Bow holder

Abstract

A bow holder for holding an archer's bow includes a leg-engaging member and a bow receiving member. The leg engaging member selectively engages the bow holder to the archer's leg. The bow receiving member is coupled to the leg engaging member for receiving an end portion of the bow.

Description

I. CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority to United States Provisional Patent Application, Ser. No. 60/221,129, which was filed on Jul. 27, 2000.

II. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to archery equipment and more particularly to a device for serving as a holder for an archer's bow.

III. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Hunting with archery equipment has been a popular pastime since at least the middle ages. Typical archery equipment includes several items, including a bow for shooting arrows, arrows to be shot by the bow, and a quiver to hold a supply of arrows for shooting.

[0004] Several different types of bows exist. Typically, a bow includes a bow frame and a bow string. The bow frame includes a centrally disposed handle portion that the user can hold when shooting an arrow; a first curvilinear bow frame member that extends upwardly from the handle portion, and terminates at an upper end; and a lower second curvilinear bow frame member that extends downwardly from the handle portion and terminates at a lower end. One end of the bow string is coupled to the end of the upper frame member, and the other end of the bow string is coupled to the lower end of the lower (second) frame member. The bow string is stretched taught between the respective ends of the upper and lower frame members, and is preferably tensioned in place.

[0005] To shoot the bow, the rearward end of an arrow is engaged with a bow string at a level generally equal or adjacent to the handle portion. The forward part of the arrow extends forwardly from the bow string so that the arrow head is disposed at a point forwardly of the bow frame. To propel the arrow forward, the archer engages the rear end of the arrow to the bow string, and pulls both the rear end of the arrow and the bow string backwardly. This backward pulling of the arrow and bow string increases the tension on the upper and lower frame members. When the arrow and bow string are released, the tensioned bow frame members act in a manner to undo their tension to bring them back to their rest position, which results in the bow string being moved rapidly forward, to thereby propel the arrow forward.

[0006] The force with which the arrow is propelled forward is directly related to the tension exerted upon the frame members. To increase this tension force, and to gain a greater mechanical advantage, archery equipment manufacturers produce a device known as a compound bow.

[0007] A compound bow is generally similar in appearance to a conventional bow. However, a pair of string engaging cams or pulleys (“string cams”), over which the string passes, are rotatably mounted to the bow frame. One string cam is disposed adjacent to each of the upper and lower ends of the bow frame. By employing this cam arrangement, greater mechanical advantage is achieved, which permits both the bow string to be pulled back with less force, while causing the release of the bow string to propel the arrow forward with greater force, when compared to a conventional bow. In recent years, compound bows have become the decided favorite of serious bow hunters.

[0008] The art of hunting requires much more than just pointing an arrow at the intended target, and then shooting the arrow. In addition to the act of shooting, hunting usually requires that the hunter seek out a place where the targeted game animals are likely to visit, and often requires the archer to wait at that location for a considerable amount of time until a suitable target animal arrives. This wait time can often extend to several hours.

[0009] For a variety of reasons, many hunters have found it advantageous when hunting certain animals, such as deer, to conduct their wait for the animal by perching themselves in an elevated location, such as high up in a tree. By being perched in a tree, a hunter can better help to hide his presence from the target animals, and also obtains a better vantage point from which to shoot his arrow at the target animal. As many trees do not grow in a manner that provides them with a comfortable spot in which a hunter can rest, hunters often employ a tree stand that provides a comfortable, relatively safe, and suitable “in-tree” resting spot. Usually, the tree stand may be positioned against the trunk of a tree to place the tree stand a sizeable distance from the ground.

[0010] A wide variety of tree stand-types exist, and are available at many archery stores. A typical tree stand includes a first tree gripping member, such as a strap that is used to encircle the trunk of the tree, to help hold the tree stand tightly against the tree. The tree stand may also include a set of tree-trunk engaging teeth that cooperate with the tree encircling strap to securely position the tree stand in the tree. The primary component of the tree stand usually consists of a platform that has sufficient area to enable a hunter to rest a chair thereon on, while preferably providing enough additional space to enable the hunter to also place other objects, (e.g. food, or cooler) on the platform, next to the hunter's chair.

[0011] As alluded to above, a hunter perched in a tree stand must often wait in his tree stand for a significant period of time before a suitable target animal approaches within range of his location, and travels into an area where the hunter will have a good unobstructed shot at the animal.

[0012] During this wait, the archer increases his likelihood of successfully hitting the target animal if he can quickly get a shot off at the target animal when it appears, as the time during which the archer has to shoot at the animal is often quite limited by the animal's movement. As such, the hunter increases his chances for success if he is able to keep his bow positioned at a “ready” position where he can quickly aim and fire an arrow at the target animal. As will be appreciated, maintaining a bow in an upright position for a several-hour long period of time is quite difficult.

[0013] Because of fatigue, a hunter will commonly rest his bow next to him during the time he is waiting. Because the shape of a bow makes it inherently unstable when standing on its end, a common habit is to rest the bow in a horizontal position while waiting on an animal. Unfortunately, a bow placed in a horizontal position on a tree-stand next to a hunter requires more time to move to its “ready” position than a bow that is placed in an upright position.

[0014] To overcome this difficulty, holster-type devices have been employed, that engage the bow to a waist-worn belt. Although devices such as these do help to maintain the bow in an upright position, they also tend to place the bow in a position where it still must be moved a significant distance to place it the bow in its ready position. Additionally, some such devices are designed to hold the archer's bow when the archer is in the standing position, and do not hold the function well when the archer is in a sitting position, such as is common when an archer is waiting in a tree stand.

[0015] Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a bow holder that will facilitate maintaining a bow in an upright position that enables the hunter to move it from a rest position to a ready position in a relatively short period of time.

IV. SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0016] In accordance with the present invention, a bow holder is provided for holding an archer's bow. The bow holder comprises a leg-engaging member for selectively engaging the bow holder to the archer's leg. The bow holder further comprises a bow receiving member that is coupled to the leg engaging member. The bow receiving member is provided for receiving an end portion of the bow.

[0017] One feature of the present invention is that the bow holder is capable of receiving a bow, and maintaining a bow in an upright position. This feature has the advantage of facilitating the movement of the bow from the holder to a ready position wherein the archer can fire an arrow at the target animal.

[0018] Another feature of the present invention is that the leg engaging member includes a first leg engaging strap, a second leg engaging strap, and a fastener for selectively engaging the first leg engaging strap and second leg engaging strap, to create a leg engaging strap of variable size.

[0019] This feature has the advantage of enabling the bow holder to be adjusted to accommodate hunters having legs of different sizes.

[0020] Additionally, this feature has the advantage of permitting the user to place the bow holder on that portion of his leg that the archer finds most comfortable. It is envisioned that most archers will engage the leg engaging straps to their leg at a position just below the knee, and above the “meaty” portion of the archer's calf. However, other archers may prefer to engage the bow holder to their leg adjacent to their ankle, or alternately, to their thigh during times when the archer is in a standing position.

[0021] It is also a feature of the present invention that the bow holding strap can form an endless loop having a diameter large enough for interiorly receiving a cam disposed on an end portion of the bow. This feature has the advantage of enabling the bow holder to receive not only standard bows, but also compound bows. An additional advantage obtained by this feature is that the bow holder portion can be designed to be large enough to receive a significant enough portion of the lower end of the bow to help maintain the bow in an upright position, even when no additional forces are applied to the upper portion of the bow (such as by the users hand) to help steady the bow and maintain it in its upright position.

[0022] These and other features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the detailed description and drawings contained herein and set forth below.

V. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bow holder of the present invention in use by an archer in a tree stand;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a side, partially sectional view of the bow holder in use;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the bow holder in use taken generally along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

[0026] FIG. 4 is a top view of a partially assembled bow holder of the present invention;

[0027] FIG. 5 is a side view of a partially assembled bow holder of the present invention; and

[0028] FIG. 6 is a side view of a fully assembled bow holder of the present invention.

VI. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Turning first to FIGS. 4-6, a bow holder 10 of the present invention is shown. The bow holder 10 generally comprises a strap 12 device having an leg engaging portion 14 that is capable of securely engaging the leg of the archer by interiorly receiving the leg of the archer (See FIG. 3). The bow holder 10 also includes a bow engaging portion 18 that comprises a loop for interiorly receiving an end portion of an archer's bow 20 (FIGS. 1-3).

[0030] The leg engaging portion 14 is comprised of a first leg engaging strap member 22 and a second leg engaging strap member 24, that are joinable by a fastener to form an endless loop. As best shown in FIG. 6, the first leg engaging strap 22 has a length that is generally equal to the second leg engaging strap member 24, each of which are approximately 12.75 inches in length. A swatch of hook-type fastener material 28 is affixed to the first surface 40 of the first leg portion 22, and a swatch of loop-type fastener material 30 is fixedly coupled, such as by sewing, to the second surface 42 of the second leg engaging strap 24. The hook and eye fastener preferably comprises a VELCRO brand hook and eye fastener having sufficient gripping strength and durability to maintain the bow holder 10 in engagement with the archer's leg even when supporting the weight of the bow 20.

[0031] As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the device is formed by first starting with a linearly extending strap. Before assembly, the strap preferably has a length, LS, of approximately 25 inches, and a width, WS of approximately 1.5 inches. Although a wide variety of strapping materials may be used, such as leather, cotton and the like, the applicant has found that the preferred material comprises a webbed nylon material of the type commonly used in military equipment straps, police gear straps and the like. Such nylon strapping material is preferred as it is durable, light weight, inexpensive and available in a wide variety of colors.

[0032] The un-assembled strap includes a first (here shown as upper) surface 40 and a second (here shown as lower) surface 42. To manufacture the device, a length of nylon strapping is first cut the appropriate length, as described above. A linearly extending swatch of hook type fastener 28 material is fixedly attached, such as by sewing to the first (upper) surface 40, adjacent to the first end 43 of the strap. A corresponding linearly extending swatch of loop type fastener material is fixedly couple to the lower (second) surface 42 of the strap 12 adjacent to the second end 45 thereof.

[0033] The length LH of the hook material swatch 28 and length LL of the loop material swatch 30 can be varied, depending upon the desires of the manufacturer. However, the applicant has found that each of the hook swatch 28 and loop swatch 30 should have a relatively long length, because increasing the length LH, LL of the hook and loop swatches 28, 30 increases the amount of length by which the circumference of the leg portion 14 of the bow holder 10 can be varied. It follows that increasing the range of adjustment available for the leg engaging portion 14 of the bow holder 10 increases the range of leg sizes that can be accommodated by the bow holder.

[0034] The applicant has found that preferably each of the hook and loop swatches 28, 30 have lengths LH, LL that are between about 3 and 8 inches, as a combination of hook and loop swatches 28, 30 having this length will enable the archer to form a leg engaging loop having a circumference of between about 10 and 26 inches when the hook type fastener 28 of the first leg engaging strap portion 22 is joined to the swatch of loop material 30 of the second leg engaging strap portion 24. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the applicants have found that the length of the hook and loop swatches 28, 30 should preferably be about 5 inches and 7 inches in length.

[0035] One unexpected advantage achieved by the applicant's use of the linearly extending Velcro swatches 28, 30 is to provide for large amounts of overlap between the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30. It has been found by the applicants that the holding strength of the hook and loop fastener 28, 30 is directly related to the amount of contact area between the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30. As such, by providing fasteners that extend generally along most (or at least about one half) of the length of each of the first and second leg portions 22, 24, the hook and loop fasteners 28, 30 have the opportunity to engage in contact over a substantial surface area, thus providing a strong grip between the hook fastener 28 and loop fasteners 30 to thus provide a secure engagement between a first and second leg engaging portion 22, 24, to thus securely grip the leg engaging portion 14 of the bow holder 10 to the archer's leg sufficiently to maintain the engagement of the hook and look fasteners 28, 30 even under the weight of a bow 20 whose weight is being completely supported by the bow receiving loop 18 of the device.

[0036] The second step in the manufacturing of the bow holder 10 is to form the bow receiving loop 18. The bow receiving loop 18 is formed out of the middle portion 15 of the strap 12 (FIG. 5). The middle portion 15 is gathered upon itself to form a loop similar to that shown in FIG. 6. Two sections of the middle portion 15 are then joined together, such as with stitches 49 to form the closed loop that comprises the bow receiving portion 18.

[0037] The bow receiving portion 18 is sized to form an endless loop having a diameter large enough for interiorly receiving an end portion of the bow 20. Preferably, the endless loop bow receiving portion 18 has a circumference of between about 10 and 14 inches, and most preferably between 11 and 13 inches. This size is chosen with two criteria in mind. As best shown in FIG. 2, the bow of choice for many archers is a compound bow that includes a pair of string engaging cams 52, 54 that are disposed adjacent to each end of the bow 20. These cams 52, 54 are provided for receiving a bow string 60 there around, and provide the compound bow 20 with a mechanical advantage that provides for increased arrow speed, when compared with non-compound bows.

[0038] However, one disadvantage of such a cam 54 is that it increases the effective size of the end of the bow 20. As such, the bow loop 18 must be large enough to interiorly receive such a cam 54 which is disposed adjacent to the lower end of the bow. Additionally, it will be noted from FIG. 2 that the bow receiving loop 18 does not grip the absolute lower end of the bow 20. Rather, the bow receiving loop 18 permits between about 4 and 12 inches of the lower end of the bow 20 to be interiorly received within the loop 18. This receipt of the lower end portion (opposed to just the lower end) of the bow 20 enables the bow holder 18 to maintain the bow 20 in an upright position when the bow is engaged within the bow holder 18. This upright position can usually be maintained even when the user is not using another object, such as his hand, to steady the upper portion of the bow. By doing this, the bow holder 18 enables the archer to have both hands free for performing other tasks such as retrieving items from his cooler, eating and the like.

[0039] The operation and use of the bow holder 10 will be described as referenced to FIGS. 1-3.

[0040] In FIG. 1, an archer 100 is shown sitting on a stool, that rests upon the upper surface 106 of a platform 104 of a tree stand 102. The tree stand 102, through conventional means, is securely attached to the trunk of a tree 110. In the drawing shown in FIG. 1, the archer 100 is using his left hand to help support a bow 20, whose lower end portion is interiorly received within the bow receiving loop 18 of the bow holder 20. The leg engaging portion 14 of the bow holder 20 is securely attached to the leg of the archer 100 at a point just below his knee, and above the “meaty” part of the archer's calf.

[0041] The bow 20 that is received within the bow holder 10 is best shown in FIG. 2, as containing a bow frame 64 having a handle portion 66 that is gripable by the user to hold the bow 20. An upper, curvilinear frame 68 extends upwardly from the handle portion and terminates in an upper end 70. The upper, string engaging cam 52 is disposed adjacent to the upper end 70. The bow frame 64 also includes a lower, curvilinear bow frame 72, that has its upper end at the handle portion 68 and that extends downwardly therefrom to terminate at its lower end 74. The lower string engaging cam 54 is disposed adjacent to the lower end 74 of the lower curvilinear frame 72 of the bow frame 64.

[0042] Turning now to FIG. 3, it will be noted that each of the lower curvilinear frame 72, and the upper curvilinear frame 68 (not shown in FIG. 3) comprise a pair of parellelly extending curvilinear frame member 78, 80. A pivot axle (not shown) extends between the two frame members 78, 80 for pivotably supporting the lower cam 54.

[0043] Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be noted that because of the configuration of the curvilinear bow frame 64 the effective bow width BW (FIG. 3), increases from its relatively narrowest point adjacent to lower end 64, to its relatively widest point adjacent to the handle portion 66 of the bow frame 64. The circumference of the bow loop 68 is chosen so that the lower end 74 of the bow frame, including the cam 54 can be interiorly received in the loop 18. Additionally, the bow receiving loop 18 is preferably sized so that the loop can effectively receive approximately somewhere between 4 and 8 inches of the lower end 74 of the bow 20, so that the bow effectively has a received length RL (FIG. 2) of approximately 4 to 8 inches.

[0044] The applicant has found that by sizing the bow loop 18 to receive this length of the bow 20, the bow 20 becomes self-supporting in its upright position. As such, even though FIG. 1 illustrates the bow 20 being partially supported by the hand of the archer 100, the received length RL of the bow within the bow receiving loop 18 permits the bow 20 to be largely self-supporting, especially when lower end 74 is rested against the side of the leg of the archer 100. Through this arrangement, the archer 100 has both hands free to pursue other uses, such as holding a book to read, or retrieving snacks from a food cooler.

[0045] Although the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the invention is intended not to be limited by the foregoing description, but rather, to encompass all inventions contained within the scope and sphere of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. A bow holder for holding an archer's bow comprising

a leg engaging member for selectively engaging the bow holder to the archer's leg; and

a bow receiving member coupled to the leg engaging member for receiving an end portion of the bow.

2. The bow holder of claim 1 wherein the leg engaging member includes a first leg engaging strap, a second leg engaging strap, and a fastener for selectively engaging the first leg engaging strap to the second leg engaging strap.

3. The bow holder of claim 2 wherein the fastener comprises a hook and loop fastener including a swatch of hook material coupled to the first leg engaging strap and a swatch of loop material coupled to the second leg engaging strap.

4. The bow holder of claim 3 wherein one of at least one of the hook and loops swatches have a length of at least three inches for permitting the hunter to adjust the effective circumference of the leg engaging member.

5. The bow holder of claim 3 wherein each of the hook and loop swatches has a length of between about 3 and 12 inches, for permitting the leg engaging member to form an adjustable leg engaging loop of having a diameter of between about four and eight inches.

6. The bow holder of claim 1 wherein the bow receiving member comprises a strap forming an endless loop for interiorly receiving an end portion of the bow.

7. The bow holder of claim 6 where in the shape forms an endless loop having a diameter large enough for interiorly receiving a cam disposed on an end portion of the bow.

8. The bow holder of claim 7 where in the endless loop has a circumference of between about ten and fourteen inches.

9. The bow holder of claim 7 where in the endless loop has a circumference of between about eleven and thirteen inches.

10. A bow holder for holding an archer's bow, the bow holder comprising,

a bow engaging portion comprising an endless loop of strap material, the endless loop being sized for interiorly receiving an end portion of the archer's bow, and

a leg engaging portion comprising

a first leg engaging strap

a second leg engaging strap

a fastener for selectively coupling the first and second leg engaging strap to form an endless leg engaging loop for interiorly receiving the archer's leg.

11. The bow holder of claim 2 wherein the fastener comprises a swatch of hook material coupled to the first leg engaging strap, and a swatch of loop material coupled to the second leg engaging strap.

12. The bow holder of claim 11 wherein the hook swatch, loop swatch, first leg engaging strap and second leg engaging strap are sized and configured to permit the archer to couple the first and second leg engaging strap to form a leg engaging loop of variable size.

13. The bow holder of claim 12 wherein the leg engaging loop so formed has a circumference of between about ten and twenty six inches.

14. The bow holder of claim 13 where in the endless loop of the bow engaging portion is sized to form a bow receiving loop large enough to interiorly receive a cam disposed at one end of the bow, but small enough to prevent the entire bow from passing therethrough.

15. The bow holder of claim 13 wherein endless loop of the bow engaging portion is sized to form a bow receiving loop large enough to interiorly receive between about four and twelve inches of the end portion of the bow.

16. A bow holder for holding an archer's bow wherein the bow includes a curvilinear frame having a first end portion, a second end portion and a bow string extending generally between the first end portion and second end portion, the bow holder comprising

a strap including a first end portion, a second end portion, a middle portion, a first surface and a second surface.

a swatch of hook fastener material attached to the first surface and extending at least three inches along the first end portion.

a swatch of loop fastener material attached to the second surface and extending at least three inches along the second end portion.

a fixed coupling member for fixedly coupling a first area of the middle portion to a second area of the middle portion to form an endless bow engaging loop, the loop being sized for interiorly receiving between about three to twelve inches of the second end portion of the bow frame, and that portion of the bow string generally co-extensive therewith,

the swatch of hook fastener material of the first end portion of the strap being selectively engageable with the loop fastener material of the second end portion of the strap to form, when engaged, an endless loop leg receiving portion having a circumference of between about ten and thirty inches for interiorly receiving a leg of the archer, whereby the reception of the end portion of the bow in the bow receiving portion, and the reception of the archer in the leg receiving portion supports the bow in a shooting-ready position adjacent the archer's leg without requiring any further stabilization by the archer of the first end portion of the bow frame.