HOOK SORTING DEVICE

Abstract: A device for sorting and handling hooks in long lines, comprising a closed channel (2) through which the main line (3) of the long line with its hook leaders (4) and hooks (5) secured thereto is pulled up to a guide member (13) positioned at the end of the channel. The guide member is curved transversely and has a transverse edge (16) which faces the outlet end of the channel (2) and which serves to catch hooks (5) facing in one direction and turn them over, whereupon the hooks are pulled through a gap (15) defined between the guide member (13) and the base and moved up onto a guide rail (18) transferring the hooks to a magazine for storage.

Description: Hook Sorting Device The subject invention concerns a device for sorting and handling hooks, and more particularly the hooks attached at the outer ends of hook leaders, i.e. the short trailing ends attached at regular intervals along the main line of long lines. In professional fishing by means of long lines it is important that while the long line is being paid in and after the fish have been unhooked the long line is handled adequately in order to avoid subsequent disentanglement and sorting work. When the long line leaves the cleaning unit it is very important that the main line including its hook leaders and the hooks attached thereto are collected in an orderly manner to facilitate paying of out of the long line at the next fishing operation. In a prior-art apparatus for handling and arranging a long line being paid in from the sea the main line of the long line is passed between a pair of guides, one of which is designed to catch hooks having their bent section facing in one direction while the second guide is designed to catch hooks facing in the opposite direction. From one of the guides the hooks are transferred straight to a magazine for storage and the other guide turns the hooks over so that they assume the same direction as the hooks manipulated by the first guide, whereafter they are fed one by one to the magazine for storage. This prior-art apparatus is unnecessarily complicated bec'ause of the comparatively long distance over which the hooks have to travel before they are stored next to each other in the magazine. There is also a possibility that the guides fail to catch some hooks because the latter are turned in such a manner that their bent portion is facing the main line, with the result that the hooks will slide away from under the guide. In another prior-art apparatus magnets are used to catch the hooks and guide them in a correct position up to a magazine where they are stored. However this is a comparatively expensive apparatus. Another disadvantage is that only steel hooks may be used and not hooks made from non-corrosive materials. The subject invention provides an apparatus for hook sorting and handling which has a functional structure and consequently it is simple and extremely reliable. The apparatus is characterized by a table which is provided with a closed channel through which is passed the main line with the hook leaders and their hooks attached thereon, said channel tapering in the direction from the inlet opening towards the outlet opening and having a height at the outlet which is less than the width of the hooks, and by a guide member which is positioned in the direction of extension of the outlet opening of the channel and which is curved transversely, said guide member having a free lengthwise edge defining a longitudinally extending gap together with the table top, and a transverse edge which faces the outlet opening of the channel and which extends obliquely upwards in the direction of movement of the line to catch those of the passing hooks the bent portion of which faces in the opposite direction from the curvature of the guide member and to turn said bent hook portion so that all hooks will be positioned in the same direction, and a guide rail which is positioned adjacent the upstream end of the guide member to catch the hooks and carry them to a magazine for storage. Further characteristics and advantages of the hook sorting and handling apparatus in accordance with the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hook sorting and handling apparatus in accordance with the invention, and Figs. 2 and -3 are broken side views of the apparatus as seen from the left feed-in end in Fig. 1. The apparatus comprises a table 1 forming a reception top which is provided with an inlet channel 2 through which is pulled a long line comprising a main line 3 having hook leaders 4 secured thereto at equaly spaced apart intervals. Each hook leader has a hook 5 mounted at its free end. The main line 3 is advanced in the direction indicated by arrow 6. To the rear of the channel 2 as seen in the direction of advancement are positioned two plate sections 7 and 8 which extend in a curve from respectively above and below in the direction towards the inlet opening of the channel so as to serve as a lead-in member, guiding the hook leaders 4 and the hooks 5 into the channel. Also the side walls 9, 10 of the channel taper in a curve inwards towards the channel interior. At its discharge end the width b (see Fig. 2) of the channel 2 only slightly exceeds the width of the hooks 5. Above the channel 2 a brush 11 is positioned the bristles 12 of which extend downwards towards the channel bottom. The gap between the bristles 12 and the bottom of the channel 2 defines the height h of the channel (see Fig. 2). This dimension is selected to ensure that the height h only slightly exceeds the width of the hooks 5. Immediately after the channel 2 and in the extension thereof an elongate guide member 13 is provided. The guide member has a curved cross-sectional shape transversely and it is attached to the table 1 by means of one of its lengthwise edges. The other lengthwise edge 14 terminates short of the table top surface, whereby a longitudinally extending gap 15 is formed which is defined by the top of the table 15 and the edge 14. At the downstream end facing the outlet opening of the channel 2 the guide member 13 is formed with a transverse edge 16 extending obliquely upwards in the direction of advancement of the line. The transverse edge 16 is designed to catch those hooks 5 passing through the channel the curved portion of which faces in the opposite direction from the curvature of the guide member 13 so that the curved edge will serve to turn the curved hook portion over approximately 180° as illustrated by arrow 17 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3. The guide member 13 is formed by a resilient material. Immediately ahead of the upstream end of the guide member 13 as seen in the direction of advancement, there is provided a pivotably suspended guide rail 18 which extends obliquely upwards and which may be pivoted somewhat downwards against the action of a traction spring 19. The guide rail 18 serves to guide the hooks 5 to a magazine for storage, not shown, while the main line 3 is being pulled forwards. The magazine may consist e.g. of a tubular element having a lengthwise groove through which project the hook leaders of the hooks stored on top of each other in the tube. The apparatus functions in the following manner. When the main line 3 of a long line is pulled through the channel 2 a hook leader 4 with its associated hook 5 dangling at its end is guided and moved in between the plates 7, 8 and the side walls 9, 10 of the channel. The height and width dimensions of the channel 2 are chosen as mentioned in the aforegoing in such a manner as to ensure that the hook will lie flat against the bottom of the channel with its curved portion facing either to the left or to the right. When the curved portion faces to the right, as seen in the direction of advancement, the hook 5 will slide past the guide member 13, the curved hook portion passing through the gap 15, whereupon the guide rail 18 will catch the hook as illustrated in Fig. 1 and carry it to the magazine for storage. Should the following hook 5 have its curved portion facing to the left, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the curved portion thereof will slide along the transverse edge 16 of the guide member 13 and as the pulling action on the associated hook leader and therefore on the hook continues, the hook will be forced to rotate over half a turn, i.e. approx. 180°, whereby its curved portion will be directed towards the right, and thus face in the same direction as the preceding hook. The hook which thus now has the same orientation as the previous one will, like its predecessor, be fed onto the guide rail 18 and slidingly move thereon up to the magazine for storage. Also damaged hooks can be handled and sorted by the apparatus. Should for instance the curved portion of a hook be deformed and the point of the hook project at an angle from the plane of the hook, the hook may still be able to pass through the channel 2 because the bristles 12 of the brush yield and therefore do not prevent the hook from being pulled forwards and pass through the apparatus, although owing to the deformation the hook requires more space than do undamaged hooks. Hooks which have been given a considerably more narrow configuration due to deformation can pass through both the guide member 13 and onto the guide rail 18 and thus automatically be selected for rejection. However, should instead the guide member 13 catch the hook and turn it, the deformed hook may not be able to pass unrestrictedly through the gap 15. In such cases the guide member 13 will yield resiliency upwards somewhat, allowing the hook to be dragged through the guide member although under friction. The friction will cause the hook leader to tighten and as a result the hook, as soon as released upon leaving the gap 15, will be jerked aside instead of being guided onto the guide rail 18. Also in this case the deficient hook thus will be automatically selected for rejection. Hook leaders 4 often become entangled with the main line 3, with the result that the distance between the hook 5 and the main line is shortened. Consequently, when the hook 5 is pulled up along the guide rail 18 the hook leader 4 will be tightened, causing the guide rail 18 to pivot downwards against the action of the spring 19. As a result, the hook 5 will slide off the guide rail 18 instead of being carried to the magazine. The guide rail 18 pivots back to its original position by the spring 19 and the entangled hook leader can then be manually unravelled from the main line and the hook be suspended in its position inside the magazine. Also at the occurrence of irregularities of this type the apparatus allows for automatic separation of the faulty component while continuously ensuring that hooks and hook leaders which are fed to the magazine are in perfect order. The invention is not limited to the embodiment described in the aforegoing and illustrated in the drawings but a number of modifica¬ tions are possible within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, the brush 11 may be replaced by a yielding ceiling member in the channel allowing passage through of deficient and deformed hooks. The guide member 13, instead of being made from a resilient material, could be imparted resiliency in some other way, such as by means of springs and a joint allowing the free lengthwise edge portion to yield upwards. The apparatus could also operate vertically, that is with the table top mounted as a wall, or in oblique in-between positions.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A device for sorting and handling hooks, especially the hooks (5) attached at the free outer ends of hook leaders (4) which are secured at regular intervals along the main line (3) of long lines, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a table (1) which is provided with a closed channel (2) through which is passed the main line (3) with the hook leaders (4) and their hooks (5) attached thereto, said channel (2) tapering in the direction from the inlet opening towards the outlet opening and having a height (h) at the outlet which is less than the width of the hooks (5), and by a guide member (13) which is positioned in the direction of extension of the outlet opening of the channel (2) and which is curved transversely, said guide member (13) having a free lengthwise edge (14) defining a longitudinally extending gap (15) together with the table top, and a transverse edge (16) which faces the outlet opening of the channel (2) and which extends obliquely upwards in the direction of movement of the line to catch those of the passing hooks (5) the bent portion of which faces in the opposite direction from the curvature of the guide member (13) and to turn said bent hook portion so that all hooks (5) will be positioned in the same direction, and a guide rail (18) which is positioned adjacent the upstream end of the guide member (13) to catch the hooks (5) and carry them to a magazine for storage. 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that the wall of the channel (2) facing the channel bottom is yieldable. 3. A device as claimed in claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that said wall is formed by brush bristles (12) directed towards the bottom of the channel (2). 4. A device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that the guide member (13) possesses properties of resiliency in order to allow the free longitudinal edge (14) to yield upwards to widen the gap (15). 5. A device as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that the guide rail (18) extends at an angle to the direction of advancement of the main line and is arranged to pivot against the action of a spring in the direction of extension of the main line (3).

Inventors: GUSTAVSSON BERT URBAN, GUSTAVSSON, BERT, URBAN
Applicants: ARB CONSTRUCTION AB, ARBCONSTRUCTION AB
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A01K97
IPC codes: A01K91