GB2426683A

GB2426683A - Bite indicator

Info

Publication number: GB2426683A
Application number: GB0511398A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Maxwell Stewart Cottis; Clifford Royston Fox
Original assignee: Fox International Group Ltd
Current assignee: Fox International Group Ltd
Priority date: 2005-06-03
Filing date: 2005-06-03
Publication date: 2006-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-03
Also published as: GB2426683B; GB0511398D0

Abstract

A fish bite indicator (10) comprising a head (30) with engagement means (34) to engage a fishing line when the indicator is in use. The head (30) is provided with detector means (52) constructed to issue a signal indicative of movement of the head (30). Attachment means (12) enable the indicator (10) to be attached to a generally upright bank stick when the indicator is in use. The head (30) is secured to one end of a rigid arm (24), the other end of which is pivotally attached to the attachment means (12). Also an assembly comprising a fish bite indicator as described in the foregoing paragraph, electrically connected to an angling rod support (58, 60) having a detector (58) to switch off the indicator (10) in the event of a strike being effected or if for any other reason the rod (66) is removed from the support (58, 60). Also a gate device (34) for enabling an angling component to engage a fishing line (62) in a releasable fashion comprising a pivotal member (42) which can pivot between an open and a closed position. A resilient device (48) acts on the pivotal member (42) at a pivot end thereof in such a fashion that it will urge the pivotal member (42) into its closed position when the latter is beyond a threshold angle region in a given sense of rotation.

Description

Bite indicator The present invention relates to a fish bite indicator

comprising a head with engagement means to engage a fishing line when the indicator is in use, the head being provided with detector means constructed to issue a signal indicative of movement of the head, and attachment means enabling the indicator to be attached to a generally upright bank stick when the indicator is in use.

Such a fish bite indicator is disclosed in GB-A- 2305342. In the construction of fish bite indicator described in that earlier specification, the head is attached to a bank stick via an electrical connecting lead.

Such a prior construction has the disadvantage that false signals might be generated in adverse weather conditions, more especially in blustery winds.

The present invention seeks to provide a remedy.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a fish bite indicator having the construction set out in the opening paragraph of the present specification, in which the head is secured to one end of a rigid arm, the other end of which is pivotally attached to the attachment means.

Preferably, the detector means comprises a tilt switch, more especially a mercury tilt switch.

A particularly convenient and easy-to-use attachment means comprises a snap-on device.

The rigid arm may be telescopically adjustable in length to enable the angle it makes to the horizontal to be adjusted by altering the position of the attachment of the attachment means to an upright bank stick, as well as the length of the rigid arm.

The engagement means may comprise a pivotable gate.

This enables release of the head when a strike is made.

Preferably, a spring acts on the gate to obtain a desired threshold value of the torque which must be applied to the gate to open it.

The present invention extends to an assembly comprising a fish bite indicator as described in one or more of the foregoing paragraphs that define the invention or developments thereof, electrically connected to an angling rod support having a detector to switch off the indicator in the event of a strike being effected or if for any other reason the rod is removed from the support.

The assembly may further comprise a bank stick on which the support and indicator are mounted. The assembly may further comprise a fishing rod itself having a portion thereof resting on the support, and the fishing line extending from a reel of the rod, through the engagement means of the head and on towards the rod tip.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed to a gate device for enabling an angling component to engage a fishing line in a releasable fashion comprising a pivotal member which can pivot between an open and a closed position, and in which a resilient device acts on the pivotal member at a pivot end thereof in such a fashion that it will urge the pivotal member into its closed position when the latter is beyond a threshold angle region in a given sense of rotation.

Advantageously, the resilient device also acts on the pivotal member at the pivot end thereof in such a fashion that it will urge the pivotal member into an open position when the latter is at an angle beyond the threshold angle region in the opposite sense of rotation.

For example, the pivotal member may be held by a pivot pin which passes through the pivot end of the pivotal member, its pivot end being generally flat at an obtuse or right angle to the axis of the pivot member, and the resilient device, which may comprise a helical spring, acts on parts of the pivotal member generally between the pivot end and the pivot to urge the pivotal member in its closed position, unless and until the pivotal member is lifted up beyond the threshold angle region at which the transition between an outer surface of the pivot member and the generally flat pivot end passes the resilient device where it acts on the pivotal member, whereafter the resilient device urges the pivotal member into its open position.

An example of a fish bite indicator embodying the present invention is described in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of an indicator embodying the present invention; Figure 2 shows a side view of an assembly comprising the indicator shown in Figure 1 in use attached to a bank stick in electrical connection with a support detector, and coupled to the line of a fishing rod; Figure 3 shows on a smaller scale a further side view of the assembly shown in Figure 2 with a second possible position of the indicator shown in broken lines, as well as a second position of the line of the rod also shown in broken lines; and Figure 4 shows a side view of the assembly with the bite indicator and the line adopting the positions shown in Figure 3 in broken lines.

The fish bite indicator 10 shown in Figure 1 comprises a snap-on clip 12 in the form of a Terry TM clip and provided with trunnions 14 of a pivot connection. The indicator further has a pivot mount 16 provided with a fork 18 in which holes 20 are provided which receive the trunnions 14 to enable the pivot mount 16 to be pivoted relative to the clip 12. One end 22 of a rigid arm 24 is fixed to an end of the pivot mount 16 further from the holes 20.

The other end 26 of the arm 24 is secured to an inner end component 28 of a head 30 of the indicator. A lamp part 32 is secured to the inner end component 28 of the head 30, and a gate device 34 is connected to the lamp part 32 via a connector 36. The gate device 34 comprises four projecting portions 38, between two of which extends a pivot pin 40 which extends through one end of an elongate spindle 42 so that the latter is pivotally attached to the pivot pin 40, and between the other pair of projections 38 the distal end of the spindle 42 extends when in a closed position. From this position, the spindle 42 can pivot about the pin 40 to extend in the same general direction as the rigid arm 24 so that it is in an open position, and therefore the spindle 42 acts as a gate. It has a narrowed neck portion 44 which acts as a guide for a portion of fishing line.

A recess (not shown) is provided in the gate device 34 immediately underneath the pivot pin 40 when the indicator is in its assembled state, from which projects an abutment portion 46 urged in a direction away from the recess towards the pivot pin 40 by a helical compression spring 48 housed in the recess.

A small portion 50 of the spindle 42 extends beyond the pivot pin 40 in a direction away from that part of the spindle 42 which bridges the two pairs of projections 38. This portion 50 includes a generally flat end face 51 which is generally at right angles to the cylindrical outer face of the spindle 42. The abutment portion 46 abuts against the portion 50 whereby the spring via the abutment portion 46 urges the spindle 42 into a closed position unless and until the spindle 42 is opened beyond a predetermined threshold angle at which the transition from the cylindrical outer face of the spindle 42 and the generally flat end face 51 passes over the abutment portion 46 and beyond which the abutment portion 46 acts on the end face 51 to urge the spindle 42 in an open position.

The inner end part 28 of the head 30 contains a tilt switch 52. Its connecting cable 56 extends to and is electrically connected to a detector support 58, the latter being attached to the top of a generally upright bank stick 60.

Furthermore, the rigid arm 24 is a hollow tube and the pivotal mount 16 is provided with an aperture 54 enabling an electrical cable 56 to extend from the tilt device 52 to which it is connected, along and within the rigid arm 24 and out the aperture or hole 54 in the pivotal mount 16.

When in use, the indicator shown in Figure 1 is connected in an assembly as shown in Figure 2, in which the Terry TM clip 12 is snapped on to the bank stick 60 and in the arrangement illustrated in Figure 2, the rigid arm 24 extends in a generally horizontal direction away from the generally upright bank stick 60 enabling the gate device 34 to engage the line 62 from the reel 64 of a fishing rod 66. A portion of the latter is seated on a crutch 68 of the support detector 58. The latter has a detector 70 which provides an indication of whether or not the rod 66 is resting on the detector support 58.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 2, the fishing line 62 extends substantially vertically downwardly from the reel 64 until it passes through the gate device 34 whereupon it extends upwardly at a slant towards the tip of the rod 66.

The detector support 58 is provided internally with electrical circuitry 72 such that when the detector 70 indicates that a rod is being supported by the detector support 58 and the tilt switch 52 provides a signal indicative of movement of the rigid arm 28, a signal alarm is generated by a buzzer 74 of the support 58 and also a light 76 in the detector support 58 and from the lamp part 32 of the head 30.

As a result, with the assembly as shown in Figure 2 and the detector support 58 switched in an on condition by means of an on/off switch 78, in the event of the arm 24 changing its orientation, either because the line is slackened by a fish swimming towards the rod or by the fish swimming away from the rod so as to tighten the tension on the rod and raise the pivot arm 24 about its pivot, the alarm buzzer and lamp will be illuminated. In the event of a sufficient tension increase in the line 62, the line will be pulled out of the gate 34 by virtue of the opening force acting on the spindle 42 being sufficient to open the latter against the action of the spring 48, and the bite indicator will pivot downwardly about its pivot 14 to adopt the position it has as indicated in broken lines in Figure 3 and in solid lines in Figure 4. The fishing line will then adopt the position it has as shown by a broken line in Figure 3 and as shown by a solid line in Figure 4.

Numerous variations and modifications to the illustrated bite indicator will occur to the reader without taking the resulting construction outside the scope of the present invention. For example, a gate device 34 might be replaced by a simple pair of resilient arms which in a normal state form a loop through which a fishing line passes when the device is in use, but which resiliently yield when the line is pulled out between the ends of these resilient arms. Such a construction would still fall within the first aspect of the present invention, although it would not fall within the second aspect of the present invention. The rigid arm 24 may be constructed so that it is telescopically adjustable in length.

Claims

Claims: 1. A fish bite indicator comprising a head with engagement means

to engage a fishing line when the indicator is in use, the head being provided with detector means constructed to issue a signal indicative of movement of the head, and attachment means enabling the indicator to be attached to a generally upright bank stick when the indicator is in use, in which the head is secured to one end of a rigid arm, the other end of which is pivotally attached to the attachment means.
2. A fish bite indicator according to claim 1, in which the detector means comprises a tilt switch.
3. A fish bite indicator according to claim 2, in which the tilt switch is a mercury tilt switch.
4. A fish bite indicator according to any preceding claim, in which the attachment means comprises a snap-on device.
5. A fish bite indicator according to any preceding claim, in which the rigid arm is telescopically adjustable in length to enable the angle it makes to the horizontal to be adjusted by altering the position of the attachment of the attachment means to an upright bank stick, as well as the length of the rigid arm.
6. A fish bite indicator according to any preceding claim, in which the engagement means comprise a pivotable gate.
7. A fish bite indicator according to claim 7, in which a spring acts on the gate to obtain a desired threshold value of the torque which must be applied to the gate to open it.
8. An assembly comprising a fish bite indicator as claimed in any preceding claim, electrically connected to an angling rod support having a detector to switch off the indicator in the event of a strike being effected or if for any other reason the rod is removed from the support.
9. An assembly according to claim 8, further comprising a bank stick on which the support and indicator are mounted.
10. An assembly according to claim 9 or claim 10, in which the assembly further comprises a fishing rod itself having a portion thereof resting on the support, and the fishing line extending from a reel of the rod, through the engagement means of the head and on towards the rod tip.
11. A gate device for enabling an angling component to engage a fishing line in a releasable fashion comprising a pivotal member which can pivot between an open and a closed position, and in which a resilient device acts on the pivotal member at a pivot end thereof in such a fashion that it will urge the pivotal member into its closed position when the latter is beyond a threshold angle region in a given sense of rotation.
12. A gate device according to claim 11, in which the resilient device also acts on the pivotal member at the pivot end thereof in such a fashion that it will urge the pivotal member into an open position when the latter is at an angle beyond the threshold angle region in the opposite sense of rotation.
13. A gate device according to claim 12, in which the pivotal member is held by a pivot pin which passes through the pivot end of the pivotal member, its pivot end being generally flat at an obtuse or right angle to the axis of the pivot member, and the resilient device, which may comprise a helical spring, acts on parts of the pivotal member generally between the pivot end and the pivot to urge the pivotal member in its closed position, unless and until the pivotal member is lifted up beyond the threshold angle region at which the transition between an outer surface of the pivot member and the generally flat pivot end passes the resilient device where it acts on the pivotal member, whereafter the resilient device urges the pivotal member into its open position.
14. A fish bite indicator having a gate device as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12.
15. A fish bite indicator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
16. An assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 2 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.