FISHING ROD REPAIR KIT

TROUSSE DE REPARATION DES CANNES A PECHE

English Abstract

A repair kit for fishing rods that has a replacement tip and a coupler to repair the shafts of the broken rods. The kit can be carried in the field as part of regular tackle box. The replacement tip is a formed body that has a threaded end. The ferrule is formed as part of the body so that is not susceptible to breakage. The ferrule can be also lined with a ceramic eyelet that reduces friction on the line passing through it as well as adding strength. The coupler is a two ended-part that has two formed tapered threads or two formed metal inserts inside the coupler. The coupler is twisted onto the end of the broken rod until it is secure. The other end of the broken rod is then twisted into the open end of the coupler. Once the second end of the rod is secure, the rod is again ready to use.

French Abstract

Une trousse de réparation pour cannes à pêche dotée d'une pointe de rechange et d'un coupleur pour réparer les tiges des cannes à pêche brisées. La trousse peut être transportée sur le terrain dans la boîte à leurres. La pointe de rechange est une pièce profilée qui possède une extrémité à visser. Celle-ci fait partie de la pièce profilée afin d'éviter qu'elle ne brise. L'extrémité à visser peut également être alignée avec un oillet de céramique qui réduit la friction de la ligne qui passe en son centre en plus de lui ajouter de la force. Le coupleur est une pièce à deux extrémités coniques profilées ou formées de deux bouts métalliques travaillés insérés aux extrémités du coupleur. Le coupleur se visse sur l'extrémité de la canne à pêche brisée jusqu'à ce qu'il soit bien fixé. L'autre partie de la canne à pêche se visse à l'autre extrémité du coupleur. Lorsque le coupleur est solidement fixé à la deuxième section de la canne à pêche, celle-ci est de nouveau prête à l'emploi.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1. A repair device for fishing rod tips comprising:
a) a fixture having a threaded lower portion having a width, and being a
single piece, and an
angled eye portion having a hole therein, wherein the hole in said angled eye
portion has a
diameter smaller than the width of the threaded lower portion, said threaded
lower portion and
said angled eye portion being an integrated single form; and
b) a reinforcing member, fixedly installed in said angled eye portion within
the hole in said
angled eye portion.
2. The repair device for fishing rod tips of claim 1 wherein the threaded
lower portion has a
tapered internal cavity having a plurality of threads therein.
3. The repair device for fishing rod tips of claim 1 or 2 wherein the
reinforcing member
comprises a ceramic eyelet.
4. The repair device for fishing rod tips of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein
the material in
which the fixture is made is selected from the group consisting of plastic,
metal and ceramic.
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Description

CA 02581464 2007-03-12
FISHING ROD REPAIR KIT
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9 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
I I This invention relates to repair kits for fishing rods and particularly to
repair kits
12 for fishing rods that use threaded connectors.
13 2. Description of the Prior Art
14 Fishing is a sport enjoyed by a large number of people. Millions of fishing
rods
and assorted tackle are sold every year. Many of the fishing poles break
because of
16 mishandling, catching too large a fish, or many other reasons. Once the
pole is broken
17 (either at the tip or along the length of the body, it is useless.
Typically, pole breaks
18 occur in the field, where repair facilities are rare. As a result, many of
these broken
19 plies are discarded in the field, cluttering up the outdoors. Even if the
poles are
discarded properly, they constitute more trash in already limited landfills.
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CA 02581464 2007-03-12
1 One U. S. Patent has been issued coving a fishing rod rip. Design Patent
2 D368,295 shows a small tip that has a cylindrical end that fits on the pole.
The end then
3 necks down to a conical shape. An angled member extends upward and a simple
ring
4 to which a ferrule is attached. While this tip can be used for repairs, it
has some
problems, the biggest if which is that the ferrule is simply a ring attached
to a thin
6 member. This is a point of weakness that can fail, resulting in a second
broken tip.
7 U.S Patent No. 4,860,485 teaches a tip for a fishing rod that s about four
to 10
8 inches long. Although the tip can be used for repairs, it is primarily
designed to be
9 used with the base section of the pole to convert it into an ice-fishing
pole. The device is
designed to fit into a female ferrule on a rod. It uses a set of 0-rings to
hold the tip in
11 place. As noted above, the device can be used as a "repair". However, since
most
12 breaks occur either at the tip of the end portion or in the body of the end
portion, if this
13 device was used as a repair kit, it would still result in many parts of the
poles being
14 dumped or abandoned in the field. Moreover, the device's length does not
lend it to be
carried as part of a repair kit.
16 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
17 The instant invention overcomes these problems. It is a repair kit that has
a
18 replacement tip and a coupler to repair the shafts of the broken rods. The
kit can be
19 carried in the field as part of regular tackle box. The parts are
lightweight and self-
contained. They need no tools to make the repairs. Moreover, the repairs
produce a
21 rod of similar strength and flexibility as the original.
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CA 02581464 2007-03-12
1 The kit has two main parts: a replacement tip and a coupler (of course more
of
2 these parts can be provided in the kit). The replacement tip is a formed
body that has a
3 threaded end. The ferrule is formed as part of the body so that is not
susceptible to
4 breakage. The ferrule is also lined with a ceramic eyelet that reduces
friction on the line
passing through it as well as adding strength. The coupler is a two ended-part
that has
6 formed tapered threads inside formed from molding or casting the part, or a
tapered
7 threaded metal piece inserted inside. The coupler is twisted onto the end of
the broken
8 rod until it is secure. The other end of the broken rod is then twisted into
the open end
9 of the coupler. Once the second end of the rod is secure, the rod is again
ready to use.
In this way, damaged fishing rods can be easily repaired in the field, which
allows a
11 user to continue fishing without difficulty as well as eliminating waste
and trash from
12 the wilds.
13 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
14 Figure 1 is a forward perspective view of the tip replacement part of the
invention.
16 Figure 2 is a rearward perspective view of the tip replacement part of the
17 invention.
18 Figure 3 is a top plan view of the tip replacement part of the invention.
19 Figure 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the tip replacement part of the
invention.
21 Figure 5 s a perspective view of the coupler part of the invention.
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1 Figure 6 is a perspective x-ray view of the coupler part of the invention.
2 Figure 7 is a detail view of the coupler part of the invention shown in
3 preparation of a repair with a portion of a broken fishing rod.
4 Figure 8 is detail view showing the coupler part of the invention aligned
with
one part of a broken fishing rod.
6 Figure 9 is detail view showing the coupler part of the invention being
twisted
7 onto the broken portion of the fishing rod.
8 Figure 10 is a detail view showing the second portion of the broken fishing
rod
9 aligned with the coupler and being turned to fit into the end of the
coupler.
Figure 11 is a detail view showing the repaired fishing rod with the coupler
in
11 place.
12 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
13 Referring now to figs. 1-4, the first components of the system is the
replacement
14 tip 1. The replacement tip 1 is designed to fit over a broken tip of a
fishing rod. The
replacement tip 1 has a horizontal tube portion 1 and an angled eye portion 3.
The
16 horizontal tube portion 2 is a cylinder that has one open end. The inside
of the
17 horizontal tube portion 2 is threaded with a series of threads 4 (see fig
4). In the
18 preferred embodiment, the replacement tip 1 is made of plastic. However,
the tip may
19 also be formed in metal or cast in ceramic, if desired. The threads formed
in any of
these materials are designed to adhere to the fiber material from which
today's fishing
21 rods are made.
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1 At the other end of the horizontal tube portion 2 is the angled eye portion
3.
2 Unlike the prior art tips, which have a ring held by a thin strip of
material, the
3 replacement tip 1 of this invention has an eye that is formed of a
relatively large mass of
4 material, which is formed as part of a continuous structure with the
horizontal tube
portion 2. This solid continuous structure produces a strong tip that is less
likely to
6 bend or break after repeated use. A hole 5 is formed in the center of the
angled eye
7 portion 3 as shown. In the preferred embodiment, the hole 5 is reinforced
with a
8 ceramic eyelet 6. The ceramic eyelet 6 adds strength to the hole 5 and
provides a
9 smooth, low friction surface for the fishing line.
Figure 3 shows the threads 4 as well as the hole 5 and ceramic eyelet 6 from
an
11 end view.
12 Figure 4 shows a cross-section of the device showing the internal threads
5, the
13 solid structure between the horizontal tube portion 2 and the angled eye
portion 3, and
14 the ceramic eyelet 6.
The replacement tip is used by cleaning a broken end of a fishing rod, placing
the
16 replacement tip 1 on the cleaned end, and screwing the replacement tip onto
the end
17 until it is fully seated on the rod. Once the hole 5 is aligned with the
other fishing line
18 guides on the rod, the rod is ready for use.
19 The second part of this invention is a repair coupler 10. This component is
used
to make repairs on the body of the rod. Figure 5 shows a perspective view of
the
21 coupler 10. Figure 11 shows an "x-ray" view of the coupler 10, showing the
internal
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1 components. The coupler 10 is a cylinder that is open at both ends. A pair
of tapered
2 threaded portions 11 is inside the cylinder as shown. The tapered threaded
portions 11
3 can be threads formed during molding or casting or a pair of tapered,
threaded metal
4 pieces inserted into the cylinder. In the preferred embodiment, the threaded
portion 11
is formed by plastic injection molding.
6 The tapered threads act to grip down on the rod material to ensure the
splice
7 formed by the coupler holds under all conditions.
8 Figure 7 shows the coupler above a broken rod 100. The rod has two pieces-
100a
9 and 100b. In the preferred embodiment, the coupler components come in
different
diameters to enable repairs to be made anywhere on the rod.
11 Figure 8 shows the coupler 10 aligned with rod piece 100a. Figure 9 shows
the
12 coupler 10 being screwed onto the rod piece 100a. Figure 10 shows the rod
piece 100b
13 aligned with the other end of the coupler 10. This figure also shows that
the rod piece
14 100b is rotated in the opposite direction from the rod piece and coupler
combination
from the previous step. Finally, figure 11 shows the completed repair. The rod
is now
16 reassembled with the coupler and is ready to use.
17 The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited sense other
than
18 that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to the teachings
herein and the
19 prior art being apparent with the preferred form of the invention disclosed
herein and
which reveals details of structure of a preferred form necessary for a better
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CA 02581464 2007-03-12
1 understanding of the invention and may be subject to change by skilled
persons within
2 the scope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.
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Representative Drawing