Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Fishing – Rod
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-14
2001-11-20
Rowan, Kurt (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Fishing
Rod
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318018
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fishing rod clamping and holding devices and, more particularly, to such a holding device incorporating an integrally formed and rapid release construction which is capable of securely gripping and retaining a conventional elongate rod portion of a fishing rod in a first closed position and which is further capable of being quickly actuated to an open position so that the rod may be easily removed from the holding device, such as during pulling and reeling in of a fish which has grabbed the fishing line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with fishing rod holding and clamping devices for use with casting and spinning reels. One example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,734, issued to Roberts, and which discloses such a fishing rod holder including a holster portion for receiving a rod and a flexible clamp rotatably mounted in a recess on one end of the holster for retaining a reel within the holster. The flexible clamp is discontinuous with an opening less than the diameter of the circumferential slot whereby the opening must be widened by flexing the clamp when assembling the clamp in the recess. The holster further includes support flanges extending therefrom and straddling the recess for supporting the clamp in the recess and for providing stops to the rotation of the clamp when locking a rod in the holster or when releasing the rod from the holster.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,768, issued to Anderson, teaches a fishing rod holder with a mounting bracket securable to a structural member of a boat, a tubular body member having open ends for receiving a rod handle inserted through one end and having a slot longitudinally disposed in one side. The tubular body is mounted to the bracket and a lever block is mounted for limited pivotal movement with respect to the tubular member and carrying therethrough a threaded rod having a handle and a camming head with the camming head and the end of the rod projecting into the body member slot. A tongue member having a generally semicircular cross section is disposed inside the body member and meeting and fastened at one end to the interior of the body member and covering the slot. The rod drives the camming head into deflecting engagement with the free end of the tongue to deflect the tongue toward the interior of the body member and into locking engagement with a fishing rod handle when the lever block is in the locked position. Upon rotating the lever block to the open position, the camming head is rotated out of engagement with the tongue member and into the slot for releasing the engaging pressure applied to the rod handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,763, issued to Alcorn, discloses a fishing rod holder for receiving the handle of a fishing rod and including a container having a plate which applies pressure to the rod handle. The container is pivotally attached to a base and by pivoting the container in one direction, pressure is applied to the handle and when the container is pivoted in the opposite direction, the plate withdraws from the rod handle to allow the user to extract the rod from the holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,540, issued to Potter, Jr. discloses a striking rod holder for mounting to a boat, fishing chair or rocket launcher. The rod holder includes a first plate, a rod holding tube attached to the first plate, and a second plate for attaching to a surface where the first plate pivotally attaches to the second plate. A cushion material is positioned between the first plate and the second plate and a locking device may be employed for maintaining the tube in a fixed position.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,688, issued to Hartman et al., teaches a yet further variation of a fishing rod holder including a receptacle and cover member pivotably connected to each other and movable about a pivot axis between open and closed positions. The pivot axis is established along the respective lengths of the receptacle and cover member halves to be co-linear with the axially extending direction of a portion of the fishing rod shaft which is gripped therebetween, and as opposed to gripping the fishing rod by its handle.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is a holding device for use with a conventional fishing rod which is an improvement over the prior art in that it provides a simplified, yet more durable alternative to the prior rod holding devices and is further adaptable to both sea and land applications.
The holding device includes an elongate body constructed from first and second elongate and polygonal cross sectional shaped halves, each of which further include an open top end and a bottom end and which define, upon aligning the first and second halves in opposing and interengaging fashion, an elongate and interiorly extending passage for receiving in inserting manner the fishing rod handle. The first and second halves are pivotally connected to each other along the bottom ends such that the second semi-cylindrical halve will be caused to pivot outwardly relative to the first likewise shaped halve.
A trigger is further pivotally secured to the second semi-cylindrical shaped halve in a position proximate to its open top end. The trigger includes first and second oppositely extending and arcuate shaped latch arms which extend around the cross section of the second body halve and terminate in downwardly angled tabs proximate to the first semi-cylindrical shaped halve. The first semi-cylindrical body halve further includes first and second outwardly extending ledges arrayed in abuttingly engaging alignment with the downwardly angled tabs upon the trigger being pivotally actuated in a selected direction and for releasably interengaging the first semi-cylindrical halve together with the second semi-cylindrical halve. The trigger disengages the first semi-cylindrical half from the second semi-cylindrical half upon being pivoted to a further selected and opposite direction and reveals the inserted end of the fishing rod handle for removal from the holding device.
The trigger in the preferred embodiment further includes a central portion from which the first and second arcuate latch arms extend, as well as an upwardly extending and annular shaped collar which is seatingly aligned with a corresponding upper annular edge of the second semi-cylindrical shaped portion upon the first and second halves being pivoted together and the trigger actuated to the closed position. In a further embodiment, a safety switch is incorporated into the trigger to prevent inadvertent opening of the device, due to such instances as the fishing line snapping and the pole bending backwards and acting upon the trigger. The safety switch embodiment contemplates a slot formed through the second semi-cylindrical shaped halve which is positioned in proximity to a downwardly extending finger portion of the trigger. A switch plate of lesser dimension than the slot is mounted within the slot, the switch plate being translatable from a first location in which it abuts against the finger portion to a second location in which it is slidably translated out of contact with the finger portion, the switch plate preventing the unauthorized pivotal engagement of the trigger when in the first closed position. An end cap is also be biasingly affixed over the first and second open top ends of the elongate body in the closed position.
A mounting assembly is provided upon which the elongate holding body is secured and operates to secure the holding device to a desired location. The mounting assembly according to a first embodiment includes an elongate ground stake having a first mounting end and a second turf engaging and spike shaped end. Twist-fit engagement structure is provided between the mounting end of the ground stake and the holding body and includes a first arcuate and semi-circular shaped ledge projection extending from a top edge surface of the first mounting and a second arcuate and semi-circular shaped ledge projection extending from the fi
Gifford, Krass, Groh Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
Rowan Kurt
LandOfFree
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