IMPROVEMENTS IN THE JOINTS OF LANDING NETS
Year: 1885

page_text: I. ARTHUR THOMAS ALLCOCK of Newark upon Trent.in the County of Notting-
ham Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE JOINTS OF LANDING NETS to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object improvements in the joints of folding Landing.
Nets, so that when a net is not wanted for use it can be folded back with the two
sides of the bow parallel with and close up to the handle, without having to be
detached from it, as would be required with nets having joints of the ordinary
construction.
To carry out my invention I retain the two flexible sides of the bow, which are
either connected together at their outer ends with a cord to form a Y shaped net,
or by a socket to form the eliptic shape as is the usual methods of construction.
Instead of jointing the inner ends of the sides of the bow with joints, having
only a radial motion in a horizontal plane with the handle, as in the ordinary
method of construction; I make the joints as "Universal joints" so that the sides
of the bow can turn in a vertical plane as well as in the horizontal. By so doing,
when the net is out of use, the two sides of the bow can be turned back parallel
with the bandle and lie flat with it, one on each side, without having to be
disconnected from it.
To expand the sides of the bow and retain them in a line with the handle for
use, I form upon the shank, that forms the attachment to the handle and that
carries the universal joints; a wedge shaped tee bead projecting outwards beyond
the shank. Small recesses or catches are made on the inside of the sides of the bow
to receive the tee head so that when the flexible sides of the bow are turned over
outwards from the handle, they may be sprung sidewards over the tee head which
will drop into the recesses or catches and hold the whole net firmly and in position
for use-In lieu of making the recesses or catches in the sides of the bow so that
they clasp the tee head both at the top and at the bottom, stops may be made upon
the universal joints to limit their motion in the vertical plane, so that while the
sides of the bow can be turned back flat to the handle in one direction they cannot
go beyond a straight line with it in the other.
In this case the catches will only require to act in an opposite direction to the
stops on the joints and on one side only of the tee head, this enables the entering

page_text: side of the tee head to be made with a taper or leading edge, so that the sides of
the bow can more easily slide over it until they are retained by the stops on the
joints in one direction and the catches in the other direction.
When the joints are so arranged with stops the tee head may also be hinged to
the shank with a rule joint so as to fold down to the handle in an opposite direction
only to the sides of the bow. The universal joints above described may be also
used when the sides of the bow are expanded in the ordinary manner with a nut
working on the coupling screw of the shank and pressing on toe pieces which are
continuations of the sides of the bow and project inwards on the underside of the
joints With this construction slots or their equivalents are provided on the shank
into which the toe pieces enter when the sides of the bow are expanded and are
thereby held in position. When the net is closed the toe pieces leave the slots and
it can then be turned back to the handle as before described. In some cases it is
more convenient to form the slots on the toe pieces which will then grasp the shank
when the sides of the bow are expanded.

page_text: Improvements in the Joints of Landing Nets.
I, ARTHUR THOMAS ALLCOCK of Newark-upon-Trent in the County of Notting-
ham, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement reference being had to the accompanying sheet of Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :---
Figure 1 represents in plan one method of carrying out my invention showing
the bow of the net expanded for use. Figure 2 is also a part plan showing the
same but folded up when not in use and Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same.
I retain the two flexible sides A. A of the bow which are connected together at
their outer ends either with a cord B to form a Y shaped net, or by a socket to form
an elliptic shape, both as in the usual method of construction. Instead of jointing
the inner ends of the sides A A of the bow with joints having only a radial motion
in the same horizontal plane with the handle H, as usual in the ordinary method
of construction, I make the joints C C as "Universal joints" so that the sides A. A
of the bow and the joints CC can also turn in a vertical plane upon the horizontal
pin D shown in dotted lines. By so forming the joints CC the two sides A. A of
the bow can be turned back parallel with the handle H and lie flat with it one on
each side as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and are thus convenient for carriage when
out of use, and need not be disconnected from the handle H. To expand the
sides A A of the bow and retain them in a line with the handle H for
use, I form
upon the shank E which makes the attachment to the handle H and also carries the
universal joints C C, a wedge shaped tee head F projecting outwards beyond the
shank. Small recesses or catches ff are made on the inside of the sides A A of
the bow to receive the tee head F, so that when the flexible sides A A of the bow
are turned over outwards from the handle H, they may be sprung sidewards over
the tee head F which will then drop into the recesses or catches ff and hold the
whole net firmly in position for use.
In another construction shown open in plan by Figure 4 in elevation by Figure 5
and folded by Figure 6 I form the recesses or catches ff in the sides A A of the
bow so that they clasp the tee head F on the under side only and prevent the
sides A A rising upwards: to prevent them falling downwards stops G G shown in
dotted lines are formed on the lower side of the universal joints C C on the opposite
side of the pin D and bear on the under side of the shank E.
In this case, as the catches ff only require to act in an opposite direction to the
stops G G and on one side only of the tee head F, it enables the entering side of
the tee head F to be made with a taper or leading edge as shown clearly in figure 6,
so that the sides A A of the bow can more easily slide over it until they are retained
by the stops G G on the joints CC in one direction and the catches ƒƒ in the other
direction. When the joints C C are arranged as above described with stops G G
the tee head F may be hinged to the shank E with a rule joint K, so as to fold
down to the shank. E in an opposite direction only to the sides A A of the bow as
shown open in plan by Figure 7 and folded in elevation by Figure 8. The pin D
that forms the horizontal axis of the joints C C also serves as the axis for the rule

page_text: joint K. Figures 9 and 10 show an application of the universal joints to landing
nets where the sides of the bow are expanded in the ordinary manner by means
of the nut O which works on the coupling screw of the shank E and presses on the
toe pieces P P forming continuations of the sides A A of the bow. With this
construction slots p p or their equivalents are formed in the shank E into which
the toe pieces P P enter when the sides A A of the bow are expanded, and are
thereby held in position. When the net is closed the toe pieces P P leave the
slots pp as shown in the dotted lines and the sides of the bow can then be folded
back to the handle as before described.
In some cases it is more convenient to form the slots pp on the toe pieces
themselves so that they will grasp the shank E when the sides A A of the bow are
expanded.
I
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. Attaching the sides of landing nets to the shank by means of universal
joints CC, so that they may be folded alongside the handle substantially as
described and for the purposes shown in Figure 1 to 10 or any mere modification
thereof.
2. Expanding the flexible sides of landing nets bows by means of the wedge
shaped tee head F in combination with the universal joints C. C, substantially as
described and for the purposes shown in Figures 1 to 8 or any mere modification
thereof.