GB2325135A - Grommet for an inline fishing lead - Google Patents

Abstract

A releasable grommet 30 for interposition between two members, preferably an inline lead 12 and a swivel 13, comprises a resiliently compressible tube 32 for receiving therein at least part of the swivel 13 and for fitting into a seat 11a of the lead 12. When the lead, grommet and swivel are assembled, the compression of the grommet is such that it frictionally resist their separation. Thus, glue is not required to hold the members together, and a damaged grommet can easily be removed from the lead when required. The grommet 30 may have a shoulder, 33/34, which abuts a shoulder, 12a/end of seat 11a, of the lead to prevent over-compression. A stem portion 31 of the grommet may fit over and hold in place a protective sheath 16 for the line, thus also negating the need for glueing the sheath 16 to the lead 12.

Description

A GROMMET PARTICULARLY FOR AN INLINE FISHING LEAD The present invention relates to a grommet particularly for an inline fishing lead.

In current fishing lines with inline leads, the line passes through an axial bore in the lead weight and is attached to a swivel which in turn is connected to a short length of finer line which carries the hook. The swivel enables the hook to rotate without causing the line as a whole to tangle while the finer line ensures that, should the line break, the break will occur in the finer portion so that only the hook is lost and the more expensive weight can be recovered.

In such inline arrangements, the risk of the main line breaking is further reduced by the provision of a plastics sleeve or sheath which lines the bore in the lead to protect the fishing line from abrasion by any roughness on the surface of the lead and which projects from that end of the lead remote from the swivel. At the end of the lead bore adjacent the swivel there is a socalled "tulip bead" the function of which is to protect the lead itself from the swivel as well as to protect the line from that end of the lead.

The relative positions of the prior art features of a fishing line with an inline lead are shown in Figures 1 and 2 which show, respectively, an end portion of a fishing line with a hook, swivel, lead and tulip bead with the parts separated and an enlarged axial sectional view of part of Figure 1 showing the tulip bead fitted into the lead.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the fishing line shown includes a major line portion 10 which passes through an axial bore 11 in a lead 12 and is fastened to one ring 13a of a known swivel 13, shown purely schematically, the other ring 13b of which is fastened to a short hook line 14 which is weaker than the major line 10. A plastics sheath which protects the major line 10 from abrasion by the lead 12 is indicated 16; the sheath extends through most of the length of the bore 11 and extends therefrom for a short distance at the opposite end from the swivel 13, both as a protection for the line 10 and to facilitate handling. The sheath 16 is a loose fit in the bore 11 but is glued in the end of the bore 11, as shown at 16a, to prevent its sliding out of the bore in use.

The fishing line assembly further includes a tulip bead 17 of rigid plastics material through which the line 10 also passes. The tulip bead 17 has a stem 18 which fits coaxially within the bore 11 in the lead 12 and an enlarged head 19, of generally described 'tulip' shape, with a bulbous portion 19a joined to the stem 18 and a cylindrical portion 19b of a diameter intermediate those of the stem 18 and the bulbous portion 19a. The bulbous portion l9a seats within an enlarged end portion lia of the lead bore 11 which opens into the end face 12a of the lead while the cylindrical portion 19b projects from this end face when the tulip bead 17 is fitted in the lead as shown in Figure 2. The head of the tulip bead 19 is sealed in its seat lla by glue indicated at 20.

In use, the swivel 13 contacts the projecting end 19b of the tulip bead 17 which thus prevents the swivel 13 from contacting the lead 12 and possibly being pulled through it by virtue of the relative hardness of the swivel and softness of the lead. To fulfil its protective function, such tulip beads have, to date, been made from a hard, rigid plastics material but this has the disadvantage that, in time, under the conditions of use, the plastic tends to degrade and may be cut by the swivel or may fracture. This can, of course, result in the lead being lost but certainly means that it must be replaced. It is not feasible to replace a tulip bead after it has been glued in place. Moreover, the sheath 16 is also lost or must be discarded with the lead as it is glued to it.

The object of the present invention is to provide a grommet particularly for inline fishing leads which is at least able to provide the same degree of protection for the lead as the known tulip bead described above, but which is more economical to supply and use in the long term.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a releasable grommet for interposition between a carrier member and an auxiliary member, particularly an inline lead for a fishing line and a swivel, the grommet comprising a resiliently compressible tubular member adapted to be fitted in a seat in the carrier member and to receive at least part of the auxiliary member within it, and being such that, when the three members are assembled, the grommet is resiliently compressed between the carrier member and the auxiliary member and frictionally resists their separation. Preferably the grommet is a force fit in the carrier member seat whether or not the auxiliary member is housed within it and the auxiliary member is a force fit in the grommet whether or not this is housed in the carrier member.

In embodiments in which the carrier member is tubular and the seat for the grommet comprises or communicates with the through-hole in the carrier member, the grommet preferably also has a shoulder for abutting a shoulder of the carrier member to prevent the over-compression of the grommet and forcing into the carrier member through-hole.

It will be appreciated that although the grommet has been devised particularly for application to an inline fishing lead and this application will be referred to below, it could equally will find utility in other fields.

In the present instance, the grommet is preferably made with a body portion adapted to fit into the enlarged end seat in a known fishing lead although its size may be modified to fit leads of different sizes. Likewise its inner cavity may be made of a size to receive known swivels or may be modified according to the size of swivel to be used with a particular lead.

The major advantage of the grommet of the invention over known such grommets is that it is retained in the fishing lead by its resilience, no glue or other permanent connection being needed. Should it or any other part of the fishing line be damaged, it may readily be removed and either replaced, if broken, or re-used, as appropriate. A further possibility offered by the grommet of the invention is that it can conveniently be connected to the sheath which protects the main fishing line rather than this being glued to the lead as in the prior art. This enables the sheath to be readily releasable from the lead. Preferably, for this purpose, an end of the sheath is insertable into the throughbore in the grommet and may be resiliently gripped or glued therein. More preferably, the grommet has an extension of smaller diameter than its main body portion that can be fitted into the axial throughbore in the lead to receive the end of the sheath.

As indicated above, the grommet has a shoulder that abuts a shoulder of the lead to prevent its being forced further into the through-hole, i.e in practice, into the narrow through-hole which extends from the enlarged end seat housing the grommet. The abutment may be provided by the engagement of an end face of the grommet with the annular end face of the seat in the lead but, more preferably, or in addition, the grommet has a radially outwardly projecting flange which seats against the adjacent outer end face of the lead to serve as the abutment instead of, or as well as, the abutment with the seat.

In a further aspect, the invention also provides a tubular carrier member, particularly a fishing lead, and an auxiliary member, particularly a swivel, releasably interconnected by a resiliently compressible grommet as described above.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described purely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1, already described, is an elevational view showing a fishing line with an inline lead, a prior art grommet, a hook and a swivel, with the grommet separated from the lead; Figure 2, already described, is an enlarged crosssectional view of the prior art grommet of Figure 1 fitted in the inline fishing lead; Figure 3 is an elevational view of a part of a fishing line showing an inline lead, a line sheath and a grommet according to the invention with the parts separated; Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the grommet and part of the lead of Figure 3 together with the swivel and sheath; and Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4 but with the various parts fitted together.

With reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings, parts of the fishing line similar to those shown in Figures 1 and 2 described above are indicated by the same reference numbers and will not be described again.

The difference between the fishing line of Figures 3 to 5 and that of Figures 1 and 2 lies mainly in the shape and formation of the tubular grommet, here indicated 30.

The grommet 30 according to the invention is made from a resiliently compressible plastics material, unlike the rigid material of the prior art grommet 17.

The grommet 30 has a stem portion 31 which is a close fit in the throughbore 11 in the lead 12 and which is joined to an enlarged body portion 32 of generally cylindrical shape which is an interference fit in the cylindrical end seat lla of the lead through-bore 11.

A further feature of the grommet 30 is a radiallyprojecting, annular flange 33 which seats against the end face, indicated 12a, of the lead 12 when the cylindrical body portion 32 is inserted in the seat lla, as shown in Figure 5. A bevelled shoulder 34 joining the body portion 32 to the stem 31 facilitates the insertion of the body portion 32 into the seat 11a through its open end.

The body portion 32 of the grommet defines an inner chamber 35 which opens into an end face adjacent the flange 33 and which is of slightly smaller diameter than that of the end ring 13a and central body of the swivel 13. The resilient deformability of the grommet material, however, enables these two members to be fitted axially into the chamber 35, the axial length of the chamber 35 being such that the opposite end attachment ring 13b of the swivel remains outside the chamber, as shown in Figure 5. The open end of the chamber 35 is defined by an inwardly projecting, annular lip 36 which helps retain the swivel 13 in the chamber 35 once inserted.

The tubular stem portion 31 of the grommet 30 may have an internal diameter equal to or slightly less than that of the sheath 16 but it can be deformed to fit over the end of the sheath 16.

During assembly of a fishing line including a grommet 30 of the invention, the end of the sheath 16 is first fitted and glued in the stem portion 31 of the grommet 30 and the sheath is then inserted through the lead 12 from the end defining the enlarged seat lla. The body portion 32 of the grommet 30 may at this stage be compressed radially and force-fitted into the seat lla, the stem entering the through-bore 11, but more preferably the grommet is left outside the seat at this stage.

The fishing line 10 is next threaded through the sheath 16 and grommet 30 and attached to the ring 13a of the swivel 13, the hook 15 possibly already being attached to the other swivel ring 13b by the hook line 14.

Finally the line 10 is pulled to draw the swivel 30 into the chamber 35 in the grommet 30 and also, if necessary, to draw the grommet body 32 fully into the seat 11a in the lead 12. In this position its bevelled shoulder 34 may be compressed against the inner end of the seat lla, although this is not shown, but, more importantly, the radial flange 33 abuts the outer face 12a of the lead 12 to prevent the grommet from being drawn right through the lead 12 if subjected to unexpectedly large forces in use.

The grommet 30 is so dimensioned that its body 32 is compressed in the seat ila and thus exerts a radiallyoutward force on the wall of the seat so as to resist its axial removal from the seat by friction. This radial outward force is increased when the swivel 13 is forced into the grommet, tending to expand the grommet wall so that, in use, the grommet 30 is firmly retained in the end of the lead 12 without the need for glue. Moreover, the grommet 30 grips the swivel 13 resiliently so as to resist its removal although a firm pull on the protruding swivel ring 13b can remove the swivel from the grommet when desired. The grommet 30 can also be removed from the seat lla if a firm pull is applied to the flange 33.

The resilient grommet 30 provides the required protection for the lead 12 against swivel 13 as well as providing a secure connection between the two. Moreover, since neither the grommet 30 nor the sheath 16 are permanently fixed to the lead 12, by gluing, should the sheath or grommet be damaged, they can readily be removed and replaced, or the grommet and sheath can be reused with a different lead if desired.

Claims (6)

1. A releasable grommet for interposition between a carrier member and an auxiliary member, particularly an inline lead for a fishing line and a swivel, the grommet comprising a resiliently compressible tubular member adapted to be fitted in a seat in the carrier member and to receive at least part of the auxiliary member within it, the grommet being such that, when the three members are assembled the grommet is resiliently compressed between the carrier member and the auxiliary member and frictionally resists their separation.

2. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 1, in which the grommet is a force fit in the carrier member seat.

3. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the grommet is a force fit over the auxiliary member.

4. A releasable grommet for interposition between a tubular carrier member and an auxiliary member, comprising a resiliently compressible tubular member adapted to be fitted into an enlarged portion of the carrier member through-hole and to receive the auxiliary member within it, the grommet having a shoulder for abutting a shoulder of the carrier member to prevent its over-compression and forcing into a narrow portion of the through-hole.

5. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 4, in which the grommet shoulder is provided on a radially outwardly projecting flange arranged to abut a face of the carrier member around the seat therein.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A releasable grommet for interposition between a carrier member and an auxiliary member, particularly an inline lead for a fishing line and a swivel, the grommet comprising a resiliently compressible tubular member adapted to be fitted in a seat in the carrier member and to receive at least part of the auxiliary member within it, the grommet being such that, when the three members are assembled the grommet is resiliently compressed between the carrier member and the auxiliary member and frictionally resists their separation.

2. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 1, in which the grommet is a force fit in the carrier member seat.

3. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the grommet is a force fit over the auxiliary member.

4. A releasable grommet for interposition between a tubular carrier member and an auxiliary member1 comprising a resiliently compressible tubular member adapted to be fitted into an enlarged portion of the carrier member through-hole and to receive the auxiliary member within it, the grommet having a shoulder for abutting a shoulder of the carrier member to prevent its over-compression and forcing into a narrow portion of the through-hole.

5. A releasable grommet as claimed in Claim 4, in which the grommet shoulder is provided on a radially outwardly projecting flange arranged to abut a face of the carrier member around the seat therein.

6. A releasable grommet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, any of the figures of the accompanying drawings.