Patent Application
20200085024
The disclosure relates generally to the field of fishing lures. More specifically, the disclosure relates to the field of fishing lures with color changing static programmable electro chromic particle panels.
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented elsewhere herein.
In one embodiment, a fishing lure system includes a fishing lure body having a line attachment portion and a hook and a first static programmable electro-chromic (SPEC) particle panel adjacent the body. The first SPEC particle panel is selectively changeable between a first color and a second color in response to a first stimulus.
According to another embodiment, a fishing lure system includes a body having a first static programmable electro-chromic (SPEC) particle panel selectively changeable between a first color and a second color; and a receptacle configured to receive the body, the receptacle having an actuator. The first SPEC particle panel changes between the first and the second color in response to a first stimulus, and the actuator is configured to apply the first stimulus to the first SPEC particle panel.
According to still another embodiment, a method of operating a fishing lure system includes first providing a fishing lure having a body comprising a first static programmable electro-chromic (SPEC) particle panel selectively changeable between a first color and a second color in response to a stimulus. A receptacle configured to house the body is further provided. The receptacle has an actuator for actuating a first stimulus. The body is placed within the receptacle, and the first stimulus is actuated to initiate the first SPEC particle panel change from the first color to the second color. The body is then removed from the receptacle.
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures.
As shown if
The body 110 may include a hull 112, which may be made of a resilient material (e.g., wood, metal, plastic, rubber, ceramic, fiberglass, carbon fiber, silicone, epoxy, et cetera). The hull 112 may be further configured to have the aesthetic appearance of a type of prey or bait, which shape may be determined based on the aesthetic appearance of the type of fish that one wishes to catch. For example, the aesthetic appearance may have surface coloring and/or patterns resembling a minnow to attract fish that commonly eat minnows. As another example, the aesthetic appearance may have surface coloring and/or patterns resembling a frog to attract fish that commonly eat frogs. The aesthetic appearance may be represented via the overall shape of the hull 112, protrusions from the hull 112 (i.e., fins, legs, etc.), and/or other added detail (e.g., eyes, scales, tails, feathers, gills, stripes, et cetera). In operation, the hull 112 may have a configuration that is the same or similar to fishing lures now known or subsequently developed (e.g., a spinner, spoon, popper, jig, swimbait, crankbait, plug, wobbler, surface lure, an artificial worm or fly, et cetera).
As seen in
The fishing lure 100 may have a line attachment portion 122 for coupling the fishing lure 100 to a line (e.g., a fishing line). The line attachment portion 122 may include one or more rings that are attached (e.g., hingedly attached) to the hull 112. The line attachment portion 122 may be arranged along an upper surface of the hull 112, though any other suitable hull 112 location is contemplated. In operation, the user may use the line attachment portion 122 to tie (or otherwise attach) the fishing lure 100 to the fishing line. Accordingly, the user may be able to repeatedly cast out and retrieve the fishing lure 100 from a body of water.
It is to be understood that the location of the line attachment portion 122 may influence the movement of the fishing lure 100 through a body of water, and as such, many different arrangements of the line attachment portion 122 along the body 110 are contemplated herein. For example, a line attachment portion 122 located near the head of a fishing lure 100 may emulate the movements of a live swimming fish when the fishing lure 100 is pulled through a body of water by the fishing line. As another example, the line attachment portion 122 may be attached to an offset a distance from hull 112, similar to some spinner baits known in the art.
Turning now to
The SPEC particles 132 may form a non-volatile, semi-permanent “ink” that responds to electrical (or other) stimulation to switch between a first and a second color. The ink may be considered semi-permanent because once the SPEC particles 132 have switched (e.g., from the first color to the second color), the SPEC particles 132 remain in that state until a stimulus or trigger causes the SPEC particles 132 to switch back (e.g., from the second color to the first color). This semi-permanent attribute that the SPEC particles 132 exhibit differ from typical color changing or color displaying features of prior art fishing lures, because the SPEC particles 132 may require little to no energy to remain in their state once changed.
Types of stimuli that may induce a change in color from the SPEC particles 132 may include, for example, temperature, electric impulses, magnetic fields, pH, wavelength/intensity of impinging light, et cetera. While SPEC particles 132 that change between two colors are primarily discussed herein, it is to be understood that the SPEC particles 132 may change between three or more colors.
As noted above, in embodiments, the state change of the stimuli-responsive SPEC particles 132, once triggered, may be permanent. Such stimuli-responsive SPEC particles 132 may be referred to herein as irreversible SPEC particles 132. Conversely, reversible SPEC particles 132 may be configured to change their color state multiple times in response to stimuli. For instance, a SPEC particle panel 130 with reversible SPEC particles 132 having magnetochromic properties may change from a first color to a second color due to an induced magnetic field, and subsequently change back from the second color to the first after being introduced to another magnetic field. In embodiments, one or more SPEC particle panels 130 may include both reversible and irreversible SPEC particles 132.
One or more of these color changing SPEC particle panels 130 may define a portion of the body 110. The SPEC particle panels 130 may be attached to or form a part of the body 110, or more specifically, the hull 112. In embodiments, the SPEC particle panels 130 may be incorporated within the hull 112. For instance, the hull 112 may be configured to have a translucent or transparent appearance, and the SPEC particle panels 130 may be disposed within the body 110. As another example, one or more SPEC particle panels 130 may make up the “head” (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth, etc.) of the hull 112.
In some embodiments, one or more of the SPEC particle panels 130 may be separable from the hull 112. Separable SPEC particle panels 130 may be readily interchangeable (e.g., via adhesive, fasteners, screws, nails, bolt, clips, magnets, hook and loop fasteners, etc.) with other SPEC particle panels 130, which may allow for relatively easy repair and/or replacement of a faulty SPEC particle panel. Furthermore, interchanging SPEC particle panels 130 may allow a user to customize the appearance of the fishing lure 100. For example, the user may switch out a first SPEC particle panel 130 (e.g., that switches between a black color and a white color) with a second SPEC particle panel 130 (e.g., that switches between a green color and a red color). In this manner, the user may readily adapt the fishing lure 100 to a wide variety of fishing situations and environmental conditions, especially when compared to non-SPEC particle panel fishing lures known in the art.
As discussed above, there may be a plurality of SPEC particle panels 130 used in the fishing lure 100. In such embodiments, one or more of the SPEC particle panels 130 may have at least one color different from at least one other SPEC particle panel 130. For example, the hull 112, may include a first panel 135, a second panel 136, and a third panel 137, arranged on a head, body, and tail of a fish, respectively (
A receptacle 140 may include a vessel 142 (e.g., a container, box, cup, bowl, et cetera) with an actuator 144 (
The receptacle 140 may alternately or additionally include a control 146 to selectively activate the actuator 144. In this manner, the stimuli may be selectively applied to the SPEC particle panels 130 to initiate the change in appearance of the SPEC particle panel 130. The control 146 may be a switch, toggle, knob, button, and/or any other suitable control device.
In embodiments, the vessel 142 may include a lid, and the lid may act as the control mechanism 146. For example, the actuator 144 may be integrated with the lid such that the stimuli is applied and the SPEC particles 132 respond (e.g., begin changing from the first color to the second color) upon closing the lid. It is to be understood that the receptacle may have a plurality of control mechanisms 146, each of which may correspond to a different type of actuator 144. For instance, there may be a first control 146 for actuating a magnetic field and a second control 146 for actuating an electrical impulse.
In embodiments, the receptacle 140 may be configured to fit within and/or form a part of a fishing tackle box, or other transportable container. The receptacle 140 may include (e.g., externally and/or internally to the vessel 142) storage space, such as storage space for alternate/replacement SPEC particle panels 130, one or more fishing lures 100, other fishing tackle and gear, et cetera.
A method 150 for using the receptacle 140 with the fishing lure 100 is depicted in
Next, at step 156, the SPEC particle panels 130 may begin changing appearance (e.g., by changing from the first color to the second color). It shall be understood that the SPEC particle panels 130 need not change their color entirely. In some embodiments, the SPEC particle panels 130 may slowly transition from one color to the next, and it may be desirable to leave the SPEC particle panels 130 in a semi-changed state (e.g., a panel 130 that changes between red and blue may be left as half red, half blue). In embodiments, the control mechanism 146 may be configured to maintain the SPEC particle panels 130 in the semi-changed state. Finally, at step 158, the fishing lure 100 may be removed from the receptacle 140, thus precluding any further stimuli influence upon the SPEC particle panel 130. This process may be repeated for each separate SPEC particle panel 130, or for multiple panels 130 at a time.
It shall be understood that the method 150 may have steps omitted, added, and/or modified, and that the order of carrying out these steps may be altered. For example, in embodiments, the step of applying the stimuli (step 154) may be performed without the control mechanism 146, such as when the actuator 144 is configured to constantly provide a stimulus. Further, additional steps for triggering a plurality of control mechanisms 146 to induce a plurality of stimuli via the actuators 144 may be further included as part of the method 150.
In embodiments, the attributes of the SPEC particles 132 may include functional features beyond simply color changing, such as resistive-capacitive timing elements, analog computing devices, and/or digital memory status storage devices. These special features can be used to realize fishing lure 100 functions such as self-flashing fishing lures, bite detection indicators, fishing lure vibrations, synthetic heartbeats, and transceiver modes of supplemental communication (e.g., bite detection relay signaling). For example, a specialized mode of stressed or distressed fish may be emulated by changing patterns of color or vibrations of the fishing lure 100.
One advantage of the various fishing lure embodiments described herein may be that the fishing lure 100 may be adjusted to suit the conditions of a particular fishing task. For example, the user may adjust the fishing lure 100 to account for conditions such as type of fish desired, water depth, type of body of water (e.g., river, lake, pond, etc.), light conditions, et cetera. Conversely, known fishing lures are typically suited for only a narrow range of fishing task conditions. Furthermore, embodiments of the fishing lure 100 that include separable SPEC particle panels 130 may be more readily repaired than non-SPEC particle fishing lures. Yet another advantage of the fishing lure 100 described herein may be that the SPEC particle panels 130 require less energy to operate than known color changing fishing lures, since the SPEC particle panels 130 may require no energy to remain in their state once changed.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/730,920, filed Sep. 13, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62730920 | Sep 2018 | US |
