FISHING DEVICE

Abstract: Fishing device of the fish fork type, comprising a shaft (1), a middle prong (2) and two lifting hooks (3) provided with rod-members (31, 32) and placed opposite to each other on both sides of the middle prong. The lifting hooks and the middle prong are made of steel wire and welded to the stem (11) of the shaft (1). The lifting hooks are bent in a heart-shaped fashion, so that their peaks (33, 34) form a V-shaped guide. As the fishing device hits the fish, the V-guide guides it to the middle prong, the flexible lifting hooks are bent and opened (A-B), and during a swift lifting movement the peaks (33, 34) of the lifting hooks penetrate into the fish, whereafter the lifting of the fish can be carried out. The opening angle of the lifting hooks (3) can be adjusted by the collar (4). The fish can be easily removed by sliding the collar (4) down next to the stem (11). Now the lifting hooks can without difficulty be drawn out of the flesh of the fish.

Description: FISHING DEVICE The object of the present invention is a fishing device comprising a shaft, a middle prong or equivalent as a con¬ tinuation of the said shaft, and two lifting hooks or prongs located in opposite positions on both sides of the middle prong. In the previous art are known various fish forks for catching fish and/or for lifting fish aboard or landing it ashore. An ordinary fish fork consists of a shaft with two or more straight prongs at its end, wherein the prongs are provided with gripping barbs. The barbs are so big that the fish can be lifted up from the water hanging solely from the said barbs. Owing to the barbs the fish is often badly torn. This causes difficulties in the further handling of the fish, not to mention esthetic ■ aspects as regards the ' preparing and serving of food. The barbs in the fish fork also prevent the use of the fish fork in the function of a sweep net, when the fish is caught with a net or some other fishing trap, for example a flyrod. The Norwegian Patent Publication no. 8444 introduces a fishing device of the fish fork type, the said device comprising a barbed prong at the end of a shaft and two lifting hooks located on opposite sides of the said prong. In the resting position these lifting hooks are attached to the shaft above the prong. When the prong is hit in¬ to the fish, the lifting hooks are thrust into the sides of the fish by effect of a specific spring arrangement. The-,p.rong and the lifting hooks have ordinary barbs at their peaks . The drawback of the aforementioned fishing device is its mechanical. omplexity. This decreases its functional re- liability and makes it expensive to manufacture. Moreove the use of the said device is impractical: after each use it is necessary to return the lifting hooks to the upper position and to check that the device is in order for the next operation. The barbed prong and the hooks tear the fish in the same fashion as an ordinary fish fork. The US Patent Publication no. 2 864 196 introduces a fishing gear resembling the device presented in the afore mentioned Norwegian publication. Here the prong at the end of the shaft has been replaced by a fork-like group of prongs, wherein the prongs are directed closer to each other towards their peaks. On both sides of the group of prongs are arranged the lifting hooks. As the device strikes the fish to be lifted, the auxiliary member to¬ gether with the sleeve attached to it by a rod is moved away from the prongs. To the sleeve are connected lif¬ ting hooks provided with lever arms, which lifting hooks now are hit fι_om both sides of the prongs down into the sides of the fish. The above described fishing gear suffers from the same drawbacks as the device presented in the Norwegian publi¬ cation. There are no barbs in the prongs, but the forked prongs may as well tear -the fish while it is being hit by the gear. Moreover, in the low position of the lifting hooks the prongs reach further out than the hooks, so that for example during the transportation of the device the prongs are dangerous for people. As a conclusion it can be stated that the fishing devices described in the above mentioned publications all have a complex structure and consequently their production is costly. They are awkward to use and unsecure in operatio When employing them it is necessary - as well as when employing an ordinary fish fork -• to hit the prong di¬ rectly into the fish, and thus the deflection of light in the water surface has to be taken into account. The purpose of the present invention is to avoid the above mentioned drawbacks and to realize a fishing de¬ vice which is simple to manufacture and to ' use. This can be achieved by the characteristic features of the invention, which are mainly enlisted in the novelty fea¬ ture part of the Patent Claim 1. Among the. greatest advantages of the invention are the simplicity of its "production and the facility of its use. The fishing device according to the invention does not necessarily have any separate members moving with respect to each other; it forms a uniform entity. The peaks of the lifting hooks and the prongs are preferably straight spikes, in which case the device does not unnecessarily tear the fish. The fish gets only three spike holes. The lifting hooks are bent so that their peaks as well as the middle prong are protected, and consequently they do not form any kind of danger for people. The lifting hooks are also designed in such a fashion that they guide the fish towards the middle prong if the original blow has been hit slightly amiss. The device can without difficulty also be used instead of a sweep net for lifting fish from example up from a net. The opening angle of the hooks can be adjusted by a shif- table collar. Thus the fishing, device is suited for lif¬ ting bothbig and small fishes. Thanks to the collar, it is also easy to remove the fish from the device. In the following the invention is explained in detail with reference to the appended drawing. Figure 1 is a schematical view of one preferred embo¬ diment of the invention seen from above. The fishing device comprises the shaft 1 , the middle prong 2 or equivalent as its continuation, and the two lifting hooks or prongs 3 located opposite to each other on both sides of the middle prong 2. The lifting hooks 3 are manufactured of flexible material such as strong steel wire or equivalent, and, together with the middle prong 2, attached firmly - for instance by welding - to the shaft 1 or preferably to the connection stem 11 of the shaft, to which stem can be connected a shaft of any desirable length. The lifting hooks 3 are bent to form a heart-like shape so that they guide the fish exactly to the middle prong during one blow. Now the peaks 33, 34 of the lifting hooks 3 together form a V-shaped or other similar guide. The peak 21 of the middle prong 2 and the peaks 35, 36 of the lifting hooks 3 can have the form of sharp spikes. In the application presented in the drawing the peaks 35 and 36 have a slantedly sharp form. The inclination of the peaks 35, 36 is carried out in the bending direc- ■tionof the lifting hooks 3, symmetrically with respect to the. middle prong 2. In the resting position A the peaks 21, 35 and 36 are preferably located in the same plane C-C, vertical to the middle prong 2. The lifting hooks 3 have straight rod-members 31, 32, which are essentially parallel to the middle prong 2 andare attached to each other and to the middle prong by the -positionally adjustable collar 4. By employing this collar 4 it is possible to adjust the size of t'he opening angle of the lifting hooks 3 and thus define their extreme-position B. The nearer to the stem 11 of the shaft 1 the collar 4 is placed, the larger is the opening angle of the lifting hooks 3. The fishing device according to the invention functions for example in the following manner. When, while taking up fishing nets ,from the water, near the boat is obser- -SU O '; - ved a fish which cannot be simply lifted up along with the net, the fishing device of the present invention is employed. The opening angle of the lifting hooks is adjusted according to the size of the fish by using the collar 4, and the fish is hit with the device. The V- guide 33, 34 formed by the lifting hooks 3 guides the fish exactly to the middle prong 2, because in most ca¬ ses the blow hits slightly amiss. Consequently the middle prong 2 is pressed into the fish owing to the hitting power, and the lifting hooks 3 are bent sideways (A-B) for instance along the sides of the fish. Now a swift lifting movement is carried out, so that the peaks 33, 34 of the lifting hooks 3 are pressed into the flesh of the fish and the fish cannot escape anymore. Thereafter the fish can be lifted in due order to the boat. The fish is removed from the device by sliding the collar 4 down next to the stem 11 of the shaft 1 , so that the lifting hooks 3 can without difficulty be drawn out of the sides of the fish, and the fish can be dropped from the middle prong onto the bottom of the boat or to a sui¬ table vessel. The fishing device according to the invention can be ma¬ nufactured totally out αf steel, either of rounded wire or rectangular bar, the diameter thereof being preferab¬ ly 4...8 mm. The collar is suitably made of plastic or hard rubber. In order to prevent corrosion the steel parts can for example be chromium plated. It is not- absolutely necessary to provide the lifting hooks 3 with the rod-members 31, 32. If they are left out, the adjus¬ tingof the opening angle by the collar 4 is not included in " the operation. However, also in this case the device . functions in a satisfactory way. The middle prong 2 of the fishing device can, if desired, be formed of a plura¬ lity of two or more prongs. The .middle prong 2 and the rod-members 31, 32 of the lifting hooks 3 can be connec¬ ted to the stem 11 of the shaft 1 not only by welding ^ but also by pressing them into the tubular stem. In the above the invention has been explained mainly with reference to one preferred embodiment only. It ' is naturally clear that the invention is not. limited sole¬ ly to this one example, but it can be modified within the scope of the following patent claims. For example, the attaching of the middle prong 2 and the lifting hooks 3 to the shaft 1 can be carried out in many diffe¬ rent ways, and the form of the lifting hooks 3 is relati¬ vely free; the essential features are the flexibility and guiding properties of the lifting hooks. Moreover, the material of the fishing device can be chosen among a plurality of various different materials. OMPI 't WIP0

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS (received by the International Bureau on 17 September 1981 (17.09.81)) 1. A fishing device comprising a shaft (1), a -middle prong or equivalent (2) as a continuation thereof, and lifting hooks or prongs (3) placed opposite to each other on both sides of the said middle prong, which hooks (3) are bent so that their peaks (33, 34) together form a V-shaped or other similar guide, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - the lifting hooks (3) are manufactured of flexible material - the lifting hooks (3) have straight rod-members (31, 32) essentially parallel to the middle prong (2) , - the lifting hooks (3) are firmly attached to the shaft (1), preferably to the stem (11) of the shaft (1), together with the middle prong (2) . 2. The fishing device of claim 1, c h a r a-c t e r ize-d in that the peak (21) of the middle prong (2) is spiked and the peaks (35, 36) of the lifting hooks are sharpened in an inclined fashion, the inclination taking place in the bending direction of the lifting hooks (3). 3. The fishing device of claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d in that the rod-members (31, 32) of the lifting hooks (3) and the middl-e prong (2) are attached to each other by a positionally adjustable collar (4) . 4. The fishing device of claim 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d in that the middle prong (2) and the rod-members (31, 32) of the lifting hooks (3) are welded into the tubular stem (11) of the shaft (1) . 5. ' The fishing device of any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the middle prong (2) is formed of a group of two or more prongs. 6. The fishing device of any of the previous claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that its essential parts are manufactured of steel. 7. The fishing device of claim 6, c h a r a c t e ri z in that its steel parts are chromium plated as well. EDITORIAL NOTE. The claims amended by the applicant under Article 19 (1) of the PCT have not been re¬ numbered in accordance with Section 205 of the Administrative Instructions under the PCT. The following information is given hereafter in order to facilitate the understanding of the amended claims: Correspondence between original and amended claims: Original claims Amended claims 1 1 (amended) - 2 (cancelled) 3 (cancelled) 4 2 (amended) 5 (cancelled) 6 3 (amended) 7 4 (amended') 8 5 9 6 10 7 (amended)

Inventors: LEPPAEKUMPU E, VAINIKAINEN K
Applicants: LEPPAEKUMPU E, VAINIKAINEN K
Application year: 1981
Main classification: A01K97
IPC codes: A01K97