TROTLINE RETRIEVAL DEVICE

Abstract: A device for retrieval of a trotline, which consists of a long-line (3) and a great number of gangions (4) fastened at intervals thereto, with a hook suspended from each gangion. A container (1) is provided to separately collect the long-line (3) and the gangions (4) within the container. A ring (5) which is circumferentially arranged around the container is capable of collecting the hooks outside the container. The ring (5) is in its periphery provided with several gangion holders (6) capable of receiving a respective one of the gangions. A motor (11) is provided to rotate the ring (5), possibly together with the container.

Description: TrotLine retrieval device TECHNICAL FIELD ' The present invention relates to a device for retrieval of a trotLine which consists of a Long-line with gangions fastened at intervals thereto, with a hook suspended from each gangion. BACKGROUND ART In trotLine fishing there are several known systems for automatic performance of a number of operations, for in¬ stance baiting the hooks and/or dispensing the line into the sea . However, there are no reliable systems for automatic Line retrieval after the fis ing is ' .finished. With the known systems the gangions and hooks are very likely to become out of order and entangled, also if they are hauled by special take up means. Such systems are known from for instance the Norwegian pa¬ tent specification No 120,812 and U.S. patent specifica¬ tion No 3,841,0'11. In the system known from the Norwegian patent specifica¬ tion the hooks have to be placed manually in separate slots in a ci rcular rotatable reel. There is no provi¬ sion for automatic Line hauling. Besides, the trotLine and the gangions wi ll- be suspended outside the hook reel and wi ll very Likely cause the trotline and the gangions to entangle with other objects. Also in the system disclosed in the U.S. patent specifica¬ tion the hooks must be manually placed on supports on a rotatable reel. This system has also no automatic Line hauling. Furthermore, in the Last mentioned system the hooks are very likely to become entangled with the trot¬ Line or the gangions since these during hauling wi ll be stored close to the hooks. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is, accordingly, to provide a device of the aforesaid kind which wi ll ensure that the trotline wi ll be automatically retrieved and stored and that the trotline and the hooks wi ll be stored well separated from one another without any risk of en¬ tanglement. This object is achieved by means of a device according to the invention having the characterizing fea¬ tures set forth in Clafm 1. Further developmen s of the invention are set forth in the depending claims. In accordance ith the invention the trotLine and the gan- gions are collected within a container, whereas the hooks are collected outside the container by means of guides for the gangions. After the hauling of the trotline the hooks wi ll, therefore, be hanging beneath the gangion guides out¬ side the container, whereas the trotLine and the gangions are collected within the container, separated from the hooks . DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention wi ll be described below in more detai l with reference to the accompanying drawings which i llustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. Fig. 1 is a side view of the device in accordance with the invention together with a conventional Line hauling machin-e normally used on fishing vessels. Fig. 2 is a top view of the device according to the nvention and shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 i llustrates schematically and on enlarged scale a transmission means for advancing a hook collecting ring incorporated in the device. Fig. 4 is a perspective view on enlarged scale of a portion of the hook collecting ring. Fig. 5 schematically i llustrates two driving rol¬ lers incorporated in the device according to the invention, PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the device accor¬ ding to the invention has a cylindrical, vertically orien¬ ted container 1 which has an upper open-end and which is made of metal or a plastic material, for retrieval of the Long-line 3 and the gangions 4 of the trotline 2. The gangions are fastened at constant intervals. to the long- line, each gangion having a hook 4a in its free end. The opening 1a of the container 1 has a ci rcumferen ial hook retrieval or collecting, ring 5. made of -metal or a plastic material, the ring being rigidly secured to the container 1 in the embodiment shown. Spaced along the periphery of the ring 5 are guides for the gangions in the shape of several radially extending, inwardly tapered recesses 6, each of which being designed to receive a respective one of the gangions 4. The recesses 6 are shown on enlarged scale in Fig. 4. To faci litate clarity in the drawing only a few (four) of the recesses have been shown in Fig. 2. The recesses 6 are dimensioned such that the gangions 4, but not thei r hooks 4a, can be pulled through the innermost and narrowest part of the recess. The hooks 4a therefore serve as stop means when pulling the gangions through the innermost part of the recess. The container 1 is rigidly supported by a hoπ ' sontally oriented gear wheel 1b which, in a way not shown, is rota- tably journalled in a stand 7 for the trotline retrieval device. The stand 7, which can be positioned on the deck 8 of a vessel, has four upright corner legs 9 which support a rectangular frame 10, which, supports the various compo¬ nents of the trotline retrieval device. A motor 11, for instance a hydraulic motor, is designed to rotate the gear wheel 1b in steps together with the container 1 around its centre axis 1c by means of a trans¬ mission means 12 which is shown in Fig. 3, so that the recesses 6 consecutively will reach a position to receive a gangion 4. Secured to the frame 10 are supporting legs 13 which sup¬ port a fastening base plate 14 for a motor 15, for instan¬ ce a hydraulic motor, which, via a gear transmission 16, operates a driving means in the shape of two driving rol¬ lers 17 and 18, between which the long-Line 3 can be jam¬ med and tensioned. In order to retain the long-line 3 between the rollers 17 and 18, the roller 17 is ' provided with a ci rcumferential recess 17a, see Fig. 5, in which the Long-line 3 is to be inserted, whereas the ' roller 18 has a mating circumferential rib 18a designed to protrude into the recess 17a and jam the long-Line between the rol¬ lers 17 and 18 by means of a spring 19 and thus keep the roller 17 in a driving engagement with the roller 18. The transmission means 12 is shown in more detai l in Fig. 3. The driving shaft 19 of the motor 11 drives a so cal¬ led angular transmission means 20, which is of conventio¬ nal type and which is, therefore, not shown in detai l, the ' driving shaft 21 of which rotates a stepping rod 22. This rod is designed to strike, once during each revolution, with its free end, which supports a maneuverable spring 23, against a stud 24 on the bottom side of the gear wheel 1b. The gear wheel wi ll, thereby, advance one gear tooth at each such stroke -by the stepping rod 22. The gear wheel 1b i ll " be locked at each such stepping movement by a spring biassed Locking ball 25 which is moun¬ ted in the frame 10. The ball wi ll, during each stepping movement, snap into a respective one of several ball reces¬ ses or seats 26 which are provided in the lower surface of the gear wheel 1b. According to an alternative embodiment the locking ball 25 and the ball recesses 26 have been re¬ placed by a spring 27 which is mounted on the frame 10 and which is depicted with a dotted line in Fig. 3, and which is dimensioned such that it can consecutively snap in bet- ween the teeth of the gear wheel 1b. The frame 10 supports a guide means -in the shape of a sta¬ tionary guide chute 28 or metal plate or the like for gui¬ ding the gangions into the recesses 6, the chute being tapered towards the ring 5. The stepwise movement of the ring 5 is, therefore, so dimensioned that one of the re¬ cesses 6 wi ll always be located in a predetermined position in front of the innermost end of the chute 28, i .e. that end of the chute that faces the ring 5. A conventional hauler machine 29, which is commonly used on fishing vessels, and Located at a distance from the gun¬ wale 30, can be used in combination with the trotline re¬ trieval device in accordance with the invention. The hau- ler machine includes " two rollers 31 and 32 between which the line is hauled by means of a driving means 33. The distance between the rollers 31 and 32 is so small that any incoming fish 34, hanging on a gangion, wi ll be torn off by the rollers 31 and 32 such that the fish wi ll fall down upon the deck 8. The operation of the device is as follows: After the Long-Line has passed the hauler machine 29, the driver rollers 17 and 18 wi ll advance the long-Line in a horisontal path A at a greater height than the ring 5, but with the hooks at a lower height than the ring 5, towards the rollers 17 and 18. Thereafter, the long-Line will be advanced vertically (at B) down to the interior of the con¬ tainer 1. The free hanging gangions 4 will, thereby, one by one be guided by the guide chute 8 towards a respective one of the recesses 6 of the ring 5. During the continued advancing of the long-line 3 the gangion will slide in the innermost, narrowest part of the recess 6, as is shown at C in Fig. 1, until the hook 4a of the gangion ill strike against the lower edge of the recess 6 such that any further pulling of the gangion will be prevented. Simultaneously the gangion will fall down into the interior or the contai¬ ner. The same cycle ill be repeated for the following gangions. The recesses (gangion guides) 6 can, if desired, be streng¬ thened by vertically orientated plates (not shown) which form compartments beneath each recess 6. The present trotline retrieval or collecting device will, accordingly, cause the hooks to become hanging beneath the ring 5, whereas the long-Line and the gangions are collec¬ ted within the container 1. When dispensing the trotline the procedure wi ll be the reverse . It is apparent that the distance between the jamming loca¬ tion of the gangions between the rollers 17, 18 and the recess 6, which is located in front of the guide chute 28, must not exceed the Length of the ga ' ngion - otherwise the gangion wi ll be torn off. Said distance should preferably equal or slightly fall below the length of the gangion, so that the hooks 4a will become located beneath the ring 5 as close to its lower surface as possible. Although the Long-line 3 in the embodiment shown is Loosely retrieved or collected on the bottom of the container 1, there may alternatively be a special collecting means (not shown) within the container, for instance in the shape of a reel (not shown) on which the long-Line 3 may be stored. Since such reels are well-known to those ski lled in the art, they are not i llustrated here. In the embodiment shown the ring 5 constitutes a flange or the like on the container 1 so that these wi ll rotate together. It is however, conceivable to rotate only the ring 5, whereas the container 1 is stationary. Since it is obvious for those ski lled in the art how such rotation of the ring can be accomplished no equipment therefor wi ll be described. In the embodiment shown the container 1 is rotated step- wise. According to an alternative embodiment the shaft 21 is operative L ' y connected with the container 1, as is shown in dotted lines 21 ' in Fig. 1,. such that the shaft 21-21 ' 'drives the container 1 continously with a suitable low speed so that the each gangion wi ll enter a respective one of the gangion guides when rotating the container. In this case the gear wheel 1b and also the components 22-27 in Fig. 3 can be omitted.

Claims: Claims 1. A device for retrieval of a trotline (2) consisting of a long-Line (3) and several gang ons (4) fastened at in¬ tervals thereto with a hook suspended from each gangion, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a container (1) for separa¬ tely collecting the long-Line (3) and the gangions (4), and by several gangion guides (6) arranged circumferenti- ally on the outside of the conta-i ner, each gangion guide being di ensioned to recei e and guide a respective one of the gangions, the gangion guides being movable in a circu¬ lar path around the center axis (1c) of the container, so that they can consecutively be orientated such that they one by one wi ll be in a position where they are capable of receiving a respective one of the gang ons, a driving means (17, 18) being arranged to advance the trotline (2) - with the long-line (3) at a greater height, and the hooks (4a) at a lower height than the gangion guides (6) - towards an openin-g (1a) of the . container (1), and to fu-rther advance the trotline through the opening into the interior of the container, the gangions thereby consecutively entering a respective one of the gangion guides th the hooks being hanging beneath the guides. 2. A device according to Claim 1 , c h a r a c t e r i - z e d in that the gangion guides (6) are provided along a ring (5) which " i s c i rcumfe rent i a I ly disposed around the container (1) . 3. A device according to Claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i - z e d in that the gang on guides (6) consist of recesses being provided in the periphery of the ring (5) . 4. A device according to Cla 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d in that the ring (5) and the container (1) are secured to one another, such that they are able to rotate together around the center a is (1c) of the container. 5. A device according to any one of the preceding Claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gangion guides (6) are dimensioned such that the gangions (4), but not thei r hooks (4a), can be pulled through the gangion guides. 6. A device according to any one of the preceding Claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the gangion guides (6) have a common chute means (28) for guiding the gangions (4) into the gangi-on guides.

Inventors: HOEJER WILLY, SANDBERG SETH, HOEJER, WILLY, SANDBERG, SETH
Applicants: HOEJER WILLY, SANDBERG SETH, HOEJER, WILLY, SANDBERG, SETH
Application year: 1986
Main classification: A01K91
IPC codes: A01K91