Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Fis}-lermen, while boat fishing at night, often encounter
a school oE fish in a given location. This same phenomenon
occurs in both dayliyht and night time fishing. It is de-
sirable to be able to mark t~e location o the school of
fish so as to permit continual casting or fishing in that
immediate area, I
Marker devices of the prior art are normally comprised
of sorne sort of buoyant means with a line attached and
a sinker or anchor secured to the lower end of the line.
These devices are not readily visible during night time
fishing. Wind blowing against some of these devices tilts
the visible portion of the marker away ~rom the fishermen
to further impair the visibility of the marker.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention
to provide a buoyant ~arker light for fishermen that can
be easily seen in darkness.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a
buoyant marker light for fishermen which can be easily
deployed and easily storedO
It is a still further object of this invention to pro-
vide a buoyant marker light for fishermen which w~ll not
have the visibility thereof impaired by wind or water
currents.
It is a further object of this invention to provide
a buoyant marker light for ishermen that is economical
o manufacture, durable in use, and refined in appearance.
These and other objectives will be apparent to those
skilled in the art.
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¦ BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device of this invention comprises a pair of
buoyant body members that are con~ected together by an
elongated sleeve of a reduced diameter. With light
elements of the general char~cter disclosed in my
co-pending application Serial No. 494,800, filed May 16,
1983, the light elements extend radially outwardly from
the center axis of the body members at an angle with re-
spect to each other.
Weights are secured within each of the body members
at a position directly opposite the ligh,t elements.
An eyelet is secured to the elongated sleeve. An
elongated line is also secured to the s~eeve and is
normally wound ,therearound with the free end extending
through the eyelet. The eyelet radially extends from
the elongated sleeve ~ bisect the angle at which the
light elements radially extend from the body members.
A sinker element is secured to the free end of the line.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TEIE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 i,s a perspective view of the device of this
invention;
Fig. 2 i5 an elongated sectional view thereof taken
on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 iS a transverse sectional view thereof taken
on line 3-3 of Fig. l;
Fig. 4 is an end elevational view thereof showing
the position of the light elements when the wind is
blowing in a first transverse direction; and
Fig. 5 iS a view similar to that o~ Fig. 4 but shows
the position of the light elements when the wind is
blowing from an opposite transverse direction.
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DESCRIPI'ION OF TIIE PREFERRED EMBODIME:NT
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The numeral 10 generally designates the ma~ker device
of this invention which is comprised generally of hollow
body members 12 and 14 which are interconnected by an
elongated sleeve 16. The bo~y members 12 and 14 are
generally spherical in shape, and the sleeve 16 is
generally cylindrical in sha~e. Sleeve 16 is connected
to the body members by extending through suitable
apertures therein and glue 18 or the like can be used to
secure the sleeve to the body members.
Lights 20 and 22 radially extend from ,the center
axis of the marker device 10 at a radial angle with
respect to each other of approximatley ~0. Tllis angle
is best shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5. The lights 20
and 22 are disclosed generally in the co-pending applica-
tion referred to here~foreO They include tube elements
24 which are secured by any suitable means at their
upper ends to the shell or periphery of the body members.
Glue or the like can be used to effect this connection.
A battery receptacle 26 is secured to and extends
from the lower end of cap element 28 which is threadably
secured to tube element 24 by threads 30. A light element
32 is operatively secured to battery receptacle 26. A
rubber seal 34 extends around the upper end of tube
element 24 to seal the interior of cap element 28
and tube element 24. A detachable battery 36 is
mounted in tube 24 a~ generally shown in Fig. 3. As
disclosed in the ahove-described co-pending application,
the light element 32 is in its dormant condition s})own
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in Fig. 3. By threadably removing cap element 28 from
tube element 24, and by reversing the position of
battery 36 1~0 and then replacing the cap element~
the light element 32 is illuminated. This structure of
S the light elements is old and does not, per se, comprise
the invention of this application.
Weights 38 and 40 are se~ured by glue or any other
convenient means to the interior of body members 12 ana
14. As indicated in Fig. 3, the weight 38 is disposed
¦ within body member 12 at a point 180 from the position
¦ of light 20. Similarly, weight 40 is lo~ated in the same
relative position in body member 14 with respect to
¦ light 220 't
An eyelet 42 is secured to the longitudinal center
of sleeve 16 and extends radially outwardly therefrom.
As shown in Fig. 3, e~let 42 bisects the radial angle
that separates both weights 38 and 40 and lights 20
and 22.
A line 44 is tied to or otherwise secured to
sleeve 16 and is normally wrapped therearound during
storage. A free end of line 44 extends through eyelet
42 and is secured to sinker 46 through eyelet 43 on
the upper portion of the sinker.
In operation, when a school of fish is located
during night time fishing~ the light elements 32 of
lights 20 and 22 are illuminated in the manner
described heretofore. The marker device 10 is then
thrown into the water at the location of the school
of fish. The weight of the sin~er 46 is sufficient
to allow the line 44 to unwind from sleeve 16 through
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eyelet 42. The marker device 10 rotates in the water as
the sinker 46 seeks its lowermost position.
If the wind and the water are still, the device will
assume the position best sho~n in Fig. 3 with the string
44 in a vertical position and the lights 20 and 22 extend- ¦
ing radially outwardly from body members .10 and 12,
respectively at an angle of substantially 45 with respect
to line 44. The downward pressure on line 44 by sinker 46
balances the rotational affect that weights 38 and 40 may
have on body members 10 and 12. .
When wind or moving currents cominy from a direction
transverse to the longtudinal axis of m~rker 10, as best
shown in Fi.g. 4, the marker 10 will slightly rotate about
its center axis whereupon one light will assume a sub-
stantial horizontal p~sition, and the other light will
assume a substantial vertical position. Figure 5 shows
this same relationship between the lights 20 and 22 as
the wind or water current acts on the marker device
10 from an opposite transverse side. In each instance,
at least one of the lights 20 or 22 is in a vertical
position and is easily visible to the persons in the
ishing boat even though the water currents or wind do
act on the marker device. In still water, both of the
lights 20 and 22 would usually be visible to the fishing
boat (Fig D 3)~
The ability of t.he device of this invention to always
have one of the lights visible to the persons in the fish~
ing boat is achieved by the angular radial positions of
the lights 20 and 22 on the body members 12 and 14 as
well as the radial postions of the weights 3B and 405
and the eyelet 42.
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It is preferred that the outer surfaces of at least
the body members 12 and 14 be coated with a luminous
paint that will pick up and reflect any available light,
: and particularly the light from lights 20 and 22.
When the fishing operatibn has ceased, the marker
device 10 is retrieved, and the line 44 is wound
around the sleeve 16 for storage.
The weight of sinker 46 is coordinated with the
buoyancy of body members 12 and 14 so that the sinker
will only partially submerge the body members in the
water.
From the foregoing, it is seen that the device of
this vention will a-hieve at least itjs stated objectives.
