GB2322780A - Apparatus for fixing shot on a fishing line - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus assists in the attachment of spherical shot 17 containing a slit 18, to fishing lines, and comprises a 'U'-shaped housing 15 having magnifying means 16 attached to one leg, and a main body 10 attached to the other leg. The body 10 has bores 11, 13 meeting to form a chamber, which communicates with a groove 12 in the surface of the body. Shot is dropped into one of the bores and falls into the chamber. The body is tapped until the slit in the shot aligns itself with the groove, when a fishing line 19 is laid in the groove and enters the slit, at which point a clamping rod 20 is pushed onto the shot through the bore 11 and closes the slit. The line with the shot attached thereto is then removed from the chamber via the bore 13. The procedure can be viewed through the magnifying means.

Description

iLETHOD AID APPARATUS FOR USE IB AIGLIJG This invention relates to a method and apparatus for assisting anglers in attaching spherical shot to fishing lines.

In the sport of angling it is common practice to trail the bait on or near the river bed, and in order to do this the line from the float to the hook which contains the bait, is weighted. In order to give the line a naturally curved shape, so as not to alert the fish to its presence, small lead or tin-based alloy spheres, or shot, which can be as spill as 1.omni diameter, are distributed along the line. The size of the shot and their distribution are chosen by the angler, and necessitate introducing the fine hair-like line to an elongated slit in the shot by feel, and pinching the shot with the fingers or teeth so that the slit closes and clamps the shot to the line. Fishing line diameters are of the order of 0. in.

Because of the small dimensions of the objects involved, it will be appreciated this operation calls for great dexterity together with good eyesight, both attributes of which may not be the forte of many anglers.

Vhere the metal of the shot is lead, it will be appreciated that clamping by using the teeth can also prove dangerous.

In an attempt to overcome this problem, an alternative form of shot exists, a cylindrical version, or styl, which contains the split along it length.

This has allowed the use of pincers to effect the pinching and hence joining of the styls to the fishing line. However, nanny anglers still prefer to use the standard spherical shot.

The apparatus of the present invention seeks to alleviate the probles associated with joining spherical shot to fishing lines and is particularly aimed at shot of diameters of the order 1.0s to 2.5mn, where the problems are particularly prone, although it can be scaled to cope with larger shot.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus to assist in the attachment of shot to fishing lines comprising a main body containing a chanber, aperture nans in said body cnmunicating with said chamber through which shot can be introduced into said chamber, a groove in the surface of said body comunicating with said chamber and along which a fishing line can be placed so that said fishing line enters a slit in said shot, and clamping arans for passing through said aperture means into said chamber and onto the shot/fishing line assembly to thereby close said slit and join said shot to said fishing line.

Conveniently, said chamber contains location means for locating the shot with respect said aperture means and said groove.

Conveniently, said aperture means comprises a first bore whose axis is substantially at right angles to the axis of said groove, together with a further bore whose axis is substantially at right angles to the axes of said first bore and said groove respectively.

Conveniently, the axis of said further bore lies within the walls of said groove and thereby forms a channel within each of said walls respectively.

Conveniently, the channel facing said first bore constitutes said location means.

Conveniently, the width of said groove is greater than the maximum diameter of the fishing lines to be used but narrower than the smallest shot to be used.

Conveniently, the clamping means consists of a rod of naterial which is harder than that of the shot and is introduced through said first bore.

Conveniently, magnifying means are attached to the body to improve visibility of the components being joined.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of attaching shot to a fishing line comprising introducing shot containing a slit, into a chamber contained in a main body via aperture means in said body, aligning the slit with a groove in said body, said groove conunicating with said chamber, introducing said fishing line into said slit via said groove, introducing clamping means through said aperture means into said chamber and pressing said clamping means onto the shot so that the slit closes onto said line, and removing the line with the shot joined thereto fron said chamber via said aperture means.

Conveniently, the slit in the shot is aligned with the groove by tapping the body until the slit boxes into the required position.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the acconpanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows in perspective the again body with the components to be joined; Figure 2 shows the body forming part of a hand-held housing containing magnifying means; Figure 3 shows a section through the body with the shot and fishing line located within a chamber in the body; Figure 4 shows the view shown in Figure 3 with clamping means pressed onto the shot/line assembly; together with a further view in the direction of the arrows 'B-B'; Figure 5 shows the final shot/line assembly.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a sin body 10, comprising a rectangular acrylic block, 15mn wide x iOn deep x 4On long, containing a first bore 11 of 2. On diameter, extending 10. On into the body, having an axis parallel to the axis of the body and 2. On fron one surface of the body. The body 10 also has a parallelsided groove 12, O.7n wide x 3.On deep in the surface of the body referred to above and whose axis is at right-angles to the axis of the first bore. A further bore 13, Of .2. 0DD diameter extends from the surface of the body referred to above, .nod bas an axis at right-angles to the axes of the first bore and the tootle respectively, and lies within the walls of the groove. The axis of the further bore 13 coincides with the axis of the first bore 11, but is arranged to be 0.25mm above the axis of the groove 12 and extends into the body to the full depth of the groove. The open volume within the body where the first bore 11, the groove 12, and the further bore 13 meet, effectively create a chamber, designated by the arrow 'A' (also shown in Figures 3 and 4).

The arrangement thus far described contains the the basic requirements of the invention, and it will be convenient to describe the operation of the apparatus at this stage. A single shot 17 (Figure 1) of diameter of the order of l.Omm to 1.7no, normally designated as shot numbers 12 to 14, having a slit 18, is introduced into the chamber '11' either via the first bore 11 or the further bore 13, while the block 10 is held with these bores uppermost. The shot falls into the chamber and assumes any orientation. By having arranged the centre-line of the further bore 13 to lie within the groove 12 and be 0.25mn above the axis of the groove 12, location means 13'in the form of a part-cylindrical channel, Figures 3 and 4, accomlidates the shot in alignment with the first bore 11, while at the same tine the base of the shot is 0.4mm below the base of the groove 12, as viewed in Figures 3 and 4. The shot is prevented fron falling out from the sides of the body by the fact that the groove width of 0.7mn is smaller than the shot diameter. Hence, providing the body is held substantially upright, the shot remains within the chamber ' ' and directly under the opening of the first bore 11.

By gently tapping the body 10, the shot 17 will spin freely within its location within the chamber. By viewing this movement through the further bore 13, it is possible to halt the movement when the slit is substantially aligned with the groove 12, and having chosen the respective dimensions accordingly, the slit effectively lies within the walls of the groove.

Figure 3 shows the position of the shot within the chamber 'A' when this alignment has taken place.

Figure 4 shows the fishing line 19 having been introduced into the groove 12 and into the slit 18 in the shot 17, at which point clamping means 20,in the form of a 1.5mn diameter cylindrical hardened steel rod with a conical end form, is introduced into the bore 11 and pressed gently onto the shot. This forces the shot against the rear of the chamber 'A', and the floor of the location means 13' in the form of the part-cylindrical channel within the chamber ' while at the same time causing the softer metal of the shot to collapse onto the fishing line 19 and thereby join the to components together. Removal of the clamping means from the chamber 'A' allows the fishing line with the shot attached to be removed fron the body 10 (Figure 5). The operation may then be repeated, to attach further shot at appropriate locations on the line. It will be appreciated that by use of this apparatus, the existing inconvenience of joining shot to fishing lines is greatly alleviated. It will be seen in Figure 1 that the aperture/groove arrangement already described is repeated in mirror-image at the opposite end of the body 10, while the numbering have been repeated with the suffix 'a' to distinguish then. Here the dimensions are as follows: first bore gila, 3.On with its axis 2.5,- from the surface of the body; a 0. 7n width groove x 4. On deep, and the further bore 13a, 3. or diameter and whose axis is 0.65m above the centre-line of the groove 12a with this end of the body uppermost. These dimensions make the floor of the location means 13'a, 0.7mn below the tace ot the groove, and so suitable for use with shot sizes of the order 1.7run to 2.5mm diameter, normally designated as shot numbers 11 to 8.

Referring now to Figure 2, the body 10 of the invention slots conveniently within a recess 14 in one leg of a generally 'U'-shaped housing 15, with the active part presented to magnifying means 16 depending from the other leg of the housing. The magnifying means of eg. x3 magnification, is focused on the chamber ' voile this is convenient in use, it will be appreciated that it is not essential to the invention. As shown in Figure 2 the 'U'shaped housing forns a convenient way of handling the device, and indeed could have a flat base or stand, for hands-free usage.

Vhile in the particular example, the user has had to resort to tapping the body 10 in order to cause the slit in the shot to align with the groove in the body, it will be appreciated that in order to assist with this alignment it is possible to include arrangements which encourage this to take place. For example, by placing a rotating knurled wheel within the body such that the surface of the wheel just protudes within the rear of the chamber ' A' would suffice. However, the introduction of such a facility could unnecessarily make the retail cost of the device become prohibitive, and the technique of tapping the body has been found to work well.

Although the clamping means 20 is shown separate to the body, it will be appreciated that for convenience it could be housed within the body, eg within a recess, or even attached via a clip or with a cord. It has been found that the 1. sun rod forming the clamping means 20 proves quite suitable for effecting closure of the full shot range used.

The dimensions ot the first bore 11 and further bore 13; and the dimensions of the first bore lia and further bore 13a have been chosen to be equal to each other, viz. 2.On and 3.On respectively. This is purely for convenience, and allows shot to be dropped into the chamber 'A' through either opening. It will be appreciated that it is the dimensions of the further bores 13, 13a which rmst be greater than the size of the maximum shots to be used which is important,since these are the openings from which the joined shot/line assembly nist exit. Consequently, the openings 11, lla need only have dimensions which allow entry ot the clamping means 20 into the chamber 'A' and allow it to contact the shot in a position which effecively closes the slit. Either or both bores could have their diameters increased at the surface of the body 10 to assist entry and exit of components In the particular example the width of the groove 12 has been arranged to be smaller than the diameter of the smallest shot. The invention would still work with the groove being equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the largest shot to be used. However, with this arrangement location means equivalent to those of 13', 13'a of the main example can be placed in the wall of the groove opposite the opening of the first bore, 11/ha, to allow the shot to remain in the chamber and be moved into alignment, ready to be compressed onto the fishing line. This can take the form of a part-spherical recess whose depth is the same as that of the part-cylindrical channel 13', 13'a of the main example.

As a further refinement, by narrowing the groove 12 at the extremities of the body it would be possible to use this narrowing to grip the fishing line at either or both ends of the body while performing the action of clamping the shot to the line.

While in the particular example, the clamping means 20 has been in the form of a cylindrical hardened steel rod having a conical end forts, it will be appreciated that the material does not have to be steel and could be acrylic, as long as it is harder than the material of the shot and does not easily wear. Also the end could be other than conical eg domed. It is preferable that it forces the shot towards the rear of the chamber and so assists in the pinching action needed.

A further advantage of the invention has been found to be the consistency and control over the quality of the Join of the two components. The conventional method of biting the shot onto the line, can either prevent any further movement of the shot along the line for final adJustment, or damages the line such that its breaking strength is reduced. Vith the apparatus of the invention both of these probles are easily avoided.

Claims (11)

1 Apparatus to assist in the attachment of shot to fishing lines comprising a main body containing a chamber, aperture means in said body conunicating with said chamber through which shot can be introduced into said chamber, a groove in the surface of said body communicating with said chamber and along which a fishing line can be placed so that said fishing line enters a slit in said shot, and clamping means for passing through said aperture means into said chamber and onto the shot/fishing line assembly to thereby close said slit and Join said shot to said fishing line.

2 Apparatus according to clain 1 wherein said chanber contains location means for locating the shot with respect said aperture means and said groove.

3 Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said aperture means comprises a first bore whose axis is substantially at right angles to the axis of said groove, together with a further bore whose axis is substantially at right angles to the axes of said first bore and said groove respectively.

4 apparatus according to claim 3 in which the axis of said said further bore lies within the walls of said groove and thereby forms a channel within each wall of said groove respectively.

5 Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the channel facing said first bore constitutes said location means.

6 Apparatus according to claims 1 to 5 wherein the width of said groove is greater than the maxinurm diameter of the fishing lines to be used but narrower than the smallest shot to be used.

7 Apparatus according to claims 1 to 6 wherein said clamping means consists of a rod of material which is harder than that of the shot and is introduced through said first bore.

8 Apparatus according to clains 1 to 7 including magnifying means focused on said chamber.

9 Apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to Figures i5 of the accompanying drawings.

10 A method of attaching shot to fishing lines comprising introducing shot containing a slit, into a chamber contained in a main body via aperture means in said body, aligning the slit with a groove in said body, said groove comnunicating with said chamber, introducing said fishing line into said slit via said groove, passing clamping means through said aperture means into said chamber and pressing said clamping means onto said shot so that the slit closes onto said line, and removing the line with the shot Joined thereto from said chamber via said aperture means.

11 A method according to claim 9 wherein the slit in the shot is aligned with the groove by tapping the body until the slit moves to the required r t 4 nt