Patent Application
20250146790
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Archers encounter challenges in accurately aiming at targets located at varying distances. One of the major challenges is that arrow trajectory is not perfectly parabolic. An arrow begins its flight at an upward angle, peaks at some point, then arches downwards until it hits the target. Because the arrow's speed is constantly decreasing due to drag, the arc downward is not uniform, i.e., the rate of arrow drop increases over the course of its flight. This concept is referred to herein as “arrow drop.”
Archers can attach bow sights to their bows to increase accuracy. Two types of bow sights are popular: (1) fixed pin sights, and (2) moveable pin sights. Fixed pin sights have a series of pins that are typically sighted in ten-yard increments. For example, a fixed pin sight can have pins sighted at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 yards. Importantly, the gap between two adjacent pins increases as the aiming distance increases in fixed pin sights. For example, the gap between two adjacent pins sighted for 30 and 40 yards is greater than a gap between two pins sighted for 20 and 30 yards. The greater pin gap is needed at longer distances because the arrow drops more between 30 and 40 yards than between 20 and 30 yards. This is typically not a problem in fixed pin sights because the pins are each sighted to a single and pre-determined distance.
One type of moveable pin sight uses just a single pin. Existing single-pin sights necessitate manual adjustments for each distance change. Because they are single-pin, single-pin sights can account for arrow drop. This is typically done be using a sight tape that accounts for arrow drop. Sight tapes indicate different distances with the appropriate spacing to account for arrow drop. A pointer on the archery sight “points” to the distance on the sight tape that reflects the aim of the pin. However, despite being able to account for arrow drop, single-pin sights lead to delays and potential inaccuracies in fast-paced shooting situations due to the need to manually adjust the single pin between distances.
Another type of moveable pin sight has multiple pins. Existing multiple pin slider-sights have a set of movable pins that are locked in place with respect to each other. The set of pins are adjusted vertically together for different distances at the same time. For example, a multiple pin-sight can have two pins sighted at 20 and 30 yards that can be moved to sight for 40 and 50 yards. However, the gap between the pins remains fixed meaning that the pins are off at a distance because they do not take into account the increasing arrow drop at greater distances. Because there are two or more movable pins, sight tapes cannot take into account arrow drop on multi-pin sights at multiple distances.
The present invention proposes an innovative archery sight solution that combines the advantages of both single-pin and multi-pin designs. The archery sight according to the present invention comprises multiple pins that may be adjusted to aim at different distances. The archery sight integrates an automatic pin gap adjustment mechanism to compensate for arrow drop at different ranges. In an embodiment, the pin gap adjustment mechanism incorporates an interchangeable cam cartridge system that includes a set of cams each pre-calculated to the trajectory of different arrows and bows. In an embodiment, the pin gap adjustment mechanism comprises a rotatable cam having an outer surface with an irregular profile. In an embodiment, the pin gap adjustment mechanism comprises a rotatable cam having an outer surface with a continuously variable irregular profile, the rotatable cam being internally adjustable to account for different bow and arrow set ups. The present invention offers archers an intuitive, tailored, efficient, and accurate aiming experience across different distances using a multi-pin sight.
This invention relates to an archery sight that provides a multi-pin sight with the simplicity of a single-pin slider while accommodating dynamic shooting scenarios with automatic pin gap adjustments to compensate for arrow drop at greater ranges. The invention aims to enhance accuracy, ease of use, consistency and adaptability in various shooting environments.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an archery sight that merges the advantages of single-pin and multi-pin designs. By integrating a two-pin slider mechanism with an automatic pin gap adjustment feature, the invention enhances archery accuracy, simplifies aiming, and improves adaptability in dynamic shooting situations. The invention represents a significant advancement in archery sight technology, catering to the needs of archers seeking precision and convenience in their shooting experiences.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an archery sight for a bow comprising: a sight assembly moveably mounted to a vertical gear rack; the sight assembly having a first pin having a first sight point and a second pin having a second sight point; a pin gap defined by a distance between the first sight point and the second sight point; an actuator; a sight assembly adjustment mechanism configured to move the sight assembly, the first pin, and the second pin up and down along the vertical gear rack responsive to input from the actuator; a pin gap adjustment mechanism configured to move the second pin with respect to the first pin to thereby vary the pin gap responsive to input from the actuator.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides an archery sight for a bow comprising: a sight assembly moveably mounted to a vertical gear rack; the sight assembly having a first pin having a first sight point and a second pin having a second sight point; a follower pin connected to the second pin; a pin gap defined by a distance between the first sight point and the second sight point; an actuator mounted on a shaft; a sight assembly adjustment mechanism having a main driver gear in communication with the shaft and intermeshed with the vertical gear rack; and a pin gap adjustment mechanism having a rotatable cam in communication with the follower pin and the shaft.
An embodiment of the present disclosure comprises an archery sight for a bow comprising: a sight assembly; the sight assembly having a first pin having a first sight point and a second pin having a second sight point; a follower pin connected to the second pin; a pin gap defined by a distance between the first sight point and the second sight point; an actuator; and a pin gap adjustment mechanism having a rotatable cam in communication with the follower pin and the actuator.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of sighting a bow using a multi-pin archery sight installed on a riser of the bow, the multi-pin sight comprising a sight assembly movably mounted on a vertical gear rack, the sight assembly having a first pin having a first sight point and second pin having a second sight point, the first sight point and the second sight point defining a pin gap; the sight assembly further comprising an actuator operable to provide input to a sight assembly adjustment mechanism and a pin gap adjustment mechanism, the method comprising: moving the sight assembly adjustment mechanism in a first direction responsive to input from the actuator; and adjusting the pin gap responsive to input from the actuator.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention so that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and so that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. Other features of the present invention will become clearer from the following detailed description of the invention, taken with the accompanying drawings and claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention.
These drawings are provided to illustrate various aspects of the invention and are not intended to be limiting of the scope in terms of dimensions, materials, configurations, arrangements or proportions unless otherwise limited by the claims.
While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, other embodiments may be realized and that various changes to the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is presented for purposes of illustration only and not limitation to describe the features and characteristics of the present invention, to set forth the best mode of operation of the invention, and to sufficiently enable one skilled in the art to practice the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims.
In describing and claiming the present invention, the following terminology will be used.
The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a pathogen” includes reference to one or more of such materials and reference to “the electrode” refers to one or more of such electrodes.
As used herein with respect to an identified property or circumstance, “substantially” refers to a degree of deviation that is sufficiently small so as to not measurably detract from the identified property or circumstance. The exact degree of deviation allowable may in some cases depend on the specific context.
As used herein, “adjacent” refers to the proximity of two structures or elements. Particularly, elements that are identified as being “adjacent” may be either abutting or connected. Such elements may also be near or close to each other without necessarily contacting each other. The exact degree of proximity may in some cases depend on the specific context.
As used herein, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility and imprecision associated with a given term, metric or value. The degree of flexibility for a particular variable can be readily determined by one skilled in the art. However, unless otherwise enunciated, the term “about” generally connotes flexibility of less than 2%, and most often less than 1%, and in some cases less than 0.01%.
As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary.
As used herein, the term “at least one of” is intended to be synonymous with “one or more of.” For example, “at least one of A, B and C” explicitly includes only A, only B, only C, or combinations of each
As used herein, the term “input” may refer to a force or torque applied to a component (e.g., a force applied to an actuator, sight assembly adjustment mechanism, or a pin gap adjustment mechanism). Input may be applied manually by a user or a motor.
As used herein, the term “irregular profile” refers to an eccentric, non-uniform or non-circular cam profile that is designed to produce a specific motion in a follower. The cam is a rotating component that transfers motion to a follower (a part that follows the cam profile). The profile of the cam determines how the follower moves as the cam rotates, and in some cases, a cam may have an irregular or complex shape to produce specific motion characteristics. In the present disclosure, the irregular profile of the cam compensates from arrow drop at different distances.
Any steps recited in any method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented in the claims. Means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; and b) a corresponding function is expressly recited. The structure, material or acts that support the means-plus function are expressly recited in the description herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the descriptions and examples given herein.
Referring now to
The mounting assembly 32 may include a mounting plate 33 having a slot 34. The mounting plate 33 may be operable to attach the archery sight 30 to a riser of a bow using fasteners. It will be appreciated that the term “bow” includes any type of bow, including a compound bow, crossbow, or recurve bow, using fasteners. Slidably mounted in the slot 34 may be an arm 36. The arm 36 and slot 34 provide an adjustment feature in the Z-direction (forward and rearward). A clamp 9 may be mounted to a distal end 35 of the arm 36. The clamp 9 may include a pair of jaws.
The mounting assembly 32 may further include a horizontal slide bar 38. The horizontal slide bar 38 may be slidably mounted between the jaws of the clamp 9. The horizontal slide bar 38 may allow for adjustment of the sight assembly 50 in the X-direction (left and right). The mounting assembly 32 may further include a vertical slide bar 40 mounted in a slot (not visible) in the horizontal slide bar 38. The vertical slide bar 40 may allow for adjustment of the sight assembly 50 in the Y-direction (up and down). It will be appreciated that the positions of the arm 36, horizontal slide bar 38, and the vertical slide bar 40 are fixedly set during a set up procedure-meaning that they are not normally adjusted during shooting situations.
The vertical slide bar 40 may include a vertical gear rack 7 to connect to a main gear, and a slide system for housing to sit and slide smoothly on. It will be appreciated that the vertical gear rack and main gear is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the main gear) engaging a linear gear (the vertical gear rack 7). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. The vertical slide bar 40 may include a sight tape 10. The sight tape 10 may indicate various distances at pre-set distances such as 1-yard, 2-yard, 3-yard, 4-yard, 5-yard, 6-yard, 7-yard, 8-yard, 9-yard, or 10-yard intervals.
The sight assembly 50 may include a housing 51 that includes a sub-housing 4, sub-housing 5, and a sub-housing 6. The sub-housing 4 defines a sight ring 52. Disposed within the sight ring 52 may be a first pin 21 having a first sight point 54 and a second pin 22 having a second sight point 56. The first sight point 54 and the second sight point 56 may be located at the top of the first pin 21 and the second pin 22, respectively. The first sight point 54 and the second sight point 56 may each be formed by an end of a fiber optic cable, a painted dot, a bead, or a light source.
The first sight point 54 of the first pin 21 may be vertically above the second sight point 56 of the second pin 22 in the Y-direction. In this regard, the first pin 21 may extend vertically higher than the second pin 22. The vertical distance between the first sight point 54 and the second sight point 56 defines an adjustable pin gap.
The sight assembly 50 may include a first distance indicator 42 and a second distance indicator 44 positioned over the sight tape 10. The first distance indicator 42 indicates the range of the first sight point 54 on the sight tape 10 and the second distance indicator 44 indicates the range of the second sight point 56 on the sight tape 10.
As will be explained in more detail below, the second pin 22 may be connected to a pin driver assembly 80. As will also be explained in further detail below, the sub-housing 5 contains an interchangeable cam and the sub-housing 6 contains main driver gear and a cam driver gear. Both the main driver gear and the cam driver gear are connected to, and receive input from, a manual actuator 8. In an embodiment, the manual actuator 8 may be one of a hand wheel that manually turns to roll the main gear up and down the vertical rack 7 and turn the cam driver gear. In an embodiment, the manual actuator 8 may include a lever, shaft, handle, rod, grip, knob or other user input device capable of receiving user interaction to rotate the main gear. In an embodiment, the manual actuator 8 can be replaced with an electric motor drive that turns the main gear. Operation of the manual actuator 8 may cause the sight assembly 50 to move up or down
Referring now to
The archery sight 30 further includes a pin gap adjustment mechanism 65 that comprises a cam driver gear 26 intermeshed with the main driver gear 64 and an interchangeable cam cartridge 68. Rotation of the main driver gear 64 by the actuator 8 may turn the cam driver gear 26. The cam driver gear 26 may be mounted on a shaft 66. Also mounted on the shaft 66 may be the interchangeable cam cartridge 68.
As shown in
As best seen in
Extending from an opposite end of the elongated body member 86 may be a follower pin 90. The follower pin 90 is configured to be installed into the at least one cam slot 76. As the follower pin 90 moves along the at least one cam slot 76, it translates the rotational motion of the cam slot 76 into linear motion or vice versa. The follower pin 90 can be a simple pin or roller that rides in the cam slot 76, and its movement can be guided to move the second pin 22 up or down.
As shown in
The cam driver gear 26 drives the pin driver assembly 80 to move the second sight point 56 (second pin 22) up and down to adjust the pin gap responsive to user input received by the manual actuator 8. Thus, the second sight point 56 (second pin 22) is moved by the main driver gear 64 driving both against the rack 7 and the cam driver gear 26. The first sight point 54 (first pin 21), on the other hand is moved by only the main driver gear driving the rack 7. In this manner, a pin gap 95 between the first sight point 54 and the second sight point 56 is variable.
In an embodiment, the cam cartridge 68 features at least one curved cam slot 76, which increases in its distance from the center of the cam cartridge 68. It will be appreciated that the cam channel converts rotational motion into linear motion and that its increasing radius of the curvature compensates for arrow drop at increased ranges. The cam slot 76 features an increasing radius to compensate for arrow drop. Different cartridges will determine how much the second pin 22 will move based on the bow and arrow set up and speed of the bow. Each cartridge may be matched to a sight tape and can feature two slots for two different sight tapes.
In an embodiment, the cam cartridge 68 includes a curved slot that reflects the total travel distance covered by the second pin 22. An exponential curve may be crucial for accurate arrow sight prediction to compensate for increased arrow drop at increased ranges. The follower pin 90 slides into this slot and is moved vertically as the cartridge 68 rotates. The movement of the follower pin 90 causes the second sight point 56 to move vertically to compensate for arrow drop
Referring now to
A rear portion 108 of the vertical slide bar 104 may be configured to be received into a slot of a horizontal slide bar (not shown) that is connected to a mounting arm (not shown) similar to the horizontal slide bar 38 and arm 36 shown in
The sight assembly 102 may include a housing 112 and a sight ring 114. The housing 112 may include a sub-housing 113. Extending from the housing 112 may be an actuator 116, such as a turn wheel. In an embodiment, the actuator 116 may include a lever, shaft, handle, rod, grip or other user input device capable of receiving user interaction to rotate the main gear. In an embodiment, the actuator 116 can be replaced with an electric motor drive that turns the main gear. An outer surface of the actuator 116 may include an up/down indicator to indicate to a user the direction to turn the actuator.
The sight assembly 102 may include a first pin 120 having a first sight point 122 that extends laterally into the sight ring 114. The sight assembly 102 may further include second pin 124 having a second sight point 126 that extends laterally into the sight ring 114. The first pin 120 is vertically above the second pin 124 such that the first sight point 122 is above the second sight point.
Referring to
The front piece 112A and the back piece 112B of the housing 112 may define a cavity configured to receive a cam 130. An outer surface 132 of the cam 130 may be in contact with, or communication with, a follower pin 134 rigidly connected to the second pin 124. A polygonal shaft 136 may about against a rear surface 138 of the cam 130. A threaded shaft 140 may be coupled to the cam 130 and extend through the polygonal shaft 136.
A cylindrical end 141 of a first coupler 142 may be installed into a complementary seat 143 on a support member 144. A main driver gear 146 may be installed on the cylindrical end 141 of the first coupler 142. The main driver gear 146 may intermesh with the vertical gear rack 106. Extending from the opposite end of the cylindrical end 141 of the first coupler 142 may be a polygonal protrusion 150. An opening 152 may extend into the end of the polygonal protrusion 150. The opening 152 may receive a cam adjustment dial 154. The cam adjustment dial 154 may have a complementary opening (not visible) to receive an end of the polygonal shaft 136.
The polygonal protrusion 150 may be received into a complementary shaped opening (not visible) in a second coupler 156. Extending on the opposite side of the second coupler 156 may be a polygonal protrusion 158. The polygonal protrusion 158 is configured to extend through an opening 159 in the end piece 112C of the housing 112 and into a complementary shaped opening 160 in the actuator 116. The front piece 113A and a back piece 113B of the sub-housing 113 may include a vertical channel 162 to allow vertical movement of the follower pin 134.
In an embodiment, the cam 130 turns at the same rate as the main driver gear 146.
Referring to
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In an embodiment, the position of the first pin 120 in the sight ring 114 is fixed with the position of the second pin 124 is variable. Both the first pin 120 and the second pin 124 move when responsive to input from the actuator 116. In addition, the pin gap 200 is adjusted responsive input from the actuator 116. Thus, the present disclosure simultaneously adjusts the vertical position of the first pin 120, the second pin 124, and the pin gap 200.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a two-pin slider archery sight comprises:
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features and operations described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the described technology.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/596,657 filed on Nov. 7, 2023, which application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63596657 | Nov 2023 | US |
