Solo plane pin head bow sight with improved visibility

Abstract

A pin-type bow sight has dog-leg pins and straight pins so that the heads of the pins align along a common axis. The bow sight has a generally circular pin guard with a highlight of a distinctive color applied on the archer side to assist in distinguishing from the target background. The pins are each provided with an optical fiber light guide that passes through an eye or aperture at the tip of the pin. The optic fiber is formed with a set bend at its tip to avoid light loss at the bend, the bend having a radius at least five times the radius of the fiber.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention is related to the field of archery bow sights. In particular, this invention is directed to a sight for an archery bow that maintains the alignment of the pin heads of a bow sight even when the bow twists when the bow string is being drawn back. The invention more specifically relates to an improvement that makes the bow sight and the sight pins more visible and easier to visualize against the target background.

[0003] Conventional bow sights include pin heads that do not maintain alignment when the bow twists, i.e., when the archer draws back the bow string. When the archer draws the bow spring in preparation for shooting an arrow, a torque is exerted upon the bow, which causes the bow to pivot about the axis of the archer's grip. A conventional multiple track pin head bow sight experiences a “see-saw” effect such that the pin heads move out of alignment with each other when the bow twists. As the bow twists, each pin rotates away from the archer, i.e., moves in a direction determined by the hand that is drawing back the bowstring. The bow twists by an amount that is related to the distance from the pivot axis, i.e., the archer's grip. In a multiple track pin sight, each track is positioned a different distance away from the pivot axis, and therefore the pins in different tracks travel in rotation by different amounts. As a result, the pins move out of alignment with one another.

[0004] Conventional multiple track pin bow sights also do not have fiber optic elements that align with one another and with the archer's line of sight. Therefor, each fiber optic element in a conventional bow sight provides a different level of brightness to the archer's sight. Another problem with the fiber optic elements in conventional pin sights is that the fiber has a sharp bend at the eye or head of the pin, and this causes a significant loss of light before the light reaches the pin head.

[0005] Some pin sights employ straight fibers that are fitted into apertures in the pin so that the fiber takes a bowed shape. This bowed fiber can sometimes catch on branches or twigs, so that the fiber pulls out or breaks.

[0006] In addition, conventional bow sights have pin guards that are not an integral part of the sighting mechanism for the archer's sight picture. Rather, typical pin guards are simply a mechanism by which the pins are protected from being damaged and they do not function as part of the sight for the purpose of providing a means with which a proper sight picture may be obtained. No means has been provided or suggested in the past that would place a highlight area on the pin guard to help the archer from a good sight picture.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] One of many possible exemplary bow sights in accordance with the present invention provides multiple tracks with pins that dogleg from each respective track into a common plane, and which places all pin heads into alignment with a common (e.g., vertical) axis. This bow sight of the present invention enables the pin heads to remain in alignment although the bow twists when the archer pulls back the bow string.

[0008] Another aspect of this invention is that the pin guard is formed as a circular or annular member, so as to form an integral portion of a proper sight picture. By circular, the inventor means also that the pin guard may be arcuate, forming portions of the circle, with the peripheral vision of the archer's eye completing the circle for sighting and aiming purposes. Also, the pin guard does not have to be strictly circular or arcuate, but can be another shape and still accomplish these ends. The inventor has discovered that the human brain has a natural preference for aligning an element at the center of a circle. By contrast, the human brain has some difficulty in aligning an element within a greatly different geometrical shape. Typically, conventional bow sights use a pin guard which is non-circular and, as a result, the archer has to ignore the pin guard, or at least some elements of the pin guard, when forming a sight picture. Embodiments of this invention provide a pin guard which forms an integral portion of the archer's sight picture. The bow sight of the present invention assists the archer in obtaining a correct sight picture. As an added enhancement, the pin guards of these embodiments include a distinctively colored highlight, i.e., circular area or device, on the side facing the archer, which distinctive highlight surrounds the pin head when it is viewed against the target background. This highlight may be a bright color, e.g., orange, or may be another color, or white, or silver. The highlight can be a colored surface in the form of a distinctive ring, or may be arcuate portions of a ring. The distinctive, colored highlight may be a colored tape or film applied to the pin guard. The material of the pin guard itself may have a distinctive color. This highlight feature may be employed on partly-circular pin guards, e.g., D-shaped pin guards, or on noncircular pin guards. This feature makes the pin guard more visible and distinguishable from a background. The highlight can be a flat, rigid ring of plastic or metal that can be applied onto an existing pin guard, whether the pin guard is round or another shape. While a circular or annular highlight is preferred, a highlight of another shape than circular would also help the archer align the pin or pins with the target.

[0009] The pin guard and highlight of this invention could be applied to single-pin sights also.

[0010] Yet another feature of this invention is an arrangement that aligns all fiber optic elements in the pins with the archer's line of sight to ensure that all fiber optic elements appear equally bright to the archer. By contrast, conventional bow sights have fiber optic elements that are not aligned with the archer, or with the archer's line of sight. Therefore, the fiber optic elements can appear to the archer to have different degrees of brightness.

[0011] A significant aspect of this invention, and related to the foregoing, is that the optical fibers are set with a gentle curve leading to the head or eye at the tip of the sight pin. By ensuring that the optical fiber does not undergo a sharp bend at the tip, light leakage from the fiber is avoided, and the fiber consistently provides a maximum brightness. By contrast, conventional pin sights that employ optical fibers place a sharp 90-degree bend into the fiber at the tip or eye of the pin. The inventor has found that when the fiber is sharply bent, a significant amount of the light that is traveling through the fiber leaks out the sides of the fiber at the bend. Accordingly, in this invention a gentle curve is set into the fiber so that the bend radius is not less than about five times the radius of the fiber. This feature may also be applied with single-pin sights as well as multiple-pin bow sights.

[0012] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of selected preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying Drawing:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one exemplary preferred embodiment of a bow sight in accordance with the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a “dog leg” pin of the bow sight of FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pin of FIG. 2.

[0016] FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the pin of FIG. 2.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a detail view of the pin head of the pin of FIG. 2.

[0018] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a straight pin of the bow sight of FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 7 is a plan view of the pin of FIG. 6.

[0020] FIG. 8 is an elevation view of the pin of FIG. 6.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pin guard of the bow sight of FIG. 1.

[0022] FIG. 10 is an elevation view of the pin guard of FIG. 10.

[0023] FIGS. 11 to 13 are elevation views of pin guards according to other embodiments of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a sight pin of this invention showing the illuminating optical fiber having a limited bend that is set, formed in accordance with this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] With reference to the Drawing Figures, and initially to FIG. 1, which is a perspective view of one exemplary embodiment of a bow sight 10 in accordance with the present invention, the bow sight 10 includes a set of pins 12 set in multiple tracks 14 with the pin heads 16 aligned in a plane. The bow sight 10 here has two straight pins 18 and four dogleg pins 20. The dogleg pins 20 in the rear track are offset forward, and the dogleg pins 20 in the forward track are offset rearward, each into alignment with the straight pins 18 in the middle track. In the exemplary embodiment of the bow sight 10, the pin heads are also aligned with a common vertical axis. This configuration of the dogleg pins 20 enables the pin heads 16 to remain in alignment even though the bow twists when the archer draws back the bow string.

[0026] FIGS. 2 to 5 show an exemplary embodiment of a dogleg pin 20 in accordance with the present invention. The pin 20 is referred to as a “dogleg” pin because the pin has a base 22 that is aligned with an axis 24 and a pin head 26 that is offset from that axis 24. The pin head 26 is offset by an amount such that the pin head 26 will align in a common axis with the pin heads 16 from the other pins when installed in the bow sight. In this embodiment, the offset can equal the spacing between pin tracks 14.

[0027] FIGS. 6 to 8 show an exemplary embodiment of a straight pin 18 in accordance with the present invention. The straight pin 18 is without an offset, i.e., the pin has a base 30 that has an axis 32 that is aligned with the pin head 34. As shown in FIG. 1, the straight pin 18 is positioned in the center track of the multiple tracks 14 of the bow sight 10.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5, the pins 18 and 20 have apertures 28 that are each adapted to receive a fiber optic element (not shown in this view). The apertures 28 in each of the pins 18 and 20 of the exemplary embodiment are adapted to align the tips of the fiber optic elements in a common plane, such that each fiber optic element appears to have the same degree of brightness to an archer viewing the sight picture.

[0029] FIGS. 9 and 10 show the pin guard 40 of the exemplary bow sight 10 of FIG. 1, in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the pin guard 40 is circular. As explained above, the circular shape of the pin guard forms an integral portion of the sight picture for the archer using the bow sight 10 of the present invention. The inventor has discovered that the human mind works in such a manner that it is natural for an archer to align elements, such as pins 18, 20, within the circular framework formed by the pin guard. Thus the circular pin guard 40 forms an integral portion of the sight picture to make it easier for the archer to obtain a proper sight picture. In a preferred embodiment, the pin guard 40 may be colored about its periphery on the side facing the archer to further enable the archer to distinguish the pin guard 40 from the background and to assist the archer in forming a proper sight picture. The pin guard 40 may include an annular highlight 42 of any suitable color or shade, such as a bright orange; however, it is understood that any desired color may be used that will assist in visually distinguishing the pin guard 40 from the target background. The highlight 42 of color may be applied in any manner, for example, a sticker or ring of colored tape or film, or may be painted or printed on. In some cases, a flat plastic or metal colored ring may be employed as the highlight, in which case it need not be the same shape as the associated pin guard. Because the archer sees the ring or highlight 42 with his or her peripheral vision, the ring need not be a complete circle but may be an incomplete circle, or a series or arcs or segments. The visual part of the archers brain function will link these as into complete circle, as long as there are not a significant number of interfering visual features.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 11, 12, and 13, the pin sight of this invention is not limited to circular pin guards only. As shown in FIG. 11 and 12, the sight may have a C-shaped pin guard 140, with a distinctive colored surface serving as the highlight 142, or can have a D-shaped pin guard 240, again with a distinctive colored highlight 242. As shown in FIG. 13, the pin guard need not be arcuate in shape, and a generally rectangular pin guard 340 may be provided with a distinctive colored highlight 342, where the shape of the colored-surface or highlight 342 is intended to mimic somewhat a the circular shape and guide the archer's eye to center the pins in the sight picture. Here, the pin guard 340 is somewhat oblong. This highlight effect will also occur, to some extent, with other geometrical shapes of pin guard.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 14 with respect to one of the straight pins 18, an optical fiber light guide 44 is shown here having a proximal end 46 that is held at the base 30 and a distal end that passes into the aperture 28 or eye at the head of the pin 18. Just in advance of the distal end or tip of the fiber 44 is an open bend 48 that is set in the fiber during manufacture. This bend 48 sweeps out from the shaft of the pin 18 and then back into the aperture 28. The bend 48 is relatively gentle, and importantly the radius of the bend 48 is at least five times the radius of the optical fiber light guide 44. However, the bend 48 does not loop back so far that it might get caught in branches or twigs where the archer is hunting. This construction avoids the sharp 90-degree bend that has caused a significant light leakage in the fibers of prior art pin sights. The set bend 46 is permanently formed in the fiber, for example, by placing the fiber on a fixture or gig, and heating it in a furnace at a controlled temperature for a specific length of time. The bend gives the fiber a general shape of a question mark or an open “P”.

[0032] A similar optical fiber light guide is employed in the dogleg pins 20, and need not be discussed in detail here.

[0033] Other equivalent means can be employed for ensuring that the bend at the tip of the optical fiber does not violate the above-stated radius requirement, i.e., that the bend radius be at least five times the diameter of the fiber radius. For example, a mechanical track can be incorporated into the pin shaft to guide the fiber in the desired bend.

[0034] The bow sight 10 as described hereinabove has three tracks 14, but it is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that a bow sight with any number of multiple tracks would come within the scope of this invention. Additionally, while the bow sight 10 as described above has a straight pin 18 positioned in the center track, one of ordinary skill in the art understands that a straight pin may be positioned in any track. So long as the bow sight has a pin with a dogleg configuration and all of the pin heads are aligned with each other, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that such a bow sight falls within the scope of this invention. Moreover, other bow sights having only a single track or having other means of pin adjustment, or even having only a single pin, but having a pin guard with a distinctive color ring or highlight 42, or portions of a ring, would come within the principles of the present invention. In addition, other pin sights, including single-pin or multiple pin sights, having a fiber optic light guide in which the fiber has a bend formed in it with a radius of bend at least five times the radius of the fiber, would come within the inventive principles hereof.

[0035] While the present invention has been described with reference to several specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments. Rather, many modifications and variations would present themselves to persons skilled in the art without departure from the scope and spirit of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bow sight comprising: a pin holder; and a one or more pins situated in said pin holder, wherein each of said pins has a proximal end member that is mounted in said pin holder, and a distal end portion thereof having a pin head disposed at its end; and a pin guard attached onto said pin holder and surrounding said plurality of pins and forming a closed visual aperture around said plurality of pins to define a sight picture for the archer, the pin guard having a front surface facing the archer, and said front surface of said pin guard having a highlight of predetermined distinctive color applied thereto, the highlight being adapted to distinguish the pin visual aperture of the pin guard from said visual background.

2. The bow sight of claim 1, wherein said pin guard is arcuate and forms at least a portion of a circle.

3. The bow sight of claim 2, wherein said distinctive highlight is in the form a ring of color on said front surface.

4. The bow sight of claim 2, wherein said highlight comprises a distinctive color applied to form substantial portions of a ring on said front surface.

5. The bow sight of claim 4, wherein said highlight is applied onto the front surface of said pin guard as a bright color.

6. The bow sight of claim 5, wherein said bright color is a high-visibility orange.

7. The bow sight of claim 1, wherein said highlight extends around the entire front surface of said pin guard such that a ring of said distinctive color surrounds the entire periphery of said sight picture.

8. The bow sight of claim 1, wherein said highlight is of a generally oblong shape.

9. A bow sight through which an archer aims at a target situated in a visual background, comprising: a pin holder; one or more pins situated on said pin holder, each said pin having a proximal end member that is mounted on said pin holder and a distal portion that extends in a direction away from said pin holder, each said pin having a pin head at the distal end thereof; the heads of all of said pins lying along a common vertical axis; each said pin including an optical fiber that extends from the proximal end member of the pin to an eye at the distal portion thereof; and each said pin including means defining a permanent bent pathway for said fiber such that at said eye at the distal portion of the pin the fiber is oriented toward the archer; said means limiting the bend of said fiber to a radius that is no less than substantially five times the fiber diameter so as to minimize light loss due to the bend of the fiber.

10. The bow sight of claim 9 wherein said means limiting the bend of said fiber includes a factory-formed open bend set in the fiber.

11. The bow sight of claim 9 wherein said optical fiber has a proximal end extending along a shank of the pin, and a bend in a distal portion thereof that sweeps away from the pin shank and then curves back to pass through an aperture at a head of the pin.