Archery bow and archery bow cam

An archery bow comprising:

• a pair of opposed limbs;
• a bow string routed between said limbs;
• at least one power cable routed between said limbs;
• at least one cam rotatably mounted to one of said limbs about an axis, said cam comprising a cam body, at least one first cam surface on said cam body for receiving the bow string and at least one second cam surface on said cam body for receiving the at least one power cable;
• and
• a selectively actuatable cam stop to prevent rotation of the cam about said axis in a first direction beyond a first circumferential position when the cam is rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction and the cam stop is actuated, wherein actuation of the cam stop decreases tension on said bow string or said power cable when engaged to said cam surfaces and increases tension on the other of said bow string or said power cable, and deactuation of said cam stop permits free rotation of said cam body about said axis in either direction to restore tension on said bow string or power cable, the cam stop comprising at least one aperture within the cam body and a member configured to fit within said aperture, which when actuated, protrudes outwardly from both sides of the cam to contact first and second forks of one of the pair of opposed limbs in order to prevent rotation of said cam in said first direction.

A method for decreasing tension in a bow string or power cable of an archery bow to perform maintenance thereon, comprising the steps of:

• providing an archery bow comprising a pair of opposed bow limbs, a bow string routed between said limbs, at least one power cable, and at least one cam rotatably mounted to one of said limbs about an axis, said cam comprising a cam body, at least one first cam surface on said cam body for receiving the bow string and at least one second cam surface on said cam body for receiving the at least one power cable, and a selectively actuatable cam stop, said selectively actuatable cam stop comprising at least one aperture within the cam body and a member configured to fit within said aperture;
• rotating said cam in a first direction;
• actuating the cam stop to protrude outwardly from both sides of the cam to contact first and second forks of one of the pair of opposed limbs in order to prevent back-rotation of said cam in a second direction opposed to said first direction;
• and
• wherein actuating the cam stop locks the cam at a first circumferential position thereby increasing tension in said power cable or said bow string, and decreasing tension in the other of said bow string or said power cable.

A method for decreasing tension in a bow string or power cable of an archery bow to perform maintenance thereon, comprising the steps of:

• providing an archery bow comprising an upper limb and an opposed lower limb, a bow string, at least two power cables, an upper cam rotatably mounted to the upper limb, and a lower cam rotatably mounted to the lower limb, each of said upper and lower cam comprising a cam body, at least one first cam surface on said cam body for receiving the bow string and at least one second cam surface on said cam body for receiving the at least one power cable, and a selectively actuatable cam stop, said selectively actuatable cam stop comprising at least one aperture within the cam body of the first cam and at least one aperture within the cam body of the second cam and a member configured to fit within said at least one aperture within the cam body of the first or second cam, rotating one of said upper cam or said lower cam in a first direction;
• actuating the cam stop to protrude outwardly from both sides of said upper or lower cam to contact first and second forks of said upper or lower limb in order to prevent back-rotation of said upper or lower cam in a second direction opposed to said first direction;
• and
• wherein actuating the cam stop locks said upper or lower cam at a first circumferential position thereby increasing tension in one of said power cables and decreasing tension in said bow string and in the other of said power cables.