AU4505000A - A crustacea net - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO:

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COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED:

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RELATED ART: NAME OF APPLICANT: ABSTIN PTY LTD ACTUAL INVENTOR: MICHAEL JOHNSON ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: LORD COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA.

INVENTION TITLE: "A CRUSTACEA NET" DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: Australian Provisional Patent Number PQ1505 filed on July 9, 1999.

The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

TITLE

"A CRUSTACEA NET" The present invention relates to a crustacea net for entrapment of and retrieval of crustacea from a body of water.

It is known to provide a crustacea net which includes a support member generally in the form of a ring, a net connected to and extending downwardly of the ring and a tether connected to the ring for raising or lowering the net in a body of water. Typically, the tether includes a plurality of tether elements, each of which is tied to the ring.

However, with such a crustacea net, as the crustacea net is raised through the body of water, the ring has a tendency to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis. In extreme cases, the ring rotates to such an extent that crustacea trapped in the net can escape.

The present invention seeks, among other things, to overcome the above mentioned disadvantage.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a crustacea net including a .support member having an inside peripheral surface defining an opening, net means connected to the support member adjacent the said opening and extending, in use, downwardly of the said opening, the said opening and the net means defining an S. 20 entrapment portion for entrapment of crustacea, a plurality of restraining means accommodated on the support member, and tether means having a plurality of tether elements, wherein each tether element has a free end operatively associated with a respective one of the restraining means and the number of tether elements corresponds to the number of restraining means, the arrangement being such that the restraining means restrict movement, in use, of the tether elements relative to the support means.

In this way, the orientation of the crustacea net is maintained substantially constant as the crustacea net is raised or lowered in a body of water and the possibility of escape of crustacea from the crustacea net is reduced.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a diagrammatic perspective view of a crustacea net in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a crustacea net 10 including an entrapment portion 12 and a tether portion 14.

The entrapment portion 12 includes a first support member, in this example in the form of a first annular member 16, a second support member, in this example in the form of a second annular member 18, and net means, in this example in the form of a mesh-type net Although in this example first and second annular members 16, 18 are provided, it will be appreciated that the second annular member 18 is not essential, the second annular o 15 member 18 serving the purpose, among other things, of ensuring that the net 20 lies in a desirable configuration when the crustacea net 10 rests on a bed of a body of water.

0'0" Further, it will be understood that other types of net means may be used instead of the mesh-type net 20 in the present example, such alternative net means including chicken wire. The net means may also be formed of a combination of materials, for example weld mesh across the second annular member 18 and chicken wire between the first annular member 16 and the second annular member 18, the important aspect being that the net means is flexible between the first annular member 16 and the second annular member 18 and configured so as to allow water to pass through the net means.

The tether portion 14 includes a primary tether 22 extending upwardly, in use, for example towards a jetty, a float or a user, an end of the primary tether 22 remote from the entrapment portion 12 being fixed to the jetty or the float or being held by the user, and manipulated so as to raise or lower the entrapment portion 12 as desired.

The tether portion 14 also includes first, second and third tether elements 24, 26 and 28 respectively, the first, second and third tether elements 24, 26, 28 being connected to the primary tether 22 by any suitable connection means, for example by a knot The first annular member 16 includes first, second and third restraining means 32, 34 and 36 respectively, the first, second and third restraining means 32, 34, 36 being accommodated at regular intervals on the first annular member 16, for example by s: welding the restraining means 32, 34, 36 on the first annular member 16. Each restraining means 32, 34, 36 includes a substantially U-shaped portion 38 integral with two legs extending from the U in opposite directions. In this example, the restraining means oooo extend outwardly of the first annular member 16. However, it will be appreciated that the *o* 15 restraining means may alternatively extend inwardly or upwardly of the first annular member 16.

:°o.oo Free ends of the first, second and third tether elements 24, 26, 28 remote from the s: primary tether 22 are tied to respective first, second and third restraining means 32, 34, 36 at the U-shaped portion 38. However, it will be appreciated that the free ends of the tether elements may also be connected adjacent respective first, second and third restraining means 32, 34, 36 directly to the first annular member 16 adjacent the Ushaped portion 38, the important aspect being that the restraining means 32, 34, 36 permit tying or otherwise connecting the free ends of the tether elements 24, 26, 28 to the entrapment portion 12 whilst substantially restraining movement of the free ends relative to the first annular member 16. It will also be appreciated that the free ends of the tether elements 24, 26, 28 may be further restrained by the use of subsidiary connecting devices, for example locking clips.

It will be understood that by providing restraining means 32, 34, 36 on the first annular member 16 and connecting the tether elements 24, 26, 28 to the entrapment portion 12 such that movement of the tether elements 24, 26, 28 relative to the first annular member 16 is restrained by the restraining means 32, 34, 36, the orientation of the crustacea net is maintained substantially constant, in use, as the crustacea net 10 is raised or lowered in a body of water. In this way, the possibility of escape of crustacea from the crustacea net .00: is greatly reduced compared to crustacea nets known hitherto.

o Also provided is a central ring 42 concentrically disposed relative to the second annular member 18 and a float member 44 accommodated on one of the tether elements.

It will be appreciated that the shape of the first and second support members need not 00 15 necessarily be annular, other shapes being envisaged such as square or rectangular shaped first and second support members.

ooo o It will also be appreciated that the first, second and third tether elements 24, 26, 28 need not be connected to the entrapment portion 12 by tying, other commonly known means for connecting a tether to a solid member being envisaged.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the configuration of the restraining means need not be as described in the above embodiment, other suitable configurations being envisaged, the important aspect being that the restraining means is configured and 6 accommodated on the first support member such that movement of the tether elements relative to the first support member is restricted.

Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

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Claims (3)

1. A crustacea net including: a support member having an inside peripheral surface defining an opening; net means connected to the support member adjacent the said opening and extending, in use, downwardly of the said opening and the net means defining an entrapment portion for the entrapment of crustacea; a plurality of spaced restraining means accommodated on the support member, and tether means having a plurality of tether elements, wherein each of the restraining means has at least one tether element associated therewith, the arrangement being such that the restraining means, in use, restricts movement of the tether element relative to the support means.

2. A crustacea net according to Claim 1, where each of the restraining means 15 includes a substantially U-shaped portion. 0* 3. A crustacea net according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the restraining means are spaced approximately equidistantly around the support member. 20 4. A crustacea net according to Claim 3, wherein there are three restraining means spaced approximately 1200 apart around the support member. A crustacea net as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 6 TH DAY OF JULY 2000. ABSTP4PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys LORD COMPANY PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. S

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