Patent ID: 7676982
Filing Date: 2010-03-16
Classification: A01K

Abstract:
1. A tool for saving the lives of captured fish that are swollen by expanded gases when brought to the surface, comprising: an elongate hollow tube of rigid construction having a proximal and a distal end; and a sharp cutting edge formed by a bevel formed in said distal end of said tube; a handle; said proximal end of said tube pivotally secured to said handle to facilitate handling of said tube; said handle including a first part and a second part that confront and abut one another, defining a hollow space between said first part and said second part for receiving said tube when said tube is in a stored configuration; a pivot pin extending between said first and second parts of said handle at a leading end of said handle; said tube having a bore formed in said proximal end to receive said pivot pin; said tube having a deployed position when fully pivoted in a first direction about said pivot pin; said tube having said stored position when fully pivoted about said pivot pin in a second direction opposite to said first direction; a detent formed in a leading end of said handle, in leading relation to said pivot pin; said detent extending into said hollow space between said first and second parts of said handle; said detent overlying said tube when said tube is in said deployed configuration; said detent formed of a flexible and resilient material so that said tube transiently displaces said detent formed in said leading end of said handle when said tube is displaced from said deployed configuration to said stored configuration and from said stored configuration to said deployed configuration; a detent formed in a trailing end of said handle; said detent formed in said trailing end of said handle extending into said hollow space between said first and second parts of said handle; said detent formed in said trailing end of said handle overlying said tube when said tube is in said stored configuration; said detent formed in said trailing end of said handle formed of a flexible and resilient material so that said tube transiently displaces said detent when said tube is displaced from said deployed configuration to said stored configuration and from said stored configuration to said deployed configuration; whereby a user grasps said proximal end of said tube and punctures a fish at a predetermined location in a body of the fish with the sharp cutting edge formed in the distal end of said tube to allow gases to flow out of the body of said fish until said body returns to a substantially unswollen condition; and whereby said fish is resuscitated after said gases have been vented and before being released.