Patent Grant
10159236
The invention pertains, in part, to the field of fishing tackle, specifically to a beverage container useful for fishing, wherein the beverage container is appropriately sized and dimensioned and provided with a recessed channel for receiving fishing line. The line can be cast, dispensed, and reeled in by hand without the use of a fishing pole.
Resealable containers with removable lids and an orifice which can be opened for beverage access via a sliding motion and without removing the cap from the container are known. There are numerous patents describing resealable containers for storage of beverages with additional features, including United States Patent Publication No. 2009/0053365, which discloses a cylindrical bottle with a tethered cap and peel away food packages. United States Patent Publication No. 2008/0025018 discloses a resealable container which also contains a receptacle holding a light emitting device and power source, and a storage compartment. On the other hand, known hand-line-fishing devices are typically provided as separate, single utility items, as is discussed below.
It is known for homemade hand fishing devices to utilize a bottle as a winding device for fishing line such that the line is wound around and exposed about the perimeter of the bottle. However, conventional beverage or other containers lack the features of the present invention and as such are of limited utility. For example, exposed line wound onto a bottle is not secure and is easily dislodged from the perimeter of a bottle during transport or use, resulting in a tangled mass which is difficult and time consuming to restore. Accordingly, hand held fishing devices have spooling features to secure the line as is seen, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,561,237; 2,697,564; 2,712,908; 3,952,965; 4,688,740 and 5,334,093. It is seen from these patents that prior art hand-line-fishing devices are single-use items with separate grips, line guides and so forth that make them relatively bulky and inconvenient to carry while hiking, backpacking or bicycling when available cargo space and carrying capacity is limited.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention a beverage container useful for fishing which includes a recessed channel defining a spool adapted for receiving and dispensing fishing line. The spool is recessed to secure and shield the line from exposure to rubbing or other stresses which might dislodge the line. The container with a fishing line spool is configured such that a hand-line-fishing device is provided without the need for a fishing pole. Optionally, the spool is removable from the beverage container body and may be rotatably mounted with respect thereto.
Among the features and advantages of the invention are that the beverage container body is useful as a grip and casting device and that it is not necessary to have a dedicated fishing apparatus when the beverage container/hand-line of the invention is used on recreational outings. A beverage container is usually a necessary or preferred item in any event. The hand-line-fishing device of the invention adds little bulk that needs to be packed and carried, thus conveniently providing for additional recreational activity.
Further features and advantages will become apparent from the discussion which follows.
The invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate similar parts and wherein:
The invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Such discussion is for purposes of illustration only. Modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention, set forth in the appended claims, will be readily apparent to one of skill in the art. Terminology used throughout the specification and claims herein is given its ordinary meaning.
As used herein, “characteristic diameter” and like terminology refers to the diameter of a cylindrical container consistent with ordinary usage of the term, and with respect to containers of more complex or other shapes and cross sections, to the diameter of a cylinder of equal volume having the same height.
“Recessed” refers to the channel configuration which has a spooling surface inwardly disposed with respect to the outer portions of the channel sidewalls as seen in the various Figures.
The present invention generally includes a container of volume between about 80 and 4000 milliliters (ml), suitable for beverages, having about its perimeter a channel or retaining area for at least one meter of fishing line of a diameter less than about 2 mm having tensile value between about 2 and 800 newtons.
The container of the present invention may be made of any suitable material or materials, and may have any shape consistent with the essential criteria herein enumerated. Without intending to limit the invention, exemplary materials may include aluminum, steel, stainless steel, glass, ceramics, wood, bamboo, organic fibers, inorganic fibers, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, other polymers or combinations of polymers, or any combination of the above or other materials, including multilayer constructions, blends, filled compounds, alloys, and so on. Preferred materials include polymers. Especially preferred are polymers with a density of less than water, including polyethylene and polypropylene.
The container and components of the invention may be blow molded, extruded, injection molded, or formed by any known method suitable for the materials employed.
Cylindrical containers are preferred. Especially preferred is a cylindrical container with a ratio of height to diameter of between 2 and 6.
The channel or recess of the invention container may be of any suitable depth and width. It preferably includes one or more fitments suitable for retaining at least one end of the fishing line. Preferred such fitments include slits, grooves, posts, tabs, clips, holes, eyelets, rings, adhesive areas, textured areas, high friction areas, and elastic devices, and are preferably located external to the container, but inside the maximum outer diameter of the container. In some embodiments, a hole through the spooling portion of the device will serve to anchor the line, so long as the hole is isolated from the container. The channel itself is of a depth sufficient to retain a suitable amount of fishing line. The channel may be part of the outer wall of the container itself, or may be attached or restrained in close proximity to the outer wall of the container. If not part of the container wall itself, the channel may optionally be attached in such a way as to allow it to freely rotate about the container, and/or optionally driven or braked in its motions about the container by hand or by frictional or manually driven mechanisms of any sort. Suitable braking and cranking features are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,965 to Falcon as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,740 to Weeks et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. At least one wall of the channel is designed in such a manner as to allow easy withdrawal of fishing line when a force is exerted upon said line in a direction parallel to the long (height in above paragraph) axis of the container. Said wall is preferably the wall of the channel toward the lower end of the device. Preferred channels have a uniform depth and profile around the vertical axis of the container. Especially preferred is a channel which is composed of the container outer wall itself. The channel has a depth of between 10% and 30% of a radius of a substantially round cylindrical container, with surfaces defining an angle of generally less than 45 degrees with the axis of the container at the bottom of the channel and defining an angle of 45 degrees or greater with the axis of the container at the outer walls of the channel. Optionally, the channel has a small tab with a hole to aid in retention of the inner end of the fishing line, and the channel is perhaps most preferably disposed within 10 cm or less from the lower end of the container.
Optionally, the present invention may include a fitment or device for coverage or retention of the outer end of the fishing line as well. Without intending to limit the invention, said device or fitment may be comprised of one or more tabs, slits, sliding sleeves, elastic devices or fitments, elastic sleeves, adhesive areas, or any suitable feature.
Fishing line useful in connection with the invention may be composed of any suitable material or combination of materials, and may have one or more filaments, each of which may be homogeneous, coextruded, blended, adhered, laminated, braided, or combined in any fashion. A preferred product is nylon monofilament line having a tensile value of from about 15 newtons to about 100 newtons. The channel is sized to receive anywhere from about 5 meters to about 100 meters of line in most cases.
Tensile value is the force required to cause failure or breakage of the fishing line.
Referring to
The container body may be cylindrical, with a circular sidewall of diameter, D, and the recessed channel is circular and juxtaposed with a lower terminus 24 of the cylindrical sidewall of the container body and is configured such that the channel surfaces have a perimeter at their inner portions with a diameter less than diameter, D, and extend inwardly a depth, d, such that the ratio of d/D is typically from 0.4 to 0.1 and preferably the ratio of d/D is from 0.4 to 0.15. Typically, the container body has a height, H, and the ratio of H/D is from 2 to 6, suitably from 2.2 to 4, while the recessed channel has a span S of from about 1 cm to about 4 or 6 cm between its upper and lower walls, 32, 34. In preferred embodiments, the container body has a height H from about 15 cm to about 30 cm and a diameter of from 5 cm to 9 cm.
Optionally, the container sidewall is ergonomically shaped and/or tapered, so as to provide a better hand fit and grip, as well as to provide for superior appearance as discussed in connection with
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiments of
There is shown in
Spooling member 150 is removable and may be separately fabricated and sold for use with available beverage containers, if so desired. In this regard, spooling member 150 has a cavity 156 sized to fit conventional water bottles. The device of
There is shown in
The device of
There is shown in
The device of
Additional channel configurations which have taper and are preferred in many cases and which may be used in connection with any of the foregoing embodiments are illustrated in
In
Following is a listing of embodiments specifically contemplated to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention:
Nothing herein is intended to exclude the addition of other useful features to the article of this invention. Exemplary but not constraining additional features include lights of any nature, clips or fasteners, GPS devices, fish attractants, fish detectors, RFID (radio frequency identification) or other identification and location devices, food storage, tackle storage, additional openings, drains, sound emitters, fish cleaning features, insulation, cooling, heating, floating, and the like as is apparent to one familiar with the art. While the invention has been described in detail, modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. In view of the foregoing discussion, relevant knowledge in the art and references discussed above in connection with the Background and Detailed Description, the disclosures of which are all incorporated herein by reference, further description is deemed unnecessary. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the invention and portions of various embodiments may be combined or interchanged either in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention.
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| Entry |
|---|
| Freshwater Fishing Regulations, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, p. 23. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, dated Mar. 11, 2013. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130153591 A1 | Jun 2013 | US |
