GB2258377A

GB2258377A - A bait pouch for an angler's catapult

Info

Publication number: GB2258377A
Application number: GB9212907A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Perrin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-07-18
Filing date: 1992-06-18
Publication date: 1993-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2012-06-18
Also published as: GB2258377B; GB9212907D0

Abstract

A bait pouch of a soft and pliable material (10) for attachment by an elastic sling (12) to a catapult frame, including guide sleeves (13) on at least two opposed sides of the pouch for retaining the elastic sling (12) to be joined at the rear of the pouch by a peg (15) which passes through a pull tab (16). The guide sleeves (13) or other stiffeners provide increased stiffness along two opposed sides of the pouch so that it is maintained in an open configuration. <IMAGE>

Description

A BAIT POUCH FOR AN ANGLER'S CATAPULT THIS INVENTION concerns a bait pouch for attachment to the sling of an angler's catapult to enable bait to be projected to a remote point where a fishing line and hook are located.

Many catapults currently used by anglers include a soft fabric or mesh pouch which is attached to the elastic sling of the catapult via eyelets located in the region of the front or open end of the pouch. The elastic sling is attached either by passing the loose ends of the sling through the eyelets and securing with ties, or alternatively by a split pin attachment. A further method is to pass a free end of the sling from the front of the pouch outwardly through one eyelet and to take it along the outer surface of the pouch passing through an aperture in a pull tab at the rear and down the other outer surface to be passed inwardly through the other eyelet.

The two ends of the sling thus extending from the pouch are secured to the frame of the catapult in a conventional manner.

A disadvantage with the unsupported soft fabric of the pouch is its tendency in use to flatten or become puckered so that the pouch must be straightened out before re-use. This exercise wastes valuable time to the angler, particularly under competition conditions.

A further disadvantage of the aforementioned methods of attaching a sling to an eyeletted pouch is that intense stress points are created which result in premature failure of the sling or sling attachments, thus rendering the catapult inoperative.

An alternative to the soft pouch is a pre-formed moulded cup which may be of heavy density rubber. In this case, the elastic sling is threaded through apertures or cuffs conveniently positioned on the outer surface of the preformed pouch. The weight of a pouch of this kind when compared with the soft fabric pouch causes an increased force to be exerted on the sling leading to premature failure. Also, if the pouch should impact upon the user's hands as it recoils after firing, this can cause injury or at least considerable discomfort. Furthermore, much of the projecting force is absorbed in propelling the pouch.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a pouch of lightweight construction which exerts minimal stress on the sling but which is sufficiently robust and whose configuration is maintained so as to resist the forces which tend to invert or pucker the material in use.

According to the present invention a bait pouch of a pliable material, for attachment by an elastic sling to a catapult frame, includes means on at least two opposed sides of the pouch for receiving an elastic sling; and a pull tab at the rear and is characterised in that a part of the pouch wall is of increased stiffness with respect to the remainder thereof in a manner such as to maintain the pouch in open configuration.

Preferably, the material of the pouch is perforated to reduce wind resistance and to minimise its weight, and the wall of the pouch includes a pair of guide sleeves through which the sling passes alongside the outer wall surface.

Further, the elastic sling may pass alongside at least a part of the depth of the wall from the open end thereof.

Still further, the pull tab preferably includes an aperture through which passes the sling or a peg attached thereto.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bait pouch made in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a front or open end view thereof; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 3 of a third embodiment of the invention.

and Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

A bait pouch for attachment to an angler's catapult is made from a soft fabric/plastics laminated material sewn in a conical shape as illustrated at 10. The material is perforated as at 11 to minimise wind resistance.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, an elastic sling 12 of tubular latex material passes upwardly alongside the outer wall of the pouch on one side, through a tubular guide sleeve 13, preferably of the same material as the pouch and attached thereto by stitching 14.

Thus the two lengths of the sling 12 pass along opposite guide sleeves 13 to be attached at the rear of the pouch to a Vshaped plastics peg 15 which passes through apertures in a pull tab 16 sewn to the rear of the pouch 10. The other ends of the elastic sling 12 may be attached to the catapult in a conventional manner.

The sleeves 13 serve to stiffen the pouch wall along its two opposed sides, and this is enhanced by the passage therethrough of the sling 12 and the angled configuration as can be seen in Fig. 1 of the peg 15. Thus, in use the pouch tends to be maintained in an open condition by the aforesaid stiffening and is supported by the stitching 14 and the peg 15 passing through the pull tab 16 thus to prevent the pouch from becoming inverted in use and to support the soft fabric of the pouch to avoid puckering thereof.

In addition, by extending the sling alongside at least a part of the depth of the pouch wall from the open end thereof, additional elastic extension is provided over that part of the sling which is contained between the open end of the pouch and the attachment to the peg 15.

Referring now to Fig. 3, in a second embodiment, two opposed strips of a stiffening material illustrated by the dotted lines 17 are attached by stitching or bonding to the inner or outer surfaces of the pouch wall 10. The sleeves 13 of Fig. 1 are replaced, in this embodiment, by shorter cuffs 18 sewn or otherwise attached to the outer wall of the pouch close to the open end thereof to position the sling 12 alongside the wall of the pouch so that it may pass through the aperture in the pull tab 16. Once again, if preferred, a peg similar to that illustrated at 15 may be provided for attachment of two free ends of the sling 12.

In this embodiment the pouch is stiffened by the strips 17 and the sling 12 is guided around the outside of the pouch by cuffs 18 and pull tab 16.

Referring now to Fig. 4, in a third embodiment two opposed stiffening strips 19 are attached by stitching or bonding to the outer wall of the pouch 10, and each carries, close to its rearward end, i.e. remote from the open end of the pouch a fixed peg 20 for attachment of the sling 12 on each side of the pouch.

Again, short cuffs 18 similar to those illustrated in Fig. 3 are provided as guides.

In Fig. 5, sleeves 13 of Fig. 1 and cuffs 18 of Figs. 3 & BR< 4 have been omitted. Eyelets 21 are provided close to the open end of the pouch which is stiffened as shown at 22. The stiffened pouch, even with eyelets 21 to which the sling 12 is attached directly is an improvement over the prior art since the pouch is maintained in an open condition by the stiffening 22.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the above examples only. The scope of the invention extends to any means for stiffening at least a part of the wall of a soft pouch to maintain it in an open condition and to prevent it from becoming inverted, with the additional preferred feature of means to accommodate the elastic sling alongside at least a part of the depth of the wall of the pouch extending rearwardly from the open end thereof. Whilst the sling has been described and illustrated as passing along the outer surface of the pouch, it is conceivable also that it may be located internally.

The stiffeners may be inserted into pockets or guides sewn into the walls of the pouch and may be made to extend beyond the apex of the pouch to form the aperture for the elastic sling to pass through and also to provide means for the pull tab to attach to or for the pull tab itself to be an integral part thereof.

The stiffeners may also include the guide sleeves as an integral part and may be formed as a filamentary loop to minimise weight.

Furthermore the stiffeners may be formed as one piece in a "V" configuration, with or without guide loops, with or without a fixed peg 20 for the attachment of the sling.

The support afforded by the wall stiffening and partial enclosure or guiding of the sling, enables the material of the pouch alternatively to be a fine mesh as opposed to a perforated material of the kind described.

Claims

1. A bait pouch of a pliable material, for attachment by an elastic sling to a catapult frame, including means on at least two opposed sides of the pouch for receiving an elastic sling, and a pull tab at the rear; characterised in that a part of the pouch wall is of increased stiffness with respect to the remainder thereof in a manner such as to maintain the pouch in open configuration.

2. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, wherein the wall includes a pair of guide sleeves through which the sling passes along the outer wall surface.

3. A bait pouch according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the material of the pouch is perforated to reduced wind resistance and to minimise its weight.

4. A bait pouch according to Claim 2, wherein the guide sleeves extend along a substantial part of the depth of the wall from the open end of the pouch.

5. A bait pouch according to Claim 2, wherein the guide sleeves are provided in the form of short cuffs adjacent the open end of the pouch.

6. A bait pouch according to Claim 2, wherein the guide sleeves are provided as loops adjacent the open end of the pouch.

7. A bait pouch according to Claim 2, wherein the increased stiffness of the pouch wall is provided by the attachment of the guide sleeves to the wall surface.

8. A bait pouch according to any preceding claim, wherein the elastic sling is retained against the side walls of the pouch throughout the depth thereof.

9. A bait pouch according to any preceding claim, wherein two free ends of the elastic sling are joined in the region of the closed end of the pouch by a V-shaped peg to which the ends are attached.

10. A bait pouch according to Claim 9, wherein the Vshaped peg passes through an aperture in the pull tab.

11. A bait pouch according to any preceding claim, wherein the pliable material is a soft fabric/plastics laminated material sewn in a conical shape and containing an array of perforations.

12. A bait pouch according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the guide sleeves are of the same material as the pouch and attached thereto by stitching.

13. A bait pouch according to any preceding claim, wherein the increased stiffness of said pouch wall is provided by a stiffener of greater rigidity than the pliable material, and retained in contact with the pouch wall along substantially the entire depth thereof.

14. A bait pouch according to Claim 13, wherein the stiffener is inserted into a stitched pocket extending along each side of the pouch.

15. A bait pouch according to Claim 13, wherein the stiffener is bonded to the pouch wall.

16. A bait pouch according to Claims 14 or 15, wherein the stiffener extends beyond the apex of the pouch to form an aperture for passage of the elastic sling.

17. A bait pouch according to Claim 16, wherein the stiffener provides an attachment for a pull tab.

18. A bait pouch according to Claim 16, wherein the stiffener provides a pull tab.

19. A bait pouch according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the elastic sling is continuous about the pouch and extends along two opposed side walls thereof and through an aperture in the pull tab at the rear thereof.

20. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, wherein the increased wall stiffness is provided by means including a pair of pegs for the attachment of the elastic sling.

21. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, including a pair of eyelets attached to the wall of the pouch adjacent the open end thereof as means for attachment of the elastic sling.

22. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, wherein the increased wall stiffness is provided by a one-piece stiffener of V-shape attached externally or internally to the pouch wall.

23. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, wherein the pouch is produced as a moulding from a pliable material, said moulding having areas of increased stiffness to maintain the pouch in an open configuration.

24. A bait pouch according to Claim 1, wherein the pliable material is in the form of a fine mesh with stiffeners attached on at least two opposed sides of the pouch.

25. A bait pouch of a pliable material for attachment by an elastic sling to a catapult frame, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.