Archery arrow rest

Abstract

A fall-away archery arrow rest includes a pair of spaced arrow gripping launcher arms, at least portions of which may be constructed from an elastically deformable material, such as PTFE (TEFLON trademark), plastic, or spring steel such that the arms flex apart slightly upon insertion of an arrow. The launcher arms are mounted upon a rotatable launcher head biased by a spring to move the launcher arms forwardly and downwardly upon release of an arrow supported between the launcher arms. The launcher arms may include juxtaposed notch portions to engage an arrow shaft in a centered alignment between the arms. The launcher arms may include crossed portions, a V-shaped configuration, or substantially straight arms disposed in a generally parallel relation. The arrow rest includes a mounting block system which allows independent vertical and lateral adjustment of the launcher arm position within the bow window. Additional mechanisms allow independent adjustment of the rotatable launcher head spring bias tension and also angular adjustment of the launcher arm angle. In use, an archer nocks an arrow to a bow string and rotates the launcher head rearwardly, positioning the launcher arm upright in the bow window. The archer positions the arrow shaft between the launcher arms, such that the arrow will be held in position by the launcher arms. The archer then draws the bow, which causes the arrow shaft to slide rearwardly between the launcher arms. When the archer releases the arrow, the initial forward motion of the arrow causes the arrow shaft to separate from engagement with the launcher arms, thereby liberating the arrow and allowing the rotatable launcher head to rotate forwardly by virtue of the spring bias, causing the attached launcher arms to rotate forwardly and downwardly away from the arrow's flight path, thus providing completely unimpeded clearance for the arrow fletching and vanes.

1 . An archery arrow rest comprising:
 a launcher arm head;   at least one launcher arm mounted on said launcher arm head, said launcher arm including means for engaging and supporting a shaft of an arrow;   means for mounting said launcher arm head in a sight window of a bow;   means for mounting said launcher arm head for rotation between a raised position of said launcher arm and a lowered position of said launcher arm; and   means for biasing said launcher arm head toward said lowered position of said launcher arm.   
   
   
       2 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said means for engaging and supporting a shaft of an arrow includes at least one notch. 
   
   
       3 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises a plastic material. 
   
   
       4 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises heat shrink tubing. 
   
   
       5 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises PTFE. 
   
   
       6 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises steel. 
   
   
       7 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises a pair of launcher arms. 
   
   
       8 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said launcher arm comprises an elongated arm split along its length to form first and second relatively moveable portions having end portions configured to form a V-shaped notch dimensioned for at least partial engagement with a shaft of an arrow. 
   
   
       9 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 7 , wherein said launcher arms comprise a pair of crossed prong members having juxtaposed upper end portions forming an upwardly opening nest dimensioned to receive an arrow shaft. 
   
   
       10 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 9 , wherein said crossed prong members form an X-shape. 
   
   
       11 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 9 , wherein said prong member comprise an elastically deformable material allowing limited movement of said prong members together and apart for accommodating arrow shafts of different diameters within said nest. 
   
   
       12 . An archery arrow rest comprising:
 a launcher arm head;   at least one launcher arm mounted on said launcher arm head and including a pair of prong portions spaced apart and forming a nest dimensioned to receive a shaft of an arrow;   a mounting bracket connected to said launcher arm head for mounting said launcher arm head in a sight window of a bow;   a bearing mounting said launcher arm head for movement between a raised position and a lowered position of said launcher arm; and   a spring biasing said launcher arm head toward said lowered position of said launcher arm.   
   
   
       13 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein said prong portions include aligned notch portions dimensioned for at least partial engagement with an arrow shaft. 
   
   
       14 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12 , further comprising a knob secured to said launcher arm head and disposed for engagement with a portion of an archer's hand or wrist in said raised position of said launcher arm to allow an archer to selectively maintain said launcher arm in said raised position during let down of a bow string. 
   
   
       15 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12  wherein said mounting bracket comprises a vertical bar section and a horizontal bar section including mating slide portions selectively securable by clamping members to allow selective horizontal and vertical adjustment of the launcher arm head in a sight window of a bow. 
   
   
       16 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein said bar sections comprise a substantially cylindrical transverse cross-sectional shape. 
   
   
       17 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein said launcher arm comprises an elongated arm split along its length to form first and second relatively moveable portions having end portions configured to form a V-shaped notch dimensioned for at least partial engagement with a shaft of an arrow. 
   
   
       18 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein said launcher arms comprise a pair of crossed prong members having juxtaposed upper end portions forming an upwardly opening nest dimensioned to receive an arrow shaft. 
   
   
       19 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 18 , wherein said crossed prong members form an X-shape. 
   
   
       20 . The archery arrow rest of  claim 18 , wherein said prong member comprise an elastically deformable material allowing limited movement of said prong members together and apart for accommodating arrow shafts of different diameters within said nest.