Patent Application
20220312750
Notice is given that the following patent document contains original material subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile or digital download reproduction of all or part of the patent document but otherwise reserves all copyrights.
This invention relates to containers used to receive a line that is continuously fed into the container and automatically wound in a compact, vertically stacked coil configuration with its opposite ends held in a fixed exposed location inside the container.
Crab pots are cage-like structures disposed horizontally on the seabed and used to capture large crabs. Crab pots are attached to a weighted line that extends downward from a floating buoy that marks the location of the crab pot.
When setting a crab pot, one end of the weighted line is manually attached to the buoy and the other end is manually attached to the crab pot or a crab line attached to the pot. The buoy, the weighted line and, the crab pot are then tossed into the water in a ‘last in’ and ‘first out’ manner while making sure that the weighted line does not become tangled around the buoy or the crab pot.
Recreational crabbers and small crabbing companies usually set dozens of crab pots at a time which are normally left in the water 6 to 36 hrs. To harvest each crab pot, the crabbers return to the spot where the buoys are located and begin to retrieve the buoy one at a time from the water, After grasping the buoy, the crabber then grasps the weighted line and then disconnects it from the buoy. The crabber then extends the weighted line around pulleys used in a winch system attached to a davit mounted on the side of the boat. When the winch a motor is activated, the weighted line is pulled upward and deposited into the boat.
Eventually, the crab pot is lifted out of the water and above the gunwale. The davit is rotated so that the crab pot may be deposited into a designated landing area on the boat. The end of the weighted line is then disconnected from the crap pot or the crap line attached to the crab pot. This process is repeated for each crab pot.
Because the weighted lines are disposed on the deck of the boat adjacent to the davit, the weighted lines become tangled together and the ends of each weighted line are difficult to identify. Later, when the crab pots are to be reset, the crabber must identify the top-weighted line in the pile of weighted lines and grab and connect the opposite ends of the weighted line to the buoy and crab pot.
What is needed is a storage container configured to receive one end of multiple weighted lines which causes each weighted line to automatically wind into a vertical stacked, relatively tight coil inside the container and also holds the opposite ends of each weighted line in a fixed accessible location inside the container.
A container for collecting weighted lines that exit from a continuous winch system attached to a davit that retrieves the weighted line from the water. The container is designed to conform the collected weighted line into a compacted, stacked, coil configuration and also holds the ends of the weighted line fixed accessible location. One example of a weighted line is the leaded, weighted line used between a buoy and a crab pot as shown in
The container is a bag or elongated basket that includes a reinforced top edge that forms a top opening into the basket. The basket is an elongated, cylindrical structure with flexible sidewalls that extend downward from the top edge to a bottom panel. Attached to the inside surface of the basket near the top edge are at least two ring connectors.
The container is designed to store multiple weighted lines with loops or manual connectors attached to its opposite ends. During use, one end of each weighted line is attached to the connector located near the top edge of the container. As the weighted line is continuously fed into the container, the weighted line is wound into a stacked loop. The container's round, flexible sidewalls are sufficiently pliable yet resistant so that the weighted line bends continuously to form a continuous loop.
During use, a crap pot that is attached to the opposite end of the weighted line is disconnected from the crab pot or the crab pot line attached to a crab pot. When the crap pot is positioned over a desired landing area on the boat, the winch system is discontinued and the pot connector attached to the weighted line is attached either to the same ring connector or to another ring connector located near the top edge of the container.
The above process may then be repeated with additional weighted lines with the last weighted line being stacked over the first weighted lines. The buoy connector and the pot connectors used in the second weighted line must be identifiable from the buoy connectors and pot connectors used with the first weighted line. In one embodiment, the buoy connector and the pot connectors attached to the second weighted line are attached to another pair of ring connectors. Optionally, the basket may be distributed with one or more weighted lines each with identifiable indicia printed on the buoy or pot connectors.
Also disclosed herein is a method for collecting and setting weighted lines that run between the buoy and a pot.
Disclosed herein is a fishing line, wind-up basket 30 used to orderly collect one or multiple long, weighted lines 10 from a winch system 84 mounted on a davit 80 used to retrieve the weighted line 10.
As shown in
As shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Although
It should be understood that the buoy connector 12 and the pot connector 14 may be attached to the same strap connector 40 as shown in
During use, the weighted line 10 winds sequentially around the upper pulley 82, the lower pulley 86, and around the main pulley 87. The buoy connector 12 is attached to a ring connector 44. As the weighted line 10 exits the winch system 84 and is forced into basket 10, the weighted line 10 settles on the bottom panel 36 and then bends against the inside surface of basket 10. Because the weighted line 10 is flexible and partially rigid and continuously forced downward into basket 10, the weighted line 10 is automatically wound in a stacked coil configuration inside basket 10.
The above basket 30 may be part of a weighted line storage system 9 that includes at least one weighted line 10 with a buoy connector 12 and a pot connector 14 attached at its opposite ends.
Also disclosed herein is a method for collecting and setting multiple weighted lines that run between buoys and crab pots.
The method includes first selecting the basket 30 described above and positioning the basket 30 vertically directly under the winch system 84. Next, buoy 20 is collected and buoy connector 12 is detached from the eyelet 22 formed on the bottom of buoy 20 or from a buoy line 23 attached to the eyelet 23. The segment of the weighted line 10 adjacent to the buoy connector 12 is then wound around upper, lower and main pulleys, 82, 86, and 87, respectively, as shown in
When pot connector 14 reaches the upper pulley 82, the electric motor 88 is deactivated. The davit 80 is then rotated to deposit the pot 25 at a desired landing area on the boat. The pot connector 14 is then disconnected from potline 26 The segment of the weighted line 10 is then forced into basket 30 and the pot connector 14 is attached either to a ring connector 40.
When the crabber wants to reset pot 25, the potline connector 14 is detached from the ring connector 40 and attached to the potline 26. The buoy connector 12 is detached from the ring connector 40 and attached to eyelet 22 or the buoy line 23. The entire coiled weighted line 10 is grabbed and removed from basket 30 and thrown into the water. Because the turns of the weighted line 10 are stacked and are not crossed, the opposite ends of the weighted line 10 separate without entanglements or knots.
In compliance with the statute, the invention described has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown since the means and construction shown comprises the preferred embodiments for putting the invention into effect. The invention is therefore claimed in its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the amended claims, appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
