Patent ID: 6865841

Claim:
A protective container for a fishing rod with a reel mounted on a handle portion of the rod, said container comprising: a rigid elongate tube having opposite sides, first and second ends, an axis between said ends, and an inner surface defining a cavity adapted to receive a fishing rod; and a housing attached to the tube at an area of attachment adjacent said second end, said housing being adapted to enclose the reel and the handle portion of a rod on which the reel is mounted, said housing comprising: opposite wall portions including side wall parts each having a periphery and being adapted to lie along and across a different side of the reel and handle portion of the rod, and a peripheral parts, the peripheral part of each of said wall portions having a juncture with the side wall part of the respective wall portion and the peripheral parts extending toward each other from the peripheries of said side wall parts and having distal edges extending from the area of attachment at one side of the tube to the area of attachment at the opposite side of the tube, said distal edges being adapted to be positioned closely adjacent each other and when positioned closely adjacent each other the edges extend along the tube toward and around the second end of the tube from said opposite sides of the tube at said area of attachment, said opposite wall portions having outer surfaces and having opposed inner surfaces shaped to define with said distal edges closely adjacent each other, a cavity between said opposite wall portions for receiving the reel and the handle portion of the rod; and means for releasably attaching together the distal edges of the said peripheral parts; said side wall parts and said peripheral parts of said wall portions comprising layers of fabric defining said inner and outer surfaces, and a layer of thermally formed foam between and bonded to said layers of fabric, said layer of thermally formed foam being continuous through the junctures between the side wall parts and the peripheral parts of the wall portions and being sufficiently thick to provide stiff, flexible, shape retaining side wall portions adapted to protect the reel when said means for releasably attaching attaches together the distal edges of said peripheral parts, and said side wall portions being bendable adjacent said area of attachment of said housing to said tube to afford separation of the distal edges of the peripheral parts of said wall portions to allow the rod to be placed in or removed from the container when said means for releasably attaching is released.