US3284904A

US3284904A - Archery sight

Info

Publication number: US3284904A
Application number: US329163A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas B Rade
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-12-09
Filing date: 1963-12-09
Publication date: 1966-11-15
Anticipated expiration: 1983-11-15

Description

D. B. RADE ARCHERY SIGHT Nov. 15, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1963 INVENTOR. 001/6445 5. @405 W ag m D. B. RADE ARCHERY SIGHT Nov. 15, 1966 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Dec. 9, 1963 INVENTOR. 50061 4.5 5 405 United States Patent Ofiice 3,284,904 Patented Nov. 15, 1966 3,284,904 ARCHERY SIGHT Douglas B. Rade, Gardena, Calif., assiguor of one-half to Richard J. Knox, Woodland Hills, Calif. Filed Dec. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 329,163 3 Claims. (Cl. 33-46) This invention relates generally to improvements in archery sights, and more particularly to new and improved means for first aligning a sight tube between the eye of the archer and a target, for either right of lefthanded archers and for either the left or right eye of the archer, and for then universally adjusting the position of the archers bow relative to the properly aligned sight tube to accurately compensate for varying range and windage.

In the sport of archery, it has bee-n the general practice for archers to shoot with the unaided eye except where extemely high accuracy is required, as in competition shooting. In the latter instance, archers prefer to use sight tubes for improved aim, and such sight tubes are generally permitted by the rules of competitive shooting if they are of the type producing no optical magnification. However, the sight tubes heretofore available have generally been rather crude and unreliable devices, and archers have had to depend upon previous experience and pure guesswork for the adjustment of such aiming aids. Moreover, archery has become increasingly popular in recent years, and the average novice is usually ill equipped, by virtue of poor formand lack of experience, to handle a bow embodying one of the .aforedescribed aiming devices.

In addition to the aforementioned difficulties, the sight tubes of the prior art have always had to :be custom mounted to satisfy lefwhanded, right handed, left or right eye requirements of the particular archer who was to use the bow upon which the sight tube was mounted. In the event of use of such a customized bow by another archer having different physical requirements than the first archer for whom the aiming device'was originally set up, the entire aiming device would normally have to be removed from the bow and be reoriented or replaced to satisfy the particular handand eye requirements of the new archer.

Hence, those concerned with the development of archery equipment have long recognized the need for an improved archery sight capable of reliable and accurate adjustment, capable of use as an instructional aid, and further capable of universal mounting for right-handed or left-handed archers and either the right or left eye. The present invention clearly fulfills these needs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provid'ewa new and improved archery sight which overcomes the above :and other disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object is to provide a new and improved archery sight which is accurate, relatively simple to adjust and economical to produce.

A further'object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved archery sight capable of more accurately aligning the archers eye and the :bow relative to a target.

Still another object is to provide an improved archery sight capable of use as an instructional aid to teach and correct archery form.

Yet another object of the present invention isthe provision of a calibrated archery sight which enables the archery sight which enables universal orientation of the bow to subsequently be aligned relative to the archers line of sight to the target.

A still further object i to provide a new and improved archery sight which enables universal orientation of the bow to adjust for any range and windage relative to an accurately [aligned line of sight from the .archers eye to the target.

Still another object is the provision of a novel archery sight wherein a sight tube is provided with two degrees of translational freedom and two degrees of rotational freedom.

Yet another object of rtlhis invention is to provide a novel archery sig ht wherein a sighting tube is aligned relative to an .archers eye and a target by means of both translational and rotational adjustments and the archers bow is subsequently aligned relative to the properly aligned sighting tube solely by translational adjustment to compensate for both range and windage variations.

Another object is to provide a relatively simple archery sight capable of being mounted upon a bow in a single position from which it is universally adjustable to accommodate either right or left-handedarchers and either the right or left eye of the archer.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings of an'illustrative embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a right profile view of an archer preparing to shoot an arrow from a bow equipped with the new and improved archery sight of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of an archery sight in accordance with the invention, a portion of the sight tube being broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view, taken along the line 3-3 in FIGURE 2, and illustrates the details of the range, windage and sight tube train controls;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line 4-4' in FIGURE 3, and illustrating the sight tube lateral adjustment lock and'the sight tubeelevation scale;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line 5-5 in FIGURE 3, and illustrates the internal structure of the sight tube train and elevation adjustments;

FIGURE 6is a right side elevational view of the archery sight of FIGURE 2 adjusted for an archer who grips the bow with the left hand; and

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view similar to FIGURE 6, but with the sight set up for an archer who grips the bow with the right hand.

'Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURE lthereof, an archer is shown preparing to shoot an arrow 10 from a bow 12 equipped'with an archery sight 14 in accordance with the present invention. The sight 14 is normally mounted above the bow handle upon the surface of the bow directed towards the target. However, it is to be understood that this by way of example only, and the archery sight 14'can just =asreadily be mounted upon the inner face of the bow directed towards the archer. As shown in FIGURE 1, the archery sight 14 is set up for an archer using his right eye for sighting and his left hand for gripping the bow. However, as

will hereinafter be described, the archery sight 14 can easily be adjusted, without removing the sight from its mounted position shown in FIGURE 1, to accommodate either right or left-handed archers using either eye.

In using the archery sight 14 of the present invention, the archer first adjusts the position of a sight tube 16, which can be either a telescope or a nonmagnifying device, so that the archers eye and the target are in accurate alignment for the specific target range involved. Once the sight tube 16 has been thus positioned to provide such eye-target alignment for the specified range, the sight tube adjustment controls will normally not be readjusted unless the range is changed. The remaining portion of the archery sight mechanism and the bow 12 upon which it is mounted are then shifted, by appropriate translational controls, relative to the sight tube 16. In this connection, the sight tube 16 always remains fixed in space relative to the archers eye and the target throughout the latter adjustment process.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 2-7 of the drawings, the structural and operational details of the archery sight 14 will become apparent. The sight tube 16 is rotatably adjustable about two mutually perpendicular axes by means of an elevation control 18, and a train control 20. This rotational adjustment of the sight tube 16 is made relative to an archery sight main supporting body 22 best observed in FIGURES 2 and 5. The main body 22 consists of an upper housing block 24, a lower housing block 25 and an elongated substantially planar plate member 26 coupling the

blocks

24, 25 together and integral therewith. The plate 26 extends a considerable distance above and below the upper and

lower blocks

24, 25, respectively.

The surface of the plate 26 opposite that in contact with the

blocks

24, 25 is provided with a central projection 28 of dovetail cross section along the entire length of the plate. This dovetail projection 28 is adapted to mate in sliding engagement with a grooved seat 30, of complementary configuration, in an elongated bracket member 32.

The bracket 32 is longitudinally slotted at 34 along a portion of its length to render the bracket more readily compressible in the lateral direction. In this connection, -a bolt 36 is in threaded engagement with portions of the bracket 32 on opposite sides of the slot 34, and is thus adapted to selectively compress or expand the bracket 32. To this end, the bolt 36 is integral with a range control knob 37, rotation of which selectively locks or releases the bracket 32 with respect to the plate 26, for accomplishing proper translational orientation of the bracket and plate relative to each other.

The bracket 32 is also provided with a pair of

holes

39, 40 at its upper and lower remote ends so that the bracket can be mounted by any appropriate means, such as by screws, rivets or the like, upon the selected face of the bow 12 in FIGURE 1.

As best observed in FIGURE 2, at least one side face of the bracket 32 is provided with an index mark 42 perpendicular to the bracket face in sliding engagement with the plate 26 of the archery sight main body 22. The corresponding side face of the plate 26 is provided with a calibrated scale 44 along its length, so that the relative positions of the plate and bracket 32 can always be accurately determined by reading the scale adjacent the index mark 42. With the archery sight 14 mounted upon the bow 12 in FIGURE 1, the how can be raised or lowered with respect to the main body 22 and sight tube 16 by merely turning the knob 37 to unlock the bracket 32 from the plate 26 and moving the bow and bracket up or down along the plate until the desired position is reached. The range control knob 37 is then rotated to lock the bracket 32 to the plate 26 and thereby positively establish the height of the bow.

For any given archer, the setting of the scale 44 for any specific range will always be the same for that range.

Hence, the archer need merely record his experimentally determined settings for the scale 44 for all of the ranges of interest, and he can thereafter use these predetermined settings of the range scale 44 without any further experimentation. In general, the latter is true for all of the scales used in conjunction with the sight tube and bow position adjustment controls of the archery sight 14. It will be apparent, therefore, that all of the controls can be preset to approximate values for a given archer and target range, so that a novice sighting through the sight tube 16 is forced to assume proper shooting form when he grips the how 12. If the novice does not use proper form, he will not be able to see the target through the sight tube 16.

The sight tube 16 is fixedly secured to a shaft 46 which is slidably received within the central bore 48 of a sleeve 50. As best observed in FIGURES 3 and 4, the shaft 46 is provided with a flat face 52 as a bearing surface for the leading end ofv a bolt 54. The opposite end of the bolt 54 is provided with a knob 55, and the bolt 54 is in threaded engagement with the sleeve 50 for selective movement into and out of abutment with the shaft 46. Hence, it will be apparent that the lateral position of the sight tube 16 can be adjusted merely by sliding the shaft 46 into or out of the sleeve 50. When the sight tube 16 has been thus shifted horizontally to its desired position, the knob 55 is rotated to bring the bolt 54 into engagement with the flat face 52 of the shaft 46. This simultaneously locks the shaft 46 and sight tube 16 against further lateral movement and also keys the shaft and sight tube against rotation Within the sleeve 50. Lateral shifting of the sight tube 16 in the aforedescribed manner is used to orient the sight tube in proper alignment with either eye of the archer and also to compensate for windage.

The sleeve 50 is integral with a coaxial shaft 57, of reduced diameter, which extends in a sliding fit through a cylindrical body or rotor 59 having its upper and lower ends journaled for rotation in the upper and

lower blocks

24, 25, respectively. To prevent translational displacement of the rotor 59 relative to the main body 22, a bolt 61 extends through a clearance opening in the lower block 25 and into threaded engagement with the lower end of the rotor 59 (FIGURE 5).

The longitudinal axis of rotation of the shaft 57 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of rotation of the rotor 59. The end of the shaft 57 remote from the sleeve 50 is threaded to receive a nut 63 which holds the entire shaft and sleeve sight tube assembly in rotatable engagement with the rotor 59. Portions of the surface of the rotor 59, at opposite sides thereof, are removed at 65, 66 to provide flat faces for abutment with the nut 63 and end face of the sleeve 50.

As illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3, and 6, the sight tube 16 of the archery sight 14 is set up for an archer who holds the bow with the left hand. If the bow is subsequently used by an archer who wishes to hold the bow with the right hand, the sight tube must be transferred to the opposite side of the main body 22 as shown in FIG- URE 7. This is very simply accomplished with the archery sight of the present invention by merely removing the nut 63, pulling out the sleeve 50 and integral shaft 57 from the rotor 59, and transferring the sleeve and shaft to the opposite side of the rotor 59. There the shaft 57 is again passed through the rotor 59 in the opposite direction and is held therein by reinstallation of the nut 63. In this manner, the sight tube 16 can be shifted from one side of the main body 22 to the other, to rapidly accommodate right-handed or lefthanded archers, without requiring removal of the entire archery sight 14 and remounting upon the bow 12.

Rotation of the shaft 57, sleeve 50, shaft 46, and hence of the sight tube 16,'in the vertical plane to selectively elevate the sight tube is accomplished by a Worm gear arrangement. As best observed in FIGURES 3 and 5, the shaft 57 is provided about its circumference with a 360 gear -sector 68 which provides a worm wheel in driving engagement with a worm 70. The worm 70 extends through the rotor 59 along an axis of rotation which is mutually perpendicular to the axes of rotation of both the shaft 57 and the rotor 59.- The worm 70 is held against translational movement relative to the rotor 59 by a nut 72 at one end and the shoulder of a knob 74 at the other end. The knob 74 provides the means for operating the sight tube elevation control 18. It will be apparent that rotation of the knob 74 causes like rotation of the shaft 57 and sight tube 16 in the vertical plane.

Adjustment of the sight tube 16 in the train or horizontal plane is accomplished by a similar worm gear arrangement. To this end, the circumference of the rotor 59, adjacent its lower end in the block 25, is provided with a 360 gear sector 76 (FIGURE in engagement with a worm 78. The worm 78 extends through the lower block 25 along an axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor 59. As in the case of the elevation control 18, the worm 78 carries a nut 80 and control knob 82 at opposite ends thereof to hold the worm 78 against translational displacement relative to the block 25 (FIGURES 3, 6 and 7).

As best observed in FIGURES 2 and 4, calibration means are provided for both the train and elevation controls. The calibration means for the elevation control includes an index mark 84 along the circumference of the sleeve 50 adjacent a circular scale 85 upon the surface of each of the

rotor flats

65, 66. The purpose of providing two scales 85 is to allow sight tube elevation to be read regardless of whether the sight tube 16 is set up for a right-handed or a left-handed archer.

The calibration means for the train control comprises an index mark 87 in the upper end face of the rotor 59 adjacent a circular scale 88 upon the top face of the upper block 24.

Preferably, the archery sight 14 is made of the lightest materials consistent with durability and quality. For example, fabrication of the archery sight 14 with nylon gears and all other parts of a light metal has been found to be a practical arrangement. However, the archery sight 14 may be fabricated of any suitable structural materials, e.g., entirely of plastic or metal without in any way departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The operation and adjustment of the archery sight 14, once installed upon a bow 12 as in FIGURE 1, is next described. The archer comfortably holds the bow in the estimated proper position for shooting arrows at the specific range involved. The archer then turns the knob 55 to unlock the shaft 46 from the sleeve 50, and shifts the sight tube 16 laterally until he can see through the sight tube with the particular eye which the archer uses for aiming. The knob 55 is then rotated to lock the sight tube 16 in this position.

The elevation control 18 is then operated by rotating the knob 74 to bring the sight tube 16 into proper vertical alignment with the target. Similarly, the train control 20 is operated via rotation of the knob 82 to bring the sight tube 16 into proper horizontal alignment with the target. The archers eye is thenaccurately aligned with the target through the sight tube 16.

To further aid in precision sighting along the longitudinal axis of the sight tube 16, the sight tube is provided with a pair of

reticles

90, 91 at its opposite ends (FIGURE 2). The reticle 90 nearer the eye of the archer contains a cross-hair, whereas the reticle 91 further from the archers eye contains a central dot or bead. The archer is aware that he is sighting along the central axis of the sight tube 16 when the head of the reticle 91 appears to coincide with the cross-hair intersection at the center of the reticle 90. The latter tube sight design has been found to greatly improve sighting concentration.

Once the sight tube 16 has been aligned in the foregoing manner, the readings from

scales

85 and 88 may be taken and recorded. For any specified range, these settings will always be the same for the same archer. Hence,

after accurately aligning the sight tube empirically at a given range, the archer need never resort to such experimental adjustment again, but rather can merely set the sight tube train and elevation controls to the previously predetermined settings at that specified range.

With the sight tube 16 thus aligned relative to the archers eye and the'target, the bow 12 must be moved relative to the sight tube 16 in accordance with the range to the target and prevailing Windage. To adjust for range, the knob 37 is rotated to release the bracket 32 relative to the plate 26. The how 12 is then selectively elevated or depressed until the arrows being shot by the archer come into vertical alignment with the target. The knob 37 is then rotated to lock the bow and bracket 32 to the plate 26 of the archery sight 14. As in the case of the sight tube adjustments, once the archer has determined the proper setting of the scale 44 for a given range, he need only return to that setting the next time he is shoot- (ing at that range.

Windage adjustments are made by again releasing the sight tube shaft 46 via the knob 55 and shifting the remaining portion of the archery sight 14 and the how 12 laterally relative to the sight tube 16, until the arrows shot by the archer come into horizontal alignment with the target. Hence, the only setting which may be subject to variations for successive shootings at the same range is the adjustment to compensate for Windage. All other settings, i.e, sight tube train and elevation, and bow height, remain the same every time the archer shoots at the same range for which his control settings were determined.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that, while a particular form of my invention has been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Accordingly, I do not intend that my invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an archery sight, the combination comprising:

a bow mounting bracket;

a plate member;

means for slidably coupling said mounting bracket to said plate member for relative vertical translation therebetween;

first calibration means for indicating the relative position of said plate member and said mounting bracket; means for selectively locking said mounting bracket against movement relative to said plate member;

a main body integral with said plate member and having upper and lower blocks and a space therebetween;

a substantially cylindrical rotor having its ends journaled within said upper and lower blocks for rotation about a vertical axis;

first worm gear means for selectively rotating said rotor relative to said main body about said vertical axis;

second calibration means for indicating the degree of rotation of said rotor about said vertical axis; a sight tube; means for selectively mounting said sight tube to said rotor in either of two positions apart;

second worm gear means for selectively rotating said sight tube relative to said rotor about a substantially horizontal axis;

third calibration means for indicating the degree of rotation of said sight tube relative to said rotor about horizontal axis;

means for horizontally translating said sight tube relative to said rotor;

and means for selectively locking said sight tube against horizontal translation relative to said rotor.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein said means for slidably coupling said mounting bracket to said 7 8 plate member includes mating dovetail surfaces on said 2,297;507 9/1942 'Schormann -3369 plate member and said mounting bracket. 2,351,103 6/1944 Brown 3346 .4 3. A combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein said 7 3,027,648 4/1962 Crook 33-464 sight tube includes a cross-hair reticle at one end and a 3,063,151 11/1962 Hanson 33--46.4 center bead reticle at the other end. 5 3,163,938 1/1965 Reynolds 3346.4

References Cited by the Examiner LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS ISAAC LISANN, Examiner. 2,094,705 10/1937 Jefierson 33 56-5 ]'OHND Boos, Assistgnt Examiner,

2,163,503 6/1939 Tate 33 s0

Claims

1. IN AN ARCHERY SIGHT, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A BOW MOUNTING BRACKET; A PLATE MEMBER; MEANS FOR SLIDABLY COUPLING SAID MOUNTING BRACKET TO SAID PLATE MEMBER FOR RELATIVE VERTICAL TRANSLATION THEREBETWEEN; FIRST CALIBRATION MEANS FOR INDICATING THE RELATIVE POSITION OF SAID PLATE MEMBER AND SAID MOUNTING BRACKET; MEANS FOR SELECSTIVELY LOCKING SAID MOUNTING BRACKET AGAINST MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID PLATE MEMBER; A MAIN BODY INTEGRAL WITH SAID PLATE MEMBER AND HAVING UPPER AND LOWER BLOCKS AND A SPACE THEREBETWEEN; A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL ROTOR HAVING ITS ENS JOURNALED WITHIN SAID UPPER AND LOWER BLOCKS FOR ROTATION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS; FIRST WORM GEAR MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ROTATING SAID ROTOR RELATIVE TO SAID MAIN BODY ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS; SECOND CALIBRATION MEANS FOR INDICATING THE DEGREE OF ROTATION OF SAID ROTOR ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS; A SIGHT TUBE; MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY MOUNTING SAID SIGHT TUBE TO SAID ROTOR IN EITHER OF TWO POSITIONS 180* APART; SECOND WORM GEAR MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY ROTATING SAID SIGHT TUBE RELATIVE TO SAID ROTOR ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS; THIRD CALIBRATION MEANS FOR INDICATING THE DEGREE OF ROTATION OF SAID SIGHT TUBE RELAIVE TO SAID ROTOR ABOUT HORIZONTAL AXIS; MEANS FOR HORIZONTALLY TRANSLATING SAID SIGHT TUBE RELATIVE TO SAID ROTOR; AND MEANS SELECTIVELY LOCKING SAID SIGHT TUBE AGAINST HORIZONTAL TRANSLATION RELATIVE TO SAID ROTOR.