METHOD OF FIXING FISHHOOK TO FISHLINE AND FISHHOOK FITTED WITH FISHLINE

Abstract: A method of fixing a fishhook to a fishline and a fishhook fitted with a fishline, in which the fishline (2) is brought into contact with the tip part of the shank (4) of the fishhook (1) along said shank (4), and a metallic wire (3) is spirally wound around said shank (4) and fishline and, while kept coiled, is coated with adhesive (6) at the coiled part (5) so that the fishhook may be fixed to the fishline.

Description: The present invention relates to a method of attaching a leader to a fishhook, and fishhooks having a leader attached thereto for use in fishing. The method of attaching a leader to a fishhook differs with the shape of the so-called eye at the shank end of the fishhook, so that various attaching methods are conventionally available. These methods include, for example, a method of firmly attaching a leader to a fishhook by placing the leader close to the shank end of the fishhook along the shank, and winding a thin thread around the leader and the shank. In this method, the wound thin thread is thereafter treated, for example, by manually tying the leading end and the terminal end of the thread together, or by covering the winding of the thread directly with adhesive or synthetic resin. With the prior art described, however, the leading and terminal thread ends must be tied together invariably by a manual procedure as mentioned above, so that this has been an obstacle to the automation of the manufacturing process. Furthermore, fishhooks of smaller size require a great skill for the thread tying procedure. On the other hand, the procedure for covering the thread winding with adhesive or the like is suited to the automation of the manufacturing process since the thread need not be tied manually. In this case, however, it is likely that the thread winding will loosen while the adhesive applied solidifies from the state of a gel. This results in the drawback of impairing the joint strength between the leader and the fishhook. The independent patent claims 1 and 3 proceed from a state of the art as is disclosed in the FR-A-1 437 660. The FR-A-1 437 660 shows an attachment of the shank of a fish-hook to a leader by disposing the leader along the shank which is provided with a plurality of small transverse notches and winding a thin wire around the shank and the leader. The coiled portion is provided with a varnish layer. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method of attaching a leader to a fishhook by attaching the leader to the shank of the fishhook extremely easily and yet firmly with good stability, and fishhooks having a leader thus attached thereto. This object is achieved by the features of claims 1 and 3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall side elevation of a fishhook having a leader attached thereto according to the embodiments of the invention; FIG. 2 is an enlarged side elevation showing a first embodiment of the invention, i.e., a fishhook having a leader attached thereto; FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the shank of a fishhook showing a second embodiment of the invention; and FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are views in section taken along the line A-A in FIG. 3. BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, indicated at 1 is a fishhook, at 2 a fishline (leader) of nylon or the like, and at 3 a metallic wire. As shown in FIG. 1, the leader 2 is attached at its leading end to the end of shank 4 of the fishhook 1. The portion of the shank 4 to which the leader 2 is attached is provided with a slanting face as is later described in detail with reference to the figures 2 to 5. How to attach the leader 2 to the shank 4 according to the embodiments of the invention will be described below stepwise. First, the leader 2 is positioned close to the inner side of the shank 4 so as to extend along the shank 4. (The curving-in side of the fishhook 1 is referred to as the "inner side," and the opposite side thereof as the "outer side.") The metallic wire 3 is wound around the combination of the shank 4 and the leader 2 in the form of a coil. Preferably, the metallic wire 3 is continuously wound around the combination of the shank 4 and the leader 2. The metallic wire 3 to be used in the present embodiments is one having plasticity sufficient to retain its wound state when wound around the leader 2 and shank 4, for example, a wire of mild steel. Next, when a coil portion 5 has been formed by winding the metallic wire 3 over a predetermined length along the axis of the shank, an adhesive 6 is applied to the entire periphery of the coil portion 5 to enclose the coil portion 6 with the adhesive. Finally, the metallic wire 3 is cut off at opposite ends of the coil portion. The adhesive 6 is thereafter allowed to stand for drying and solidification, whereby the leader 2 is completely attached to the fishhook 1. With the present embodiments wherein the leader 2 is attached to the fishhook 1 in this way, the metallic wire 3 retains the wound state around the shank 4 and the leader 2, so that the coil portion 5 of the wound wire is almost unlikely to loosen before the adhesive 6 dries and solidifies. Consequently, the coil portion exhibits a great fastening force with high stability unlike the conventional thread winding. This almost completely eliminates the likelihood of producing rejects. Furthermore, the wound metallic wire 3 is thereafter treated only by cutting off the wire 3 and applying the adhesive 6 without necessitating the prior-art procedure of thread tying. This assures a greatly simplified attaching procedure and also makes it possible to automate the entire process including the metallic wire winding procedure. FIG. 2 shows in detail a first embodiment of the present invention. With reference to this drawing, indicated at 7 and 8 are slanting faces formed on the inner and outer sides of the shank 4. The slanting faces 7, 8 are formed by cutting or forging the shank 4 at the portion thereof where the coil portion 5 is to be provided. The slanting faces 7, 8 are so formed as to incline radially of the shank 4 as they extend toward the shank end axially thereof. With the present embodiment, the leader 2 is positioned in contact with the slanting face 7, and the metallic wire 3 is wound around the shank 4 formed with the slanting face 7 and the leader 2, whereby the leader is attached to the shank as in the first embodiment. Next, FIGS. 3 to 5 show a second embodiment of the invention. Indicated at 9 in these drawings is an accommodating groove 9 which is formed in the end of the shank 4 on the inner side thereof in parallel to the axis of the shank 4. With the present embodiment, the leader 2 is accommodated in the groove 9 as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 and is thereafter attached to the shank in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Like the slanting faces 7, 8 described, the bottom face of the accommodating groove 9 is so formed as to incline radially of the shank 4 as it extends toward the end of the shank 4 axially thereof. While the accommodating groove 9 is so shaped as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 in cross section, the groove may be otherwise shaped as desired insofar as the leader 2 can be retained therein. According to a further aspect of the invention, after the metallic wire has been wound over a suitable distance along the shank axis, an adhesive is applied to the resulting coil portion of the metallic wire to cover the coil portion. The metallic wire is thereafter cut off at opposite ends of the coil portion. The metallic wire has plasticity sufficient to retain the wound state when wound around the leader and the shank. For example, mild steel has such nature. Therefore, it is almost unlikely that the wire coil will loosen before the adhesive dries and solidifies unlike the conventional thread winding. Moreover, the wound metallic wire, which has plasticity as stated above, exhibits a stabilized fastening force over the entire area of the coil portion, that is, every turn of the winding exhibits such a force. Thus, the wound metallic wire is almost unlikely to loosen over the coil portion before the adhesive solidifies on drying, so that the coil portion can be enclosed with the adhesive while retaining the fastening force without impairment. Consequently, the leader can be attached to the fishhook firmly by a simple procedure with high stability. Although the metallic wire 3 is cut off after the application of the adhesive 6 according to the foregoing embodiments, the wire 3 may be cut off conversely before the application of the adhesive 6 provided that the metallic wire 3 can be retained in the wound state satisfactorily. Further the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used in the fishing tackle manufacturing industry.

Claims: A method of attaching a leader to a fish-hook comprising the steps of: (a) forming at least one slanting face (7) at the shank (4) of the fish-hook, the inclination of said slanting face (7) being formed such that the end of said slanting face (7) on the side of the hook portion of the fish-hook is deeper in the radial direction of said shank (4) than the end of said slanting face (8) on the end side of said shank (4), (b) positioning the leader (2) in contact with said slanting face (8) along the shank (4), (c) winding a metallic wire (3) around the shank (4) and the leader (3) in the form of a coil at a portion of the at least one slanting face (7), (d) causing the metallic wire by its plasticity to retain the wound state, and (e) applying an adhesive (6) to the coil portion (5) of the metallic wire (3) to cover the coil portion (5). A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the slanting face (7) in step (a) is formed as the bottom face of an accomodating groove (9) being formed in the shank (4) along the shank (4) for accomodating the leader (2). A fish-hook having a leader attached thereto, said leader (2) being positioned in contact with an end of the shank (4) of said fish-hook (1) along said shank (4), a metallic wire (3) being wound around the combination of the shank (4) and the leader (2) in the form of a coil and retaining the wound state, said coil portion (5) of the metallic wire (3) being covered with an adhesive (6), said fish-hook being characterized in that said shank (4) is provided with at least one slanting face (7) at a portion of said shank (4) where said coil portion (5) is located, the inclination of said slanting face (7) being such that the end of said slanting face (7) on the side of the hook portion of the fish-hook is deeper in the radial direction of said shank (4) than the end of said slanting face (7) on the end side of said shank (4), and said leader (2) being attached to said shank (4) in contact with said slanting face (7). A fishhook according to claim 3, characterized in that the metallic wire (3) is made of mild steel. A fishhook according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the leader (2) is made of nylon. A fishhook according any of claims 3, 4, or 5 characterized in that the slanting face (7) is constituted by the bottom face of an accomodating groove (9) being formed in the shank (4) along the shank (4) for accomodating the leader (2).

Inventors: MATSUMURA TSUYOSHI, MATSUMURA, TSUYOSHI, MATSUMURA, TSUYOSHI, KABUSHIKI KAISHA HAKUTAKA
Applicants: HAKUTAKA KOGYO KK, KABUSHIKI KAISHA HAKUTAKA KOGYO
Application year: 1991
Main classification: A01K83
IPC codes: A01K83, A01K91