Patent Application
20240180134
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The disclosure relates to ice fishing line spool holding device and more particularly pertains to a new ice fishing line spool holding device for allowing a fishing reel to be supported within an ice fishing hole and which allows for manipulation of the position of the fishing reel without removing the same from a mount. The fishing reel may thus be placed below an upper end of a fishing opening in an ice fishing house floor to prevent persons within the ice fishing house from accidentally tripping over the fishing reel. Additionally, the device may be part of a system which includes a cover that allows protects users from stepping into the ice fishing hole as well as prevents articles from falling into the water of an ice fishing hole.
The prior art relates to ice fishing line spool holding devices that are typically static and place the reel above the flooring of an ice fishing house. While such devices do function as needed, they also present a hazard to persons moving about the ice fishing house. Thus, tripping and fishing line entanglements are concerns, particularly when young children are in the ice fishing house.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a sleeve that has a perimeter wall and includes an upper edge and a lower edge. The sleeve is positionable in and forms a liner for an ice fishing hole. A perimeter shoulder is co-extensively attached to and extends horizontally away from the upper edge. A reel mount is attached to and positioned in the sleeve. The reel mount is receives a fishing reel and is adjustable to a first position wherein the reel mount and the fishing reel are each positioned below a plane of the upper edge and within an interior of the sleeve, or to a second position wherein the reel mount extends above the plane of the upper edge to position the fishing reel above the interior of the sleeve. A cover is positionable on the sleeve to close an open upper end of the sleeve when the reel mount is in the first position such that the cover is positioned over the reel mount. The cover is removable to move the carriage to the second position.
Another embodiment of the disclosure includes a sleeve having a perimeter wall including an upper edge and a lower edge. The sleeve is positionable in and forms a liner for the ice fishing hole. A reel mount is attached to and positioned in the sleeve. The reel mount is configured receives a fishing reel. The reel mount is adjustable to a first position wherein the reel mount and the fishing reel are each positioned below a plane of the upper edge and within an interior of the sleeve, or to a second position wherein the reel mount extends above the plane of the upper edge to position the fishing reel above the interior of the sleeve.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A reel mount 30, shown in
The reel mount 30 includes a mounting plate 34 that is mountable on the sleeve 12. The mounting plate 34 has a back side 36 and a front side 38. The mounting plate 34 includes a catch 40 that is extended rearwardly from the back side 36. The catch 40 is positionable in the aperture 28 to releasably engage the perimeter wall 14. As can be seen in the figures, this allows for quick release of the reel mount 30 from the sleeve 12. However, alternate coupling assemblies may be utilized and the attachment between the reel mount 30 and the sleeve 14 may be more secure such as by extending fasteners through the sleeve 14 and the mounting plate 34. Alternatively, the sleeve 12 may include a first mating member and the reel mount 30 a second mating member that are detachably coupled to each other.
A carriage 42 is pivotally attached to the mounting plate 34 and includes a reel arm 44. The reel arm 44 extends away from the front side 38 of the mounting plate 34 when the reel mount 30 is in the first position as shown in
In some embodiments, the second position includes a partially retracted position as shown in
The carriage 42 further includes a panel 50. A pin 52 extends through and pivotally couples together the panel 50 and the mounting plate 34. The panel 50 has a first side 53 facing the interior of the sleeve 12 and a second side 54 that faces the mounting plate 34 when the carriage 42 in the first position. The reel arm 44 is attached to the panel 50 and extends away from the first side 53. The pin 52 is positioned adjacent to a top edge 56 of the panel 50 when the carriage 42 is in the first position. A bottom edge 58 of the panel 50, opposite of the top edge 56, is pivoted away from the mounting plate 34 as the carriage 42 moves from the first position to the second position. In one embodiment, the mounting plate 34 includes a pair of laterally spaced and forwardly extending side walls 60. The pin 52 extends through a tube formed in the top edge 56 of the panel 50 and through each of the side walls 60, between which the panel 50 is positioned, to pivotally secure the panel 50 to the mounting plate 34.
The coupler 48 may include a latch 62 that is mechanically engaged with the mounting plate 34 and the reel arm 44 to releasably retain the carriage 42 in the second position. As can be seen in
A cover 78 is positionable on the sleeve 12 to close an open upper end of the sleeve 12 when the reel mount 30 is in the first position such that the cover 78 is positioned over the reel mount 30. This prevents a person from tripping over or otherwise interacting with the fishing reel 32 and further inhibits the stepping into the ice the fishing hole 20 by someone walking in the ice fishing house 26. The cover 78 is removable to move the carriage 42 to the second position as needed. The cover 78 will typically be comprised of a transparent, or at least translucent, material, usually of plastic, such that the user of the system 10 can readily view the fishing reel 32. The cover 78 will often include an elongated slit 80 therein extending through a peripheral edge 86 of the cover 78 and extending to a central area of the cover 78. This allows cords for electronic sensors 33 to be extended through the cover 78. Additionally, the cover 78 may have a plurality of notches 82 extending into the peripheral edge or other areas to define finger grips. The cover 78 has a planar top side 84 and may be countersunk into a shoulder 22 as is shown in
In use, the system 10 generally allows a rattle wheel type fishing reel to be used in a conventional way but allows its mounting in the ice fishing hole 20 while further preventing the tripping over the fishing reel 32 by its extension out of the ice fishing hole 20. The cover 78 adds another layer of safety to ensure someone, and in particular children, do not accidentally step into the ice fishing hole 20. Moreover, the cover 78 prevents other articles including lures, small electronics, and personal articles from falling into the ice fishing hole 20.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
