Abstract:
A fishing box assembly includes a fishing box for storing lures and a removable desiccant container within the fishing box holding a desiccant material for adsorbing moisture from lures within the fishing box. Flies and lures can be placed inside the fishing box while they are still wet, and not incur the rust problems that heretofore existed. After a period of use, the desiccant container can be removed and replaced, or the desiccant can be regenerated for reuse.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    The present application is based on and claims priority to the Applicant&#39;s U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/790,162, entitled “Fishing Box With Removable Desiccant Container,” filed on Apr. 7, 2006. 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Field of the Invention. The present invention relates generally to the field of fishing equipment. More specifically, the present invention discloses a fishing box with a removable desiccant container. 
         [0003]    Statement of the Problem. Artificial flies are made of natural and synthetic fur and materials that absorb and retain a significant amount of water after being immersed for long periods of time. When fishing with artificial flies, anglers may use, change and replace many different patterns throughout the day. It is not uncommon to change  20  different flies or more in a day of fishing. After removing the wet fly from the fly line, some anglers dry the wet fly by placing it on small piece of fleece worn on the fishing vest or on the angler&#39;s hat. However, this carries a significant risk that the wet fly will fall off and become lost, particularly if the angler moves through brush. 
         [0004]    Some anglers return wet flies directly to the fly box so that they will not become lost. However, wet flies can produce high moisture levels inside a fly box and cause hooks to rust and weaken. Prolonged high moisture levels can also weaken and deteriorate hackle, thread and tying materials over time. Large flies and streamers in particular can adsorb, retain, and generate a lot of moisture inside a fly box. This high amount of moisture can also affect other flies in the box in the same ways. 
         [0005]    A similar problem exists with regard to other types of fishing boxes. Lures and other types of fishing tackle tend to rust or otherwise degrade when stored in a moist or humid environment. Therefore, a need exists for a means of drying flies and other types of fishing tackle, and preventing the accumulation of moisture within fishing boxes. 
         [0006]    Solution to the Problem. The present invention provides a fishing box equipped with a number of removable desiccant containers holding a desiccant material that adsorbs moisture and humidity within the fishing box. For example, the desiccant container can be recessed inside the lid of the fishing box. In addition, the desiccant can include an indicator material that changes color as the desiccant adsorbs moisture (e.g., changing from orange to green). After adsorbing moisture, the desiccant container can be removed and heated (e.g., in a microwave oven) to restore the adsorption qualities of the desiccant material and return the indicator material to its original color (e.g., orange). This regeneration process can be repeated as needed over an extended period of time. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    This invention provides a fishing box with a desiccant container to adsorb moisture and humidity from flies and lures within the fishing box. Flies and lures can be placed inside the fishing box while they are still wet, and not incur the rust problems that heretofore existed. After a period of use, the desiccant container can be removed and replaced, or the desiccant can be regenerated for reuse. 
         [0008]    These and other advantages, features, and objects of the present invention will be more readily understood in view of the following detailed description and the drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The present invention can be more readily understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a fishing box  10  with a removable desiccant container  20 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a corresponding cross-sectional view of the fishing box  10  and desiccant container  20  with the lid of the fishing box closed. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the desiccant container  20 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the lid of a fishing box  10  in another embodiment in which the foam pad  12  has lips  13  to retain the desiccant container  20  in place. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the lid of a fishing box  10  in another embodiment in which clips  17  are used to retain the desiccant container  20  in place. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a larger fishing box  10  with a series of compartments for storing lures  15  and four desiccant containers  20  attached to the lid of the fishing box  10 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the larger fishing box  10  in  FIG. 6  with its lid closed. 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a fishing box  10  with multiple compartments for storing lures  15 , and a desiccant container  20  inside the lid of the fishing box  10  that closes over one of the storage compartments  18 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the fishing box  10  in  FIG. 8  with its lid closed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Turning to  FIG. 1 , a perspective view is shown of one embodiment of the present invention. The major components are a fishing box  10  and a removable desiccant container  20 .  FIG. 2  is a corresponding cross-sectional view of the fishing box  10  and desiccant container  20  with the lid of the fishing box closed.  FIGS. 1 and 2  depict a typical fly box  10  used to store flies  15  for fly fishing or lures. For the purposes of this application, both flies and lures should be interpreted as falling within the definition of the word “lure.” 
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of a desiccant container  20 . The desiccant container  20  is an enclosure capable of holding desiccant material  25 . For example, the desiccant container  20  can be generally rectangular with dimensions of about 3 by 2 by 7/16 inches in depth. The desiccant container  20  has a lid that snaps on after the desiccant has been placed inside. The desiccant container  20  is preferably made of a microwaveable plastic. The desiccant container includes a number of openings  22  through the walls of the desiccant container. These openings  22  enable moisture in the fishing box  10  to reach the desiccant  25  inside the desiccant container  20 . The openings  22  also allow water vapor to escape the desiccant container  10  during the regeneration process, as will be described below. Optionally, small plastic feet can be placed on the bottom of the desiccant container  20 . These feet elevate the desiccant container  20  in a microwave oven to allow water vapor to escape from the bottom of the desiccant container  20  as well. 
         [0021]    Over a period of time, the desiccant material  25  gradually adsorbs moisture from the air and eventually approaches saturation. As this occurs, the desiccant material will become less effective in removing additional moisture. At some point, perhaps dictated by the saturation color change of the desiccant, the user removes the desiccant container  20  from the fishing box and regenerates the desiccant material  25 . Many desiccants can be regenerated by heating to drive off moisture for reuse (e.g., in a microwave oven). Alternatively, the desiccant container  20  could be disposable. In that case, the user would need to purchase a replacement desiccant container  20 . 
         [0022]    Any of a wide variety of desiccant materials  25  can be used. For example, silica gel performs best when used in applications where humidity levels are between  60 % to  90 %. Much like a sponge, silica gel attracts and holds water equal to about  40 % of its weight. Silica gel is commercially available in beads, granules, crystals or powdered form. The preferred embodiment uses round beads of silica gel impregnated with an indicator material (e.g., a dye) that changes color to indicate the level of moisture adsorption remaining in a given sample. For example, desiccant material of this type are commercially available from the following suppliers: (1) Delta Adsorbents Company, 24 Congress Circle, Roselle, Ill. 60172 (“Sorbead Orange”); (2) Sphinx Adsorbents, Inc., 53 Progress Ave, Springfield, Mass. 01104 (Product code: “Type C, Grade 10Y”); (3) Impak Corporation, 2460 E. 57th Street, Los Angeles, Calif. 90058; or (4) AGM Container Controls, Inc., 3526 E. Fort Lowell Road, Tucson, Ariz. 85717. 
         [0023]    Other possible desiccant materials include clay desiccants, zeolites or activated alumina. These desiccant materials could take the form of packets, canisters, woven bags, or small woven bags with one side of packet with a clear plastic covering in order to see the indicating color of the desiccant within. It is also possible that the desiccant can be molded into parts or shapes (squares, circles, rectangles, other geometric shapes) either by itself in natural form, or mixed with a substance that will strengthen and allow geometric shaping. 
         [0024]    The desiccant container  20  can be held in place within the fishing box  10  by a variety of means. The embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  has foam pads  12  and  14  in the lid and base of the fly box  10  that are suitable for storing flies  15  in the conventional manner. The foam pads  12 ,  14  can be glued or otherwise attached to the lid and base of the fishing box  10 . For example, the desiccant container  20  can be set into, or attached to the foam pad  12  in the lid of the fishing box  10 . However, it should be understood that the desiccant container  20  in this embodiment could be placed anywhere in the foam pad  12  in the lid, or set anywhere in the foam pad  14  in the base of the fly box  10 . In particular, a recess or cut-out is formed in the foam pad  12  to hold the desiccant container  20  by a frictional fit. This is sufficient to hold the desiccant container  20  in place during normal use of the fly box  10 , but allows the desiccant container  20  to be easily removed for inspection, regeneration or replacement. In a small fishing box  10 , a single desiccant container  20  can be set in the center of the lid as shown in FIGS. I and  2 , to draw moisture from all areas within the fishing box  10 . Alternatively, multiple desiccant containers  20  can be employed to deal with humidity in a larger fishing box  10 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the lid of a fly box  10  showing a second embodiment in which lips or a rim  13  in the pad  12  hold the desiccant container  20  in place. Hook-and-loop fasteners  19  or adhesive hold the pad  12  in place in the lid of the fly box  10 . In this embodiment, the foam pad  12  has a cavity formed into the foam with lips or a rim  13  to retain the desiccant container  20  in the cavity. The entire foam pad  12  can be removable to allow the desiccant container  20  to be placed into the cavity of the pad  12 , after which the foam pad  12  is secured with hook-and-loop fasteners  19  to the lid of the fishing box  10 . Alternatively, the desiccant container  20  could be directly inserted through the cavity opening as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the lid of a fishing box  10  in another embodiment in which clips  17  are used to retain the desiccant container  20  in place. Alternatively, the desiccant container  20  could be held in place by hook-and-loop fasteners, snaps, straps, adhesive or other means for removably securing it inside the fishing box  10 . In other embodiments, the desiccant material  25  can be housed in a permanent compartment in the fishing box  10 , whereby the compartment itself or a container within the compartment could pop out to be regenerated. This type of compartment should be considered to be within the scope a “desiccant container” for the purposes of this invention. 
         [0027]    It should also be understood that any type of fishing box  10  could be used. The fishing box can have any desired dimensions or configuration, and can be made of any suitable materials.  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a larger fishing box  10  with an array of compartments for storing lures  15  and a number of desiccant containers  20  attached inside the lid of the fishing box  10 .  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the larger fishing box  10  in  FIG. 6  with its lid closed. When the lid closes, each desiccant container  20  is positioned over one or more compartments to provide localized drying for specific compartments, or there could be a small gap when closed so that air can move between the compartments. This enables the user to choose a compartment for storage of a lure  15  based on the color of the desiccant in a particular compartments desiccant container  20 . 
         [0028]    The present invention could also be implemented in fishing boxes having multiple layers of stackable compartments or trays. A number of desiccant containers  20  could be attached to the lid, bottom or sides of the interior of the fishing box. 
         [0029]      FIG. 8  shows an embodiment of a fishing box  10  with multiple compartments for storing lures  15 , and a desiccant container  20  inside the lid of the fishing box  10  that closes over one of the storage compartments  18 .  FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the fishing box  10  in  FIG. 8  with the lid closed. In this closed position, the desiccant container  20  covers the top of this storage compartment  18  so that lures  15  within the compartment  18  are dried by the desiccant. In contrast, the remaining storage compartments in the base of the fishing box  10  receive relatively little or no drying by the desiccant depending on the extent that air flow is permitted between the lower surface of the desiccant container  20  and the top of the central storage compartment  18 . Alternatively, the desiccant container  20  could be designed to cover a plurality of drying storage compartments. 
         [0030]    It is envisioned that the embodiment should in  FIGS. 8 and 9  could be used in the following manner. Prior to fishing, all of the lures  15  are typically dry, and therefore do not need to be held in the drying storage compartment  18  beneath the desiccant container  20 . Rather, these dry lures  15  can be stored in any of the storage compartments surrounding the drying storage compartment  18  in  FIG. 8 . As individual lures  15  are used sequentially in fishing, they become wet and are then retired to the drying storage compartment  18  in the fishing box  10 . Thus, the desiccant is used optimally to dry only the wet lures  15 , with only minimal exposure to moisture in the ambient air. This lengthens the effective life of the desiccant and increases its effectiveness in drying wet lures. 
         [0031]    The above disclosure sets forth a number of embodiments of the present invention described in detail with respect to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that various changes, modifications, other structural arrangements, and other embodiments could be practiced under the teachings of the present invention without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth in the following claims.