Patent Application
20150057115
From the early days of man, there were those that were referred to as gatherers, and then, there were the hunters. And although the origin of the hunter's adventures was one meant for survival, the innate character of mankind still thrived on the sport of the hunt. One of the earlier, and safer forms of the hunt, was fishing, also referred to as angling. Fishing has roots that extend back to as early as 2000 BC in which an ancient Egyptian angling scene depicts men with sticks and lines, as well as nets, seeking their prey. Today, angling as a sport is main-stream with fishing tournaments, sponsored anglers, fishing shows on primetime, and the like.
Another form of hunting that dates back at least to the Stone Age is bow hunting. The oldest arrow heads were discovered in Africa and were dated to be from before 25,000 BC. Scientists have theorized that the bow was created as an off-shoot of the spear-thrower. Somewhere around 25,000-18,000 BC, man began to use fire to further harden his stone arrowheads and added feathers to his arrows in order to improve accuracy. Approximately around 2800 BC, the first composite bow was produced by the Egyptians. This composite bow was made from wood, tipped with animal horn and held together with animal sinew and glue. Unstrung, it resembled a “C” shape and would have required 2 people to string it. The bowstring was made from “catgut” (sheep intestines). The arrows used were extremely light, could be shot 400 yards using the composite bow and would easily penetrate the armor of that time period. The Egyptians used archers on the back of light chariots who were highly trained and skilled and could easily outflank an enemy army with devastating effect.
It shouldn't be all that surprising, that given the adventurous and inventive nature of mankind, that eventually these two sports would be combined. Today, the popular sport of bowfishing has a national organization called the Bowfishing Association of America, which was originally established in 1990 to track of bowfishing tournaments in the United States, and which now lobbies for the rights to bowfish and promote the sport.
Bowfishing is a method of fishing that uses specialized archery equipment to shoot and retrieve fish. Fish are shot with a barbed arrow that is attached with special line, typically to a reel mounted on the bow or elsewhere. Some freshwater species commonly hunted include common carp, grass carp, bighead carp, alligator gar, and paddlefish. In saltwater, rays and sharks are regularly pursued. An even more recent variation in the sport is aerial bowfishing in which the hunter shoots fish as they leap from the water.
Bowfishing equipment generally includes a bow, arrows, line, reels and glasses. Some of the bows used by bowfishermen are simple and do not include any sights—aiming is by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. There are a couple of types of rests including the hook and roller rest. Most bows have little to no let off and not much draw weight. There are two main types of bows: traditional and recurve bows. The traditional bows are like long bows. In more modern times compound bows came into use. They use a system of pulleys to help the archer. Modern bows can have as much as 120 pounds (50 kg) draw weight. The crossbow is also sometimes used in the sport of bowfishing and has its own advantages including the use of a reel.
The arrows used in bowfishing are typically heavier and stronger than arrows used in other types of archery and are most commonly constructed of five-sixteenth inch fiberglass, but, other arrows can be found to be constructed of solid aluminum, carbon fiber, and carbon fiber reinforced fiberglass. Bowfishing arrows generally lack fletching, as it can cause the arrow to flare to one side or another underwater and they are not required at the relatively short ranges associated with bowfishing. Line is attached to the arrow by tying to a hole in the arrow shaft or through the use of a slide system.
Bowfishing line is often made from braided nylon, Dacron, or Spectra. Commonly used line weights range from eighty to four-hundred pound test, with six-hundred being used when bowhunting for alligators. Line color is normally selected to be lime green, white, or neon orange.
The bows used in bow fishing are similar to the traditional bow but, traditionally have usually been very simple. Most of the bow fishing bows did not include sights and aiming was performed by line-of-sight judgment down the arrow. Most of the bows have little to no let off and not much draw weight. This differs with what one has available and personal preference. There are two main types of bows (a) traditional bows—long bows and (b) recurve bows. In more modern times, compound bows have been used. These compound bows use a system of pulleys to help the archer. Modern bows can have as much as 120 pounds (50 kg) draw weight.
The crossbow has also been used in bow fishing both from above the surface and below the surface of the water.
Several types of reels are commonly used in bowfishing: Hand-wrap, spincast, closed reels and retriever. Hand-wrap reels are the simplest reels consisting of a circular spool that line is wrapped onto by hand and then secured in a line holding slot. When the arrow is shot, the line comes free from the line holder and feeds off the spool. Hit fish are fought and retrieved by pulling the line in hand over hand. Hand-wrap reels are the least effective at fighting arrowed fish, but they can be used in conjunction with a float system to shoot and fight fish. Retriever reels have a “bottle” which holds the line in place. When shot the line comes out either until the shot goes too far and the line runs out or the hunter pushes down a stopping device which can be used to keep a fish from traveling too far. Some retriever reels have slots cut in them and are known as slotted retriever reels. They are more commonly used for alligator, alligator gar, shark and other big game that will take more time to chase down than smaller game fish.
An important aspect to bowfishing is having a good visual of the target. To see the fish in the water on a sunny day, polarized sun glasses are helpful. The polarized lens can cut the glare on top of the water to make it easier to see below the surface. Different tints and lens colors are used depending on the color of water the hunter is fishing in, from darker brown to clearer blue and green. At night glasses are unnecessary, as light is used to see through the water.
Most states allow bowfishing of the so-called “rough” fish. Those are suckers, eels, perch, gars, carp and the like. Gars and carp are the most popular and usually the most plentiful. Carp can be found in almost any body of water, large or small, year round. The best times are during the spawn in spring or after some good rainfall when the water in the shallows is deeper. The only things needed are bow, arrows, and waders. At times the fish can be so involved in spawning, the bowman can walk out among them and shoot. Some bow fishermen use field arrows so that they can just flip the fish onto shore without having to disengage the barbs to get the arrows out.
As the sport of bowfishing continues to grow in popularity, the bow fisherman naturally seeks inventive mechanisms and techniques to improve on the sport, increase the bow fisherman's productivity, and decrease the laborious aspects of the sport. The present disclosure is focused on such an inventive improvement.
The various embodiments presented herein are directed towards a slider system for a bowfishing arrow or system, a bowfishing arrow with a slider system, and/or a bowfishing bow and arrow combination with a slider system, all that operate to prevent the bowfishing line from tangling with the bow string during release, thereby reducing the risk of the arrow snapping back and causing harm to the huntsman. The slider system, in general, includes a slide to which the string or line can be attached and that traverses a portion of the length of an arrow shaft by sliding in one or more channels formed in the body of the arrow or, a channel secured to the body of the arrow.
In operation, the bowfishing line is tied to the slider which has one or more legs or walls that are inserted into the one or more channels of the shaft of an arrow. The slider is maintained in front of the archer's hand and the arrow rest during drawback. During release, the arrow flies forward, and the momentum of the arrow relative to the slide results in the slide traversing through the channel of the arrow shaft until the slide hits a stop, which can located proximate to the back end of the arrow.
Various embodiments may include arrow shafts with one or more channels for holding one or more sliders, various channel shapes and various techniques for reducing friction between the slide and the channel. The channels may be formed in the body of the arrow shaft or attached to the outside of the arrow shaft. Other embodiments, variations and features are described in the detailed section.
Presented in this description are various embodiments, as well as features and aspects that may be incorporated into one or more embodiments, of a slider system that can be used in conjunction with bowfishing arrows. As such, the present description is directed towards providing a bowfishing system that includes a slider and may include an arrow. The slider is suitable for receiving fishing line, which can be attached to the slider such that during operation, the line remains in front of the bow and the huntsman, thereby reducing the risk of entanglement and arrow snapback.
In the embodiment illustrated in
As best illustrated in the cross-sectional view of the slide 140, in the illustrated embodiment, the slide includes a friction reduction system. In the illustrated embodiment, the friction reduction system includes a lower ball bearing 147, and two upper ball bearings 148 and 149. The ball bearings 147, 148 and 149 are placed into indentations or apertures of the slide 140 and correspond with grooves in the channel 130. It will be appreciated that the ball bearings facilitate the ability for the slide 140 to quickly, easily, and with minimum force, to traverse the channel 130. Other friction reduction mechanisms and/or configurations may also be used and the illustrated embodiment is simply provided as a non-limiting example.
As such, the slide 140 is shown as being inserted into the channel 130 of the shaft 110 such that the wall 144 is extending from the channel 130 and, the flanged anchor 146 is shown as extending within the channel 130 with the ball bearings 147, 148 and 149 cooperating with the walls of the channel 130 to create a low friction mechanism for the slide 140 to traverse the channel 130.
It will be appreciated that other configurations are also anticipated. For instance, in the two channel embodiments, a single slide may have ends that are inserted into each channel but, the walls extending out of the channel may be curved back over the shaft such that a single slide that traverses the channels is created.
Thus, it will be appreciated that various channel shape profiles may be utilize, varying numbers of channels, varying sizes of channels and various configurations of the slide may all be incorporated into various embodiments of the slider system. The channels may be straight, curved, flanged, dovetailed, or any of a variety of shapes. Thus, it will be appreciated that the particular shape and configuration of the channels and slides are presented for illustrative purposes and other shape and configuration are also anticipated.
In the various embodiments, the slide should be placed into the one or more channels and, the channels should be closed or secured to prevent the slide from coming out of the channel during operation. The slide can be secured in a variety of manners. In one embodiment the load and the nock may be used to close off or end cap the channel or channels to prevent the slide from exiting the channel during operation. However, to prevent wear and tear on the load and or nock, other mechanisms may also be utilized. For instance, a stop can be inserted into the channel at either end or both ends of the shaft. The stop would be secured into the shaft such that the slide would collide with the stop during operation and be prevented from sliding any further. In other embodiments, the channel may simply be narrowed or filled at the ends of the shaft. Other embodiments are also anticipated that would prevent the slide from exiting the channels.
In an exemplary embodiment, the fletching may operate as the slide or, stated differently, the slide may operate as the fletching. In such an embodiment, one or more elements of the fletching may exist within a channel of the shaft and prior to the arrow being fired, the portion of the fletching would rest in front of the bow and, once fired, the fletching would quickly move back into its operational position.
In operation, a fishing line is attached on one end to a bowfishing reel and on the other end, it is secured to the slide that is mounted to the arrow. When the arrow is placed into the bow and drawn back in the bow, the slide stays in front of an archer's hand and the arrow rest during the draw. As the arrow is drawn back, the slide slides forwardly along the shaft of the arrow. In a fully drawn bow, the slide traverses the shaft of the arrow to near the front of the arrow. When the bow is released, the arrow proceeds forwardly with greater force than the slide, and the slide slides is forced to move back along the shaft of the arrow. Eventually, the slide comes to rest and is forced against the stop.
Advantageously, this configuration operates to ensure that the slide and the string connected thereto remain in front of the bow and the bowstring at all times. By mounting the reel proximate to the front of the bow, only a small amount of line must be refracted from the reel and, the line remains in front of the string and bow. After the arrow is released and the slide moves to the rear of the arrow, line is pulled from the reel as the arrow moves forward. Still, the line and the arrow are all in front of the bow and as such, the risk of backlash or entanglement is minimized.
In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, “comprise”, “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements, or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.
The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow.
