Patent Publication Number: US-2013247444-A1

Title: Collared Fishing Lure with Pivotable Hook

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/613,596, filed Mar. 21, 2012 and entitled COLLARED FISHING LURE WITH PIVOTABLE HOOK, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Fishing lures and jigs are frequently used for attracting and catching fish. To that end, it is desirable that a fishing lure mimics the appearance and movement of the prey of a desired fish, so as to better attract the fish. It is also desirable that, once a fish is hooked, that the fish does not escape. A fishing lure that facilitates natural movement and facilitates securely hooking a fish is therefore desired. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a collared fishing lure with a pivotable hook may be disclosed. A collared fishing lure having a pivotable hook. The fishing lure can include a head, a stem extending from the head, the stem having a collar disposed at a distal end thereof, the diameter of the collar being greater than the diameter of the stem, a coupling, disposed at the distal end of the stem, for removably attaching a hook thereto, the coupling adapted to allow the hook to pivot with respect to the stem. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. The following detailed description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook. 
         FIG. 2  shows a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook. 
         FIG. 3   a  shows a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook with a skirt attached. 
         FIG. 3   b  shows a detail cross-sectional view of the coupling between the lure and the skirt. 
         FIG. 4  shows a top view of an exemplary embodiment of a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook with a skirt and a lure member attached. 
         FIGS. 5   a - 5   b  are top views of further exemplary embodiments of a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows. 
     As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms “embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation. 
     According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a collared fishing lure with pivotable hook  100  may be disclosed. Lure  100  may include a body  102  to which a hook  120  may be coupled. Body  102  can include a head  104  and a collar  106  positioned at a distal end of a stem  108 . Hook  120  may be coupled to body  102  substantially at the distal end of stem  108 . Hook  120  may be positioned concentrically with collar  106 . 
     Head  104  may be formed as, or provided with a weight, for example, with a lead mass disposed within head  104 , or any other weighed, dense material that enables lure  100  to function as described herein. In some embodiments, head  104  may be formed integrally with stem  108  and collar  106 . In some embodiments, head  104  may be formed from lead in its entirety. In various exemplary embodiments, head  104  may have any desired shape, for example a spherical shape, a spheroid shape, or any other shape that enables lure  100  to function as described herein. Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiments where head  104  has a spheroid shape, the major axis of head  104  may be oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis of lure  100 , or perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of lure  100 . Embodiments illustrating exemplary shapes for head  104  are shown in  FIGS. 1-2  and  5   a - 5   b.    
     Head  104 , and additionally stem  108  and collar  106  may further be covered with a coating, which may have any desired color or design, for example a color or design that facilitates attracting fish. 
     Head  104  may further include simulative indicia, which may be, for example, eyes  110 . Eyes  110  may be disposed on opposing sides of head  104 , and may be coupled thereto, or may be formed as part of head  104 . Eyes  110  may be formed as substantially hemispherical protrusions extending from the surface of head  104 . Eyes  110  may be contrasted from head  104 , for example eyes  110  may have a different color than head  104 . Additionally, eyes  110  may be reflective, transparent, or translucent. 
     Extending from head  104 , and concentric with an axis of head  104 , may be stem  108 . Stem  108  may have any desired shape, for example a cylindrical shape. Positioned at the distal end of stem  108  may be collar  106 , which may be substantially circular and may have a diameter greater than a diameter of stem  108 . The diameter of collar  106  may be such that a skirt  130  can be coupled to collar  106 , for example by a friction fit of a portion of skirt  130  over collar  106 . 
     A line coupling  112  may be provided on head  104 . Line coupling  112  may be, for example, an eyelet or any other coupling that can facilitate attaching lure  100  to a fishing line or the like. Line coupling  112  may be formed, for example, from stainless steel. 
     Disposed at the distal end of stem  108  may also be hook  120 . Hook  120  may be pivotably coupled to stem  108  such that hook  120  is free to pivot in relation to body  102 . The pivotable coupling  122  between hook  120  and body  102  can allow hook  120  to pivot in several degrees of freedom with respect to body  102 . 
     The pivotable coupling  122  between hook  120  and body  102  may be any coupling that enables lure  100  to function as described herein. Furthermore, hook  120  may be removably coupled to pivotable coupling  122 . For example, in some embodiments, the pivotable coupling  122  may be a length of metal having a first end  124  disposed within stem  108 , a free end  126 , and a loop  128  disposed between the two ends  124 ,  126 . The free end  126  may be movable, so as to allow free end  126  to be inserted through the eyelet of a hook  120 . The free end  126  may then be positioned to engage the length of metal so as to maintain hook  120  coupled to body  102 . The pivotable coupling  122  may be formed, for example, from stainless steel. In other exemplary embodiments, any known coupling that allows hook  120  to be removably and pivotably coupled to body  102  may be used, for example a clip, an openable ring, a clevis, a resilient coupling such as a coil spring, or any other coupling that enables lure  100  to function as described herein. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3   a - 3   b,  a skirt  130  may be removably coupled to collar  106  such that the coupling is sufficiently secure to maintain skirt  130  on collar  106  when lure  100  is in use. For example, skirt  130  may be provided with a resiliently flexible annular ring  132 . The ring  132  may have a groove  134  defined in the inner surface thereof Groove  134  may have a width and depth sufficient to receive collar  106  therein. Skirt  130  can further include features for attracting fish, and can be any known lure skirt or other device that enables lure  100  to function as described herein. A variety of interchangeable skirts  130  may be provided for use with body  102 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , an additional lure member  140  may be coupled to hook  120  such that it is positioned over hook  120  when lure  100  is in use. Lure member  140  may be formed from plastic or any other desired material, and may have any desired color, or design, for example a color or design that facilitates attracting fish. 
     In operation, lure  100  may be attached to a fishing line or the like via line coupling  112 . Lure  100  can then be placed in the water and pulled through the water as desired. The pivotable coupling  122  between body  102  and hook  120  can allow hook  120  and lure member  140  to mimic a natural movement as lure  100  is pulled through the water, thereby attracting fish to lure  100 . Furthermore, once a fish has bit down on hook  120 , pivotable coupling  122  can reduce the likelihood of the fish escaping, by allowing for freedom of movement between hook  120  and body  102 . Thus, lure  100  can increase the likelihood of attracting a fish and of successfully reeling a hooked fish out of the water. Additionally, as the coupling  122  allows hook  120  to be removably coupled to body  102 , the user may switch hooks as desired. For example, when hook  120  has become worn out from use, the user may replace the hook without having to dispose of body  102 . 
     The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. 
     Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.