GB2278032A - Fishing creels - Google Patents

Abstract

In a fishing creel, the top half 17 of front panel 11 can be lowered through 90 to the horizontal position and held in that position by ties 19 which then allows the entry to the inside of the creel without getting of the seat the panel 17 may act as a tray. Panel 17 can also be removed and fitted to either side of the creel to form a tray. For transportation purposes panel 17 would be in the vertical position enabling the two cam fasteners fixed to it to be locked to the seat section and by so soing prevents drawers (21. 22. and 23) (Figure 2) from accidently opening. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: CREEL Description of Invention This invention relates to a container suitable for use by an angler, for storage and/or transportation of tackle and other equipment required to be used by the angler and also affording a seat upon which the angler may sit while angling. Such a container is commonly known, and will herein be referred to for convenience, as a creel.

A known form of creel provides for storage of tackle and other items in a number of compartments. Typically there are compartments such as drawers in which small items (e.g. floats, hooks, etc.) may be stored, and such drawers are usually arranged so as to be accessible to the angler while sitting on the creel, so that he may change such items of tackle without having to rise from the sitting position. It is also typical for a creel to provide at least one storage compartment for larger items such as a box for bait and the angler's food and drink. I-iitheno it has been the usual arrangement for such a larger item storage compartment to be accessible only from above, by lifting a lid or cover portion of the creel. This is inconvenient, and necessitates the rising of the angler from the sitting position.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a creel which eliminates or at least reduces this disadvantage of previously known creels.

According to the present invention, I provide a creel comprising a base, upwardly extending walls, and a cover at the uppermost part of said walls, together defining an internal storage compartment, wherein at least one of said walls is provided with means providing access to said compartment.

In a creel according to the invention, it is possible for an angler to gain access to a storage compartment for large items through the means provided in an upwardly extending wall of the creel, without requiring him to rise from the sitting position on the creel to lift a cover to gain access from above.

Said means providing for access to the internal compartment of the creel may comprise a panel associated with an aperture in one of said walls, said panel being pivotable between a closed position in which it closes said aperture and an open position in which it is removed from said aperture. Preferably it is pivotable about an axis which in use of the creel lies substantially horizontal, and means may be provided for restraining said panel in a generally horizontal open position wherein it is usable as a tray or shelf on which items may be placed or rested.

Preferably said aperture is in a front wall of the creel.

Alternatively, said panel may be removable from the wall, and may then be securable to another part of the creel to prevent its becoming lost and/or to provide a shelf or tray on which items may be rested or placed.

Said cover is preferably pivotable at an uppermost boundary of one of said walls of the creel, and preferably affords a surface adapted for being sat upon by an angler, e.g. by being provided with a plastics covering or the like.

Said cover may comprise a structure which itself provides one or more compartments adapted for the storage of relatively small items of tackle, for example those above mentioned. Thus the cover structure may include drawers, trays or the like such as have been known in creels hitherto. The cover structure may include a hinged lid which affords said seating surface and which provides for access from above to an uppermost storage compartment in the cover structure.

Said panel and cover may have catch elements cooperable with one another to hold the panel and cover closed.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is an isometric, partly broken open, view of a creel in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a view as Figure 1 of the creel in a different operative position.

The creel shown in the drawings comprises a hollow body with a base 10 and an upstanding front wall 11, rear wall 12, and opposite side walls 13, 14.

The base and walls, and the other parts of the creel described hereafter, are of sheet material, e.g. metal such as an aluminium alloy, and there are reinforcements at the upwardly extending junctions of the walls 11 to 14 and between the walls and the base 10.

At the uppermost edge of the rear wall 12 there is pivotally secured, by a suitable hinge arrangement, a cover assembly indicated generally at 15. The cover assembly is pivotable between an open position as illustrated in Figure 1, in which it may be propped by a prop or stay 16, and a closed position illustrated in Figure 2. When the cover assembly is in its open position the compartment defined by the base 10 and walls 11 to 14 is accessible from above, and when the cover assembly is in its closed position such access from above is not possible.

The front wall 11 of the creel comprises, in its uppermost part, an openable panel 17. This is pivotally secured to the wall 11 by a substantially horizontally extending hinge 18 and is pivotable between an open position in which it is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and in which it provides access to the compartment of the interior of the creel through a front aperture, and a closed position, not illustrated, in which it closes the aperture and prevents such access.

Means 19 such as supporting straps or cords, or hinged stays, is provided for limiting the opening pivotal movement of the panel 17 to the position illustrated in which it lies in a substantially horizontal orientation and thus affords a shelf or tray on which items may be placed to be supported. To assist this function, the panel 17 has upturned edges as indicated at 20 so that small items placed thereon will not roll off with the danger of becoming lost.

The cover assembly indicated generally at 15 is a structure which includes a framework for two drawers 21, 22 which are slidable open in the direction of the front of the creel and have handles 21a 22a respectively, and a larger drawer 23 which is slideable open in the direction of one side of the creel.

The drawer 23 is accommodated beneath the drawers 21, 22.

Above the drawers 21, 22 the cover structure affords a relatively shallow tray 24 which is accessible by pivoting a lid 25. The lid 25 has an upper surface intended to be sat upon by an angler, and this surface may be upholstered or have a plastics covering to increase its comfort when being sat upon for a long period of time.

Although not illustrated, the creel may be provided, in a manner generally known for creels, with height-adjustable feet to enable it to assume a generally level orientation when being used on uneven ground. Such feel could be associated, for example, with adjustable, possibly telescopic, legs attached to the base or to the upwardly extending walls of the creel. The lowermost part of the creel is watertight to enable it to be placed for use in shallow water.

The panel 17 is provided at its free edge with catches 27 engagable with complementary catch formations 28 provided on the cover structure 15.

When the panel 17 is in its closed position, and the catch is engaged, the cover assembly is held closed and the drawers 21, 22 have their ends and handles 21ss, 22a concealed so the drawers are held closed.

The creel according to the invention thus provides for access to the storage compartment in its interior suitable for containing large items both by way of the openable cover assembly and by way of the openable panel 17 in the front wall of the creel. An angler is thus able to gain access to large items while sitting on the creel, considerably increasing the convenience of using the creel.

The side walls 13, 14 are provided with fittings 29, 30 for attachment of a carrying strap. It will be appreciated that, although not described above, the creel may in practice be provided with other fittings, fasteners, and so on, such as are conventionally provided in such appliances.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (1)

1. I claim that my creel is different to any other creel I know of inasmuch that the main feature of the creel is that the top half of the front panel can be lowered through 900 to the horizontal position and held in that position by ties this then allows access to the inside of the creel without getting off the seat which is impossible on a normal creel.

   With the panel in this position it also acts as a tray by removing the ties it will then drop flat against the bottom half of the creel if so desired. It can also be removed from the front and fitted to either side of the creel thus enabling it to act as a side tray. For transportation purposes the front panel would be in a vertical position enabling the two cam fasteners fixed to it to be locked to the seat section and by so doing prevents drawers in the seat from falling out in transit.