ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,546,557, issued on Feb. 10, was assigned to Killer Instinct Inc. (Frankenmuth, Mich.).
"Crossbow crank and related method of use" was invented by Jeffrey A. Pestrue (St. Louis, Mich.) and David McNeil (Grant, Mich.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A crossbow crank can comprise a drive shaft selectively coupled to a one-way bearing that allows rotation of the drive shaft and an associated spool in a first direction, and impairs rotation of the drive shaft and the spool in a second direction. The drive shaft can be automatically locked and unlocked relative to the one-way bearing, allowing the bearing to control operation of the drive shaft,...