Move-away arrow rest

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6782881
  • Patent Number
    6,782,881
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, January 16, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 31, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A pivotally mounted arrow rest that has a support element moveable between a loaded position and an unloaded position. A bias element urges the support element toward the unloaded position. A flexible inelastic member has a first end portion fixed with respect to a bow cable and a second end portion operatively connected to support element. When the support element is in the loaded position, the flexible inelastic member is in a tension condition.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




This invention relates to a move-away or drop-away arrow rest that pivots between a first position and a second position with respect to an archery bow and that also moves away from an arrow shaft and fletching when an arrow is launched or discharged from the archery bow. This invention also relates to an apparatus for holding an arrow with respect to the archery bow, particularly when the arrow is loaded on a bow string of the archery bow, in an unloaded or at rest condition.




2. Discussion of Related Art




Some conventional arrow rests move away, drop away, fall away or are otherwise forced away from an arrow shaft as an arrow is launched or discharged from the archery bow. It is known to use a return bias force to move the arrow rest away from the arrow when the arrow is discharged. In conventional arrow rests having the move-away or drop-away feature, flexible elastic members, such as rubber tubing, string, cords or the like have been used to overcome the return bias force and thus move the arrow rest from its biased position. Once the return bias force is overcome, the arrow rest moves into a second or loaded position, to support the arrow shaft prior to launching the arrow.




Conventional flexible members are in a tension condition when the bow string is drawn back, into the loaded position. As the bow string is drawn back, conventional flexible members stretch until they can stretch no further or until the return bias force of the arrow rest is overcome and the arrow rest moves into a loaded position. One problem with some conventional flexible members is that when the bow string is released, the length of the flexible member decreases for a certain relatively short time period, until the return bias force of the arrow rest can again overcome the tension force in the flexible elastic member and thus return the arrow rest to the unloaded position. However, even with the relatively short time period the arrow shaft is discharged before the conventional flexible elastic member allows the arrow rest to move sufficiently away from the loaded position. Thus, the arrow shaft and the fletching of an arrow move across the arrow rest before the arrow rest can drop away and provide the necessary clearance for the arrow shaft and the fletching to completely clear the arrow rest.




Some conventional flexible members have a flexible member with one end that attaches directly to a bow cable. If an end portion of a flexible member is attached to a downwardly acting tuning cable, such cable can travel as much as 4 to 5 inches as the archery bow is drawn or released. Because of such travel distance, the end portion of any connected flexible member must also travel such distance. Traveling such distance can also increase the time period that is required for the return bias force to overcome the tension force applied by the flexible member, when an arrow is discharged from the archery bow.




Other conventional arrow rests that drop away or move away from the loaded position, or are normally biased into an unloaded position, have a rigid member or linkage between the bow cable and the arrow rest. The rigid member overcomes the problems associated with the flexible elastic member. However, rigid linkages are difficult to finely tune or are relatively intricate.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is one object of this invention to provide a pivotally mounted arrow rest that instantaneously or immediately moves away from an arrow when a bow cable moves forward during launch or discharge of the arrow.




It is another object of this invention to provide a holding apparatus that holds an arrow shaft near an arrow rest, when the arrow is loaded in an archery bow, in a condition where a bow string of the archery bow is not yet drawn back, or at rest.




The move-away or drop-away arrow rest and the arrow holder, both of this invention, can be used either together or as individual pieces of archery equipment. When used together, the holding apparatus holds the arrow shaft near a bow riser or a bow handle of the archery bow, when a nock end of the arrow is loaded on the bow string but the bow string is not yet drawn back far enough to pivot the arrow rest into a loaded position. At the same time that the arrow rest is pivoted into the loaded position, the arrow rest lifts or otherwise moves the arrow shaft out of the holding apparatus.




When the arrow shaft is positioned within the holding apparatus, such as when the arrow rest is in the unloaded position, the archery bow can be carried or moved into many different positions and the holding apparatus maintains the arrow shaft in a generally fixed position with respect to the archery bow. The holding apparatus of this invention prevents the arrow shaft from falling off of a shelf of the riser portion.




In one embodiment of this invention, the holding apparatus is wider than a diameter of the arrow shaft and thus the arrow shaft can move, to a limited extent, within the holding apparatus. The limited movement is acceptable because when the arrow rest moves into a loaded position, the arrow rest contacts and self-centers the arrow shaft with respect to the arrow rest and precisely positions the arrow shaft in a shooting window. In one embodiment of this invention, the arrow rest has two prongs that are spaced apart from each other. The prongs can easily center the arrow shaft on the arrow rest by simply using gravity forces.




In one embodiment of this invention, inside surfaces of walls forming the holding apparatus have a matte finish that provides enough friction between the inside surface and the arrow shaft to hold the arrow shaft within the holding apparatus, even when the archery bow is rotated, tilted or otherwise moved. Such feature allows an archer to mount an arrow by attaching a nock end to the bow string, and place the arrow shaft within the holding apparatus. When the bow string is not drawn back far enough to lift a pivotal arrow rest, in one embodiment, the walls frictionally hold the arrow shaft. Thus, an archer can load an arrow with respect to a bow and place the arrow shaft within the holding apparatus, and then carry the bow through different field conditions, without the arrow shaft falling or otherwise moving away from an area of the bow riser. When an archer spots a target, the archer can then place the archery bow into a firing position. With the pivotal arrow rest according to this invention, the archer can then draw the bow string and thereby pivot the arrow rest into a loaded position, which lifts the arrow shaft out of and away from the holding apparatus. When the arrow is discharged from the archery bow, neither the arrow shaft nor the fletching contact or interfere with the arrow rest or with the holding apparatus.




When an arrow rest can instantaneously or immediately pivot or otherwise move away from the arrow shaft and the fletching during, launch or discharge of an arrow, there is a much greater chance that the arrow rest will not interfere with a flight path of the arrow. The arrow rest according to this invention uses a flexible inelastic member as a linkage between the bow cable and the arrow rest. Because the flexible member of this invention is also inelastic, there is no relatively short time period necessary, such as associated with the previously discussed conventional arrow rests, for the flexible inelastic member of this invention to decrease in length. The flexible inelastic member of this invention instantaneously or immediately overcomes the return bias force and thus the arrow rest of this invention instantaneously or immediately begins acting to move the arrow rest away from the discharged arrow.




In one embodiment of this invention, the flexible inelastic, member is a cable that preferably but not necessarily has an outer coating or a sheath. In another embodiment of this invention, the flexible inelastic member is a plastic rod. The flexible inelastic member according to this invention preferably has a relatively low modulus of elasticity, which provides a relatively low resistance to bending.




Relatively high-speed photography has shown that in many conventional drop-away or move-away arrow rests, the arrow rest does not move away from and provide necessary clearance for the arrow shaft and/or the fletching. In such conventional arrow rests, the arrow shaft and/or the fletching contact the arrow rest during discharge movement of the arrow with respect to the archery bow. The flexible inelastic member of the arrow rest according to this invention, provides instantaneous movement of the arrow rest away from the arrow, at the same time that the bow cable moves forward during discharge of the arrow.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above and other features and objects of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in view of the drawings wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of an arrow rest and a holding apparatus, according to one embodiment of this invention;





FIG. 2

is a sectional view taken along a longitudinal axis, of an adjustment device, according to one embodiment of this invention;





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of a holding apparatus, according to one embodiment of this invention;





FIG. 4

is a top view of the holding apparatus, as shown in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 5

is a side view of the holding apparatus, as shown in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 6

is a rear view of the holding apparatus, as shown in

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 7

is a top view of a holding apparatus, according to another embodiment of this invention;





FIG. 8

is side view of the holding apparatus, as shown in

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 9

is a rear view of the holding apparatus, as shown in

FIG. 7

;





FIG. 10

is a diagrammatic view of an arrow and an arrow rest in a loaded position, according to one embodiment of this invention; and





FIG. 11

is a diagrammatic view of an arrow rest in an unloaded position, with the arrow being discharged from the archery bow.











DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS





FIG. 1

shows a perspective view of arrow rest


20


and holding apparatus


55


, according to one embodiment of this invention. As shown in

FIG. 1

, arrow rest


20


and holding apparatus


55


are separate individual components. Bracket


24


or any other similar structure can be used to attach arrow rest


20


with respect to archery bow


15


. Holding apparatus


55


can be secured with respect to archery bow


15


using double-sided tape or another suitable adhesive or adhesive layer.




When arrow rest


20


is mounted with respect to archery bow


15


, at least one arm


32


, two arms


32


as shown in

FIG. 1

, each is pivotally mounted with respect to archery bow


15


. Cable slide


50


is attached with respect to at least one bow cable


17


of archery bow


15


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

support element


30


pivots or is otherwise moveable between a first position and a second position, such as an unloaded position and a loaded position, of support element


30


with respect to archery bow


15


. FIGS.


10


and


11


show diagrammatic views of arrow rest


20


in a loaded position and an unloaded position, respectively.

FIG. 10

shows arrow


16


in a loaded position, ready to be fired or discharged from archery bow


15


, wherein support element


30


is pivoted into a loaded position. In the position shown in

FIG. 10

, arrow


16


is not positioned within holding apparatus


55


.





FIG. 11

shows a diagrammatic view of arrow


16


being discharged with respect to archery bow


15


. Instantaneously or immediately with the discharge motion of arrow


16


, support element


30


moves toward the unloaded or at rest position with respect to archery bow


15


, such as shown in FIG.


11


.




In the unloaded position, such as shown in

FIG. 11

, a bias force normally urges support element


30


into the unloaded or at rest condition. With arrow


16


loaded in archery bow


15


, when the archery bow string is not drawn, the shaft of arrow


16


can be held in position within holding apparatus


55


. Although arrow rest


20


of this invention can be used without holding apparatus


55


, when used with holding apparatus


55


, arrow


16


can be supported by upper portion


70


of holding apparatus


55


when in an unloaded position. When the bow string is drawn back, cable


17


moves away from archery bow


17


and thus causes tension in cable


35


, and support element


30


pivots into the loaded position and raises arrow


16


away from holding apparatus


55


and/or away from the riser portion of archery bow


15


. When cable


35


reaches a taut condition, cable


35


exerts a force that pulls support element


30


, against the return bias force acting on support element


30


, with enough force to move or pivot support element


30


towards the loaded position.





FIG. 2

shows a sectional view, taken along longitudinal pivot axis


27


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, pivot end portion


33


of support element


30


is adjustably mounted or attached with respect to pivot shaft


26


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, a set screw can be used to loosen and tighten and thereby adjustably mount support element


30


with respect to pivot shaft


26


.




As shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, adjustment device


45


is used to adjust the horizontal and vertical position of support clement


30


, with respect to archery bow


15


. The internal components of adjustment device


45


, according to one embodiment of this invention, are shown in FIG.


2


. However, other conventional adjustment devices can be used to provide horizontal, vertical and/or radial adjustment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,251, the entire teachings of which are incorporated into this specification by reference to U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,251, discloses an apparatus for adjustably mounting a pivotal arrow rest with respect to an archery bow. Any other suitable adjustment device known to those skilled in the art can be used as adjustment device


45


of this invention.




As shown in

FIG. 2

, bias element


46


is a coil spring that has opposing end portions acting between pivot shaft


26


and the end cap which is fixed with respect to archery bow


15


. Bias element


46


urges pivot shaft


26


into a position where support element


30


is in the unloaded or at rest position, as shown in FIG.


11


. Any other suitable spring or bias element can be used in addition to or in lieu of bias element


46


as shown in

FIG. 2

to accomplish the same result of urging support element


30


into the unloaded position.




According to one embodiment of this invention, as show in

FIG. 1

, support element


30


comprises at least one arm


32


. Each arm


32


has pivot end portion


33


and an opposite free end portion


34


. When moving from the unloaded position to the loaded position, free end portion


34


contacts the shaft of arrow


16


and moves arrow


16


into a loaded position. As shown in

FIG. 1

, each arm


32


pivots about pivot axis


27


. As shown between

FIGS. 1 and 2

, pivot axis


27


is positioned within pivot end portion


33


of support element


30


. Support element


30


can have any suitable configuration, shape or structure that supports an arrow shaft, and can be an integrated element or can comprise a plurality of elements. With the forked configuration of support element


30


, as shown in

FIG. 1

, the shaft of arrow


16


can be repeatedly placed into the same position. According to the configuration shown in

FIG. 1

, during movement from the unloaded position to the loaded position, support element


30


moves radially, with respect to archery bow


15


.




As shown in

FIGS. 1

,


10


and


11


, cable slide


50


is configured for detachable attachment to at least one cable


17


of archery bow


15


. Flexible inelastic member


35


is connected, directly or indirectly, between support element


30


and cable


17


, so that when the bow string of archery bow


15


is drawn back, cable


17


moves away from arrow rest


20


and tightens or puts flexible inelastic member


35


into a tension condition, enough to straighten flexible inelastic member


35


or to place flexible inelastic member


35


into a taut condition. In one embodiment of this invention, flexible inelastic member


35


has end portion


36


fixed with respect to support element


30


and has an opposite end portion


37


fixed with respect to cable


17


of archery bow


15


. End portion


36


is operatively connected to support element


30


. Drawing cable


17


rearward or away from arrow rest


20


eventually removes all slack and puts flexible inelastic member


35


into a taut condition where both opposing sides or all sides of flexible inelastic member


35


are in a tension condition. When cable


17


is drawn far enough back, away from arrow rest


20


, the generated drawing force is transferred by or through the tension in flexible inelastic member


35


and eventually overcomes the return bias force of bias element


46


and thus allows support element


30


to move into the loaded condition, such as shown in FIG.


10


.




Simultaneously with or as soon as cable


17


begins a forward movement during launch of arrow


16


, flexible inelastic member


35


instantaneously or immediately allows the bias force of bias element


46


to return support element


30


back into the unloaded position. Because flexible inelastic member


35


has properties that are relatively inelastic, there is either no time delay or a relatively insignificant time delay associated with support element


30


returning to an unloaded position. The relatively insignificant time delay is further defined as a short enough time period to allow support element


30


to move out of the way of and provide clearance for arrow


16


, which is often discharged at a relatively high acceleration and velocity.




As used throughout this specification and/or in the claims, the term flexible inelastic member is intended to relate to a member, preferably an elongated member, that is capable of bending or flexing and thus is flexible but also is inelastic, inelastic at least to the extent that the flexible inelastic member either does not elongate or elongates only an incremental amount which would provide a relatively insignificant time delay between cable


17


moving forward and support element


30


initiating a return movement towards the unloaded position. For example, flexible inelastic member


35


may comprise a cable, such as a braided and/or twisted steel cable or any other suitable metal and/or non-metal cable. In another embodiment, flexible inelastic member


35


may comprise a rod, such as one of a polymeric material. Also as used throughout this specification and/or in the claims, the term flexible inelastic member is intended to be interchangeable with the term cable.




In one embodiment of this invention, cable


35


is surrounded by a sheath. The sheath may comprise a polymeric material, a fiber material, a metal material, a composite material or any other suitable and similar material that preferably has a relatively low modulus of elasticity. When cable


35


is not taut and thus is in a bent or non-straight position, cable


35


, the sheath and/or a coating has one side in tension and another side, such as the opposite side, in compression, so that cable


35


has a natural tendency to straighten itself when put into a bent or non-straight condition, particularly when support element


30


is not in the loaded position. Because cable


35


has one side in tension and another side in compression, cable


35


has a normal tendency to straighten itself further, which allows or assists the instantaneous or immediate movement of support element


30


when arrow


16


is discharged from archery bow


15


. The instantaneous or immediate movement of support element


30


of this invention is different than many conventional pivotal arrow rests that have a move away feature, because cable


35


of this invention is inelastic or nearly inelastic or substantially inelastic, whereas with conventional pivotal arrow rests, the flexible member is relatively elastic, which significantly increases the time period before support element


30


begins to move away from arrow


16


, during discharge from archery bow


15


.




The natural tendency of cable


35


to straighten itself when in a bent or non-straight condition allows cable


35


to remain in a path or area, relative to arrow rest


20


, that keeps or maintains cable


35


away from a loaded or discharging arrow


16


. When in the bent or non-straight condition, the curvature of cable


35


, such as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 11

, is relatively gradual and/or smooth with no abrupt direction changes or kinks. The bend in cable


35


can be relatively slight, such as shown in

FIG. 11

, can smoothly bend over about a 90° curve, or can have any other suitable and preferably gradual bend. This feature allows cable


35


to be tuned or arranged in length and/or position to maintain a distance from and thus establish clearance for arrow


16


. As discussed below, this invention allows for simple adjustment of the length of cable


35


.




In one embodiment of this invention, cable


35


may be constructed using a 7×7 strand wire, such as manufactured by LEXCO, Chicago, Ill. The sheaths or coating for cable


35


can be constructed of KEVLAR® brand fiber or material, as manufactured by DuPont Company.




End portion


36


of cable


35


can be secured with respect to lever


40


or can be moveably mounted with respect to lever


40


. For example, end portion


36


can have an enlarged section, such as a cylindrical section, that fits within a bore of lever


40


. When support element


30


is in the loaded position, the enlarged section or cylindrical section of end portion


36


interferes with lever


40


and thereby forces lever


40


in a direction towards cable slide


50


. In one embodiment of this invention, the enlarged section has an outer diameter which is greater than an outer diameter of cable


35


. The enlarged section or cylindrical section can be moveably positioned within the bore of lever


40


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, lever


40


is adjustably secured, for example with a set screw, with respect to pivot shaft


26


. Lever


40


can be a separate element from support element


30


or can be integrated with support element


30


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, lever


40


is a separate element from support element


30


.




End portion


37


of cable


35


is secured with respect to cable slide


50


. In one embodiment of this invention, such as shown in

FIG. 1

, cable slide


50


has two bores or grooves or openings to accept two cables


17


. In one embodiment of this invention, cable slide


50


is slidably mounted on a rod attached with respect to archery bow


15


, such as on a conventional bow cable guide. Any suitable cable slide known to those skilled in the art of archery components can be used in place of cable slide


50


as shown in FIG.


1


. Any cable slide


50


is preferably detachably attached to one or more cables


17


of archery bow


15


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, according to one embodiment of this invention, clamp


52


is used to secure end portion


37


of cable


35


with respect to cable slide


50


. Clamp


52


can be operated between a closed position and an open position, such as by using an externally threaded member


53


which is threadedly engaged within an internally threaded bore of cable slide


50


. In one embodiment of this invention, threaded member


53


comprises a screw. Threaded member


53


can be used to secure clamp


52


with respect to cable slide


50


and thereby clamp or crimp or sandwich end portion


37


of cable


35


between clamp


52


and cable slide


50


. Threaded member


53


provides easy adjustment capabilities for varying the operating length of cable


35


.





FIG. 3

shows a perspective view of holding apparatus


55


, according to one embodiment of this invention. As shown in

FIG. 3

, holding apparatus


55


includes base portion


60


integrated with upper portion


70


. In other embodiments of this invention, upper portion


70


and base portion


60


may be separate elements attached with respect to each other.

FIGS. 4-6

show other views of holding apparatus


55


as shown in FIG.


3


.

FIGS. 7-9

show another embodiment of holding apparatus


55


, according to this invention.




As shown between

FIGS. 3-9

, base portion


60


has top surface


62


and opposite bottom surface


64


. In one embodiment of this invention, bottom surface


64


is relatively planar when holding apparatus


60


is not attached to archery bow


15


. Base portion


60


is also preferably relatively flexible, so that base portion


60


can be mounted to and conform with a portion of archery bow


15


which is either flat or which has one or more curvatures. A double-sided tape or other suitable adhesive or adhesive layer can be used to fix holding apparatus


55


with respect to archery bow


15


.




Upper portion


70


has two opposing walls


71


spaced apart from each other and extending outward, away from top surface


62


. As shown in

FIGS. 3

,


6


and


9


, upper portion


70


has a fork configuration, wherein opposing walls


71


form prongs


74


of the fork configuration. When looking at a rear view of the fork configuration, such as the views shown in

FIGS. 6 and 9

, upper portion


70


can have a generally U-shape cross section, a generally V-shape cross section or any other suitable cross section.




As shown in

FIGS. 6 and 9

, free end portions


76


of walls


71


are generally parallel to each other. However, opposing walls


71


can also be non-parallel with respect to each other. Inner surfaces


72


of walls


71


contact the shaft of arrow


16


and frictional forces hold arrow


16


with respect to holding apparatus


55


, particularly when archery bow


15


is moved into different carrying positions or other three-dimensional positions. As shown in

FIG. 6

, in one embodiment of this invention, intermediate portions


75


of walls


71


diverge from each other in a direction outward from top surface


62


. As shown in

FIGS. 6 and 9

, upper portion


70


forms clearance void


79


which is preferably deep enough to provide clearance for the shaft and/or the fletching of arrow


16


. As arrow


16


discharges from archery bow


15


, as shown in

FIGS. 6 and 9

, inner surfaces


72


of intermediate portions


75


meet each other to form trough


78


. Trough


78


is preferably deep enough to form clearance void


79


. Depending upon the overall shape and/or dimensions of upper portion


70


, it may or may not be necessary to form clearance void


79


, to provide clearance for the shaft and/or the fletching of arrow


16


. As shown in

FIG. 6

, a distance between inner surfaces


72


and top surface


62


is at a minimum near or at a location of trough


78


.




In one embodiment of this invention, trough


78


is linear or forms a two-dimensional line. In another embodiment of this invention, trough


78


forms a planar surface. In yet another embodiment of this invention, trough


78


forms an arcuate or non-planar surface.




In one embodiment of this invention, inner surfaces


72


have a matte finish or are otherwise roughened to provide sufficient frictional resistance between inner surface


72


and the shaft of arrow


16


, for holding the shaft of arrow


16


with respect to holding apparatus


55


.




Base portion


60


and/or upper portion


70


are preferably of a polymeric material or a rubber material. However, base portion


60


and/or upper portion


70


can be of any other suitable material that provides flexibility for attachment with respect to archery bow


15


.




While in the foregoing specification this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is susceptible to additional embodiments and that certain of the details described herein can be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. In an arrow rest pivotally mounted with respect to an archery bow, and the archery bow having at least one bow cable, the improvement comprising:a support element movable between a first position and a second position, a bias element urging said support element toward said first position; a flexible inelastic member having a first end portion fixed with respect to the at least one bow cable and a second end portion operatively connected to said support element, and with said support element in said first position said flexible inelastic member having a first side in a tension condition and a second side in a compression condition.
  • 2. In the arrow test according to claim 1, wherein said support element comprises at least one arm having a pivot end portion and an opposite free end portion.
  • 3. In the arrow rest according to claim 2, wherein said at least one arm pivots about a pivot axis positioned within said pivot end portion.
  • 4. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, wherein said support element moves radially between said first position and said second position.
  • 5. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, wherein said bias element is a spring contacting a pivot shaft that pivots about a pivot axis.
  • 6. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, further comprising a cable slide detachably attached to the at least one bow cable.
  • 7. In the arrow rest according to claim 6, further comprising a clamp securing said first end portion of said flexible inelastic member to said cable slide.
  • 8. In the arrow rest according to claim 7, wherein said clamp is operated between a closed position and an open position with an externally threaded member threadedly engaged within an internally threaded bore of said cable slide.
  • 9. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, wherein said support element comprises a base portion mounted with respect to a pivot shaft, and said pivot shaft rotates about a pivot axis with respect to the archery bow.
  • 10. In the arrow rest according to claim 9, wherein said base portion is adjustably mounted with respect to said pivot shaft.
  • 11. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, further comprising a lever fixed with respect to said support element, and said second end portion of said flexible inelastic member attached with respect to said lever.
  • 12. In the arrow rest according to claim 11, wherein said support element pivots about a pivot axis, and said second end portion is attached to said lever at a distance from said pivot axis.
  • 13. In the arrow rest according to claim 11, wherein said second end portion has an enlarged section that interferes with said lever when said support element is in said second position.
  • 14. In the arrow rest according to claim 13, wherein said enlarged section has a first outer diameter greater than a second outer diameter of said flexible inelastic member.
  • 15. In the arrow rest according to claim 14, wherein said lever has a bore, and said enlarged section is movably positioned within said bore.
  • 16. In the arrow rest according to claim 14, wherein at least a portion of said enlarged section is cylindrical.
  • 17. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, wherein said flexible inelastic member comprises a rod of a polymeric material.
  • 18. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, wherein said flexible inelastic member comprises a cable.
  • 19. In the arrow rest according to claim 18, wherein said cable is surrounded by a sheath.
  • 20. In the arrow rest according to claim 19, wherein said sheath comprises a polymeric material.
  • 21. In the arrow rest according to claim 20, wherein said sheath comprises a fiber material.
  • 22. In the arrow rest according to claim 18, wherein said cable comprises a metal material.
  • 23. In the arrow rest according to claim 1, further comprising: an arrow holder apparatus aligned with said support element, the arrow holder apparatus including a base portion having a bottom surface and a top surface, an upper portion integrated with said base portion, and said upper portion having two opposing walls spaced apart from each other and each extending outward from said upper surface.
  • 24. In an arrow rest pivotally mounted with respect to an archery bow, wherein the archery bow has at least one bow cable, the arrow rest moves between a first position and a second position, and after discharge of an arrow the arrow rest is returned to the first position, the improvement comprising:a flexible inelastic member operatively connected to said support element, and upon forward movement of the at least one bow cable said flexible inelastic member allowing the arrow rest to instantaneously move toward the first position.
  • 25. In an arrow rest pivotally mounted with respect to an archery bow, wherein the archery bow has at least one bow, cable, the arrow rest moves between a first position and a second position, and after discharge of an arrow the rest is returned to the first position, the improvement comprising:a flexible member, a cable slide attached to the at least one bow cable, a clamp, an externally threaded member engaging with an internally threaded bore of said cable slide and pressing said clamp against said flexible member.
  • 26. In the arrow rest according to claim 25, where said externally threaded member comprises a screw.
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