Abstract:
Apparatus for temporarily securing a fishing rod in position while fishing, during the interval between fish strikes, having a fixed hollow tubular holder for the rod handle inserted in one end of the holder, the holder having an opening on the top, and having a clamp hingedly attached to one end of the opening, the clamp and opening being of a form allowing the user to secure the rod handle within the holder, by pressing down upon the clamp; and to free the rod handle from the holder by simply pulling up on the clamp.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention pertains to apparatus for temporarily securing a fishing rod in place during fishing, so that the person fishing need not constantly hold the rod while waiting for a fish strike, and more particularly to a combined rod holder and clamp allowing the user to both readily and quickly secure the rod and retrieve it when a strike occurs. 
   Everyone who fishes is well aware that even on a productive fishing outing, there are often long intervals between fish strikes. Yet it is necessary that the fishing rod handle be held constantly in a secure position, lest the rod be pulled into the water and lost when a strike occurs. 
   To obviate any need for the user to constantly hold the rod in the hand, it is desirable to provide an apparatus allowing the user to temporarily secure the fishing rod handle, so that the user may engage in other activities between fish strikes, such as reading, consuming food and/or a beverage, or quietly talking to any fishing companions. 
   It is needed that such an apparatus allow the user to easily and quickly secure the rod handle to the apparatus to await a fish strike, and even more importantly, to very easily and quickly remove the rod handle from the apparatus when a strike occurs. It is also needed to provide such an apparatus which is simple in form, and uses a minimum of material, so as to be easily and inexpensively manufactured. 
   Embodiments of the present invention, detailed below, meet said needs by the general approach of providing a fixed hollow tubular holder for the rod handle inserted in one end of the holder, said holder having an opening on the top, and a clamp hingedly attached to one end of said opening, said clamp and opening being of a form allowing the user to secure the rod handle within the holder in two ways, by pressing down upon the clamp, which causes the clamp to engage a lip at one end of said opening, and also causes the clamp to engage the rod handle by clamping said handle between the sides of the clamp; and to free the rod handle from the holder by simply pulling up on the clamp. 
   It is not the intent of this application, by stating that certain embodiments of the present invention are suited to meeting certain needs, to necessarily limit the scope of the invention to only embodiments which meet said needs; it is instead the intent that the scope of the invention be determined by the claims as more fully stated below. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   As a summary, this section of course does not explicate the invention in all the detail of the subsequent detailed description and claims. It is intended that the relative brevity of this summary shall not limit the scope of the invention, which scope is to be determined by the claims, properly construed, including all subject matter encompassed by the doctrine of equivalents as properly applied to the claims. 
   In one broad aspect the invention is an apparatus for temporarily securing a handle of a fishing rod in a fixed position while using said rod in fishing, for maintaining said fixed position during the interval between fish strikes and upon occurrence of a fish strike, and for allowing a user of said apparatus and rod to readily release and manually grasp said handle immediately upon occurrence of said strike, comprising: a fixed hollow tubular holder for said handle of said fishing rod, said tubular holder having a top and having a principal longitudinal axis and having an opening in one end of said tubular holder and having an inner diameter sufficient in size to allow said handle to be readily inserted in one end of said holder, said holder having an opening on a portion of said top of said holder; a clamping means attached to said tubular holder and disposed principally above said opening, for allowing said user to secure said rod handle within said holder, by pressing down upon said clamping means; and for allowing said user to free said rod handle from said holder by pulling up on said clamping means; and minimalist means for allowing use of both a minimum amount of material and simplicity of design. 
   In another broad aspect the invention is an apparatus for temporarily securing a handle of a fishing rod in a fixed position while using said rod in fishing, for maintaining said fixed position during the interval between fish strikes and upon occurrence of a fish strike, and for allowing a user of said apparatus and rod to readily release and manually grasp said handle immediately upon occurrence of said strike, comprising: a fixed hollow tubular holder for said handle of said fishing rod, said tubular holder having a top and having a principal longitudinal axis and having an opening in one end of said tubular holder and having an inner diameter sufficient in size to allow said handle to be readily inserted in one end of said holder, said holder having an opening on a portion of said top of said holder; a clamp, formed of a single piece of metal, said clamp being hingedlyly attached to said top of said tubular holder at a location least substantially at a first edge of said opening, and disposed principally above said opening, said clamp having a length such that when said user pushes said clamp down against said top of said holder an end of said clamp passes just under a lip in a second edge of said opening; said clamp having a bottom portion having an opening width slightly less than the diameter of said handle and having a height such that when said user pushes said clamp down against said top of said holder said sides of said clamp are pushed apart slightly by said handle, and upon being pushed down further by said user said sides of said clamp compressively engage said handle. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of the invention in place holding the handle of a rod and reel, and with the rod handle holder tube secured by a stake in the ground on a river bank. 
       FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the invention in place holding the handle of a rod and reel, and with the rod handle holder tube secured to the gunwale of a fishing boat. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the invention with the rod and reel handle just removed from the rod handle holder, and with the clamp raised in the unlocked position. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view as in  FIG. 2 , but with the handle of the rod and reel inserted into the holder and the clamp pushed down into the locked position. 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of the holder, with the handle removed, and the clamp in the unlocked position. 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevational view as in  FIG. 4 , but with the handle inserted into the holder and the clamp in the locked position. 
       FIG. 6  is a plan view as in  FIG. 5 , of the handle secured within the holder and the clamp in the locked position. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view, in the direction indicated by section line  7 — 7  in  FIG. 5 , of a portion of the device showing an end of the clamp fitting under a lip in the opening in the top of the holder, in the locked configuration. 
       FIG. 8  is an end elevational view, looking along the cylindrical axis of the rod and reel handle, of only the handle and the clamp, also showing in phantom the clamp configuration in the absence of the handle, showing that the clamp compressively holds the handle, in the locked clamp configuration. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Those familiar with the art will understand that the invention may be employed in varied embodiments, for various specific purposes, without departing from the essential substance thereof. The description of any one embodiment given below is intended to illustrate an example rather than to limit the invention. This section is not intended to indicate that any one embodiment is necessarily preferred over any other one for all purposes, or to limit the scope of the invention by describing any such embodiment, which invention scope is intended to be determined by the claims, properly construed, including all subject matter encompassed by the doctrine of equivalents as properly applied to the claims. 
   Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numbers denote like or corresponding elements, the principal components of the apparatus are a holder  10 , for holding the fishing rod handle  12 , and a clamp  14 , hingedly attached to holder  10 . The holder  10  is an open cylindrical cylinder having a longitudinal axis (not shown), open at end  16 , and having an inner diameter just sufficient to be able to receive the fishing rod handle  12 . 
   The holder  10  is fixed in position with respect to the fishing site, by any convenient means. For example, if the fishing site is the earthen bank of a body of water, the holder  10  may be secured by bolts or screws (not shown) at one end of metal stake  18  having a pointed opposite end, and stake  18  may be driven into the ground  20 , so that holder  10  will be maintained in a fixed position. If the fishing site is a boat  22 , the holder  10  may be securely screwed, bolted, or welded onto the boat gunwale  24 . The precise means of securing the holder  10  in a fixed position with respect to the fishing site is a matter of choice among alternative means well known in the art, and references in the claims to the holder being “fixed” are not intended to limit the invention to the choice of any one such means, or to choice of any particular kind of fishing site. The holder  10  is not moved with respect to the fishing site during use of the invention on a given fishing outing; the user only moves the handle  12  with respect to holder  10 , inserting and securing handle  12  within holder  10 , and later removing handle  12  from holder  10  on the occasion of a fish strike and at the end of the fishing outing, in the manner detailed below. 
   Along a portion of the, top of holder  10  is an opening  26 , having a principal axis at least substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of holder  10 . The opening  26  is formed by cutting away a portion of the upper half of holder  10 , which portion is at least substantially the entire upper half of holder  10  along a length of holder  10  which determines the length of opening  26 . The opening  26  does not extend to either end of holder  10 . The clamp  14  is secured to holder  10  at or immediately adjacent to one end  28  of opening  26  by a hinge  30 . At the opposite end  32  of opening  26  there is a lip  34  slanting to slightly greater length of opening  26  as one moves downward. The length of clamp  14  slightly exceeds the length of opening  26 , just sufficiently so that when clamp  14  is pushed downward by the user, the user may, by slight upward flexing of clamp  14  with the fingers, cause the end  36  of clamp  14  opposite hinge  30  to just slip under lip  34 , to the configuration best seen in  FIG. 7 , so that the engagement of end  36  by lip  34  provides one means of securing clamp  14  in a locked position, against the top of holder  10 . When the user desires to unlock clamp  14 , the user may, by simply pulling up on and slightly flexing clamp  14  near end  36  of clamp  14 , cause end  36  to ride upward along lip  34  until end  36  comes free of lip  34  and end  32  of opening  26 , allowing clamp  14  to be freely rotated upward about hinge  30 . 
   The clamp  14 , which may be formed of a single piece of metal, which need not be more than about ¼ inch thick, is of a simple open rectangular form as seen in plan view. As seen in end view, clamp  14  has lower side portions  38  which extend downward with an opening space between them slightly smaller than the diameter of the fishing rod handle  12 , and extending downward sufficiently, when clamp  14  is pressed down into the locked position against the top of holder  10 , to enter within the interior of holder  10  through opening  26 , and engage handle  12 . Thus when the user presses clamp  14  down into the locked configuration, the user, by pushing lower side portions  38  downward against the sides of handle  12 , causes handle  12  to force lower side portions  38  further apart, than their normal configuration, so that lower side portions  38  of clamp  14  act to compressively engage handle  12 , in the locked configuration. This compressive engagement is best illustrated in  FIG. 8 . By simply pulling up on clamp  14  near end  36 , the user may raise the lower side portions  38  of clamp  14  sufficiently to unlock this compressive engagement of handle  12  by lower side portions  38 . 
   The simple form of the apparatus provides minimalist means, for both allowing use of a minimum amount of material and simplicity of design, through the combination of the simple cylindrical holder  10  with its simple opening  26 , and the simple hingedly attached clamp  14 , which clamp may be formed of a single piece of metal, of rectangular form in plan view and having its lower side portions  38  for gripping the fishing rod handle  12  in the locked configuration. 
   Those familiar with the art will understand that various modifications of the above-described embodiment may be made, without departing from the substance of the invention. For example, the hinge  30  for attaching clamp  14  to holder  10 , might be located at either end of opening  26 . 
   Although the clamp  14  is formed of one piece of steel, such as stainless steel or spring steel, other metals or even plastic of suitable strength might me used instead. The holder  10  may be made of metal or plastic of suitable strength and durability; no particular material is required for holder  10 . 
   Although the hinge  30  may be formed simply by looping ends of clamp  14  through holes in holder  10  near end  28  of opening  26 , as indicated in  FIGS. 4–6 , other forms of hinge could of course be employed instead; no particular form of hinge is required, provided that hinge  30  allows reasonably free rotation of clamp  14  about hinge  30  as an axis. 
   Although the invention is primarily intended for use during fishing outings as indicated above, it may of course also be used to simply secure the rod and reel between fishing outings.