Archery bow breech device

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6173706
  • Patent Number
    6,173,706
  • Date Filed
    Monday, January 31, 2000
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, January 16, 2001
    25 years ago
Abstract
A breech device for assisting in drawing and releasing an archery bow string, the device having an elongated body, a trigger pivotally mounted on the body and extending generally upwardly beyond the top of the body, a latch arrest roller on the trigger and having an arc segment, a latch arm pivotally mounted at one end on the body and having a latch point at its other end, the latch arm being pivotal for engaging its latch point with the arrest roller within the arc segment and preventing pivotal rearward movement of the latch arm in its firing direction until the trigger is manually, forcibly, rearwardly pivoted toward its firing position, a bowstring keeper on one end of the latch arm whereby tension applied to the keeper by drawing of the bowstring will tend to pivot the latch arm in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of the latch point with the arrest roller, and wherein the keeper has a non-typical large bowstring contact area.
Description




FIELD




This invention concerns a unique firing mechanism or breech device for archery bows, i.e., for target or hunting bows, wherein the bow string is retained by a releasable latch mechanism, which mechanism is preferably quickly removably mounted on the archer's fingers by a sling device.




PRIOR ART




Heretofore, many bowstring release devices have been proposed, a few of which are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,041,926; 5,448,983; 4,567,875; 4,309,975; 4,458,659; and 4,022,181. Such devices typically are encumbered in one or more of the aspects of complexity, cost of manufacture, dimensionally too large for rapid deployment in the field, difficult to use rapidly and to recock, bulkiness when stored in pockets or the like or when simply being stored or held in the archers hand, lack of smoothness and accuracy in use, excessive physical abuse of the bowstring upon repeated firings, cocking of the device requiring excessive motion by the archer which is visible to the game, a partial pull of the trigger cannot easily be retracted where the archer changes his mind to not shoot at that particular instant, or requires too much time, e.g., to retrieve from a pocket and properly affix to a bowstring.




OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION




Objects therefore, of the present invention are: to provide a breech device which is simple and sturdy in construction; which essentially has only three mechanical moving parts; which is compact and easily pocketed and retrieved; which is readily adjustable to vary the trigger sensitivity; which is quickly attachable to a bowstring with little motion by the archer; which is easy on bowstring wear; which in one embodiment injects an element of surprise into the firing operation; and which, by virtue of its construction and finger mounting, is extremely smooth and accurate in use.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The above and other objects hereinafter appearing have been attained in accordance with the present invention which in one of its broad embodiments and as viewed and interpreted from the drawings herein, and particularly

FIGS. 1

,


15


and


18


, is defined as a breech device for assisting in drawing and releasing an archery bow string, said device comprising a body member having a forward end, a rearward end, an upper portion, a lower portion, a vertically oriented longitudinally extending structural plane, and a longitudinal axis, said forward end comprising support wall means on each side of said plane and forming a generally vertically oriented gap means opening generally longitudinally outwardly at said forward end, trigger means positioned in said gap means and extending generally vertically from said lower portion thru said upper portion and extending upwardly therebeyond, first pivot means on said trigger means and said lower portion for allowing pivoting of said trigger member back and forth generally in said plane, first shoulder means on said trigger means positioned above said first pivot means and within said gap means, latch arm means positioned in said gap means and having a forward end and a rearward end and having a second shoulder means at its rearward end, second pivot means on said forward end of said latch arm means and said forward end of said body member for allowing downward pivoting of said latch arm means within said gap means for engaging said second shoulder means with said first shoulder means and preventing pivoting rearward movement of said trigger means in its firing direction until said trigger means is manually rearwardly pivoted toward its firing position, said second shoulder means and said second pivot means lying in a pivot radius, a bowstring keeper extending downwardly on said forward end of said latch arm means and lying on said first shoulder means side of said pivot radius whereby tension applied to said keeper by drawing of said bowstring will tend to pivot said latch arm means in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of said first and second shoulder means in the cocked trigger position.




In certain preferred embodiments:




(a) said keeper is provided with a laterally extending convex bowstring contact surface which faces generally rearwardly of said body member when said latch arm means is in its position against said arrest shoulder means;




(b) said contact surface has a lateral length of between about 0.5 and 0.75 inches;




(c) an adjustable finger sling is provided on the rearward portion of said body member wherein the sling has a unique and extremely stable capacity adjusting mechanism;




(d) a means is provided for adjusting the trigger sensitivity, i.e., from amateur level to professional hair-trigger action;




(e) a means is provided for adjusting the pull force required for the trigger, i.e., soft pull to hard pull; and




(f) one of the first and second shoulder means comprises a roller member rollably mounted by shaft means on the trigger means or the latch arm means, respectively.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The invention will be further understood from the drawings herein and description thereof, wherein the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and wherein certain structural portions are enlarged for clarity:





FIG. 1

is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line


1





1


of

FIG. 3

in the direction of the arrows, of the present archery bow breech device in its cocked mode and given a small bite depth adjustment toward greater trigger sensitivity, and provided with a supplemental bowstring pull shown in dotted outline;





FIG. 2

is a side view of the device of

FIG. 1

in its just-fired mode;





FIG. 3

is a top view of the device of

FIG. 1

taken in the general direction of line


3


in

FIG. 1

, in its cocked mode and with portions thereof broken away for clarity;





FIG. 4

is a front end view of the device taken generally in the direction of line


4


in FIG.


2


and showing a variation in the mounting of the pull loop;





FIG. 5

is a front view of the trigger means of

FIG. 1

taken in the direction of line


5


in

FIG. 1

with only the latch arrest shoulder means shown mounted in place thereon;





FIG. 6

is a side view of the latch point portion of the latch arm of

FIG. 1

showing the latch point in an adjusted position against the arrest shoulder means for providing hair-trigger firing action;





FIG. 7

is an isometric view of the latch arm of

FIG. 1

looking generally in the direction of line


4


in

FIG. 2

;





FIG. 8

is a bottom view of the device as taken in the general direction of line


8


in

FIG. 2

with certain structures removed or broken away and with the base means of the device shown markedly elongated for clarity, and with the bowstring in its drawn posture and showing a preferred embodiment of the present finger sling;





FIG. 9

is a side view of the present finger sling and a unique adjustable attachment means or mechanism therefor, for connecting an adjustable end of the sling to the rear portion of the base means taken in the general direction of line


9


in FIG.


8


and rotated downwardly 90° in the plane of the paper, and with portions broken away for clarity;





FIG. 10

is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a bar member of said attachment means of

FIG. 9

;





FIG. 11

is an enlarged schematic view of the geometric relationship of the latch arm means to the trigger member and latch arrest shoulder means;





FIG. 12

is an enlarged front view of the device taken in the direction of line


12


in FIG.


1


and showing a variation of the mounting for the pull loop;





FIG. 13

is a cross-sectional view of the front portion of the support walls of the device of

FIG. 1

showing a preferred mounting for the pull loop;





FIG. 14

is a front view of the device of

FIG. 1

taken in the general direction of line


12


therein and showing the first stop means for engaging a portion of the keeper for preventing excessive upward pivoting of the latch arm means during trigger cocking;





FIG. 15

is a side view of a cam-type roller engaged by the latch point wherein the trigger pull length is variable and cannot be anticipated by the archer;





FIG. 16

is a view as in

FIG. 4

but showing a preferred configuration for the keeper wherein the trigger is in the cocked position;





FIG. 17

is a view of the keeper taken in the direction of line


17


in

FIG. 16

in the direction of the arrow;





FIG. 18

is a view as in

FIG. 1

but showing reverse positioning of the latch point and roller, and wherein structures equivalent in function to that of

FIG. 1

are numbered the same;





FIG. 19

is a top view of a portion of the latch arm of

FIG. 18

with portions broken away for clarity; and





FIG. 20

is a view taken in the direction of line


20





20


in FIG.


18


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Referring to the drawings and with particular reference to the claims hereof, the present breech device


10


, in one preferred embodiment, comprises a body member


14


, preferably of metal or tough structural plastic and having, in a general geometric sense, a forward end portion


16


, a rearward end portion


18


, an upper portion


20


, a lower portion


22


, and a longitudinal axis


23


. The actual shapes of these portions can vary widely. For purposes of clarity as well as for preferred construction, the laterally oriented structural components of the body member are substantially structurally and operationally symmetrical to each side of a vertically oriented longitudinally extending structural plane


24


. Forward end


16


is preferably provided as a pair of support walls


26


,


28


on each side of plane


24


and form a generally vertically oriented gap


30


which opens generally longitudinally outwardly at the forward end


16


. A trigger member


32


of any desired configuration is positioned in the gap and extends generally vertically along a trigger axis


33


from lower portion


22


thru upper portion


20


and extending upwardly therebeyond whereby it is readily accessible to finger actuation. Axis


33


in the embodiment of

FIG. 15

varies slightly in posture since it represents the unregulated position of the trigger in its cocked condition as will be explained below. This trigger member is preferably bifurcated at its lower section to provide spaced legs


37


,


38


.




The terms laterally, vertically, clockwise, counterclockwise, or other geometric nonenclarture are used herein in a relative sense for description purposes, e.g., the plane of one part being normal to the plane of another part might be defined as one part vertical and the other horizontal, and not to indicate that, for example, structural plane


24


is always vertical with respect to the earth surface. In this regard, as shown in

FIG. 8

, the conventional firing position of plane


24


is substantially horizontal but is generally oriented normally to the axis of axle member


41


and for convenience is designated vertical.




A first pivot means


34


such as a shaft


35


pivotally mounts the trigger member on lower portion


22


for allowing pivoting of the trigger member back and forth generally in plane


24


. First and second stop means such as


36


,


39


of any configuration are provided on any suitable or convenient portion of the device for limiting the extent of pivoting of the trigger member in either the forward or rearward direction respectively, when the device is in its uncocked or fired condition. This pivot limiting action facilitates re-cocking of the device. A latch arrest shoulder means generally designated


40


, which may be in the form of a curved stationary surface but which, preferably, is provided as a hardened steel roller


29


, is preferably mounted on the trigger member by axle member


41


or equivalent structure at a position above the first pivot means


34


. This shoulder means or roller has at least a first quadrant arc segment such as


43


of the approximate angular dimension shown and arced generally upwardly as viewed in the drawing. The segment may, of course, be larger than shown should a longer trigger pull be desired. A latch arm means


42


is positioned in the gap and has a forward end


44


and a rearward end


46


with a latch point


48


formed at said rearward end. A second pivot means


50


such as shaft


51


mounted thru the forward end of the latch arm means and mounted on the forward end


16


of the body member allows downward pivoting of the latch arm means within the gap for engaging the latch point


48


with the arrest shoulder means within said first quadrant arc segment such as


43


, thereby preventing rearward pivoting movement of the latch arm means in its firing direction until the trigger member is manually, forcibly, rearward pivoted toward its firing position. Latch point


48


and second pivot means


50


lie on a pivot radius line


52


. This line and said trigger axis form a downwardly opening angle “α” of from about 75° to about 110° when said trigger means is in its cocked position. A bowstring keeper


54


extends downwardly on the forward end of the latch arm means and lies on the latch arrest shoulder means side of pivot radius


52


whereby tension applied to the keeper


54


by drawing of the bowstring


56


will tend to pivot the latch arm means in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of the latch point with the arrest shoulder means.




A third stop means, preferably in the form of a screw


60


threaded thru the solid upper section


58


of trigger


32


, is adapted to engage a rearward end portion


45


of the latch arm means to establish the position of contact of the latch point


48


on the arc segment


43


and thus determine the bite depth


62


as shown in FIG.


6


. As the screw is threaded further thru the trigger, the latch point and its force axis


63


will be moved closer to the trigger axis


33


and the trigger sensitivity will increase. Where the bite depth


62


is very small, e.g., {fraction (1/16)} inch or so, a hair-trigger sensitivity will exist. Likewise, when the screw is retracted away from portion


45


, the bite depth


62


will be increased as the latch point and its force axis


63


move to the right in FIG.


6


. The concavity of arcute recess


64


ensures that the latch point


48


shown in the form of lateral edge


66


, as shown in

FIG. 7

, is preferably sharply defined such that very fine trigger sensitivity adjustments can be made.




It is noted that such a third stop means is not critical to the operation of the present device, since, for example, the curvature of recess


64


and of roller


37


may be cooperatively configured such that upon cocking of the latch arm by pivoting it counterclockwise upwardly (as viewed in

FIG. 1

) against the roller bottom


65


to forcibly pivot the trigger clockwise against the force of compression spring


68


to a position above the roller, the force of spring


68


will then seat the roller in recess


64


at a prescribed position and provide a secure predetermined position of the latch point with respect to arc segment


43


. In order to limit and control the upward counterclockwise motion of latch arm


42


during the cocking operation, a fourth stop means such as pin


69


affixed to wall


26


or


28


may be provided. As shown in

FIGS. 2 and 14

, a lower edge portion


69




a


of either or both support wall means


26


,


28


may be used to engage the keeper


54


during the cocking operation to function in a equivalent manner to


69


as the fourth stop means.




An adjusting screw


70


adjustably threaded endwise thru the body


14


and bearing against the end of spring


68


can further adjust the trigger pull sensitivity in addition to the frictional resistance between arrest shoulder means


40


and latch point


48


as developed by the reaction to the drawing force applied to the bow string.




Referring to

FIG. 15

, the roller means is provided as an eccentric roller


61


having a lobe portion


67


. The periphery


91


of this roller is shown as circular but can be irregular. The purpose of the eccentric mounting is to provide an element of surprise to the archer as to exactly how much trigger pull is going to be required to bring the firing axis


71


of the trigger in alignment with the point of contact


57


of the latch point


48


with roller


61


. When this alignment is reached, a hairs width more pull will overcenter latch point


48


on roller


61


and result in rearward thrust applied to the trigger and release of keeper


54


and bowstring


56


.




The surprise firing results from the changing of the angular position of the roller


61


on axle


41


as a result of jiggling, jostling, or other motion of the device thru, for example, handling, transporting, or firing of the device. In this regard, roller


61


is able to rotate freely on axle


41


thru the aforesaid movement and its angular position will be unknown to the archer when the bowstring is placed over the keeper and the latch arm rotated to its cocked position.




This action is shown in

FIG. 15

wherein in the cocked trigger position, the firing axis


71


passes thru trigger pivot


34


and the axis


59


of roller axle


41


. When the trigger is pulled clockwise the roller is rotated counterclockwise to where the point


57


on the roller surface which the latch point


48


is engaging becomes aligned with firing axis


71


. Further pulling force on the trigger will overcenter point


57


from axis


71


and release latch arm


42


downwardly and release the bowstring from the keeper. The precise firing position of the trigger can never be known or anticipated in advance by the archer since the angular position of the roller will always change from firing-to-firing.




The eccentric mounting offset for roller


61


may be, for example, from about 0.001 to about 0.100 inches, but preferably from about 0.003 to about 0.040 inches.




Referring further to

FIG. 15

in which dimensions are selected only for descriptive purposes, the longer trigger pull axis


73


is created by the solid line angular position of roller


61


wherein d denotes the longer trigger pull required. The shorter trigger pull axis


75


is created by the dotted line angular position of roller


61


wherein d' denotes the shorter trigger pull required. As the roller is rotated from the solid to the dotted line position, the latch point


48


will move downwardly in an arc


83


until it engages roller periphery


91


and establishes the axis


75


. Other angular positions of roller


61


will, of course, create other surprise trigger pulls.




Referring to

FIGS. 4 and 7

, the keeper portion


54


is formed on or joined to the latch arm at a junction which is formed with a radius to provide a long convex contact surface


74


which provides a smooth, non-abrasive pulling surface for the bowstring. In this regard surface


74


preferably is untypically long, i.e., of from about 0.5 to about 0.75 inches.




It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the relative positions of the components of the present device may be reversed without altering the fundamental concepts of the invention. For example, the latch arm


42


may be inverted top-to-bottom whereby the recess


64


contacts the bottom of the roller in an arc segment equivalent to


41


. In such a construction, the bowstring would contact the keeper at the top of the device rather than at the bottom, as viewed in FIG.


1


. Further, in this regard, the terms upper and lower as used herein are for purposes of clarity and are not intended to limit any spatial orientation of the device which a user may desire.




It is noted that the present device also affords a uniquely mounted bowstring pull loop


76


for looping around a bowstring


56


and retaining peg


78


as an alternative to keeper


54


. Such loops, in a general sense, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,181 as elements 27 and 33, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,875 as elements 82 and 46


b


. Such a structure can be used for certain purposes, such as archery practice, where rapid fire cocking and re-cocking may not be involved, or where less accuracy or bowstring wear can be tolerated.




Referring to

FIGS. 16 and 17

, a preferred configuration for the keeper


54


is shown as having rounded side portions


55


which allow the bowstring to be slipped on over the keeper much easier and also to allow the bowstring to release easier. This configuration functions so well as to eliminate the need for peg


78


. The rounded side portions


55


eliminate the edges


47


,


49


and


53


of FIG.


7


.




Referring to FIGS.


18


-


20


wherein structures which are equivalent in function to those previously described are numbered the same, the roller


29


or


61


is mounted on the latch arm


42


and the equivalent of latch point


48


is mounted on the trigger


32


. As is seen in

FIG. 18

, as the trigger and its axis


33


are pivoted clockwise to pass just beyond the axis


71


, the breech will fire.




The present pull loop


76


, preferably of a flexible but semi-rigid, i.e., not of floppy consistency, is mounted as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 13

wherein the loop is mounted to lie between the planes


26




a


and


28




a


of the wall means


26


and


28


respectively. The mounting ends


77


of the loop are loosely fitted thru apertures


79


in said walls such as to allow said ends to readily rotate in said apertures and allow the apex


87


of the pull loop to fling outwardly and upwardly out of the way of the bowstring during firing as shown in FIG.


2


. The ends


77


are formed with shoulders such as


81


to prevent demounting of the ends. These shoulders are readily formed by fusion of the ends with a resistance heater or the like where, for example, the loop material is a thermoplastic such as polyolefin or polyamide.




A variation but less preferred pull loop mounting structure is shown in

FIG. 12

wherein the mounting ends


77


are inserted thru apertures such as


79




a


in a cross bar


85


spanning and affixed to the upper front end portions of walls


26


and


28


.




Referring to FIGS.


8


-


10


, the present adjustable finger sling generally designated


80


comprises a strap


82


of leather, natural or synthetic fabric, or other tough, strong and flexible material and adapted to be flexibly formed into a loop


84


having a fixed end


86


and an adjustable end


88


. The sling size or capacity adjusting mechanism generally designated


90


comprises a substantially rigid, substantially flat bar member


92


having a generally rectangular configuration and being elongated along a general longitudinal axis


94


and having a front end section


96


, a back end section


98


, a proximal side


100


and a distal side


102


. A first aperture


104


is formed thru said bar member adjacent said back end for receiving a fastener screw or bolt


106


. The front end has a clamping portion


108


offset in a distal-to-proximal direction. A generally lateral slot


110


is formed thru the bar member at a position lying longitudinally intermediate aperture


104


and the clamping portion


108


, and a second aperture


112


is formed thru the fixed end of the strap for receiving the fastener screw


106


. A threaded bore


114


in the body member


14


receives screw


106


for tightening the screw head against the bar member and the fixed end of the strap.




In operation, when the fastener screw


106


is positioned thru the first and second apertures and threaded into the body member, and when the adjustable end of the strap is passed thru slot


110


from the distal side to the proximal side and then passed between the clamping portion


108


of the bar member and the rearward end of the body member, and when the fastener screw is tightened down against the bar member, the clamping portion


108


of the bar member will clamp the adjustable end of the strap against the body member and thus provide the desired and stable capacity of loop


84


for receiving the desired number and size of the archers fingers.




A preferred technique for right handed bowstring draw when using the present sling is to place the ring finger


93


and little finger


95


thru the loop as shown in

FIG. 9

, and then pinch the thumb


97


and index finger


99


toward each other with the forefinger


101


extended forwardly and curled inwardly to engage the trigger. It is noted that with the bow held by the left hand in a vertical position with the bowstring


56


also vertical as shown in

FIG. 8

, the posture of the fingers and the present breech device are substantially as shown in FIG.


8


.




The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications will be effected with the spirit and scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. A breech device for assisting in drawing and releasing an archery bow string, said device comprising a body member having a forward end, a rearward end, an upper portion, a lower portion, and a vertically oriented longitudinally extending structural plane, said forward end comprising support wall means on each side of said plane and forming a generally vertically oriented gap means opening generally longitudinally outwardly at said forward end, trigger means positioned in said gap means and extending generally vertically along a trigger axis from said lower portion thru said upper portion and extending upwardly therebeyond, first pivot means on said trigger means and said lower portion for allowing pivoting of said trigger means back and forth generally in said plane, first and second stop means on said device for limiting the extent of pivoting of said trigger means in either the forward or rearward direction respectively, latch arrest shoulder means on said trigger means positioned above said first pivot means and within said gap means, said shoulder means having at least a first quadrant arc segment arced upwardly, latch arm means positioned in said gap means and having a forward end section and a rearward end section and having a latch point at said rearward end section, second pivot means on said forward end of said latch arm means and said forward end of said body member for allowing downward pivoting of said latch arm means within said gap means for engaging said latch point with said arrest shoulder means within said arc segment to thereby cock said trigger means and prevent pivoting rearward movement of said trigger means in its firing direction until said trigger means is manually, forcibly, rearwardly pivoted from its cocked position toward its firing position, said latch point and said second pivot means lying in a pivot radius line, a bowstring keeper means extending downwardly on said forward end section of said latch arm means and adapted to lie on said arrest shoulder means side of said pivot radius line in the cocked trigger position whereby tension applied to said keeper means by drawing of said bowstring will tend to pivot said latch arm means in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of said latch point with said arrest shoulder means and thereby maintain said cocked trigger position until the trigger is pulled to fire.
  • 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said pivot radius line and said trigger axis form a downwardly opening angle of from about 75° to about 110° when said trigger means is in its cocked position, wherein said keeper is provided with a laterally extending convex bowstring contact surface which faces generally rearwardly of said body member when said latch arm means is in its position against said arrest shoulder means, and wherein third stop means is provided on said trigger means for engaging a portion of said latch arm means for maintaining a preselected position of engagement of said latch point with said shoulder means within said arc segment.
  • 3. The device of claim 2 wherein said contact surface has a lateral length of between about 0.5 and 0.75 inches.
  • 4. The device of claim 2 wherein said third stop means comprises an adjustable screw mounted in said trigger means for adjusting the trigger means sensitivity from amateur level to professional hair-trigger action.
  • 5. The device of claim 2 wherein said latch point comprises a sharp lateral edge on said rearward end section of said latch arm means, said edge being the terminus of an arcuate recess in a lower surface portion of said latch arm means.
  • 6. The device of claim 5 wherein the radius of said recess is substantially the same as the radius of said arced segment.
  • 7. The device of claim 5 wherein said shoulder means comprises a roller member rollably mounted by shaft means on said trigger member.
  • 8. The device of claim 1 wherein an adjustable finger sling is mounted on the rearward portion of said body member by means of a sling capacity adjusting mechanism.
  • 9. The device of claim 8 wherein said sling comprises a strap adapted to be flexibly formed into a loop having a fixed end and an adjustable end, and wherein said capacity adjusting mechanism comprises a substantially rigid, substantially flat bar member having a generally rectangular configuration and being elongated along a longitudinal axis and having a front end, a back end, a proximal side and a distal side, first aperture means formed thru said bar member adjacent said back end for receiving a fastener screw, said front end having a clamping portion offset in a distal-to-proximal direction, a slot formed generally laterally thru said bar member at a position lying longitudinally intermediate said aperture means and said clamping portion, and second aperture means formed thru said fixed end of said strap for receiving said fastener screw, whereby when said fastener screw is positioned thru said first and second aperture means and threaded into said rearward end of said body member, and when said adjustable end of said strap is passed thru said slot from said distal side to said proximal side and then passed between said clamping portion of said bar member and said rearward end of said body member, and when said fastener screw is tightened down against said bar member, said clamping portion of said bar member will clamp said adjustable end of said strap against said body member and thus provide the desired capacity of said loop.
  • 10. The device of claim 1 provided with means for adjusting the firing pull force required for the trigger means, i.e., soft pull to hard pull.
  • 11. The device of claim 1 wherein the latch arrest shoulder means comprises a roller member rollably mounted by shaft means on said trigger member.
  • 12. The device of claim 11 wherein said latch point comprises a sharp lateral edge on said rearward end of said latch arm means, said edge being the terminus of an arcuate recess in a lower surface portion of said latch arm means.
  • 13. The device of claim 12 wherein the radius of said recess is substantially the same as the radius of said roller member.
  • 14. The device of claim 1 wherein said keeper means comprises the combination of an arcuate contact surface and a retaining peg means and a bowstring pull loop having each of its end portions loosely and pivotally mounted thru an aperture laterally formed thru each of said wall means to provide a closed loop having an apex portion, said pull loop being of semi-rigid but flexible material and adapted to be looped around a bowstring with its apex portion hooked over said peg means, whereby when said trigger means is actuated to fire the bow the pull loop becomes disengaged from said peg means and is flung in a pivotal manner outwardly and upwardly from said body means to clear the bowstring with a minimum of frictional engagement therewith.
  • 15. The device of claim 14 wherein said pivot radius line and said trigger axis form a downwardly opening angle of from about 75° to about 110° when said trigger means is in its cocked position, wherein said keeper is provided with a laterally extending convex bowstring contact surface which faces generally rearwardly of said body member when said latch arm means is in its position against said arrest shoulder means, and wherein third stop means is provided on said trigger means for engaging a portion of said latch arm means for maintaining a preselected position of engagement of said latch point with said shoulder means within said arc segment.
  • 16. The device of claim 15 wherein said third stop means comprises an adjustable screw mounted in said trigger means for adjusting the trigger means sensitivity from amateur level to professional hair-trigger action.
  • 17. The device of claim 14 wherein said contact surface has a lateral length of between about 0.5 and 0.75 inches.
  • 18. The device of claim 14 wherein an adjustable finger sling is mounted on the rearward portion of said body member by means of a sling capacity adjusting mechanism.
  • 19. The device of claim 14 provided with means for adjusting the firing pull force required for the trigger means, i.e., soft pull to hard pull.
  • 20. The device of claim 14 wherein said arrest shoulder comprises a roller member rollably mounted by shaft means on said trigger means.
  • 21. The device of claim 20 wherein said latch point comprises a sharp lateral edge on said rearward end section of said latch arm means, said edge being the terminus of an arcuate recess in a lower surface portion of said latch arm means.
  • 22. The device of claim 21 wherein the radius of said recess is substantially the same as the radius of said arced segment.
  • 23. A breech device for assisting in drawing and releasing an archery bow string, said device comprising an elongated body member having a forward end portion, a center portion and a rearward end portion, said member being generally oriented along a longitudinally extending structural plane, trigger means having a trigger axis and being pivotally mounted on said center portion by first pivot means for allowing pivoting of said trigger means back and forth generally along said structural plane, first and second stop means on said device for limiting the extent of pivoting of said trigger means in either the forward or rearward direction respectively, latch arrest shoulder means on said trigger means and spaced from said first pivot means, said shoulder means having at least a first quadrant arc segment, latch arm means having a forward end section and a rearward end section and having a latch point at its rearward end section, second pivot means on said forward end section of said latch arm means and said forward end portion of said body member for allowing pivoting of said latch arm means for engaging said latch point with said arrest shoulder means within said arc segment and preventing pivoting rearward movement of said trigger means in its firing direction until said trigger means is manually, forcibly, rearwardly pivoted toward its firing position, said latch point and said second pivot means lying in a pivot radius, a bowstring keeper on said forward end of said latch arm means and lying on the arrest shoulder means side of said pivot radius whereby tension applied to said keeper by drawing of said bowstring will tend to pivot said latch arm means in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of said latch point with said arrest shoulder means wherein an adjustable finger sling is provided on the rearward portion of said body member wherein the sling has a unique and extremely stable finger size capacity adjusting mechanism.
  • 24. The device of claim 23 wherein said keeper is provided with a laterally extending convex bowstring contact surface which faces generally rearwardly of said body member when said latch point is in its position against said arrest shoulder means.
  • 25. The device of claim 24 wherein said contact surface has a lateral length of between about 0.5 and 0.75 inches.
  • 26. A breech device for assisting in drawing and releasing a bow string comprising body means having an upper portion, a lower portion, a forward portion and a rearward portion, trigger means pivotally mounted on said body means for pivoting between said forward and rearward portions and extending above said upper portion, latch arm means pivotally mounted on said body means and having a forward end section and a rearward end section, roller means eccentrically mounted by an axial offset on one of said trigger means or said latch arm means wherein said axial offset is from about 0.001 to about 0.100 in., a latch point on the other of said trigger means or latch arm means, the pivotal mounting for said latch arm means allowing downward pivoting of said latch arm means for engaging said latch point with said roller means to thereby cock said trigger means and prevent pivotal rearward movement of said trigger means in its firing direction until said trigger means is manually, forcibly, rearwardly pivoted from its cocked position toward its firing position, a bowstring keeper means extending downwardly on said forward end section of said latch arm means and adapted to lie in a position whereby tension applied to said keeper means by drawing of said bowstring will tend to pivot said latch arm means in a direction tending to forcibly maintain engagement of said latch point with said roller means and thereby maintain said cocked trigger position until the trigger is pulled to fire.
  • 27. The device of claim 26 wherein a pivot radius line of said latch arm means and said trigger axis form a downwardly opening angle “α” of from about 75° to about 110° when said trigger means is in its cocked position, and wherein said keeper means is provided with a laterally extending, laterally convex bowstring contact surface which faces rearwardly and upwardly at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of said body member when said latch point is in its locked position against said roller means.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/071,230 of same title, filed May 1, 1998 now abandoned.

US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
3604407 Wilson et al. Sep 1971
4539968 Garvison Sep 1985
4567875 Fletcher Feb 1986
4625705 Willits Dec 1986
4672945 Carlton Jun 1987
4969448 Beyer Nov 1990
5103796 Peck Apr 1992
5448983 Scott Sep 1995
Continuation in Parts (1)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/071230 May 1998 US
Child 09/494910 US