Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE DATA  
       [0001]    The co-pending Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/195,314 filed Apr. 10, 2000 in incorporated by way of reference to the present patent application. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to fishing boxes, and more particularly to a portable fishing box with detachable casings.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    When going fishing in an outdoor environment, it is necessary to bring along fishing gear including a multitude of elements: one or more fishing rods equipped with fly reels or spinning reels, fishhooks, artificial flies, spinners, terminal tackles, lures, fish knives, disgorgers, and a landing net being among the conventional equipment. There exist fishing boxes used to carry the smaller items such as the tackles and the spinners, but the whole equipment remains cumbersome in that a number of different elements need to be manually carried.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention relates to a fishing box for carrying fishing gear and defining a longitudinal axis, comprising:  
           [0005]    a main elongated container; and  
           [0006]    at least a first casing releasably attachable to said main container.  
           [0007]    Preferably, said fishing box further comprises an elongated handle extending along a substantial portion of the length of said fishing box and allowing said fishing box to be carried by said handle approximately at the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of said fishing box notwithstanding most longitudinal weight repartitions within said fishing box.  
           [0008]    Preferably, said handle comprises a hollow tubular body for releasable engagement therein of the shaft of a landing net.  
           [0009]    Preferably, said fishing box further comprises a second casing releasably attachable to said main container.  
           [0010]    Preferably, said main elongated container comprises a thicker first end portion and a thinner extension defining a single inner compartment and a shoulder on said thicker first end portion adjacent said thinner extension, said first casing being releasably attachable onto said container thinner extension and abutting against said shoulder, and said second casing being releasably attachable onto said container thinner extension coextensively with said first casing and abutting thereagainst.  
           [0011]    Preferably, said thinner extension comprises first tracks and said first and second casings comprise second tracks complementarily engageable with said first tracks, for stable engagement of said first and second casings onto said container thinner extension.  
           [0012]    Preferably, said container thinner extension comprises a thinner first intermediate portion integrally attached to and coextensive with said thicker first end portion, and a thinner second end portion releasably attachable with and coextensive to said intermediate portion.  
           [0013]    Preferably, said fishing box has a uniform thickness when said first and second casings are releasably attached onto said container thinner extension, said first casing abuts against said shoulder and said second casing abuts against said first casing.  
           [0014]    Preferably, said fishing box further comprises support legs releasably engageable onto said fishing box for supporting said fishing box spacedly over ground, wherein said fishing box defines a flat top working surface formed by said container thicker first end portion and by said first and second casings.  
           [0015]    The present invention further relates to a fishing box assembly defining a longitudinal axis and comprising:  
           [0016]    a number of box compartments for storing fishing gear therein; and  
           [0017]    releasable attachment means, for releasably attaching said number of box compartments to one another to form an integral fishing box assembly.  
           [0018]    Preferably, said fishing box assembly further comprises an elongated handle member longitudinally extending along a substantial portion of the length of said fishing box and allowing said fishing box to be carried by said handle approximately at the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of said fishing box notwithstanding most longitudinal weight repartitions within said fishing box.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    In the annexed drawings:  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the fishing box according to the present invention, in an assembled condition;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the fishing box of FIG. 1;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the fishing box in a disassembled condition;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the main container of the fishing box in a disassembled condition, with the top lid being opened and with portions of the wall of the main container being removed to show the fishing rods installed therein; and  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the fishing box mounted on support legs and with the landing net being installed in the fishing box handle. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]    FIGS.  1 - 4  show a fishing box  10  according to the present invention, which comprises a main elongated container  12  having a thicker first end portion  12   a  provided with a pivotable lid  14 , a thinner intermediate portion  12   b  and a thinner second end portion  12   c , with the latter being removably engageable in an coextensive fashion with intermediate portion  12   b  so that portions  12   a ,  12   b  and  12   c  form a single elongated main compartment inside main container  12  wherein fishing rods F can be fitted (FIG. 4). The thicker first end portion  12   a  is destined to house the fishing rod end portions that are equipped with reels R, while the thinner extension portion formed by the coextensive intermediate and second end portions  12   b ,  12   c  is destined to house the portions of the rods extending away from the reels. A buckle  16  releasably attaches removable second end portion  12   c  to intermediate portion  12   b .Other buckles  18 ,  20  are used to releasably attach lid  14  in a closed condition.  
         [0026]    Fishing box  10  further comprises a first and a second casing  22 ,  24  that can be removably attached to main container  12 . Indeed, the coextensive intermediate and second end portions  12   b ,  12   c  of container  12  are provided with coextensive tracks  26 ,  28  on their upper surface which are engageable by complementary tracks  30  and  32  respectively provided on the lower surfaces of casings  22  and  24  (FIG. 3). Container first end portion  12   a  forms an abutment shoulder  33  adjacent intermediate portion  12   b , on which first casing  22  will abut when installed on container  12  in an attached, operative fashion. Pairs of releasable buckles  34 ,  36  and  38 ,  40  allow releasable attachment of casings  22 ,  24  onto main container  12 . Casings  22 ,  24  otherwise conventionally include lids  22   a ,  24   a  sealingly closed with buckles which can be opened to reveal storage areas (not shown) in casings  22 ,  24 , wherein smaller fishing gear may be stored, such as knives, tackles, lures, spinners, artificial flies, and so on. Casings  22 ,  24  are also provided with small independent handles  22   b ,  24   b  that allow each casing  22 ,  24  to be independently carried.  
         [0027]    An elongated handle  42  is integrally attached on the front surface of main container  12 . It can be seen that handle  42  extends from approximately the mid-length of the container first end portion  12   a  to the junction between the container intermediate and second end portions  12   b  and  12   c , being attached to intermediate portions  12   b . Handle  42  could alternately extend the whole length of container first end and intermediate portions  12   a ,  12   b . Handle  42  has a hollow tubular body in which the shaft of a landing net N can be removably engaged (FIG. 5).  
         [0028]    Bottom support pads  44  are provided on the bottom surface of container  12 , at both extremities thereof. Pads  44  are annular, and destined to be releasably engaged by complementary support legs  46  (FIG. 5) to support fishing box  10  spacedly over ground. The flat upper surface formed by the coextensive lid  14 , first casing  22  and second casing  24  may thus be used as a working table then box  10  is raised on support legs  46 . Legs  46  may be stored in main container  12  when they are not in use. Also, an endwisely protruding lip  48  is provided on the top surface of lid  14 , for supporting a bench vice when box  10  is used as a work surface, for example for making fishing lures. Furthermore, a sheet roll of knurled surfaced material, otherwise stored in container  12 , may be unrolled over the flat top working surface to shield these surfaces from damage and to provide an anti-skid surface texture for facilitating fish handling thereon.  
         [0029]    The fishing box  10  according to the present invention thus provides means of carrying a desired amount of fishing gear. Container  12  may indeed be carried without installing thereon casings  22 ,  24 , and either one or both casings  22 ,  24  may be added, as desired.  
         [0030]    Also, since elongated handle  42  extends along a substantial portion of the length of fishing box  10 , it allows fishing box  10  to be carried approximately at the longitudinal position of its center of gravity, notwithstanding whether none, one or both casings  22 ,  24  are installed on fishing box  10 , and notwithstanding most longitudinal weight repartitions within said fishing box  10  (i.e. the expression “most longitudinal weight repartitions” include weight repartitions which would be expected inside a fishing box, and exclude very unusual weight repartitions such as 90% of the weight being located in a concentrated spot at one end of the box  10 ). Indeed, by moving his hand along handle  42 , a person can thus hold fishing box  10  approximately at the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of fishing box  10 .  
         [0031]    It is noted that the “substantial portion” of the length of fishing box  10  is defined as the portion of fishing box  10  along which it is most likely that the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of fishing box  10  be located, considering usual weight repartitions within the fishing box and considering that the fishing box may have different weight repartitions according to the number of casings  22 ,  24  that are attached to container  12 . That is to say, fishing box  10  is likely to have the longitudinal position of its center of gravity located at different positions depending on the following factors: (a) are the casings  22  and/or  24  attached to container  12 ; and (b) how is the load spread inside container  12  and eventually casings  22  and  24  if they are attached to container  12 ? Considering that a normal loading of fishing box  12  will see the load more or less equally longitudinally spread in each casing  22 ,  24  and container  12  proportionally to the available area per unit of length of each casing/container, then the presence or absence of casings  22 ,  24  will influence the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box  10 . If both casings  22 ,  24  are not installed on container  12 , then the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box  10  will probably be located at the container first end portion  12   a , and more particularly probably not further away from container intermediate portion  12   b  than half the length of container first end portion  12   a ; whereas if both casings  22 ,  24  are installed on container  12 , then the longitudinal position of the center of gravity of box  10  will probably be located somewhere along the container intermediate portion  12   b . Thus, handle  42  is sized to extend along a substantial proportion of the length of box  10 , which has a variable longitudinal weight repartition.  
         [0032]    It is noted that water-tight seals are provided on all lid openings  22   a ,  24   a ,  14 . Consequently, box  10  is water-tight and buoyant. Also, the inner compartments which are defined inside each casing  22 ,  24  can be provided with equipment shelves or racks, as known in the art. Sponge members can furthermore be provided inside container  12  to hold and protect the fishing rods F.  
         [0033]    Although a fishing box including one container and two casings has been illustrated in the drawings and described in the present specification, it is understood that a different type of fishing box assembly including at least two box compartments (which may include containers and/or casings) and possibly more than three box compartments is considered to be within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0034]    It is noted that the fishing box  10  could include a container extension  12   c  which is much shorter (not shown), and which in fact would act only as a removable cap to close the otherwise open mouth opening  12   d  of container intermediate portion  12   b .Such a short cap extension can be used if shorter fishing rods are to be carried in container  12 . In such a situation, it is understood that second casing  24  would not be used, since the short cap extension would be much too short to support casing  24 . Support pads  44  would still be provided on the short cap extension, in which the support legs  46  could be inserted.

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