Abstract:
A fishing lure containing one or more light sources includes a guideway along which an electrical contact moves back and forth in response to an oscillatory movement of the lure. A series of spaced-apart stationary electrical contacts are positioned along the guideway to be successively engaged by the movable contact to intermittently complete a circuit and energize the light sources. The light sources are internally mounted for protection by the body of the lure and the light is transmitted to exterior locations by optical conductors.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a division of allowed application, Ser. No. 966,361, entitled INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATED FISHING LURE and filed on Dec. 4, 1978, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,650. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to fishing lures and, more particularly, to illuminated fishing lures. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of fishing lures have been proposed that are illuminated to take advantage of the natural attraction of fish to light. Many such lures have been unduly expensive and fragile. 
     Some illuminated lures have been constructed so that they flash in response to movement of the lure. These lures may flash with insufficient frequency and often have an awkward or unnatural overall appearance attributable to a relatively bulk flashing mechanism. Other lures have been proposed that flash in response to the resonance of a transistorized circuit, but the constant regularity with which they flash gives an artificial and suspicious appearance. 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a new and improved illuminated lure that overcomes many disadvantages of the previously known lures. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is embodied in a fishing lure provided with a body that defines a guideway along which a series of stationary electrical contacts are arranged. As the lure oscillates, a movable contact travels along the guideway to successively engage the stationary contacts, thereby completing a circuit to intermittently energize a light source. The movable contact, which can be, for example, a sphere or a mercury drop, can be positioned in the guideway. 
     Preferably, the lure is elongated in its direction of intended movement through the water with the guideway extending in the same direction so that a rocking movement of the lure causes the movable contact to roll back and forth. A plurality of stationary contacts can be arranged in a row along one side of the guideway with one or more contacts being positioned on the opposite side. The movable contact can then be dimensioned to simultaneously engage stationary contacts on both sides to complete the circuit. 
     The light source can be advantageously enclosed within the body of the lure where it is well protected from damage on impact and when it is attacked by a fish. Light conductors carry the light to one or more locations on the exterior of the lure. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of an illuminated fishing lure; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lure taken along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional top view of the lure taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of the lure taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional side view of a lure having a stationary battery and a separate movable contact. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A fishing lure 10, illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 of the accompanying drawings, has a relatively conventional outward appearance, as shown in FIG. 1. It has an elongated body 12 of a generally fish-like shape with two fish hooks 14 attached at the bottom, At the front end of the body 12 is a spoon-shaped member 16 that extends downwardly and forwardly. 
     As the lure 10 is pulled through the water by a line 18, the spoon 16 causes the lure to have an oscillating movement. First, the action of the water against the spoon 16 pushes the front end of the body 12 down. Then, the resistance of the canted lure becomes too great and the front end rises with a relatively abrupt motion. This action of the lure is commonly used and is thought to be attractive to fish since it simulates the motion of a natural food source. 
     Most of the body 12 of the lure 10 is formed by a main section 20, with the exception of the tail end which is formed by a cap section 22 that is threadedly received by the main section, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. An O-ring 23 seals the threaded interface in a watertight manner. 
     Extending longitudinally along the main section 20 (in the direction of intended movement of the lure 10 through the water) is an elongated guideway 24 of rectangular cross-section. Along each vertical side of the guideway 24 is a printed circuit board 26, 28. Each board 26, 28 consists of a flat, elongated, non-conductive plate 30 glued to the main body section 20. A comb-shaped conductive element 32 (preferably copper) is mounted on each plate to provide a row of spaced-apart vertical contacts 34 interconnected at their top ends by a strip 36. These contacts 34 are referred to as stationary contacts because they are not movable with respect to the body 12. 
     Two light sources 38 and 40 are enclosed within the body 12 of the lure 10, one being mounted at the head end of the main section 20 and the other in the cap 22. Preferably, the light sources 38 and 40 are light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are small, require little current, and have a high life expectancy. Each light source 38, 40 is electrically connected across the two circuit boards 26 and 28, the head end source 38 being permanently wired to the boards and the tail end source 40 carrying two resilient, conductive prongs 42 that bear against the ends of the boards when the cap 22 is in place. 
     Two bundles 44 of light conducting optical fibers diverge from the head end light source 38 and lead to the simulated eyes 46 of the fish. A single bundle 48 of fibers leads from the tail end light sources 40 out the rear of the body 12 and fans out to provide an attractive illuminated display. The use of light conductors not only enables one light source 38 to illuminate more than one exterior location but it protects the sources 38 and 40 from damage by attacking fish or objects that might be struck by the lure 10 when it is cast. 
     In this embodiment, power to energize the light sources 38 and 40 is provided by a disk-shaped battery 50 inserted in the guideway 24 between the boards 26 and 28. The two ends of the battery 50, which is of a conventional and readily available type sometimes referred to as a &#34;button&#34; battery, form terminals that serve as movable contacts. The battery 50 is dimensioned to simultaneously engage the stationary contacts 34 on both sides of the guideway 24 as it rolls on its circumferential edge. 
     One terminal end 52 of the battery 50 is flat and is always in engagement with at least one of the stationary contacts 34 while the opposite terminal is a small protrusion 54 (FIG. 2) that may be in engagement with one of the stationary contacts or may be located in the space between them, depending upon the precise position of the battery within the guideway 24. The circuit that powers the parallel light sources 38 and 40 is completed only when both battery terminals 52 and 54 are simultaneously in engagement with stationary contacts 34. The light sources are, therefore, energized intermittently as the battery 50 rolls back and forth within the guideway 24 due to the rocking action of the lure 10. 
     it will be appreciated that the circuit board 28 adjacent the flate end 52 of the battery 50 need not include individual contact elements 34 but may instead be a single strip-like contact since it is always engaged by the battery. It is preferred, however, to use two similar circuit boards 26 and 28 to minimize the number of different components required to fabricate the lure 10. 
     The lure 10 embodies a simple and inexpensive yet very reliable mechanism that causes flashing of the light sources 38 and 40. It can be inactivated easily by unscrewing the cap 22 and removing the battery 50. The flash rate and the number of flashes that accompany each change of orientation is controlled by the number of individual contacts 34 and the distance between them. The light sources 38 and 40 can be caused to remain on or to remain off when the battery 50 is at rest at one end of the guide channel 24, depending upon whether there is a contact 34 positioned to be engaged by the battery at that location. Another potential advantage of the lure 10 is that the movement of the battery 50 produces a noise as it rolls along the guideway 24, clicking against the contacts 34 and hitting against the ends. These sounds call attention to the lure 10 and may help to attract fish. 
     The flashing of the lure 10 is not regular and continuous. Instead there tends to be a series of flashes each time the lure 10 changes its orientation in the water. Since the front end of the lure 10 usually rises more rapidly than it falls, successive series of flashes will have different flash rates. The irregular flash pattern produced tends to have a more natural appearance as compared to continuous flashing at a fixed rate and it is more attention-getting than less frequent flashes occurring only once on each change of orientation. 
     Another lure 56, constructed in accordance with the invention and illustrated in FIG. 5, differs from the lure 10 described above in that a battery 57 is stationarily mounted in the cap section 22 of the body 12 (similar components being indicated by similar reference numbers). A first terminal of the battery 57 is series-connected to both light sources 38 and 40 and then to one of the circuit boards 28. The second battery terminal is connected directly to the other circuit board 26. 
     A movable contact 58 fits between the circuit boards 26 and 28 where it rolls back and forth in the guideway 24 like the battery 50 of the first described lure 10. When this movable contact 58 is positioned so that it bridges the gap between two opposing stationary contacts 34, it completes the circuit to energize the light sources 38 and 40. Thus, displacement of the movable contact 58 to engage successive pairs of stationary contacts 34 causes intermittent energization of the light sources 38 and 40. 
     It is advantageous to use a hard metal sphere as the movable contact 58 since different diameters of the sphere will extend across the guideway 24 as it moves randomly, thereby preventing wear of the contact that would eventually cause looseness. An alternative is to use a drop of mercury as the movable contact 58. Since mercury is a liquid, it insures good electrical connections as it moves along the guideway 24 but does not produce the noise of a solid contact member or a moving battery. 
     When a stationary battery 57 is used in combination with a separate movable contact 58, many of the same advantages are obtained as in the case of a movable battery 50, although there is a small increase in the number of components. An advantage of using a separate movable contact 58 is that the guide channel 24 need not be shaped and dimensioned to fit a commercially available battery. 
     While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will also be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.