U.S. patent application number 12/717955 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-09 for archer's finger protection device.
Invention is credited to Mark Wylie Bell.
Application Number | 20100223710 12/717955 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42676931 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100223710 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bell; Mark Wylie |
September 9, 2010 |
ARCHER'S FINGER PROTECTION DEVICE
Abstract
A finger-protection device for archery with a single stall (14)
surrounding a plurality of fingers on the same side of the arrow
nock (20), and a stall surrounding a single finger (13), or a
plurality of contiguous fingers on the opposite side of the nock as
may be applicable to an archer's style of grip. This combined stall
provides more consistent release and reduces finger pinch compared
to gloves with plural stalls for contiguous fingers. The device,
worn like a glove, provides more convenience and protection than
finger tabs. Thus archers can enjoy, in a single device, the
convenience and protection associated with a glove, enhanced
comfort, and the accurate, consistent release associated with a
finger tab.
Inventors: |
Bell; Mark Wylie;
(Englewood, CO) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mark Wylie Bell
3210 S Gilpin St
Englewood
CO
80113
US
|
Family ID: |
42676931 |
Appl. No.: |
12/717955 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61157924 |
Mar 6, 2009 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/21 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41B 5/1473
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/21 |
International
Class: |
F41B 5/16 20060101
F41B005/16 |
Claims
1. A finger-protection device for archery, comprising: 1. a single
stall surrounding a plurality of contiguous fingers gripping a
bowstring on the same side of an arrow nock, and as applicable, 2.
a single stall surrounding a single finger, or a plurality of
contiguous fingers on the opposite side of said nock as may be
applicable to an archer's style of gripping said bowstring whereby
said stall or stalls protect said fingers from injury due to force
of said bowstring.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent
application 61/157,924 filed on Mar. 6, 2009 by the present
inventor.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] None.
SEQUENCE LISTING
[0003] None
BACKGROUND
[0004] 1. Field
[0005] This invention relates to archery, specifically to an
improved means of bowstring finger protection.
[0006] 2. Prior Art
[0007] When shooting a bow and arrow in archery, many factors
affect the accuracy and consistency of shots. The release of the
bowstring is a most critical factor. In recent years, the use of
mechanical releases or release aids has increased substantially
among archers and bowhunters. Numerous mechanical release-related
US patents exist, including: U.S. Pat. No. 7,654,254 (2010) to
Rentz, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,431 (2002) to Summers; U.S. Pat.
No. 4,160,437 (1979) to Fletcher; U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,659 (1984) to
Troncoso; U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,594 (1983) to Todd; U.S. Pat. No.
5,323,754 (1994) to Pittman, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,284,546 (2007)
to Maki, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,461,852 (1969) to Brothers; U.S.
Pat. No. 2,084,634 (1934) to Fleury; U.S. Pat. No. 1,542,159 (1925)
to Maxwell; and U.S. Pat. No. 228,302 (1880) to Beard.
[0008] U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,072,115 (1963) to Johnson and 3,028,852
(1962) to Sutton offer devices for "pinch" grip archery.
[0009] However, many archers use and prefer the traditional finger
release. Further, many competitive archery events do not allow the
use of mechanical release aids. There are several styles of finger
release archery, the most common referred to as "Mediterranean"
grip. In Mediterranean grip, the index finger grips the bowstring
above the arrow nock, and the middle and ring finger grip the
bowstring below the nock, then draw the bowstring. Adult archery
bows may have draw weights ranging from 30 pounds at 28 inches
(full draw), to upwards of 60 pounds or more at full draw. Archers
using finger release need protection from blunt force and abrasion
due to the energy that the bow transfers to the arrow via the
bowstring, whether using a compound bow, recurve bow, or longbow.
Gloves or finger tabs have historically provided protection for
finger release archers. Each method has benefits and drawbacks.
[0010] Gloves are more convenient and offer more protection. That
is, an archer can keep a glove on while performing other tasks, and
the glove covers the draw fingers more completely than a tab, since
at a minimum, it surrounds the entire finger from the second
knuckle to the tip. A major limitation of the traditional archery
glove, however, is that is more difficult to obtain consistent,
accurate bowstring release. With Mediterranean grip, the archer may
spoil the release by having an inconsistently positioned ring
finger. In a glove, multiple fingers on the same side of the arrow
nock present multiple surfaces against the bowstring. Multiple
surfaces offer multiple opportunities for errors and
inconsistencies.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,416, (2000) to Baranauskas, presents a
different means for securing finger stalls using a fastening strap
around the fingers. U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,203 (1951) to Ramsey
provides a plural-stall archery glove intended to keep the archer's
fingers warm. U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,968 (1956) to Gardocki places
buckles on the back of each finger to adjust fit. U.S. Pat. No.
2,769,179 (1956) to Love uses a multiple stalls and attempts to
correct differential pressure on the middle finger during the draw.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,885 (1961) Layer uses a three-stall design
to ease the break-in period of conventional leather. Price's glove,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,126 (1966), is designed to transfer some of the
bowstring load to the archer's wrist. All of these cited patents
utilize three-stall construction, and necessarily suffer from the
accuracy/consistency limitations of using one stall per finger.
[0012] Finger tabs offer a more consistent release, and commonly
appear in competition archery. The finger tab provides a single
surface against the bowstring on each side of the nock, with a
cutout going around the arrow nock. Finger tabs generally attach to
the archer's hand by a loop or hole for the middle finger. In
Mediterranean grip, the middle and ring finger grip the bowstring
below the nock together, with the lower flap of the tab against the
string, and the index finger gripping above, protected by the upper
flap. This provides greater consistency because there are just two
surfaces against the bowstring, rather than three with the
traditional archery glove. Finger tabs, however, must be removed or
repositioned when the archer needs to perform other tasks involving
the hand drawing the string. Also, the archer may place or move a
finger too close to the edge of the tab, and when releasing, scrape
the finger against the bowstring, resulting in injury.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,095 (1992) to D'Amato shows a tab
constructed of a single piece of material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,524
(1986) to Saunders adds an adjustable member to a tab device with
the goal of increased consistency. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,458 (1989)
to Young is a tab with a grooved surface. Vance U.S. Pat. No.
3,004,532 (1961) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,996,059 (1961) attaches a tab
with a wrist strap. U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,090 (1971) to Wilson et al.
is a typical tab device. U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,018 (1958) to Farmes
adds a finger separator to a tab. U.S. Pat. No. 2,929,372 (1960) to
Vance uses a wrist-attached fulcrumed tab. Each of these variations
of finger tab lack the comfort, protection, and convenience of the
archer's glove.
[0014] In conclusion, there has not previously been an effective
method of protecting the archer's fingers that encompasses the
respective benefits of both gloves and tabs, and mitigates the
respective disadvantages of each.
SUMMARY
[0015] An improved archery finger protection device, has a combined
stall for contiguous drawing fingers on one side of the arrow nock,
and another stall for single or contiguous fingers on the opposite
side of the nock, as may apply to an individual archer's style of
grip. This improved device encompasses the benefits of both archery
glove and archery tab finger protection.
[0016] Compared to previous archery gloves, which provide a
plurality of finger stalls for a plurality of fingers, a combined
finger stall provides both greater accuracy and more comfort. This
combined stall provides a single contact surface on the side of an
arrow nock where a plurality of contiguous fingers draw the
bowstring. By reducing multiple contact surfaces to a single,
smooth surface, more consistent release occurs than when using the
traditional archery glove. Another advantage of the single,
combined stall over plural stalls is the reduction of the width of
the contiguous fingers on an axis parallel to the bowstring. A
plural-stall glove has two thicknesses of material between
contiguous fingers, and is necessarily bulkier by those same two
thicknesses, though that extra bulk offers no additional protection
from the bowstring. An archer with a long draw length, or using a
shorter bow, creates a more acute angle where the bowstring meets
the fingers. This results in a phenomenon known in archery as
"finger pinch", which is both uncomfortable and interferes with an
accurate, consistent draw and release. Reducing the overall width
of the contiguous drawing fingers reduces finger pinch, and
increases comfort and accuracy.
[0017] Compared to finger tabs, a combined finger stall provides
greater convenience and increased protection for the archer's
fingers without sacrificing accuracy. Finger stalls cover the
archer's fingers more completely than a tab, reducing the chance of
the bowstring abrading an archer's finger too near the edge of the
tab. Finger tabs are awkward to wear. When the tab is not between
the archer's fingers and the bowstring, the tab flaps freely, and
interferes with the use of the hand. Most archers grip the
bowstring with their dominant hand, which is usually the same side
as the dominant eye. Having a finger tab flapping on the fingers is
awkward and inconvenient. Having to remove or reposition the tab
when not shooting is inconvenient as well.
[0018] An improved finger-protection device for archery means that
archers can have the convenience and protection usually associated
with a glove plus improved comfort, as well as the accuracy and
consistency associated with a finger tab.
DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 shows an archery device constructed with a stall
surrounding the index finger and a stall surrounding both middle
and ring fingers, viewed from the palm side of the hand.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows the device viewed from the back of the
hand.
[0021] FIG. 3 shows an archer's hand wearing the device, and
drawing a bowstring with "Mediterranean" grip, viewed from the
perspective of the archer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a palm side view of a finger protection device
constructed according to the invention, in an open-palm style of
glove manufacture. The assembly 11 fits on the archer's hand 12,
and secures in place with a wrist strap 15. The single finger stall
13 encloses the archer's index finger similarly to previous styles
and designs of open palm archery glove. The combined finger stall
14 encloses both the middle and ring finger of the archer's hand.
Other styles of glove construction may be used with the same
invention. For example, a full-palm style glove, which some archers
prefer, would offer the same benefits as the protoype shown in
these drawings. Still other constructions, new or current, may
incorporate the combined finger stall of this invention.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a back-of-hand view of the device. Construction
details are most visible in this figure. The finger stalls 13 and
14 are a thick, smooth-finished leather, stitched 17 to the glove
back 16, which is a thinner, soft glove leather. One end of the
leather wrist strap 21 is stitched, along with the hook portion of
hook-and-loop fastener, to the back near the wrist, at an angle
that allows the leather strap to follow the curve of the archer's
wrist. The free end of the wrist strap 22 wraps around the archer's
wrist, and returns to the back 16, where it secures in place with
the loop portion of hook-and-loop fastener 18, stitched 17 to the
underside of the strap. Materials may be leather, as in this
prototype, or other natural or synthetic materials with suitable
strength, flexibility, and abrasion resistance. The wrist strap may
fasten with hook-and-loop, or any another manner, e.g. a buckle,
that allows the archer to adjust the fit. Materials may be
stitched, as shown, or secured by another suitable means for
materials used, e.g. adhesive or thermal bonding.
[0024] FIG. 3 shows the operation of the archer's finger protection
device, as would be seen by the archer drawing the bowstring. The
assembly 11 is on the archer's hand 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The archer grips the bowstring 19 using "Mediterranean" grip. The
archer's index finger, in the single finger stall 13, grips above
the arrow nock 20. The archer's contiguous middle and ring fingers,
protected in the combined stall 14, grip the bowstring below the
arrow nock. The wrist strap 15 keeps the assembly in place before,
during, and after drawing and releasing the bowstring. Note that
the fingers in combined stall 14 present a narrower, less bulky
surface against the bowstring than in conventional plural-stall
archery gloves. The combined stall seen here gives a single surface
for multiple fingers, and protects the fingers more completely than
a conventional archery tab. Other styles of finger grip can use the
innovation of the combined finger stall. Some archers prefer to
draw the bowstring with two fingers below the nock, as an example.
The device can be constructed for archers using this "two fingers
below" with only a combined stall for the index and middle fingers,
and would offer the same benefits as for an archer using
Mediterranean grip.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0025] 11 assembly [0026] 12 hand [0027] 13 single finger stall
enclosing index finger [0028] 14 combined finger stall enclosing
middle and ring fingers [0029] 15 wrist strap [0030] 16 back [0031]
17 stitching [0032] 18 hook-and-loop fastener on underside of strap
[0033] 19 bowstring [0034] 20 arrow nock [0035] 21 fixed end of
wrist strap [0036] 22 free end of wrist strap
Operation
[0037] During the draw and release process, the archer contacts the
bow only at the handle and the bowstring. At the handle, the force
of the draw disperses over the larger area of the handle, and there
is little to no abrasion hazard presented by the handle. At the
bowstring, the entire power of the bow and arrow system contacts
the archer's fingers over an area roughly equal to the diameter of
the bowstring, times the combined palm-surface breadth of the
drawing fingers. This area is no more than 0.25 square inches for
most archers. With a bow having a draw weight of 45 pounds at AMO
Standard 28 inches, the pressure on the archer's drawing fingers
would approximate 180 pounds per square inch. Heavier bows, which
are common, often have draw weights approaching 60 pounds and more.
A 60 pound draw could exert a pressure of 240 pounds per square
inch on the archer's fingers. Even a modest 30 pound bow may create
finger pressures of 120 pounds per square inch. Holding this
pressure while aiming at full draw, then releasing the bowstring,
exerts tremendous strain on the archer's fingers, particularly the
finger surface in contact with the bowstring. The force and rapid
acceleration of the released bowstring can injure any unprotected
or ill-protected area.
[0038] In operation, the archer uses the improved finger-protection
device in the same manner as a traditional archery glove or tab,
and as described in the Detailed Description of FIG. 3. The archer
holds the bow and nocks the arrow to the bowstring. Gripping the
bowstring with the finger protection device, the archer extends the
arm holding the bow, then draws the bowstring to full draw at the
archer's face. When set and aimed, the archer then relaxes fingers
of the drawing hand and releases the bowstring. The energy stored
in the flexed limbs of the bow transmits through the bowstring to
the arrow at the nock, driving the arrow forward and out of the
bow. The innovative design characteristics in this improved
finger-protection device provide the following unique combination
of benefits:
[0039] (1) More complete protection of fingers than a tab, via
finger stalls 13 and 14.
[0040] (2) More convenient than a tab.
[0041] (3) More comfort than an ordinary glove due to reduced
finger pinch.
[0042] (4) More accurate, consistent release than a plural-stall
glove.
* * * * *