Patent Publication Number: US-7213590-B2

Title: Stabilizer and vibration/noise dampening device that attaches to an archery bow

Description:
This application claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/392,866 filed Jul. 2, 2002. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is in the field of archery bow stabilizers/noise dampeners/shock absorber/balancers. 
     DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
     Most archery bows tend to vibrate and kick upon release of the arrow, resulting in arm fatigue and, in some cases, even injury, over long periods of time. The main objective of these inventions are to provide balance for a steady and level hold and to help dampen any inherent vibrations and/or bow kick and to reduce noises that occur at release of the arrow. This is accomplished by attaching to the bow various objects, generally known in the industry as “stabilizers.” These are normally attached to the bow, under the handle, either in back or front, but can also be attached where the bow limbs meet the handle/riser, or almost anywhere on the bow handle. The contents of ordinary stabilizers are non-removable by the archer and are sealed inside the stabilizer unit by the manufacturer. Most stabilizers are made from hollow tubular aluminum, carbon fiber or other lightweight materials. The inside contents of the tubular stabilizers vary from fluid, granular steel, granular rubber, lead or solid elastomer, none of which can be altered, controlled or removed by the archer, only by the manufacturer. 
     Representative examples of archery bow stabilizer devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,283,109 and 6,494,196. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A unique feature of this device is that the material inside this invention can be controlled by the archer. 
     Another unique feature of this device is that the housing of the stabilizer can easily be opened and re-closed by the archer. 
     Another unique feature of this device is that the weighted contents can be removed, replaced, adjusted, changed, added to or subtracted from, in order to get the precise desired weight, balance and/or vibration and sound dampening effect. 
     Another unique feature of this device is the variable internal modules are made of extremely soft, dense elastomer, that may or may not have weights, or other vibration dampening material, molded inside them. The contents of these variable weighted internal elastomer modules can include, but are not limited to, steel or lead shot, ball bearings, metal weight rods, capsules filled with fluid, or fluid plus weighted pellets, sealed liquid packets, or packets and/or bags of granular material, or a combination of granular weight inside of a liquid in a capsule or sealed receptacle. Any or all of these can be suspended and/or sealed and/or molded inside the elastomer or packed snugly inside the stabilizer housing. 
     This weighted material and/or fluid suspended in the elastomer absorbs vibration and sound, and the vibration and sound then is dissipated and/or absorbed further by the elastomer, and then the actual housing further absorbs sound and vibration. The archer can use different size and/or weighted internal sections or modules, packets, or bags that fit and/or stack snugly inside the housing of the stabilizer, and customize or change them, at will, to get the exact weight, balance and/or amount of vibration and sound dampening desired personally by that particular archer. 
     These packets or capsules can also vary in size and weight and can be used with or without the elastomer encapsulating them. The size and weight of these internal vibration dampening modules, sections, bags or packets are only limited by the inside volume of the tube or container housing that attaches to the bow. 
     A unique feature of this design is that the contents can consist of weighted material inside replaceable packets, bags or modular units of various lengths and/or mass weights, without the elastomer. The weighted material can be made of steel shot, ball bearings, weight rods, capsules filled with fluid, or fluid plus weighted pellets, etc. 
     Another unique feature of this design is that two or more stabilizers or housings can also be joined together with a rubber O-ring compressed between them, to make longer, or different configurations of, modular stabilizers with adjustable internal variable weight components. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings show different features of a bow stabilizer, according to preferred embodiments of this invention, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  Shows various shaped stabilizers mounted on an archery bow. 
         FIG. 2  Shows a cross section view of a tubular hollow stabilizer housing, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 3  Shows a cross section view of a threaded insert, according to one preferred embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  Shows a cross section view of a smooth insert, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 5  Shows a tubular stabilizer housing, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 6  Shows a threaded insert, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 7  Shows a smooth insert, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention 
         FIG. 8  Shows a view of three tubular stabilizer housings joined together, according to one preferred embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 9  Shows an exploded view of two tubular stabilizer housings at the joint, according to preferred embodiments of this invention. 
         FIG. 10  Shows a view of a variety of shapes, sizes and weights of the elastomer modular units, according to preferred embodiments of this invention. 
         FIG. 11  Shows a view of canister-type stabilizers, according to preferred embodiments of this invention. 
         FIG. 12  Shows a view of other shaped stabilizer housings, according to preferred embodiments of this invention. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           1 . Tubular Hollow Stabilizer Housing 
           2 . Canister-Type Hollow Stabilizer Housing 
           3 . Canister-Type Hollow Stabilizer Housing Lid 
           4 . Other Shaped Hollow Stabilizer Housings, such as Rectangular, Octagonal or Hexagonal 
           5 . Hollow Chamber 
           6 . Threaded Hole 
           7 . Threaded Rod or Stud 
           8 . Threaded Holes in Archery Bow 
           9 . Open Threaded End of Tubular Stabilizer Housing 
           10 . Open Smooth End of Tubular Stabilizer Housing 
           11 . Smooth Internal Surface of Tubular Stabilizer Housing 
           12 . Threaded Surface of Stabilizer Housing 
           13 . Smooth Insert 
           14 . Threaded Hole in Smooth Insert 
           15 . Threaded Removable Insert 
           16 . Threads of Threaded Removable Insert 
           17 . Threaded Hole in Threaded Removable Insert 
           18 . Textured (Knurled) Surface 
           19 . O-Ring Grooves 
           20 . O-Ring 
           21 . Elastomer 
           22 . Hole in Elastomer Modules 
           23 . Packet Suspended in Elastomer Modules 
           24 . Ball Weights 
           25 . Weight Rods 
           26 . Capsules of Fluid Suspended in Elastomer 
           27 . Fluid Capsules with Weight Pellets 
           28 . Set Screw Hole 
           29 . Set Screw 
       
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  through  FIG. 12 , bow stabilizer for an archery bow,  FIG. 1 , is comprised of a hollow stabilizer housing; tubular ( 1 ), or in a canister form ( 2 ) with lid ( 3 ), or other shapes ( 4 ), thus creating a hollow chamber ( 5 ). Hollow body stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) are fabricated from any material that is lightweight and rigid. Referring to  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 , hollow body stabilizer housing ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) attaches to an archery bow via a threaded hole ( 6 ) and a protruding threaded rod or stud ( 7 ), wherein a threaded hole ( 8 ),  FIG. 1 , is provided on the archery bow at locations where it is desirable to attach the hollow body stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 10 ,  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12 , hollow body stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) attach to other hollow body stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) via threaded holes ( 6 , 14 , 17 ) and a protruding threaded rod or stud ( 7 ), where it is desirable to attach the hollow body stabilizer housing ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). 
     Referring to  FIG. 2  through  FIG. 9 , a hollow stabilizer housing of the tubular configuration ( 1 ) can have two open ends ( 9  and  10 ). One end ( 10 ) can have a smooth internal surface ( 11 ). The other end ( 9 ) can have a threaded internal surface ( 12 ). Insert ( 13 ) made of aluminum or other lightweight rigid material, is attached permanently in the smooth opening ( 11 ). Insert ( 13 ) has a threaded hole ( 14 ) in its center that will accept the threaded stud ( 7 ) of other stabilizer housings or its own stud ( 7 ) that is permanently affixed. Stabilizer housing ( 1 ) attaches to any archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) by the threaded stud ( 7 ) that engages the threaded female coupling ( 8 ) of the archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) or other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) to facilitate releasable interconnection of the stabilizer housing ( 1 ) from the bow. Insert ( 15 ),  FIG. 3 , is also made of aluminum or other lightweight rigid material. Insert ( 15 ) is threaded ( 16 ) to engage threaded end ( 12 ) of the hollow stabilizer housing ( 1 ). Insert ( 15 ) has a threaded hole ( 17 ) in its center that will accept the threaded stud ( 7 ) of other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) of like design. Insert ( 15 ) can have knurling ( 18 ) or other textured surface to facilitate removing and replacing threaded insert ( 15 ). Both inserts ( 13  and  15 ) have O-ring grooves ( 19 ) on their flat externally facing surfaces, to further facilitate the joining of other stabilizer housings of like design with O-rings ( 20 ),  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 ,  11 , and  12 , a unique dampener material, made of extremely soft, dense elastomer ( 21 ) is molded into modular units of varying shapes, sizes and weights and may or may not have a hole ( 22 ) in the center, depending on what is needed inside the hollow stabilizer housing ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). The elastomer modules may or may not have weights molded inside them, or other vibration dampening material. The contents of these variable weighted internal elastomer modules can include, but are not limited to, steel or lead shot or ball bearings ( 24 ), weight rods ( 25 ), capsules filled with fluid ( 26 ), or fluid plus weighted pellets ( 27 ), sealed liquid packets, or packets and/or bags of granular material, ( 23 ), or a combination of granular weight inside of a liquid in a capsule or sealed receptacle (not shown). Any or all of these can be suspended and/or sealed and/or molded inside the elastomer ( 21 ). 
     Referring again to  FIG. 10 , the removable threaded insert ( 15 ) is removed and the elastomer modular units ( 21 ) are placed into the hollow stabilizer housing ( 1 ) to the personal specifications or needs of the archer. The threaded insert ( 15 ) is then replaced by the archer. 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , hollow stabilizer housing of the canister shape ( 2 ) is also made of aluminum or other lightweight rigid material. The two-part canister stabilizer housing can be made up of the threaded canister body ( 2 ) and a threaded housing lid ( 3 ) or any locking and unlocking lid system, for easy removal by the archer. The lid ( 3 ) can have knurling ( 18 ) or other textured surface to facilitate removing and replacing the threaded lid ( 3 ). Both canister body ( 2 ) and lid ( 3 ) can have threaded surfaces ( 12 ) that engage each other. Both canister body ( 2 ) and lid ( 3 ) can have threaded holes ( 6 ) in the centers that will accept the threaded stud ( 7 ) of other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) or its own stud ( 7 ) that is permanently affixed. The canister body ( 2 ) has a small threaded hole ( 28 ) to accept a like threaded set screw ( 29 ). This small threaded set screw ( 29 ) is to be tightened to help hold the lid ( 3 ) in place against vibration. Canister stabilizer housing ( 2 ) and its threaded lid ( 3 ) attaches to any archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) by the threaded stud ( 7 ) that engages the threaded female coupling ( 8 ) of the archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) or other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) to facilitate releasable interconnection of the stabilizer housing ( 2 ) from the bow ( FIG. 1 ) or other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). The removable threaded lid ( 3 ) is removed and the elastomer modular units ( 21 ) are placed into the canister body ( 2 ) to the personal specifications or needs of the archer. The archer then replaces the threaded lid ( 3 ) and the set screw ( 29 ) is tightened. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , hollow stabilizer housing ( 4 ), which can be in the shape of an elongated square, hexagon, octagon or any other shape ( 4 ), is also made of aluminum or other lightweight rigid material. Both halves of this two part canister stabilizer housing ( 4 ) of varying shapes can have threaded surfaces ( 12 ) that engage each other for easy removal of the elastomer ( 21 ) by the archer. The two halves of the hollow stabilizer housing ( 4 ) can have knurling ( 18 ) or other textured surfaces to facilitate removing and replacing the threaded canister body halves ( 4 ). Both halves have threaded holes ( 6 ) in the centers that will accept the threaded stud ( 7 ) of other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) or its own stud ( 7 ) that is permanently affixed in one half. One canister body half has a small threaded hole ( 28 ) to accept a like threaded set screw ( 29 ). This small threaded set screw ( 29 ) is to be tightened to help hold the canister body halves together against vibration. This stabilizer housing ( 4 ) attaches to any archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) by the threaded stud ( 7 ) that engages the threaded female coupling ( 8 ) of the archery bow ( FIG. 1 ) or other stabilizer housing ( 1 , 2 , 4 ) to facilitate releasable interconnection of the stabilizer housing ( 4 ) from the bow ( FIG. 1 ) or other stabilizer housings ( 1 , 2 , 4 ). 
     The removable threaded, or otherwise securable, halves ( 4 ) are separated and the elastomer modular units ( 21 ) are placed into the hollow stabilizer housing ( 4 ) to the personal specifications or needs of the archer. The threaded halves are then replaced by the archer and the set screw ( 29 ) is tightened.