AU2010200207B1

AU2010200207B1 - Rod holder

Info

Publication number: AU2010200207B1
Application number: AU2010200207A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christopher John Campbell; Deen Robert Saint
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-01-20
Filing date: 2010-01-20
Publication date: 2010-07-01
Anticipated expiration: 2030-01-20

Description

TITLE: ROD HOLDER THIS INVENTION relates to a holder. In particular, it is directed to a holder for a fishing rod or the like, the holder being supported on the gunwale or similar of a water craft. 5 Throughout this specification, unless the contrary is expressly stated, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was, at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of the common general knowledge, or known to be relevant 10 to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned. Fishing from marine and river water craft is a popular recreational activity. It is also a significant commercial enterprise, particularly fishing for game fish at sea, If using a smaller type fishing rod, then it is usually a simple matter for the person fishing to hold the rod for an extended period and place the rod on the 15 deck of the craft when use of the rod is not required. However, this can be dangerous as barbed hooks are thus placed where a person could accidentally tread on same as they move about the craft. Further, holding a rod may not always be practical, especially when using a longer and thus heavier rod or when game fishing where a baited line is often left trolling and unattended for 20 an extended period. In these circumstances, some kind of holder is required to support the rod. Typically, the lower cost known prior art rod holders are essentially cylindrical tubes open at their upper end and closed at their lower end into which the rod is placed. These tubes are usually attached to a bow, stern or side rail of the 25 craft and angled outwards of the craft. However, such holders suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: (1) they are not height adjustable and 2 thus separate holders of differing length have to be purchased and installed if there is a disparity in the heights of the parties who will be fishing from the craft; (2) they are fixed in their orientation - angled outwards of the craft - and the rods therefore have to be removed from the holders and stored elsewhere 5 on the craft as a dock or the like is approached to prevent contact (and thus possible damage or injury) with adjacent craft or persons; and (3) this fixed orientation prevents ready alignment of the rod to the prevailing wind and current conditions. There have been attempts to overcome these problems and "adjustable" rod 10 holders are known in the prior art. However, they also suffer from a number of disadvantages which include (1) they are only adjustable to a finite number of pre-set positions; (2) they have pivot point attachments which are an inherently weak structure and prone to breakage; (3) offer horizontal plane adjustment or height adjustment but not both; and (4) they are complicated in 15 design and construction and thus relatively expensive for the consumer to purchase. It is thus a general object of the present invention to overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages. According to the present invention, there is provided a holder for a fishing rod 20 or the like, said holder capable of being supported on the gunwale or similar of a water craft, wherein said holder includes: a hollow tubular member substantially open at one upper end and having its opposed other lower end adapted to prevent said rod or like from passing therethrough, said member of an internal diameter 25 sufficient to allow said fishing rod to be positioned and supported therein; 3 a substantially spherical collar surrounding said tubular member; securing means to secure said spherical collar to said tubular member; and a base member to support said spherical collar and adapted to allow 5 rotational motion of said spherical collar, said base member adapted to be secured to said gunwale or similar. In an embodiment of the present invention, said lower end is substantially closed. In another embodiment of the present invention, said lower end Includes a 10 cross bar adapted to complement a gimbal end of a fishing rod. In an embodiment of the present invention, said spherical collar is permanently secured to said tubular member. In another embodiment of the present invention, said spherical collar is releasably secured to said tubular member, allowing the relative position of 15 said tubular member to said spherical collar to be adjusted. In those embodiments of the present invention wherein said spherical collar is releasably secured to said tubular member, preferably, said spherical collar is further adapted to assist its securing to said tubular member, Where said spherical collar is further adapted to assist Its securing to said 20 tubular member, said spherical collar may be manufactured from a compressible material, or may include one or more slots therein to allow some 4 compressibility of said spherical collar, or may comprise multiple segments adapted to be individually compressed against said tubular member. Where said spherical collar is comprised of said multiple segments, preferably, there are three of said segments. 5 In those embodiments of the present invention wherein said spherical collar is permanently secured to said tubular member, preferably, said securing means is an over-centre lever which, in an operable securing position, moves a stop to engage the outer surface of said spherical collar sufficient to prevent motion of said spherical collar. 10 In those embodiments of the present invention wherein said spherical collar is releasably secured to said tubular member, preferably, said securing means Is an over-centre lever which, in an operable securing position, moves a stop sufficient to engage the outer surface of said spherical collar and whereby the inner bore of said spherical collar subsequently engages the outer surface of 15 said tubular member, wherein in said operable securing position, motion of said spherical collar and relative movement of said tubular member to said spherical collar are prevented. In those embodiments of the present invention wherein said spherical collar is releasably secured to said tubular member, preferably, said tubular member 20 is flared at said upper open end to prevent complete passage of said tubular member through said spherical collar. In all embodiments of the present invention, preferably, said securing means is incorporated into said base member.

5 A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a holder constructed in accordance with the present invention; 5 FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the holder of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a side view of the holder of FIGS. 1 & 2 illustrating certain positions of the holder; and FIG. 4 is an end view of the holder of FIGS. 1 & 2 illustrating certain positions of the holder. 10 Referring to FIGS. 1 & 2, the holder (1) comprises a base member (2) having an upper base member (2a) and a lower base member (2b). A tri-segment spherical collar (3) has a bore (4) passing substantially centrally therethrough. A hollow essentially open-ended cylindrical tube (5) is substantially open at its upper end (6) but includes a cross bar (24) located at its lower end (7). The 15 upper end (6) includes an outwardly flared lip (8). The outer diameter of the tube (5) and the diameter of the bore (4) of the collar (3) are such that the tube (5) is a sliding fit in the bore (4). Each upper (2a) and lower (2b) base member has a respective bore (9,10) (FIG. 2) of a diameter slightly less than the great circle diameter of the collar (3) to support the collar (3) and allow its rotation 20 through 360" when the holder (1) is assembled (FIG. 1). A lever (11) pivots about a first pin (12), the pin (12) being held in a complementary-shaped recess (13) in the upper surface of the lower base member (2b). The lever (11) is also pivotally connected to a U-shaped connector (14) via a second pin (15), the connector (14) having a short pin-like extension (16) extending in the 25 longitudinal axis direction of the lever (11). The pin (16) is a sliding fit in a 6 recess (17) of a shaped stop (18). The opposing face (19) of the stop (18) is of a complementary shape to the exterior curvature of the collar (3). The connector (14), pin extension (18) and lower portion (20) of the lever (11) are held in a recess (21) in the upper surface of the lower base member (2b). The 5 stop (18) is held in a complementary-shaped recess (22) in the upper surface of the lower base member (2b). The recesses (13), (21) and (22) are of a depth approximately half of that of the respective components which they hold. The undersurface of the upper base member (2a) includes similarly-shaped and sized recesses (not illustrated) such that, when assembled (FIG. 1), these 10 respective components are held in place. The upper base member (2a) includes an essentially key-holed shape bore (23) such that a user of the holder (1) can access and operate the lever (11). The base members (2a,b) are secured together by any convenient means known in the art which could include screws if the base members (2a,b) are manufactured from timber, or 15 rivets or welding if the base members (2a,b) are manufactured from metal. The use of adhesive may be appropriate if the base members (2a,b) are manufactured from a plastics material. Once assembled, the base member (2) is flush mounted to the gunwale of a water craft. In use, with the lever (11) in an "up" position (FIG. 3), the stop (18) is released 20 from the collar (3) which can then be rotated 360*in the horizontal plane to any desired position and to any desired position from 0* to approximately 30* from the vertical (FIGS, 3 & 4). The relative position of the tube (5) in the bore (4) of the collar (3) is also set. When the desired positions are reached, the lever (11) is pushed down whereupon the extension pin (16) abuts the closed end 25 of the recess (17) pushing the stop (18) to engage with the outer surface of the collar (3) which, in turn, is pushed to engage with the tube (5) thus locking the collar (3) and tube (5) in the required positions. A fishing rod can then be placed in the tube (5) with its typical gimbal end engaging the cross bar (24).

7 The present invention offers a number of advantages over the prior art which include: simple in its construction; can be retro-fitted to existing water craft; 5 can be rotated 360"in the horizontal plane to any desired position and to any desired position from 0* to approximately 304 from the vertical and locked at those positions; with a cross bar to engage the gimbal end of a fishing rod, can provide infinite rotational positioning of that rod; 10 securely retains the holder in the required locked position, reducing the likelihood of its breakage; with height adjustment, reels can readily be distanced from side rails and the like to prevent contact therewith; with the fishing rod removed, can be retracted to be substantially flush 15 with the surface to which it is mounted; allows ready alignment of the rod to the prevailing wind and current conditions; and even with fishing rod in place, can be directed inwards to prevent undesired contact with adjacent craft or persons as a dock or similar is 20 approached.

8 It will be appreciated that the above described embodiment is only an exemplification of the various aspects of the present Invention and that modifications and alterations can be made thereto without departing from the inventive concept as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A holder for a fishing rod or the like, said holder capable of being supported on the gunwale or similar of a water craft, wherein said holder includes: 5 a hollow tubular member substantially open at one upper end and having its opposed other lower end adapted to prevent said rod or the like from passing therethrough, said member of an internal diameter sufficient to allow said fishing rod to be positioned and supported therein; 10 a substantially spherical collar surrounding said tubular member; securing means to secure said spherical collar to said tubular member; and a base member to support said spherical collar and adapted to allow rotational motion of said spherical collar, said base member 15 adapted to be secured to said gunwale or similar.

2. A holder as defined in Claim I wherein, said lower end Is substantially closed.

3. A holder as defined in Claim 1 wherein, said lower end includes a cross bar adapted to complement a gimbal end of said fishing rod. 20

4. A holder as defined in any one of Claims I to 3 wherein, said spherical collar is permanently secured to said tubular member. 10

5. A holder as defined in Claim 1 wherein, said spherical collar is releasably secured to said tubular member, allowing the relative position of said tubular member to said spherical collar to be adjusted.

6. A holder as defined in Claim 5 wherein, said spherical collar is further 5 adapted to assist its securing to said tubular member.

7. A holder as defined in Claim 6 wherein, said spherical collar is manufactured from a compressible material, or includes one or more slots therein to allow compressibility of said sphercal collar, or comprises multiple segments to be individually compressed against said tubular 10 member.

8. A holder as defined in Claim 7 wherein, said spherical collar is comprised of multiple segments.

9. A holder as defined in any one of Claims I to 8 wherein, said tubular member is flared at said upper open end to prevent complete passage 15 of said tubular member through said spherical collar.

10. A holder as defined in Claim 4 wherein said securing means is an over centre lever which, in an operable securing position, moves a stop to engage the outer surface of said spherical collar sufficient to prevent motion of said spherical collar. 20

11. A holder as defined in any one of Claims 5 to 8 wherein, said securing means is an over-centre lever which, in an operable securing position, moves a stop sufficient to engage the outer surface of said spherical collar and whereby the inner bore of said spherical collar subsequently engages the outer surface of said tubular member, wherein in said 11 operable securing position, motion of said spherical collar and relative movement of said tubular memberto said spherical collar are prevented.

12. A holder as defined in any one of Claims I to 11 wherein, said securing means is incorporated into said base member. 5

13. A holder substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.