DE20201645U1 - Fishing lure with body shaped like fish, worm, etc. - Google Patents

Abstract

The body (2) contains a motor (3) for driving its motion, fitted inside or outside the body, providing a wriggling motion of regular or accidental type. The body may consist of several, mutually movable, or hinged sections. The body, or at least one section, is hollow to accommodate the motor. The motor may be of mechanical, electric, magnetic and/or pneumatic type and may impart a rotary motion to the body. The motor drive axis (4) may be fitted with an eccentric weight (5). Independent claims are included for lure drive unit.

Description

PFISTER & PFISTER

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Dipl.-Ing. Helmut Pfister

Patent Attorney, European Patent & Trademark Attorney

Dipl.-Phys. Stefan Pfister

Patent Attorney, European Patent & Trademark Attorney

Thorsten Koerl

Lawyer

D-87700 Memmingen · Herrenstrasse 11-13

Telephone 0 83 31 / 24 12 Fax 0 83 31 / 24

D-87700 Memmingen · Buxacherstrasse 9

Telephone 0 83 31 / 6 51 83 Fax 0 83 31 / 6 51

Email info@pfister-pfister.de

HypoVereinsbank Memmingen (bank code 731 200 75) 2 303 Postgiroamt Munich (bank code 700 100 80) 13 43 39-805

VAT ID no. - VAT Reg.No. - N" CEE DE 182 193 017

1 February 2002

Rudolf Binzer
At the Brunnenstube 1, 87751 Heimertingen

Armin Buehler
Blumenweg 6, 87733 Frechenrieden

•Bait ¹

The invention relates to a bait, in particular a bait for fishing for fish, consisting of a body which is modelled on a fish, worm or the like.

A variety of baits are used to catch fish.

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Telephone information is only binding if confirmed in writing

There are fly baits that rest on the water surface, blinkers that are pulled through the water and flash in the current, making the fish think it is a bait fish, real worms and plastic worms and much more. Not every fish can be fooled by the bait. Predatory fish in particular try to catch weakened or sick fish that thrash around in a characteristic way due to their movements. The well-known baits only inadequately simulate this sick fish.

The invention therefore aims to provide a bait that more effectively imitates a "sick" fish and therefore promises a higher production rate when fishing.

This task is solved by equipping the body of a bait with a motor that sets it in motion.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the motor is arranged in the body of the bait and has a device which causes the bait to deform or to be set in motion by vibration. For this purpose, a pocket is provided on the body of the bait or a pocket is formed by means of a cut into which the motor can be inserted. According to a further variant of the invention, the body itself is designed as a hollow body and accommodates the motor and its drive device in its cavity.

According to another embodiment of the invention,
that the motor is arranged outside the bait body. It can be arranged, for example, in an area directly in front of the fish's mouth, so that the operation of the motor causes a movement to be exerted on the body of the bait. With both proposed embodiments of the invention, the bait is moved in such a way that the fish being caught is fooled into thinking it is a live feeder fish.

A further variant of the invention is characterized in that the motor imparts a wriggling movement to the body. In this way, the fish to be caught is given the impression that it is injured or dying, which has such an exciting effect that not only the fish caught is attracted, but also other fish that are then in the vicinity during the next fishing cycle.

It has been found particularly advantageous to make the wriggling movement irregular, or so that it appears random, thereby enhancing the effect of an injured or dying animal.

According to the invention, the body of the bait can be made in one piece and is set in motion by the movement of the motor.

The body of the bait can be made of a solid or flexible material, whereby a flexible material has the advantage that the body wobbles when the motor moves, thus approximating the movement of a real fish.

According to a further advantageous variant of the invention, however, the body of the bait consists of several sections that can move relative to one another, whereby these individual sections are connected to one another by means of a film hinge or joints, so that the movement of the motor causes the individual sections to swing relative to one another. It is irrelevant whether the motor is located inside the bait or in the immediate vicinity in front of or behind the bait, since the vibration of the motor causes the individual sections to swing relative to one another. The individual sections of the bait can also be strung on a cord so that they can move relative to one another in several degrees of freedom.

At least one of the sections has a pocket that accommodates the motor and, if applicable, the drive for the motor. Additional controls for driving the motor are also accommodated in the pocket. The pocket can also be formed by a slot in the section of the lure body.

A further variant of the invention is characterized in that at least one of the movable sections is designed as a hollow body and accommodates the motor and the drive element for the motor. However, the drive for the bait can also be distributed over several hollow bodies or pockets arranged in the bait, with the motor itself being provided in one of these hollow bodies, for example, and the drive, such as a battery or a mechanical drive, etc., being provided in another hollow body.

There are various ways of driving the motor. On the one hand, the motor can be driven by a mechanical drive, for example by winding up a spiral spring and setting the motor in motion. There are also electric drives via batteries or photocells, etc., or magnetic and pneumatic drives. With a pneumatic drive, for example, an excess pressure is generated in a chamber, which gradually reduces the pressure via a valve or a narrow nozzle, and this pressure is intended to set the bait in motion.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the motor has, for example, an axis which is set in rotation and exerts a rotary movement on the body of the bait. It is possible that the connection of individual sections is arranged on an axis and this axis rotates the sections or the axis sets a spiral in motion which causes the body of the bait to twist or

bulges at irregular points and thus simulates movement of the bait to the fish caught. According to a further embodiment of the invention, an eccentric weight, an imbalance, is arranged on the axis of rotation of the motor, which causes the bait to vibrate.

Since injured and dying fish do not move constantly, but only occasionally fidget, it is planned to install a delay and/or interruption element in front of the motor. In the case of a mechanical drive, for example, this can be achieved by a cam disc, in the case of an electric drive by an electronic circuit, and in the case of a pneumatic drive by valves that open or close at different times.

It has proven particularly advantageous to use an electric motor in the bait, the power supply of which is in the simplest case provided by a small battery.

The electric motor and battery can now be placed in a pocket on or in the bait or in a hollow section of the bait. However, it is also conceivable to place the motor in a hollow body and the battery in another hollow body. In this way, the bait can be kept relatively small.

In order to cause the bait to wiggle irregularly, an electronic circuit is provided in front of the electric motor, which is a delay element and/or a random generator that causes the bait to move randomly.

The materials for the body of the bait are rubber, plastic, wood, aluminum, plexiglass and so on, but it is also planned to use a

to use a real dead fish body into which the motor can be inserted.

However, the invention is not only intended to protect a moving or wriggling bait, but also a bait drive unit that can be used in existing baits, since firstly the drive unit can possibly be seen more quickly (for example to change/recharge the batteries and so on) than the bait itself and can thus be purchased separately as a replacement unit or can be used in baits of different designs, depending on the preferred bait fish of the fish being caught. In this way, the bait drive device is also available as a retrofit kit for existing baits into which the motor with drive can be used. It has proven particularly advantageous to use such a bait drive unit in dead fish bodies so that a real bait fish can be presented to the fish being caught.

It is intended to arrange this bait drive unit in a housing which can be inserted into the bait as a whole. This housing can be sealed in such a way that it is ensured that no water gets into the drive unit, in particular into an electric drive unit.

The invention is illustrated in more detail with the aid of a drawing. Shown are:

Fig. 1: a bait fish according to the invention

in side view,

Fig. 2: another embodiment

of the bait fish according to the invention,

Fig. 3a: a third embodiment

of the bait fish according to the invention,

Fig. 3b: the bait fish according to Fig. 3a of

above.

Figure 1 shows a fish bait 1, which is made in particular of a flexible material such as rubber or a soft plastic. In this embodiment, this fish bait 1 is modeled after a fish, but other bait patterns such as worms, martens, etc. can also serve as a template. Of course, a hook (not shown) is provided on the bait.

In this bait 1, for example, a pocket is formed by means of a cut into which the motor 3 is embedded.

According to a further embodiment, the bait can also be designed as a hollow body, wherein the motor 3 is then accommodated in the hollow space.

According to the embodiment shown, an electric motor 3 is arranged in the bait 1, on whose drive shaft 4 an eccentrically arranged weight 5 is provided, which gives the entire arrangement an imbalance. When the motor 3 is running, the motor 3 and thus the entire bait 1 is set into vibration. Because the bait 1 is made of a flexible material, the entire body 2 now wobbles.

As can be seen in Fig. 1, the electric motor 3 is arranged on a circuit board 6 and an electronic circuit 7 is connected upstream of the motor 3. The circuit also has an activation switch (on/off). This electronic circuit 7 is an interrupter or delay circuit or - to simulate an injured or dying fish - a random generator that sets the bait 1 in motion at irregular intervals. A battery 8 is provided for the power supply.

This entire arrangement of motor 3, battery 8 and electronic circuit 7 is advantageously enclosed in a waterproof housing 9. This means that the arrangement can easily be removed from the bait 1 and inserted into another bait. The arrangement can also be purchased as a retrofit kit and the existing bait or even dead fish bodies can be used.

Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of a bait fish with a movement drive. Here, the motor 3 moves a screw spiral 10, which causes the body 2 of the bait 1 to bulge in various places when the screw spiral rotates, thus simulating a movement of the bait 1. This motor 3 can be driven mechanically, electrically, magnetically and/or pneumatically.

According to Fig. 3a and 3b, a bait 1 is shown which is made of individual sections 11 which can move relative to one another. According to an embodiment of the invention, these sections 11 are strung together on a cord and can thus be pivoted and rotated relative to one another.

According to further embodiments, the individual sections 11 are connected to one another via joints or hinges, such as film hinges 12. The drive device is arranged in one or more of these sections 11.

It also falls within the scope of the inventive concept to arrange the drive device in front of or behind the bait 1, so that the movement of the drive device is transmitted to the bait.

The invention also includes actively moving the sections 11 of the bait 1 against each other, that is, the motor 3 or several motors move the individual sections 11

itself and thus move against each other.

Figure 3b shows the bait 1 according to Figure 3a from above, so that it can be seen how the sections 11 can be pivoted against each other.

The claims filed now with the application and subsequently are attempts to formulate without prejudice to achieve more extensive protection.

Should it emerge upon closer examination, in particular of the relevant prior art, that one or other feature is indeed beneficial to the aim of the invention but not crucially important, then a formulation will of course be sought which no longer contains such a feature, in particular in the main claim.

The references cited in the dependent claims indicate the further development of the subject matter of the main claim through the features of the respective subclaim. However, these are not to be understood as a waiver of the achievement of independent, objective protection for the features of the referenced subclaims.

Features that have so far only been disclosed in the description can be claimed in the course of the procedure as being of essential importance to the invention, for example to distinguish it from the prior art.

Features that were only disclosed in the description, or individual features from claims that include a plurality of features, can be incorporated into the first claim at any time to distinguish it from the prior art, even if such features were mentioned in connection with other features or in connection with other

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whose features achieve particularly favorable results.The claims filed now with the application and later are attempts at formulation without prejudice for the purpose of achieving more extensive protection.

Claims (21)

1. Bait, in particular for fishing for fish, consisting of a body which is modelled on a fish, worm or the like, characterized in that the body ( 2 ) is provided with a motor ( 3 ) which sets it in motion. 2. Bait according to claim 1, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) is arranged in the body ( 2 ). 3. Bait according to one or both of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) is arranged outside the body ( 2 ). 4. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) imparts a wriggling movement to the body ( 2 ). 5. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movement is irregular or random. 6. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body ( 2 ) consists of several mutually movable or articulated sections ( 11 ). 7. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body ( 2 ) or at least one of the movable sections ( 11 ) has a hollow body. 8. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) is arranged in the hollow body. 9. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive of the motor ( 3 ) takes place in a mechanical, electrical, magnetic and/or pneumatic manner. 10. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) exerts a rotary movement on the body ( 2 ). 11. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) is provided on its drive shaft ( 4 ) with an eccentrically arranged weight ( 5 ), an imbalance. 12. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive of the motor ( 3 ) includes a delay and/or interruption element. 13. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the motor ( 3 ) is an electric motor. 14. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the power supply of the electric motor ( 3 ) is provided by a battery ( 8 ). 15. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electric motor ( 3 ) and the battery ( 8 ) are each arranged in a separate hollow body. 16. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that both the electric motor ( 3 ) and the battery ( 8 ) are arranged in a separate hollow body. 17. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that an electronic circuit ( 7 ) is connected upstream of the electric motor ( 3 ). 18. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electronic circuit ( 7 ) is provided with a delay element and/or random generator. 19. Bait according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the body ( 2 ) consists of rubber, plastic, wood, aluminum, plexiglass or the like or of a dead fish body. 20. Bait drive unit, in particular for installation in a bait according to one or more of the preceding claims or in a dead fish, characterized in that the bait drive unit ( 12 ) comprises at least one motor ( 3 ) and the running motor imparts a wriggling movement to the bait. 21. Bait drive unit according to claim 20, characterized in that the bait drive unit consists of an electric motor, a battery and optionally an electronic circuit for insertion into a bait or a dead fish and the electric motor ( 3 ), battery ( 8 ) and/or electronic circuit ( 7 ) are arranged in a housing ( 9 ) and can be inserted together into the bait/fish ( 1 ).