JPH09154458A - Electric float - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric float improved in impact resistance of the float top without deteriorating the buoyance performances and visibility from a user by forming the float top of an elastic body and arranging a light source in the interior of the elastic body. SOLUTION: This electric float is obtained by forming a fitting part such as a screw part (2a) from an opening formed in the upper part of the hollow float body to the interior thereof, further fitting a cylindrical upper case 10 having a lighting means comprising a light source 6 and a cell socket part 9 composed so as to locate in the interior of the float body in a fitting part such as the screw part (2a) and fixing an elastic body top part 11 comprising an elastic body capable of retaining the interior of the float body and the interior of the upper case in an airtight state. The elastic top part 11 and the upper case 10 are preferably fixed by fitting an annular protruding part provided in the interior of the tip part 11 with an annular groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the upper case 10. Furthermore, a silicone rubber, etc., due to light transmitting properties, excellence in visibility and colorability thereof are preferred as the elastic body material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric float used for fishing in the sea, ponds, rivers and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a "float" used for fishing in the sea, ponds and rivers informs the angler who is a user of the whereabouts and transmits the pulling condition of the fish while floating on the constantly changing water surface. The float is usually provided with a display means colored in red or the like on the top thereof so that the user can easily see it. During the daytime when there is sunlight, the pulling state of the fish is determined based on the movement of the display means.

However, night fishing, so-called "night fishing"
Then, it is very difficult to visually check the display means. Therefore, a light source including a light emitting diode or the like is arranged on the top of the float body, and an "electric float" having a configuration for turning on the light source is used to enhance the visibility for the user. A pin-shaped lithium battery or the like is used as a power source for turning on the light source. Most of the exterior of such an electric float is made of resin, and the power source using the lithium battery is arranged inside. In particular, a resin having a transmissive property that allows light from a light source located at the top of the main body inside the resin case to pass through is used for the top of the float made of a resin case.

The structure of the above conventional electric float is shown in FIG.
A specific description will be given with reference to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. The main body 20 made of resin is provided at its upper end with an opening having a threaded portion 20a formed therein. Inside the upper case 21 fitted with the screw portion 20a, a light source using the light emitting diode 6, a lithium battery formed on a pin which is a power source for lighting the light source, and the upper case 21 are fitted. A socket 9 for holding a rare battery is provided. The top of the upper case 21 is formed of a resin that transmits the light of the light emitting diode built in the main body.

[0005]

The electric float is often used for night fishing, and is mainly used in the dark surroundings. For example, when a user throws a device including this electric float into the water surface, without noticing the existence of obstacles such as the concrete surface of the tetrapod or the revetment or the rocky area, the electric float collides with these obstacles, It often breaks, and the electric float is required to have high impact resistance.

In an electric float whose exterior is made of resin, a method of increasing the thickness of the resin of the entire float to improve impact resistance and prevent damage due to collision can be considered. In such a method, the weight of the float itself is increased and the buoyancy is reduced. However, the electric float has a lighting means made of a battery or the like inside thereof, and its weight increases as compared with the float used only during the daytime, and therefore it is necessary to secure sufficient buoyancy. Therefore, there is a limit to the improvement of impact resistance by increasing the resin thickness.

Usually, the float is used with its bottom fixed to the fishing line. When the tackle is thrown into the water surface, the top of the float is located on the side opposite to the part fixed to the fishing line. For this reason, the top of the float is particularly likely to come into contact with and damage the obstacle.

In an electric float having a top formed of a transparent resin, a method of increasing the thickness of the resin only in this portion in order to suppress the damage to the top and improve the impact resistance of the top as described above. Can also be considered. However, in this method, in addition to the problem in the buoyancy surface, the transparency of light from a light source such as a light emitting diode built in the float is significantly deteriorated, and there is also a problem that visibility for the user is lowered. Was there.

The present invention solves these problems.
It is intended to provide an electric float which improves the impact resistance of the top of the float and at the same time does not impair the buoyancy performance of the float itself and the visibility from the user.

[0010]

An electric float according to the present invention has an opening at an upper end thereof, and a hollow float main body having a threaded portion formed inward from the opening, and fitted with the threaded portion. A cylindrical upper case fitted with a lighting means having a light source and a battery socket portion located inside the float body, and a case fixed to the upper case to keep the inside of the float body and the inside of the upper case airtight. And an elastic body top portion formed of an elastic body.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A float is used in a state in which a lower part of its main body is connected to a fishing line to form a tackle. It is very difficult to avoid contact between the float and the obstacle that occurs when throwing such a device into the water surface or pulling it up. In the electric float of the present invention, the top portion, which has a high probability of contacting an obstacle, is made of an elastic material, so that damage occurring at this portion is suppressed.

The top of the electric float is formed of an elastic body,
In the structure in which the light source including the light emitting diode is arranged inside the elastic body, the light source is surrounded by the elastic body as compared with the conventional electric float in which the light emitting diode is internally provided on the top made of the resin. Therefore, the stress applied to the light emitting diode when it collides with an obstacle is significantly reduced.

On the other hand, by arranging the light source built in the upper case having the cap-shaped top part, only the lighting part of the light source is projected from the upper end of the main body into which the upper case is fitted and connected. , It is possible to prevent damage due to the impact generated in the lighting part. However, if the upper case is damaged when it comes into contact with an obstacle, the waterproofness of the damaged part will deteriorate, and water may enter the upper case, so continue to use it as an electric float. Difficult to do.

Further, when the lighting portion of the electric float comprising an upper case having a hollow interior is located near the upper end of the main body to which the upper case is connected, the light emitted from the light source is emitted from the upper case. , And only the vicinity of the upper end of the float body emits light. The electric float having such a configuration is less visible to the user than the conventional electric float in which the light source is located on the top of the upper case and only the top emits light. Preferably, by using a hollow elastic body having a rough inner surface, the light emitted from the light source repeats diffuse reflection inside the elastic body, and the entire top formed by the elastic body emits light. did.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electric float according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the relevant part. 1 and 2, the lower case 1 made of resin is
It has a sagittal portion 1a at the bottom thereof. A tubular rubber called a float stopper rubber is inserted into the arrow-shaped portion 1a,
The fishing line and the float body are joined and fixed.

Similar to the lower case 1, an upper lid 2 which is made of resin and has an opening at the top is fixed to the lower case 1 by ultrasonic welding or adhesion. A screw 2a is provided on the inner surface of the upper opening of the upper lid 2. The lower case 1 and the upper lid 2 fixed to the lower case 1 form a main body of the electric float.

The upper case 4, which is formed in a cylindrical shape and in which the light source is located and which is connected to the main body, is fitted to the screw portion 2a of the upper lid 2 on the outer peripheral surface of the side surface center. It has a male screw 4a. Furthermore, this male screw 4
A flange 4b is provided on the upper part of a and serves as a stopper when the upper case 4 and the upper lid 2 are screw-fitted. At the same time, after the O-ring 3 is press-fitted into the lower portion of the collar 4b in advance, when the male screw 4a is screwed into the screw portion 2a, the lower surface of the collar 4b and the upper peripheral end surface of the opening of the upper lid 2 are separated. By being fitted, the upper lid 2 and the upper case 4
Plays a waterproof function between. The outer peripheral surface of the upper portion of the upper case 4 is formed into a knurled shape so that it can be easily removed from the upper lid 2 of the upper case 4 when tightening the screws, switching the lighting state, or replacing the battery. Has been done. On the other hand, this cylindrical upper case 4
An annular notch 4b is provided along the inner surface at the lowermost end of the.

A cap-shaped elastic body top portion 5 made of an elastic material having transparency to light emitted from a light source.
Has a hollow inside and has an opening at the lower end. The top portion 5 has a step portion 5 having an outer diameter smaller than the maximum outer diameter from the central portion toward the opening side.
a is formed. When the step portion 5a is fitted into the upper case 4, the step portion 5a faces the inner surface of the step portion 5a to realize airtightness between the top portion 5 and the upper case 4.

Further, an annular projection 5b is provided on the peripheral edge of the opening located at the lower end of the top portion 5 so as to be fitted into the upper case 4. Silicon rubber was used as the elastic material of the top portion 5. This silicone rubber has not only a light-transmitting property, but also a feature that it can be colored. For this reason, as a night fishing float whose visibility from the user is important, it is a suitable material that provides the same visibility from the user as compared with the conventional resin material.

A cylindrical pipe 8 having a brim 8a and one end sealed, has a negative electrode conductor 7 and a positive electrode conductor 7a for electrically connecting the light emitting diode 6 and the battery socket 9 fixed to the inner surface thereof. These conductors are led out from the holes formed in the sealed portion. A pin-type lithium battery is fitted in the battery socket 9, and the lighting state of the light emitting diode is switched by inserting / removing the battery into / from the battery socket.

The light emitting diode 6 located in the hollow portion of the upper case 4 is connected and fixed to the conductor so that its upper end does not protrude from the peripheral edge of the upper end of the upper case 4.
This prevents damage to the diode when it collides with an obstacle. In this example, a high brightness type red light emitting diode was used.

When the tubular pipe is fitted into the upper case 4, the annular projection 5b located at the lower portion of the top portion 5 is fitted into the annular notch portion 4b, and the brim 8a is attached to the lower end surface of the upper case 4 and The annular protrusion 5b can be pressed down. Further, the outer peripheral surface located above the brim 8a presses the lower portion of the stepped portion 5a of the top portion against the inner surface of the upper case 4. This improves the airtightness of the upper case and the top portion. (Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention in which the shapes of the upper case 4 and the elastic body top 5 are changed will be described.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the electric float according to the second embodiment. The upper case 10 having the recessed groove 10a provided along the outer peripheral surface of the upper portion is formed in a four-tube shape like the upper case of the first embodiment. A lighting means is arranged inside the upper case 10, and a tip portion of a light emitting diode which is a light source is located at an upper end portion of the upper case 10. The cap-shaped elastic body top 11 is formed in a hollow shape, and an annular convex rib 11a is provided inside the lower end opening.
The annular convex rib is a concave groove 10a of the upper case 10.
Is fitted to. The inner diameter of the lower end of the elastic body top portion 11 is smaller than the outer diameter of the upper case 10. Therefore, the elastic top 11 is press-fitted and fitted into the upper case 10. Further, the concave groove 10 located at the lower end of the upper case 10
The waterproof structure is achieved by fitting the annular convex rib 11a into a. (Embodiment 3) Hereinafter, Embodiment 3 of the present invention in which the upper case 4 and the upper lid 2 are integrally formed will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the lower case 1 having a sagittal portion 1a in the lower portion and made of resin is provided with a screw 1b at the inner peripheral edge of the upper opening portion thereof. The bowl-shaped upper case 12 has a cylindrical upper case holding portion 12b at the center thereof.
have. A screw portion 12a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower opening peripheral edge of the upper case, and the screw 1b is provided.
And screwed together. At this time, it is possible to improve the waterproof function of the fitting part by press-fitting the O-ring in advance on the upper end of the screw part of the upper case.

The upper case holding portion 12b has a
Similar to the first embodiment, an annular cutout portion 12c is provided along the inner surface of the lower end portion thereof. The cap-shaped top portion 5 made of an elastic material is connected by fitting an annular projection 5b provided on the peripheral edge of the lower opening thereof and the cutout portion 12c. Further, a cylindrical pipe 8 provided with a lighting means including a socket for fitting and holding a light emitting diode and a pin type lithium battery is fitted into the lower opening of the cylindrical upper case holding portion 12b. By inserting / removing the pin-type lithium battery into / from the socket portion held by the tubular pipe, the lighting state of the light emitting diode can be switched. In the first embodiment, the lighting state is switched between the upper lid 2 and the upper case 4.
I was going with it removed. However, this Example 3
In the electric float, the upper case 12 corresponding to the upper lid 2 and the upper case 4 is integrally formed. Therefore, the switching of the lighting state is performed by removing the upper case 12 from the lower case 1.

In the third embodiment, the annular protrusion provided at the lower end of the top portion 5 is fitted in the upper case. However, as in the second embodiment, the annular convex rib provided inside the lower end opening of the top portion may be fitted in the concave groove located near the upper end of the upper case.

[0025]

The electric float of the present invention has the above-mentioned structure and improves the shock resistance without impairing the buoyancy performance of the float itself and the visibility for the user. It is possible to provide products with high utility value as electric floats for night fishing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an electric float according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of an electric float according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an electric float according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional electric float.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lower Case 2 Upper Lid 4 Upper Case 5 Elastic Top Part 6 Light Emitting Diode 8 Cylindrical Pipe 9 Battery Socket 10 Upper Case 11 Elastic Top Part 12 Upper Case 20 Float Body 21 Upper Case

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A lighting means comprising: a hollow float main body having an opening at an upper end thereof, and a fitting portion formed in the opening; a light source; and a battery socket located inside the float main body. From a cylindrical upper case that is mounted and fits in the fitting portion, and an elastic body top portion that is fixed to the upper case and is formed of an elastic body that hermetically holds the inside of the float body and the inside of the upper case. An electric float characterized by being constructed. 2. The electricity according to claim 1, wherein an annular convex portion provided inside the elastic body top portion and an annular groove provided at a position corresponding to the annular convex portion on the outer peripheral surface of the upper case are fitted to each other. Floating child. 3. A tubular pipe having an elastic top portion having a band-shaped step portion provided on the lower outer peripheral surface and a lower end collar provided on the lower end outer periphery, and a battery socket fitted therein, and having a brim portion at the center of the outer peripheral surface. The strip-shaped step portion of the elastic body top portion is fitted to the inner surface of the upper case, and the brim portion of the tubular pipe fitted in the lower opening portion of the upper case presses the lower end brim of the elastic body top portion. Claim 1 which is configured to
The electric float described. 4. The electric float according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the light source is located below the upper end surface of the upper case. 5. A light emitting diode is used as a light source.
The electric float described. 6. The electric float according to claim 1, wherein silicon rubber is used for the elastic top portion. 7. The electric float according to claim 1, wherein an elastic top portion whose inside is roughened is used. 8. An opening part of the lower case, comprising a lower case having an opening part at an upper part thereof, at least a part of which is configured to sink below the water surface, and an upper lid having opening parts at upper and lower ends thereof. The electric float according to claim 1, further comprising a hollow float main body that is fixed to the lower opening of the upper lid. 9. A lower case having a threaded portion on a peripheral edge of an upper end opening, a lower end opening having a screw to be screw-fitted to the threaded portion, and a tube penetrating through a central portion. An upper case formed in a bowl shape having an upper case holding portion and a light source fitted to the upper case holding portion, and a lighting means including a battery socket. The float main body to which the screw is fitted has an elastic body top portion formed from an elastic body fitted to the upper die case holding portion on the upper portion, and the inside thereof is airtightly configured. Electric float. 10. The electric float according to claim 9, wherein an O-ring is press-fitted into the screw fitting portion. 11. An electric float in which a lighting means is positioned inside a hollow float body, wherein the tip portion is formed of a translucent resin body.