Bow String Release Device

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the sport of archery and more particularly to devices and accessories used with the bow.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the usual manual shooting of a bow and arrow, the bow string and the arrow are pulled back by the ends of the fingers of one hand of the archer, an operation that requires considerable muscular strength in the archer's fingers. The difficulty encountered in holding the bow string often results in erratic release of the string by the archer, and a concurrent loss of accuracy.

Various devices have been developed which allow the archer to pull back the bow string by pulling on a bow string release device with the ends of the fingers of the hand, with release of the bow string being accomplished by pulling with a finger on a trigger that is provided on the device. These known bow string release devices generally still require that the entire force of pulling on the bow string be provided by the ends of the fingers of a hand, and provide no means for allowing the pull to be carried by the entire grip of a hand or otherwise than by the fingers. Moreover, the known trigger release devices for archery bows and the like generally employ a rotating trigger mechanism which requires that the trigger be moved by the archer's finger against the strong pull force exerted by the bow string through what is essentially a lever to the trigger. This requires the archer to "snap" the trigger to release the arrow, which limits the accuracy obtainable with such a release.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a hand held means for securing the bow string in a latch for release at will on pressing the latch-holding trigger. The latch member is rotatably mounted to a hand grip member having a slot therein to receive the bow string, and with the latch member also being slotted to receive the bow string and biased to an open or release position by a spindle-mounted spring. A combination latching and trigger member is biased into a non-operative forward position by a compression spring, and prevents the release of the bow string by the latch member until the trigger is pressed by the finger of an archer holding the release device. Reloading is automatically accomplished since movement of the bow string into engagement with the latch member turns the latch member against its spring in rotating motion, with the rotating action of the latch member in turn retracting the trigger member against its spring until the trigger member is free to snap forward and thereby lock the latch member in its closed position. An adjustment screw is used to set the sensitivity of the release, and three rubber bumpers are provided to absorb shock in the moving parts. An adjustable wrist belt retains the device on the wrist of the archer for ready use, and assists the fingers of the archer in pulling the bow string back.

A further object is the ability to hold back a heavier bow for a longer period of time.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide and obtain a smooth and accurate release.

A still further object is to permit the use of heavy gloves in cold weather.

Another object is to provide an adjustable trigger for length of trigger squeeze.

Another object is to obtain the same speed of release as finger tabs.

Another object is to prevent the string from slipping off before shooting.

Another object is to allow use by a right or left handed person.

Another object is to allow the bow string to be pulled back with the arm rather than the fingers by use of the wrist belt.

Further objects, features, and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of a bow string release device exemplifying the principles of my invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a general view of my bow string release device.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of the bow string release device of FIG. 1 with the cover plate removed and showing the loading of the device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of the bow string release device of FIG. 1, with the cover plate removed and showing the release of the bow string.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the bow string release device of FIG. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, a preferred embodiment of my bow string release device is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1. The bow string release device 10 comprises a hand grip member 11 having a mechanism chamber therein and having a slot 11a for receiving a bow string, a cover plate 12 therefor and cover plate fastening screws 13, a bow string latch member 14, a spindling pin 15 therefor by which the bow string latch member is rotatably mounted to the hand grip member 11 in position to be engaged by a bow string inserted into the slot 11a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a latch member biasing spring 16, a combination trigger and latch holding member 17, a biasing compression spring 18 therefor which is mounted as shown between the hand grip member and the trigger member, a trigger member adjustment screw 19, a pair of latch release rubber shocks 20a and 20b, a trigger member rubber shock 21 and a wrist belt 22 which is retained on a ring 23 which is mounted swivelly to the hand grip member 11.

In the loading operation the moving parts are in their biased position, that is, the latch member 14 is in its open position as shown in FIG. 3, and the trigger member 17 is in its forward position as shown in FIG. 2. To load the release device, bow string 24, which is shown in section in FIGS. 2-3, is drawn back in the slot 11a of the hand grip member until the bow string engages with the walls of an opening 14a of the latch member 14. As the bow string 24 is moved into the slot 11a as indicated by the arrow 24a in FIG. 2, and into engagement with the walls of the opening 14a, the latch member 14 is turned clockwise against the spring 16. This causes a camming surface 14b of the latch member 14 to work against a trigger surface 17a of the trigger member 17 to slidingly move the trigger member 17 rearward within the hand grip member 11 to the point where a corner 14c of the latch member 14 clears a corner 17b of the trigger member 17. The clockwise movement of the latch member 14 is indicated by the arrow 14d in FIG. 2. After the latch member corner 14c clears the trigger member 17b, the trigger member is free to snap forward under the force supplied by the spring 18, with this sliding movement being indicated by the arrow 17c, and the parts of the bow string release device come to rest in the positions as shown in FIG. 2 with the trigger member 17 being in sliding engagememt with the latch member 14 to hold the latch member in its closed position. The bow string 24 is now held securely within the slot 11a by a wall of the opening 14a which now blocks the slot 11a with the latch member in its closed position, and the bow string may be drawn back by pull on the wrist belt 22 and by the grip of the archer's hand on the hand grip member 11.

To release the bow string, the trigger member 17 is squeezed by a finger of the archer and moves rearwardly in the hand grip member. When the trigger member 17 has moved sufficiently rearward such that the corner 17b of the trigger member clears the corner 14c of the latch 14, the latch is free to turn counterclockwise under the stress applied by the drawn bow string 24 and releases the bow string. The latch member 14 snaps forward until stopped by a pair of rubber shocks 20a and 20b. The movement of the latch member counterclockwise is indicated by the arrow 14e in FIG. 3, and the movement of the bow string released from the latch member is shown by the arrow 24b in FIG. 3.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.