Arrow Rests with Adjustable Brushes

Abstract

An arrow rest for supporting an arrow on an archery bow. In various embodiments, the arrow rest includes a body and a plurality of brushes that are rotatably mounted to the body. The brushes define an aperture through which the arrow's shaft extends when the arrow is in a launching position. Each brush is adapted to allow a user to rotate the brush between first and second positions in which different outer surfaces of the brush engage and support the arrow. This allows a user to support the arrow with fresh bristles without replacing the brushes.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An arrow rest for supporting an arrow that is in a launching position on a bow, said arrow rest comprising:
 a. a body; and   b. a plurality of brushes that are rotatably mounted adjacent said body, each of said plurality of brushes comprising a plurality of support surfaces, wherein each of said plurality of brushes is rotatable between:
 i. a first position in which a first of said plurality of support surfaces for each of said plurality of brushes supports a shaft of said arrow when said arrow is in said launching position; and 
 ii. a second position in which a second of said plurality of support surfaces for each of said plurality of brushes is configured to support said arrow shaft when said arrow is in said launching position. 
   
     
     
         2 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said plurality of brushes comprises three brushes that are spaced substantially equidistantly about said body. 
     
     
         3 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein
 a. each of said plurality of brushes defines an axis of rotation about which said brush may rotate; and   b. each axis of rotation is substantially parallel to said arrow shaft.   
     
     
         4 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein
 a. each of said plurality of brushes defines an axis of rotation about which said brush may rotate; and   b. each axis of rotation is substantially perpendicular to said arrow shaft.   
     
     
         5 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein each plurality of support surfaces comprises three support surfaces. 
     
     
         6 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of support surfaces comprises a plurality of bristles. 
     
     
         7 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of support surfaces is concave. 
     
     
         8 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein the respective support surfaces of said plurality of brushes together define an aperture that is configured to receive said arrow shaft. 
     
     
         9 . The arrow rest of  claim 8 , further comprising a gap defined between two adjacent brushes of said plurality of brushes to allow a fletching of said arrow to pass between said two adjacent brushes when said arrow is shot from said bow. 
     
     
         10 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said each of said plurality of support surfaces is formed at least partially from a plurality of bristles. 
     
     
         11 . The arrow rest of  claim 1 , wherein said body is substantially C-shaped with a gap formed therein to allow said arrow to be inserted into an opening defined by said body. 
     
     
         12 . An arrow rest for supporting an arrow that is in a launching position on a bow, said arrow rest comprising:
 a. a body; and   b. at least one arrow support operatively coupled to said body, wherein said arrow support is adapted to allow a user to rotate said arrow support between:
 i. a first position in which a first portion of said arrow support is configured to support a shaft of said arrow when said arrow is in said launching position; and 
 ii. a second position in which a second portion of said arrow support is configured to support said arrow shaft when said arrow is in said launching position. 
   
     
     
         13 . The arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein
 a. said body defines an opening therethrough,   b. an inner circumferential surface of said body defines said opening, and   c. said at least one arrow support is operatively coupled to said inner circumferential surface.   
     
     
         14 . The arrow rest of  claim 13 , further comprising a plurality of arrow supports operatively coupled to said inner circumferential surface and spaced substantially equidistantly about said inner circumferential surface. 
     
     
         15 . The arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein
 a. said at least one brush defines an axis of rotation about which said brush rotates; and   b. said at least one axis of rotation is substantially parallel to said arrow shaft.   
     
     
         16 . The arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein said at least one arrow support further comprises an outer surface that is concave. 
     
     
         17 . The arrow rest of  claim 12 , wherein an outer surface of said at least one arrow support is formed from a plurality of flexible bristles. 
     
     
         18 . An arrow rest for supporting an arrow that is in a launching position on a bow, said arrow rest comprising:
 a. a body defining an opening therethrough, wherein an inner circumferential surface of said body defines said opening;   b. a mounting bracket operatively coupled to said body, wherein said mounting bracket is configured to removably attach said body to a bow; and   c. three arrow supports each rotatably mounted to said body so that each arrow support extends radially inwardly from said inner circumferential surface, each of said three arrow supports further defining a respective axis of rotation and a plurality of outer surfaces, each arrow support rotatable between:
 i. a first position in which one of said plurality of arrow support outer surfaces is configured to engage a shaft of an arrow when said arrow is in said launching position; and 
 ii. a second position in which a different one of said plurality of arrow support outer surfaces is configured to engage said arrow shaft when said arrow is in said launching position. 
   
     
     
         19 . The arrow rest of  claim 18 , wherein said axis of rotation for each arrow support is substantially perpendicular to said arrow shaft when said arrow is in said launching position. 
     
     
         20 . The arrow rest of  claim 18 , wherein said each of said plurality of arrow support outer surfaces comprises a plurality of bristles. 
     
     
         21 . The arrow rest of  claim 20 , wherein when said plurality of arrow support outer surfaces are aligned to support said arrow in said launching position, said plurality of arrow support outer surfaces cooperate to form an aperture having a width that is substantially equal to a diameter of said arrow shaft. 
     
     
         22 . The arrow rest of  claim 18 , wherein each of said three arrow supports comprises a substantially circular brush, and said plurality of outer surfaces are different bristle portions of said brush. 
     
     
         23 . An arrow support for supporting an arrow that is in a launching position on a bow, said arrow support comprising:
 a. a support portion;   b. a first brush that is rotatably mounted adjacent said support portion and that comprises a first bristle portion and a second bristle portion; and   c. a second brush that is rotatably mounted adjacent said support portion and that comprises a first bristle portion and a second bristle portion, wherein said arrow support is adapted to be moved between:
 (1) a first configuration, in which:
 a) said first bristle portion of said first brush and said first bristle portion of said second brush cooperate to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position; and 
 b) said second bristle portion of said first brush and said second bristle portion of said second brush don't cooperate to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position; 
 
 (2) a second configuration, in which:
 a) said second bristle portion of said first brush and said second bristle portion of said second brush cooperate to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position; and 
 b) said first bristle portion of said first brush and said first bristle portion of said second brush don't cooperate to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position. 
 
   
     
     
         24 . The arrow support of  claim 23 , wherein said arrow support is adapted to be moved from said first configuration to said second configuration by rotating each of said first and second brushes about their respective central axes. 
     
     
         25 . The arrow support of  claim 23 , wherein:
 a. said arrow support comprises a third brush that is rotatably mounted adjacent said support portion and that comprises a first bristle portion and a second bristle portion;   b. when said arrow support is in said first configuration, said first bristle portion of said third brush cooperates with said first bristle portion of said first brush and said first bristle portion of said second brush to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position; and   c. when said arrow support is in said second configuration, said second bristle portion of said third brush cooperates with said second bristle portion of said first brush and said second bristle portion of said second brush to support said arrow while said arrow is in said launching position.