GB2287389A - Pole float winder - Google Patents

Abstract

The winder comprises two elongate side members (13, 14) connected to each other by first and second cross-members (15, 16) adjacent the ends of the side members (13, 14) and by a brace (17) extending between the side members (13, 14) at an intermediate position along the length of the winder, the brace (7) defining a first aperture (18) between the first cross-member (15) and the brace (7) and a second aperture (19) between the second cross-member (16) and the brace (7), the first aperture (18) being longer than the second aperture (19). This construction allows the winder to accommodate pole float winders of a variety of different shapes and configurations without the float portion (10) projecting beyond the edges of the side members (13, 14). <IMAGE>

Description

A POLE FLOAT WINDER This invention relates to pole float winders on which a length of fishing line with a pole float attached thereto may be wound for storage.

There are many different types of pole float winder available and also many different types and configuration of pole float. A pole float comprises a generally bulbous float portion, eg made of wood or plastics material, with a short length of a narrow, flexible pole extending from one end thereof and a longer length of narrow, flexible pole extending from the other end thereof. The size and width of the float portion and the lengths of the two flexible poles extending therefrom can vary considerably.

Pole float rigs are relatively complex comprising a hook, line and a weight and are therefore usually made as a complete terminal tackle unit in advance of fishing.

The pole float is also a relatively fragile article which is liable to damage if compressed or bent, eg during storage in a fisherman's tackle box and, for this reason, they are commonly stored on a pole float winder the side members of which protect the pole float from being inadvertantly compressed between other items in the tackle box.

However, a problem arises with conventional pole float winders in that a given winder is of a suitable size and shape to correctly accommodate only a pole float of appropriate size and configuration or a small range of pole floats of different shapes. If the winder is not of the appropriate size and/or configuration, the float portion of a pole float stored thereon is not correctly accomodated therein and so tends to project beyond the side members of the winder and hence is not adequately protected thereby.

There is thus a need for a design of pole float winder which is capable of correctly accommodating a much larger range of sizes and types of pole float.

Thus, according to the present invention, there is provided a pole float winder comprising two elongate side members connected to each other by first and second cross-members adjacent the respective ends of the side members and by a brace member extending between the side members at an intermediate position between the first and second cross-members, the brace member being located so as to define a first aperture between the first cross-member and the brace member having a length greater than that of a second aperture defined between the second cross-member and the brace member.

The invention will now be further described, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1A is a plan view of a conventional form of pole float winder; Figure 1B is a side view of the pole float winder shown in Figure 1A illustrating the problem which arises if used with a pole float which is not of a matching shape; Figure 2A is a plan view of one embodiment of a pole float winder according to the invention; and Figure 2B is a side view of the pole float winder shown in Figure 2A illustrating how it is able to accommodate pole floats of a much wider range of shapes and sizes.

Figures 1A and 1B illustrate a conventional form of pole float winder.

This comprises a pair of side members 1, 2 which are joined together towards their ends by first and second cross-members 3 and 4, respectivelv. First and second brace members 5 and 6 also extend between the side members 1 and 2 at intermediate positions along the length of the winder. These components define a first aperture 7 between the first cross-member 1 and the first brace number 5, a second aperture 8 between the first and second brace members 5 and 6 and a third aperture 9 between the second brace member 6 and the second cross-member 4.

Apart from minor differences at the ends of the winder, the arrangement shown in Figures 1A and 1B is essentially symmetrical about a plane P perpendicular to the two side members 1 and 2.

Aperture 8 is thus centrally positioned along the length of the winder and bracing members 5 and 6 and apertures 7 and 9 are symmetrically arranged on either side thereof.

A pole float winder such as that shown in Figures 1A and 1B is designed to accommodate a pole float which is of approximately the same length as the winder and which has a bulbous float portion which is positioned so as to be accommodated either in aperture 7 or aperture 9 depending which way round the float is installed in the winder.

However, problems arise if the bulbous float portion is not positioned so as to lie within either of these apertures. Such a situation is illustrated in Figure 1B which shows in dotted lines a pole float comprising a bulbous float portion 10, a short pole 11 and a longer pole 12. Due to the arrangement of the float portion 10 and poles 11 and 12, it is not possible to correctly accommodate this pole float in the winder as the float portion 10 rests on the first bracing member which thus prevents the float portion from being properly accommodated between the side members 1 and 2. The bulbous float portion thus projects beyond the edges of the side members 1 and 2 and is thus liable to be damaged. Due to the symmetrical design of the winder, the same problem is experienced if the pole float is turned through 1800 and fitted in the winder the opposite way round. And of course, it the pole float is positioned in the winder such that the float portion 10 lies within one of the apertures 7, 8 or 9, either the pole 11 or 12 will project from one end of the winder and will thus be liable to be damaged.

A pole float winder of conventional design such as that illustrated in Figures 1A and 1B in only capable of correctly accommodating a minority of pole floats of the appropriate length available on the market, perhaps as few as 30 or 40% of the different types of float available (unless of course, an unnecessarily large winder is used to prevent the bulbous float portion protruding therefrom) Many other designs of pole float winder are available but they are all of essentially symmetrical design and/or are arranged so that the number of different pole floats which can be accommodated therein is limited.

Figures 2A and 2B illustrate a pole float winder which is designed to improve considerably upon this. The pole float winder shown in Figures 2A and 2B also comprises a pair of side members 13 and 14 connected to each other adjacent their ends by first and second crossmembers 15 and 16. A brace member 17 extends between the side members 13 and 14 at an intermediate position between the first and second cross-members 15 and 16. The brace member 17 is positioned so as to define a first aperture 18 between the first cross-member 15 and the brace member 17 and a second aperture 19 between the brace member 17 and the second cross-member 16. The brace member 17 is not positioned symmetrically between the first and second crossmembers 15 and 16 so the first aperture 18 has a length greater than the second aperture 19.

By carefully selecting the position of the brace member 17 between the first and second cross-members 15 and 16 it has been found that a much larger range of the different shapes and configurations of pole float available can be correctly accommodated in the winder, ie without either ths float portion projecting beyond the edges of the side members 13 and 14 or the poles projecting from the ends of the winder, so the fragile float is adequately protected by the winder.

As shown in Figure 2B, the cross-members 15 and 16 and the brace member 17 are offset from the centre line of the winder. This is to maximise the space available on one side of the members for accomodating the pole float whilst providing space on the other side thereof for storing several turns of fishing line and various weights attached thereto.

Figure 2B illustrates how a pole float similar to that shown in figure 1B can be accommodated in this type of winder.

It will be appreciated that as the brace member 17 is not symmetrically positioned between the first and second cross-members, if a pole float cannot be accommodated in one orientation in the winder it may be turned through 1800 and it may be found that it can be accommodated correctly the other way round. Furthermore, as the first aperture extends over a substantial proportion of the length of the winder, eg 35 to 45% thereof, and extends from almost the centre of the winder to one end thereof, the configuration is such that a large number of pole floats of different shapes and sizes can be correctly accomodated thereon with their bulbous float portions protected from damage.

From an analysis of the different types of pole float available on the market, it is estimated that an arrangement such as that shown in Figures 2A and 2B will correctly accommodate over 90% and possibly as many as 95X of the pole floats available of the appropriate length. It will be appreciated that this is a dramatic improvement over conventional pole float winders.

It will be also appreciated that the provision of a brace member is essential to provide the winder with lateral rigidity so that the side members adequately protect the pole float positioned therebetween. In convention.al pole float winders, a plurality of relatively narrow bracing members have been used, spaced along the length of the winder, such as the members 5 and 6 shown in Figures 1A and 1B. However, it has been found that a single brace member provides sufficient rigidity if it is of elongate, web-like form such as the brace member 17 shown in Figures 2A and 2B.

A brace memeber such as that shown if figures 2A and 2B is preferably of continuous form such as that illustrated but may also be perforated or provided with one or more smaller apertures therein.

The effective length of the apertures 18 and 19 may also be increased without significantly affecting the rigidity of the winder by forming the apertures with curved or narrowing ends as shown in Figures 2A and 2B.

A pole float winder such as that shown in Figures 2A and 2B may be provided in a range of sizes, eg having lengths of 160mm, 180mm, 200mm, and 220mm. They may also be provided in different widths, eg lOmm, 15mm and 20mm wide. The apertures 18 and 19 are of different length to each other, the longer aperture 18 typically being between 40 and 85mm long and the shorter aperture being between 15 and 50mm long. The brace member 17 typically has a length in the range 35 to 50mm. The ratio between the length of the longer aperture 18 and the length of the shorter aperture 19 is preferably in the range 3.5:1 to 1.5:1. The brace member also preferably extends along between 10 and 30z of the length of the winder and preferably between 20 and 25% thereof.

The pole float winder shown in Figures 2A and 23 is provided with small outwardly pointing fingers 20 and 21 at the respective ends thereof. The fingers 20 and 21 extend from he first and second cross-members, respectively, and, as shown in Figure A, are preferably offset from the centre of the winder. Also, as shown in Figure 2B, the fingers 20 and 21 are inclined slightly. eg by 10 to 200 to the length of the winder.

A through hole is provided in the second cross-member 16 for receiving a hook. The hole 22 preferably has a tear-drop shape with the narrow end towards the centre of the winder. The hook will thus lie in the narrow end of the hole so as to be heid in the appropriate orientation. A similar hole (not shown) may be provided in the first cross-member 15.

All parts of the pole float winder are formed with substantially smooth surfaces and with rounded edges and corners to minimise the risk of damaging or snagging a fishing line wound thereon.

A pole float winder such as that described above is preferably formed of a plastics material, eg by injection moulding, but may be formed of other materials used in the field, eg wood or metal.

As will be appreciated from the above description, the shape and configuration of the winder is carefully designed so as to maximise the range of pole floats which can be accomodated therein, particularly by maximising the length of the aperture 18, whilst ensuring that the winder has sufficient rigidity to provide adequate protection for a pole float accomodated therein.

Claims (11)

1. A pole float winder comprising two elongate side members connected to each other by first and second cross-members adjacent the respective ends of the side members and by a brace member extending between the side members at an intermediate position between the first and second cross-members, the brace member being located so as to define a first aperture between the first cross-member and the brace member having a length greater than that of a second aperture defined between the second cross member and the brace member.

2. A pole float winder as claimed in claim 1 in which a single brace member is provided intermediate the first and second cross members, the brace member having a web-like form.

3. A pole float winder as claimed in claim 2 in which the brace member extends along between 10 and 30 c of the length of the winder and preferably between 20 and 25 ó thereof.

4. A pole float winder as claimed in claim 2 or 3 in which the brace member has a length in the range 35 to 50mm.

5. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the ratio of the length of the first aperture to the length of the second aperture is in the range 3.5 to 1.5:1.

6. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the length of the first aperture is in the range 55 to 85mm and the length of the second aperture is in the range 15 to 50mm.

7. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the length of the first aperture extends over 35 to 45% of the length of the winder.

8. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim in which the ends of the apertures are curved or of narrowing form.

9. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim formed of a plastics material.

10. A pole float winder substantially as herein described with refernce to Figures 2A and/or 23 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A pole float winder as claimed in any preceding claim with a pole float mounted therein.