Patent Publication Number: US-2018045366-A1

Title: Screwless bow holder for archery hunting

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Ser. No. 62/374,248 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is in the technical field of camping and hunting accessories. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of hanging devices suitable for non-destructive attachment to trees through the use of a strap and support plate. 
     The marketplace has several solutions for supporting the weight of a hunting bow or rifle with a holding device attached to a support member, usually a tree because of their prevalence in the hunting environment. Many designs are on the market and some have been patented such as Archery Bow Support U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,241A, and Hunting Bow Hanger U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,475. The prevailing problem with the designs presently available is that they predominantly rely on putting screws into the tree. Screwing in the holder is a destructive process that damages the tree and not suitable for all situations or desired by the landowner or allowed on public lands. Further, this means of attachment is more time consuming, usually requiring tools, likely to produce undesirable noise in the natural environment (and also thus scaring desirable wildlife) Such an attachment is also less adjustable without additional pivoting mechanical parts as it would require unscrewing and device, moving it, and screwing it in again to a new location. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention overcomes the problems of destructive screwed-in holding devices and their non-adjustability through the use of multiple novel features. Firstly, rather than use screws drilled into a tree the screwless bow holder utilizes an adjustable strap. By foregoing screws and using a strap the boring of holes into a tree is no longer required. The holder may be removed and moved quickly any number of times non-destructively. Hunters will frequently leave their holders screwed into trees for the next hunting trip due to the labor involved, however with a screwed-in holder (even if permitted) this is an option not available in instances where public land restrictions or leased property prohibit the leaving of equipment, additionally the equipment is subject to the elements and theft. Further, in using a strap other alternatives of support become available other than tree trunks and limbs as the strap can surround and be secured to a multitude of objects including, if one desired, an ATV, a metal post, a rock, an automobile, or other natural feature or object that one would not typically desire or be able to bore holes into to secure such a holder. 
     Secondly, the holding rod has a base that is able to circulate giving 360 degrees of adjustability once strapped to the support. As the rod is round it is a simple matter to rotate the rod once bisected through the strap. The advantage herein is that the holder can be attached to a non-vertical support member (including to a horizontal member) such as a tree limb or branch and the holder is easy to rotate to the desired orientation to hold one&#39;s hunting implement. Optionally, the rod, particularly the terminal end, may have coatings or flanges to increase friction and stabilization of the hunting implement held, further the end may be threaded to allow attachment of screw-on accessories. 
     The base member of the rod holds the rod against the support structure by the constrictive force of the attachment straps. Having a base of between 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter is sufficient to distribute the downward force asserted by the holding rod and hunting implement while maintaining adjustability for rotation. The base member need not be round, however it is a preferred shape as it is easy to rotate having a fixed base surface area and without edges that could potentially cut into the support member or get caught on outcroppings, particularly with vegetation. Optionally, the base member may have friction assistive coatings to facilitate its attachment to prevent sliding, or alternatively padding materials attached if desired for a particular application to prevent scratching for example if secured to a painted surface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the screwless bow holder attached to a tree 
         FIG. 2  is a top down view of the screwless bow holder attached in the same configuration with the tree 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  the bow holder  5  is secured to a support member  50 , in this depiction a tree. A strap  30  made from a sufficiently flexible and weather resistant material such as nylon applies a constrictive force fixing the holder  12  against the support  50  along the strap&#39;s ventral edge  52 . There are numerous means to buckle  40  the strap including slides, common buckles, spring buckles or cam buckles. A spring loaded cam buckle  40  is a preferred means as it is quickly adjustable by the user and as depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Such a buckle  40  can be easily secured by looping the strap  30  through the buckle loop  32  and securing the strap  30  back against itself by sewing or other attachment mechanisms. The opposite adjustable end strap  34  is fed through the buckle  40  and secured by the spring loaded mechanism  42  of the buckle  40 . 
     A rigid plate  24  is permanently attached to the ventral side of strap  30  in the section that fits across the bow holder  5 &#39;s base member  12 . This base member  12  and the strap  30  have a pre-cut point of bisection  20  through which the perpendicular rod  10  passes giving the strap  30  sufficient strength to support the weight of the holder  5  and equipment attached thereon without the strap  30  fraying, twisting, or ripping. 
     A perpendicular rod  10  made from a rigid material such as iron is attached to a base member  12  which sits flush against the support member  50  such as a tree or post found in hunting environments. The perpendicular rod  10  is bent at angle at hook  14  to prevent the bow from sliding off the holder  5 . 
     The rod  10  and base member  12  may be rotated 360 degrees through the strap bisection  20  allowing the holder  5  to be strapped at a multitude of angles depending on the types of support member  50  available in the environment, which will be highly variable in nature, and be adjusted to a useful configuration to support the hunting implement. Rod  10  may be any number of optional lengths, but a typical useful length of 20-30 cm. Longer rod  10  lengths would require scaling up the other components including a larger base member  12  to distribute and support the downward forces asserted by the leverage of a longer rod  10 . 
     Manufacture of the holder  5  portion can be done in a multitude of fashions. Rod  10  can be screwed into base member  12 , welded thereon, or rod  10  and base member  12  could be fashioned, forged, or molded out of the same piece of material. Iron is an inexpensive, strong material that lends itself well for manufacture of these parts, however many other metals and sufficiently strong non-metal materials may be substituted in place of iron. For example, aluminum, while slightly more expensive, is an alternate material with adequate strength while also having corrosion resistance. 
     While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention.