NZ329513A

NZ329513A - Collapsible fish and crustacean trap that is self erecting in water and comprises a buoyant top element attached by flexible mesh to a weighted bottom element

Info

Publication number: NZ329513A
Application number: NZ32951398A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: Paul Alexander Waghorn
Original assignee: Paul Alexander Waghorn
Priority date: 1998-06-23
Filing date: 1998-06-23
Publication date: 1999-09-29

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> Patents Form No 5 Patent No 329513 Dated 23rd December 1997 Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION IMPROVED FISH OR CRUSTACEAN TRAP I, Paul Alexander Waghorn, a New Zealand Citizen of Pettigrew's Road, RD3, Pigeon Bay, Akaroa, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a Ditent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement IlmLEaU^ROPERTYWiCE of nz 29 sep 1c98 received TITLE IMPROVED FISH OR CRUSTACEAN TRAP Technical Field The invention relates to a marine trap suitable for use with fish and/or crustaceans such as crayfish, lobsters or crabs 5 Background Art Fish traps in various forms have been in existence for centuries, each seeking to provide a reliable, efficient and practical means of trapping the desired marine creatures whilst also attempting to ameliorate one or more of the drawbacks of existing traps 10 It is naturally desirable to minimize the volume of the trap during transit or when not in use, thus giving rise to an assortment of collapsible/foldable traps A disadvantage of current foldable traps is the requirement to manually erect each trap prior to use, often including difficult or involved procedures such as bolting together connecting pieces 15 To address some of these difficulties, New Zealand Patent No 280657 discloses a fish/crustacean trap consisting of a rigid upper and lower plates (in the form of wire baskets) which can be extended from and secured to each other by means of rigid extension rods, with the whole assembly covered with a net At least one frustro-conical funnel aperture of known type is incorporated in the rigid sides to facilitate the 20 ingress whilst preventing the egress of the fish/crustacean An additional rectangular aperture is included, dimensioned to permit the passage of under-sized fish/crustaceans as determined by the relevant fishing authorities However, the trap still requires manual erection before use and wire basket sides are expensive to produce 25 Disclosure of Invention It is an object of the present invention to provide a fish/crustacean trap which overcomes the above disadvantages 2 It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fish/crustacean trap which is inexpensive, light and easily portable, configurable to float at any desired depth and is self-erecting when deployed in use The present invention provides a fully collapsible (as hereinafter defined) trap for fish or crustacean including - a first buoyant element, - a second non-buoyant element and - a flexible mesh, wherein the buoyant and non-buoyant elements are joined by a length of the flexible mesh to define an enclosed volume such that when deployed in the water, the opposing forces of buoyancy and gravity acting on the buoyant and non-buoyant elements respectively, result in a vertical tensional force separating the buoyant and non-buoyant elements and thereby unfolding the interposed mesh to form extended side-walls of the trap Whereas "fully collapsible" is herein defined as the property of being collapsible to a configuration in which the said enclosed volume of the trap is substantially zero Preferably, a third element may be included between the buoyant element and the flexible mesh side-walls, said third element being joined to the buoyant element so as to provide an aperture of a defined size, as specified by the relevant regulatory authority The first and second elements may be covered with a mesh or formed from a rigid or semi-rigid framework Preferably, the first, second and third elements are circular hollow hoops, wherein the third and optionally the second hoop may be made non-bouyant by filling with gravel or similar material 'n a further aspect of the invention, a non-return aperture for a fish/crustacean trap comprises a passageway tapering from at least one of the exterior sides of the trap towards the interior forming an elastically deformable resilient constriction Pref< -<bly the said constriction is configured to elastically deform to permit the pass j into the trap of each fish/crustacean exceeding a minimum specified size Preferably the aperture comprises a tensioned lower-section and a transparent or inconspicuous deformable upper-section overlaying or terminating in close proximity 5 to the said lower-section towards the apex of the tapered passageway Preferably, the upper section is formed from a clear, mono-filament mesh and the lower section is formed from conventional fishing mesh Preferably, the lower section is tensioned by support wires attached to opposing sides of the trap 10 Preferably, two non-return apertures are located in the said side-walls, orientated to be diametrically opposed, thereby creating a continuous transparent/inconspicuous section extending through the trap along the co-axial longitudinal axes of the tapering apertures Brief Description of Drawings 15 By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which, Fig 1 shows a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and Fig 2 shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention 20 Fig 3 shows a section along the line XY shown in fig 2 Best Mode for carrying out the Invention Referring to the drawings, a fish/crustacean trap is thereshown, comprising a first, a second and third element in the form of identical circular hollow hoops (1), (2) and (3) respectively j intellectual property office j of nz 2 0 ;;ov 1998 _ RECEIVFn I o 5 10 15 20 The second (2) and third hoops (3) are joined by a flexible mesh (4) attached around the circumference of the second and third hoop (2,3) to form a substantially cylindrical side-wall (5), exhibiting a slightly waisted constriction about the center of its longitudinal axis The first hoop (1) is attached by flexible cords or rope (6) of uniform length to the third hoop (3) at fixed intervals around the circumference, such that the planes of the first and third hoops (1,3) are parallel, maintaining a constant separation a The value of the separation a is determined by the relevant regulatory authorities so as to enable under-sized fish or crustacean to escape from the trap Two frustro-conical flattened passageways (7) extend inwardly from opposing sides of side-walls (5) to enable the ingress but not the egress of the fish/crustaceans The passageway (7) comprises a lower section (8) and an upper section (11) between an exterior aperture (12) in the side-walls (5) and an interior aperture (13) The lower section (8) of each passageway (7) formed from the mesh (4) is tensioned by support wires (not shown) extending from the inward end of the passageway, to the opposing section of side-wall (5) The support wires (not shown) pass under a support brace (10) which extends across the mid-point of the second hoop (2) orthogonally to the longitudinal axes of the passageways (7) Alternatively, the support wires may be attached to the lower-section (8) of the opposing passageway (7) The upper-section (11) of each passageway (7) is formed from a non-coloured, mono-filament fiber mesh which is not readily visible to the fish The upper-section (11) tapers towards the lower section (8) from the exterior apertures (12) passageway (7) until it comes into close proximity to or overlays the lower section (8) The first and second hoops (1,2) are also covered by mesh or netting, though a rigid or semi-rigid basket-type or solid plate construction would also be possible The hollow first hoop (1) is buoyant either by virtue of being sealed to trap the enclosed air volume or by being filled with a suitable closed-cell foam Although more 5 inte llectuTlTroperty office of nz 1 2 0 , JOV 1998 received expensive to produce, using a foam-filled hoop enables the trap to still function if the casing becomes cracked or punctured in any way The second hoop (2) is weighted by any suitable means The most expedient of these has proved to be by simply filling the hollow centre with gravel or similar materials When not in use or when being stored, the hoops (1,2,3) simply collapse together in a concertina fashion with the mesh (4) being folded between/within the hoops (1,2,3) When being deployed for use, the trap is erected by simply being placed in the water, whereupon the weighted second hoop (2) sinks downwards and the buoyant fish hoop (1) floats upwards from the second hoop (2) thereby extending the mesh (4) (via the interconnected third hoop(3)) to form the side-walls (5) of the trap The fish/crustacean is enticed inside the trap by a suitable bait (not shown) located with the trap The opposed mono-filament upper-sections (11) of the passageways (7) appears to the fish to provide an unobstructed passageway through the trap As the fish swims through the passageway (7), it pushes the lightweight mono-filament upper-section (11) aside until it enters the interior of the trap, whereupon the upper-section (11) falls back onto the lower-section (8), closing any possible means of escape The third hoop (3) may be made either buoyant or non-buoyant depending on the use of the trap If the trap is placed directly on the sea-floor or tethered to some form of weight to float at an intermediate distance between the surface and the sea floor, then the third hoop (3) may be either buoyant or non-buoyant provided that if the third hoop (3) is non-buoyant the combined weight of the trap does not exceed the buoyancy of the first hoop (1) When the trap is intended to float on the surface, as for example when deployed by poles/rods from the shore, it is essential that the third hoop (3) be non-buoyant If the resultant buoyancy of the first hoop (1) and second hoop (2) (whether weighted or not) exceeds the weight of the mesh (4) and first and second hoops (1,2) but not 6 intellectual property office of nz 2 0 [JOV 1998 RPPFn/cn the combined weight of the whole trap, the trap will then rest in its extended form on the sea floor A tether (not shown) attached to the trap is used for retrieval and for marking the location of the trap (via a buoy attached to the other end of the tether) 5 It will be appreciated that while the preferred embodiment uses circular hoops, alternative configurations may be employed In a second preferred embodiment, a simplified trap may be formed by omitting the third hoop (3) and attaching the mesh side-walls (5) directly to the first hoop (1) In this embodiment, the role of the aperture formed between the first and third hoops 10 (1,3) may be replaced by an aperture of the appropriate width a, formed directly in the mesh (4) with suitable reinforcements to the aperture perimeter Alternatively, the aperture may be omitted altogether, if this is permitted by the local regulations governing use of such traps In a further preferred embodiment, the non-return aperture may be comprised of is partially or fully elasticated inconspicuous mesh which would only require light tensioning to maintain the overall tapering/conical shape Alternatively, the mesh in the passageway may be replaced either partially or completely by a clear plastic sheet It will also be appreciated that the non-return aperture assembly (7-8,11-12) and the 20 collapsible trap (1) itself may be utilized independently with existing marine traps and entrance apertures respectively 7 *!£ f "\ 77^ ,, naao ;S ■ 11 ^ -m - -J ;■ J ;1 A fully collapsible trap for fish or crustacean including a first buoyant element, ;a second non-buoyant element and 5 a flexible mesh, ;wherein the buoyant and non-buoyant elements are joined by a length of the flexible mesh to define an enclosed volume such that when deployed in the water, the opposing forces of buoyancy and gravity acting on the buoyant and non-buoyant elements respectively, result in a vertical tensional force separating 10 the buoyant and non-buoyant elements and thereby unfolding the interposed mesh to form extended side-walls of the trap ;2 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in claim 1, wherein a third element is included between the buoyant element and the flexible mesh side-walls, said third element being joined to the buoyant element so as to provide an aperture of a defined size ;15 3 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 1-2, wherein the first and second elements are covered with a mesh ;4 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 1-2, wherein the first and second elements are formed from a rigid or semi-rigid framework ;5 A fully collapsible trap as claimed any one of claims 2-4, wherein the third element 20 is non-buoyant ;6 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 2-5, wherein the first, second and third elements are circular hollow hoops ;7 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein said elements are made non-buoyant by filling with ballast material ;25 8 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in claim 7, wherein said ballast material is gravel * </div>

Claims

<div class="application article clearfix printTableText" id="claims"> Claims intellectualTroperty office! of NZ | 2 0 nov 1998 received 9 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, including a non-return aperture comprising a passageway tapering from at least one of the exterior sides of the trap towards the interior forming an elastically deformable resilient constriction 10 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in claim 9, wherein the said constriction is configured to elastically deform to permit the passage into the trap of a fish/crustacean 11 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 9-10, wherein the aperture comprises a tensioned lower section and a transparent deformable upper-section overlaying or terminating in close proximity to the said lower-section towards the apex of the tapered passageway 12 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in claim 9-10, wherein the aperture comprises a tensioned lower section and an inconspicuous deformable upper-section overlaying or terminating in close proximity to the said lower-section towards the apex of the tapered passageway 13 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in claim 12, wherein the upper section is formed from a clear, mono-filament mesh and the lower section is formed from conventional fishing mesh 14 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 9-13, wherein the lower section is tensioned by support wires attached to opposing sides of the trap 15 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 9-14, wherein two nonreturn apertures are located in the said side-walls, orientated to be diametrically opposed, thereby creating a continuous transparent section extending through the trap along the co-axial longitudinal axes of the tapering apertures 16 A fully collapsible trap as claimed in any one of claims 9-14, wherein two nonreturn apertures are located in the said side-walls, orientated to be diametrically opposed, thereby creating a continuous inconspicuous section extending through the trap along the co-axial longitudinal axes of the tapering apertures I OFNZ I 2 0 NOV 1398 I f Rp C / \ / r— r-^ I 329513 17 A fully collapsible trap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings o.r~ r;-! , J. -J 10 intellectual property office of nz 2 0 nov 1998 received </div>