Abstract:
The body of the fisheye device is sized to be supported around the fisherman&#39;s neck and rest against his chest. The body carries a convex lens, a spinner hook for engaging and holding a fishing hook with the eye free. A visual panel is in the line-of-sight beyond the spinner hook and carries a surface which is visually appropriate to aid in tying the line through the eye of the fishing hook.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE 
   This application relies for priority on the pending application Ser. No. 60/607,504, filed Sep. 7, 2004. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Fly fishermen, in particular, use very light fishing lines. As a consequence, the lines are sometimes broken by the hook engaging on a snag. The fisherman wants to quickly tie a new hook on the end of the line so that he can rapidly resume fishing. This is particularly important when fish are biting. In fly fishing, the hooks are small with small eyes. The line is light and is usually monofilament nylon or the like. There are several kinds of knots by which a fishing line can be attached to the eye of a hook. Each of these knots requires several turns for security in the knotting. It is very difficult to insert the end of the line through the eye of the hook, make the necessary turns and complete the knot when the fisherman is in a difficult environment such as standing next to or in a stream. Thus, it would be helpful in such a situation to have a device which improves the circumstances under which the hook is held, the eye and end of the line are seen and knotting is aided. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a device to aid a fisherman to tie a hook on the end of a fishing line. The device includes structure to hold the hook with its eye available, a magnifying lens to aid in seeing the eye of the hook and a visual field positioned on the line-of-sight from the fisherman through the lens to the hook holder to improve visibility to the fisherman during tying. The device is portable so that it can be carried with the fisherman during his fishing activities. 
   It is thus a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a device which aids in tying a fishing line to the eye of a hook, the device being portable so that it can be carried with the fisherman during his fishing activities and is used while the fisherman is standing. 
   It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a device which is foldable into a compact unit so that it can be carried during fishing and can be unfolded into a position where it is utilized for holding eye of the hook and seeing the hook for insertion of the line through the eye of the hook. 
   It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a device which has a lower panel which serves as a visual backdrop while the fisherman is looking at the eye of the hook and the fishing line for the tying of a fishing line into the eye of the hook. 
   It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to have a hook holder of such nature that the hook can be rotated when the line is inserted through the eye of the hook to aid in knotting. 
   It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to include a magnifying lens between the fisher-man&#39;s eye and the hook holder, with the visual field in the back to further enhance the visibility of the line and the eye of the hook. 
   It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to place the visual field on the lower panel and position the lower panel so that it can act as a work surface to temporarily hold such items as hooks. 
   It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a device which can be folded when the hook tying is complete so that it is of convenient size to be worn around the neck of the fisherman, or otherwise carried with him while he is actively fishing. 
   Other purposes and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following portion of the specification and the attached drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the fisheye device of this invention, shown from the fisherman&#39;s front and left. 
       FIG. 2  is another perspective view of the fisheye device of this invention, also from the fisherman&#39;s front and left, but from a higher angle, with the lens folded up in a storage position. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 1  showing the fisheye device is in the closed position. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The knot-tying device of this invention is generally indicated at  10  in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The device comprises a substantially rectangular main body  12 . U-shaped upper bracket  14  is attached at the top edge of the main body. The U-shaped upper bracket, formed of rectangular strap material, has left and right arms  16  and  18 . The arms are pivoted on the top of the main body on shaft  20 . Shaft  20  extends through the lower ends of the arms and through ears  22  and  24  extending upward from the main body. The left and right designations in this description are in the directions as seen by the fisherman when he is wearing the device around his neck. 
   Neck strap  26  extends through the upper top of the bracket  14 , as seen in  FIG. 1 . The neck strap is long enough to engage around the neck of the fisherman and is long enough so that the main body  12  overlies the chest of the fisherman. The neck strap  26  and bracket  14  are holding structure which hold the body  12  against the fisherman when he is fishing. Pivoting of the bracket  14  on the body  12  is stiff so that the bracket can be placed in a particular angle or position with respect to the body, and it will remain in that position until significant force is used to adjust it to the new position. The angle at which the device will be used is close to that shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  also illustrates the operative configuration of the device. 
   Convex lens  28  has an ear  30  through which the shaft  20  passes. Thus, the convex lens can swing from a position where it is embraced within bracket  14 , as seen in  FIG. 2 , to the extended, in-use position shown in  FIG. 1 . The lens is positioned so that it is in the fisherman&#39;s line-of-sight when he looks downward. 
   Tray  32  has a flat face  34  between left and right flanges  36  and  38 . The flanges are separated enough so that they extend outside of the left and right edges  40  and  42  of the main body. Tray  32  is pivoted on the lower edge of the main body on pivot pin  44  so that it can swing up for storage. When not in use, the tray  32  is raised flat against the front of the body  12 . The flat tray  32  carries panel  35  thereon which is finished in color and surface texture so that it serves as a suitable visual background. Panel  35  is held in place by a magnet and is reversible. One side is matte black for daytime use and the other side is glow-in-the-dark for use in the dark. It is the background the fisherman sees when he looks down through the lens  28 . Proper background can enhance the fisherman&#39;s visibility of the fishing hook on which he is tying his line. In addition, the tray  32  and panel  35  serve a place where small parts such as a spare hook can be temporarily laid. 
   Spinner arm  46  is also pivoted on pivot pin  44 . The upper end of spinner arm  46  carries spinner tube  48 . The spinner tube  48  is rotatable in the arm  46 . Spinner spring  50  is formed of a spring wire. It has a handle loop  52  which has legs  54  and  56 . The spring leg  54  terminates in a yoke  58  which snaps onto the right end of tube  48 . The leg  56  has a bend where it enters the right end of tube  48 . The leg  56  extends through the tube  48  out past tube face  64  and terminates in spinner hook  62 . The resiliency of the handle loop is sufficient to resiliently thrust the spinner spring leg  56  to the right to the point where the spinner hook  62  is retracted so that it is at least as far to the right as the face  64  of the spinner tube. Pressing on the spinner spring leg  56  in the direction of the arrow  66  causes the spinner hook  62  to be extended, as shown in  FIG. 2 , sufficiently to engage the hook of a fish hook in the spinner hook  62 . Spinner hook  62  is the fishhook holding hook. Release of the leg  56  permits the spring to pull the fishhook against the face  64  to retain it for tying. 
   Spinner arm  46  is shown swung out to the active position in  FIGS. 1 and 2  where the spinner hook is directly in the line-of-sight from the fisherman, through lens  28  and toward the visual field provided by the panel  35  on tray  34 . The spinner arm  46  is rotatable on the pivot pin  44 , and a pocket  68  is formed in the body to receive the arm, spinner tube  48  and handle loop  52  in the inactive position. The spinner arm is swung up into this pocket, and the tray  32  is raised to cover it in the inactive position. In the inactive position, the lens is swung up to where it is embraced by the bracket  14 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
   As the fisherman is actively fishing, he is wearing the device  10  around his neck. It is in the closed position wherein the tray  32  is raised to cover the spinner arm, and the lens  28  is raised to the position where it is embraced by the upper bracket. The upper bracket may be adjusted with respect to the body for a comfortable fit for the fisherman&#39;s chest. 
   When the fisherman loses his hook, he opens the device by swinging out the tray  32 , swinging out the spinner arm  46  and swinging out the lens  28 . The fisherman takes a new hook, presses the spinner spring leg  56  to his left and engages the spinner hook  62  on the new hook. In this position, the eye of the hook is directed to the fisherman&#39;s left. He takes the end of the fishing line and inserts it through the eye of the fishing hook. His efforts are aided by the convex lens which provides a larger image and is aided by the favorable visual surface of the visual panel  35 , which is behind the fishing hook in the fisherman&#39;s line-of-sight. Once the fishing line is inserted through the eye of the fishing hook, the fishing hook is rotated by spring  50  an appropriate number of turns. Then the free end is inserted back through an existing loop in the fishing line to form an appropriate knot. The excess free end can be snipped off. The fishing hook is released by thrusting the spinner spring to the left to the position shown in  FIG. 2 . The fishing hook is thus released from the spinner hook. The fisherman can fold up his device and promptly return to fishing. 
   This invention has been described in its presently preferred embodiment, and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.