HOOK AND LINE CLEANING DEVICE

Abstract: A hook and line cleaning apparatus (1) designed to clean long lines, said apparatus comprising rotating brushes (11) and guide plates (10) for guiding and aligning the hooks (6) attached to said long line (4) being pulled between said rotating brushes (11).

Description: Hook and Line Cleaning Device The subject invention concerns a hook and line cleaning device for cleaning long lines, comprising a line passage means through which the long line is pulled and having brushes arranged in pairs on either side of the long line. In professional long line fishing several factors affect the catching results. Examples of factors of this kind are, in addition to the availability of fish, also the quality of the bait, the type of hook and hook leader as well as the type of main line used. Recent investigations show that the catching results are considerably improved if continuous or solid drawn nylon lines, so called monofilaments are used for the main line and the hook leaders. More detailed studies have shown that this is due to the fact that conventional long lines which consist of braided or twisted materials, absorb smells from the pieces of bait and fish that remain on the line and the hook leaders. Since fish have a very keen sense of smell these odours affect the catching results negatively. Monofilament nylon lines do, however, suffer from the drawback of being highly sensitive to damages, since they break easily at the slightest bend or indication of fracture. Furthermore, being rather stiff, they are very difficult to store, which is a problem particularly in the case of long lines in professional use since such lines tend to be extremely long. In order to solve these problems it has been suggested to use equipment by means of which main lines of a conventional kind may be thoroughly cleaned to ensure catching results equal to those obtained with long lines of monofilament nylon. Prior-art line cleaning devices operate in the following manner. When the main line is hauled out of the sea it is pulled through a fish-separating device and it is advanced between a number of fixedly mounted brushes which are simultaneously flushed with water. This system has the disadvantage that the brushes, despite being flushed with water, easily become clogged with pieces of bait and fish, which drastically reduces the cleaning efficiency of the brushes. It is also very important that the hooks are cleaned thoroughly, to ensure that the hooks too are entirely void of bait and fish pieces. The latter aspect is one that causes considerable problems in prior-art line cleaning devices, since it is extremely difficult to guide the hooks in a cont nuous sequence in between the brushes in such a manner that the brushes will reach into the nook of the hook bend to clean it. The purpose of the subject invention is to suggest a line cleaning device which is capable of cleaning the long line after use in an efficient manner without any problem. This is achieved in accordance with the teachings of the invention both by providing guide plates which guide and direct the hooks in a suitable manner along a path between the brushes and also by rotating at least one pair of the brushes. The rotating brushes prevent the bristles from being clogged by pieces of bait and fish, and therefore there is no reduction of the cleaning effect. Furthermore, the practical application has shown that a hook and line cleaning device in accordance with the invention, involving the use of rotating brushes, has an advantageous side-effect in that it untangles the hook leaders that have twisted themselves about the main line. This is a very important feature, since freeing of the hook leaders has hitherto been a most time-consuming operation that it has been necessary to perform manually. A preferred embodiment of the invention w ll be described in closer detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hook and line cleaning apparatus in accordance with the invention having a fish-separating mechanism integrally formed therewith, and Fig. 2 is a plan view which on an enlarged scale show the pair of rotating brushes and the guide plates incorporated into the device. Fig. 1 shows a hook and line cleaning apparatus 1 in accordance with the invention together with a fish separating mechanism 2, both of which are mounted on a stand 3. The hook and line cleaning apparatus operates in the following manner. A long line 4 comprising a main line 5 and hook leaders 7 having hooks 6 secured at their free ends, is pulled in the direction indicated by arrow 8 through the fish separating mechanism 2 and between two pairs of stationary brushes 9. Each pair of these brushes 9 consists of two stationary brushes 9, one mounted on either side of the long line 4 for the purpose of rough-cleaning the long line 4. Guide plates 10 thereafter guide the long line 4 in between pairs of rotating brushes 11 to be cleaned more thoroughly. This operation also disentangles hook leaders 7 which may have become twisted about the main line 5. The pairs of rotating brushes 11 are driven by a motor 13 via cog wheels 12. All brushes 9, 11 are flushed with rinsing water from a flushing device 14 mounted above the brushes. Pieces of bait and fish caught in the bristles of the brushes 9, 11 are entrained by the flushing water and the brushes thus are kept constantly clean, with improved and unimpaired cleaning effect as a result. The flushing water is then collected in a collecting vessel 15 having an outlet, not shown. When the cleaning operation is finished the long line 4 is carried onto a support roller 16 and from there to a line storage device or the like, not shown. Adjacent the support roller 16 there is also provided a hook protection brush 17, which serves to prevent hooks 6 and hook leaders 7 from lashing out so as to catch on objects or injure persons standing near the apparatus. Fig. 2 shows in closer detail the mode of operation of the guide plates 10 and the rotating brushes 11 to achieve optimum cleaning efficiency. The long line 4 is pulled in the direction of arrow.8 in between the guide plates 10 which extend in a curve.leading in between each pair of brushes 11 and which plates are spaced apart by a gap 18 which is narrower than half the width 19 of a hook 6. A hook 6 which is pulled forwards is directed (turned) so as to assume a position wherein the plane of the curved hook portion will be positioned essentially in parallel with the axes of rotation 20 of the brushes 11. In this manner the brushes 11 will be able to reach in across the curved portion of the hook 6 so as to efficiently remove bait and fish pieces caught thereon. In addition, the guide plates 10 are arranged to ensure that the brushes 11, which rotate in the direction counter to the direction of pulling 8 of the long line 4 as indicated by arrow 21, will impinge on the edges 22 of the plates 10, whereby the bristles are caused to form a bundle 23 exactly in the area where the long line 4 is being cleaned. This has a most advantageous effect on the cleaning results. In order to further increase the brushing pressure against the long line 4 the rotary shafts 20 of the rotating brushes 11 are spaced apart by a distance 24 which is slightly smaller than the diameter 15 of each brush 11. Owing to the comparatively high brushing pressure thus exerted on the long line 4 hook leaders 7 which have become entwined about the long line 5 will be efficiently disentangled by the rotating brushes 11. The embodiment described in the aforegoing is to be regarded as one example only and a number of modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A hook and line cleaning apparatus (1) for cleaning long lines (4) of the kind comprising a main line (5) from wh ch hook leaders (7) supporting hooks (6) at their ends are equidistantly suspended, said apparatus including a line passage mechanism through which the long line (4) is pulled and brushes (9, 11) arranged in cooperating pairs on either side of said line passage mechanism, c h a r a c t e r i z e d e d therein that guide plates (10) which define between them an elongate opening gap (18) are arranged at least ahead of one of said pairs of brushes (11) as seen in the direction of advancement (8) of the long line (4) to guide and align said hooks (6), and in that said brushes (11) are arranged to rotate in a direction counter to the direction of advancement (8) of the long line (4) about shafts (20), which shafts (20) are positioned essentially in parallel with the opening gap (18) between the guide plates (10) and transversely relative to the direction of advancement of said long line (4). 2. A hook and line cleaning apparatus (1) in accordance with claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that the shafts (20) of the rotating brushes (1) are spaced apart a distance (24) which is slightly smaller than the diameter of rotation (25) of a brush (11). 3. A hook and line cleaning apparatus (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d therein that the width of said opening gap (18) between the guide plates (10) is smaller than the width (19) of the hook (6), preferably less than half the width (19) of the hook (6). 4. A hook and line cleaning apparatus (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e i z e d therein that each pair of brushes (11) is provided with a pair of guide plates (10).

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