substantially unimpeded passage of the fletching of the arrow during shooting of the arrow by the bow. The second lever arm  108   b  is arranged to be connected to a cable of the bow so that (i) the cable exerts only substantially negligible force on the second lever arm  108   b  with the bow drawn (as in  FIG. 1 ), and (ii) the cable exerts a force on the second lever arm  108   b , during only the latter portion of a time interval corresponding to shooting of the arrow by the bow, that urges the linkage  110  against the rotating member  104  so as to rotate the rotating member away from its resting position (as in  FIG. 2 ) and past its release position (as in  FIG. 3 ) against its bias. 
   In the exemplary arrow rest assembly  10  of  FIGS. 1-4 , the linkage  110  comprises an over-center linkage having a first linking member  110   a  connected to the first lever arm  108   a  and a second linking member  110   b  connected to the rotating member  104 . The first and second linking members  110   a  and  110   b  are connected together at a linkage pivot point  110   c . The first and second linking members  110   a  and  110   b  are arranged to (i) assume an over-center arrangement with the lever  108  in its cocked position (as in  FIG. 1 ), (ii) remain in the over-center arrangement as the linkage  110  is urged against the rotating member  104  (as in  FIG. 2 ), and (iii) pivot about the linkage pivot point  110   c  out of the over-center arrangement as a result of rotation of the rotating member  104  against its bias past its release position (as in  FIG. 3  or  4 ), thereby enabling the rotating member  104  to rotate to its resting position (as in  FIG. 4 ) in response to its bias. In this exemplary embodiment, the rotating member  104  is arranged (by virtue of a protruding portion  104   b ) to urge the linkage pivot point  110   c  out of the over-center arrangement as the rotating member  104  rotates past its release position against its bias (as in  FIG. 3 ). The protruding portion  104   b  also engages the rotation stop  102   b  in the exemplary embodiment (as in  FIG. 1  or  4 ). Any other suitable arrangement of the linkage  110  can be employed that forces the linkage pivot point  110   c  out of the over-center arrangement as the rotating member  104  rotates past its release point. For example, a portion of the support member  102  can be arranged to engage a suitably arranged portion of linkage  110  to force the linkage pivot point  110   c  out of the over-center arrangement as rotating member  104  rotates past its release point. Similarly, any suitable arrangement of the rotating member  104  and rotation stop  102   b  can be employed for holding the rotating member  104  at its resting position against its bias. 
   Two different examples of an archery bow  20  are illustrated schematically in  FIGS. 9 and 10 ;  FIG. 9  depicts a dual-cam compound bow and  FIG. 10  depicts a single- or solo-cam compound bow. The archery bow  20  comprises (i) oppositely projecting first and second bow limbs  22   a  and  22   b , (ii) a first pulley member  23   a  pivotably connected to the first bow limb  22   a , (iii) a second pulley member  23   b  pivotably connected to the second bow limb  22   b , (iv) a draw cable  24  engaged with the first and second pulley members  23   a  and  23   b , (v) at least one additional cable  28  engaged with the first or second pulley member  23   a  or  23   b , and (vi) an arrow rest assembly  10  as described above. The support member  102  of the arrow rest assembly  10  is connected to the bow  20  so that the arrow rest  106  is positioned (i) to support, with the rotating member  104  in its rest position, the shaft of an arrow  30  nocked and ready for drawing (as in  FIG. 11 ) or drawn and ready for shooting (as in  FIG. 12 ), and (ii) to allow, with the rotating member  104  at or past its release position (as in  FIG. 13 ), substantially unimpeded passage of the fletching  32  of the arrow  30  during shooting of the arrow  30  by the bow  20 . The second lever arm  108   b  is arranged to be connected to the additional cable  28  of the bow  20  so that (i) the additional cable  28  exerts only substantially negligible force on the second lever  108   b  arm with the bow drawn (as in  FIG. 12 ), and (ii) the additional cable  28  exerts a force on the second lever arm  108   b , during only the latter portion of a time interval corresponding to shooting of the arrow  30  by the bow  20 , that urges the linkage  110  against the rotating member  104  so as to rotate the rotating member  104  away from its resting position and past its release position against its bias (as in  FIG. 13 ). Upon passing its release position, the rotating member  104  returns to its rest position in response to its bias (as in  FIG. 14 ). 
   The arrow rest assembly  10  can be used with any suitable archery bow, including but not limited to single- or solo-cam, dual-cam, binary cam, hybrid cam, or cam-and-a-half compound bows. The pulley members  23   a  and  23   b  (which can be identical, or mirror images, or different from one another) can comprise one or more cams, pulleys, idler wheels, posts, or other members for providing the desired performance of the bow  20 . 
   In the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures, a flexible tether or cord  27  is connected to the second lever arm  108   b  and arranged to connect the second lever arm  108   b  to the additional cable  28  of the bow  20 . Any other suitable connector or connection arrangement can be employed to connect the lever arm  108   b  and the additional cable  28 . 
   In the exemplary embodiment, the second lever arm  108   b  is connected (by the tether  27  in the exemplary embodiment) to a cable  28  that travels upward as the bow  20  is drawn. The upward movement of the cable  28  relieves any force between the cable  28  and the lever  108  (by releasing tension on the tether  27  in the exemplary embodiment) and allows the lever  108  to move to its cocked position in response to its bias. When the draw cable  24  is released to fire the bow  20 , the cable  28  travels downward. During only the latter portion of the time interval corresponding to firing of the bow  20 , the force between cable  28  and lever arm  108   b  is reestablished by downward movement of the cable  28 . The resulting movement of the lever  108  and the linkage  110  causes rotation of the rotating member  104  toward its release point against its bias, in turn moving arrow rest  106  to a position where it allows substantially unimpeded passage of the fletching  32  of the arrow  30 . Further movement of the rotating member  104  past its release point results in the linkage  110  allowing the rotating member  104  to return to its resting position in response to its bias, and movement of arrow rest  106  to its position for supporting another arrow. While the lever  108  is connected to a upward-traveling (during draw) cable  28 , any other arrangement or orientation for the lever  108  can be employed, with lever arm  108   b  being connected to a cable traveling either upward or downward (during draw) as appropriate for allowing the lever to move to its cocked position during draw and for pulling the lever away from its cocked position during shooting of the arrow. 
   The relief of force between cable  28  and lever  108  upon drawing the bow  20  ensures that the arrow rest assembly  10  only substantially negligibly affects operating characteristics of the bow  20 , e.g., cam timing or holding weight. 
   The connection between lever arm  108   b  and the cable  28  can be made adjustable, e.g., by adjustment of the length or tension of tether  27 , or by any other suitable means, thereby enabling adjustment of the magnitude or timing of the force exerted by the cable  28  on the second lever arm  108   b  during the latter portion of shooting the arrow  30  by the bow  20 . 
   The support member  102  as shown in the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4  comprises a housing for containing the rotating member  104 , the lever  108 , and the linkage  110 . The housing is shown partly cut away in  FIGS. 1-4  but is present and hides rotating member  104  and linkage  110  in  FIGS. 11-14 . The support member  102  can include a mounting plate  102   d  arranged for enabling mounting of the arrow rest assembly  10  on the handle or riser of a bow. The support member  102  can include adjustment screws  102   e / 102   f  arranged to enable adjustable positioning of the arrow rest assembly on the archery bow. In the exemplary embodiment shown in the figures, two screws are provided for providing adjustment of vertical ( 102   e ) and horizontal ( 102   f ) positioning of the arrow rest assembly  10 . 
   The support member  102 , the rotating member  104 , the lever  108 , the linkage  110 , and the arrow rest  106  (i.e., the arrow rest assembly  10 ) can be arranged (by altering shapes or dimensions) to achieve a desired duration of the latter portion of the time interval during shooting of the bow, during which latter portion the arrow rest  106  moves away (as a result of rotation of the rotating member  104  away from its rest position) from the arrow  30  as it is shot from the bow  20 . It may be desirable to make the latter portion of the time interval as small as practicable. The arrow rest assembly  10  can be arranged so that said latter portion is less than about 50%, less than about 40%, less than about 30%, less than about 25%, less than about 20%, less than about 15%, or less than about 10% of said time interval. Any of these percentages, or any other suitable or desired percentage, can be employed, with larger percentages reducing potential contact between the arrow rest  106  and the fletching of the arrow, and with smaller percentages increasing the duration of contact between the arrow rest  106  and the arrow  30  as it is shot from the bow  20 . Some adjustment of the timing of the arrow rest assembly can be achieved by altering the tension on the connection between lever arm  108   b  and cable  28  (which can include tether  27 ). 
   Another exemplary embodiment of an arrow rest assembly  10  is illustrated schematically in  FIGS. 5-8 . In this embodiment, the linkage  110  comprises a single linking member connected to the first lever arm  108   a . The rotating member  104  has a notch  104   c  for receiving the linkage  110 . The linkage  110  and the rotating member  104  are arranged so that (i) the linkage  110  engages the notch  104   c  with the lever  108  in its cocked position and the rotating member  104  in its resting position (as in  FIG. 1 ), (ii) the linkage  110  remains engaged with the notch  104   c  as the linkage  110  is urged against the rotating member  104  (as in  FIG. 6 ), and (iii) the linkage  110  disengages from the notch  104   c  as a result of rotation of the rotating member  104  past its release position against its bias (as in  FIG. 7 ), thereby enabling the rotating member  104  to rotate to its resting position in response to its bias (as in  FIG. 8 ). 
   Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described herein, many alternative mechanical arrangements can be employed that provide substantially equivalent functionality. Such functionally equivalent alternative arrangements shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure or appended claims. 
   An arrow rest assembly  10  (arranged according to one of the exemplary embodiments or arranged in any other functionally equivalent manner) can be made by (a) rotatably mounting the rotating member  104  on the support member  102  at the first pivot point  102   a  of the support member  102 , and biasing the rotating member  104  toward the rest position against the rotation stop  102   b ; (b) rotatably mounting the lever  108  on the support member at the second pivot point  102   c  of the support member  102 , and biasing the lever  108  toward the cocked position; (c) coupling the first lever arm  108   a  and the rotating member  104  with the linkage  110 ; and (d) arranging the support member, the rotating member, the lever, and the linkage so that (i) with only substantially negligible force exerted on the second lever arm  108   b , the lever  108  assumes its cocked position in response to its bias, (ii) in response to an external force exerted on the second lever arm  108   b  to rotate the lever  108  away from its cocked position against its bias, the first lever arm  108   a  urges the linkage  110  against the rotating member  104  so as to rotate the rotating member  104  away from its resting position against its bias, and (iii) in response to the rotating member  104  being rotated against its bias by the linkage past a release position, the linkage  110  allows the rotating member  104  to rotate to its resting position in response to its bias. 
   A method for making the arrow rest assembly  10  can further include: (e) connecting the arrow rest  106  to the rotating member  104 ; (f) arranging the support member  102  to be connected to the archery bow  20  so that the arrow rest  106  is positioned (i) to support, with the rotating member  104  in its rest position, the shaft of an arrow  30  nocked and ready for drawing or drawn and ready for shooting, and (ii) to allow, with the rotating member  104  at or past its release position, substantially unimpeded passage of the fletching of the arrow  30  during shooting of the arrow by the bow; and (g) arranging the second lever arm  108   b  to be connected to the cable  28  of the bow  20  so that (i) the cable  28  exerts only substantially negligible force on the second lever arm  108   b  with the bow drawn, and (ii) the cable  28  exerts a force on the second lever arm  108   b , during only the latter portion of a time interval corresponding to shooting of the arrow  30  by the bow  20 , that urges the linkage  110  against the rotating member  104  so as to rotate the rotating member  104  away from its resting position and past its release position against its bias. 
   A method for making an archery bow incorporating the arrow rest assembly  106  can further comprise: (h) pivotably connecting a first pulley member  23   a  to a first bow limb  22   a  of the bow  20 ; (i) pivotably connecting a second pulley member  23   b  to a second bow limb  22   b  of the bow  20 ; (j) engaging a draw cable  25  with the first and second pulley members  22   a  and  22   b ; (k) engaging the additional cable  28  with the first or second pulley member  22   a  or  22   b ; (l) connecting the arrow rest assembly  10  to the bow  20 ; and (m) connecting the second lever arm  108   b  to the cable  28 . 
   It is intended that equivalents of the disclosed exemplary embodiments and methods shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure and/or appended claims. It is intended that the disclosed exemplary embodiments and methods, and equivalents thereof, may be modified while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure or appended claims. 
   For purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, the conjunction “or” is to be construed inclusively (e.g., “a dog or a cat” would be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or both”; e.g., “a dog, a cat, or a mouse” would be interpreted as “a dog, or a cat, or a mouse, or any two, or all three”), unless: (i) it is explicitly stated otherwise, e.g., by use of “either . . . or”, “only one of . . . ”, or similar language; or (ii) two or more of the listed alternatives are mutually exclusive within the particular context, in which case “or” would encompass only those combinations involving non-mutually-exclusive alternatives. For purposes of the present disclosure or appended claims, the words “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and variants thereof shall be construed as open ended terminology, with the same meaning as if the phrase “at least” were appended after each instance thereof.