US3814075A - Take down archery bow with a mount for a bow stabilizing element - Google Patents

Abstract

An archery bow with limbs detachably connected to a handle section. The butt end portions of the limbs are freely entered in close fitting relationship between longitudinally spaced forward and rear wall portions of sockets formed in the ends of the handle section. A fixed pin extending fore and aft across the bottom of each socket engages a groove in the end of the limb and a short stud projecting from the rear side of each limb parallel with the fixed pin and spaced from the end of the limb enters a hole in the rear socket wall in close fitting relationship to position and hold the limbs in lateral alignment. A thumb screw extends through the rear wall of each socket and is threadedly engaged in the short projecting studs to clamp the limbs to the rear socket walls. The forward socket walls are shorter than the rear walls and a portion of each rear socket wall near the bottom is relieved to permit entry of the limbs in a slightly forward tilted position thereby to permit free entry of the limbs between the socket wall portions and to permit entry of the short projecting studs.

Description

a as

United States Patent 1 Hoyt, Jr. I i

[ 1 June 4,1974

TAKE DOWN ARCHERY BOW WITH A MOUNT FOR A BOW STABILIZING ELEMENT lnventor: Earl H. Hoyt, Jr., 1 l5 10 Natural Bridge Rd., Bridgeton, Mo. 65617 Filed: July 21, 1972 Appl. No.: 274,095

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS (3/1953 Fredrickson 124/23 R 8/l966 Gage 6/l96 7 Grublc 9/1970 Karl'm l24/24R Priniary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant ExaminerWilliam R. Browne Attorney, Agent, or FirmCharles E. Markham [57] ABSTRACT An archery bow with limbs detachably connected to a handle section. The butt end portions of the limbs are freely entered in close fitting relationship between longitudinally spaced forward and rear wall portions of sockets formed in the ends ofthe handle section. A fixed pin extending fore and aft across the bottom of each socket engages a groove in the end of the limb and a short stud projecting from the rear side of each limb parallel with the fixed pin and spaced from the end of the limb enters a hole in the rear socket wall in close fitting relationship to position and hold the limbs in lateral alignment. A thumb screw extends through the rear wall of each socket and is threadedly engaged in the short projecting studs to clamp the limbs to the rear socket walls. The forward socket walls are shorter than the rear walls and a portion of each rear socket wall near the bottom is relieved to permit entry of the limbs in a slightly forward tilted position thereby to permit free entry of the limbs between the socket wall portions and to permit entry of the short projecting studs.

9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN 4:914 K 3314.075 4 SHEET 2 (IF 2 TAKE DOWN ARCHERY BOW WITH A MOUNT FOR A BOW STABILIZING ELEMENT This invention relates to take down bows in which the limb members of the bow are detachably connected to a handle section and particularly to novel means for aligning and detachably connecting the limbs to the handle section.

It is essential that the flat, recurved limbs of present day bows be positioned and secured in the handle section with the flat front and rear surfaces thereof precisely parallel and perpendicular to the line of flight and with the rearward cant of the limbs at the proper fore and aft angle required to provide the desired de-' flex angle relative to the bow string. It is also highly desirable in a take down bow that the limbs may be conveniently and quickly assembled and secured in such proper and precise alignment and that they may be conveniently disassembled without thenecessity of applying any appreciable force. Moreover, and apart from the desirability of providing a take down bow of pleasing appearance and without significant departure in appearance from the traditional one piece bow, it is. also advantageous from the point of reliability as well as economy to provide a particularly simple take down bow construction requiring a minimum of functional elements.

Some earlier take down bows employed a quite simple means of detachably connectingthe bow limbs. Tapered butt portions of the limbs of tapered metal ferrules attached thereto were merely entered into tapered sockets in the handle section, the f t being close enough to hold the limbs in alignment in a braced or unbraced condition. As would be expected, it frequently required a great amount of force in this arrangement to pull the bow limbs out of the sockets when disassembling. Y.

In a more recent take down bow construction, the inner end portions or butt sections of the bow limbs are wedge shaped with their rear sides inclined considerably with respect to the general axis of adjacent limb portions and these inclined rear sides lie against inclined plates attached to the handle section. The limbs are aligned in this arrangementby the provision] of Iongitudinal and transverse guide bars on the inclined plates which enter longitudinal and transverse grooves in the inclined rear sides of the limb butt sections. The

inclined plates attached to the handle section are formed at their lower ends to provide a pocket into which the toe or ends of the wedge shaped butt sections are entered. To retain the limb butt sections against the inclined plates in this arrangement a hinged plate overlying the forward surfaces of the limb butt sections with latch means for latching the hinged plate is provided.

tional bow limbs havingbutt sections with parallel forward and rear flat sides.

A further object is to provide a take down bow hav- "ing a rigid handle section with sockets or recesses formed in the ends thereof having flat parallel forward rear walls adapted to interchangeably receive bow limbs having butt sections with parallel forward and rear sides in which the parallel front and rear walls of the sockets or recesses are inclined rearwardly to provide the desired deflex of the bow limbs.

' A further object is to provide a take down bow having a rigid handle section with sockets formed in the ends thereof having flat parallel forward and rear wall portions and bow limbs having butt sections with parallel forward and rear sides adapted to closely fit between the forward and rear wall portions of the sockets or notches, in which the forward walls of the sockets are shorter than the rear walls and a portion of each rear socket wall adjacent the bottom of the socket is relieved so that the parallel forward and rear socket wall portions which engage the forward and rear sides of the limb butt sections are spaced longitudinally and so that the limb butt sections may be freely entered into the sockets in a slightly forwardly inclined position with respect to the socket wall portions and may then be rotated slightly to a position in which the sides of the bow limb butt sections and the socket wall portions are parallel.

A further object is to provide a take down bow as in the preceding paragraph in which a fore and aft extending element fixed in the bottom of each socket engages a fore and aft extending groove in-the very end of each limb butt section and in which a short stud projecting from the rear side of each limb butt section engages a hole in the rear wall of each socket spaced outwardly from the bottom of the socket thereby to align and retain the bow limbs in lateral alignment and retain them against outward longitudinal movement.

A further object is to provide a take down bow as in the two preceding paragraphs in which screw threaded means extending coaxially with the short studs in the bow limbs and extending through the rear socket walls clamps the bow limbs to the rear socket walls.

Further objects and advantageswill appear from the following complete description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

. FIG. I is a side elevationalfview of a take-down bow constructed in'accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the bow shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the bow shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the upper portion of the limb handle section with an adjoining portion of the upper limb;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the fragmentary portion shown in FIG. 4 with parts taken along line 5-5 shown sectionalized;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partially sectionalized fragmentary view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the thumb screwdetached from the bow limb and retained in the handle section.

Referringtothe drawings in more detaiL-the bow comprises a cast metal handle section 10, an upper limb l2, alower limb 14, a bow string 16, and upper and lower stabilizers 18. The stabilizers 18 shown in 3' FIG; 1 are omitted in FIGS. 2 to 5. The handle section has an intermediate hand grip portion and upper and lower identical end portions 22 in which are formed bow limb receiving sockets 24, see FIGS. 5 and 6. The sockets 24 are defined by a rear wall 26, a somewhat shorter forward wall 28, a bottom wall 30, and incomplete side walls 32. The forward wall 28, the side walls 32 and the outer portion 27 of the rear wall are all'parallel. The inner portion 29 of the rear wall near the bottom of the'socket is relieved or inclined for a purpose to be described.

The bow limbs 12 and 14 are shown as having con ventional recurve form and are shown constructed of a hard wood core with forward and rearfacings of fiber glass. They may, for the purpose of this invention, be of any suitable form and construction. Whatever the form and construction however both limbs are provided with butt sections 34 having forward and rear parallel side portions 36 and 38.

Extending fore and aft across the sockets 24 andvery near the bottom walls thereof are pins 40 press fitted in bores 42 extending through the front walls 28 and into the rear walls 26. The pins 40 have heads 44 at the forward ends thereof and blind screw threaded bores 46 which receive the screw threaded inner ends of the stabilizers 18 shown in FIG. 1. The ends of the'bow limb butt sections 34 are provided with grooves extending fore and aft there across which grooves have lateral surfaces which receive the pins in close fit relationship, see FlGS. 5 and 6.

A second pin 48 extends fore and aft through each limb butt section at a point spaced outwardly from pin 40 and near the outer end of the rear socket wall 26. Thepins 48 project a short distance from the rear surfaces 38 of the butt sections and these projecting portions of pins 48 form short studs 50 which are adapted to be entered into shallow counterbores 52 in the rear socket wall portions 26. The rear ends of pins 48 have axial blind bores 5 4 which in turn have reduced diameter screw threaded portions 55 at their inner ends. The rear socket wall portions 27 each havea short screw threaded bore 58 coaxial with the counterbore 52. The forward ends of pins 48 have large decorative heads 60 which lie against'the forward surfaces of the limbs. A knurled headed thumb screw 56 has a small diameter shank57 and an enlarged diameter screw threaded end portion 59 which may be retained in a detached position in the screw threads 58 in the handle section, as

shown in FIG. 7 or it may be screwed through the threads 58 and entered into the screw threads 55 in pin 48 thereby to clamp the bow limb against the rear socket wall portion 27, as shown in FIG. 5. This arrangement permits the thumb screws 56 to be retained in the handle section when the limbs are disassembled thereby. preventing their loss or misplacement. hasmuch as the diameter of the blind holes 54 is considerably larger in diameter than the screw threaded ends 59 of the thumb screws, the thumb screws need not beretracted into the screw threads 58 in the handle section, as shown in F lG. 7 but need only be just retracted from the screw threads'55 in the pins 48 to permit assembly or disassembly of the limbs. In such position the small sections are entered into the sockets they are required to be tilted forward slightly to permit entry of the projecting stud portions 50 into the counterbores 52 in the handle sections. This entry of the lir'n'bs into the sockets in a slightly forward tilted positionis permitted by the shorter forward socket walls 28 and by relieving an inner portion of the'longer rear socket walls 26 as by slightly inclining these inner portions as shown at 29 in FIG. 5. i I

ln assembling the limbs in the preferred form of the invention the limb butt sections are entered into the sockets in a slightly forward tilted position until the grooves-35 receive the pins 40. The outer portions of thebutt sections are then pushed rearward causing the projections 50 of the "pins 48 to be snapped into the counterbores 52. Thereafter, the thumb screws 56 are screwed into the 'screw threads 55 in pins 48 and tightened. The outer rear surface portions 38 of the butt sections are now firmly clamped against the parallel outer wall portions 27 of the rear socket wall, see FIGS. 5 and 6. l l

The term snapped has been employedin characterizing the entry of the projecting stud portions 50 of pins 48 into the counterbores 52 because these stud portions do not enter the counterbores 52 along a precise axial line but are rather swung in as the limbs are moved from their slightly forwardly tilted free entry position to a position in which the forward and rear sides of the limbs are parallel with the parallel forward and rear wall portions of the socket between which the'limb butt sections fit very closely.

Upon disassembly, after the bow is unbraced and the thumb screws56 are backed out of the threads in pins- 48, a slight bump applied by the heel of the hand to the rear surface of the bow limbs just outward from the sockets easily disengages the stud portions 50 and the limbs are thereafter freely withdrawn in a slightly forward tilted position. I

It will be seen that the perpendicular dimension betweenthe longitudinally-spaced parallel forward and rear socket wall portions 28 and 27 may be made such that the limb butt sections fit very closely between these wallportions while at the same time the limbs may be easily entered or withdrawn therefrom by slightly tilting themvforward. It will. also be seen that the fit of the limb butt sections between these wall portions must be held close so as to maintain the deflex angle of the limbs which is quite critical in that small variations effect the shooting characteristics of the bow.

When the bow is strung or braced, as shown in FIG.

' l, the force applied to the outer ends of the limbs tries to rotate the limb butt sections about a point of contact near the outer ends of the rear socket walls 26. This force is resisted by the forward socket walls 28. When the bow is drawn in shooting, this force is increased somewhat but when the bow is released from the drawn position to return to its braced position the limb butt sections do not tend to rotate oppositely; This is true because the force applied to the'outer ends of the limbs by the bow string in the braced position is sufficient to prevent any counter rotation of the limb butt sections. It is not necessary therefore to clamp the limb butt sections to therear socket walls by thumb screws 56 when the is braced or when it is drawn and released in shooting. The thumb screws 56 are provided primarily as a safety. measure to prevent the limbs from being thrown out of their sockets in event the bow string should break while shooting. A secondary purpose of the thumb screws is to prevent the inadvertant disassembly of the limbs when the bow is notstrung or braced. While the limb receiving sockets 24 in'the endsof the handle section are shown as having partial side walls 32 in addition to forward and rear walls 28 and 26,these side walls 32may be formed as complete walls if desired or they may be eliminated altogether insofar as they are not required to align or retain the limbs in the described preferred embodiment and function only to strengthen the handle section, protect the lateral sides of the limbs and enhance the appearance ,of. the bow. it will be seen therefore that in a modified arrangement in which the side walls 32 are eliminated entirely the socket 24 would become merely a notch or recess 24 with forward and rear walls 28 and 26 as described and the exclusive use of such arrangement is contemplated.

Also, while in the preferred form of the invention pins 40 cooperating with grooves 35 retain the ends of the limb butt sections against lateral movement, it is obvious that portions of side walls 32 near the bottoms of the sockets-could be spaced so as to neatly fit the widthof the limb butt sections at their ends and thereby retain the ends of the butt sections against lateral movement.

Further, while the stud portions 50 are shown fixed to the bow limbs and enter counterbores 52 in the rear socket walls, it is obvious that a reversal of this arrangement may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention. That is, these projections 50 may be fixed in the rear walls of the sockets and enter counterbores in the rear sides of the limbs.

I claim: a

l. A take down bow having a handle section and a de-. tachable bow limb butt section, a socket formed in the end of said handle section receiving the butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottom wall, a shorter forward wall and a longer rear wall, each of said foring foreand aft across said socket near its bottom wall,

and said opposed lateral surfaces near the end of said said limb butt sectionv receiving said pin.

ward and rear walls having a surface portion, which a surface portions are parallel and with the rear wall surface portion being spaced longitudinally outward from the forward wall surface portion, said limb butt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces and said butt section closely fitting between said longitudinally spaced socket wall surface portions, means fixed in said handle section near the bottom of said socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces at the terminal-end of said limb butt section, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom of said socket and in the area of contact of said rear socket wall surface portion with said rear butt section surface and comprising a projection fixed with respectto one of said contacting surfaces for slidably entering and closely fitting into a recess in the handle section and cooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket to laterally align the bow limb with the handle. section and retain it in alignment against lateral movement, and said rear socket wall having relief means adjacent the bottom wall of said socket for permitting tilting of the butt limb section so as to allow insertion of said limb butt section into said socket.

2. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said fixed means near the bottom of said socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces on said butt section near its end comprises a pin fixed in said handle section and extend- 3. The bow claimed in claim 2 in which the pin extending fore and aft across the bottom of said socket has a portion thereof extending through the forward wall of said socket, which portion is screw threaded and adapted to receive the screw threaded inner end of a bow stabilizing element. a

.4. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said projection fixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces comprises a pin fixed in said limb butt section and having a short portion extending from the rear surface of said limb butt section which slidably enters a recess in said rearv wall surface. of saidsocket in close fitting relationship therewith.

5. The bow claimed in claim 4 in which said pin has a screw threaded axial bore in the extended end thereof and in which a headed screw extending through said rear wall of said socket is engageable with said screw threaded bore so asv to clamp said butt section to said rear socket wall. i

6. The bow claimed in claim 5 in which said pin has a counterbore in the extended end thereof leading to the said screw threaded bore therein and said rear socket wall has a screw threaded bore therethrough of the same size as said screw threaded bore insaid pin and in axial alignment therewith, and said headed screw has a short screw threaded end portion adapted to threadedly engage and pass through said screw threaded bore in said rear socket wall and to engage said screw threads in said pin, and said headed screw having an intermediate shank portion of smaller diameter than said screw threaded portion whereby said headed screw may be retained in said rear socket wall when disengaged from said screw threads in said pin while permitting the pin to be entered or removed from the bore in said rear socket wall while assembling or disassembling the limb.

7. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachable bow limb having a butt section, a socket formed inan end of said handle section receiving said butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottom wall, a rear wall anda forward wall which is substan tially shorter than said rear wall, said forward andrear walls each having a surface portion which surface portions are parallel, said butt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces which closely fit between said parallel wall surfaces, means fixed with respect to said handle section near the bottom of said socket for engaging opposed lateral surfaces of said butt section near its end, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom of said socket and positioned in the area of contact of the surfaces of the rear socket wall and the rear surface of the butt section, said last mentioned means comprising a projection means fixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces and adapted to slidably enter a recess in the other of said contacting surfaces for cooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket to laterally align the bow limb with respect to the handle section and to retain it in alignment against lateral movement, the contact area of one of said surfaces being limited to an area near the outer end of said longer rear socket wall and one of said surfaces having means to allow entry of said butt section into said recess in a suff ciently forward tilted position to permit the entry of said projection into said recess.

8. The take down bow claimed in claim 7 which includes a pair of detachable bow limbs and the other end of said handle section having a socket.

9. A take down bow having an upper and a lower-detachable bow limbs have butt sections a rigid handle section and a bow string, a socket formed in each end of said handle section, said sockets having forward, rear and side walls formed as integral portions of said handle section, said forward wall being substantially shorter than said rear wall and said forwardandrear walls having longitudinally parallel forward and rear wall surfaces, the butt sections of said limbs having longitudinally parallel forward and rear sides and being entered in fitting relationship between said parallel socket wall surfaces, said forward and rear longitudinally parallel socket wall surfaces being inclined with respect to said bow string when the bow is assembled and braced thereby to provide a predetermined deflex angle of the bow limbs, and means operative to align and retain said limbs in lateral alignment comprising fixed laterally opposed surfaces in said sockets near the bottoms thereof a cooperating with laterally opposed surfaces on the ends of said limb butt sections, and a means forming a part of and projecting fromthe rear side of each limb butt section at a point spaced from its end for entering a recess in the rear wall of each of said sockets to prevent lateral movement of said limbs, and a portion of said rear socket wall surfaces adjacent the bottoms of said sockets being relieved to permit the forward tilted entry of said limbs into said sockets and the entry of said pins into said recesses.

Claims (9)

1. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachable bow limb butt section, a socket formed in the end of said handle section receiving the butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottom wall, a shorter forward wall and a longer rear wall, each of said forward and rear walls having a surface portion, which surface portions are parallel and with the rear wall surface portion being spaced longitudinally outward from the forward wall surface portion, said limb butt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces and said butt section closely fitting between said longitudinally spaced socket wall surface portions, means fixed in said handle section near the bottom of said socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces at the terminal end of said limb butt section, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom of said socket and in the area of contact of said rear socket wall surface portion with said rear butt section surface and comprising a projection fixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces for slidably entering and closely fitting into a recess in the handle section and cooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket to laterally align the bow limb with the handle section and retain it in alignment against lateral movement, and said rear socket wall having relief means adjacent the bottom wall of said socket for permitting tilting of the butt limb section so as to allow insertion of said limb butt section into said socket.

2. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said fixed means near the bottom of said socket engaging opposed lateral surfaces on said butt section near its end comprises a pin fixed in said handle section and extending fore and aft across said socket near its bottom wall, and said opposed lateral surfaces near the end of said limb butt section are side walls of a notch in the end of said limb butt section receiving said pin.

3. The bow claimed in claim 2 in which the pin extending fore and aft across the bottom of said socket has a portion thereof extending through the forward wall of said socket, which portion is screw threaded and adapted to receive the screw threaded inner end of a bow stabilizing element.

4. The bow claimed in claim 1 in which said projection fixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces comprises a pin fixed in said limb butt section and having a short portion extending from the rear surface of said limb butt section which slidably enters a recess in said rear wall surface of said socket in close fitting relationship therewith.

5. The bow claimed in claim 4 in which said pin has a screw threaded axial bore in the extended end thereof and in which a headed screw extending through said rear wall of said socket is engageable with said screw threaded bore so as to clamp said butt section to said rear socket wall.

6. The bow claimed in claim 5 in which said pin has a counterbore in the extended end thereof leading to the said screw threaded bore therein and said rear socket wall has a screw threaded bore therethrough of the same size as said screw threaded bore in said pin anD in axial alignment therewith, and said headed screw has a short screw threaded end portion adapted to threadedly engage and pass through said screw threaded bore in said rear socket wall and to engage said screw threads in said pin, and said headed screw having an intermediate shank portion of smaller diameter than said screw threaded portion whereby said headed screw may be retained in said rear socket wall when disengaged from said screw threads in said pin while permitting the pin to be entered or removed from the bore in said rear socket wall while assembling or disassembling the limb.

7. A take down bow having a handle section and a detachable bow limb having a butt section, a socket formed in an end of said handle section receiving said butt section of the limb, said socket having a bottom wall, a rear wall and a forward wall which is substantially shorter than said rear wall, said forward and rear walls each having a surface portion which surface portions are parallel, said butt section having parallel forward and rear surfaces which closely fit between said parallel wall surfaces, means fixed with respect to said handle section near the bottom of said socket for engaging opposed lateral surfaces of said butt section near its end, and means spaced outwardly from the bottom of said socket and positioned in the area of contact of the surfaces of the rear socket wall and the rear surface of the butt section, said last mentioned means comprising a projection means fixed with respect to one of said contacting surfaces and adapted to slidably enter a recess in the other of said contacting surfaces for cooperating with said fixed means near the bottom of said socket to laterally align the bow limb with respect to the handle section and to retain it in alignment against lateral movement, the contact area of one of said surfaces being limited to an area near the outer end of said longer rear socket wall and one of said surfaces having means to allow entry of said butt section into said recess in a sufficiently forward tilted position to permit the entry of said projection into said recess.

8. The take down bow claimed in claim 7 which includes a pair of detachable bow limbs and the other end of said handle section having a socket.

9. A take down bow having an upper and a lower detachable bow limbs have butt sections a rigid handle section and a bow string, a socket formed in each end of said handle section, said sockets having forward, rear and side walls formed as integral portions of said handle section, said forward wall being substantially shorter than said rear wall and said forward and rear walls having longitudinally parallel forward and rear wall surfaces, the butt sections of said limbs having longitudinally parallel forward and rear sides and being entered in fitting relationship between said parallel socket wall surfaces, said forward and rear longitudinally parallel socket wall surfaces being inclined with respect to said bow string when the bow is assembled and braced thereby to provide a predetermined deflex angle of the bow limbs, and means operative to align and retain said limbs in lateral alignment comprising fixed laterally opposed surfaces in said sockets near the bottoms thereof cooperating with laterally opposed surfaces on the ends of said limb butt sections, and a means forming a part of and projecting from the rear side of each limb butt section at a point spaced from its end for entering a recess in the rear wall of each of said sockets to prevent lateral movement of said limbs, and a portion of said rear socket wall surfaces adjacent the bottoms of said sockets being relieved to permit the forward tilted entry of said limbs into said sockets and the entry of said pins into said recesses.

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