Guarded fishing lure holder and tackle tote

A fishing tackle tote (10) that has beveled slots (40) situated at various locations around the device. The beveled slot takes advantage of the shape of the hook inserted therein to cause the forces of friction to act on the inserted hook. Hooks of almost any size remain substantially in place during transport but are easily removable when it is desired to remove them and reduce the chance of injury because the hooked end is slightly recessed and is therefore shielded.

The present invention relates to article carriers, and more particularly,
 to a carrier for holding fishing equipment that includes beveled slots
 that allow fishing lures to be held in place during transport but that
 allow easy removal of the lures when removal is desired.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 The sport of fishing often requires the person fishing (angler) to carry a
 substantial amount of equipment to the fishing site. This equipment can
 include rods, reels, bait, artificial lures, knives, weights, floats and
 the like. Often the angler will have different types of equipment for
 different types of fishing. For example, salt water fishing may require
 different types of equipment than that used for fresh water fishing or fly
 fishing. As a result, the angler must either carry unnecessary equipment
 to the fishing site or select only the equipment needed for the particular
 type of fishing planned and carry only that equipment to the site.
 Tackle boxes have long been used for storing fishing equipment and/or for
 carrying selected equipment to a fishing site. These boxes come in a
 variety of shapes and sizes and often are compartmentalized to allow the
 angler to store the equipment in an organized manner.
 U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,262 to Morin teaches a rod and reel caddy designed to
 assist the angler in transporting a plurality of rod/reel combinations.
 The caddy includes several openings to allow insertion of the reel end of
 the rod/reel combination therein, and also includes small holes situated
 around the perimeter of the caddy to allow insertion of fish hooks and/or
 the hooks of artificial lures.
 U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,895 to Jachim teaches a container for fishing lures
 designed to hook over the gunwale of a boat. The container includes a
 notched bar extending across the box near the top so the it can receive
 the hooks on the lures, allowing them to hang within the box. A moveable
 spring-loaded clamping member engages the hooks after they have been
 placed on the slotted bar to prevent the hooks from coming out of the
 notches.
 U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,553 to Porter et al. teaches a fishing lure tray that
 utilizes slots ("notches") along one wall of a lure compartment to receive
 the hook of a lure while the body of the lure lies in the compartment. A
 cover is moved into place to keep the hooks from jumping out of the slots.
 U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,755 to Lindgren et al. teaches a snelled fish hook
 holder in which the hooks are inserted into a long slot and the snell is
 wrapped around the device and anchored.
 U.S. Pat. No. 2,573,431 to Gibson teaches a tackle box that includes
 removable trays ("bait containers") that have a center handle for
 carrying. The trays include notches for keeping hooks and lures separate
 from each other and in place.
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,829 to Parvin teaches a hook holding device that
 includes a series of holes into which hooks can be inserted to retain them
 in place. A rotatable cover is turned to cover the top of the inserted
 hook to keep it from jumping out of place.
 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 238,873 to West is a design patent for a fishing lure
 holder. The device portrayed in the-West patent shows a series of slots
 along a top bar. It cannot be determined from the patent what the slots
 are for.
 With any of the above devices, the hooks are either free to jump out of the
 holes/slots into which they are inserted or some additional means of
 holding the hooks in place is required (e.g. a moveable top or cover that
 comes down over the inserted hooks or the anchoring of the hooks using the
 snells). The slots allow substantial movement of the hook, i.e., they do
 not fit snugly in the slots. Thus, either the hooks can jump out during
 transport, or the angler must manipulate the top or cover out of the way
 to access the lure, both of which may inconvenience the angler.
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a
 fishing tackle tote that has beveled slots situated at various locations
 around the device. The beveled slot takes advantage of the shape of the
 hook inserted therein to cause the forces of friction to act on the
 inserted hook. By forming the slots in this manner, the hooks of almost
 any size remain substantially in place during transport but are easily
 removable when it is desired to remove them. No cover is required to hold
 the lures/hooks in place, minimizing the manipulation required of the
 user. Hooks secured in this manner also reduce the chance of injury
 because the hooked end is slightly recessed and is therefore shielded. The
 device also includes open compartments to enable the user to carry a
 variety of other fishing equipment and giving the user easy access to such
 equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration for the fishing tackle tote 10 of the
 present invention. The fishing tackle tote includes a bottom 12, four side
 walls 14, 16, 18, and 20, and handle 22. A main compartment 24 is formed
 by the side walls 14, 16, 18, and 20 and the bottom 22. Optionally, the
 tote can include interior walls or dividers which may be slidable
 removable to allow maximum flexibility as to compartment size. These
 interior walls can create smaller sub-compartments within the main
 compartment 24 formed by the sidewalls.
 Situated along the top of any or all of the walls are beveled slots 40. The
 beveled slots 40 may vary in size, but each of them are beveled, as shown
 in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown, each beveled slot 40 is cut
 into the wall such that the distance D1 is greater than the diameter of
 the hook wire for the lure but is less than the distance D2, thus creating
 an angled or beveled surface 42. The thickness of each side wall may vary;
 the applicant has found that a side wall having a thickness of 1/4" to
 3/8" is acceptable. With the smaller sizes of wall thickness, it maybe
 necessary to extend the sides of the beveled slots beyond the support wall
 to insure that the hooks held in the slot are adequately guarded against
 accidental contact by the user. The angle of the beveled surface 42 with
 respect to the side wall may also vary; however, the length D2 should be
 of sufficient length so that the pointed end of any hook placed in the
 beveled slot 40 will always contact the beveled surface 42 as shown in
 FIG. 3.
 These beveled slots 40 may be situated along any wall, either interior or
 exterior (side) walls. It is most favorable to have the beveled slots 40
 situated such that the beveled surface faces the outer edge of the side
 walls; this is the most desirable position because the lure will hang on
 the inside of the box. Thus, if one of the lures is knocked loose during,
 for example, removal of the lure from the box, the lure will tend to drop
 inside the box rather than outside the box.
 As shown in FIG. 3, a hook placed in a beveled slot 40 will rest, point
 first, along the beveled surface 42. The weight of the lure pulls down on
 the hook point, and the beveled surface causes the hook to fit rather
 snugly in the slot. There is very little room for the hook to move, so as
 the user carries the box, the lure remains substantially in position.
 The present invention can take several optional forms. For example, it may
 be desirable to alternate between the beveled slots 40 of the present
 invention and straight holes, such as the holes shown in the Morin patent,
 to cover the situation in which a particular device or lure might fit more
 readily in a hole rather than a slot. Further, there are numerous
 configurations for installing the "interior" walls so as to form
 compartments of different sizes and shapes. In a well known manner, the
 interior walls can be made removable by including slots into which the
 interior walls may slide. This would allow the user to form a different
 configuration depending upon the size and amount of equipment being
 brought on a particular fishing trip.
 The walls and handle can be formed of any known material suitable for
 forming a box like structure with a handle. As previously mentioned, the
 wall material must be of a thickness that will allow the hook to hang onto
 the slot while the hook point does not extend beyond the beveled surface.
 The applicant has found that polyethylene, polypropylene, Lexan, and the
 like are useful as the wall material. Further, the applicant has used PVC
 piping to form the handle. Obviously, many other materials may be used for
 the walls and handle.
 In the drawings and the above description, the slots are formed in a
 vertical orientation, i.e., the slotted portion is perpendicular with
 respect to the bottom of the tote. However, it may also be desired to use
 horizontally oriented slots in some locations. i.e., slotted portions that
 are parallel with respect to the bottom of the tote. These slots could be
 placed in horizontal shelf portions that do not have vertical walls. the
 shelf portion.
 As an alternative to the above, the tote can be constructed using a molding
 technique such a extrusion molding, with the entire tote being a single
 piece, i.e., the handle, side walls, and interior walls are formed from a
 single mold. The walls and the majority of the tote could be much thinner
 than the approximately 3/8 inch thickness needed to form the beveled edge.
 The slotted portions are then molded so that a thicker "lip" portion
 extended outward, giving a thicker area in which the beveled slot is
 molded, as seen in FIG. 4. A tote so constructed is lighter in weight,
 very durable, and can be formed so that the totes are stackable for store
 display or storage.
 Important aspects of the "Hide a hook" beveled slot are emphasized in FIGS.
 4, 8 and 9. The slot is beveled to a preferred angle of about 30 degrees.
 The embodiment of FIG. 7 differs from that of FIG. 4 in that in the
 preferred embodiment there is an opposing support angle below the slot to
 present a smooth transition. The right and left sides of the slot are
 enclosed to capture the hook from each side. The depth of the slot and the
 walls should approximate the size of the bits of a large lure, treble
 hook, about 3.45 inch. This depth, coupled with the enclosure, not only
 protects the angler from catching on the outside hook, but also helps to
 keep the lure from twisting. As can be seen from the drawings, the top of
 each side wall is chamfered to guide the hook into the slot.
 On the divider shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, there is a securing hook which fits
 into a beveled "hide a hook" slot on the box. This mechanism locks
 together the divider and the box and allows the divider to be placed at
 any location where a beveled hook slot is found. This basically eliminates
 the need for divider guides along the inside of the box.
 FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate several conveniences that can be added to the
 tote. The handle has several 1/2 inch holes to store hemostats, screw
 drivers, or any tool which will fit into them. Along side the handle on
 each side is a tray to store small terminal tackle such as hooks, weights,
 or swivels. Along side each tray, at the spot marked "A" in FIG. 20 is a
 slot to receive a knife blade.
 As shown in FIG. 9, in the preferred embodiment, the box is divided into
 two lobes to facilitate stacking. When the box is molded from translucent
 polyethylene, the handle can double for a light holder. This use of the
 handle to light up an open box without a lid is quite useful.
 As can be seen, the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is
 provided with a lip. This lip provides not only added sturdiness, but also
 provides added protection against accidental encounters with or
 disengagement of hooks contained in the beveled slots.
 As noted, the handle can be designed to permit the inclusion of a removable
 light. A typical example of such light is one produced by Home Equipment
 Manufacturing Company of Westminster, Calif., which is a six inch utility,
 fluorescent light that is battery operated using four AA batteries. Other
 light fixtures such as those based on bioluminescence can be utilized and
 it is within the skill of the art to modify the handle in the
 manufacturing process to accommodate any particular light.