Bow Sighting Device

Abstract

A bow sighting device includes a laser situated in an arrow shaft adjacent a rear end and capable of producing a laser beam when energized, the laser being positioned so that the laser beam projects through a forward end. The sighting device includes a bow string release member having a string clamp selectively attached to a bowstring, the clamp having upper and lower sections with an arm extending therebetween defining a nock receiving area. The arm includes an arm conductive surface that may be energized by a battery. The arrow shaft includes a nock at its rear end having a nock conductive surface in electrical communication with the laser, the laser being energized to produce the laser beam when the nock is engaged with the nock receiving area of the arm of the string clamp.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to sighting devices and, more particularly, to a bow sighting device for focusing laser light on a target utilizing a laser mounted inside or outside of an arrow shaft.

In 2004, there were 14,283,920 deer hunters in the United States according to the Deer Hunter's Almanac. Of these, 3,183,643 were archery hunters. One reason that more deer hunters do not use compound bows may be the relative complexity of bow hunting equipment as compared to gun hunting equipment. Another reason most deer hunters prefer to use guns is that shots taken with bows often miss their targets, resulting in lost arrows or wounded (not killed) game. Sighting a compound bow during hunting or sighting a crossbow prior to an actual hunt can be a difficult endeavor.

Various devices have been proposed in the art for aiding a bow hunter in sighting or targeting a hunted animal. Sighting accessories may be mounted to the frame or strings of a compound bow for use by the hunter. Crossbows, and more particularly their targeting scopes, may also be “sighted in” by adjusting windage and elevation settings such that the hunter can achieve greater accuracy during a hunt although this is often a trial and error task. Once properly sighted, however, the hunter has confidence that he will hit whatever he is aiming at when he pulls the trigger. Although the prior devices and proposals are assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices do not provide a virtually guaranteed means for targeting and hitting a deer or a sighting target.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a sighting device that visually identifies exactly what an arrow is aimed at and where it will hit when released. Further, it would be desirable to have a bow sighting device that may be mounted directly in-line with the arrow shaft itself. In addition, it would be desirable to have a bow sighting device with visual identification means for use with compound bows or crossbows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a bow sighting device according to the present invention includes a laser, a power source, and an arrow shaft. Various combinations of these components are possible and are described in detail below. Preferably, the laser is situated within the arrow shaft for producing a beam in a forward direction and linear with the arrow shaft. In other words, when the arrow shaft including the laser is placed in a compound bow or crossbow and is pulled back or cocked into firing position, the laser beam projecting from the arrow shaft indicates exactly where the arrow shaft will strike. This is useful during actual hunting or when sighting in the scope on a crossbow.

The power source electrically connected to the laser may be a battery that is also positioned inside the arrow shaft. Alternatively, the battery may be attached to the bow itself and connected to the laser through complementary electrical contacts on the bow and arrow shaft, respectively. In another alternative, the battery may be displaced from the laser but urged into contact therewith by a pushrod when the nock of the arrow shaft is positioned against a string of the bow in preparation for firing. In this position, the nock is compressed and urges the pushrod and battery into contact with the laser.

The sighting device may also include a focusing lens, reflector, or other optical devices positioned at the forward end of the arrow shaft and through which the laser beam passes. The focusing lens may focus the laser beam on a single point or may split the laser beam into more than one beam indicative of an appropriate shot selection depending on distance.

Therefore, a general object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device for providing an exact visual indication of where an arrow shaft is aimed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device, as aforesaid, having a laser that may be mounted within an arrow shaft for producing a laser beam that extends forwardly in linear relationship to the shaft.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device, as aforesaid, which may be powered by a battery mounted inside of the arrow shaft.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device, as aforesaid, which may focus the laser beam on a single point or split the beam into multiple beams.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device, as aforesaid, which may be facilitated by a laser powered by a battery, with either or both mounted to a bow frame.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a bow sighting device, as aforesaid, that simplifies hunting with a compound bow, recurve bow, or crossbow.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bow sighting device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in use with a compound bow;

FIG. 2 a is a front end view of an arrow shaft of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 b is a sectional view taken along line 2b-2b of FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3 a is another perspective view of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 b is an isolated view of a portion of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 3a;

FIG. 4 a is a perspective view of a bow sighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 b is an isolated view of a portion of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 4 c is a front end view of an arrow shaft of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 4 d is a sectional view taken along line 4d-4d as in FIG. 4c;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bow sighting device as in FIG. 1 in use with a crossbow;

FIG. 6 a is a front end view of an arrow shaft of the bow sighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 b is a sectional view taken along line 6b-6b of FIG. 6a with a nock in a compressed configuration urging a pushrod and battery into contact with a laser;

FIG. 6 c is a sectional view as in FIG. 6b with the pushrod in an extended configuration;

FIG. 7 is a segmented sectional view of FIG. 2b illustrating a split-beam focusing lens;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a sighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a string clamp removed from the sighting device as in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 a is a perspective view of a rear end of a nock of an arrow shaft taken from FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 b a side view of the nock as in FIG. 10a;

FIG. 10 c is a sectional view taken along line 10c-10c of FIG. 10b;

FIG. 11 a is a perspective view of a body portion of the sighting device as in FIG. 8 with the jaws in a closed configuration; and

FIG. 11 b is a perspective view of the body portion as in FIG. 11a with the jaws in an open configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A bow sighting device 100 according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 through 2b and FIGS. 5 through 7 of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a bow sighting device 100 according to the current invention includes a laser 110, a power source 120, and an arrow shaft 130.

The laser 110 is in electrical communication with the power source 120 to actuate the laser 110. When actuated, the laser 110 produces a laser beam 112. The arrow shaft 130 has forward and rear ends 130a, 130b, and the laser beam 112 extends/projects from the shaft forward end 130a away from the shaft rear end 130b (FIG. 1). As best shown in FIG. 7, the laser beam 112 may extend from within the arrow shaft 130 through the shaft forward end 130a. The arrow shaft 130 may include fletching 132 at the shaft rear end 130b, a nock 134 at the shaft rear end 130b, and/or an arrowhead 136 at the shaft forward end 130a (FIG. 1).

It is understood that the arrowhead 136 may be removable (not shown), such as by a complementary threaded configuration. In such an embodiment, it is contemplated that a replacement arrowhead with laser may be re-attached to an arrow shaft if another one becomes damaged in use.

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 2b and FIGS. 6a through 6c, the laser 110 may be coupled to the arrow shaft 130. Though it may be possible to couple the laser 110 to the outside of the arrow shaft 130, it is currently preferred to place the laser 110 inside the arrow shaft 130, as shown in FIG. 2b.

FIGS. 1 through 2 b and FIGS. 6a through 6c show that the power source 120 may be a battery 120 coupled to the arrow shaft 130. A pushrod 125 may extend from the nock 134 to the battery 120 to move the battery 120 from an inactivated configuration 120a when the pushrod 125 is at an extended configuration 134a (FIG. 6c) to an activated configuration 120b when the pushrod 125 is at a compressed configuration 134b (FIG. 6b). Other switches or actuators may alternately or additionally be used. Similarly, power sources other than a battery may also be used, such a solar cell array.

A focusing lens 140 may be positioned at the arrow shaft forward end 130a. As shown in FIG. 1, the focusing lens 140 may be configured to focus the laser beam 112 and direct the laser beam 112 in a direction linear with the arrow shaft 130 to accommodate gravity-induced arrow drop, wind deflection, or other perturbing effects. As shown in FIG. 7, the focusing lens 140 may be a splitting lens for splitting the laser beam 112 into a plurality of split laser beams 112a. Each split laser beam 112a may correspond to a predetermined distance as discussed further below. The optic devices utilized to manipulate the laser beam may alternatively include mirrors, reflectors, prisms, lenses, optical fibers or light pipes.

In use, the arrow shaft 130 may be coupled to a bow 10 in a conventional manner prior to its release. Specifically, the nock 134 may be aligned with a string 14 and the shaft forward end 130a may be placed at an arrow shelf 16. If a pushrod 125 is included, the string 14 may move the pushrod 125, and the pushrod 125 may in turn move the battery 120 to the activated configuration 120b as discussed above. The battery 120 may actuate the laser 110, which produces the laser beam 112. If the focusing lens 140 is configured to focus the laser beam 112 and direct the laser beam 112 in a direction linear with the arrow shaft 130 (as discussed above), the laser beam 112 may extend linearly from the arrow shaft 130 (FIG. 1). If the focusing lens 140 is a splitting lens (as discussed above), the split laser beams 112a may correspond to sighting of the bow at predetermined distances, each with a different gravity-induced drop in the arrow trajectory from a perfect line-of-sight parallel to the arrow shaft (FIG. 7). For example, one split laser beam 112a may correspond to a target thirty yards from the device 100, while another split laser beam 112 may correspond to a target forty yards from the device 100. The different split laser beams 112a compensate for the non-linear trajectory of the arrow shaft 130 over different distances when taking gravity into account. The arrow shaft 130 may be fired from the bow 10 using the laser beam 112 as a sight, or the laser beam 112 may be used to set physical sights on the bow 10.

A bow sighting device 200 according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b and includes a construction substantially similar to the construction previously described except as specifically noted below. More particularly, the power source 120 may be a battery 120 coupled to the bow 10, and the bow sighting device 200 may include means for transferring energy from the battery 120 to the laser 110. In other words, the battery 120 is not positioned in the interior of the arrow shaft 130 in this embodiment. More particularly, a first electrical contact 221 may be coupled to the bow 10 and be in electrical communication with the battery 120; a second electrical contact 222 may be coupled to the arrow shaft 130 or a separate internal wire or conductor leading to the other post of the battery and be in electrical communication with the laser 110. The second electrical contact 222 may be in selective contact with the first electrical contact 221, such as when an arrow shaft 130 is positioned on the bow 10 prior to being shot, as best shown in FIG. 3b.

In use, the battery 120 may actuate the laser 110 only when the second electrical contact 222 is in contact with the first electrical contact 221. This embodiment may be advantageous over the first embodiment described above insofar as the arrow shaft 130 may be lighter since it does not house the power source 120.

A bow sighting device 300 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4a through 4d and includes a construction substantially similar to the construction previously described except as specifically noted below. More particularly, the laser 110 may be coupled to the bow 10 and the power source 120 may be coupled to the bow 10. The arrow shaft 130 may have a sidewall 331 that defines an opening 331a, as best shown in FIGS. 4b and 4d. Optics (e.g., mirror 335, a lens, and/or a fiberoptic cable) may be inside the arrow shaft 130 to direct the laser beam 120 from the sidewall opening 331a to the forward end 130a of the arrow shaft 130 (FIG. 4d).

In use, the battery 120 may actuate the laser 110, which produces the laser beam 112. The laser beam 112 may travel through the sidewall opening 331a (FIGS. 4b and 4d), and the optics (e.g., mirror 335) may direct the laser beam 120 from the sidewall opening 331a to the forward end 130a of the arrow shaft 130 (FIG. 4d). This embodiment may be advantageous over the first two embodiments described above insofar as the arrow shaft 130 may be lighter since it does not house the laser 110 or the power source 120.

As shown in FIG. 5, it should be appreciated that the embodiment first described may be used successfully with a crossbow. Accordingly, the crossbow shown in FIG. 5 is also referred to with reference numeral 10 and includes a string 14 appropriate for coupling to the nock 134 of an arrow shaft 130. With laser turned on and aimed at a sighting target, the windage and elevation settings of a scope may be adjusted to coincide with the laser beam on the target. Then, during use, the cross-hairs of the scope may be trusted to be accurate for taking a shot.

A bow sighting device 400 according to still another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8 to 11b and includes a construction that is substantially similar to the bow sighting device 100 first described above, except as specifically described below. By way of additional background, many bow hunters utilize a bowstring release device to aid in grasping a bowstring for drawing the string back into a “cocked” or ready-to-shoot position. Such a device may be perceived as easier to grasp and may enable the archer to maintain steadier control while aiming an arrow toward an animal or target. In this embodiment of the present invention, a bowstring release member 410 may be utilized not only as described above, but also to actuate a laser beam in the spirit of the other embodiments of the invention described throughout this specification.

More particularly, the bowstring release member 410 may include a string clamp portion 420 having upper 422 and lower 424 sections each defining openings for receiving a bowstring 14 of a bow (FIG. 9). It is understood that the string clamp portion 420 may also be referred to herein simply as a “string clamp.” The string clamp portion 420 may also include an arm 426 extending between the upper 422 and lower 424 sections and may define a nock receiving area 428 (FIG. 9). It is understood that the string clamp portion 420 may include a pair of generally U-shaped clamping halves that may be selectively joined together to surround a bowstring and thus to secure the bowstring 14 in the openings 432. The arm 426 includes an arm conductive surface 430, preferably on one or both side surfaces, that may become energized with electrical current through electrical communication with a battery, as will be described in more detail below. The arm conductive surface 430 extends through the nock receiving area 428 as well, as will be further described later.

The bowstring release member 410 may further include a body portion 440 to aid a user in grasping the arm 426 of the clamp portion 420 in order to draw the bowstring smoothly. The body portion 440 may include a handle 442 with which a user may grasp with a single hand or it may even include a glove or a strap (not shown) for temporarily coupling the entire body portion 440 to a user's hand in use. If used, a strap may be coupled to the fastener 444 at the rear end of the handle 442, as shown in FIGS. 11a and 11b. The body portion 440 includes a pair of jaws 446 that are pivotally movable between open (FIG. 11a) and closed (FIG. 11b) configurations. The jaws 446 may be actuated to move between these positions by a trigger 450 that is operatively coupled to the body portion 440 and to the jaws 446, the jaws being normally biased toward the closed configuration. Accordingly, the jaws 446 may be opened upon actuation of the trigger 450 and the jaws 446 are configured to selectively receive the arm 426 of the string clamp 420 therebetween. Upon releasing the trigger 450, the string clamp 420 may be secured between the jaws 446 (FIG. 8).

It is understood that while an actual battery is not shown in FIGS. 8 to 11b, a battery is implied as it may be positioned on the body portion 440 or attached to the bow itself or to some other remote device. Wires 455 are indicative of wires that may communicate current from the battery to respective conductive surfaces. Further, the battery may be connected directly to the arm conductive surface 430 of the string clamp portion 420 or to the jaws 446 as described below. More particularly, each jaw 446 may include a jaw conductive surface 448 positioned on an inner surface of each respective jaw. The jaw conductive surface 448 may be electrically connected to a power source such as a battery through wires 455. Therefore, when the jaw conductive surface 448 is in contact with the arm conductive surface 430 or when the battery is directly connected to the arm conductive surface 430, the arm conductive surface 430 is energized.

The sighting device 400 further includes an arrow shaft 460 having a construction substantially similar to the arrow shaft 130 first described except as specifically noted below. Only the portions having a different construction than described previously are shown particularly in the drawings relative to the present embodiment. More particularly, the arrow shaft 460 includes forward and rear 462 ends and includes a laser 480 (also referred to as a laser diode) situated in the arrow shaft 460 in relative proximity to the rear end 462 (FIG. 10c). A nock 470 is attached to the rear end 462 of the arrow shaft 460 and includes a nock conductive surface 472. Specifically, the nock 470 may include a pair of fins 474 and a nock conductive surface 472 may be positioned on an inner surface of each fin (FIGS. 10a to 10c). The arrow shaft 460 may include fletching 464 and an arrowhead (not shown) as described previously. The laser 480 is electrically connected to the nock conductive surface 472, such as by a wire 473 or other electrical conductor, so as to be energized when the nock conductive surface 472 is in contact with the arm conductive surface 430. It is understood that the nock has a configuration that is complementary to a configuration of the nock receiving area 428 of the string clamp 420 and is brought into contact therewith when a user intends to prepare or aim an arrow.

In use, the string clamp 420 may be attached to a bowstring 14 where it may remain through many firings of arrows from the bow. The nock 470 of the arrow shaft 460 may be engaged with the nock receiving area 428 of the arm 426 of the string clamp 420 when a user desires to draw the arrow back, aim, and fire. Because the arm conductive surface 430 has been energized by the battery, either directly or through contact with the jaw conductive surface 448, the laser 480 is energized and generates a laser beam that is projected forwardly from the arrow shaft to indicate where the arrow will strike an animal or target. The user may release his grip on the string clamp 420 or may pull the trigger of the body portion 440 of the bowstring release member 410 to thereby release the string clamp 420, thus enabling the bowstring to launch the arrow shaft 460. Therefore, a laser beam is only produced and power is only drawn from the battery when an arrow shaft 460 is engaged with the nock receiving area 428 of the string clamp 420, such as just prior to sighting and firing the arrow.

While use of a laser in the present invention has been described throughout and is preferred, it is understood that other high intensity light emitting components may also be used, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs).

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A sighting device for use with a bow, comprising: a bowstring release member, comprising: a string clamp portion having spaced apart upper and lower sections defining aligned openings for receiving a bowstring of the bow, said string clamp portion having an arm connecting said upper and lower sections, said arm having an arm conductive surface and defining a nock receiving area;a body portion having a pair of jaws pivotally movable between a closed configuration so as to become coupled to said arm of said string clamp portion and an open configuration so as to release said string clamp portion, said pair of jaws including a jaw conductive surface;a trigger operatively coupled to said body portion and configured to selectively actuate said pair of jaws to move from said closed configuration to said open configuration;a battery electrically connected to said jaw conductive surface on said arm so that said conductive surface is energized by said battery;an arrow shaft having forward and rear ends;a laser attached to and situated in said arrow shaft;a nock attached to said rear end of said arrow shaft, said nock having a nock conductive surface in electrical communication with said laser such that said laser is actuated to produce a laser beam when said nock conductive surface is in contact with said arm conductive surface, said laser beam projecting from said shaft forward end and away from said shaft rear end.

2. The sighting device as in claim 1, wherein: said pair of jaws are biased toward said closed configuration; andsaid jaw conductive surface is situated on an inner surface of each respective jaw, said jaw conductive surface being in electrical communication with said battery such that said arm conductive surface is energized when said jaw conductive surface is in said closed configuration relative to said arm.

3. The sighting device as in claim 2, wherein said arm conductive surface is situated on at least one of a respective outer surface of said arm such that said conductive surface on said jaws is in communication with said arm conductive surface when said jaws are at said closed configuration relative to said arm.

4. The sighting device as in claim 1 wherein said nock includes a pair of fins, said nock conductive surface being situated on an inner surface of at least one fin, said nock having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said nock receiving area of said string clamp portion such that said nock conductive surface and said arm conductive surface bear against one another when said nock is situated at said nock receiving area.

5. The sighting device as in claim 1, further comprising: fletching at said arrow shaft rear end; andan arrowhead at said arrow shaft forward end.

6. The sighting device as in claim 1, further comprising a focusing lens at said arrow shaft forward end.

7. The sighting device as in claim 1 wherein said string clamp portion includes a pair of generally U-shaped clamping halves that selectively engage one another to receive a bowstring in said aligned openings.

8. A sighting device for use with an archery bow, comprising: a bowstring release member, comprising: a string clamp portion configured to be attached to a string of the bow, said string clamp portion including an arm having an arm conductive surface and defining a nock receiving area;a body portion having a pair of jaws pivotally movable between open and closed configurations, said pair of jaws including a jaw conductive surface;a trigger operatively coupled to said body portion and configured to actuate said jaws to move between said open and closed configurations such that said jaws are released from or attached to said arm;a battery electrically connected to said jaw conductive surface so that said jaw conductive surface is energized by said battery;an arrow shaft having forward and rear ends,a laser attached to and situated in said arrow shaft;a nock attached to said rear end of said arrow shaft, said nock having a nock conductive surface in electrical communication with said laser such that said laser is actuated to produce a laser beam when said nock conductive surface is positioned in said nock receiving area of said arm and in contact with said arm conductive surface, said laser beam projecting from said shaft forward end and away from said shaft rear end.

9. The sighting device as in claim 8, wherein: said pair of jaws is biased toward said closed configuration; andsaid jaw conductive surface is situated on an inner surface of each respective jaw of said pair of jaws, said jaw conductive surface being in electrical communication with said battery such that said arm conductive surface is energized when said jaw conductive surface is in said closed configuration about said arm.

10. The sighting device as in claim 9, wherein said arm conductive surface is situated on an outer surface of said arm such that said arm conductive surface is in electrical communication with said jaw conductive surface when said jaws are at said closed configuration about said arm.

11. The sighting device as in claim 8, wherein said nock includes a pair of fins, said nock conductive surface being situated on an inner surface of at least one fin, said nock having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said nock receiving area of said string clamp portion such that said nock conductive surface and said arm conductive surface bear against one another when said nock is situated at said nock receiving area.

12. The sighting device as in claim 8, wherein said string clamp portion includes upper and lower sections defining aligned opening for receiving the bowstring of the bow, said arm extending between and connecting said upper and lower sections and defining said nock receiving area between said upper and lower sections.

13. The sighting device as in claim 8, wherein said pair of jaws is selectively clamped to said arm at said closed configuration and released from said arm at said open configuration.

14. The sighting device as in claim 8, further comprising: fletching at said arrow shaft rear end; andan arrowhead at said arrow shaft forward end.

15. A sighting device for use with a bow and with a bowstring release member that includes a body portion having a pair of jaws pivotally movable between open and closed configurations, said bowstring release member including a trigger operatively coupled to said body portion so as to selectively actuate said jaws to move between said open and closed configurations, said sighting device comprising: a string clamp having spaced apart upper and lower sections defining aligned openings for receiving a bowstring of the bow and thereby being attached to the bowstring;wherein said string clamp includes an arm connecting said upper and lower sections and defining a nock receiving area, said arm having an arm conductive surface;a battery in electrical communication with said arm conductive surface;an arrow shaft having forward and rear ends;a laser attached to and situated in said arrow shaft;a nock attached to said rear end of said arrow shaft, said nock having a nock conductive surface in electrical communication with said laser such that said laser is actuated to produce a laser beam when said nock conductive surface is in contact with said arm conductive surface, said laser beam projecting from said shaft forward end and away from said shaft rear end.

16. The sighting device as in claim 15, wherein said arm of said clamp is configured to be selectively received between the jaws of the body portion of the bowstring release member when the jaws are at said open configuration and to be secured between the jaws when the jaws are at said closed configuration.

17. The sighting device as in claim 15, wherein said nock includes a pair of fins, said nock conductive surface being situated on an inner surface of at least one fin, said nock having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said nock receiving area of said string clamp portion such that said nock conductive surface and said arm conductive surface bear against one another when said nock is situated at said nock receiving area.

18. The sighting device as in claim 15, further comprising: fletching at said arrow shaft rear end; andan arrowhead at said arrow shaft forward end.

19. The sighting device as in claim 17 wherein said string clamp includes a pair of generally U-shaped clamping halves that selectively engage one another to receive a bowstring in said aligned openings.

20. The sighting device as in claim 15 wherein said string clamp includes a pair of generally U-shaped clamping halves that selectively engage one another to receive a bowstring in said aligned openings.