ARROW AND ARROW WRAP

Abstract

An arrow and arrow wrap, which is an elongate section of a plastic film, which may be clear or tinted with a high visibility color. The elongate section weighs 18 grains or less, has an adhesive applied to one side of the sheet, and may have a pre-defined pattern printed on an opposite side of the sheet. The printed pattern may be of a different color than the color of the film.

Description

Background of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of archery, and especially to arrows used in bow hunting.

[0002] Hunting arrows typically comprise a shaft made of lightweight aluminum, wood or carbon fiber tubing. The shaft generally has a camouflage coating so that the arrow is not readily noticeable by a deer or other game being hunted. However, the camouflage coating also makes the arrow difficult for the hunter to see after he has shot the arrow at the desired game.

[0003] To improve the visibility of the arrow to the hunter, the tail of the arrow shaft is usually dipped in a white or other easily visible color. The rear portion of the arrow shaft is painted for a distance of about 5 to 10 inches in order to make the arrow more visible to the hunter as it travels through the air. This also makes the arrow easier to find after it has landed. Sometimes one or more stripes are painted circumferentially around the tail, over the white or other color paint so that a hunter can distinguish his arrows from those of fellow hunters.

[0004] One problem in the production of such arrows is that the paint area of the shaft corresponds to the area of the shaft to which the fletching or feathers are attached. The paint must be allowed to dry for several days before the feathers can be attached to the tail. This is time-consuming, and therefore adds to the cost of production of the arrows.

[0005] Another disadvantage of dipping the tail of the shaft in paint is that it adds a great deal of weight to the arrow. If dipped to a distance of 7 inches, the paint adds about 23 grains to the weight of the arrow. At 9 inches, the paint adds 32 grains to the weight. It is desirable to avoid adding such weight, in order that the arrow may travel faster and truer.

[0006] One company briefly sold a solid color reflective wrap that can be applied to the arrows. It weighed from 24 - 30 grains with a thickness of 10 mils and a length of about 7½ inches. It is believed that this experiment was abandoned, and therefore is not prior art.

Summary of Invention

[0007] In the present invention, a strip of brightly colored vinyl having pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side is wrapped around and thereby applied to the tail of the arrow. Preferably, the wrap includes pre-printed markings to facilitate identification and visibility.

[0008] The present invention makes it possible to immediately adhere fletching to the wrap. There is no need to wait for days before applying the fletching. Another advantage is the ability to print markings on the wrap, including, for example, the name of the store selling the arrows or the like, as well as visibility enhancing markings.

[0009] Preferably, the wrap has a weight of between about 5 and about 18 grains, such that the arrow is lighter than it would be if the tail were dipped in paint.

[0010] These and other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification, claims and appended drawings.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0011] Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of an arrow shaft on which a wrap according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been attached with the arrow feathers attached to the outer surface of the wrap;

[0012] Fig. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view of the arrow shaft of Fig. 1;

[0013] Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment wrap showing the wrap as a flat rectangle with the cresting preprinted thereon;

[0014] Fig. 4 is a cross section of the flat wrap of Fig. 3 illustrating the layers of material comprising the wrap.

Detailed Description

[0015] For purposes of description herein, the terms "upper," "lower," "right," "left," "rear," "front," "vertical," "horizontal," and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in Fig. 1. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various orientations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.

[0016] Turning to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show a rear portion of an arrow 10 and Figs. 3 and 4 show a wrap 20 for arrow portion 10, which is one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and illustrates its various components.

[0017] An arrow shaft 12, most easily seen in Figs. 1 and 2 has a first end (not shown) which is adapted to receive an arrowhead (not shown) and a second end 13 at the rear of shaft 12. A nock 14 is attached to end 13 of arrow shaft 12. Nock 14 serves to receive the bow string of a bow which when released by a hunter propels the arrow forward toward an intended target. Arrow shaft 12 is typically constructed from thin aluminum tubing or from thin carbon fiber composite tubing with circumferences ranging from 17 to 26 millimeters. The weight of an arrow is preferably as light as possible, since the release velocity of the arrow is inversely proportional to the arrow weight when the hunter releases the arrow. A lighter arrow travels at a greater velocity than a heavier arrow. In turn, a higher velocity arrow will travel a greater distance and fly truer than a heavier arrow thereby improving a hunter's accuracy. Since a hunter must approach his game at relatively close distance prior to attempting a shot, visibility of the arrow is also a concern of the hunter. Therefore, the arrow shafts are generally produced with a camouflage color and pattern to reduce visibility of the arrow by the game and also result in difficulty in finding a previously shot arrow by the hunter. The preferred embodiment described herein addresses these weight and visibility concerns.

[0018] As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a wrap 20 is elongate in configuration with a length substantially greater than its width. Since arrow shafts range between 17 to 26 millimeters in circumference, the width of wrap 20 is approximately one and one-third inches, more preferably 1.32 inches. This width permits the wrap to be affixed to the arrow shaft with an adequate overlap thereby eliminating gaps between ends of the wrap, and one size wrap can be used for all standard commercially available arrow shafts of varying circumferences. The length of the wrap 20 is 5 to 10 inches and most preferably 7 inches long.

[0019] Wrap 20 is fabricated from a thin plastic film 21 and includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating 24 applied on a bottom surface. Adhesive coating 24 adheres both to plastic film 21 and to aluminum, wood or carbon fiber composites, which are the primary materials utilized to fabricate arrow shafts such as shaft 12. In the preferred embodiment, plastic film 21 is vinyl having a thickness of 1 to 3 mils, and most preferably a thickness of 2 mils. Most preferably the vinyl is 3M"s high performance 220 vinyl, although any equivalent or similarly thin adhesive coated film can be utilized.

[0020] The selected film is preferably as thin as possible to add minimum weight to the arrow. At the preferred width of film 21, wrap 20 has a weight between 1 to 2 grains per inch of length, and most preferably 1.2 grains per inch. The total weight of wrap 20 is between about 5 to about 18 grains and most preferably has a total weight of approximately 10.6 grains.

[0021] Film 21 can be clear, or can be tinted a bright or highly visible color. In the preferred embodiment the film is colored white to highly contrast with the camouflaged arrow shaft 12. A pre-determined design can be thermally printed into film 21 from its top surface 23 and is located proximate to one end of film 21. A digital thermal printer is used, which thermally transfers the desired pattern or legend from a color foil, and impregnates the pattern or legend into the vinyl wrap. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate two parallel stripes 22 printed on film 21, however, any pattern, design or logo can be printed thereon to aid in the visibility of the arrow or to particularly identify the arrows to which the wrap 20 is applied to aid in identification of arrow ownership. Stripes 22 are also typically of a highly visible color that is different than the color of film 21. Similarly, wording can be printed on the wrap, as for example the name of a particular archery shop or the like.

[0022] In use, and referring to Figs. 1 and 2, an arrow 10 is assembled by taking an arrow shaft 12 and affixing a nock 14 to end 13 of the shaft. A desired color configuration wrap 20 is applied proximate to end 13 of shaft 12 by aligning the long dimension of wrap 20 with the longitudinal axis of shaft 12 and with stripes 22 positioned opposite from end 13 of shaft 12. Wrap 20 adheres to shaft 12 and wrap 20 is wrapped around shaft 12 allowing adhesive 24 to contact shaft 12. The width of wrap 20 results in the overlap of the long sides of wrap 20 thereby totally covering shaft 12 in the area where wrap 20 is applied. Feathers 16 are attached to outer surface 23 of wrap 20 by applying a suitable adhesive to the underside of rib 17 of feather 16, aligning feather 16 in its preferred position just forward of end 13 and affixing to outer surface 23. Since wrap 20 does not require drying or curing time as normally experienced with painting, the complete arrow 10 can be assembled at the one time thereby contributing to the efficiency of manufacturing without requiring a substantial cure time before final assembly.

[0023] The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiments only. Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art and to those who make or use the invention. Therefore, it is understood that the embodiments shown in the drawings and described above are merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An arrow shaft assembly comprising:

a shaft having a first end for receiving an arrow tip and a second end for receiving a nock;

a wrap circumferentially affixed to an outer circumferential surface of said shaft towards said second thereof, said wrap comprising an elongate section of plastic film, said film weighing about 18 grains or less, an adhesive applied to a first side of said film for bonding said wrap to said shaft; and

a plurality of feathers attached to said second side of said sheet and substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of said shaft.

2. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of said film is from about 1 to about 3 mils.

3. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 2 wherein the thickness of said sheet is 2 mils.

4. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 1 wherein said adhesive is pressure-sensitive.

5. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 4 wherein said adhesive is adherable to aluminum, wood and carbon fiber composite materials.

6. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 1 wherein said plastic film is vinyl.

7. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 1 in which said film is tinted with a high visibility color.

8. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 7 wherein said high visibility color is white.

9. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 1 which includes a pre-defined pattern printed on said second side of said film, said pattern being of a different color than the color of said film.

10. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 9 wherein said printed pattern is at least one stripe.

11. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 9 wherein said printed pattern is pre-defined logo.

12. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 9 wherein said printed pattern is thermally printed into said film.

13. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 1 wherein said elongate section is approximately one and one-third inches wide and between about 5 to about 10 inches long.

14. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 13 wherein said elongate section is 7 inches long.

15. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 1 wherein said wrap weighs between about 5 to about 18 grains.

16. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 15, wherein said wrap weighs approximately 10.6 grains.

17. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 15 wherein the thickness of said film is from about 1 to about 3 mils.

18. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 17 wherein said adhesive is pressure-sensitive.

19. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 18 in which said film is tinted with a high visibility color.

20. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 18 which includes a pre-defined pattern printed on said second side of said film, said pattern being of a different color than the color of said film.

21. The arrow shaft assembly of claim 20 wherein said pattern is thermally printed into said film.

22. The arrow shaft assembly according to claim 21 wherein said elongate section is approximately one and one-third inches wide and from about 5 to about 10 inches long.

23. An arrow wrap comprising:

an elongate section of plastic film tinted with a highly visible color, said elongate section weighing about 18 grains or less;

an adhesive applied to one side of said sheet; and

a pre-defined pattern printed on an opposite side of said sheet, said pattern being of a different color than the color of said film.

24. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein the thickness of said sheet is from about

1 to about 3 mils.

25. The arrow wrap according to claim 24 wherein the thickness of said sheet is 2 mils.

26. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said adhesive is pressure-sensitive.

27. The arrow wrap according to claim 26 wherein said adhesive is adherable to aluminum, wood and carbon fiber composite materials.

28. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said polymeric film is vinyl.

29. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said high visibility color is white.

30. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said printed pattern is at least one stripe.

31. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said printed pattern is pre-defined logo.

32. The arrow wrap assembly of claim 23 wherein said printed pattern is thermally printed into said film.

33. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said elongate section is approximately 1.32 inches wide and from about 5 to about 10 inches long.

34. The arrow wrap according to claim 33 wherein said elongate section is 7 inches long.

35. The arrow wrap according to claim 23 wherein said wrap weighs between about 5 to about 18 grains.

36. The arrow wrap according to claim 35 wherein said wrap weighs approximately 10.6 grains.

37. The arrow wrap assembly according to claim 35 wherein said adhesive is pressure-sensitive.

38. The arrow wrap assembly of claim 37 which includes a pre-defined pattern printed on said second side of said film, said pattern being of a different color than the color of said film.

39. The arrow wrap assembly of claim 38 wherein said pattern is thermally printed into said film.

40. The arrow wrap assembly according to claim 39 wherein said elongate section is approximately one and one-third inches wide and from about 5 to about 10 inches long