Patent Application
20090084021
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fishing with artificial bait.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing is a recreational activity enjoyed by many people and often involves using a rod and reel with a lure attached to the end of fishing line. The lure can be live or artificial bait. The artificial bait is often sized so it can be caught by a fish and shaped so that the fish find it attractive. Some artificial bait lures are made to be attractive by appealing to the fish's senses. For example, some artificial bait lures are coated with a material to provide them with an attractive smell. Other artificial bait lures include a shiny metal spoon or a light which the fish can see. In this way, the artificial bait lure is more attractive so a fish is more likely to catch it.
Some artificial lures include rattles which make noise that the fish can hear. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,146,764 discloses a rattle cage fishing lure having beads which generate sound when they contact each other and the rattle cage. U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,471 discloses a rattle for attachment to a fishing lure.
The present invention employs a foam sleeve carried by a rattle, wherein the foam sleeve and rattle are included in a fishing lure. The foam sleeve amplifies an audio signal provided by the rattle. In one embodiment, the rattle has a tube with a channel extending through it and the foam sleeve includes closed cell foam with one or more open cells facing the tube. The audio signal is amplified when it flows through the open cell(s).
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and description.
In this embodiment, tube 109 includes a channel 106 extending therethrough, and teeth 107 positioned so they extend through channel 106. Tube 109 can include many different materials, but it includes plastic in this embodiment. Teeth 107 are positioned so they extend from an inner surface of tube 109 and face channel 106. Teeth 107 can be of many different types, such as threads which extend annularly around inner surface 108. Teeth 107 can include many different materials, but here teeth 107 are formed integrally with tube 109 so they include the same material. As discussed above, tube 109 includes plastic so that teeth 107 also include plastic.
In this embodiment, rattle 101 includes beads 110 positioned in channel 106, wherein four beads are shown here for illustrative purposes. Beads 110 can include many different materials, but here they include metal. Beads 110 can have many different shapes, but they are spherical in this embodiment.
Channel 106 can be hermetically sealed by cap 104 so that liquid is restricted from flowing therein. In this way, beads 110 are hermetically sealed in channel 106. However, in other embodiments, channel 106 is not hermetically sealed so that liquid can flow through channel 106. In this embodiment, cap 104 is threadingly engaged with tube 109. In this way, fishing hook 105 is threadingly engaged with rattle 101 because it is carried by cap 104, as discussed above. Fishing hook 105 can be carried by cap 104 in many different ways. In this embodiment, cap 104 includes an eyelet 117 attached to fishing hook 105. In this way, rattle 101 includes one or more eyelets.
In operation, beads 110 move through channel 106 in response to movement of lure 100. In accordance with the invention, an audio signal SAudio flows from rattle 101 in response to the movement of beads 110. Beads 110 engage each other, as well as teeth 107, in response to their movement through channel 106. Hence, audio signal SAudio flows from rattle 101 in response to beads 110 engaging each other and teeth 107. Audio signal SAudio can flow from rattle 101 in many different ways. In this embodiment, audio signal SAudio flows from tube 109 and through foam sleeve 102, where it is amplified as will be discussed in more detail presently.
In this embodiment, foam sleeve 102 includes foam having open cells 114 and closed cells 115, as indicated by an indication arrow 116. In accordance with the invention, open cells 114 are formed when forming opening 111 through foam sleeve 102, as shown in
It should be noted that the foam included in foam sleeve 102 can include many different densities of open cells 114 and closed cells 115. For example, the foam included in foam sleeve 102 as indicated by indication arrow 116 includes a smaller density of cells 114 and 115 than the foam included in foam sleeve 102, as indicated by an indication arrow 118. The foam included in foam sleeve 102 as indicated by indication arrow 118 includes a number of cells 114 and 115 so that cells 114 and 115 engage each other.
In accordance with the invention, open cells 114 are formed proximate to and face inner surface 112 of foam sleeve 102 (
In this embodiment, the foam sleeve includes foam having closed cells and open cells, wherein one or more of the open cells face the rattle. Audio signal SAudio is amplified as it flows through the open cells. The open cells can be formed in many different ways, such as by forming an opening through the foam sleeve, wherein the opening is sized and shaped to receive the rattle. In one particular embodiment, the opening is formed by cutting through a piece of foam to form the foam sleeve, so that the open cells are formed by cutting. It should be noted that the piece of foam is generally cylindrical or it has a shape that matches that of the rattle. Hence, the step of forming the opening includes forming one or more open cells in the foam sleeve.
It should also be noted that method 120 can include many other steps. For example, in some embodiments, method 120 includes a step of providing teeth which extend into the channel of the tube. Method 120 can also include a step of positioning one or more beads in the channel and a step of hermetically sealing the bead(s) in the channel with a cap.
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention.
