Archery apparatus

An archery apparatus comprising:

• an elongated frame having limb mounting means at each end thereof and an arrow receiving opening therein;
• a pair of resilient limb members, each limb member having one end thereof, secured on a respective limb mounting means of the frame and a free end remote from the frame;
• a bowstring connected between the free ends of the limb members and having a nocking point for engagement with the nock of an arrow;
• a hand grip mounted on each side of the frame adjacent the arrow receiving opening, said hand grips each having one end mounted to said frame and an elongated gripping portion extending outwardly from said frame, said handgrips providing means for simultaneously accommodating both hands of the archer;
• and
• means adapted to be worn by the archer and having bowstring releasing means for selectively holding and releasing the bowstring adjacent the nocking point.

A bow for shooting arrows with flight stabilizing vanes comprising:

• a central section;
• a pair of resilient limbs extending in opposite directions from the central section;
• a bowstring connected between the ends of the limbs and having a nocking point, the bowstring, limbs and central section lying generally in a central plane encompassing the path of movement of the bowstring in launching an arrow, said bowstring moving to a post release position after being released;
• an arrow rest mounted to said central section and having a shaft engaging surface positioned rearwardly of the bowstring post release position for supporting the shaft of the arrow, the arrow rest shaft engaging surface and nocking point aligning the arrow on a shooting axis along which the arrow travels when departing the bow;
• and
• arrow rest retracting means coupled to the arrow rest and responsive to movement of the bowstring for retracting the arrow rest shaft engaging surface away from the shooting axis when the bowstring is released from its full draw position and before the vanes on the arrow travel past the shaft engaging surface to prevent the arrow rest from contacting the vanes on the arrow during its acceleration toward the target, the arrow rest defining an opening extending below the shaft engaging surface for receiving the bowstring in its post release position.

A bow comprising:

• a central section;
• a pair of resilient limbs extending in opposite directions from the central section;
• a bowstring connected between the ends of the limbs and having a nocking point, the bowstring, limbs and central section lying generally in a central plane encompassing the path of the arrow to be launched;
• an arrow rest disposed in said central plane for supporting the shaft of the arrow, the arrow rest and nocking point aligning the arrow on a shooting axis along which the arrow travels when departing the bow;
• and
• a pair of hand grips mounted on the central section on opposite sides of the central plane, said hand grips each having one end mounted to the central section and an elongated gripping portion extending outwardly from said central plane, said handgrips providing means for simultaneously accommodating both hands of the archer.

An archery apparatus for launching arrows comprising:

• a bow having:
• a central section;
• a pair of resilient limbs extending in opposite directions from the central section;
• a bowstring connected between the ends of the limbs and having a nocking point, the bowstring, limbs and central section lying generally in a central plane encompassing the path of the arrow to be launched;
• an arrow rest disposed in said central plane for supporting the shaft of the arrow, the arrow rest and nocking point aligning the arrow on a shooting axis along which the arrow travels when departing the bow;
• at least one hand grip extending from the central section adjacent the shooting axis;
• and
• a harness assembly adapted to be worn on the torso of the archer and having means for selectively holding the bowstring adjacent the nocking point, whereby the archer may secure the bowstring to the bowstring holding means on the harness, flex the bow limbs by forcing the central section of the bow away from the harness with at least one arm and then release the bowstring to propel an arrow toward a desired target.

A bow for shooting arrows with flight stabilizing vanes comprising:

• a central section;
• a pair of resilient limbs extending in opposite directions from the central section;
• a bowstring connected between the ends of the limbs and having a nocking point, the bowstring, limbs and central section lying generally in a central plane encompassing the path of movement of the bowstring in launching an arrow;
• a pair of cables connected between the ends of the limbs, the cables serving to increase the energy stored in the limbs when the bowstring is moved to its full draw position and allow that energy to be imparted to the arrow when the bowstring is released from its full draw position, in response to movement of the bowstring;
• a cable guard secured to the central section and extending rearwardly of the central section and generally parallel to the shooting axis;
• a cable guide secured to the cables and arranged to slidably engage the cable guard;
• an arrow rest mounted to said central section for supporting the shaft of the arrow, the arrow rest and nocking point aligning the arrow on a shooting axis along which the arrow travels when departing the bow;
• and
• arrow rest retracting means coupled to the cable guide and responsive to movement of the cable guide for retracting the arrow rest away from the shooting axis when the bowstring is released from its full draw position to prevent the arrow rest from contacting the vanes on the arrow during its acceleration toward the target.