Magnetic bowstring release and method

Abstract

A trigger acting upon a lever pivotally attached to a body urges the lever to overcome a magnetic force attracting the lever to a segment of the body and to pivot from a first position to a second position, which trigger is not positionally moved until the magnetic force is overcome. A jaw has a first position for retaining a bowstring and is maintained in the first position by the lever being in the first position. When the lever pivots to the second position, the jaw under influence of a force imposed by the bowstring pivots to a second position and releases the bowstring. A further pair of magnets may be used to create an opposing magnetic force to further urge maintenance of the lever in the first position.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims priority of a provisional application entitled “MAGNETIC ARCHERY RELEASE”, filed Sep. 2, 2004, and assigned Ser. No. 60/607,137, disclosing an invention by the present inventor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to bowstring releases and, more particularly, to a magnetic bowstring release.

2. Description of Related Prior Art

Mechanical archery bowstring releases have become increasingly popular in recent years because they provide more uniform control of a bowstring and increase accuracy by effecting a consistent, controlled release of an arrow over that of a manual release. Bowstring releases are typically used to maintain the bowstring in a cocked position in which the bowstring is flexed against the tension of the bow for propelling the arrow supported on the bowstring. When a drawn arrow is released from a release mechanism, the release of the bowstring is usually relatively rapid and at a point approximately in line with the centerline of the bow so that the bowstring delivers most of its thrust directly along the major axis of the arrow. When tabs or fingers are used to release a bowstring, the bowstring tends to roll off the fingers or tab and be deflected sideways during release. The bowstring then tends to follow a serpentine path and fails to maximize the energy delivery directly along the major axis of the arrow.

The majority of the bowstring releases have a body or casing which houses the sear and trigger mechanisms. The body is typically a cylindrical or rectangular configuration with the pivotable jaws of the sear mechanism positioned at one end and a trigger located along the length of the body. The jaws and trigger of the bowstring release are traditionally secured to the body with linkages or pins, which serve as pivot mechanisms for the jaws and trigger.

It has been found that many commercial bowstring releases load up severely as the pulling force on the bowstring is increased. Loading up is a phenomenon whereby the force required of the archer to pull the trigger and release the bowstring increases as the effective draw weight of the bow increases. Thus, at higher effective draw weights, the archer must pull harder on the trigger, perhaps causing a decrease in sensitivity and performance. A harder trigger pull may also cause a jerking trigger release motion, causing erratic arrow flight.

There are two commonly used trigger sensitivity adjustment mechanisms. In one mechanism, the depth of engagement of sear elements is varied. This affects trigger pull length, also known as trigger travel distance, and indirectly affects the pull force required by making the trigger travel farther to disengage the sear, which in turn increases the sliding friction. Another mechanism is a single roller on one of a pair of sear elements. The roller is used to reduce friction between the sear elements. Adjustment is related to positioning the roller's center in relation to the edge of an angled slot in the trigger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A lever supporting a trigger of a magnetic release is magnetically biased to maintain a pivotally mounted jaw in engagement with a bowstring. To effect a release of the bowstring, pressure is applied to the trigger, which trigger does not move until the applied force overcomes a magnetic force acting upon the lever. Until the magnetic force between the lever and the magnet is overcome, there is no movement of the trigger and the archer may terminate actuation of the trigger without any detrimental result. The body of the magnetic release may be either attached to the archer's wrist by a wrist strap to permit engaging the body with one's thumb and leaving the forefinger free to actuate the trigger. In a second embodiment, the mechanism may be retained by the archer's fingers and the trigger may be actuated by the archer's thumb. In variants of the invention, the magnet may be positionally adjusted to vary the degree of magnetic force exerted. In other variants, the number of magnets may be increased, including the use of a pair of opposing magnets to restrain movement of the lever, to provide various levels of control over the degree of force that must be applied to pivotally move the lever.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a magnetic force to control a mechanism for releasing a bowstring.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically actuated bowstring release attached to a user's wrist with a wrist strap to provide the force necessary to draw the bowstring.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically actuated bowstring release held by the fingers of an archer.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pivotable lever magnetically attracted to the body of the bowstring release to disengage a pivotable bowstring retaining jaw when the magnetic force acting upon the lever is overcome by a force exerted on a trigger.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically actuated release for a bowstring that includes a trigger which does not move until the force applied to the trigger overcomes a magnetic force retaining a lever supporting the trigger.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically actuated release for a bowstring having magnets positionally adjustable to provide a selected magnetic force.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a magnetically actuated bowstring release that includes a plurality of magnets operating in concert to provide a selectable magnetic force that must be overcome to trigger release of the bowstring.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method for releasing a bowstring with a magnetic release.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described with greater specificity and clarity with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the magnetic release being hand held;

FIG. 2 illustrates opening of the jaw of the magnetic release in response to trigger movement;

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the magnetic release;

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the magnetic release;

FIG. 5 is a partial cut away isometric view of the magnetic release in the closed position;

FIG. 6 is a partial cut away isometric view of the magnetic release in the open position;

FIG. 7 illustrates the magnetic release in the closed position;

FIG. 8 illustrates the magnetic release with force being applied to the trigger;

FIG. 9 illustrates the magnetic release in the open position;

FIG. 10 illustrates four variants of a magnet useable with the magnetic release;

FIG. 11 illustrates a first variant of the magnetic release;

FIG. 12 illustrates the use of a pair of magnets in the first variant shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 illustrates a further pair of magnets useable in the first variant illustrated in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 illustrates the use of three magnets in the variant shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 illustrates the use of several sets of magnets useable in the variant illustrated in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 16 illustrates a second variant of the magnetic release.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a magnetic release 10 held by a user. In particular, a wrist strap 12 secured to body 14 is secured to the wrist of the user and upon the user drawing his/her arm back, will translate this motion to the magnetic release to draw a bowstring. The user's thumb 15 may be placed within an arced indentation 16 formed in the top of body 14. A trigger (not shown) extends downwardly from the body and the user's forefinger 18 applies pressure to the trigger to effect release of a bowstring captured between a jaw 20 and an anvil 22. A pin 24 serves as a pivot axis for the jaw. Similarly, a further pin 26 serves as the pivot axis for a trigger operated lever (not shown) that releases jaw 20. A slot 27 of magnet 28 (not shown) positions the magnet that provides a magnetic force upon the lever to restrain movement of the lever and release of jaw 20, unless a sufficient force is applied to the trigger. Upon application of such a force, jaw 20, as illustrated in FIG. 2, pivots about pin 24 and releases a bowstring captured between anvil 22 and the jaw.

Referring jointly to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, further details of magnetic release 10 will be described. Body 14 includes an aperture 30 for receiving wrist strap 12 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thereby, the wrist strap is firmly attached to body 14 of magnetic release 10 and a movement of the wrist strap by a user moving his/her arm will result in commensurate movement of the magnetic release. Jaw 20 includes a slot 32 for receiving a bowstring and jaw 22 captures the bowstring therewith when the jaw is in the closed position as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. A trigger 34 is attached to and extends from a pivotable lever 36, which lever pivots about pin 26, as described above. As particularly shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a magnet 28 is retained within a commensurately configured cavity 42 in body 14. Preferably but not necessarily, the magnet is a solid magnet. As shown, the magnet may be in the form of a disk having opposed poles as is conventional. The rotational position of the magnet may be modified by screwdriver engaging slot 27. The rotational position of the magnet may be set by a set screw 44. Trigger 34 may be formed by a sleeve 50 bearing against lever 36 and retained in place by a bolt 52 penetrably engaging the sleeve into threaded engagement with the lever, as illustrated. Lever 36 may support a rod 54 extending therefrom. Preferably, this rod is of low friction material, such as material sold under the trademark Teflon or the like. In the closed position of jaw 20, as illustrated in FIG. 5, rod 54 bears against a pin 56, or the like, extending from jaw 20, which pin is preferably also of low friction material.

Lever 36 is retained in the position shown in FIG. 5 by magnet 28 creating a magnetic force to draw lever 36 there against, as illustrated; it is understood that the lever must be of magnetically responsive material, such as steel or the like. As a rearward force is applied to trigger 34, as representatively illustrated by arrow 58, no pivotal movement about pin 26 of the trigger or the lever will occur until the magnetic force between magnet 28 and the lever is overcome. When the magnetic force is overcome, an airspace will develop between the magnet and the lever and the magnetic force of the magnet acting upon the lever will be significantly reduced. Thereafter, both the trigger and the lever will rotate about pin 26. Such rotation of the lever will result in rod 56 slidably disengaging from pin 56.

In the closed position of jaw 20, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the force of the bowstring acting upon the jaw as a result of its position within slot 32 will tend to urge rotation of the jaw away from anvil 22. However, such rotation is prevented by the interfering engagement between rod 54 and pin 56. Upon the pivotal movement of lever 36 and rod 54 extending therefrom, end 60 of the rod will slide past pin 56 and jaw 20 will become free to rotate about pin 24. The force of the bowstring acting upon the jaw, as described above, will result in pivotal movement of the jaw to the open position illustrated in FIG. 6. In this position of the jaw, the bowstring is released from in between the jaw and the anvil.

To vary the magnetic force exerted by magnet 28 upon lever 36, the magnet may be rotated from one of the poles bearing against the lever in the closed position shown in FIG. 5 in which position the magnet exerts a maximum magnetic retentive force upon the lever. This will require the greatest force to be exerted upon trigger 34 until release can be effected. By rotating the magnet to a position where a part of the magnet intermediate the two opposed poles is in contact with the lever, the magnetic force acting upon the lever can be reduced. Such reduced magnetic force will require a lesser force to be exerted upon trigger 34 to effect release of jaw 20. Once the position of magnet 28 has been adjusted to provide a magnetic force acting upon lever 36 commensurate with the degree of force a user wishes to exert upon trigger 34 to effect a release, the magnet is locked in place by set screw 44. It is to be understood that the magnetic force exerted upon the lever can be reset by simply loosening set screw 44 and rotating the magnet to increase or decrease the magnetic force acting upon the lever.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates further details of magnetic release 10. In particular, it illustrates lever 36 pivotally mounted upon pin 26. The lever includes a surface 64 extending away from cavity 66 in body 14. Thereby, lever 36 may pivot clockwise (as illustrated) until surface 64 contacts the base of cavity 66. As shown, bowstring 68 is captured in slot 32 of jaw 20.

FIG. 8 illustrates, as represented by arrow 70, the application of a trigger force upon trigger 34. The application of such a force will not result in a commensurate movement of the trigger or of lever 36 until the force, translated through the lever, is sufficient to overcome the magnetic attraction between magnet 28 and the lever. As the force on trigger 34 increases, the magnetic force between magnet 28 and lever 36 will be overcome. At that instant, trigger 34 and attached lever 36 will pivot about pivot point 26, as illustrated in FIG. 9. Such pivotal movement will continue until surface 64 of the lever comes in contact with cavity 66, as illustrated. Simultaneously, rod 54 will become disengaged from pin 56. Upon such disengagement, jaw 20, under urging of bowstring 68, will cause the jaw to pivot in the direction indicated by arrow 72. Thereafter, the bowstring will become released and travel in response to the forces exerted by the bow, as depicted by arrow 74.

As partially illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, body 14 includes a slot 76. This slot receives, in part, jaw 20. The slot, in conjunction with pin 24, prevents skewing of the jaw that might cause it to bind before or during release.

To reset magnetic release 10, jaw 20 is opened, as depicted in FIG. 9. Upon placement of the bowstring within slot 32 in the jaw, the jaw is pivoted to the closed position shown in FIG. 8. The force of magnet 28 may be sufficient to draw lever 36 into engagement therewith; if not, movement of the trigger in a direction opposite to that of arrow 70 (see FIG. 8) (or manually imposed pivotal movement of lever 36) will cause lever 36 to be placed adjacent and essentially in contact with magnet 28, which magnet will retain the lever in place.

FIG. 10 illustrates the potential for using differently sized magnets to be lodged within cavity 42 (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6). Such differently sized magnets are expected to urge correspondingly different magnetic forces acting upon lever 36. Depending upon the material of any one of magnets 80, 81, 82 or 83 the degree of magnetism of a magnet might increase or decrease. Thus, not only can differently sized magnets be used, but magnets of the same size but of different magnetic properties may be used.

FIG. 11 illustrates a first variant 90 of a magnetic release for a bowstring. This variant embodies the operational features of magnetic release 10 discussed above but the configurations of certain of the components are different. Body 92 includes three scalloped surfaces, 94, 96 and 98 for receiving and gripping by a user's forefinger, middle finger and ring finger, respectively. A trigger 100 is depressed by a user's thumb. The trigger is attached to a lever 102 by a bolt 104 or the like. The lever is pivotable about a pin 106 extending from body 92. A jaw 108 includes a slot 110 for receiving and retaining a bowstring 111. An anvil 112, similar functionally and to some extent structurally with anvil 22, includes a slot 114 formed in the anvil; for clarity of illustration, only side 116 of the slot is shown. However, it is to be understood that a slot 76, like that illustrated in FIG. 11, could also be used. Jaw 108 is rotatable about a pin 118 extending from body 92.

An indentation 120 is formed in jaw 108 to receive and mate with end 122 of lever 102. Upon placement of end 122 within indentation 120, as illustrated, counterclockwise rotation of jaw 108 is precluded due to the interference between the indentation and the end of the lever. That is, when jaw 108 has captured a bowstring, the force exerted by the bowstring will tend to cause the jaw to rotate a about pin 118 in a counterclockwise direction. Such rotation is precluded by end 122 of the lever. The lever is magnetically retained in the position illustrated in FIG. 11 by a magnet 124 mounted in body 92. Until a force sufficient to overcome the magnetic attraction between magnet 124 and lever 102 is present, no movement of the lever will occur.

To release the bowstring from within jaw 108, a user would push upon end 126 of trigger 100. No movement of the lever occurs until this pushing force is sufficient to overcome the magnetic force of magnet 124 acting upon lever 102. When the magnetic force is exceeded, pivotal movement of the lever in the counterclockwise direction, as represented by arrow 127, would occur and the lever would move under the force exerted upon end 126 until the lever abuts against surface 128 of body 92. Thus, this surface limits the degree of counterclockwise movement of the lever. When the lever is rotated counterclockwise, end 122 will become disengaged from indentation 120. Upon such disengagement, the force exerted by bowstring 111 captured in slot 110 of jaw 108 will cause the jaw to rotate counterclockwise about pin 118. Upon sufficient rotation of the jaw to clear slot 114, bowstring 111 will be released.

Referring to FIG. 12, there is shown a variation of the magnets exerting a magnetic force upon lever 102. A first magnet 130 maybe mounted in body 92 to exert a magnetic force upon the lever. A second magnet 132 may be mounted in conjunction with the lever to magnetically coact with magnet 130. These magnets are mounted to attract one another and thereby increase the magnetic force tending to prevent counterclockwise rotation of the lever. As a result, a greater force would have to be exerted upon trigger 100 to effect release of a bowstring 111 captured by jaw 108. Alternatively, these magnets may be mounted to magnetically oppose one another. Such orientation would have two effects. First, it would reduce the amount of force necessary to cause rotation of lever 102. Second, once the contact between lever 102 and magnet 130 is broken, the opposing magnetic forces would enhance further rotation of the lever to permit opening of jaw 108.

FIG. 13 illustrates a second embodiment of first variant 90. Herein, a first magnet 134 is mounted upon lever 102. A second magnet 136 is mounted upon body 92. By orienting these two magnets to magnetically oppose one another, counterclockwise pivotal movement of lever 102 about pin 106 in response to a force exerted upon end 126 of trigger 100 would be increased as a function of the opposing magnetic forces. Magnet 136 may be mounted in a slot 138 to accommodate repositioning of the magnet to vary the opposing magnetic force between the two magnets. Thereby, a user can modify the amount of force on trigger 100 necessary to effect release of bowstring 111 from jaw 108.

FIG. 14 illustrates a fourth embodiment of first variant 90. In this embodiment, three magnets are used. Magnet 140 is mounted on body 92 adjacent and essentially in contacting relationship with lever 102. Thereby, the magnet provides a magnetic force to retain the lever there against. A second magnet 142 may be mounted on lever 102 and a third magnet 144 may be mounted upon body 92. As illustrated, magnet 144 may be mounted within a slot 146 to accommodate positional adjustment of this magnet. By orienting magnets 142 and 144 to provide opposing magnetic forces, a magnetic resistance will be present to resist counterclockwise movement of lever 102 about pin 106. The degree of this magnetic resistance may be modified by repositioning magnet 144 within slot 146 to be closer to or further away from magnet 142. With this arrangement, magnet 140 creates a magnetic force to urge lever 102 into a clockwise position. Simultaneously, the magnetic coaction between magnets 142 and 144 urges the lever to rotate clockwise. These magnetic forces acting upon lever 102 will result in a requirement for an increased pressure to be exerted upon end 126 of trigger 100 before counterclockwise movement of the lever can come about. When it does, bowstring 111 will be released from jaw 108.

FIG. 15 illustrates a fifth embodiment of variant 90 shown in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, trigger 150 is secured to a first lever 152 by a bolt 154. The first lever is pivotable about a pin 156. Upon exerting a force on end 158 generally along the longitudinal axis of trigger 150, lever 152 will rotate in a clockwise direction. Simultaneously, trigger 150 will rotate about pin 156 away from body 92. A second lever 160 is pivotable about a pin 162. End 164 of lever 152 bears against end 166 of lever 160. Upon clockwise rotation of lever 152, end 164 will bear against end 166 and cause lever 160 to rotate about pin 162 in a counterclockwise direction. Lever 160 includes an end 122 that is disposed within and bears against indentation 120 of jaw 108. Upon pivotal movement of lever 160 in a counterclockwise direction, end 122 will become disengaged from end indentation 120 and jaw 108 will be free to pivot counterclockwise in response to the forces generated by bowstring 111.

Resistance to pivotal movement of lever 160 may be accomplished as follows. A magnet 170 is mounted in body 92 in proximity with a magnet 172 mounted in trigger 150. The magnetic attraction between these two magnets will resist pivotal movement of trigger 150 about pin 156. A magnet 174 may be mounted on lever 152 on a side of pin 156 opposite from trigger 150 to urge counterclockwise movement of the lever as a result of the magnetic force between the magnet and body 92. Jaw 108 may include a magnet 176 magnetically cooperating with a magnet 178 mounted adjacent thereto at the upper end of lever 160. These two magnets will cooperate to magnetically retain the upper end of lever 160 within indentation 122 of the jaw.

In operation, movement of trigger 150 will not occur until a sufficient force is exerted at end 158 of the trigger to overcome the magnetic force between magnets 170 and 172, between the magnetic force of magnet 174 acting upon body 92 and the magnetic force between magnets 176, 178. When the sum of these forces is overcome, lever 152 will be caused to pivot clockwise by trigger 150. Such pivotal movement will result in end 164 of lever 152 bearing against end 166 of lever 160 to cause lever 160 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. Upon such rotation of lever 160, end 122 will disengage from indentation 120. Upon such disengagement, the force exerted by bowstring 111 will no longer be restrained by jaw 108 and the jaw will pivot counterclockwise to release the bowstring.

FIG. 16 illustrates a second variant 180 of the magnetic release wherein a triggerless release is illustrated. Body 182 includes scalloped surfaces 184, 186 for engagement by the forefinger and middle finger of a user. A partial disc-like element 188 is mounted upon an arm 190 of body 182 by a pin 192. A jaw 194 is pivotally mounted upon arm 190 by a pin 196. The jaw includes a hook 198 for retaining a bowstring 200 therewith. Jaw 194 includes an indentation 202 for receiving an end 204 of element 188. A magnet 206 is mounted in element 188. The magnet provides a magnetic force to retain end 204 of the element within indentation 202. A set screw 208 is employed to bear against element 188 to provide adjustment to the rotational position of the element relative to jaw 194.

The force exerted by bowstring 200 will tend to cause jaw 194 to rotate clockwise. Such rotation is resisted by element 188 in mechanical engagement therewith and is enhance by magnet 202. By twisting body 182 clockwise, end 204 of element 188 will move out of engagement with indentation 202 to release jaw 194. Upon such release, the jaw will rotate clockwise under force of bowstring 200 until the bowstring clears the end of the jaw. Thus, the second variant magnetic release shown in FIG. 16 is triggerless.

Claims

1. A magnetic release for a bowstring, said release comprising in combination:

a) a body;

b) a jaw pivotally supported on said body, said jaw having a first position for capturing the bowstring and a second position for releasing the bowstring;

c) a lever pivotally supported on said body having a first position for retaining said jaw in the first position and having a second position for accommodating movement of said jaw to the second position;

d) a magnet for providing a magnetic force to magnetically retain said lever in the first position; and

e) a trigger acting upon said lever for urging said lever from its first position to its second position to permit release of the bowstring.

2. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said trigger is attached to said lever.

3. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 2 including a pin for pivotally supporting said lever and wherein said magnet is disposed adjacent said lever intermediate said pin and said jaw.

4. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said jaw includes an indentation and wherein an end of said lever is in contacting relationship with said indentation when said lever is in the first position.

5. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 4 wherein said lever is disengaged from said indentation when said lever is in the second position.

6. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said jaw includes a slot for receiving the bowstring.

7. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 6 wherein said body includes an anvil extending across said slot when said jaw is in the first position.

8. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said jaw includes a post and wherein said post bears against the end of said lever in response to a force exerted by the bowstring upon said jaw when said jaw is in the first position.

9. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 8 wherein said lever includes a rod for bearing against said post.

10. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 9 wherein said rod is of low friction material.

11. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 9 wherein said post is of low friction material.

12. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 11 wherein said rod is of low friction material.

13. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 including a second magnet supported by said lever for magnetically attracting said magnet.

14. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 including a second magnet supported by said lever for magnetically opposing said magnet.

15. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 14 including a third magnet supported by said body for magnetically attracting said lever.

16. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 15, said second magnet being positionally adjustable.

17. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever comprises a pair of pivotally mounted levers, one of said levers being in engagement with said trigger and the other of said levers being in engagement with said jaw.

18. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 17 including a first magnet mounted on said second lever and a second magnet mounted on said jaw for magnetically attracting said first magnet.

19. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 18 including a third magnet mounted upon said first lever for magnetically attracting said body.

20. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever comprises said trigger and wherein said lever comprises a section of a disc.

21. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 20 wherein said magnet is mounted on said section for magnetically attracting said jaw.

22. A magnetic release for a bowstring, said release comprising in combination:

a) a body;

b) means pivotally mounted on said body and having a first position for capturing the bowstring and a second position for releasing the bowstring;

c) means pivotally supported on said body having a first position for retaining said capturing means in the first position and having a second position for accommodating movement of said capturing means to the second position;

d) means for providing a magnetic force to draw said retaining and accommodating means to the first position; and

e) means for overcoming the magnetic force to accommodate repositioning of said retaining and accommodating means from the first position to the second position.

23. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 22 including further means for establishing an opposing magnetic force to resist movement of said retaining and accommodating means from the first position to the second position.

24. The magnetic release as set forth in claim 23 including means for adjusting the degree of opposing magnetic force by said further establishing means.

25. A method for magnetically releasing a bowstring from a hand held body, said method comprising the steps of:

a) capturing the bowstring with a jaw in a first position;

b) releasing the bowstring from the jaw in a second position;

c) retaining the jaw in the first position with a pivotable lever;

d) urging the lever into a first position with a magnetic force emanating from the body to exercise said step of retaining; and

e) providing a bias to the lever sufficient to overcome the magnetic force to reposition the lever into a second position to permit exercise said step of releasing.

26. The method as set forth in claim 25 wherein said biasing step is carried out by a trigger in operative engagement with said lever.

27. The method as set forth in claim 26 including the step of preventing movement of the trigger until the magnetic force is overcome.

28. The method as set forth in claim 25 including the step of providing a further magnetic force to resist movement of the lever from the first to the second position.

29. A triggerless magnetic release, said magnetic release comprising in combination:

a) a body, said body including means for gripping said body with a user's fingers;

b) a pivotable jaw for capturing a bowstring when said jaw is in a first position and for releasing the bowstring when said jaw is in a second position;

c) an element for mechanically engaging said jaw in the first position of said jaw;

d) a magnet for producing a magnetic force to urge retention of said jaw in the first position and in mechanical engagement with said element;

e) a set screw for positionally adjusting the orientation of said element relative to said jaw and for locking said element in a selected position.

30. The triggerless magnetic release as set forth in claim 29 wherein said element is a section of a disc having an end and wherein said jaw includes an indentation for receiving said end.

31. The triggerless magnetic release as set forth in claim 30 wherein said jaw includes a hook for retaining the bowstring.