AU2005100169B4 - Fish hook - Google Patents

Description

P/00/012 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Invention Title: "FISH HOOK" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: o TITLE 0Fish Hook FIELD OF THE INVENTION

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The invention relates to a fish hook. In particular, although not exclusively, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for a fish hook that can be attached to a fishing line.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Fishing is very popular as both a recreational activity and as a professional pursuit. Generally, fishing involves a rod and reel which support a length of fishing line. The fishing line has attached tackle such as a sinker, a oswivel, a wire trace and a hook. The sinker is threaded on the fishing line and held in place by the swivel which is tied to the fishing line. A first end of the wire trace is tied to the swivel and a second end is tied to the hook. The wire trace is not always necessary and in some instances a length of fishing line can connect the swivel and the hook. The hook is attached to the wire trace or the fishing line by threading the wire trace or the fishing line through an eye of the hook and then tying a knot to secure the hook to the wire trace or the fishing line.

It is not uncommon for fishing tackle to be damaged by undersea obstacles or from the force applied to the fishing line by a hooked fish. The repair of the fishing line involves reattaching lost tackle, such as the hook, sinker and swivel. The repair requires considerable time and can result in a great deal of frustration for fishermen and can substantially reduce the number of fish that are caught. The most frustrating task faced when repairing a fishing line is threading the fishing line through the eye of the hook and subsequently tying the hook to the fishing line. Unfortunately, the piece of tackle that is most easily lost is the fishing hook.

In many instances the ideal time to be fishing is around dusk and dawn, which results in very poor light, making it difficult for the fisherman to thread the line through the eye of the hook. This situation is further complicated when a fisherman is fishing from a boat, as the instability of the vessel will also make threading the line through the eye of the hook and tying off the line extremely difficult.

O United States Design 370,520 discloses a hook design that may be 0 N utilised to reduce the time required for the repair of fishing lines. The hook incorporates a larger eye design. The larger eye helps to visually distinguish the hook from other hook designs and also provides a larger area through which the fishermen can thread the fishing line. However, although this hook eye design disclosed by US 370,520 could possibly simplify the task of threading the fishing V. line through the eye of the hook, in practise the larger eye will not substantially o reduce the difficulty associated with attaching the hook to the fishing line.

0 OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least alleviate one or more of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art or to provide a useful commercial alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, although it need not be the only or indeed the broadest form, the invention resides in a fishing hook comprising: a shank ending in a curve with a barb formed at an end of the curve; a clip formed at an opposite end of the shank from the curve; the clip including: a line retaining arm extending from the shank and terminating in a line retaining mouth, the line retaining arm and shank defining a line retaining zone; and a security arm extending from the line retaining arm and terminating in a security mouth, the security arm and shank defining a security zone; wherein the security mouth and the line retaining mouth are biased toward a closed position and openable to permit passage of a fishing line into the line retaining zone; and wherein the fishing hook incorporates a fishing line protector adjacent the security mouth of the clip.

Preferably, the clip is offset from the curve by approximately 900.

Preferably, the fish hook configurable to be linked in series.

Va 0 In another form, the invention resides in a method of attaching a fishing Sline to a fishing hook of the form comprising: o a shank ending in a curve with a barb formed at an end of the curve; a clip formed at an opposite end of the shank from the curve; the clip including: a line retaining arm extending from the shank and terminating in a N line retaining mouth, the line retaining mouth being biased towards a closed position, the line retaining arm and shank defining a line retaining zone; and a security arm extending from the line retaining arm and terminating in a security mouth, the security mouth being biased toward a closed position the security arm and shank defining a security zone; and a fishing line protector adjacent the security mouth of the clip; the method including the steps of: passing the fishing line from the fishing line protector to the security mouth; opening the security mouth; passing the fishing line into the security zone; opening the line retaining mouth; and passing the fishing line into the line retaining zone.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To assist in understanding the invention and to enable a person skilled in the art to put the invention into practical effect, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG 1 shows a perspective view of a fishing hook; FIG 2a shows a perspective view of a fishing hook and a fishing line; FIG 2b shows a perspective view of a fishing hook secured to a fishing line; 0 FIG 3 shows a perspective view of fishing hooks ganged together.

0DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG 1, there is provided a perspective view of a fishing hook 0 5 10. The fishing hook 10 includes a curve 30 extending from a first end of a shank and a clip 50 integrally formed at a second end of the shank 40. A barb 20 is 1 formed on an end of the curve 30 of the hook 10. The clip 50 is offset from the curve 30 of the hook 10 by about 90' The fishing hook 10 may be made from conventional fishing hook construction means such as wire bending or forging.

The clip 50 incorporates a line retaining zone 60 and a security zone The line retaining zone 60 is defined by a line retaining arm 80 and part of the shank 40. The line retaining arm 80 extends from the shank 40 and rests against the shank 40 at a point 90 forming an openable line retaining mouth. The security zone 65 is defined by a security arm 100 and the shank 40. The security arm 100 extends from an end of the line retaining arm 80 at the line retaining mouth and rests against the shank 40 at a point 110, thereby forming an openable security mouth. The line retaining mouth and the security mouth are both biased towards a closed position.

Referring to FIG 2a, there is shown a fishing line 120 adjacent the fishing hook 10. A fishing line protector 70 which is formed adjacent the clip 50 as shown in FIG 2a. The fishing line 120 incorporates a fishing line loop 130 that is tied in the fishing line 120 prior to securing the hook 10 to the fishing line 120. To secure the hook 10 to the fishing line 120 the fishing line protector 70 is inserted through a mouth of the fishing line loop 130 and hence, the fishing line loop 130 is drawn between the security arm 100 and shank 40. The security arm 100 resiliently deforms with respect to the shank 40 to open the security mouth between the security arm 100 and the shank 40 for the fishing line loop 130 to pass through. The fishing line loop 130 is then drawn between the line retaining arm 80 and the shank 40, which requires that the line retaining arm 80 resiliently deforms with respect to the shank 40 to open the line retaining mouth at contact point 90. FIG 2b shows the clip 50 secured to the fishing line loop 130.

During use the line retaining zone 60 is interconnected with the fishing line loop 130, however, if due to the movement of the hook 10 the fishing line 0 loop 130 moves out of the line retaining zone 60, the security zone 65 ensures that the hook 10 does not detach from the fishing line 120.

o The fishing line protector 70 ensures that the fishing line loop 130 does not contact any metal edges of the hook 10 when the clip 50 is secured to the 0 5 fishing line loop 130. This prevents the fishing line loop 130 being damaged when the hook 10 is secured to the fishing line loop 130. Any damage incurred N by the fishing line loop 130 would likely result in the fishing line loop 130 breaking when force is applied to the fishing line 120 by a fish that has been caught on the hook 10, resulting in the fish escaping the also the loss of the hook Referring to FIG 3, there is provided a perspective view of an arrangement of the hooks 10 ganged together. A large number of hooks 10 may be ganged together by inserting the barb 20 and the curve 30 of a first hook through the clip 50 of a subsequent hook 10. A final hook 10 of the ganged arrangement is connected to the fishing line 120 in accordance with the method described above.

Hence, the method and apparatus of the present invention provide a solution to the difficulties associated with attaching fishing hooks to fishing lines by virtue of a fishing hook having a clip incorporating a line retaining zone and an adjacent security zone, wherein the clip interconnects with a fishing line loop tied in an end of a fishing line.

The hook 10 described above allows a hook 10 to be connected to a fishing line but avoids the need for the fishing line to be fed through an eye of the hook. In poor weather or lighting it can be extremely difficult and time consuming for fisherman to attach a conventional hook to the fishing line and especially in these circumstances the above described hook will allow for a faster assembly of the fishing tackle. The hook 10 also incorporates the security zone 65 to prevent the hook 10 from detaching from the fishing line. The hook 10 has the further advantage of allowing for the simple construction of ganged hook arrangements.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize variations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims (4)

1. A fishing hook comprising: a shank ending in a curve with a barb formed at an end of the S 5 curve; a clip formed at an opposite end of the shank from the curve; IN the clip including: 0 a line retaining arm extending from the shank and terminating in a line retaining mouth, the line retaining arm and shank defining a o 10 line retaining zone; and 0 N a security arm extending from the line retaining arm and terminating in a security mouth, the security arm and shank defining a security zone; wherein the security mouth and the line retaining mouth are biased toward a closed position and openable to permit passage of a fishing line into the line retaining zone, and wherein the fishing hook has a fishing line protector extending away from the shank adjacent the security mouth of the clip.

2. The fishing hook of claim 1, wherein the clip is offset from the curve by approximately 90

3. The fishing hook of claim 1, wherein the fishing hook configurable to be linked in series.

4. A method of attaching a fishing line to a fishing hook of the form comprising: a shank ending in a curve with a barb formed at an end of the curve; a clip formed at an opposite end of the shank from the curve; the clip including: a line retaining arm extending from the shank and terminating in a line retaining mouth, the line retaining mouth being biased towards O a closed position, the line retaining arm and shank defining a line 0 ,N retaining zone; and a security arm extending from the line retaining arm and terminating in a security mouth, the security mouth being biased 5 toward a closed position the security arm and shank defining a security zone; and v. a fishing line protector extending away from the shank adjacent the security mouth of the clip; the method including the steps of: S 10 passing the fishing line from the fishing line protector to the security 0 N mouth; opening the security mouth; passing the fishing line into the security zone; opening the line retaining mouth; and passing the fishing line into the line retaining zone. A fishing hook, substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 23rd day of February 2006 By their Patent Attorneys FISHER ADAMS KELLY