Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Fishing – Holder
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-30
2001-10-16
Ark, Darren W. (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Fishing
Holder
C043S025200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301825
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to safety devices, particularly safety devices used in connection with the fishing industry. In particular, the present invention relates to a device and a method of using the device by persons primarily engaged in recreational fishing. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a device for and method of protecting the hook located at or towards the end of a fishing line from injuring the fisherman or other people in close proximity, or preventing the hook from becoming embedded in substrates and from being entangled around the fishing rod or line or other rods and lines in close proximity. The present invention finds particular application as a fishing hook holding device or safety device in the form of a lidded container for enclosing the fishing hook when the fishing rod having the line to which the hook is attached is being transported or stored, thereby protecting the hook from damage and persons from injury.
Although the present invention will be described with particular reference to one form of the safety device of the present invention, being a small box with a hinged lid allowing access to the box to store the fish hook, it is to be noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment, but rather the scope of the invention is more extensive to include other arrangements of the device and their use in other applications. One problem confronted by fishermen, in particular recreational fishermen, is being inadvertently pricked by the barbed end of the hook when transporting the fishing rod and line either in preparation for fishing or during fishing activities, such as for example when moving from one fishing spot to another fishing spot.
For many fishermen, the safe storage and transport of fishing rods having a hook or hooks still attached to the fishing line or lines on the rods is an important safety consideration and can present the fisherman with the difficult task of preventing the hooks from causing any harm to property and persons and at the same time protecting the needle sharp edge of the hook or valuable fishing fly from damage, which is not always easily solved. In the past, fisherman, both experienced and novice, have used pieces of cork or similar soft, resilient material to protect the hook and to prevent it from causing injury or snagging on other materials by embedding the barbed end of the hook into the cork or similar material so that the hook is held safely in the cork or similar. Owing to the resiliency of the cork or other material, the hook is retained safely in place in the cork. However, there are a number of disadvantages associated with using cork or similar materials. Penetration into the cork dulls the sharpened edge of the barb of the hook, thus making the hook less effective. The bait located on the hook needs to be removed before embedding the hook into the cork, which is annoying and time-consuming as the bait later needs to be re-affixed to the hook. If the bait is still attached to the hook, there is a chance that when the bait becomes disengaged from the hook the hook is unprotected, and thus can cause damage or injury.
Further, a problem associated with using the cork method of protecting the hook by piercing the hook into the cork is that the cork can become dislodged from the hook when it contacts a solid object as can often happen when the fishing rod is packed in the car, boat, in cupboards, under houses and or other places in which rods are usually transported or stored.
Additionally there is often more than one fishing rod being stored in the same place. The rods in close proximity to each other can catch on to one another so that their respective lines can often become tangled in an unintentional cross of rods, lines and sharp hooks, as well as becoming entangled with luggage and/or personal possessions stored close by. This greatly increases the chances of the hook causing injury or damage, or being damaged itself.
Failing the above methods, if the fisherman wants complete safety while transporting the fishing rods, the hook must be removed from the line and placed in a safe storage container. This is unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, including involving an amount of wasted time and effort, particularly if the fisherman regularly moves from one spot to another after spending a short time at each spot.
Removal of the hook from the line is not a real alternative since it is time-consuming and tedious as well as exposing the fisherman to an increased risk of injury by handling the hook more often. The ability to leave the hook on the fishing rod allows less handling by fisherman and reduces the risk of personal injury from the sharp point of the hook. The tasks associated with removing the fishing hook from the rod, of getting a knife out to cut the hook off the line, finding a container into which to place the hook, and the sometimes unnecessary discard of bait for sometimes only a short walk or drive to a new fishing location all detract from the pleasure of fishing and reduce the time spent actually fishing. Further, the fisherman on arrival at the new location must either replace bait on the hook or tie the hook back onto the fishing line and risk more handling of the sharp hook with attendant problems.
Although attempts have been made in the past to provide containers for safely storing hooks while in transit or while the rods are being stored, such attempts have not been entirely satisfactory for a variety of reasons. One such reason arises due to the container for storing the hook not being provided with a means for positively retaining the hook in place within the container, particularly when the lid is open. As a consequence of this, when the container is being closed or opened, or when in an open configuration, the hook can become dislodged from the container by being flicked or otherwise propelled out of the container with the risk that the sharp end of the hook can cause damage or injury. Thus, there is a need for a container in which the hook can be safely stored, which container is provided with a retaining means for positively retaining the hook in place even when the lid of the container is opened, thereby preventing the hook from inadvertently being dislodged and causing damage or injury.
Accordingly, there is a need for a device which can be used to safely contain the fishing hook while the hook remains on the fishing line attached to the rod. The present invention attempts to address the problems associated with existing methods of protection of hooks, protection of persons, protection of property and protection and care of fishing equipment including the protection of sharp hook points.
The present invention relates to a device which provides the recreational fisherman with an alternative to existing traditional and makeshift devices which are currently used in an attempt to store fishing hooks while still attached to a fishing line, reel, and fishing rod.
The present invention provides the recreational fisherman with a device that is simple to use and gives peace of mind to the fisherman concerning the safety of the sharp hook when the rod is stored or when in transit with the hook still attached to the line, by using the fishing hook holding device of the present invention.
According to the present invention there is provided a safety device particularly adapted for use with a fishing hook to protect the hook and/or to prevent the hook from causing damage or injury, including a receptacle means for receiving at least the sharp end of the fishing hook, said receptacle means being able to adopt an open configuration for receiving the hook and a closed configuration in which at least the sharp end of the hook is enclosed within the receptacle, said receptacle being further provided with a retaining means for retaining the hook in position when located in the receptacle, such that when the receptacle is in the closed configuration, the sharp end of the hook is protected from damage and/or is prevented from causing
Ark Darren W.
Burr & Brown
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