WO2000019813A1

WO2000019813A1 - Illuminating fishing rod

Info

Publication number: WO2000019813A1
Application number: PCT/AU1999/000855
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eamonn Matthew Malone
Original assignee: Heath, Richard, John
Priority date: 1998-10-05
Filing date: 1999-10-05
Publication date: 2000-04-13
Also published as: AUPP633498A0

Abstract

An illuminating fishing rod having a handle (3) and a rod (5) extending from said handle (3), the construction of said rod (5) permitting light to be transmitted through the rod (5), a light source (15) disposed so the light therefrom will travel within said rod (5) towards the tip of said rod (5) and be visible at least the tip of said rod (5).

Description

ILLUMINATING FISHING ROD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an illuminating fishing rod and relates particularly but not exclusively to a self contained illuminating rod. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fishermen generally accept that the largest fish are usually caught at nighttime. Typically, fishermen use several rods simultaneously and thus do not physically hold each rod. It is difficult at nighttime to determine if a fish is biting as generally, it is also accepted, that bright lights should not be used as this can often distract fish. Thus, the best fishing is usually obtained when the lighting conditions are the poorest. This, in turn, exacerbates the problem of sighting a fishing rod and determining if a fish is biting.

In the past, fishermen have devised devices that signal when a fish is biting at a particular rod. These devices have comprised bells in the case of an audible system, to the simplest form of providing a torch that can be shone onto the rods for a visible system. None of the aforementioned systems have proved entirely successful. OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention attempts to provide a system to signal when a fish is biting at a particular rod. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The first aspect of the present invention is an illuminating fishing rod having a handle and a rod extending from said handle, the construction of said rod permitting light to be transmitted along the rod, a light source disposed so that light therefrom will travel along said rod towards the tip of said rod and be visible at least of the tip of said rod.

The second aspect of the present invention is an illuminating fishing rod having a handle and a rod extending from said handle, the construction of said rod permitting light to be transmitted through the rod, a light source disposed so that light therefrom will travel within said rod towards the tip of said rod and be visible at least of the tip of said rod. Preferably said light source is carried at the handle end of said fishing rod. It is also preferable for said rod to be hollow and the light from said light source travels up the hollow rod from the handle end towards the tip.

Conveniently, the rod is covered with a non-light transmitting covering over a least a portion of said rod so that a non-covered region will appear illuminated by light from said light source.

Preferably the handle and the rod are co-axial and the light source is located within the handle. The light source may be operated by a battery which may be held in the handle. Preferably the battery is held located in the handle by a handle butt cap and the handle but cap may also operate as a switch to switch the source of light on or off.

A third aspect of the present invention is an illuminating fishing rod having a handle and a rod extending from the handle, said rod having a fibre optic cable extending along said rod, said fibre optic cable adapted to be operably connected to a light source.

Preferably, the fibre optic cable is either located within the rod or along the outside of the rod and preferably said fibre optic cable is attached to a light source carried at the handle end of the rod. A fourth aspect of the present invention is a method of manufacturing an illuminating fishing rod, such as that described above. The method includes the steps of providing a fishing rod and attaching a fibre optic cable along the outside of said rod. Preferably, the method further includes the steps of providing a light source and adapting said fibre optic cable to attach it to the light source. Most preferably, the method further includes the step of attaching said light source to said rod.

A fifth aspect of the invention is a method of manufacturing an illuminating fishing rod wherein a reflective lining or surface is incorporated into a fishing rod, during or after the manufacture of said rod. A sixth aspect of the invention is an illuminating whip antenna whip, such as that used for marine, VHF and CB radio, the antenna having a shaft, the construction of said shaft permitting light to be transmitted through the shaft, a light source disposed so that light therefrom will travel within said rod towards the tip of said shaft and be visible at least the tip of said shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical fishing rod incorporating an example of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a detail close-up view in transverse cross section of the handle end of the fishing rod shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a view showing the tip of an alternative example of the present invention; and

Figure 4 is a view of tip of a further example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained examples of preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to accompanying drawings.

Referring firstly to the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2 it can be seen that there is provided a fishing rod 1 that has a handle 3 and rod 5 extending from the handle 3. Typically, the rod 5 is constructed from a fibreglass material and is hollow, however the rod 5 may be solid if it is constructed so that it allows light to pass through the rod. The handle 3 carries fishing reel connection means 7 of known form so that a desired fishing reel 9 can be attached and carried by the fishing rod 1. Typically the handle 3 is covered with soft foam like material to provide comfort to the fisherman's grip. The rod 5 carries a number of eyes 11 through which the fishing line can pass to the tip of the rod. As shown in Figure 2, the rod 5 passes to the butt end 13 of the handle 3 through the handle itself.

The manner by which rod 5, is constructed must be such that it permits light to pass through the rod. For example, as rod 5 is hollow, light can pass through the hollow center of the rod 5. In this case, the rod may be constructed from materials such as lightweight but strong metals, as the light would pass through the hollow interior of the rod 5.

However, as an alternative, if the rod 5 were solid, then the rod must be constructed out of materials which would allow light to pass through the solid core, so that it passes from the butt end 13 of the handle to the tip of the rod 5. One such material is fibreglass. The light source 15 (see Figure 2) is carried at the handle end of the fishing rod 1 and is disposed so that light therefrom will travel within the rod 5 from the handle end of the fishing rod 1 towards the tip. In this example, where a fibreglass rod 5 is used, the light will impinge on the internal faces of the hollow rod 5, and because the construction of the rod is such that it permits light to pass through, the rod 5 will appear to be illuminating when viewing the rod 5 at its external surface. To enhance the lighting effect, a reflective inner lining or surface may be incorporated into the rod.

An alternative is to construct the rod from a composite of two materials. For example, an inner light permeable core such as fibre optic cable could be used in conjunction with an appropriate outer layer, such as fibreglass, lightweight metals or carbon fibre. Figure 2 shows that the light source 15 comprises a light globe in a slender torch arrangement that is fitted within the hollow center of the rod 5 at the butt end 13. Here, the globe is carried by a reflector 17 which, in turn, is carried in an external case 19 which neatly fits within the hollow interior of the rod 5. Stop means (not shown) may be provided within the hollow interior of the rod 5 to limit the extent to which the case 19 may be inserted into the hollow interior of the rod 5. If desired the case 19 may be shaped to fit in and locate positively with the taper of the rod, thereby limiting the depth of invention within the rod 5. The tail end of the case 19 carries a but cap 21 which is screw fittable to the case 19. Thus, as the case 19 can be of an electrically conductive material and the butt cap 21 also of an electrically conducted material, electrical current can be caused to flow from a battery 23 carried within the case 19 through a spring 25 contacting with the battery case terminal into the butt cap 21 , and then along the case 19 and then through the metallic reflector 17 to one terminal of the globe. The other terminal of the globe connects with the button terminal 27 of the battery 23. Thus, by appropriately tightening or releasing the butt cap 21 , the light source 15 may be caused to switch on or switch off. The butt cap 21 may have a knob or other external surface which can nestle against a fisherman during use of the rod. This has not been shown in order to aid clarity.

Figure 1 shows that the external surface of the rod may be covered with a non-light transmitting covering 29 and that in this example, the covering 29 extends covering the rod 5 all the way up the rod from the butt end towards the tip. At the tip, the covering is not complete such that there are non-covered regions 31. Thus, the coating 29 will mask the light that would otherwise illuminate the material of the rod 5. Accordingly, in the non-covered regions 31 , there will be regions where the rod 5 will be illuminating and be visible. Thus, selective areas or regions can be provided along the length of the rod 5 and may be illuminated from the light source 15.

The rod may be constructed in such a manner that in use the illuminating portion of the rod will blink on and off when a fish is biting. As the rod 5 is hollow and as light tends to follow a straight line, this arrangement can result in the non-covered regions 31 appearing to blink on and off when a fish is biting at the rod 1. This is because the rod 5 will flex and interrupt the straight-line path for the light that propagates from the butt end to the tip not withstanding that there will be some reflections from the internal surfaces of the hollow rod 5. It has been found that reflections of light on the internal surfaces of the rod 5 is minimal and a fishing rod 1 constructed in accordance with the example above provides the appearance of a flashing rod 5 when subjected to a fish biting. This, in turn, can provide a readily visible announcement to a fisherman that he should attend the fishing rod 1.

Referring now to the example shown in Figure 3, there is shown a fishing rod 1 of similar construction to that in Figures 1 and 2 except that the rod 5 is completely covered from the butt end to the tip with the covering 29. A lens 33 is then attached to the extreme tip of the rod 5 so that as light passes through the rod 5 it will impinge on the lens 33 and illuminate the lens 33 thereby providing a visual illumination of the tip of the rod 5. Figure 4 is a further example, where a fibre optic cable 35 is carried by the rod 5 and preferably within the hollow interior of the rod 5. Fibre optic cable 35 extends from the light source 15 to the tip of the rod 5 and to a lens transmission of the light to the tip of the rod where it can be visible from the lens 33.

Modification may be made to the invention as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art of manufacturing fishing rods or modifying fishing rods and also in the arts of providing light source. For example, the light source 15 may be provided with a lens to focus the light so that it is directed efficiently towards the tip of the rod 5. It has been found in practice, however, that a lens is not required as the hollow rod 5 itself provides a convenient form of focussing and containing the light source, at least along the length of the rod 5. As the internal surface of the rod 5 is illuminated it, in turn, enables light to pass through the rod material 5 and be visible.

Instead of providing a battery 23 carried within the handle 3 an electrical cable may be provided extending from the handle 3 to a battery (not shown) of larger capacity than one that would normally fit within the hollow rod 5. In a further example, the fibre optic cable 35 shown in Figure 4 may extend completely from the butt end of the handle 3 and to a light source which can be independently carried by the fisherman or which can be provided within a suitable box or other housing in proximity to the fishing rod 1.

If desired, the light source 15 may be any convenient light source including one or more light globes, LED's and may, in fact, be a laser light source.

In a further modification a torch device or other light source may be retrofitted to an existing fishing rod by fitting within the hollow rod at the handle end. In a further variation of this, a lens or other extension may be retro- applied to the tip of the rod as an extension to the rod to provide a defined region or surface that will be illuminated with the light that travels within the rod. In a still further variation an existing rod which is completely covered on its external surface may be modified by removing the tip section of the rod and replacing it with a new tip which has regions which are not covered or which are totally uncovered. Fishing rods are usually made up from a single piece of rod but may be made up of several lengths of rod that are fitted together end to end to define the whole rod. This variation lends itself to fishing rods which have been modified by removing the tip section of the rod and replacing it with a new tip which have regions which are not covered or which are totally uncovered.

The above description is provided for the purposes of exemplification only and it will be understood by a person skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the invention. For example the concept of the present invention can be applied to other articles constructed in a similar manner to that of fishing rods. More particularly, it can be applied to whip antennas, boat markers, positioning markers for remote area travel and identification markers.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. An illuminating fishing rod having a handle and a rod extending from said handle, the construction of said rod permitting light to be transmitted along the rod, a light source disposed so that light therefrom will travel along said rod towards the tip of said rod and be visible at least at the tip of said rod.

2. A rod according to claim 1 wherein the light source is carried at the handle end of said fishing rod.

3. A rod according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the rod is hollow and the light from said light source is caused to travel up the hollow rod from the handle end towards the tip.

4. A rod according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the rod is covered with a non-light transmitting covering over a least a portion of said rod so that at least a non-covered region will appear illuminated when light is from said light source.

5. A rod according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein the handle and the rod are co-axial and the light source is located within the handle.

6. A rod according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the light source is operated by a battery.

7. A rod according to claim 6 wherein the battery is located in the handle.

8. A rod according to claim 7 wherein the battery is held in the handle by a handle butt cap and the handle but cap also operates as a switch to switch the source of light on or off.

9. An illuminating fishing rod having a handle and a rod extending from the handle, said rod having a fibre optic cable extending along said rod, said fibre optic cable adapted to be operably connected to a light source.

10. An illuminating fishing rod according to claim 9 wherein the fibre optic cable is either located within the rod or along the outside of the rod.

11 A rod according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein said fibre optic cable is attached to a light source carried at the handle end of the rod.

12. A method of manufacturing an illuminating fishing rod as defined in any one of claims 9, 10 to 11 , the method includes the steps of providing a fishing rod and attaching a fibre optic cable along the outside of said rod.

13. A method according to claim 12, the method further including the step of providing a light source and adapting said fibre optic cable to attach it to the light source.

14. A method according to claim 13, the method further including the step of attaching said light source to said rod.

15. A method of manufacturing an illuminating fishing rod as defined in claim 2, the method including the step of incorporating a reflective lining or surface into a fishing rod, during or after the manufacture of said rod.

16. A fishing rod substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. 17 An illuminating whip antenna whip having a shaft, the construction of said shaft permitting light to be transmitted through the shaft, a light source disposed so that light therefrom will travel within said rod towards the tip of said shaft and be visible at least the tip of said shaft.