Holder for fishing rods and the like

Abstract

A holder for fishing rods or the like is disclosed that can be locked to keep the rods from being stolen. The holder includes a body having a plurality of slots into which the rods can be inserted and a lock bolt for each slot that can be moved to a first position opening the slot to receive the rod and to a second position where the bolts will hold the rod in the slot. A resilient member of elastomeric material, such as rubber, is attached to the body and provided with a plurality of slots in side-by-side relationship with the slots in the body. Each slot in the resilient member is narrower than the adjacent slot in the body so that a rod, when in the slot, will be supported by the resilient material which, in turn, is supported by the body. The resilient member has openings therein located on opposite sides of the slot to allow the material displaced by the rod to be placed in tension rather than compression, which prolongs the life of the rubber material.

Description

This invention relates to holders for fishing rods and the like generally, and in particular to holders that will lock the fishing rods or the like in the holder.

The holder of this invention can be adapted to hold various elongated objects, but it is particularly useful in connection with fishing rods and it will be discussed in the specification to follow as a fishing rod holder.

Even the casual fisherman these days has a substantial investment in his fishing tackle, even if he owns only one rod and reel. Avid fishermen, of course, will usually own several rods and reels, and when they go fishing they often take along two or three for the trip. Also, when two or three fishermen are working out of one boat, the boat will contain no less than three rods and reels, one for each fisherman. Due to the popularity of fishing, and the value of fishing tackle, rods and reels have become the prime target of thieves. In particular, a fisherman has to be careful when leaving his rods in his boat for even a short period of time, because around a crowded marina it is easy for a thief to lift the rods and the attached reels out of the boat without being suspected. Rods and reels are also stolen from campers and even from homes.

It is an object of this invention to provide a holder for fishing rods or the like that can be locked to prevent the removal of the fishing rods from the holder.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a holder for a fishing rod that will lock the rod in place with relatively hard high strength material, such as steel, but which supports the rod on a resilient cushion of elastomeric material to lessen the chance of damage being done to the rod, particularly where the holder is located in a boat and, therefore, subjected to shock forces as the boat travels over the water.

It is another object of this invention to provide a holder for a fishing rod that includes a resilient member of elastomeric material that firmly grips the rod, but in which the material adjacent the rod and displaced thereby is in tension rather than compression in order to lengthen the life of the elastomeric material.

These and other objects, values and features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification, including the attached drawings and appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughout to designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the holder of this invention, shown mounted to hold the rods more or less in a horizontal position as would be the case if the holder was mounted on the side of a boat;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view, partially in section and partially in elevation of the holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 5 in elevation, but on a reduced scale, showing the holder in the unlocked position.

Preferably, fishing rods, being somewhat limber, are supported at two spaced points. As shown in FIG. 1, holder 10 and holder 11 are mounted on wall 12 some distance apart. This allows one of the holders to support the rods adjacent the reel end and the other to support the rods adjacent the tip end. One holder, of course, could support the rods if it was designed to grip the rods securely, and over a long enough portion of the rods to provide the necessary support. As shown, wall 12 could be the side wall of a boat, which is a popular location for rod holders.

FIGS. 2-4 are various views of holder 11. It includes an L-shaped mounting bracket 14, leg 14a of which is provided with opening 15 through which mounting screws 16 can be inserted to mount the holder on the wall. Leg 14b of bracket 14 is attached to body 17 by rivets 18 as shown in FIG. 3. Body 17 is made of a resilient elastomeric material, such as rubber. It is a generally rectangularly shaped member having a relatively thin outer edge portion 17a and a relatively thick inner portion 17b having a slot to receiving leg 14b of the bracket. The outer edge of the thin portion has a plurality of slots 20 formed therein.

As shown in the drawing, three such slots are provided, 20a, 20b, and 20c. Each slot is identical, so only the specific configuration of slot 20c, which is shown in side elevation in FIG. 2, and in cross-section in FIG. 4, will be described. This slot includes cavity 21c that receives the rod. The opening to the cavity is partially closed by protuberance 22c, which serves to help hold the rod in the cavity of the slot once it is in place. The opening of the slot to the left of protuberance 22c is tapered outwardly to help guide the rod into opening 21c past protuberance 22c. Openings 23c and 24c extend through body 17, as shown in FIG. 4, and form ribs 25c and 26c on opposite sides of opening 21c of the slot. With this design, as a rod, such as rod 27 or 28, is located in slot 21c, it will first be forced past protuberance 22c into cavity 21c. While so passing, it will force the protuberance upwardly far enough to pass the rod. To allow this to happen is one of the functions of opening 23c which accommodates the upwardly displaced resilient elastomeric material of the body without causing any excess compressive stresses to be placed in the material. As the rod passes the protuberance into the cavity, since the rod will usually be larger in diameter than the width of the cavity between ribs 25c and 26c, the ribs will be bent and moved into the adjacent openings 23c and 24c. Openings 23c and 24c allow this bending to occur by providing a space into which ribs 25c and 26c can move. As a result of this arrangement, when rod 27 is in position in slot 20a, as shown in FIG. 2, it is held firmly between ribs 25a and 26a and the material in these ribs is placed in tension -- that is, the material is stretched to accommodate the rod rather than being placed in compression, which would be the case if the rod was forced into a slot in a solid body of material. With material being placed in tension rather than compression, it will be less likely to take a permanent set, even though the rod is left in the slot for a long period of time, and thus the life of the holder will be greatly extended. As shown in FIG. 2, where rods 27 and 28 are shown in slots 20a and 20b respectively, the protuberances associated with each slot return again to their position substantially closing the opening to the slots. Thus, some force is required to move the rods out of the slots past the protuberance, which serves to prevent the rods from accidently being jarred from their position in the holder, even though the boat or camper in which the holder is mounted receives a severe jolt.

The details of the structure of holder 10 are shown in FIGS. 5-8. This holder is designed so that the rods can be locked in the holder to prevent them from being removed by any unauthorized persons.

Holder 10 includes body 30 that is adapted to be mounted on a surface, such as the side of a boat or the wall or ceiling of a house or camper. The body supports the other components of the holder. As best seen in FIG. 7, in the embodiment shown body 30 includes two spaced parallel plates 32 and 33. The plates are generally rectangular and flat-sided, and are integrally connected by web 34 that extends between the ends of the plates. Attached to the other ends of the plates, are mounting plates 35 and 36 that are provided with holes through which mounting bolts or screws can be inserted to mount the holder on a supporting surface such as side 12 of a boat, as shown in FIG. 1. Preferably, the body is of one piece construction with the mounting plates and the other portions being integrally connected together to form a generally U-shaped body in cross-section, as shown in FIG. 7. Connecting web 34 forms the edge of the body located away from the mounting surface. This edge and the two parallel plates 32 and 33 have a plurality of slots formed therein. In the embodiment shown, three slots, 38a, 38b, and 38c, are so formed. The slots in the body are generally rectangular, slot 38b being shown in solid lines in FIGS. 5 and 6, and preferably are substantially wider than the diameter of any rod that will be placed therein.

Lock bolts 40a, 40b, and 40c, are provided to close slots 38a, 38b, and 38c, respectively, to lock the rods in the slots. Means are provided to support the bolts for movement between a first position where the slots are open to receive a rod, and a second position with the bolts closing the slots to hold a rod in the slot. In the embodiment shown, such means include handle 41, that is integrally connected to each of the bolts by support arms 42a, 42b, and 42c, respectively. As shown, the handle, the connecting arms, and the lock bolts are formed integrally from one piece of material, and preferably this material should be similar to that of body 30, i.e., a material that is relatively strong and hard, such as steel, so that the bolts cannot be readily bent or deformed or broken to allow the rods to be removed from the slots.

In the embodiment shown, the handle and lock bolt assembly is located in the space between plates 32 and 33 of the body so that when in the second and locked position, as shown in FIG. 5, only a portion of the lock bolts below the upper end of the bolts is exposed through the slots. The lock bolt and handle assembly is mounted on body 30 for movement between its first and unlocked position and its second and locked position by rivets 44 that extend through the two plates of the body 32 and 33, and elongated openings 45 in handle 41. These openings are long enough to allow the handle to move the lock bolts between the locked and unlocked positions. Handle 41 extends below body 30 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, so that the handle can be moved manually to move the lock bolts between the two positions. When the holder is mounted as shown in FIG. 1, usually gravity will urge the handle to the unlocked position of FIG. 8, where it will remain until manually moved upwardly to the locked position. Opening 47 in the handle moves into alignment with openings 48 in the body and the outer covering of resilient elastomeric material to be described below, when the handle is in the locked position of FIG. 5 to allow the hasp of a padlock or the like to be inserted through the openings to hold the handle in the locked position. In FIG. 1, hasp 49 of lock 50 is shown inserted through these openings to lock the rods in the holder.

In accordance with the invention, holder 10 is also provided with a resilient member of elastomeric material that is attached to the body and has a slot with one open end therein that is positioned side-by-side with the slot in the body. The slot in the resilient member is narrower than the slot in the body so that a rod positioned in the slots will be supported on the resilient elastomeric material of the member. In the embodiment shown, the U-shaped portion of body 30 which includes plates 32 and 33, and connecting web 34, are enclosed by U-shaped member 52 of elastomeric material, such as rubber. Member 52 includes side portion 52a that covers the outside of plate 32 and portion 52b that covers the outside surface of plate 33. The web or bite portion 52c of the U-shaped member covers connecting web 34 of the body. As shown, member 52 includes a top portion 52d that covers the top of the body also. The lower part of this body of resilient material is open to allow movement of handle 41.

This member of resilient material is provided with a plurality of slots that are arranged to be in side-by-side relationship with the slots in the body. In the embodiment shown, the body has three slots, therefor the resilient member 52 has three slots, 54a, 54b, and 54c. These slots are narrower than the slots in the body by a substantial amount, and are designed in the same manner as slots 20a, 20b, and 20c of holder 11. Preferably, the slots in the resilient member are positioned so that the rod located therein will be supported substantially in the middle of the slots in the body so that the rod will be supported as far away from a hard metallic surface as possible. Since the structure of slots 54a, 54b, and 54c in the resilient member are identical with those described in connection with holder 11, they will not be described in detail again. Resilient member 52 serves to provide a resilient, shock absorbing support for the rods, which are in turn enclosed in a strong circle of high yield strength material, when the lock bolts are in their second and locked position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, so that the rods are protected from damage by shock due to movement of the vehicle in which they are riding, and they are also protected from theft by the body and the bolts of high yield material that encircles the rods.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the apparatus of this invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A holder for a plurality of fishing rods and the like comprising an elongated body of material having a relatively high yield strength and hardness, such as steel, for mounting on a supporting surface, such as a wall or the like, to support the rods, said body including two generally flat-sided plates for positioning generally perpendicular to said surface in spaced parallel relationship with a plurality of aligned slots spaced along the edges of the plates away from the surface, a plurality of lock bolts located between the plates, means mounting the lock bolts for each bolt to be movable relative to one of the slots between a first position where the slot is open to receive a fishing rod or the like and a second position to hold a fishing rod or the like in the slot, said means including an elongated handle located between the plates and connected to the lock bolts, said handle being movable between a first position to place the lock bolts in said first position relative to the slots and a second position to place the lock bolts in said second position; said plates and said handle having openings that are in alignment when the lock bolts are in their second position through which the hasp of a lock can be inserted to lock the bolts in their second position, a resilient portion of elastomeric material attached to the outside of one of the plates, said portion having slots that are in side-by-side relationship with the slots in the plates and that are narrower than the slots in the plates so that a rod or the like positioned in the slots in the plates will be supported on the resilient portion of elastomeric material.

2. The holder of claim 1 in which the resilient portion has a plurality of openings each of which is adjacent one side of each slot therein to accommodate the resilient material of the portion displaced when a rod is positioned in the slot.

3. The holder of claim 2 in which the resilient portion is provided with a second plurality of openings each of which is adjacent a slot and on the opposite side thereof than the first plurality of openings.