Abstract:
A fishing rod holder and transport device that allows a plurality of fishing rods to each be secured in place via a resistive locking channel within the rod holder. When needed the fishing rods can be quickly removed from the rod holder with a single hand and the rods are stably supported within the holders such that they will not be accidentally dislodged and will not damage the rods.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION INFORMATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/456,278, filed Nov. 4, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to holders for fishing rods and more particularly to portable devices for holding fishing rods during transport and/or use. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Most fishermen own a number of fishing poles, whether for ice fishing or fishing on open water. As such, fishermen commonly transport multiple fishing rods at a time and sometimes fish with more than one rod at a time. 
         [0004]    A number of fishing rod holders have therefore been designed to support fishing poles either for transport of during fishing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,019 to Smeltzer teaches attaching a fishing pole holder attached to a fishing bucket at angle to the bucket to support fishing rods during fishing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,500 to Luukonen depicts a bucket with an attached tray having various compartments for holding fishing gear, including slots that grasp and retain a fishing rod tip to retain the fishing rod. U.S. Pat. No. 7,594,353 to Lucky and U.S. Publ. Pat. App. No. 2005/0252071 to Urban utilize hollow tubes attached to a bucket for the purpose of supporting a fishing rod. U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,923 to Zingrone supports a fishing rod at an angle from a bucket with a cradle attached to the bucket. 
         [0005]    There are various drawbacks to each of these designs. For example, they may not be suitable for both transport of fishing rods and supporting rods during fishing, they may cause damage to fishing rods, and they may not stably support the rod to prevent accidental dislodgement from the holder or may not allow rods to be easily inserted into the holder. As such, it would be desirable to provide a fishing rod holder that addresses these deficiencies. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention provide a fishing rod holder and transport device that allows a plurality of fishing rods to each be secured in place via a resistive locking channel within the rod holder. When needed the fishing rods can be quickly removed from the rod holder with a single hand and the rods are stably supported within the holders such that they will not be accidentally dislodged and will not damage the rods. 
         [0007]    In one embodiment, a fishing pole holder and transport consists of a thin walled cylindrical housing, such as a bucket, to which at least one rod holder tube is fixably coupled. A channel can be cut into the thin walled tube for supporting and retaining the fishing rods. The channel can open to one end of the tube and proceed generally longitudinally towards the other end at a series of angles. The channel&#39;s pattern of angles defines an insertion path, a stop feature, and a support ledge. Insertion path allows the shank of the reel to easily slide into the channel where it rests on support ledge. Support ledge receives the shank of the reel and provides the sole support for fishing rod and reel such that no portion of the rod or rod tip is contacted. Stop feature significantly reduces the likelihood that a fishing rod will inadvertently come out of channeled thin walled tube. Thus, the channel effectively creates a locking mechanism, whereby a fishing rod can be secured in place without fear of the rod tipping over, getting stepped on, or being dragged into the water by a fish while still allowing for easy insertion. The fishing rod can be removed from the fishing rod holder by simultaneously lifting and turning the rod, thereby allowing the reel stem to pass around the stop feature in the angled channel. This action can be done with a single hand. 
         [0008]    The above summary of the various embodiments of the invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the invention. This summary represents a simplified overview of certain aspects of the invention to facilitate a basic understanding of the invention and is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or delineate the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts a perspective view of a fishing rod holder and transport and fishing rod in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  depicts a front elevation view of a rod holder tube in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  depicts a side elevation cross sectional view of a rod holder tube with a fishing rod in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  depicts a front elevation view of a fishing rod holder in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0014]    While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  depicts a fishing rod holder and transport  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention that generally includes a bucket  10  and at least one fishing rod holder tube  12 . In one embodiment, bucket  10  is generally cylindrical in shape, with an upper rim  16  defining a top end of the bucket  10  and a generally sealed bottom  14 . The side wall of bucket  10  is defined by an inner wall  19  and an outer wall  17  that define an open interior. One or more ridges  15  can project laterally outward from and encompass cylindrical outer wall  17  and upper rim  16  can extend laterally outward from the outer wall  17 . In one embodiment, bucket  10  can have a handle  18 , which can be coupled to a portion of ridge  15 . The bucket  10  can also have a lid  20  which can be removably fitted on to bucket  10 , to selectively seal the open interior. The size and shape of the bucket  10  is not critical to the operation of the fishing rod holder and transport  100 . The description of bucket  10  provided herein has been supplied for illustrative purposes and various other sized and shaped buckets and other walled objects can be utilized with fishing rod holders as described herein. 
         [0016]    A plurality of fishing rod holder tubes  12  configured as slotted thin walled tubes can be fixably coupled to the outer wall  17  of bucket  10 . A front elevation view of a rod holder tube  12  is depicted in  FIG. 2 . Rod holder tubes  12  can be substantially cylindrical in shape defined by an inner wall  23  and an outer wall  22 . The lateral ends of rod holder tube  12  can be defined by a top  26  and a bottom  24  that can be beveled at, for example, a 45-degree angle, such that one side of slotted thin walled tube  12  is longitudinally longer than the other side of thin walled tube  12 . In some embodiments, rod holder tubes  12  can be generally vertically aligned along the outer wall  17  of bucket  10  such that they are generally perpendicularly aligned with the bottom  14  and the upper rim  16  that defines the open top of the bucket. 
         [0017]    A channel or slot  28  traverses the rod holder tube  12  in a generally longitudinal direction via a series of angles. The channel  28  extends through both inner  23  and outer  22  walls. Channel  28  opens towards the top  26  and proceeds in a defined pattern longitudinally down rod holder tube  12  towards the bottom  24 . The channel  28  ends prior to reaching the beveled bottom  24 . The channel  28  is defined by edges  30  and  32 . Edges  30  and  32  begin at top  26  and proceed longitudinally toward bottom  24 , and can proceed substantially parallel to the length of rod holder tube  12  as depicted in  FIG. 2 . Channel  28  then angles to either direction. In one embodiment, this angle can be offset approximately 45-degrees to either side of a line running parallel to the length of thin walled tube  12 . The channel  28  can then again proceed longitudinally toward bottom  24 . Although much of channel  28  is depicted in  FIG. 2  as traversing along a line substantially parallel to the length of thin walled tubing  12 , other non-parallel traveling patterns can also be employed. Additionally, the offset of 45-degrees between angles can be deviated from substantially. 
         [0018]    Edges  30  and  32  of channel  28  define an insertion path  33  and meet at a bottom of channel to form a support ledge  34 . Insertion path  33  allows the shank or stem of a fishing reel attached to a fishing rod to be inserted into channel with little to no interference so that it can be supported on support ledge  34 . Edge  32  defines a generally downwardly facing stop feature or projection  35  configured as a ledge that provides a material interference if rod is moved vertically upwards from support ledge  34 . 
         [0019]    When rod holder tube  12  is viewed from in cross-section from the side, as in  FIG. 3 , it can be seen how channel  28  supports fishing rod  50 . Fishing rod  50  consists of a rod  46 , extending from a handle  40 . Reel  42  connects to fishing rod  50  at handle  40  via reel stem  44 . When housed in the channel  28  of fishing rod holder  12 , the weight of fishing rod  50  is supported by the reel stem  44  where it rests on the support ledge  34  portion of channel  28 . Rod  50  can be inserted into rod holder tube  12  by inserting rod handle  40  into the inner diameter of the rod holder tube  12  and aligned the real stem  44  with the channel  28 . So that real stem  44  slides down insertion path  35  until it reaches support ledge  34 . The smooth curves of insertion path  33  defined by edge  30  allow the stem to slide in with little resistance. 
         [0020]    Fishing rod  50  can be removed from the rod holder tube  12  by lifting up on the fishing rod  50  while turning it or sliding it laterally slightly to allow the reel stem  44  to pass by the stop feature  35  along the angled path of channel  28 . Because the reel stem  44  must follow the ridged path of the angled pattern in channel  28  to be released, the likelihood that fishing rod will inadvertently come out of fisher rod holder  12  is reduced. In addition, the downwardly facing stop feature  35  serves to prevent the rod from being dislodged due to vertical movement because it will block pure upward movement of the reel stem  44  beyond stop feature  35 . Thus, the channel  28  effectively creates a locking mechanism, whereby fishing rod  50  can be secured in place in fishing rod holder  100  without fear of the rod  50  tipping over or falling out, getting stepped on, or being dragged into the water by a fish. However, as described above, channel  28  also provides for easy insertion of rod  50 . In addition, rod  50  is supported purely by the stem  44  of the reel  42  resting on the support ledge  34 , and therefore no portion of the rod or rod tip is restrained, eliminating the possibility of damage to the fragile rod that is present in fishing holders that engage the rod body and/or rod tip. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  depicts a fishing rod holder  200  according to another embodiment of the present invention. Rod holder  200  includes a plurality of rod holder tubes  12  are employed. However, instead of being fixably coupled to a bucket, embodiment  200  depicts the rod holder tubes  12  fixably coupled to two flexible strips  36 , which can be later mounted to a wall or other surface. Several holes  34  are drilled into strips  36  to allow the fishing rod holder  200  to be easily attached to a variety of surfaces. The holes  34  can by spaced 18 inches apart to align with standard wall stud spacing. In other embodiments, strips  36  strips can utilize an adhesive or Velcro to attach to surfaces. Flexible strips can be adjusted to fit nearly any surface and any number of strips can be used as necessary. Some possibilities include, for example, a wall, an inner or outer surface of a boat, a bucket, a dock or a metal rod. Rod holder  200  can also be attached to these or other surfaces, such as the gunnel of a boat or a dock, to support one or more rods while being used during fishing. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, rod holder tubes  12  can be made from 1.5 inch PVC piping. In another embodiment, rod holder tubes  12  can be stamped out of sheet metal and bent into a cylindrical shape. Ends  24  and  26  can be cut at 45-degree angles. Cuts can be aligned so that the beveled ends  24  and  26  of the thin walled tube  12  angle towards one another, thereby forming a shorter and longer side when measured longitudinally. In one embodiment, the back of thin walled tube can be approximately 6 inches in height. Channel  28  can be cut into the front of the tube  12  and in one embodiment can be approximately 0.625 inches in width. Channel can be cut to approximate the above description, ending at support ledge  34  approximately 1 inch from end  24 . In one embodiment, the angled portion of the channel  28  can extend for approximately ¾ inch. One or more holes  25  can be drilled into the back of tubes  12  for mounting purposes. Holes  25  should be large enough to allow standard sized fasteners to easily pass through them. Although rod holders  12  are described herein as having a generally cylindrical shape, it should be noted that any other generally enclosed shape will suffice, such as, for example, square or rectangular. 
         [0023]    A bucket  10  can be prepped for attaching the rod holder tubes  12  by drilling a series of holes aligning with holes  25 . Strips  36  can also be prepped with holes in a similar manner. The rod holder tubes  12  can then be attached via nuts and bolts or screws or other fasteners to a bucket  10  or strips  36 . In other embodiments, rod holder tubes  12  can attach to bucket, strips, or other surfaces via an adhesive, a hook inserted into an opening, Velcro, or any other attachment method. Rod holder tubes  12  can also be individually attached to structures. 
         [0024]    Various embodiments of systems, devices and methods have been described herein. These embodiments are given only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It should be appreciated, moreover, that the various features of the embodiments that have been described may be combined in various ways to produce numerous additional embodiments. Moreover, while various materials, dimensions, shapes, installation locations, etc. have been described for use with disclosed embodiments, others besides those disclosed may be utilized without exceeding the scope of the invention.