AU2012100166A4 - Accessory Assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

ACCESSORY ASSEMBLY 5 A modular fishing accessory assembly comprising a mount and a least one accessory, the mount being adapted to securely attach to a support and to receive at least one accessory wherein the accessory has means to receive at least one further accessory.

Description

1 ACCESSORY ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 The present invention relates to accessory assemblies and in particular to a modular fishing accessory assembly. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION .0 It should be noted that reference to the prior art herein is not to be taken as an acknowledgement that such prior art constitutes common general knowledge in the art. Fishing has become a popular activity that can be performed as a hobby or as a .s competitive sport. Accordingly, fishing appeals to many different groups of people and people of any age can participate in the activity together. It is possible to fish in many different locations including ocean, river or lake fishing in a boat or beach, rock, river and lake fishing from the shore. The increased popularity of fishing has seen the increased production of fishing accessories that enhance or facilitate 'o fishing. Accordingly, most fishermen, whether fishing from a boat or the shore, will use a range of accessories such as fishing rod holders, bait boards, lights, scalers and the like. It is desirable to have these accessories in an easily accessible location so that the user can easily find and use the device while fishing. 25 It is common for shore fishermen to use a large bucket or container to carry their accessories and store them nearby during fishing. However, it can be difficult to find a particular item in a bucket causing frustration to the user. Alternatively, fishermen can store their accessories in their car or place items on the bonnet of their car which again is inconvenient and may cause damage to their vehicle. 30 If fishing from a boat, it is common for holes to be drilled in the transom or gunwale and the accessory mounted in the hole. This not only damages the boat but fixes the accessory in one place meaning the fisherman must always fish from the same place in the boat or must move to use the device which is inconvenient.

2 Mounting assemblies have been developed to reduce damage to boats by permanently mounting a track to the boat and mounting the accessories to the track. Some of these mounting assemblies require a hole to be drilled in the track and 5 therefore the accessories remain in a fixed position. Other assemblies have a track that can slidably receive custom accessories which can be removably fixed at a number of points along the length of the track. However, the mounting track can only be used on a boat and not a car or another support and it is also permanently fixed to the boat which is undesirable. .0 Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an improved fishing accessory assembly. STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION .5 According to the present invention a modular fishing accessory assembly comprises a mount and a least one accessory, the mount being adapted to securely attach to a support and to receive at least one accessory wherein the accessory has means to receive at least one further accessory. '0 In one form the mount includes a channel to slidably receive a shaft extending from the accessory. Preferably at least one accessory includes a channel to slidably receive a shaft extending from a further accessory. 25 Even more preferably, the channel has a plurality of holes along its length and the shaft has a plurality of holes along its length such that a pin can be inserted through the holes in the channel and the shaft to secure the shaft within the channel. Advantageously, the pin is removable such that the position of the accessory within the channel is adjustable. 30 In one form, the mount is secured to a support by two U-bolts. In another form, the mount is secured to a support by a clamp. In yet another form, the mount is securable to a support by any other suitable fixing device.

3 Preferably the assembly includes at least one accessory chosen from the following accessories: bait board, fishing rod holder, cup/drink holder, light holder, tool holder. In one embodiment the bait board accessory includes a rectangular board with a lip 5 along at least one side of the board and a shaft extending from the board. Preferably the bait board accessory also includes a channel to receive a shaft extending from a further accessory. In one embodiment the fishing rod holder accessory includes at least one tube to receive a fishing rod and a shaft extending from the tube. In one embodiment the cup/drink holder accessory includes at least one cylinder to receive .0 a cup or bottle and a shaft extending from the cylinder. In one embodiment the light holder accessory includes an arm with a protrusion for holding a light and a shaft extending from the arm. In one embodiment a tool holder accessory includes a compartment for storing tools and a shaft extending from the compartment. .s BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 'o Fig 1 is a front plan view of the mount of the present invention; Fig 2 is a top plan view of the mount of Fig 1; Fig 3a is an isometric view of a bait tray accessory of the present invention; Fig 3b is an isometric view of an alternative bait tray accessory of the present invention; 25 Fig 4a is an isometric view of a fishing rod holder accessory of the present invention; Fig 4b is an isometric view of an alternative fishing rod holder accessory of the present invention attached to the bait tray of Fig 3b; Fig 5 is an isometric view of a cup or drink holder accessory of the present invention; Fig 6 is an isometric view of a light holder accessory of the present invention; 30 Fig 7 is a side plan view of a securing pin of the present invention; Fig 8 is a perspective view of the mount of Fig 1 secured to the bull bar of a vehicle with an accessory shaft secured within the mount with the pin of Fig 7; Fig 9 is a perspective view of the mount of Fig 1 secured to the bull bar of a vehicle with the bait board accessory of Fig 3 secured within the mount with the pin of Fig 7 4 and the fishing rod holder accessory of Fig 4 secured to the bait board accessory; and Fig 10 is a perspective view of the present invention in use showing the mount of Fig 1 attached to the bull bar of a vehicle with the bait board accessory of Fig 3 secured 5 within the mount with the pin of Fig 7 and two fishing rod holder accessories of Fig 4 secured to the bait board accessory, one holding fishing rods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION .o As shown in the Figs 1-10, a modular fishing accessory assembly comprises mount 1 and at least one accessory 10, mount 1 being adapted to securely attach to a support and to receive at least one accessory 10 wherein accessory 10 has means to receive at least one further accessory 10. With reference to Figs 1 to 3, mount 1 includes channel 2 to slidably receive shaft 3 extending from accessory 10. .s Accessory 10 includes channel 4 to slidably receive shaft 3 extending from further accessory 10. The modular fishing accessory assembly includes one or more accessories 10 chosen from the following accessories: bait board 11, fishing rod holder 12, cup/drink 'o holder 13, light holder 14, tool holder 15. The accessory assembly can comprise various combinations of accessories which can attach to each other in a modular fashion. As shown in Fig 3a, bait board accessory 11 includes rectangular board 20 with lip 25 21 around all four sides of board 20 and shaft 31 extending from board 20. The underside of board 20 includes channel 4 to receive shaft 3 extending from further accessory 10. Channel 4 extends the length of board 20 such that further accessory 10 may be attached to either side of bait board accessory 11 as shown in Figs 3 and 10. In an alternative embodiment, shown in Fig 3b, two additional channels 40 30 extend upwardly from channel 4 along lip 21 on either side of board 20. Channels 40 can receive shaft 3 extending from accessory 10. As shown in Fig 4a, fishing rod holder accessory 12 includes at least one tube 22 to receive a fishing rod and shaft 32 extending from tube 22 while brace 23 provides 5 support to tubes 22. In an alternative embodiment, shown in Fig 4b, fishing rod holder accessory 12 includes two additional shafts 38 which extend downwardly from first shaft 32 and which can be secured in additional channels 40 of the alternative embodiment of bait board 11. In this alternative embodiment, rod holder 12 is 5 secured above bait board 11 and allows additional accessories 10 to be attached at either side of bait board 11. Cup/drink holder accessory 13, shown in Fig 5, includes at least one cylinder 24 to receive a cup or bottle and shaft 33 extending from cylinder 24. Light holder .0 accessory 14, shown in Fig 6, has arm 25 with protrusion 26 at one end of arm 25 for holding a light and shaft 34 extending from the other end of arm 25. Any suitable light may be attached to light holder 14 including a lantern, an LED light, a torch or similar lighting devices. Tool holder accessory (not shown) includes a compartment for storing tools such as scalers, pliers and the like and a shaft extending from the .5 compartment. As can been seen in Figs 3, 8 and 9, channel 2 in mount 1 has a plurality of holes 5 along its length and shaft 31 on bait board accessory 11 has a plurality of holes 5 along its length such that pin 6 can be inserted through holes 5 in channel 2 and '0 shaft 31 to secure shaft 31 within channel 2. Similarly, channel 4 in bait board 11 has a plurality of holes 5 along its length and shaft 31, 32, 33 and 34 on each of the further accessories, including bait board, 11, fishing rod holder 12, cup/drink holder 13, light holder 14 and tool holder 15, have a plurality of holes 5 along their length such that each one can be secured by pin 6 within channel 4 of bait board 11. 25 Plurality of holes 5 in channel 2 or 4 and shaft 3 allows accessories 11-15 to be placed at a number of different desirable positions. Furthermore, channel 40 has a hole through two opposing sides such that pin 6 can be inserted through holes in channel 40 and shaft 3 to secure shaft 3 within channel 40. 30 A person skilled in the art would understand that any of accessories 10 could include channel 4 to receive shaft 3 of an additional accessory and that the embodiment described is not the only embodiment of the invention.

6 Pin 6 has fastener 7 which secures it within holes 5 of channel 2 or 4 and shaft 3. As shown in Fig 7, fastener 7 is a length of wire attached at one end of pin 6 and having loop 8 at the other end to loop over the opposite end of pin 6 thereby securing it within holes 5. Pin 6 is removable such that the position of accessory 10 within 5 channel 2 or 4 is adjustable. In one form, mount 1 is secured to a support by two U-bolts 9 as shown in Figs 8 through 10. In an alternative embodiment mount is secured to a support by a clamp (not shown). The support may be a bull bar of a car, a hand rail or post on a boat or .o on shore. Each of accessories 11-15 and mount 1 is constructed of steel with welded joints to provide a strong and durable product. However, accessories 11-15 and mount 1 may also be constructed of rigid plastic, fibreglass, aluminium or any other suitable .s material. The present invention provides a modular fishing accessory assembly which is relocatable and therefore can be used on a boat, or on shore for convenient use during fishing. The mount of the accessory assembly can be easily and removably o secured to a support without damaging the support. Furthermore, the accessory assembly includes a variety of accessories which can be attached to the mount in a modular fashion providing great variability to a user. The position of the accessories on the assembly is adjustable so that they can be placed at different heights and positions as required by the user. This is particularly important for positioning of the 25 bait board on a vehicle bull bar during driving. The bait board can be secured to the mount in a forward facing position during use and a rearward facing position, extending over the bonnet of the vehicle, during driving so that no part of the board protrudes past the bull bar obstructing the driver's view. 30 VARIATIONS It will be realized that the foregoing has been given by way of illustrative example only and that all other modifications and variations as would be apparent to persons 7 skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein set forth. Throughout the description and claims of this specification the words "comprise" and 5 variations of that word such as "comprises" and "comprising" are not intended to exclude other additives components integers or steps.

Claims (5)

1. A modular fishing accessory assembly comprising a mount and a least one accessory, the mount being adapted to securely attach to a support and to receive at 5 least one accessory wherein the accessory has means to receive at least one further accessory.

2. The accessory assembly of claim 1 wherein the mount includes a channel to slidably receive a shaft extending from the accessory. -O

3. The accessory assembly of claim 1 or 2 wherein at least one accessory includes a channel to slidably receive a shaft extending from a further accessory.

4. The accessory assembly of claim 2 or 3 wherein the channel has a plurality of 5 holes along its length and the shaft has a plurality of holes along its length such that a pin can be inserted through the holes in the channel and the shaft to secure the shaft within the channel.

5. The accessory assembly of claim 4 wherein the pin is removable such that the o position of the accessory within the channel is adjustable.