Abstract:
A fishing line knot tying device includes a housing having a hollow upper portion and a contiguous lower portion. The upper portion includes a peripheral upper edge and a V-shaped notch formed therein. The lower portion includes a lower edge and a slot formed therein, an alignment of a gap of the slot being offset from a center of the V-shaped notch of the upper portion, a longitudinal groove formed in an outer surface of the slot, and a flat thumb surface being formed in an outer surface of the lower portion from an end of the gap of the slot and extending to an outer surface of the upper surface.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to fishing line rigging and, more particularly, to making quality fishing knot tying easy. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fishing has been enjoyed by many as a relaxing pastime and also for many as a business opportunity. There are many different kinds of fishing along with many different types of fishing equipment such as rods, reels, lures, lines etc. One common need with most types of fishing is the ability to tie a quick and easy but strong fishing knot. Also one needs to be able to tie multiple types of knots to meet the requirement of the specific application. To do this one needs a tool that can accommodate all types and sizes of fishing line. This tool needs to be light weight and small enough to fit easily in any pocket and also fit comfort in the palm of one&#39;s hand. This tool needs to be simple to operate, light weight and inexpensive. All of the above advantages and more are taught by this invention 
     Other more specific objectives and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     Consequently, other known knot tying tools have been devised to ease related problems. 
     Initially, fishing knots were hand tied. Consequently inventors have developed many different designed tools to help one tie fisherman knots. Such tools can be found in on line stores, bait stores and many other sportsman headquarter type outlet stores and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,971,447, 4,403,797, 3,837,691, 3,106,417 and 2,926,056. 
     Prior art knot tying tools come in all shapes and sizes. Some tools are complicated to use, some tools are more bulky, some tools have line size restrictions, some tools are limited to what knot types they will tie, some tools are more prone to hook stabbings experienced by a user, some tools are more expensive to manufacture and some are awkward to hold and use. 
     None are known, however, to provide in one package an easy to use, durable design, light weight design, compact size, ergonomic shape, ability to handle light weight fishing line to heavy weight leader lines, ability to tie various knot types for different fishing applications, provide safe and secure protected hook placement, and are sleek and inexpensive to manufacture as taught by this invention. 
     It would be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that facilitates tying the fisherman nail knot. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that facilitates tying the fisherman shank knot. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that facilitates splicing two lines together. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that facilitates tying a leader line to the end of a fly rod fishing line. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that is easy to operate. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that is durable. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that is lightweight. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that is sleek and compact. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that ergonomically shaped. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that works with light weight fishing line to heavy weight leader line. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that provides safe hook placement while knot tying that keeps sharp end away from fisherman. 
     It would also be advantageous to provide a fishing line knot maker that is inexpensive to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fishing line knot maker that is functional, easy to use, compact, light-weight, inexpensive to manufacture and durable. The device is a one piece construction that fits easily and comfortably in ones palm or any pocket. The device ties multiple types of knots and eliminates the need for additional knot making tools. The device is also capable of making knots from lightweight fishing line to heavy weight leader line. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawing, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a particular embodiment of a fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 2  is a right elevational view of the fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view of the fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the fishing knot maker tool; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the fishing knot maker tool with fishing line tying a fisherman&#39;s nail knot; and 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the completed fisherman&#39;s nail knot. 
     
    
    
     For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of the fishing knot maker tool in accordance with the invention. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The one piece construction makes it ideal for plastic injection molding but one could also use metal, wood or other suitable material. All features that make up this tool (hook groove  12 , thumb plate  14 , nose fork  16 , body hollow  18 , line groove  20 ) are incorporated in this one piece design. 
       FIG. 2  shows a right elevational view of the fishing knot maker tool in accordance with the invention. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The hook groove  12  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up and secure hook or lure properly during knot tying. The thumb plate  14  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to enable the thumb to hold the fishing line  22  or fishing hook  26  in place when tying a knot. The nose fork  16  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up the fishing line  22  and also it enables one to wrap the tag line around the tapered body  10  when tying a knot. The line groove  20  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to feed the fishing tag line under the coiled line to complete the knot tying. Once the fishing tag line is fed under the coiled line, one pulls the fishing line  22  and the fishing line tag  24  which pulls the coiled line off the tapered body  10  and completes the knot tying. Also the line groove  20  is used when tying a leader line to a fly line. 
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the fishing knot maker tool. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The hook groove  12  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up and secure hook or lure properly during knot tying. The nose fork  16  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up fishing line  22  and also it enables one to wrap the tag line around the tapered body  10  during knot tying. The body hollow  18  allows space for a hook tip to return inside the tapered body  10  to aid in knot tying and also protect the user from the point of the hook. The body hollow  18  also removes excess weight from the knot maker tool. 
       FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view of the fishing knot maker tool. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The hook groove  12  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up and secure the hook or lure properly during knot tying. The line groove  20  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to feed the fishing tag line under the coiled line to complete the knot tying. Once the fishing tag line is fed under the coiled line, one pulls the fishing line  22  and the fishing line tag  24  which pulls the coiled line off the tapered body  10  and completes the knot tying. Also the line groove  20  is used when tying a leader line to a fly line. 
       FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the fishing knot maker tool. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The thumb plate  14  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to enable the thumb to hold the fishing line  22  or fishing hook  26  in place when tying a knot. The line groove  20  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to feed the fishing tag line under the coiled line to complete the knot tying. Once the fishing tag line is fed under the coiled line, one pulls the fishing line  22  and the fishing line tag  24  which pulls the coiled line off the tapered body  10  and completes the knot tying. Also the line groove  20  is used when tying a leader line to a fly line. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the fishing knot maker. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The hook groove  12  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up and secure the hook or lure properly during knot tying. The thumb plate is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to enable the thumb to hold the fishing line  22  or fishing hook  26  in place when tying a knot. The nose fork  16  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up the fishing line  22  and also it enables one to wrap the tag line around the tapered body  10  when tying a knot. The line groove  20  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to feed the fishing tag line under the coiled line to complete the knot tying. Once the fishing tag line is fed under the coiled line, one pulls the fishing line  22  and the fishing line tag  24  which pulls the coiled line off the tapered body  10  and completes the knot tying. Also the line groove  20  is used when tying a leader line to a fly line. 
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the fishing knot maker tool with fishing line  22  tying a fisherman&#39;s nail knot. The tapered body  10  is cone shaped to comfortably fit in either hand and also this shape aids during knot tying and is rigid and light weight. The hook groove  12  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up and secure the hook or lure properly during knot tying. The thumb plate  14  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to enable the thumb to hold the fishing line  22  or fishing hook  26  in place when tying a knot. The nose fork  16  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to line up the fishing line  22  and also it enables one to wrap the tag line around the tapered body  10  when tying a knot. The line groove  20  is a feature of the tapered body  10  and is positioned to feed the fishing tag line under the coiled line to complete the knot tying. Once the fishing tag line is fed under the coiled line, one pulls the fishing line  22  and the fishing line tag  24  which pulls the coiled line off the tapered body  10  and completes the knot tying. Also the line groove  20  is used when tying a leader line to a fly line. In use, the fishing hook  26  is secured in the hook groove  12 . The fishing line  22  is threaded through the fishing hook  26  and the fishing line  22  end is pulled straight across the thumb plate  14  and down through the nose fork  16  and out the end. The fishing line tag  24  end is pulled straight across the thumb plate  14  then 90 degrees down the nose fork  16  then coiled four times around the tapered body  10  then fed under the coils through the line groove  20  and out the front beside the fishing line  22 . The user grips both the fishing line  22  and fishing line tag  24  and pulls forward which will pull the coils off the tapered body  10  and snug up to complete the fisherman nail knot. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a completed fisherman&#39;s nail knot. The completed fisherman knot includes the fishing line  22  and trimmed fishing line tag  24 , tied to the fishing hook  26 . 
     Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention. 
     Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.