Fishing rod holder

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6637146
  • Patent Number
    6,637,146
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, February 28, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 28, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A fishing rod holder that allows horizontal striking of fish either while trolling or still-fishing. The fishing rod holder consists of a rod holder support arm assembly, a rotating unit, a base unit and an optional mounting adapter. The rod holder may be mounted for horizontal striking on the top surface of a gunnel wall on a boat or other substantially flat horizontal surface. Alternatively, the mounting adapter may be used to mount the rod holder to a boat handle rail. The rod holder support arms are slidably engaged in the support arm assembly and allow for customized vertical orientation of the rod's tip with respect to the reel. In addition, the horizontal orientation of the rod may be customized to accommodate fishing technique and fishing conditions.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates generally to fishing pole holders that may be used to strike a fish while trolling in a boat or while still-fishing.




BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION




Fishing rod holders are historically used to aid anglers and facilitate their ability to fish while performing other tasks. Current fishing rod holders require the operator to either remove the rod to strike the fish or strike the fish in a vertical manner while the rod is in the holder. Because both of these methods are inefficient and ineffective, there is a need for a fishing rod holder that allows the operator to strike the fish using the more natural and more effective horizontal motion while the fishing rod is in the holder. The rod should also be easily removable from the holder to facilitate reeling in the fish.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




A fishing rod holder that allows horizontal striking of fish either while trolling or still-fishing. The fishing rod holder consists of a rod holder support arm assembly, a rotating unit, a base unit and an optional mounting adapter. The rod holder may be mounted for horizontal striking on the top surface of a gunnel wall on a boat or any other substantially flat horizontal surface. Alternatively, the mounting adapter may be used to mount the rod holder to a boat handle rail. The rod holder support arms are slidably engaged in the support arm assembly and allow for selectable vertical orientation of the rod's tip with respect to the reel. In addition, the horizontal orientation of the rod may be selectable to accommodate fishing technique and fishing conditions.




A principal object and advantage of the present invention is to allow horizontal striking of fish and ease of removal of the rod from the rod holder following a strike while either trolling or still-fishing.




Another principal object and advantage of the present invention is to allow the rod to be selectably-oriented in the vertical plane as well as the horizontal plane, depending on the fishing technique selected and the conditions.




The foregoing objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to similar or identical parts.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a side view of the apparatus in operation while attached to a boat gunnel wall.





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the apparatus attached to a horizontal surface such as a boat gunnel wall.





FIG. 3

is an exploded view of the apparatus.





FIG. 4

is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus.





FIG. 5

is a side elevation view of the mounting adaptor.





FIGS. 6-8

are perspective, top elevation, and side elevation views, respectively, of the quick-mount feature of the apparatus.





FIGS. 9 and 10

are top views showing the apparatus installed on a boat gunnel wall while the boat is trolling.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




Referring to

FIG. 2

, the fishing rod holder comprises a rod holder support arm assembly


8


, a rotating unit


50


, a base unit


76


, and a mounting adaptor


111


.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, the rotating unit


50


has a substantially cylindrical profile and further comprises a mounting post


58


fixedly attached to substantially the center of the top surface


52


of the rotating unit


50


. The mounting post


58


has a threaded central bore


72


and a splined profile section


58


. A rotational stop pin channel


60


is circumferentially disposed on the bottom surface


54


of the rotating unit


50


forming an outer lip


62


and an inner lip


64


. A rotational stop pin


66


is fixedly mounted in the rotational stop pin channel


60


. The lower portion of rotating unit


50


comprises a substantially smooth lower cylinder


68


. An anti-rotate pin


70


is fixedly attached to the bottom surface


69


of the lower cylinder


68


. The lower cylinder


68


has a threaded central bore


74


.




Referring now to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the base unit


76


comprises a central bore


84


extending therethrough. The diameter of the central bore


84


widens approximately halfway though base unit


76


, forming a central bore lip


90


when viewed from the bottom. The central bore


84


is partially lined with a flange bearing


86


that extends, and includes a flange lip


88


, above the top surface


78


of the base unit


76


. The flange bearing


86


may be composed of Teflon or any similar material that allows for minimal rotational friction. When lined with the flange bearing


86


, the central bore


84


rotatably engages the lower cylinder


68


on the bottom surface


54


of the rotating unit


50


. The base unit


76


further comprises a rotational stop pin


92


extending from the top surface


78


. The stop pin


92


is circumferentially positioned to move within rotational stop pin channel


60


, allowing for rotational contact between stop pin


66


and rotational stop pin


92


during operation.




A thrust bearing


94


is disposed on the central bore lip


90


and may be composed of Teflon or other friction-minimizing material. The thrust bearing


94


is held in place by a bearing retainer


96


. The bearing retainer


96


has a substantially smooth central bore


98


through which a retaining bolt


102


is disposed and an aperture


100


that receives the anti-rotate pin


70


, stopping the complete rotation of the rotating unit


50


and preventing the retaining bolt


102


from backing out during operation. The retaining bolt


102


threadably engages the threaded central bore


74


in the rotating unit's lower cylinder


68


thereby biasing the bearing retainer


96


against the thrust bearing


94


and connecting the base unit


76


to the rotating unit


50


. Compression washers


104


or other similar biasing means are used in conjunction with the retaining bolt


102


to provide the spring resistance necessary to offer minimal friction on the flange bearing


86


during rotation of the rotating unit


50


. The bottom surface


80


of the base unit


76


has a plurality of threaded holes


108


to be used for mounting to a flat surface, using mounting screws


109


or similar means, or for attaching the mounting adaptor


111


.




Referring now to

FIG. 5

, the mounting adaptor


111


is comprised of a top member


110


and a bottom member


112


. The top and bottom members


110


and


112


together form a substantially cylindrical cavity


117


capable of securely fastening the fishing rod holder to boat handle rails or other similar structures. It is understood that in practice the cavity profile can take on virtually any shape as long as it is capable of fastening to boat handle rails or other similar structures. The top


110


and bottom


112


members are secured to the appropriate structure using mounting screws


109


or similar fastening means.




An alternate embodiment of the apparatus allowing for quick mounting and directional biasing of the fishing rod holder is provided for in

FIGS. 6-8

. This embodiment requires a mounting block


118


with a top section


120


having a polygonal profile


134


with a diameter greater than that of the bottom section


126


. The side surface


127


of the bottom section


126


of the mounting block


118


further has a plurality of apertures


140


.




This embodiment includes a quick-mount adaptor


131


that is fixedly attached to the bottom surface


80


of the base unit


76


. The adaptor has a polygonal profile cavity


132


that matches the profile of the top section


120


of the mounting block


118


and which nonrotatably slidably engages the top section


120


of the mounting block


118


. When fully engaged, the top surface


122


of the mounting block


118


is substantially disposed against the bottom surface


80


of the base unit


76


and the sides


132


of the polygonal profile of the quick mount adaptor


131


are nonrotatably engaged with the side surfaces


121


of the top section


120


of the mounting unit


118


. A plurality of threaded holes


136


are disposed in the quick-mount adaptor


131


for fastening the adaptor


131


to the bottom of the base unit


76


. A mounting gasket


107


is further disposed between the adaptor


131


and the bottom of the base unit


76


. In addition, at least one aperture


128


is provided on the side surface


133


of the quick-mount adaptor


131


. This aperture


128


is used to secure the fishing rod holder when the apparatus is engaged with the mounting unit


118


by insertion of a fastening device such as a key or pin


130


as shown in

FIGS. 7-8

. The pin


130


engages the aperture


128


on the quick-mount adaptor


131


and the aperture


140


disposed on the side surface


127


of the bottom section


126


of the mounting unit


118


.




Referring to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the rod holder support arm assembly


8


further comprises a sleeve holder


10


and support arms


20


, a rod cap holder


30


and an support arms base


40


. The sleeve holder


10


is fixedly attached to an adaptor


11


. The adaptor


11


is fixedly attached to the proximal end


22


of the support arms


20


. The method for attaching the sleeve holder


10


to the adaptor


11


and the adaptor


11


to the support arms


20


are well known in the art and include rivets, screws and other similar means. The support arms


20


are parallel to one another, are substantially smooth, and the central sections


26


thereof are bent upward resulting in a substantially curvelinear profile. The support arms


20


are fixedly attached to each other near the distal end


24


of the arms to prevent motion of the arms relative to one another, forming a joint


28


. The arms


20


may be joined by various means known in the art including, for example, welding or threaded screws. The distal end


24


of the arms


20


are shaped to allow ease of insertion of the fishing rod


2


into the support arms


20


. In addition, the distal ends


24


of the arms


20


are coated


25


to prevent corrosion and wear of the metal surface resulting from water and continuous contact with the fishing rod


2


.




Referring to

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the support arms base


40


has a substantially cylindrical profile and a central bore with a splined profile


48


. It is understood that the cylindrical form is aesthetic and not functional. As a result, a wide variety of profiles may be selected. A transverse groove


46


is disposed across the top surface


42


of the support arms base


40


. The width of the transverse groove


46


is substantially equivalent to the diameter of the splined central bore


48


.




A transverse lip


36


is disposed along the bottom surface


34


of the rod holder cap


30


. When the rod cap holder


30


engages the support arms base


40


, the transverse lip


36


engages the support arms base


40


, forming two transverse channels


47


that slidably capture the support arms


20


between the rod cap holder


30


and the support arms base


40


. The rod cap holder


30


has a substantially smooth central bore


38


through which a thumb screw


106


or other fastening device is disposed. When the mounting post


58


on the rotating unit


50


is engaged with the splined shaft


48


of the support arms base unit


40


, the arms support assembly


8


is secured to the rotating unit


50


by threadably engaging the thumb screw


106


that extends from the rod cap holder


30


to the threaded central bore


72


of the mounting post


58


. This screw


106


may be loosened to allow adjustment of the vertical orientation of the fishing rod


2


by sliding the support arms


20


forward or backward in the transverse channels


47


of the support arms assembly


8


. The thumb screw


106


is then tightened to retain the support arms


20


in the desired orientation.




OPERATION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION




With the foregoing description of the present invention, its operation can now be fully explained.




The rotating unit's


50


lower cylinder


68


of rotating unit


50


is inserted into the central bore


84


of the base unit


76


. The lower cylinder


68


is rotatably disposed against the flange bearing


86


lining the central bore


84


of the base unit


76


. The inner lip


64


on the bottom surface


54


of the rotating unit


50


is rotatably disposed against the flange bearing lip


88


that extends above the top surface


78


of the base unit


76


. The retaining bolt


102


is disposed through the bearing retainer


96


and the thrust bearing


94


disposed on lip


90


in the central bore


84


of the base unit


76


and threadably engages the threaded central bore


74


disposed in the lower cylinder


68


of the rotating unit


50


. The rotational tension is adjusted by tightening or loosening the retaining bolt


102


. Compression washers


104


, or the equivalent, are used in conjunction with the retaining bolt to provide sufficient spring resistance to minimize friction on the flange bearing during rotation of the cover. The bearing retainer


96


is nonrotatably engaged with the anti-rotate pin


70


, thus ensuring that the rotating unit's rotation does not cause the retaining bolt


102


to become loosened, tightened, or disengaged.




Referring now to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the butt end


4


of the fishing rod


2


is received by the sleeve holder


10


and the rod


2


is allowed to rest against the conjunction


28


of the support arms


20


. The vertical orientation of the tip


5


of the rod


2


with respect to the butt end


4


can be adjusted by loosening the thumb screw


106


and sliding the support arms


20


forwardly within the transverse channels


47


of the support arms assembly


8


or rearwardly to decrease the height of the rod tip


5


. The fishing rod


2


can be oriented in a substantially vertical position by sliding the support arms


20


completely forward, bringing the adaptor


11


into contact with the support arms assembly


8


. Conversely, the rod tip


5


may be oriented below the butt end


4


of the rod


2


in a less than horizontal position by sliding the support arms


20


back until the conjunction


28


between the support arms


20


is contacted by the support arms assembly


8


. Thus, the rod tip


5


may be oriented vertically in any position between these two extremes relative to the butt end


4


of the rod


2


. Once the desired rod orientation has been established, the thumb screw


106


is then retightened, fixedly retaining the support arms


20


in the support arms assembly


8


. In this manner, the support arms


20


are captured in the transverse channels


47


created by the rod cap holder


30


and the support arms base


40


. The thumb screw


106


is threadably engaged with the threaded central bore


72


of the rotating unit's splined mounting post


58


.




With the vertical orientation of the fishing rod holder established, the fishing rod holder's horizontal orientation may now be described. There are three elements that provide customization of horizontal orientation. First, as indicated by

FIGS. 6-8

, the mounting block


118


and the interior side surfaces


132


of the quick-mount adaptor


131


have slidably engageable and complementary profiles. This allows quick-mount adaptor


131


to be disengaged by removing the pin


130


, rotating the adaptor


131


such that the rod


2


is directed over the fishing area and the adaptor


131


reengaged with the mounting block


118


and resecured with the pin


130


. Second, the engagement of the splined profile located in the central bore


48


of the support arms base


40


with the mounting post


58


of the rotating unit


50


allows the operator to orient the fishing rod holder using a full 360 degrees of horizontal motion. The transverse channels


47


created by the rod cap holder


30


and the support arms base


40


allows for two directional positions, 180 degrees from each other, for the fishing rod


2


at any given splined engagement. The third component available to establish proper horizontal orientation of the fishing rod


2


involves the rotational stop pin


92


on the base unit


76


. The rod holder apparatus may be rotated approximately 355 degrees in either direction from the rotational stop pin


92


on the base unit


76


. This pin


92


determines where the fishing rod holder's rotation will be stopped as it contacts the rotational stop pin


66


on the rotating unit


50


.




If trolling, the apparatus is preferably mounted with the base unit's rotational stop pin


92


oriented substantially as shown in

FIGS. 9 and 10

. The arrow in

FIG. 9

indicates the direction of travel of the boat


3


. The transverse channel


47


in the support arms assembly


8


is oriented to allow the rod


2


to be held out over the water. The rod


2


is free to rotate in the direction opposite that of the moving boat


3


until the rotating unit's rotational stop pin


66


and the base unit's rotational stop pin


92


come into contact, preventing further horizontal rotation.




Generally, when a fish is detected, the operator may strike the fish in a horizontal manner by rotating the apparatus as described herein. The fishing rod may then be quickly, easily and smoothly removed from the apparatus at any time to facilitate reeling the fish in.




The above specification describes certain preferred embodiments of this invention. This specification is in no way intended to limit the scope of the claims. Other modifications, alterations, or substitutions may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, all of which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited only by the scope of the attached claims below:



Claims
  • 1. A fishing rod holder apparatus comprising:A support arm assembly, including a sleeve holder for receiving the butt end of a fishing rod, said sleeve holder including: a top surface; a bottom surface; a proximal end; and a distal end; at least two support arms including: a proximal end; a distal end; and a central section therebetween; said support arms being fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said distal end of said sleeve holder, said support arms being substantially separated from each other and parallel to each other with and having a substantially curvilinear profile, said support arms being connected to each other in at least one place in said central section, said support arms being bent outward and upward at said distal end so as to receivably support and retain the central section of a fishing rod; A rod cap holder with a top surface and a bottom surface; Said bottom surface of said rod cap holder having a transverse lip; and Said rod cap holder having a central bore; A arm support base unit including: A top surface; and A bottom surface; Said top surface of said arm support base unit having a transverse groove disposed therein; Said arm support base unit further having a central bore with a splined profile; A rotating unit including: A top surface; and A bottom surface; A circumferential edge; A splined mounting shaft disposed substantially near the center of said top surface of said rotating unit; Said bottom surface having a rotational stop pin channel disposed circumferentially thereon forming an inner lip and an outer lip; A rotational stop pin is fixedly attached in substantially the center of said rotational stop pin channel, said rotational stop pin is visible on said top surface of rotating unit, but not extending substantially above said top surface; Said rotational stop pin is disposed a fixed distance from the circumferential edge of said rotating unit; A smooth shaft having a bottom surface is disposed substantially near the center of said bottom surface of said rotating unit; An anti-rotate pin is fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said smooth shaft; and A threaded central bore is disposed within said splined mounting shaft and said smooth shaft; A base unit including: A top surface; A bottom surface; And a circumferential edge; A central bore; and A flange bearing that partially covers said central bore and extends above said top surface forming a flange bearing lip, said central bore rotatably receives said smooth shaft on said rotating unit; Said central bore widens forming a lip, said flange bearing covers the narrow portion of said central bore; Said top surface further includes a rotational stop pin that is disposed at substantially the same distance from said circumferential edge of said base unit as said rotational stop pin disposed on said bottom of said rotating unit is disposed from said circumferential edge; A thrust bearing is disposed on said lip within said central bore; Said thrust bearing is held in position by a bearing retainer, said bearing retainer having a substantially smooth central bore and an aperture to receive said anti-rotate pin; A retaining bolt is disposed through compression washers and through said central bore of said bearing retainer; said retaining bolt threadably engages said threaded central bore of said smooth shaft of said rotating unit; Said splined central bore of said arms support base is engaged with said splined mounting shaft of said rotating unit; Said support arms are placed in said transverse groove of said arms support base and said rod cap holder engages said arms support base, said transverse lip of said rod cap holder is disposed between said support arms; A thumb screw is disposed through said central bore of said rod cap holder and threadably engages said threaded central bore of said splined mounting shaft; a means for adjusting the horizontal directional orientation of the rod; a means for mounting said apparatus to a substantially flat surface or to substantially cylindrical objects, wherein said rotating assembly is rotatably engaged with said base unit; and A means for mounting said base unit to a substantially flat surface or to substantially cylindrical objects.
  • 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the vertical orientation of the fishing rod's tip with respect to the reel further includes sliding said substantially curvilinear support arms in said transverse channels forwardly or rearwardly, causing said support arms to raise or lower the rod's tip with respect to the rod's reel, and further including a means for securing said support arms in the desired position.
  • 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the horizontal directional orientation of the rod further comprises a mounting unit with a polygonal profile and a mounting adaptor, fixedly attached to said base unit, said adaptor having a profile that matches said polygonal profile of said mounting unit, said adaptor further slidably engaging said mounting unit and disposing said fishing rod holder in the desired direction.
  • 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the horizontal directional orientation of the rod further comprises using said splined mounting shaft and said splined central bore of said arms support base to directionally bias said apparatus.
  • 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting the horizontal directional orientation of the rod further comprises a means for biasing the rod's horizontal rotational motion in a given direction by orienting said rotational stop pin disposed on said rotating unit in desired direction, whereby said rotational unit is free to rotate circumferentially until said rotational stop pin disposed on said rotating unit contacts said rotational stop pin disposed on said base.
  • 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for mounting includes a mounting unit having a top section and a bottom section;said top section having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top section having a diameter that is larger than said bottom section, and said top section having a polygonal profile; said bottom section having a side surface, said side surface having a plurality of apertures disposed thereon; said apparatus further including a mounting adaptor having a side surface and a profile complementary to said top section of said mounting unit, said mounting adaptor fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said base unit and slidably and nonrotatably engageable with said top section of said mounting unit; said adaptor further including at least one aperture disposed on said side surface such that a fastening device may be disposed through said adaptor aperture and further engaging said mounting adaptor aperture.
  • 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes:a top member having a top surface, a bottom surface and a transverse cavity on said bottom surface; a bottom member having a top surface, a bottom surface and a transverse cavity on said top surface; said top surface of said top member is fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said base unit; said bottom surface of said top member is fixedly attached to top surface of said bottom member, such that said transverse cavities form a substantially cylindrical cavity; said cylindrical cavity used to mount said apparatus to boat handle rails or other similarly shaped object.
  • 8. A fishing rod holder comprising:a support arm assembly including a sleeve holder and one or more support arms for holding a fishing rod; an arm support holder that slidably engages said support arms to allow vertical orientation of the fishing rod; a rotating unit that rotatably engages said arm support holder, the rotating unit having a bottom surface wherein a circumferential channel is disposed thereon, a rotating unit rotational stop pin being mounted within said circumferential channel; and a base unit configured to be secured to a structure that rotatably engages said rotating unit, said base unit having a top surface and a base unit rotational stop pin extending from said top surface such that said base unit rotational stop pin slidably engages said circumferential channel of said rotating unit when said base unit and said rotating unit are engaged, said rotating unit being capable of free horizontal rotation relative to said base unit until said rotating unit rotational stop pin and said base unit rotational stop pin are in contact and a means for mounting said base unit to a boat or other fixed structures.
Parent Case Info

The applicant hereby claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 60/272,238, filed Feb. 28, 2002.

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3246865 Latimer Apr 1966 A
3835568 Whitfield Sep 1974 A
4366640 Clapp Jan 1983 A
4827654 Roberts May 1989 A
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6213441 Baynard Apr 2001 B1
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60/272238 Feb 2002 US