Abstract:
An apparatus for connecting a lantern and a fuel source for a lantern to a boat for attracting fish to the boat, the apparatus including an elongated pipe for conveying fuel from a fuel reservoir to a fuel-burning lantern, the elongated pipe having a first end and a second end, first end of pipe being adapted to receive a lantern, the second end of the elongated pipe being adapted to receive fuel from a fuel reservoir, and a pipe holder connected to boat for holding the elongated pipe and lantern, the pipe holder being adapted to position the lantern at a distance away from the side of the boat over the water in which the boat may be floating to attract fish to the area beneath said lantern.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/039,572, filed Mar. 16, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,464 now allowed. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates lights which may be attached to boats. In particular, the present invention relates to lights which may be attached to boats to attract fish. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus for connecting lanterns to a boat in a position to attract fish. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     It is known in the art to attach lights to boats, and to attach lights to boats to attract fish to the boats. 
     Exemplary of the Patents of the related art are the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 51,120; 173,140; 713,364; 756,438; 902,313; 1,079,808; 3,008,679; 3,752,108; 4,587,603; 4,709,980; 4,827,389; 4,856,452; 5,335,149; 5,486,987; and 5,508,895. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention there is provided an apparatus for quickly and easily connecting a lantern and a fuel reservoir for a lantern to a boat for attracting fish to the boat. The apparatus includes an elongated pipe having a lantern at its distal end and a fuel reservoir at the other end, a pipe holder connected to said pipe by a pipe connector, and a member for holding and receiving said pipe holder. 
     The present invention has the advantage of enabling a lantern fueled by a fuel such as propane gas to be quickly and easily connected to a fishing vessel in a position extending outwardly from the fishing vessel to attract fish. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective, exploded view partly cut away of the first embodiment of the fishing light of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective partly cut away view of the fishing light of the invention attached to a boat; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective partly cut away view of the second embodiment of the invention showing the fishing light of the second embodiment connected to a boat; 
     FIG. 4 is a third embodiment of the invention showing the fishing light of the invention connected to the boat; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view partly cut away of a fourth embodiment of the invention showing fishing lights connected to a boat; and 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective partly cut away exploded view of a connector for the fishing light of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 is shown the first embodiment of the fishing light of the invention generally indicated by the numeral  10 . Fishing light  10  includes an elongated hollow pipe generally indicated by the numeral  12  which is connected to a pipe holder assembly generally indicated by the numeral  14 . 
     Pipe holder assembly  14  is slidably received in a deck flange generally indicated by the numeral  16 . Deck flange  16  is connected to the deck generally indicated by the numeral  18  of a fishing boat. 
     Connected to the inner end of pipe  12  is a lantern fuel reservoir or storage vessel generally indicated by the numeral  20 . Fuel storage vessel  20  may be a conventional disposable propane bottle well known in the art. Fuel storage vessel  20  as shown in the drawings is a conventional disposable propane bottle having male threads  20   a  located on the upper end thereof for threading bottle  20  into the fuel bottle fitting generally indicated by the numeral  21 . 
     Fuel bottle fitting  21  is a conventional fitting well known in the art for connecting a conventional fuel bottle such as fuel bottle  20  to a lantern such as the lantern generally indicated by the numeral  32 . Fitting  21  has a hollow cylinder  21   a  on the bottom thereof having internal female threads for receipt of male threads  20   a . Fitting  21  also has a hollow stem  21   b  for contacting and depressing a conventional valve (not shown) located inside the male threads  20   a  of fuel storage bottle  20  to convey fuel under superatmospheric pressure from bottle  20  through hollow stem  21   b , through fitting  21  and through the inside of male threads  21   c  to an item connected to threads  21   c  such as a lantern or the female threads of conventional pipe elbow  26 . Threads  21   c  are received in female threads in pipe fitting  26 . Fitting  21  has a hexagonal center section  21   c  as is well known in the art for receipt of a wrench for turning fitting  21 . 
     Pipe elbow  26  is preferably connected to a conventional valve  28  having a valve handle  30  connected thereto for controlling the flow of fuel to lantern  32 . Valve  28  has female threads (not shown) on each end thereof for receipt of male threads (not shown) on the end of pipe elbow  26  and pipe  12 . Valve handle  30  may be rotated backwards and forwards 90 degrees as indicated by the arrow  30   a  in FIG. 2 to open and close valve  28 . If desired, valve  28  could be omitted and the flow of fuel to lantern  32  could be regulated by valve  32   b.    
     At the distal end of pipe  12  is conventional elbow fitting  27  which is preferably identical to elbow fitting  26 . Lantern  32  is preferably connected to elbow fitting  27  by a conventional pipe fitting generally indicated by the numeral  34 . Fitting  34  has male threads  34   a  and  34   b  at each end thereof and a hexagonal center section  34   c  as is well known in the art for receipt of a wrench for turning fitting  34 . Male threads  34   a  are received in the female threads  27   a  in elbow fitting  27  and male threads  34   b  of fitting  34  are received in the conventional female threads  32   c  in the bottom of lantern  32 . 
     Lantern  32  may be any conventional bottled gas fired lantern well known in the art. Typical lanterns are fueled by compressed gas such as propane gas contained in fuel bottle  20 . 
     Lantern  32  preferably has two mantels  32   a  which glow brightly when ignited as is known to those skilled in the art and project an intense beam of light onto the water surrounding the boat to which the light of the invention is attached. Lantern  32  has a conventional valve  32   b  which may be rotated to control the amount of fuel flowing to lantern  32  and thereby control the intensity the light being emitted from lantern  32 . 
     Pipe holder assembly  14  has a vertical bar  14   a  which has a pipe support member  14   b  connected at a right angle thereto. A pipe clamp  14   c  is connected by hinge  14   d  to pipe support member  14   b . Pipe clamp  14   c  has a hole  14   e  therein for receipt of wing nut  36 . Pipe support member  14   b  has a threaded hole  14   f  therein for receipt of threads  36   a  of wing nut  36 . 
     To connect pipe  12  to pipe holder assembly  14 , pipe  12  is placed onto pipe support member  14   b  and pipe clamp  14   c  is rotated thereover. Wing nut  36  is then placed through hole  14   e  and threaded into hole  14   f  to secure pipe  12  to  14 . 
     Connected to the deck  18  of the boat generally indicated by the numeral  38  in FIG. 2 is deck flange  16 . Deck flange  16  has a slot or opening  16   a  in the top thereof for slidable receipt of vertical bar  14   a . Slot  16   a  is located in horizontal plate  16   b  of deck flange  16 . 
     Located beneath horizontal plate  16   b  of deck flange  16  in alignment therewith is sleeve  16   c  which receives vertical bar  14   a . Plate  16   b  has a plurality of holes  16   d  therein for receipt of screws or bolts  16   e  which fasten deck flange  16  to the deck  18  of bolt  38 . A slot  18   a  is located in deck  18  for receipt of sleeve  16   c.    
     It can thus be seen that after deck flange  16  is mounted to the deck  18  of a bolt  38  the fishing light apparatus of the invention can be quickly and easily connected to the deck flange  16 . 
     In FIG. 3 is shown a second embodiment of the fishing light of the invention generally indicated by the numeral  40 . In the second embodiment of the invention pipe holder assembly  14  is replaced by a U-shaped pipe holder assembly generally indicated by the numeral  42 . U-shaped pipe holder assembly  42  has two parallel vertical bars  42   a  and  42   b  which are identical in size and shape. Vertical bars  42   a  and  42   b  are rigidly connected to horizontal bar  42   c.    
     Horizontal bar  42   c  has a plurality of holes  42   d  therein for receipt of a boat seat pedestal  44  shown in phantom lines in FIG.  3 . Boat seat pedestal  44  is a conventional boat seat pedestal well known in the art which is used to support a seat  47  in which the fisherman sits. Boat seat pedestal  44  is slidably received in a cylindrical sleeve  45  located in the deck  18  of the boat. The remainder of the components of the invention are the same and are numbered by the same numerals as the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     Pipe  12  preferably has a length ranging from two to four feet so that the lantern  32  is displaced outwardly from the side or gunwale of boat  38  a distance sufficient to enable the light being emitted from lantern  32  to strike the water adjacent to boat  38  and attract fish to the vicinity of boat  38 . Furthermore, as can be seen in the drawings, the holding devices for holding pipe  12  are located near the sides  38   a  or gunwales  38   b  of boat  38 . 
     U-shaped pipe holder assembly  42  has the advantage of holding two lanterns  32 - 32  on each side of boat  38  as shown in FIG.  3 . Furthermore, U-shaped pipe holder assembly  42  is quickly and easily connected to boat  38  by simply removing seat  47  and pedestal  44 , placing one of the holes  42   d  of horizontal bar  42   c  of U-shaped pipe holder assembly  42  over the hole (not shown) in the deck  18  above sleeve  45  shown in FIG. 3, and inserting pedestal  44  through hole  42   d  of horizontal bar  42   c  into sleeve  45 . 
     In FIG. 4 is shown a third embodiment of the invention having an L-shaped pipe holder assembly generally indicated by the numeral  48 . L-shaped pipe holder assembly  48  a vertical bar  48   a  rigidly connected to horizontal bar  48   b . Horizontal bar  48   b  has a plurality of holes  48   c  therein for receipt of a boat seat pedestal  44 . 
     The remainder of the components of the invention are the same and are numbered by the same numerals as the embodiments shown in FIG.  3 . L-shaped pipe holder assembly  48  has the advantage of holding a single lantern  32  on one side of boat  38  as shown in FIG.  4 . L-shaped pipe holder assembly  48  is quickly and easily connected to boat  38  by simply removing seat  47  and pedestal  44 , placing one of the holes  48   c  of horizontal bar  48   b  of L-shaped pipe holder assembly  48  over the hole (not shown) in the deck  18  above sleeve  45  shown in FIG. 3, and inserting pedestal  44  through hole  48   c  of horizontal bar  48   b  into sleeve  45 . 
     A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 5 wherein fuel conveying pipes and lantern holders are permanently attached to boat  38 . The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 employs a single source of fuel which can be a large bottle of propane gas generally indicated by the numeral  50 . 
     Propane gas bottle  50  is placed in the preferably in the rear or stern of boat  38 . A gas line  52  which may be flexible is connected to a conventional T-shaped pipe fitting  54 . Two fuel conveying pipes  56  and  58  are connected to fitting  54  and extend in opposite directions therefrom. Pipes  56  and  58  are connected by conventional elbow pipe fittings  56   a  and  58   a , respectively, to two vertical fuel conveying pipes  62  and  60 , respectively. Vertical pipes  60  and  62  are connected by elbow fitting  60   a  and  62   a  to two horizontal pipes  64  and  66 , respectively. Pipes  64  and  66  each have a conventional T-shaped pipe fitting  64   a  and  66   a , respectively, connected thereto, having horizontal pipes  68  and  70 , respectively, extending horizontally therefrom. 
     Extending upwardly from T-shaped pipe fittings  64   a  and  66   a  preferably are conventional pipe couplings referred to in the art as “quick connect” couplings  64   b  and  66   b . Quick connect couplings are well known to those skilled in the art and are used to connect a fuel source to a fuel user quickly and without leakage. Furthermore, no fuel can leak from the quick connect coupling when fuel pressure is applied thereto. 
     Horizontal pipes  68  and  70  may be secured to the sides or gunwale of boat  38  by any conventional methods known in the art such as clamping, bolting, tying, gluing or the like. Pipes  68  and  70  extend down the length of the sides of boat  38  to two T-shaped pipe fittings  68   a  and  70   a , respectively. Extending upwardly from T-fittings  68   a  and  70   a  are conventional quick connect couplings  68   b  and  70   b , respectively. 
     Each of the couplings  68   b  and  70   b , and couplings  64   b  and  66   b , can receive a male fitting  72  which extends downwardly from elbow  46   a . Elbow  46   a  is connected to valve  28  as shown in FIG.  5 . Valve  28  regulates the flow of fuel through pipe  12  to lantern  32  as explained above. 
     Extending outwardly from fittings  68   a  and  70   a  are pipes  74  and  76 , respectively. Pipes  74  and  76  have caps  74   a  and  76   a  on the ends thereof to prevent leakage of fuel therefrom. 
     It can thus be seen that the embodiment shown in FIG.  5  provides for a permanent connection of piping and fittings which enable up to four lanterns to be extended from the sides of a boat  38 . Furthermore, the embodiment of FIG. 5 utilizes a single large reservoir of fuel  50  for supplying fuel to all of the lanterns  32  to be utilized. The lantern and pipe assemblies can be quickly connected to the pipes and up to four lanterns may be utilized as desired. 
     In FIG. 6 is shown an alternate connecting embodiment of the invention which may be utilized with pipe holder assembly  14  or pipe holder assembly  42  to replace clamp  14   c . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 a quick connect coupling  80  connected to the pipe holder assembly generally indicated by the numeral  15  is used as a mechanical fitting only to support the lantern  32  and pipe  12  assembly. Quick connect coupling  80  is connected to pipe support member  15   b  by extending the threaded base  80   a  of coupling  80  through hole  15   f  and fastening a nut  80   b  thereto. Quick connect coupling  80  receives a vertically oriented male fitting  82  which is connected to T-shaped pipe fitting  84 . Fitting  82  is plugged to prevent the flow of fuel therethrough. The embodiment of FIG. 6 may be used in place of hinges  14   d  and clamps  14   c.    
     Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, it should be understood that the invention is in no sense limited thereby, and its scope is to be determined by that of the following claims: