Not applicable.
Not applicable. REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING”
Not applicable.
The present disclosure relates to bowfishing arrows and more particularly to slides linking the bowfishing arrow to a retraction line.
Bowfishing is a method of fishing that uses a bow and arrow to fish. In general an arrow having a barbed tip is shot into a fish. The arrow has a line joined to it that allows the fisher to pull in the fish.
It will be appreciated that tethering an arrow to a line creates potential challenges in that such a line should be positioned so that it does not interfere with the operation of the bow or interfere with the trajectory of the arrow in flight. There have been a number of attempts address these difficulties.
In one example, shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,453, entitled Bowfishing Arrow Attachment, issued to LaSee on Feb. 11, 2003 an improved bowfishing arrow is shown that is said to prevent the bowfishing line from tangling with the bow string during release which can cause the arrow to snap back to cause serious injury. The improved arrow is said to achieve this prevention by including a cylindrical slide and a stop on the arrow shaft. The bowfishing line is tied to the slide which stays in front of the archer's hand and the arrow rest during drawback. After arrow release, the slide slides back to the stop, which is located close to the rearward end of the arrow. The stop is designed to not touch the arrow rest or the bow handle during release. Because the slide slides back to the rearward end of the arrow during release, the rubbing of the fishing line against the arrow shaft and thus the wear of the fishing line is said to be greatly reduced. The stop itself has a dampening material against which the slide can be advanced.
In embodiments, the slide has internal grooves formed in its interior surface. These grooves are formed so that grains of sand do not wedge between the slide and the arrow shaft. The slide further has lateral projections that serve as vanes. The vanes provide directional stability for the arrow both in air and water, much like the feather or fletchings attached to arrows not intended for bowfishing. In embodiments the line is tied to the slide on opposite sides of the arrow.
Another example is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,109,852, entitled Bowfishing Arrow Slide With Overmolded Dampening Member Arrangement issued to Boester on Aug. 18, 2015. This patent includes a slide having a slide body configured to slide along an arrow shaft. The arrangement further includes a stop used in cooperation with the slide. The stop is arrangeable on the arrow shaft in a manner to prevent the slide from sliding off of the arrow shaft. A dampening material is secured to the rear of the slide and arranged between the slide and the stop.
A further example is shown and described in US. Pub. No. 2017/029820, entitled Bowfishing Shaft Adapter Slide. In this publication. In this application a bowfishing slide and a circumferential stop assembly are shown for use with a bowfishing arrow that may include matching shapes for engaging one another in use. The engagement of such matching shapes is said to offer many improvements over conventional slide and stop assemblies, including an even circumferential distribution of impact between the slide and the stop as well as inhibiting relative longitudinal or rotational movement between the slide and stop assemblies. The stop assembly may further include a nock adapter for engaging a nock, thereby serving as a dual purpose adapter. For ease of use and installation, the stop assembly may be adapted to fit snugly over an arrow shaft.
These various approaches however can interfere with the trajectory of the arrow during flight. In particular, it will be appreciated that arrow slides that are cylindrically fitted configurations engage the arrow along a significant length and that any contaminants must pass through the entire length without interference. Even where the slide is grooved to allow contaminant flow through such channels, unimpeded travel through the groove is not ensured creating a risk that a slide will react to a contaminant in ways that exert unintended torque or other forces on the arrow that negatively influence arrow trajectory or orientation.
Additionally, string or line attachment can be challenging. It is preferred to attach a string in such a way that distributes stress over a larger area to balance load on a string loop itself and on the slide. Doing this can help to reduce premature failure of lines or slides.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved arrow slide for use in bowfishing that can avoid these difficulties while being ready for low cost reliable manufacturing and still providing user friendly assembly and reliable function to an arrow and a bowfishing line.
In aspects of the invention, an arrow slide is provided with a body having a first opening with a plurality of first edges arranged in a generally triangular configuration within which a first diameter can be received, a second opening with a plurality of second edges arranged in the generally triangular configuration within which the first diameter can be received; sidewalk linking corresponding ones of the first plurality of edges to the plurality of second edges to create a passageway extending from the first opening to the second opening through which an arrow can slide; and a string mount to which a bowfishing line can be joined.
As is shown in
A plurality of sidewalls 42, 44 and 46 link corresponding ones of the first plurality of edges 22, 24 and 26 with second plurality of edges 32,34, and 36. In the embodiment that is illustrated, sidewall 42 links edges 22 and 32, sidewall 44 links edges 24 and 34 and sidewall 46 links edges 26 and 36 to create a passageway 50 extending from first opening 20 to second opening 30 through which an arrow (not shown in
In embodiments, sidewalls 42, 44 and 46 may extend laterally in a generally planar fashion until sidewalls 42, 44 and 46 intersect. In the embodiment illustrated sidewalls 42 and 44 are linked by a first corner 52, sidewalls 44 and 46 are linked by a second corner 54 and sidewalk 46 and 42 are linked by a third corner 56. The use of corners 52, 54, and 56 helps to reduce the overall diameter of slide 10 and further helps to provide additional stability at each corner.
In the embodiment shown in
Edges 22, 24 and 26 of first opening 20 and edges 32, 34 and 36 of second opening 30 are defined to admit a cylindrical object having a first diameter 70. However, sidewalls 42, 44 and 46 are sloped to form a waist portion 60 between first opening 20 and second opening 30 having a second diameter 72 that allows relative sliding movement of an arrow and slide 10 but has a smaller diameter than first diameter 70.
Waist 60 therefore comprises at least one point of primary contact between slide 10 and any arrow inserted through slide 10. It will be appreciated that waist 60 maintains this contact only within a limited range of longitudinal positions proximate to waist 60 and that such contact is generally limited both longitudinally by the slope of sidewalls and any shaping of the sidewalls at waist 60.
Additionally, it will be appreciated that using slide 10, the amount of torque that can be applied to arrow 100 is limited by the reduced extent of the longitudinal engagement between slide 10 and arrow 100. This is particularly advantageous when compared to other approaches that use cylindrical mountings that extend for several centimeters along the axis of an arrow and therefore can convey significantly more torque to arrow 100.
The amount of torque that can be applied to arrow 100 by slide 10 is further reduced by the limited extent of friction between slide 10 and arrow 100. That is, the limited extent of surface area in contact between slide 10 and arrow 100 limits the frictional forces between slide 10 and arrow 100.
It will be appreciated that in the embodiment illustrated here, sidewalk 42, 44 and 46 are arranged such that they confront arrow 100 with non-concentric surfaces. Accordingly, these sidewalls generally engage arrow 100 at points that are tangential to the curved radius of the exterior surface of arrow 100. This limits the extent to which sidewalls 42, 44 and 46 engage arrow 100 along a lateral axis further reducing friction.
Such corner portions also allow air and water to flow between slide 10 and arrow 100 during flight of the arrow to limit air or water resistance caused by slide 10.
Also shown in the embodiment of
As can be seen in
It will be appreciated that in either of the embodiments of
For example, in embodiments, body 20 can be fabricated or otherwise provided using a material that has a high tear resistance such as a hard plastic material having limited elongation or an elastomer material that is softer but is capable of greater resiliency.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a presently preferred embodiment, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62582275 | Nov 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16181710 | Nov 2018 | US |
Child | 17060497 | US |