Patent Application
20100018884
Many bow hunters and other archers have experienced the frustration of using a bow quiver to carry their arrows, only to find out that the pressure of other equipment on the quiver or the case in which the bow and bow quiver are placed have damaged the fragile fletchings on the arrows. Such damage can be monetarily significant on higher-end arrows, as a damaged fletching prevents an arrow from flying true, and as they can be costly to replace. Archers would be well-served by a device which could protect the fletchings while the arrows rest in their quiver.
There have been various advances made in fletching protection. Some attempts to protect fletchings are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,955,473 and 5,775,313. However, each of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: they do not cover all the arrows in the quiver at the same time; there is not total enclosure of the arrow fletchings, which still leaves them vulnerable to damage; and they require some time to apply and use with the arrows themselves.
For the foregoing reasons, it has become apparent that a more simple device which encloses all the arrows in a quiver together is necessary in order to protect the investment of an archer's arrows.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus that satisfies the need for a simple device which encloses and protects all arrows' fletchings while resting in a quiver. The apparatus may include two covers which are attached at their bases by a hinge or other connection which allows the covers to be laid open flat on their faces. These covers, which can be solid or have cutouts in them, can be made with any type of material; a durable hard plastic has the advantages of being lightweight and providing structural support to the apparatus. The covers when meeting each other by being connected via their hinge can be connected at their front ends by means of an attachment assembly, which in the present embodiment is a plastic catch, but which could also be made by a hook and eye connection, a snap-type connection, or other various methods of ensuring the covers remain secured.
At their front surfaces where the covers meet and may be attached, a strip of foam may be placed within recesses on each cover, made thick enough to remain within the recess yet allowing the covers to close. These strips of foam admit the shafts of the arrows between them and secure the arrows within the apparatus without scratching or damaging the shafts. When the covers are properly secured over the arrows, the nock ends of the arrows with their fletchings are then protected within the apparatus' two covers, and are rendered safe because of the crush-proof properties of the materials, from which the apparatus is made.
This structure provides an advantage to prior attempts as it is easy to place over arrows already placed in a quiver, and also easy to remove. The crush-proof properties of the apparatus provide peace of mind to the archer, as even locked within a bow case, the apparatus protects the fragile arrow fletchings by virtue of its design. The weight of the case on top of the apparatus, or even the weight of additional items packed on top of the bow case, cannot damage the fletchings because of the structural integrity of the apparatus.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings where:
A detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention can be understood with reference to the above-listed drawings, in addition to the details that follow.
The top cover 10 may also feature two slots 40 for receiving hinge pins 80 as detailed in
A bottom cover 65 of the device, also constructed of the main construction material 60 and as depicted in
Various embodiments of the present invention have many advantages, including that the device 85 is able to cover all an archer's arrows 91; the arrow fletchings 93 are completely covered and encased in the device 85; and the device 85 is quick to apply over arrows 91 already in a quiver 90, and can even be put on and removed from arrows 91 with one hand. The invention does not require, however, that all the advantageous features and all the advantages need to be incorporated into every embodiment of the invention.
In some embodiments of the invention, the material 60 used to construct the device 85 may be of a rigid and lightweight plastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene. This serves to keep the unit 85 light, yet strong enough to avoid being crushed by the weight of an archer's equipment placed on top of a bow case 95. Additionally, in order to be of maximum utility, some embodiments of the invention may be designed with the dimensions of approximately 6 inches across the front or back edge of the unit 85, and 6 inches from the front to the back edge. A depth of at least 3 inches may be desired on the unit 85 when it is assembled in order to ensure that there is room enough for the admittance of the arrow fletchings 93 without crushing the fletchings, while still being slim enough for convenience and functionality. The foam inserts 82 and 82b may be approximately 0.25 inches high and deep, and of a length close to about 5.5 inches in order to span the entire foam insert channel 81 and to be large enough to protrude a bit from the channels 81 such that the arrow shafts 91 do not come in contact with the actual construction material 60 to prevent scratching. The foam inserts 82 and 82b may be of a firm, but not rigid, filler material such as that found in a synthetic sponge, and may be glued or otherwise attached into the foam channel 81 to avoid undesired removal.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain exemplary embodiments, other embodiments are possible and are contemplated by this description. For example, the construction material 60 could be made of any type of material that will lend strength to the unit 85; the view holes 30 in the covers 10 and 65 are optional, and an embodiment may not necessarily be designed to admit the arrow nocks 92 through the rear of the device. Additionally, the invention can be sized differently to accommodate arrows in quivers that hold different numbers of arrows than the embodiment described above. For example, the embodiment described above is of dimensions sufficient to admit arrows in a standard 5-arrow quiver. However, by just modifying the dimensions of the device, the device can then be used in association with quivers of any number of arrows, such as those that hold 8 or 9 arrows, for instance, while still retaining all of the features of the described embodiments.
Further, the hinge assembly in the design could be altered to incorporate different hinge types such as a pin hinge, a hinge integral with the top cover 10 and the bottom cover 65, or a hinge whereby the top cover 10 and the bottom cover 65 could be separated completely for fast and easy removal of the arrows. In other possible embodiments, the top cover 10 and the bottom cover 65 could be secured together with a lanyard, and a hinge could be completely forgone. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein.
