GB2507259A

GB2507259A - Line Clip

Info

Publication number: GB2507259A
Application number: GB201218539A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kevin Robert Nash
Original assignee: Catchum 88 Ltd
Current assignee: Catchum 88 Ltd
Priority date: 2012-10-16
Filing date: 2012-10-16
Publication date: 2014-04-30
Also published as: GB201218539D0

Abstract

A line clip comprises a body formed from two halves 38,40 defining a through passage; a gate formed by two surfaces that are biased towards one another; and a gap having a mouth opening into the through passage, with the line clip free to slide along the line when the line is located within the through passage; and being gripped when resting in the gap so as to prevent sliding along the length of the line. The gate may be formed by a ball 44 and plate, and may be urged into contact by spring 42 or magnetic 46 bias. The gap between halves may be straight or sinuous, and the two halves may be formed with mating corrugations at one end. The ends of the corrugations nearer the through passage may be tapered to help guide the line into the sinuous gap.

Description

LINE CLIP

Field of the invention

S The present invention relates to a line clip of attaching a bobbin to a line of a fishing rod.

Background of the invention

Anglers, in particular carp anglers, often use electronic bite alarms that generate an audible and/or visible warning when a movement of the fishing line is detected. Line movement may be detected by rotation of a pulley or by vibration of a stylus.

In addition, it is common for anglers to suspend from the section of the fishing line between the reel and the bite alarm, by means of a releasable line clip, a visual bite indicator, also referred to as a bobbin, that moves vertically up and down as the tension in the line changes.

Bobbins may just hang from the fishing line and be anchored to the ground by means of a cord or they may be mounted on an arm that is pivoted or sprung to maintain the fishing line taut.

Some known line clips act to grip the fishing line by clamping it between two jaws in the manner of a clothes line peg. When gripping the fishing line, the line clip is not free to slide along it but if sufficient force is applied the line will pull away from the jaws of the clip. Other line clips, have a gate formed by two balls or curved surfaces biased towards one another. After the line has been pushed through the gate by forcing the balls apart, the bias on the two balls is sufficient to allow the line clip to be suspended from the line but it does not prevent the line clip from sliding along the line. If sufficient force is applied, the line will once again pull away from the clip.

Object of the invention The different types of line clip have different advantages and are best suited to different angling conditions. The present invention seeks to provide a line clip that offers the advantages of both of the forms described above.

Sumary of the invention

According to the present invention, there is provided a line clip having a body defining a through passage for receiving a fishing line, a gate formed by two surfaces that are biased towards one another to enable a fishing line to is be admitted into and to be withdrawn from the through passage when the line is pushed through the gate with sufficient force, the line clip being free to slide along the length of the line when the line is located within the through passage, and a gap having a mouth opening into the through passage, the line being movable between the gap and the through passage upon application of sufficient force, and the line being gripped when resting in the gap so as to prevent the line clip from sliding along the length of the line, wherein the line clip is formed of two halves separated from one another at one end by the gap for receiving and gripping the fishing line.

The gate may suitably be formed by a ball mounted in one of the two halves and a plate of a second ball mounted in the other half.

The bias for urging the balls or the plate and ball into contact with one another may be spring bias, a magnetic attraction or a combination of the two.

The gap between the two halves may be straight but to provide increased resistance against sliding for a given force needed to force the line into, or withdraw the line from, the gap, it is preferred for the gap to follow a sinuous path. This may be achieved by providing both halves with mating corrugations at their one end.

Ends of the corrugations nearer the through passage may conveniently be tapered to help guide the line into the gap.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a fishing is rod supported on a bank stick and resting on a bite alarm, with a bobbin suspended from the fishing line between the bite alarm and the reel of the fishing rod, Figure 2 is a side view of the body of a bobbin incorporating a line clip of the present invention, and Figure 3 is an exploded view of the bobbin in Figure 2.

Detailed description of an embodiment

In Figure 1, a fishing rod 10 having a reel 12 about which a line 14 is wound, is supported by its handle 16 resting on a bank stick 18 and on a bite alarm 20. The line 14 makes contact with a sensor of the bite alarm 20, which may be either a pulley or a stylus, and, whenever a line movement is sensed, a signal generator of the bite alarm 20 produces an audible and/or visible warning. Bite alarms are generally well known, and need not be described in detail in the present context.

A bobbin 22 mounted on the end of a swinging arm 24 is connected by a releasable line clip to the section of the fishing line situated between the reel 12 and the bite alarm 20. The bobbin 22 acts to maintain the fishing line under constant tension and in contact with the sensor of the bite alarm 20. The line clip is formed by a ball biased magnetically or resiliently against one another ball or against a flat plate. The ball is able to withstand the weight of the bobbin 22 and the downward force of the swinging arm 24 but will allow the line to separate from the bobbing 22, by moving in opposition to the magnetic or resilient bias force, when the angler raises the rod 10 off the bite alarm 20.

As so far described, the arrangement shown in Figure 1 is conventional. Aside from maintaining a steady line tension, the bobbin 22 acts as an indicator. Though the bite is alarm 20 could on its own suffice in signalling to the angler when a line movement has taken place, the bobbin provides visual confirmation that a line movement is taking place and also informs the angler of the direction and speed of the line movement.

The angler will not however have the benefit of the additional indication provided by the bobbin 22 when fishing in the dark or under poor light conditions. To avoid this problem, it is known to place a chemical light in the bobbin or to mounted a light emitting diode (LED) in the bobbin and power the LED using an electrical wire connected to the bite alarm 20.

The bobbin 22 in Figure 2is connected by a cord 26, that incorporates a flexible optic fibre, to the bite alarm and the latter includes a light source that transmits light via the optic fibre in the cord 26 to a diffuser in the bobbin 22 to cause the latter to glow or light up. Thus, no electrical power is needed within the bobbin and it can 33 be illuminated by way of the optic fibre by means of light produced within the bite alarm.

The light source may be an LED that is sealed relative to the housing of the bite alarm and the connector for mechanically securing the cord 26 to the bite alarm 20 and for coupling light into the optic fibre may be a threaded socket in alignment with the LED. In this way, the electrical elements of the bite alarm may be housed in a sealed housing and thereby protected from the elements.

Furthermore, there is no requirement for electrical contacts on the outside of the housing of the bite alarm, that could be subject to corrosion.

The bobbin 22 is made up of an assembly of several components that are shown in their assembled state in Figure 2 and in an exploded view in Figure 3. The skeleton 32 of the bobbin 22 is made of an opaque plastics material, formed with four circumferentially spaced and generally axially extending fingers 34. A transparent or translucent plastics member 36 of complementary shape fits within the skeleton 32 to form a solid shape of which alternating segments are opaque and light transmitting.

Figure 2 and 3 show details of an embodiment of a line clip of the invention. Two semicircular line clip halves 38 and 40 are screwed to the upper end of the skeleton 32, trapping the member 36 between them and the skeleton 32.

Both halves 38 and 40 have a transverse cylindrical blind bore 39, one accommodating a spring 42 and a ball 44 and the other accommodating a magnet 46, which together form a gate that has to be forced open by the line 14 before it can enter into a through passage 60 or be withdrawn from it. The lower ends 48 of the two halves 38 and 40 have corrugations 48 that are shaped and dimensioned to leave a sinuous gap 62 between the two halves 38 and 40.

This gives the angler the option of either allowing the line 14 to move freely through the line clip, when the line rests in the through passage 60 or of gripping the line 14 when it is trapped within the sinuous path gap between the two line clip halves 38, 40. The upper ends of the corrugations 48 may be tapered, if desired, to guide the line into at least part of the sinuous gap when a force is applied to pull the line down into the gap.

The opposite end of the skeleton 32 is designed for connecting the body to the cord 26 that contains an optic fibre 50. Any suitable means of connecting the cord 26 may be used, the illustrated embodiment having a collet 52 and a nut 54. As the nut 54 is tightened, the fingers of coilet 52 tighten onto the outer sheath of the cord 26 to grip It tightly.

The optic fibre 50 passes into the skeleton and illuminates the member 36 which includes, or itself acts, as a light diffuser causing segments of the outer surface of the body 30 to glimmer or glow.

The light source, usually an LED, in the bite alarm that it used to illuminate the bobbin 22 may be permanently activate when fishing in poor light conditions. For this purpose, a switch may be provided on the bite alarm or the light source may be activated by an ambient light sensor. To avoid draining the power supply of the bite alarm 20, the LED may be made to glow dimly. This can be achieved by supplying only a small current or by rapidly applying pulses having a small mark to space ratio. The brightness of the bobbin can be adjusted in the latter case by pulse width modulation of the applied voltage pulses.

It is not however necessary for the bobbin to be illuminated at all times and it may suffice for it to be illuminated only when a movement of the line is detected by the bite alarm. Thus, the LED may be illuminated by the bite alarm only when a threshold level of movement is detected.

That threshold may be the threshold required for the bite -.7-alarm to generate its own audible or visual warning signal, but alternatively, it may be a lower threshold to give advance warning and to ensure that the bobbin is already visible at the time that the bite alarm is activated.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A line clip having a body defining a through passage for receiving a fishing line, a gate formed by two surfaces that are biased towards one another to enable a fishing line to be admitted into and to be withdrawn from the through passage when the line is pushed through the gate with sufficient force, the line clip being free to slide along the length of the line when the line is located within the through passage, and a gap having a mouth opening into the through passage, the line being movable between the gap and the through passage upon application of sufficient force, and the line being gripped when resting in the gap so as to prevent the line clip from sliding along the length of the line, wherein the line clip is formed of two halves separated from one another at one end by the gap for receiving and gripping the fishing line.
2. A line clip as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gate is formed by a ball mounted in one of the two halves and a plate of a second ball mounted in the other half.
3. A line clip as claimed in claim 2, wherein the balls or the plate and ball are urged into contact with one another by at least one of spring bias and magnetic attraction.
4. A line clip as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gap between the two halves is straight.
5. A line clip as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the gap follows a sinuous path.
6. A line clip as claimed in claim 5, wherein the two halves are formed with mating corrugations at their one end.
7. A line clip as claimed in claim 6, wherein the ends of the corrugations nearer the through passage are tapered to help guide the line into the sinuous gap.