1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of fishing pliers.
2. Relevant Technology
Tying fishing line onto a lure, such as a fly, spinner, or bait hook, is often a difficult process, particularly for people with limited fishing experience or eyesight or physical limitations that make tying a small piece of line onto the small eyelet of a lure difficult. The small sizes of line and lure that are desirable for successful fishing often make it difficult to tie the line onto the lure. It is therefore desirable to streamline the tying process by producing products that make the process more efficient and less cumbersome.
A general object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and methodology to rapidly thread and tie a fishing fly/hook onto a fishing line and cut excess line in a single continuous process without need to remove gloves or set down the apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is for the apparatus to have a similar function and appearance of hemostat pliers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with gripping jaws having progressively finer gripping surfaces so that the pliers can be used with both large and small objects and facilitate the removal of hooks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with locking jaws to hold miscellaneous fishing and non-fishing related items.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with a modular fishing fly/hook positioner and mechanism to facilitate the easy and rapid threading of the fishing line through the eye of the hook.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with a device to hold in place both the hook and line following threading to allow the apparatus to be held in a variety of positions without the thread sliding out of the hook or the hook falling from the apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with a set of uniquely designed jaws to facilitate the tying of a variety of knots.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with cutters that can be used for many common fishing tasks as well as other tasks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with a magnetic surface to hold fishing flies and hooks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with a needle to clean debris from the eye of the fishing hook.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide the apparatus with suitable materials so it can be used in a harsh environment.
An additional object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with a smooth accurate pivot action.
Another object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with a modular platform that can be interchanged with other platforms to assist in threading an eyelet with different sized line.
As used herein, the term “lure” is used to refer to any object that includes a hook that is designed to be used in angling to catch fish. Examples of lures, as defined in this application, thus include fishing flies, spinners, worm hooks, and a variety of other lures having hooks thereon. Each lure has a hook and an eyelet connected to the hook which is metallic, and is therefore subject to being magnetically coupled to an object through the use of a magnetic force.
The present invention includes a magnet that selectively couples an eyelet to the pliers when the eyelet is placed in close proximity to the portion of the pliers that includes the magnet. The lure can be removed from the magnetized force of the pliers by providing sufficient force to move the lure away from the magnetized lure.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only illustrated embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
a shows another enlarged view of the intermediate portion of pliers 10;
a-15 show another embodiment of pliers 100 of the present invention,
a and 13b show pliers 100 in open top and bottom perspective views;
a and 14b show pliers 100 in respective top and bottom exploded views;
The intermediate section 24 has a distal platform 25 and a proximal raised portion 25a that is adjacent to distal platform 25 and is raised with respect to the distal platform 25. Distal platform 25 can be curved so as to receive the curling fishing line 30 that is extended thereon (see
As shown in
Pliers 10 are configured to enable a user to conveniently move a fishing line 30 along channel 28 and into the eyelet 36 of a fishing hook that is mounted within slot 32, which is aligned with and adjacent to channel 28 so as to enable the eyelet 36 to conveniently receive line 30, as discussed in detail herein.
A proximal end 37 of the channel 28 is wide, so as to readily receive a fishing line 30. The distal end 39 of the channel is narrow, so as to begin feeding a line into transverse slot 32.
Adjacent channel 28 is a cavity 42 bored out of the raised portion 25a of the intermediate section 24, or otherwise formed in raised portion 25a during manufacture. Second elongate member 14 includes a raised portion 44. When pliers 10 are closed, an arm 48 of the raised portion 44 extends into the cavity 42. In use, the fishing line 30 travels through channel 28 and under arm 48 and then through eyelet 36 mounted in slot 32, which is adjacent to the second channel.
Thus, in the closed position, arm 48 prevents line 30 from being inadvertently moved from channel 28. Arm 48 extends generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of second elongate member 14 and fits into cavity 42 of first elongate member 12 to maintain line 30 in channel 28 during use. In certain embodiments, line 30 can be placed in channel 28, after which arm 48 is placed in cavity 42 over line 30 by closing pliers 10. Optionally, in certain embodiments, line 30 can be placed in channel 28 after arm 42 has already been placed in cavity 48. A spike 50 extends from raised portion 44 and fits into a hole 52 in raised portion 25a when pliers 10 are closed. Spike 50 can be used for cleaning an eyelet 36, for example.
Spike 50 is an example of a protuberance that fits within a mating recess 52 in order to assist with the aligned connection of elongate member 12 to elongate member 14, assuring that the members 12, 14 are properly aligned as line is fed through the channel 28.
The bottom portion of the pliers shown in
With reference now to
Thus the fishing pliers 10 of the present invention are comprised of first and second members 12, 14 pivotally coupled to each other, each member 12, 14 having handles 16, 18 at proximal ends thereof respectively and distal tip ends 20, 22 at distal ends thereof respectively. The distal tip ends 20, 22 have respective cutting blades 66, 64 at proximal portions thereof, the first elongate member 12 having a channel 28 in the intermediate portion thereof and a slot 32, channel 28 receiving a fishing line 30 when an eyelet 36 of a fishing hook 38 is mounted within the slot 32, and the second elongate member having an arm 48 that fits within a cavity 42 of the first member to close channel 28 such that line 30 is not inadvertently removed from channel 28 during attachment. The fishing pliers 10 are very versatile and can accomplish a number of different tasks required by the fisherman to connect a fishing hook or fly or other lure to a fishing line, which is often a cumbersome and time consuming process, which becomes more difficult with age or disability. Pliers 10 are used to initially thread the line 30 onto the hook 38, and then to form a knot in the line and cut away excess line from the knot once the hook is threaded.
Magnet 62 is positioned in elongate member 12 adjacent slot 32 such that the magnetic force of the magnet retains the eyelet 30 of the hook therein such that line 30 can be readily passed through the eyelet 30. Elongate members 12, 14 may comprise a material such as plastic or stainless steel, for example. In one embodiment, proximal raised portion 25a is manufactured as a separate snap in piece for convenient manufacturing and/or for enabling the changing of the size of the chamber 28 for receiving different line diameters, etc.
With reference again to
The bodies of distal tips 20, 22 are substantially straight with little or no tapering angle along the surfaces of the bodies thereof (and do not substantially bend until reaching the tip ends 20a, 22a) in order to improve the ability to twist fishing line 30 without fishing line 30 falling off the distal tips 20, 22, as shown in
a-15 show another embodiment of pliers 100 of the present invention.
Pliers 100 comprise a first elongate member 102 and a second elongate member 104, each having a handle 103, 105 at the respective proximal portion thereof and a distal tip 107, 109 at the distal portion thereof, and each having a respective intermediate section 106, 108 between the proximal handle and distal tip thereof.
With reference to
Intermediate section 108 of elongate member 104 comprises: (i) a frame portion 114 between the proximal handle and the distal tip and (ii) an attachable arm assembly 116 that is mounted onto the frame portion 114 during assembly and attached thereto with screw 120b. Screw 118 rotatably couples first elongate member 102 to second elongate member 104. Magnet 122 mounts into aperture 122a of intermediate section 110 between portions 113a and 113b of assembly 112. Magnet 122 may be retained in a position between portions of assembly 112 and/or through the use of an adhesive or press fitting relationship within frame 110, for example.
In one embodiment platform assembly 112 and arm assembly 116 are attachable and detachable from respective frame portions 110, 114, and are thus modular pieces which can be exchanged for assemblies having different sized components.
Platform assembly 112 has channel 128 therein for feeding fishing line into an eyelet of a lure. A slot for holding an eyelet adjacent magnet 122 is transverse to channel 128. Channel 128 of assembly 112 may be the same as or similar to channel 28 of pliers 10, for example, such that pliers 10 can function similarly to pliers 110.
In one embodiment, platform assembly 112 and arm assembly 116 are attachable and detachable from respective frame portions 110, 114, and are thus modular pieces which can be exchanged for assemblies having different sized components. Thus, different types and sizes of assembly 112 and assembly 116, having different sized channel 128 and arm 130, respectively, for different sized fishing line, for example, can be used on respective elongate members 102, 104. Since such pieces can be modular, one size of assembly 112 and/or assembly 116 may be substituted for another into order to feed different sized line through different sized eyelets using the same first and second members 102, 104.
In addition, the manufacture of separate, attachable platform assembly 112 and arm assembly 116 enables pliers 100 to weigh less. Additional benefits are that the components may be easily machined, and may be used with different sized eyelets and fishing lines, depending upon the sizes of the channels in the platform assembly 112. Assembly 112 and/or assembly 116 may be made of plastic, for example, while the first and second members 102, 104 may be made of a metallic material, for example, such as stainless steel, enabling the detailed portions of assembly 112 and assembly 116 to be very accurately and inexpensively produced.
Arm 130 of arm assembly 116 fits within cavity 132 when elongate members 102, 104 are in a closed position, thereby assisting with proper alignment, retaining the line within the channel 128 of assembly 112 and providing a guide against which the lure can be placed.
Tab 150a fits within a mating recess in the form of groove 152a. Tab 150a is another example of a protuberance that fits within a mating recess in order to assist with the aligned connection of elongate member 102 to elongate member 104, assuring that the members 102, 104 are properly aligned as line is fed through the channel of assembly 112.
Pliers 10 and 100 can each be assembled and manufactured in a variety of different manners to achieve the goals and objectives of the present invention.
As shown in
Plier body 204 is comprised of first elongate member body 212a and second elongate member body 214a pivotally coupled to first elongate member body 212a.
With continued reference to
As shown in
As further illustrated in
As further illustrated in
As further illustrated in
As further illustrated in
Aperture 276 is thus a pass-through hole through which the raised arm 224 passes. Raised arm 224 extends upwardly from the intermediate section of elongate member body 214a. Arm 224 passes through the curved pass-through aperture 276, which is shaped to allow pliers 200 to be capable of moving between an open position and a closed position and prevents the pliers 200 from opening beyond a certain point, thereby preventing the pliers 200 from opening too widely.
As further illustrated in
With continued reference to
With reference again to
The bodies of distal tips 220, 222 are substantially straight with little or no tapering angle along the surfaces of the bodies thereof (and do not substantially bend until reaching the tip ends 220a, 222a) in order to improve the ability to twist fishing line 230 without fishing line 230 falling off the distal tips 220, 222. The straight or substantially straight tips, e.g., tips 220, 222 make twisting the line 230 during a knot tying procedure, as shown in
With reference now to
Once the line 230 is extended through the eyelet of the lure 238, the pliers can be used to form the desired fishing knot that connects lure 238 to line 230, similar or identical to the methods illustrated in
As further shown in
With reference to
As further shown in
Pliers 200 are thus configured to enable a user to conveniently move a fishing line 230 along channel 228 and into the eyelet of a fishing lure that is mounted within slot 232, which is aligned with and adjacent to channel 228 so as to enable the eyelet to conveniently receive line 230.
In one embodiment, a proximal end 237 (
As illustrated in
Pliers 200 are very versatile and can accomplish a number of different tasks required by the fisherman to connect a fishing hook or fly or other lure to a fishing line, which is often a cumbersome and time consuming process, which becomes more difficult with age or disability. Pliers 200 are used to initially thread the line 230 onto the lure 238, and then to form a knot in the line and cut away excess line from the knot once the hook is threaded.
Magnets 264a-b are positioned on elongate member 212 adjacent slot 232 such that the magnetic force of the magnet retains the eyelet of the lure therein such that line 230 can be readily passed through the eyelet. Elongate members 212, 214 may comprise a material such as a stainless steel, for example. In one embodiment, platform 202 is comprised of a plastic, neoprene, rubber, resinous or other synthetic material and is manufactured as a separate snap in piece for convenient manufacturing and/or for enabling the changing of the size of the channel 228 for receiving different line diameters, etc. Platform 202 may be comprised of ZYTEL, for example, such as ZYTEL ST 801. In another embodiment, platform 202 is comprised of a metallic material, such as stainless steel.
An example of a method of threading and tying a fishing lure using the fishing pliers 200 (or 10 or 100) is demonstrated in
Conveniently, this method of threading the eyelet, tying a knot on the eyelet, and removing excess line from the eyelet can be performed while keeping pliers 200 in the same hand, e.g., the right hand or the left hand. When threading the eyelet, it is preferable to orient the eyelet within slot 232 such that line 230 will readily move from channel 228 into the eyelet, e.g., by placing the eyelet so that the hole of the eyelet is oriented so as to readily receive the line 230 extending through channel 228.
Since fishing line stored on a circular shaped object generally has a natural curve to it, it is generally more convenient to hold the line 230 with the curved portion facing upward before moving the line along channel 228, such that the line 230 feeds conveniently into the eyelet, e.g., with approximately an inch or an inch and a half or two inches, for example, in front of the fingers of the user prior to threading within channel 228.
FIGS. 19D and 6-11 further illustrate a process for threading, tying, and trimming line 230 or line 30, the processes of which are the same or similar. After pushing the line 230 through the channel 228 and the eyelet (such as illustrated in
In one embodiment, after pushing the line 230 through the channel 228 and the eyelet (such as illustrated in
Although the embodiment of platform 202 described herein utilizes magnets 260, 262 to be mounted to the body 250 of elongate member 212, the principles described herein are not limited to magnets for connecting platform 202 to elongate member body 212a. Snap-fitting methods, for example, may alternatively be employed for selectively mounting platform 202 to body 212a of elongate member 212.
Yet another embodiment of the pliers 200 may also include a spike that is located on second elongate member 214 and corresponding aperture located on the first elongate member 212 such that the spike fits into the corresponding aperture of the first arm when pliers 200 are in the closed position. The spike can be used to clean the eyelet of a fishing lure.
Accordingly, the present invention includes fishing pliers 200 that can be used to assist a user in threading and tying a fishing lure. The pliers 200 are very beneficial to a user, particularly a user in the outdoors, because the pliers 200 may be used to assist the user in quickly and efficiently threading a lure. Moreover, pliers 200 are not only capable of assisting in the threading process, but are also capable of tying a knot and cutting off excess line. These benefits can all be accomplished using a single tool which greatly maximizes compartmentalization and efficiency. Using pliers 200, a user need only carry a single tool to perform a wide variety of functions.
A kit of the present invention comprises fishing pliers 200 suitable for threading and tying a fishing lure, the pliers 200 comprising: (i) a pair of opposing first and second elongate member bodies 212a, 214a pivotally connected at a pivot, the elongate member bodies 212a, 214a capable of moving between an open position and a closed position, each comprising a proximal handle portion, a distal tip end portion, and an intermediate section in-between; (ii) at least two modular platforms 202, 202a, i.e., a first modular platform 202 and an interchangeable second modular platform 202a, the at least two modular platforms 202, 202a each capable of being mounted, one at a time, on the intermediate section of the first elongate member body 212a, the at least two modular platforms 202, 202a each having: (A) a channel, the channel running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first elongate member, the channel configured to receive a portion of line, the channel having a wider opening at one end and progressively narrowing to an opening at a base terminal end, the channel of the interchangeable second modular platform 202a differing in size from the channel of the first modular platform 202; and (B) a slot (the slot located at the channel terminal end, the slot situated transverse to the channel terminal end, the slot configured to: (1) receive an eyelet, and (2) orient the eyelet to receive the portion of line passing through the channel); and (iii) a magnet, the magnet located adjacent to the slot, the magnet capable of securing the eyelet in the slot.
Platform 202 is an example of a threading system mounted on a plier body 204. The threading system comprises: (i) a platform selectively mounted on the plier body 204, the platform 202 having a channel for guiding fishing line into the eyelet of a fishing lure; and (ii) a magnet positioned adjacent the platform 202 for selectively maintaining the eyelet of a fishing lure on the platform 202. Other examples of threading systems may be employed which may be configured to thread a variety of different types of eyelets, e.g., needle eyelets or other eyelets that receive a thread, line or cable. Platform 202 is a modular platform on which the channel extends, the modular platform being selectively mounted onto a body of the first elongate member.
For convenience, the invention further comprising one or more replacement platforms having a different channel size, each of which are interchangeable with the first platform 202. Platform 202 can be removed from the first elongate member body without being obstructed by the arm when the first and second elongate member bodies are in the open position—for replacement with a second platform that is interchangeable with the first platform and has a different sized channel.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/787,261, filed Mar. 6, 2013 to Packer, entitled FISHING PLIERS WITH FISHING LINE RAMP, which is incorporated herein by reference, and which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/665,035, filed Jun. 27, 2012, entitled FISHING PLIERS WITH FISHING LINE RAMP, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61665035 | Jun 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13787261 | Mar 2013 | US |
Child | 14875030 | US |