Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Apr., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 9th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 14th Sept., 1888
follows:-
The object of my invention is to construct landing nets and similar nets which shall
be portable and convenient and of compact form both while in use for fishing or other
purposes, and for carriage.
I form a ring of the usual shape of metal whalebone wood or other suitable material
on which the net is fastened.
The two ends of the ring meet and come nearly together at the point where the ring
connects with the handle.
The two ends are there attached to a ferrule or ferrules either permanently or so
that they can be detached according to whether the ring is to be a fixed or a folding
ring.
For a net with a fixed ring the two ends of the ring are continued from the point
where they come nearly together for a suitable distance of say from four to ten inches,
or as required, in the same straight direction as the handle of the net, and parallel to
each other, leaving throughout their length from the point where they come together
a space of half an inch or more between them, as suitable, and being fastened together
with a ferrule at the top and bottom.
The handle of the net is made either flat sided, oval, or of other convenient form to
prevent the ring from turning and to fit and slide in the space, which is of corre-
sponding shape, thus left between the two ends of the ring so that it will slide over
the ring and the forward end of the handle will project beyond the top of the ring,
the opposite or butt end of the handle being thus brought within a short distance
of the slide ferrules as suitable, a stop on the handle near the butt end preventing the
handle from running too far through the slide space. This being the position of the
net when closed up for carriage.

page_text: For the purpose of carrying the net on a shoulder or other strap I fix a hook on to
one of the slide ferrules which enables the net to be carried in the most portable
position and high up clear of the ground.
The ends of the ring instead of being fastened by the two ferrules, may be attached
to one long ferrule within and through which the handle will slide, and upon which
the hook for carrying will be placed.
To adjust the net for use, the butt end of the handle is held, and the handle is
drawn back through the slide space or ferrule until the forward end of the handle is
drawn just into the top end of the slide space or ferrule. The forward end of the
handle is slightly spread or enlarged so as to jam, and prevent its being withdrawn
further, an additional catch being used if necessary to retain the handle and ring in
position.
For a net with a folding ring, I use a flat strip of metal whalebone or other suitable
material to form the ring, which is made in two pieces, with a moveable joint of the
usual kind at the top. I bring the other ends of the two pieces round to the point
where they connect with the handle, and then slip the ends through two small ferrules
or staples which are fitted to either side of the long ferrule (through which the handle
slides as described) in such manner and shape as to ensure the ring taking its proper
form.
The ends of the ring have cach a hole in them which fit over small stops or pins
placed one on each side of the slide ferrule below the small staples or ferrules the
ring being thus prevented from moving and being retained firmly in position.
When the net is to be closed the ring is taken off by raising the ends off the stops
and withdrawing the ring from the staples or ferrules, when the joint at the top being
also unfastened the two pieces of the ring straighten themselves and can be laid
together side by side. The ring can also be fitted to the slide ferrule by having its
ends shaped and adapted so that, the joint at the top being unfastened, the two pieces
will straighten themselves and can be laid alongside the handle, without detaching the
ring from the handle. The same objects can also be effected by attaching the ring to
the slide ferrule by hinges, or other suitable fastening.
The handle for the folding net slides and is fitted and used in the same manner as
already described.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Landing Nets for Fishing and Hand Nets of a
similar Nature.
1, PERCY GYE, of No. 1 Paper Buildings Temple London in the County of
Middlesex Barrister at Law 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:—
The object of this invention is to construct landing nets for fishing and other similar.
hand nets which are efficient in action portable in form for carrying when in use and
when packed for travelling, light in weight, and cheap to manufacture.
I make nets either with the ring or hoop on which the net is fastened being a fixed
ring, or with the ring being a folding or collapsing ring.
I form a ring of the usual shape of wood metal, whalebone, or other suitable
material on which the net is fastened. The two ends of the ring come nearly
together at the point where they join the handle. I there attach these two ends of
the ring to a ferrule, or two or more ferrules, which I hereinafter call the "slide
ferrule" through which the handle of the net is made to slide for the purpose of
making the whole apparatus short, and convenient to carry. The two ends of the
ring may be attached to the slide ferrule or ferrules either permanently or so that
they can be detached, according to whether the ring is to be a fixed or a folding
ring.
To make a net with a fixed ring from which the handle can be removed, the two
ends of the ring are continued from the point where they come nearly together for a
distance of from three to six inches as suitable, in the same straight direction as the
handle of the net, and parallel to each other, leaving a space between them, of from
half an inch to one inch or more as suitable. I attach these two ends by bands,
lashing, rivets or other convenient fastening, as shewn in Figure A, to a light metal
ferrule or tube of about the same length as the two ends of the ring, and of an
uniform internal bore which will allow the handle of the net to slide easily into it,
which is one form of the "slide ferrule" above mentioned. The thickness of the
metal used for the slide ferrule is about 3 to 1 of an inch thick, or as found to be
suitable.
'
I make the bore of the slide ferrule of a shape either square, oblong or with
rounded top as shewn in figure B, or of other suitable shape, and I make the handle
of the net of about three to four feet long, or as suitable, and to fit and suit the
shape of the slide ferrule, but being slightly smaller than the bore of the slide
ferrule in the direction of the points (a) and (b) in Figure B, or in the direction
of the same relative points, whatever shape the slide ferrule may be, so that, with
the exception of its upper or butt end, the handle will slide freely through the
slide ferrule. By forming the slide ferrule of the above shapes, I not only
provide a convenient form for the action for removing the handleas herein-
after provided, but I effectually prevent the ring, from turning on the handle.

page_text: I enlarge the upper or butt end of the handle for about eight inches of its length,
as suitable, in somewhat similar manner to the butt of a fishing rod, as shewn in
figure H, so as to give a good grasp for the- hand, and which enlargement will not
pass into the slide ferrule. Upon the lower or opposite end of the handle I per-
manently fix a metal ferrule of the same shape as the handle, but being on its lower
or flat side slightly increased in size or coned towards its outward end, and being of
a size that at its largest point at (a) to () it will only just pass through the slide
ferrule, as shewn in Figure C.
I can also enlarge the end of the handle in the same manner and for the same
purpose without using a ferrule. At the end of the slide ferrule, or on its lower side
at the point (a) in Figure B I fix a small metal hinge, so placed that the top of the
moveable side of it extends across the opening of the slide ferrule, and that when it
it is thrown over into the slide ferrule as presently described, the top side or surface
of the hinge shall be about one sixteenth, or a little more, of an inch higher than the
bottom inside surface of the slide ferrule. The moveable side of the hinge has a
small narrow tongue of about one quarter of an inch long, and slightly less in width,
and of about one sixteenth, or a little more, of an inch in thickness, the exact
dimensions being dependent upon the size of the slide ferrule and handle of the net,
as shewn in Figure D.
I-fix this hinge in such a position that the tongue can be thrown over into the
opening of the slide ferrule, and will then lie flat on the bottom of it, thus decreasing
the height of the opening of the slide ferrule by about one sixteenth of an inch as
as above described and as shewn in Figure E. The thickness and position of the
hinge and tongue and the depth of the handle of the net are so adjusted that although
that part of the handle of the net between the enlarged butt and the enlarged ferrule,
will slide freely through the slide ferrule, when the tongue is thrown over into it, the
enlarged or coned ferrule fixed at the end of the handle, or the enlarged end of the
handle as the case may be, will jamb on the hinge and tongue, and will not pass.
further into or through the slide ferrule. By this means the handle becomes firmly
fixed in connection with the ring, so that the net can be used in the ordinary way.
The hinge and tongue are so arranged and adjusted that the tongue cannot be thrown
over into the slide ferrule, while the handle remains in it, without the following
arrangement.
I make on the lower or flat side of the handle a small square hole of a size and
depth that when the handle is run through the slide ferrule, and the hole is brought
over the tongue, will just permit the tongue to be turned over into it, the handle
being at the same time drawn along in the slide ferrule so as to draw the hole into the
slide ferrule, which will cause the tongue to turn over on its hinge into the opening of
the slide ferrule, as shewn in Figure F, and then as the handle is drawn within the
slide ferrule, gradually to leave the hole in the handle, and lie flat inside and upon the
bottom of the slide ferrule, between the handle and the bottom of the slide ferrule, in
position to jamb the enlarged end of the handle as above described with reference to
Figure E.
When the tongue is in this position, the handle will slide freely backwards and
forwards through the slide ferrule, the hole in the handle being made of so small a
size and being so aranged that it will glide over the tongue without the tongue going
into it, or turning or catching in it. In order better to insure this, I slightly chamfer
off the edge of the hole which is nearest to the upper or butt end of the handle, and
also slightly chamfer off the edge of the tongue which is next to the handle, and to
insure still greater accuracy the hole inay he made in a small metal plate, let into
the handle. So long as the hinge and tongue are in the position above described, the
handle cannot become disconnected from the ring of the net.
In order to disconnect the handle from the ring, the handle is moved through the
slide ferrule until the hole in the handle is opposite the tongue, the tongue is then
turned by the hand so that it goes into the hole in the handle, the slide ferrule being
at the same time drawn towards the upper or butt end of the handle. This will
cause the tongue to be thrown out of the slide ferrule in the manner converse to that

page_text: described with reference to figure F. leaving the full size of the slide ferrule open.
when the handle and its enlarged end or ferrule can be drawn completely through and
out of the slide ferrule.
In order more easily to turn the tongue, I make a small hole in the bottom of the
slide ferrule just at the point of the tongue, through which the tongue can be pushed
up. I also decrease the size of the opening of the slide ferrule, so as to cause the
handle to jamb, by adjusting a small piece of metal of the requisite thickness in the
slide ferrule, which will turn out on a hinge at the side of the slide ferrule, and can
be fastened with a stop or catch, or by having a moveable piece of metal, which can
be taken in and out, and is fastened with a catch.
In order to cause the handle to run level and truly through the slide ferrule, I
decrease the size of the slide ferrule at the opposite end from the hinge to a like
extent, as is done by the hinge and tongue, by fixing a small piece of metal across the
bottom of the slide ferrule of the same thickness as the tongue as shewn at (c) in
figure G, and this being permanently fixed, I provide for giving sufficient space to
withdraw the enlarged or coned end of the handle by cutting that end of the slide ferrule
slanting, as shewn at (d) in figure G.
I also construct nets with a handle without the enlarged butt so that the handle can
be withdrawn in the opposite direction to that above described and to do this I form
the slide ferrule of a plain piece of tube of any of the above shapes or of a round or
oval shape, and of about the same length as above mentioned, but without the hinge
or tongue, or the decreasing piece at the opposite end. The handle is made to fit and
slide in the slide ferrule easily, and has its end enlarged or coned either with or
without a ferrule, and either on one side or all round, so that the end will jamb in the
end of the slide ferrule.
To prevent this handle from running through the slide ferrule when not desired, by
reason of the absence of the enlarged butt, I place a small spring or moveable stop
about eight inches from the upper or butt end of the handle.
I also form a net with a handle which cannot be withdrawn from the slide ferrule,
the slide ferrule being of any of the patterns or shapes last described, and the handle
having the enlarged butt and the enlarged or coned end either with or without a
ferrule.
I also attach to any of the above forms of slide ferrule and handle a folding or
collapsing ring, instead of a fixed ring, and I attach it in such a manner that it is
either attached permanently to the slide ferrule by hinges, pins or other suitable means,
so that it will fold alongside the handle, or so that it is removeable from the slide
ferrule.
I also construct any of the above forms of nets with two or more slide ferrules,
instead of one long slide ferrule, the fittings being adjusted substantially in the same
manner, and in similar relative positions as described in the case of the long slide
ferrule.
When the net is to be carried while in use, the handle is pushed through the slide
ferrule until the enlarged butt, or the stop as the case may be, rests against the slide
ferrule, as shewn in Figure H, the lower end of the handle can then be put through
a ring on the shoulder strap, or through the strap itself, for the purpose of carrying
it. I also fix a hook of the usual form on the slide ferrule, by which to suspend the
not from the shoulder strap.
When the net is to be used, the butt or upper end of the handle is held, when the
ring and slide ferrule will run down the handle, and the slide ferrule will jamb on the
lower enlarged end of the handle and be ready for use.
The advantages derived from forming nets in the above ways are:
1. That the net goes into a short and convenient form for carriage while in use,
or when packed for travelling, without having any folding or telescope joint in the
handle.
2. That by using a solid handle without any metal joints, or folding, telescope or
screw fittings, greater strength, lightness, simplicity & cheapness of construction are
obtained

page_text: 3. That nets with folding or screw joints to their handles, are at all times liable to
get out of order, and to rust-which the above nets are not.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A net having a handle with or without an enlarged Butt, sliding in a tube, or
ferrule, or ferrules, attached to the ring of the net, which handle slides over the ring
of the net substantially as described with reference to Figure H.
2. A net having a handle with or without an enlarged Butt to the handle, the
handle having an enlarged or coned lower end or an enlarged or coned ferrule at its
lower end, and sliding in a tube or ferrule, or ferrules, attached to the ring of
the net, which handle will jamb in the end of the tube or ferrule, substantially as
described.
3. A net handle with or without an enlarged Butt to the handle, sliding in a tube or
ferrule, or ferrules, which handle can be connected with and disconnected from the
net substantially in the ways described.
4. A net handle with or without an enlarged Butt, which is connected with &
disconnected from the ring of the net substantially in the manner described with
reference to Figures B. C. D. E F. & G.
5. A tube or ferrule with a hinge or moveable piece of metal attached or adjustable
thereto for the purpose of causing the handle of the net to jamb in the tube or ferrule,
and of permitting the handle of the net to be withdrawn from the tube or ferrule
substantially as described.
6. A tube or ferrule with a hinge piece and tongue attached thereto for the
purpose of causing the handle of the net to jamb, and of permitting the handle
to be withdrawn from the tube substantially as described with reference to
figures B. C. D. E. F. & G.
7. A tube or ferrule with a hinge piece and tongue working in a hole in the handle
of the net, for the purpose of connecting the handle to and disconnecting it from the
ring of the net, substantially as described with reference to figure F.
Dated this 9th day of August 1888.