1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting the shaft of an arrow when launched from an archery bow. More particularly, the present invention relates to an arrow rest that can move from a first, resting position to a second ready position as the sting of the bow is drawn to a firing position. In the resting position, the arrow rest holds the shaft of the arrow relative to the arrow rest. In the ready position, the arrow rest supports the shaft of the arrow but no longer clamps the shaft of the arrow to allow the arrow to freely launch from the arrow rest.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the past few decades, the interest in the sport of archery in the United States has significantly increased. In particular, the number of sportsmen and sportswomen who hunt using a bow has continued to rise. As a result of this growth, the number of archery products manufacturers and the development of new archery products has greatly expanded.
For many years, recurve bows were the only kind of bow available. Once the compound bow was introduced, the interest in and, naturally, the number of accessories for compound bows increased. Such accessories include various types of sighting apparatuses, stabilizing devices, vibration dampening device and arrow rests for supporting the shaft of the arrow when an arrow is drawn prior to launching. The first arrow rests typically comprised a V-shaped tab of plastic that was attached to the riser of the bow. With such devices, the shaft of the arrow rests within the V of the arrow rest while the archer aims the bow toward a target. It was discovered that the friction between the shaft of the arrow and the arrow rest and/or the contact between the arrow rest and the feathers or fletching on the aft end of the arrow can effect the trajectory and direction of flight of the arrow.
To address this problem, many arrow rests are formed from a flexible material, such as plastic. By using a flexible material, the arrow rest can deflect out of the way when the arrow is launched from the bow. Such a plastic arrow rest, however, has its drawbacks. For example, the plastic tab arrow rest typically deflects in a direction transverse to the direction of flight of the arrow. As such, contact between the fletching of an arrow and the arrow rest can still effect the flight of the arrow.
In order to provide a more stable support for an arrow and to allow the arrow rest to flex away from the shaft in the direction of the flight of the arrow, arrow rests have been developed that include a pair of arms. The tips of the arms support the shaft of the arrow. The arms are typically attached to or integrally formed with a rotatable shaft that is rotatably mounted to a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is configured for attachment to the riser of a compound bow. In addition, the shaft is biased relative to the mounting bracket so that the arms are biased toward the shaft of an arrow when the arrow is resting upon the tips of the arms. The biasing of the arms is provided by a coil spring interposed between the mounting bracket and the rotatable shaft.
When an arrow is launched from a bow utilizing such an arrow rest, the impact of the fletching of the arrow upon the arms of the arrow rest will cause the arms to rotate downwardly. After the fletching pass the arms, the coil spring then causes the arms to rotate back to their pre-launch position. This contact between the fletching and the arrow rest can effect the trajectory of the arrow by applying drag, and/or torque to the shaft of the arrow as the arrow is released.
Muzzy Products Corp. in Georgia has attempted to provide an arrow rest that eliminates the effects of the arrow rest on the flight of the arrow. In the Muzzy device, the arrow rest lifts the shaft of the arrow to a pre-shoot position at full draw and falls away as the arrow is released. The arrow rest rises from a resting position to a pre-launch position by being coupled between the riser and the cable slide. The arrow rest is coupled between the riser and the cable slide with a pair of arms that are pivotally connected to one another and to the riser and cable slide. As the bow is drawn to a pre-launch position sliding the cable guide along the cable guard away from the riser, the pair of arms straighten relative to one another. As the pair of arms straighten, the arrow rest rises relative to the riser. When the arrow is released, the action of the cable causes the cable guide to slide back to its resting position. The movement of the cable guide back to its original position causes the arrow rest to drop.
Another example of a xe2x80x9cfall-awayxe2x80x9d arrow rest is manufactured by Trophy Taker of Montana. The arrow rest is coupled to the riser and tide with a tether to the cable of the bow. The arrow rest is actuated from a resting position to a pre-launch position at full draw by the pull on the tether generated by the cable. As tension is applied to the tether, the arrow rest is caused to be rotated from a first position to a second position that raises the shaft of the arrow. As the arrow is released, the tension on the tether is removed and the arrow rest is allowed to drop by rotation of the arrow rest relative to the riser. Such fall-away arrow rests, while attempting to resolve some of the problems caused by arrow rests, do not address a significant disadvantage of all arrow rests.
When an archer draws an arrow along the arrow rest, one hand grasps the grip of the bow and the other draws the cable. The shaft of the arrow rests on the arrow rest but is otherwise unsupported along its length. As most arrow rests provide a V-shaped notch for supporting the shaft of the arrow or a pair of arms whose tips support the shaft therein between, any sudden movement of the bow can cause the shaft of the arrow to fall from the arrow rest. Often times, such the shaft of the arrow falls from the arrow rest when an archer has pulled the cable to a full draw, but decides to controllably return the cable to its resting position without launching the arrow. Because of the jerking force of such a maneuver, the archer is often unable to maintain the shaft of the arrow on the arrow rest. As the arrow falls, it may impact the riser of the bow generating a noise that can startle game.
In a hunting setting, noise is a major factor in the ability to stalk an animal. Hunters take great strides to maintain silence in the wild so as to not startle the game. As most hunters will attest, the xe2x80x9cclankingxe2x80x9d of the shaft of a falling arrow against the riser is sure to startle most game causing the animal to flee.
The Muzzy device attempts to address this issue by providing a relatively large V for supporting the shaft of the arrow. Even with the Muzzy device, however, an archer is not likely to be able to move through underbrush with a loaded arrow without the arrow falling from the arrow rest.
Another example of an arrow rest that prevents the shaft of the arrow from falling from the arrow rest is comprised of a cylindrical aperture supporting a plurality of inwardly extending bristles that form a small opening in the center of the bristles for supporting the shaft of the arrow. As the arrow is launched, the fletching can pass through the bristles. The bristles, however, tend to tear the fletching from the shaft of the arrow.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide an arrow rest that is capable of grasping the shaft of the arrow when the arrow is at a resting position and freely supporting the shaft of the arrow when the bow is at full draw. It would also be advantageous to provide such an arrow rest that falls away as the arrow is launched to eliminate effects of the arrow rest on the flight and/or fletching of the arrow.
These and other advantages will become apparent from a reading of the following summary of the invention and description of the illustrated embodiments in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
Accordingly, an arrow rest comprises an arrow rest support arm pivotally mounted to the riser of a bow. The support arm is coupled to the cable guide of the bow through linkage that causes the support arm to rise relative to the riser of the bow as the cable is drawn to launch an arrow. As the cable is released to launch an arrow, the arrow rest drops to allow the fletching to pass the arrow rest without contact.
As the arrow rest moves from a first resting position to a second pre-launch position and back again, the support arm is provided with a clamping mechanism that grasps the shaft of the arrow when the support arm is in the resting position. As the support arm moves to the pre-launch position, the clamping mechanism releases the shaft of the arrow so that the arrow can be freely launched from the support arm without interference from the clamping mechanism. As the cable is released and the cable guide returns to its resting position, the support arm also returns to its resting position. As the support arm moves from the pre-launch position to the resting position, the clamping mechanism closes relative to the support arm so as to be able to grasp the shaft of an arrow.
The clamping mechanism is comprised of a flexible or rigid material that allows the shaft of an arrow to be inserted into the clamping mechanism while it is in a closed position.. The clamping mechanism, however, prevents the shaft of the arrow from being dislodged from the clamping mechanism until the cable of the bow is drawn an amount sufficient to open the clamping mechanism.
The clamping mechanism may be actuated by contacting the shelf of the riser or an overdraw shelf as a secondary shelf such that the clamping mechanism closes upon contacting the shelf. The clamping mechanism is biased into an open position so that as the clamping mechanism rises relative to the shelf of the riser, the clamping mechanism automatically opens.
Likewise, the clamping mechanism may be actuated by gear-type arrangements that cause the clamping mechanism to open and close around the shaft.
It is also contemplated that the shaft of the arrow may be removed from the clamping mechanism by a secondary arrow rest support that rises to remove the shaft of the arrow from the clamping mechanism as the cable is drawn.