Improvements in Fish Nets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 28th Mar., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fish Nets.
1, LARENCE ALEXANDER JOHNSON, of 605, Davis Street, San Francisco, in
the County of San Francisco, and State of California, United States of America,
Seaman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
My invention relates to fish nets, and has for its object to construct a net with an
interior trap forming a portion thereof, and to provide a spar for the attachment of
the net which spar is fitted with wheels or whirls at or near the ends whereby the
net may be drawn over the bottom of a body of water silently and with ease and
also wherein the net may be more conveniently hoisted aboard a boat or other vessel
than heretofore; another object of the invention is to so construct the net that the
fish may be readily abstracted therefrom, without interfering in the least with the
position of the trap.
The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several
parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which
Figure 1 is a central vertical section, taken through the net and the spar to
which it is attached, the net being shewn in operative position, and
Figure 2 is a plan view of the net, the spar being partially in section.
Similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the
views.
The outer or main net A may be constructed in any suitable or approved manner
and is of coarser material, preferably, than that employed in the construction of
the inner net or trap B. The outer net is provided with a stout cord or rope 10
extending from the mouth thereof along each side and the closed end, as is best
shewn in Figure 2. The net is so constructed that when it is in the water the top
will be practically flat while the lower portion will sag down, imparting thereto a
bag-like appearance, the lower fuller portion of the net being preferably made to
taper from a point at or near its centre to the cord or rope 10 at its closed end, as
is best illustrated at 11 in Figure 1. The lower or swell edge of the net A has
secured thereto in any approved manner a stout rope or cord 12 upon which rope
or cord a number of weights 13 are secured. In connection with the net A a boom
or spar 14 is employed which boom or spar is hollow and made of any desired
length or may be built in any number of sections. The boom or spar is provided
with an attached jack-stay 15 and to the said jack-stay the upper or straight margin
of the mouth of the net is secured, the extremities of the leaded or weighted rope
or cord 12 being preferably carried round the spar or boom and secured thereto
in any approved manner, as shewn at 6 in Figure 2, the attachment being effected
at the inner side of the collars 16, secured to the spar or boom near the ends
thereof. The inner net B is conical, and at the contracted end of the net,
which is the inner end, the nèt is secured to a ring or band 17 of metal, or
secured to
other stiff material. The enlarged or mouth end of the inner net
the jack-stay and to the weighted rope 12 of the outer net.
is preferably closed at its ends by plugs 18 of cork or other material and in
the peripheral surface of the boom or spar a number of apertures 19 are pro-
duced. Upon the extremities of the boom or spar, immediately outside of the
collars 16 thereon, a hollow wheel or disc-like wheel 20 is held to revolve. The
whirls are provided with apertures 21 in their side faces and likewise in their
peripheral surfaces and are held in position upon the spar or boom by means
The boom or spar 14

page_text: of washers located in front of them and pins 22 passing down through the
boom or spar in front of the washers. Upon the upper surface of the main
net A, over the inner net B, a series of floats 22 is located, and the upper
surface of the inner net is attached in any suitable or approved manner to the
corresponding surface of the outer net. Similar floats are secured to the ring 17
of the inner conical net above the surface of the outer net. In the outer net,
at the corners of its closed end, diagonal openings 23 are made and the opposed
walls of the openings are united by means of lacing 24, as shown in Figure 2.
Eyes 25 are secured to the boom or spar between the whirls, one near each end,
and hooks attached to the extremities of a rope or chain 26 are passed through
the said eyes, the said rope or chain having attached near its central portion
one end of a line 27 the opposite end being secured to any suitable form of
dragging or hoisting tackle. The under surface of the ring 17 of the inner
conical net which constitutes a trap is connected with the bottom of the main
net A. preferably by means of a double guy 28, as shewn in Figure 1.
In operation, when the net is cast overboard and reaches the bottom of the sheet
of water to be dragged, the net assumes the position shewn in Figure 1 the upper
flat surface of the net being floated and the lower surface weighted down by the
rope 12 at its mouth and the whirls engaging with the bottom assist the net over
any inequalities of the surface or obstructions thereon and also serve to hold the
upper face of the net some distance from the bottom, thus permitting the mouth to
assume as large proportions as possible. The fish, as the net is drawn forward,
enter the mouth of the main net pass into the trap and out through the ring 17 into
the rear portion of the said main net. When the net is brought alongside and is
to be drawn aboard a vessel, suitable tackle is employed and the whirls serve to
render the work of elevating the net comparatively easy and also serve to hold the
boom or spar out of engagement with the vessel's side. The apertures in the
whirls and in the boom or spar are for the purpose of admitting water thereto and
thereby increasing the weight of the structure. The fish are not removed through
the mouth of the net but from the rear portion thereof and such removal is effected
in an expeditious manner by unlacing the walls of the openings 24 in the shallow
rear portion of the net whereupon the fish may be readily withdrawn and discharged
into any convenient receptacle.
I desire it to be distinctly understood that although specific construction has been
shewn and described I do not confine myself thereto, as equivalent construction
may be employed without materially altering the character of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a fish net, the combination, with an outer net having a substantially flat
upper surface and a full lower surface and a weighted mouth the full lower surface
being tapered from a point near the centre upward in the direction of the flat
upper surface, of an inner essentially conical trap net the enlarged end of which
trap net is secured to the month of the main net while the inner or contracted end
is provided with an opening and is attached to the upper face of the main net,
substantially as shewn and described.
2. In a fish net, the combination, with a spar or boom and wheels mounted to
revolve thereon, of a net of bag-like form having the upper edge of its mouth
attached to the spar or boom and the portion below the spar or boom weighted,
substantially as shewn and described.
3. In a fish net, the combination, with a hollow boom or spar provided with
hollow whirls near its end, of a net the upper portion of the mouth of which is
attached to the spar and the lower portion weighted and an essentially conical
inner trap net attached to the mouth of the main net and having its inner con-
tracted end provided with an opening and supported from the top of the main net,
as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 4. In a fish net, the combination, with a tubular boom or spar a jack-stay
attached to the same and hollow whirls mounted to revolve upon the spar, of a net
the upper surface of which is practically flat and the lower portion full the upper
edge of the mouth of the said net being attached to the jack stay and its lower
edge weighted and an inner conical trap net secured at its mouth to the mouth
of the main net and provided with an opening in its inner or contracted end and
means for attaching the inner to the outer net and floating the upper portion of
both nets, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
5. In a fish net, the combination, with a tubular apertured boom or spar a jack
stay secured to the said boom and hollow apertured whirls mounted to revolve upon
the boom, of a net the upper surface of which is practically flat and the lower
portion full the upper edge of the mouth of the said net being attached to the
jack stay and its lower edge weighted and an inner conical trap net secured at its
mouth to the mouth of the main net and provided with an opening at its inner or
contracted end and means for attaching the inner to the outer net and floating the
upper portion of both nets, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
flat
6. As an improved article of manufacture, a net provided with an essentially
upper surface and a full lower surface tapered away from the mouth, the said
flat upper surface being provided with slot-like openings the walls of which are
laced together, substantially as, and for the purpose specified.
17th 1
Ր
1901
L. A. JOHNSON.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.