WO2000018223A1

WO2000018223A1 - Improvements in and relating to bait dispensers

Info

Publication number: WO2000018223A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/003110
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guy Austin Goddard
Original assignee: Guy Austin Goddard
Priority date: 1998-09-26
Filing date: 1999-09-17
Publication date: 2000-04-06
Also published as: AU6101499A

Abstract

A bait dispenser for securing to a fishing rod comprises a container (1) having an openable lid (3) operable by a release mechanism comprising a swivellable catch (8) having a locking formation (11) cooperable with a latching arm (12) on the container (1), the swivellable catch (8) also incorporating an over centre lever mechanism (14) to swivel the catch (8) for opening the lid (3) by means of a pulling or pushing motion in which the locking formation (11) of the catch (8) becomes out of alignment with the latching arm (12) so that when the container (1) and lid (3) is in an inverted position the lid (3) can be opened by pulling or pushing of the fishing rod to thereby dispense bait contained within the container (1).

Description

Improvements in and relating to bait dispensers

This invention relates to bait dispensers of the type used in angling for fish

and where the dispenser is directly or indirectly attached to a rod or a pole.

Bait dispensers of the aforementioned type are generally intended to dispense a quantity offish bait accurately to a position which may typically be the length of a fishing rod or pole from the edge of a body of water such as a canal or river. A convenient way of doing this is to temporarily attach a container to the end of a fishing

rod or pole into which bait can be inserted when the container is in an upright position and to then extend the rod or pole as far as is required over the body of water being fished before twisting the rod or pole to thereby invert the container and deposit the bait accurately in the desired position. A problem with this arrangement is that fishing rods or poles tend to be very thin and flexible at their extreme end remote from the handle so

that care needs to be exercised to ensure that the bait does not simply fall out of the container due to the bending of the tip under the weight of the container and the bait, or

does not fall out due to extreme oscillations at the tip end of the rod or pole, or even

through inadvertent twisting of the rod or pole about its longitudinal axis, thereby

allowing the bait to fall out.

An improvement on the foregoing type of bait dispenser is shown in

European patent publication number EP 0 801 895 which describes a device in which the

bait container includes a hinged lid to which is operatively connected a locking mechanism

which prevents the lid from opening in use when bait is being placed in position until the rod or pole is twisted such that the container is inverted, whereafter the locking mechanism automatically unlocks and the lid automatically opens, thereby dispensing the

bait in the desired position. A disadvantage of this arrangement, however, is that the lid

always opens when the bait container is inverted even when the rod or pole is only

partially twisted along it longitudinal axis so that there still remains the risk that the bait

may be accidentally dispensed in the wrong location. A further disadvantage is that because of this the angler must still exercise care to ensure that at all times the container remains upright before the rod or pole is twisted over to dispense the bait at the required

position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bait dispenser which obviates these problems and provides a simple and convenient method of dispensing bait precisely in a position required by the angler.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a bait

dispenser comprising a container for bait, the container being adapted directly or

indirectly to be releasably secured to a rod or pole and having a lid for closing off the

container after bait is introduced thereto, the lid being openable thereafter by a release

mechanism comprising a swivellable catch having a locking formation co-operable with a latching formation by which the lid may be releasably closed and an over-centre lever mechanism associated with the swivellable catch by which the latter may be swivelled by

a pulling or pushing motion relative to the longitudinal axis of the rod or pole to swivel

the catch to a position in which the locking formation of the catch is out of alignment with

the latching formation on the lid to thereby release the latter and dispense bait. Conveniently, the over-centre lever mechanism is in the form of an

elongated rod attached to part of the outer periphery of the swivellable catch with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the axis of swivel and the locking formation on the

swivellable catch includes an opening for receiving the latching formation on the lid such that upon rotation of the swivellable catch thereafter the latching formation is captured

to prevent the lid from opening until the lever is caused to swivel from a rest position relative to the container in response to a pushing or pulling motion of the rod or pole

relative to its longitudinal axis.

Conveniently, a stop member may be provided to ensure that when the container is inverted the lever remains in an over-centre position relative to the latching formation and the axis of rotation of the swivellable catch such that, in this position, the lid can remain closed until the rod or pole is pushed or pulled sufficiently to cause the inherent inertia in the lever to impart rotation to the swivellable catch to thereby release the latching formation and open the lid under the action of gravity.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a bait

dispenser for releasably securing to a container for bait, the bait dispenser comprising a lid for closing off^* the container after bait is introduced thereto, the lid being openable thereafter by a release mechanism comprising a swivelable catch having a locking formation co-operable with a latching formation by which the lid may be releasably closed

and a over-centre lever mechanism associated with the swivellable catch by which the

latter may be swivelled by a pulling or pushing motion to swivel the catch to a position

in which the locking formation of the catch is out of alignment with the latching formation on the lid to thereby release the latter relative to the container and dispense bait therefrom

when the container has been inverted.

Preferably, the container to which the bait dispenser of the second aspect of the invention can be secured is itself adapted to be releasably secured to a rod or pole.

With the invention it will therefore be understood that the over-centre lever mechanism prevents the lid from automatically opening so that it is no longer necessary

to ensure that the container remains upright whilst on the end of the rod or pole and is being moved to the desired location above a body of water. On the contrary, the

container may be releasably secured to the underside of a rod or pole, inverted for the purposes of inserting bait therein, and after the lid has been closed inverted once again so

that it hangs from the rod or pole, whereafter it can be moved to the desired position and with a quick pull or push of the rod or pole, depending upon the orientation of the over- centre lever mechanism, the lid can then be opened. With the invention it will therefore

be apparent that a more robust approach can be taken to the process of delivering bait to a desired location such that the otherwise delicate manoevering of a container in an

upright position on the end of a very slender and therefore whippy rod or pole is obviated,

whereas the invention provides a bait dispenser that may be moved in any radial

orientation, such as upside down relative to the open end of the container.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with

reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bait dispenser according to a first embodiment of the invention shown releasably secured to the upper part

of a fishing rod, only part of which is shown,

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the bait dispenser of Figure 2 showing the fishing rod in section, Figure 3 is a side elevation relative to Figure 2 of the bait dispenser of

Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a plan view relative to Figure 2 of the bait dispenser of Figure

1,

Figures 5a through to 5c show front views of the bait dispenser corresponding to that of Figure 2 in which the bait dispenser is moved sequentially from an upright position as shown in Figure 5 a to an inverted position as shown in Figure 5 c,

Figure 6 is a view of the inverted bait dispenser showing the lid thereof in

its open position,

Figure 7 is an exploded view of the bait dispenser shown in Figures 1-6,

Figure 8 is a sectional view along "A- A" of Figure 7,

Figure 9 is an exploded view of a bait dispenser according to a second

embodiment of the invention which my be releasably secured to a separate

container for bait,

Figure 10 is a perspective view of bait dispenser according to a third embodiment of the invention,

Figure 1 1 is a side view of the bait dispenser of Figure 10,

Figure 12 is a top plan view of the bait dispenser of Figure 10,

Figure 13 is an exploded perspective view of the bait dispenser of Figure 10,

Figure 14 is a partial side view of the bait dispenser of Figure 10 showing

the lid in its unlocked condition, and

Figure 15 is a partial side view of the bait dispenser of Figure 10 showing

the lid in its locked condition.

Referring to Figures 1 to 8 of the drawings, a bait dispenser according to this first embodiment of the invention comprises a hollow plastics container 1 having a closed lower end 2 and an upper lid 3. The lid 3 is connected to the container 1 via a hinge mechanism 4 and associated hinge pin 4a. Protruding from opposite sides of the lower end of the container 1 are a pair of tapered spigots 5 having concave under surfaces of diameter generally corresponding to the external diameter of a fishing rod 6, only part of

which is shown. The spigots 5 can be releasably secured to the fishing rod 6 by means of

elastomeric gro mets 7 which tightly grip them such that, in the position shown in Figure

1, the container 1 can assume an upright position by appropriate axial rotation of the rod

6. The butt end of the rod 6 is to the left of the drawing in Figure 1 and, as shown

arrowed, to the right in Figure 7.

A release mechanism for opening and closing the lid 3 comprises a

swivellable catch 8 mounted for rotation on a pin 9 which extends through an arm 10

secured to and protruding from the upper part of the outside of the container 1 such that the arm 10 is parallel to the major axis of the rod 6. The swivellable catch 8 has a locking formation on its inner side comprising an open-ended recessed portion 11 (shown in

dotted outline in Figure 1, in solid outline in Figure 7 and in section in Figure 8) into

which can be received a latching formation in the form of a latching arm 12 secured to and

protruding from the lid 3 in a position perpendicular to the arm 10 but coincident with the major axis of the pin 9. In the position shown, the upper portion 13 of the swivellable catch 8 prevents the latching arm 12 and hence the lid 3 from being hinged upwardly although it will be apparent that rotation of the swivellable catch member 8 through 180°

about the axis of the pin 9 would permit the free end of the latch arm 12 to escape from the open end of the latching formation 1 1, in a manner to be described with reference to Figures 5a to 5c and Figure 6.

Fixed to and depending from one side of swivellable catch 8 relative to the orientation shown in Figure 1, is a lever 14 and an associated stop member 15 protruding from the lower outer portion of the container 1 so that the lever 14 may rotate with the

swivellable catch 8 about the axis of the pin 9 in one direction only but not in the other

as a result of the presence of the stop member 15. However, because the lever 14 is mounted off-centre or over-centre relative to the longitudinal axis of the pin 9 it will be apparent that inversion of the container 1 about the major axis of the rod 6 would not

cause the lever 14 to rotate about the axis of the pin 9 since it would effectively be held

by gravity between the limits imposed by the stop member 15 and the pin 9 by being over-

centre with respect thereto.

This is explained more fully with reference to Figures 5a to 5c in which in Figure 5 a the forward end of the latching arm 12 is shown captured by the latching formation 11 on the inside of the swivellable catch 8 which has a closed upper portion 13

and an open lower portion. Figure 5b shows the container 1 inverted to a position of approximately 45° to the vertical and Figure 5c shows the container 1 completely inverted

so that it hangs upside down from the rod 6.

In all three positions the latching arm 12 and hence the lid 3 still remain held by the swivellable catch 8 by the open-ended latching formation 1 1 therein.

During this twisting motion relative to the longitudinal axis of the rod 6 the lever 14 remains stationary relative to its position between the stop member 15 and the axis of rotation about the pin 9 so that, as can be seen from Figure 5 c, when the container 1 is inverted the lid 3 remains closed.

To open the lid 3 it is necessary to impart rotational force to the

swivellable catch 8 and this is achieved by imparting a short sharp push to the rod 6 from

left to right relative to the orientation shown in Figure 1 so that the inertia of the lever 14

and in particular the inertia around the free end thereof tends to keep the latter momentarily in the same position adopted just before the rod 6 is pushed so that the

swivellable catch 8 is caused to rotate about the pin 9 until the lever 14 topples over to assume the position shown in Figure 6, thereby exposing the open end of the latching

formation 11 to the free end of the latching arm 12 to allow the latter to escape from the

swivellable catch 8 and the lid 3 to swing open upon its hinge 4 so that the contents (not shown) of the container 1 fall out. A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 9 where for convenience parts which are identical to those of the first embodiment are numbered the same. The main difference between the second embodiment of the invention over the first embodiment of the invention is that it does not include its own container 1 and instead has

a curved mounting plate 16 extending generally at right angles from the end of the arm 10 remote from the pin 9, adjacent to which is a stop member 17 for the lever 14 which

also extends at right angles to the arm 10. As will be readily apparent, the bait dispenser according to this second embodiment of the invention can be easily attached to an open

topped container (not shown) for containing bait by means of, for example, an elastic band. In this way, a variety of bait containers may be used without the need for individual bait dispensing mechanisms for each and it will be further apparent that although the mounting plate 16 is shown in this embodiment of the invention as being curved, to approximate the outer curvature of a cylindrical container, nevertheless the plate may instead be of a different shape, such as flat, for affixing to a rectilinear container, in which case the lid 3 may also have a corresponding shape.

A third embodiment of the invention is shown with reference to Figures

10 to 15 where, again for convenience, parts which are identical to those of the first and

second embodiment and numbered the same With this embodiment the main difference

is that the bait dispenser is intended to be used in an inverted position for transporting bait to a desired site and it is also tailor-made to fit over the end of a plain rod end i.e. one not having eyelets or rings for guiding fishing line. The bait dispenser according to this

embodiment of the invention again has a housing, this time a cubical housing (1), a

generally rectilinear lid (3) and an over centre lever ( 14), these components being shown more clearly with reference to Figure 13. The lid (3) has an integrally formed hinge pin

(4a) which can be press fitted into an integrally formed hinge mechanism (4) at the rear of the container (1), with the lid (3) also having an integrally formed latching arm (12).

On the upper end of the lever (14) is a swivellable catch (8) having a

recessed portion in the form of a latching formation (11). Extending from the swivellable

catch (8) is a latch pin (9) which can be press fitted into an integrally formed hinge cradle (18) so that the lever (14) can assume the position shown with reference to Figures 14 and

15, the former permitting the lid (3) to rest unsecured on the top of the container (1) and the latter preventing the lid (3) from being opened.

Underneath the container (1) is an integrally formed square tube for receiving a peg (20) having a pair of resiliently deformable leaves (21) at one end and a socket (22) at the other such that the peg at (20) may be slid onto the end of a rod (23), only part of which is shown with reference to Figures 1 1, 12 and 13.

In operation, the bait dispenser according to this third embodiment of the

invention is push-fitted onto the end of a smooth rod, typically of the type which can

temporarily replace a conventional tip of a fishing rod and with the open end of the

container (1) uppermost. Bait is then inserted and the lid (3) closed The lever (14) is then swivelled from the position shown in Figure 14 to the position shown in Figure 15,

thereby locking the lid (3) in place. The rod (23) is then rotated about its longitudinal axis until the container (1) is inverted so that the bait rests upon the inside of the lid (3) within

the container (1) and, by so doing, ensures that sufficient friction is imparted to the swivellable catch (8) and latching arm (12) to ensure that the lever (14) retains its position relative to the lid (3) corresponding to that shown in Figure 15, even when the container

(1) is inverted.

Bait can then be positioned over an area being fished or to be fished with little or no chance of the door (3) becoming accidentally unlatched beforehand, even

though the rod (23) may be relatively flexible or "whippy". To release the bait the container (1) is returned to its upright position as shown in Figure (15) and with a quick

pull of the rod (23) the inertia generated in lever (14) is sufficient to allow it to resume the position shown in Figure 14 such that the lid (3) can then be opened by the simple expedient of inverting the container once more, with the bait then falling into the water at the required position.

As will be readily apparent, the simple construction of the third embodiment shown with reference to Figures 10 to 15 makes replacement of parts very

easy and it is envisaged that the bait dispenser will or may be sold in kit form with a purchaser being able to purchase spare parts as necessary. In addition the socket (22) in

the peg (20) may be of varying sizes to cater for varying diameters of rod (23) so that a

selection can then be made to suit individual requirements.

The invention therefore provides in its three embodiments a neat and

effective way of ensuring that bait can be positioned accurately over a desired location above water without fear of it accidentally becoming dislodged and dispensed during such

an operation and without the need to ensure that the container for the bait is always held in an upright position prior thereto.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a lever

mechanism in the form of an elongated lever it will be readily understood by those skilled

in the art that other shapes of levers may be used and, similarly, other kinds of swivellable catches may also be used in which by a pushing or a pulling action a locking or latching formation may be caused to become free to release the lid.

Claims

1. A bait dispenser comprising a container for bait, the container being

adapted directly or indirectly to be releasably secured to a rod or pole and having a lid for closing off the container after bait is introduced thereto, the lid being openable

thereafter by a release mechanism comprising a swivellable catch having a locking formation co-operable with a latching formation by which the lid may be releasably closed and an over-centre lever mechanism associated with the swivellable catch by which the latter may be swivelled by a pulling or pushing motion relative to the longitudinal axis of

the rod or pole to swivel the catch to a position in which the locking formation of the catch is out of alignment with the latching formation on the lid to thereby release the latter and dispense bait after the container has been inverted.

2. A bait dispenser according to Claim 1 wherein the over-centre lever mechanism is in the form of an elongated rod attached to part of the outer periphery of the swivellable catch with its longitudinal axis perpendicular to the axis of swivel and the

locking formation on the swivellable catch includes an opening for receiving the latching

formation on the lid such that upon rotation of the swivellable catch thereafter the latching

formation is captured to prevent the lid from opening until the lever is caused to swivel from a rest position relative to the container in response to a pushing or pulling motion

of the rod or pole relative to its longitudinal axis.

3. A bait dispenser according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein a stop member

is provided to ensure that when the container is inverted the lever remains in an over- centre position relative to the latching formation and the axis of rotation of the swivellable

catch such that, in this position, the lid can remain closed until the rod or pole is pushed

or pulled sufficiently to cause the inherent inertia in the lever to impart rotation of the swivellable catch to thereby release the latching formation and open the lid under the action of gravity.

4. A bait dispenser for releasably securing to a container for bait, the bait dispenser comprising a lid for closing off the container after bait is introduced thereto, the lid being openable thereafter by a release mechanism comprising a swivelable catch having a locking formation co-operable with a latching formation by which the lid may be

releasably closed and an over-centre lever mechanism associated with the swivellable

catch by which the latter may be swivelled by a pulling or pushing motion to swivel the catch to a position in which the locking formation of the catch is out of alignment with the latching formation on the lid to thereby release the latter relative to the container and dispense bait therefrom when the container has been inverted.

5. A bait dispenser comprising a container for bait, the container having a

hinged lid, a latching arm extending from the lid remote from the hinge and being

cooperable with a swivellable catch on the container (1), the catch having an over-centre

lever arm by which it may be rotated to lock and unlock the lid (3) by a pulling or pushing motion.

6. A bait dispenser according to Claim 5 further including socket means for

securing the bait dispenser to the end of a rod by a push-fit.