GB2124863A - Improvements in or relating to a hook orientation device - Google Patents

Abstract

A hook orientation device for use with a "longline" fishing line comprising a main line, a plurality of snoods extending from the main line at spaced intervals and hooks provided at the free end of each snood, said hook orientation device comprising a pipe 12 or the like through which said main line may be fed in a predetermined direction, the pipe having a smaller interior diameter than the distance between the tip and shank of each hook on the longline,the upstream end face 15 of the pipe (with reference to the direction of movement of the main line through the pipe) being bevelled, there being a slot 13 extending from the downstream cusp of said bevelled end face towards the other end of the pipe, the bevelled end face of the pipe defining or being provided with means defining an inclined surface extending radially outwardly from the periphery of the central opening of the pipe by radial distance at least equal to the distance between the shank and the tip of each hook on the longline. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to a hook orientation device The present invention relates to a hook orientation device, and more particularly to a hook orientation device forthe use in connection with a "longline" hauling system as utilised in connection with sea fishing.

In "longline" fishing there is a main line of considerable length. A plurality of short lines or "snoods" extend from the main line at spaced intervals, and a hook is provided at the free end of each snood. Each hook comprises a linearshankandan arcuate bow, typically of semi-circula r form, which terminates in a sharp tip or point.

When such a longline is stored it is preferable to store the main line coiled in a basket orthe like, with the various hooks present in a hook magazine. This stops the hooks snagging the stored line, and also facilitates the subsequent baiting ofthe line, when the line is utilised again.

In a conventional hauling system for use with such a longlinethe line ishauled in, and anyfish caught on the hooks are removed from the line. The line, snoods and hooks are then cleaned by passing the line snoods and hooks through brushing and scraping arrangements, and then the line passesto an apparatus which coils the line in a basket whilst feeding the hooks to a hook magazine. The hooks must thugs be orientated appropriately, and in the prior proposed device the main line is threaded through a tubular memberwhich operates to align the hooks in a desired fashion. The tubular member has an internal diameter which is less than the diameter ofthe bow of each hook, that is to say the distance between the tip and the shank of each hook.The "upstream" end ofthetubularmemberhas a bevelled face, that is to saythe end face of the tube is not perpendicularto the axis ofthetube, but is inclined to the perpendicular. At the part of the end face of the tube that isfurthestfrom the extreme end ofthetube, there is an opening into a slot which extends along the tube. As the main linewith the associated snoods and hooks is drawn to the tube, the interior curved face of the bow of each hook will engage on the bevelled face at the end ofthe tube.Due to the movement imparted to the hook byte movementofthe main line, the bow ofthe hookwill tend to slide along the bevelled end of thetube inthe general direction of movement ofthe line, SQ thatthe bow ofthe hook is broughtto the end of the slot. Since the diameter ofthetube is less that the diameter of the bowofthehook,thehookthen proceeds with the tip portion ofthe bow guided along the slot with the shankwithin the tube, possibly in engagement with the interior surface ofthewall opposite the slot. Consequently it will be appreciated that all the hooks on the snoods are broughtto a desired orientation before the hooks leave the tubular member.

The hooks may then be guided appropriately to a hook magazine.

If the longline is hauled in rapidlythe hooks will impinge with a considerable velocity againstthe bevelled end of the tube, and this may result in a severetug applied to the snood, which may even cause the snood to break. Alternatively the hook may be deformed or slightly straightened. The apparatus may not operate satisfactorily if the hook initially engages partofthe bevelled opening diametrically opposed to the opening ofthe slot, since if the hook does impinge on the bevelled opening in such an orientation, the hook is not guided either to the left or to the right.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved hook orientation apparatus.

According to this invention there is provided a hook orientation device for use with a "longline" fishing line comprising a main line, a plurality of snoods extending from the main line at spaced intervals and hooks provided at the free end of each snood, said hook orientation device comprising a pipe or the like through which said main line may be fed in a predetermined direction, the pipe having a smaller interior diameter than the distance between the tip and shank of each hook on the longline, the upstream end face of the pipe (with reference to the direction of movementofthe main line th rough the pipe) being bevelled, there being a slot extending from the downstream cusp of said bevelled end face towards the other end ofthe pipe, the bevelled end face of the pipe defining or being provided with means defining an inclined surface extending radially outwardly from the peripheryofthe central opening ofthe pipe by radial distance at least equal to the distance between the shank and the tip of each hook on the longline.

Preferably a guide plate is provided that effectively forms an extension ofthe bevelled end face ofthe pipe, said plate defining said radially outwardly extending surface.

Conveniently the pipe is located in a substantially horizontal orientation, said bevelled end face being directed generally upwardly.

Advantageously said bevelled end face is at an angle of 200-300to a plane perpendiculartothe axis of the pipe.

In one embodimentthe slot extends from the said bevelled end face ofthe pipe along the outside surface ofthe pipeto the other end of the pipewheretheslot terminates immediately adjacent a hook guide, the arrangement being such that a hook on a snood passing through the pipe will be guided along the slot and directed onto the hook guide.

Preferably means are provided for associating the hook guide with a hookmagazineforstoringthe hooks.

Convenientlythe hook guide includes a wall having an inclined surface adapted to be engaged by each hook, the inclined surface making an obtuse angle with the axis ofthe pipe.

Advantageously a pivotally mounted hook catching arm is provided which projects downwardly adjacent said other end of the pipe, said arm crossing the pipe adjacentthe end of the slot, the arm being pivotally movable two a position adjacentthe portion ofthe hook guide to assist in transferring a hookfrom the slot to the hook guide.

Conveniently the arm extends across the pipe to define a chord across the pipe.

Preferably the said other end ofthe pipe is bevelled forming an oblique opening facing the hook catching arm.

Advantageously the hook guide constitutes a chan nel member, one wall ofthe channel member being inclined at one end thereof, said pivoted arm being adapted to move immediately adjacent the inclined portion ofthe wall. Means may be provided for connecting a hook magazine to the hook guide.

Conveniently a rounded body is resiliently maintained in position in contactwith or immediately adjacent the upstream end of the slot. Said body may be spherical.

Advantageously the walls of the pipe are effectively thickened in the region ofthe said slot.

In orderthatthe invention may be more readily understood, and so that furtherfeatures thereof may be appreciated, the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa diagrammatic view of a fishing line hauling system for hauling a "longline" which incorporates a hook orientation means in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is a more detailed perspective view ofthe hook orientation apparatus and part of an associated hook magazine, in accordance with the invention.

Referring initially to Figure 1 a longline 2 is illustrated. The longlineis provided with a plurality of hooks4each having a substantially linear shank terminating in a substantially semi-circular bow terminating in atipwhich is shown as being barbed.

Each hook is connected to a main line 3 by a snood 5.

In the apparatus illustrated the line is initially drawn in fromtheseaoveran initial pulley23which maybe located, for example, on a rail of a ship. The line then passes through a zone in which any fish present on the hooks 4 may be removed from the hooks. The line passes over a pulley 24 and then passes downwardly through a hook cleaner 9, comprising two inwardly directed brush elements. The line 3 then passes round a winch 25, and subsequently passes upwardly towards a pulley 26 through a tangle remover 8. The tangle remover8 comprises resiliently baissed scraper means 8', 8".The line subsequently passes over the pulley 26, and then passes through a combined hook cleaning and snood tensioning means 7, again constituted by two inwardly directed brush-like ele ments.The line is subsequentlyfedto a hook orientation device 1 in accordance with the present invention, which is associated with a hook guide 17, a main driving sheave 6 and a hook magazine 10.

Itwill be appreciated that in operation of the device the winch 25 and the sheave 6 are driven, drawing the line 3 in the from the sea. The fish is removed from the line, and any bait remaining on the hooks and any slighttangles ofthe snoods are removed as the line and snoods pass through hook cleaner 9. The tangle remover 8 serves to remove any more severe tangles ofthe snoods, and the final snood tensioning means 7 serves to locate the snoods in the desired orientation parallel to the main line before the snoods enter the hook orienting device, and also serves to remove any pieces of bait remaining on the hooks. The hooks are then oriented in the hook orientation device 1, with the hooks 4 being led to the hook magazine 10, and the line 3 being coiled within a line tub 11.As can be seen from Figure 1 the magazine 10 is mounted in position overthe linetub 11 by means oftheyokes 11'thatare secured to the magazine 10 and are screwed into the inside ofthetub 11.The hook magazine 10 is detachably connected with the hook guide 17 by means of cooperating members 22 22' as shown most clearly in Figure 2. Thus when a longline has been drawn in from the sea and stored in the line tub 11 with the hooks mounted in the hook magazine mounted above the line tub, the line tub and the associated hook magazine may be removed to a storage location and a fresh line tub and magazine may be connected to the hauling system described above to enable another longline to be drawn in from the sea.

As has been mentioned the present invention relates primarilyto the hook orientation device as illustrated most clearly in Figure 2.

As can be seen in Figure 2 the main line 3 is fed through a substantially horizontal pipe 12. The pipe has an internaldiameterwhichislessthanthe diameter ofthe bow of each hook, that is to say less than the distance between the top and the linear shank ofthe hook. The upstream end ofthe pipe 12, that is to saythe end of the pipe 12 that is first encountered by a hook being drawn in from the sea, is bevelled,that isto say the end face is not transverse to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, but is inclined thereto at an angle of approximately 20 to 30 degrees. It will be appreciated thatthe bevelled end 15 Of the pipe effectively forms an inclined face which surrounds the open end 14 of the pipe 12.The inclined face is directed generally upwardly. Aslot 13 is formed in the side wall ofthe pipe which extends from the part of the inclined end face of the tube that is fu rthestfrom the free end of the pipe, that is to say which extends from the cusp ofthe end face which is furthest downstream when considering the direction of movement ofthe hookthroughthe pipe 12. This cusp is located atthe uppermost part of the inclined face. It will be appreciated that the bevelled end face thus effectively forms two sloping surfaces which extend from the free end of the pipe towards the open end ofthe slot 13. A guiding plate 18 is provided which comprises a planar member having the front surface thereof substantially aligned with the bevelled end face of the pipe 12.Thus, effectively, the opening 14 provided in the end ofthe pipe 12 is an opening formed in the plane of the guide plate 18. The surface defining the bevelled end of the pipe must extend from the periphery of the opening by a radial distance at least equal to the distance between the shank and the tip ofthe hooks on the longlineto be used with the apparatus.

A spherical member 21 may be provided mounted on a resilient arm,the spherical member being located immediately adjacent the open end oftheslot 13.

Before the rest of the structure illustrated in Figure 2 is described it will be explained that as the main line 3 is drawn through the pipe 12with the snoods substantially parallel with the main line, each snood will be drawn through the pipe 12 and finally the hook 4 provided atthe end of the snood will approach the open end 14 of the pipe 12. The tip of the hook will engage the guide plate 18which is inclined relative to the direction of movement of the hook. The tip ofthe hook will thus be directed upwardly without any sudden jerking orjarring, and without any risk ofthe hook being straightened.The uppermost edge of the plate 18 is located adjacent the open end ofthe slot 13, and thus as the tip of the hook is guided upwardly, the hook will move to an orientation in which the tip of the hook is located within the slot 13, while the remainder ofthe hook is located within the hollow centre of the pipe 12. The spherical member 21 serves to assist in this action, since only relatively narrow channels are to defined between the periphery of the spherical member 21 and the two inclined faces effectively defined by the bevelled end ofthe pipe 12. Thus each hook is smoothly guided into and along the slot 13.

To continue to describe the structure illustrated in Figure 2 it can be seen that the slot 13 is not a linear slot, but inclines downwardly so that, at the downstream end 16 of the pipe 12 (as regards the direction of movement ofthe line 3) the slot 3 terminates adjacent a base plate 19 on which the illustrated components are mounted. The base plate 19 is located underneath the pipe 12. An arm 20 is pivotally mounted on an appropriate structure located on the base plate 19. The arm extends substantially vertically and is located immediately adjacentthe downstream end ofthe pipe 12. The arm 20 may move pivotally in the direction ofthe double headed arrowagainsta resilient biasing force.It will be appreciated that the lower end of the arm 20' is located adjacent the open end 16 ofthe pipe 12 in such a position that as a hook is guided down the slot 13, the shankofthe hookwill pass on one siide ofthe arm, and the tip ofthe hook will pass on the other side ofthe arm. Thus the hook will engage the free end of the arm 20. When a hook does engage the free end ofthe arm 20, the hook imparts a rotational force to the arm 20 as the line 3 continues to move, and the arm 20 thus pivots. As the arm pivots the arm moves immediately adjacent a wall 17' thatforms part of a channel that effectively constitutes a hook guide 17". The wall 17' has a sloping uppersurface. Thetip ofthe hookthusegages this sloping wall and the hook moves upwardly.As the hook does move upwardly the arm 20 pivots to such an extentthatit no longer engagesthe hook, and under its resilient bias the arm 20 returns to its initial position.The hook, however, is now located in such a position thatthetip of the hook is located within the channel constituting the hook guide 17". As can be seen, by means of interengaging elements 22, 22' the channel constituting the hook guide 17" is directly connected to a further channel constituting a hook magazine 10.Thus each hooks is gradually moved towards the magazine 10.

It isto be understood thatthe end 16 ofthe pipe 12 is also bevelled, that is to say the plane of the end face of the pipe is not perpendicular to the axis of the pipe, and the arrangement is such thatthe slot 1 3termin- ates at the cusp ofthe end face 16 of the pipe that is closesttothecentral region ofthe pipe 12. In this way the shank of the hook is guided against the interior surface of the pipe 12 for the greatest practicable distance, thus ensuring that the hook engages the arm 20 in the desired manner.

Whilstthe connecting elements 22, 22' have been illustrated in a simple form it is to be understood that these elements are provided to connect the magazine 10 to the hook guide 17" in a secure but releasable manner. The element 22', il!ustrated as a sleeve mounted on the base plate 19 may be provided with a locking means which will hold the projection 22 against pivoting.

The pipe 12may advantageously have a large wall thickness, for example 7 mm, resulting in the provision of wide opposed faces defining the slot 13. This may prove to be advantageous, especially when small hooks are used that do not project from the slot 13. In this way a single separating means may receive and orient hooks of a wide variety of sizes provided, of course, that the inside diameter of the pipe 12 is smallerthan the diameter ofthe bow of the smallest hook. It is to be appreciated thatthe wide guiding faces defining the slot may possibly be made by the aid of guide rails or guide members mounted on each side of the top ofthe slot. Thus the material defining the pipe may be raised orthickened on each side ofthe slot 13.

In a modified embodiment ofthe invention the hook catching arm 20 may project into a especially provided slot at the end 16 ofthe pipe 12. The arm 20 may possibly project th rough two slots, so that the hook catching arm lies on a chord extendirig partly across the inner circumference of the pipe 12 within the pipe.

This will ensurethatthe hook bow will be safely caught by the hook catching armwhilsttheshankof the hook is still within the pipe 12 and still in contact with the interior wall ofthe pipe 12.

Claims (17)

1. Ahookorientationdeviceforusewith a "longline" fishing line comprising a main line, a plurality of snoods extending from the main line at spaced intervals and hooks provided atthefree end of each snood, said hook orientation device comprising a pipe orthe likethrough which said main line may be fed in a predetermined direction,the pipe having a smaller interior diameterthanthe distance between the tip and shank of each hook on the longline,the upstream end face of the pipe (with reference to the direction of movement of the main line through the pipe) being bevelled, there being a slot extending from the downstream cusp of said bevelled end face towards the other end of the pipe, the bevelled end face of the pipe defining or being provided with means defining an inclined surface extending radially outwardlyfrom the periphery ofthe central opening of the pipe by radial distance at least equal to the distance between the shank and the tip of each hook on the longline.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein a guide plate is provided that effectively forms an extension of the bevelled end face of the pipe, said plate defining said radially outwardly extending surface.

3. Adevice according to claim 1 or claim 2wherein the pipe is located in a substantially horizontal orientation, said bevelled end face being directed generally upwardly.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein said bevelled end face is at an angle of 20"-30"to a plane perpendiculartothe axis of the pipe.

5. A device according to any one ofthe preceding claims wherein the slot extends from the said bevelled end face ofthe pipe along the outside surface of the pipe to the other end of the pipe where the slot terminates immediately adjacent a hook guide, the arrangement being such that a hook on a snood passing through the pipe will be guided along the slot and directed ontothe hook guide.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein means are provided for associating the hook guide with a hook magazine for storing the hooks.

7. A device according to claim or 6 wherein the hook guide includes a wall having an inclined surface adapted to be engaged by each hook, the inclined surface making an obtuse angle with the axis ofthe pipe.

8. A device according to any one of the claims 5 to 7 wherein a pivotally mounted hook catching arm is provided which projects downwardly adjacent said other end of the pipe, said arm crossing the pipe adjacent the end of the slot, the arm being pivotally movable to a position adjacent the portion of the hook guide to assist in transferring a hook from the slot to the hook guide.

9. A device according to claim 8 wherein the arm extends across the pipe to define a chord across the pipe.

10. A device according to claim 8 or9 wherein the said other end of the pipe is bevelled forming an oblique facing the hook catching arm.

11. A device according to claim 8 or 9 or 10 wherein the hook guide constitutes a channel member, one wall of the channel member being inclined at one end thereof, said pivoted finger being adapted to move immediately adjacentthe inclined portion ofthe wall.

12. A device according to claim 11 wherein means are provided for connecting a hook magazine to the hook guide.

13. A device accordingto any oneofthe preceding claims wherein a rounded body is resiliently maintained in position in contactwith or immediately adjacentthe upstream end of the slot.

14. A device according to claim 13 wherein said body is spherical.

15. A device according to any one ofthe preceding claims in which the walls ofthe pipe are effecitively thickened in the region ofthe said slot.

16. A hook orientation device substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

17. Any novel feature or combination offeatures disclosed herein.