GB2300097A - Bite indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

A bite indicator 10 is described having a rod rest 12, means for sensing movement of the line of the rod resting on the indicator and a light source (18) that provides a visual indication of line movement. The same light source 18 is also energised under low ambient light conditions to assist in positioning a rod on the rod support 12; the light becoming brighter when line movement is detected.

Description

Bite Indicator Field of the invention The present invention related to a bite indicator having a rod rest, means for sensing movement of the line of the rod resting on the indicator and a light source that is energised by the movement sensing means to provide a visual indication of line movement.

Background of the invention Bite indicators are known that sense line movement and produce a sound to attract the attention of the angler when a bite is sensed. Such indicators usually also have an LED that flashes at the same time as the audible alarm is produced. The light of the LED may also remain on even after line movement has stopped, this being especially useful when an angler is using several rods at the same time.

Some bite indicators are also fitted with a phosphorescent marker to mark the position of the rod support on the indicator. This is to assist an angler in positioning the rod on its support when fishing at night. Such markers however are still difficult to see, especially from a distance, and are undesirable because of the additional cost and because they are very slightly radioactive.

Object of the invention The present invention seeks to provide a bite indicator that simplifies the task of positioning a rod on the rod support in dark conditions.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention, there is provided a bite indicator having a rod rest, means for sensing movement of the line of the rod resting on the indicator, a light source that is energised to glow with relatively high intensity by the movement sensing means to provide a visual indication of line movement, and means for energising the same light source under low ambient light conditions to cause the light source to glimmer with relatively low intensity to assist in positioning a rod on the rod support.

The means for energising the light source may be a switch on the indicator but it is preferred to provide an ambient light sensor in the bite indicator and to supply a low amount of energy to the light source when the level of the ambient light drops below a minimum threshold.

The light source is preferably a light emitting diode (LED) that is energised by a pulse width modulated signal, the mark to space ratio of the signal determining the intensity of the emitted light. Because the level of illumination required to mark the position of the rod support at night is only very low, it does not place a significant drain on the internal battery of the bite indicator.

In bite indicators that are currently available, the current drain of the LED is the same by day as by night. However, if one can distinguish between use by day and by night, either by a manual setting or by automatic detection of the prevailing ambient light level, then one may reduce the intensity of the light emitted by the LED when line movement is sensed during low ambient light conditions and thereby reduce the drain on the battery. This energy saving at least partly compensates for the very small average current drawn to maintain the LED glimmering to mark the position of the rod support.

To assist in locating the position of the rod support, it is advantageous to position the light source directly below the rod support rather than to one side of the rod support as is current practice.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a conventional bite indicator, Figure 2 is a similar front view of a bite indicator of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a simplified block diagram of a bite indicator embodying the invention.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments Figure 1 shows a conventional bite indicator 10 having a connection 16 for securing it to the top of a bank stick. A V-shaped rod support 12 at the top of the indicator 10 receives a fishing rod. The line of the rod passes over a sensor located at the bottom of the rod support, which sensor (not shown) responds to line movement and initiates an audible alarm that is emitted from a loudspeaker 14. At the same time, an LED 18 is energised to flash in synchronism with the sounds emitted by the loudspeaker, the LED furthermore remaining illuminated for some time after line movement and the sound from the loudspeaker 14 has stopped.

Three control wheels 20, 22 and 24 are provided on the indicator 10. The wheel 20 sets the loudness of the sound emitted from the loudspeaker 14. The wheel 22 sets the pitch of the sound so that different indicators used by the angler at the same time may be distinguished from one another. The wheel 24 is a sensitivity control that varies the rate at which sounds or 'bleeps' are emitted at a given speed of line movement. This allows the angler to adapt the sensitivity of detection to the prevailing wind and current conditions. To assist in positioning a rod on the rod support 12 by night, a phosphorescent light strip 26 is positioned direct below the rod support and glows in the dark.

The above bite indicator, as earlier stated, is conventional and need not therefore be described in detail. The indicator can use any of a variety of sensors, for example the line may rotate a pulley driving a vein through an optical coupler or it may pass over a vibrating stylus.

While movement is sensed, a series of bleeps and light flashes are produced, the repetition frequency varying with the line speed and sensitivity setting. When line movement stops, the LED 18 remains for a predetermined time to allow the angler to determine which indicator has sensed a bite if several indicators are used at the same time.

The bite indicator in Figure 2 differs from that of Figure 1 in two respects. First, the phosphorescent strip 26 is omitted and its place is occupied by the LED 18. Second, a light sensor 30, which may be a photovoltaic or a photoresistive element, is mounted on the indicator to sense the ambient light level.

The operation of the bite indicator in Figure 2 differs from that previously described in that at night the LED 18 glimmers constantly in place of the phosphorescent strip 26 to help in positioning a rod on the rod support 12.

Furthermore, the brightness of the LED 18 when it is energised is not constant but varies with the ambient light level. By day, the LED 18 will glow brightly when a bite is sensed and by night it will glow less brightly to reduce the current drain on the battery of the indicator 10. The brightness of the LED 18 by night when a bite is detected is still however significantly greater than when it is just glimmering to mark the position of the rod support 12.

In Figure 3, blocks 42, 44, 46 and 48 are generally conventional and comprise a line movement sensor 42 connected to a detection circuit 44. When line movement is detected, a first signal is applied to an audio alarm 46 and a second to a time delay circuit 48, such as a monostable multivibrator, the output from which would conventionally be directly applied to the LED 18.

In the embodiment of Figure 3, the output of the time delay circuit 48 drives the LED 18 through a control circuit 50 that also receives a second input signal from the ambient light sensor 30. The control circuit 50 includes an oscillator with a variable mark to space ratio and can thereby vary the brightness of the LED 18.

Output from time Output from ambient Brightness of LED delay circuit 48 light sensor 30 18 No line movement Bright ambient OFF Line movement Bright ambient FULL BRIGHTNESS No line movement Dark ambient VERY DIM Line movement Dark ambient MEDIUM BRIGHTNESS TABLE 1 The variation of the brightness of the LED 18 with the two input signals to the control circuit 50 is shown in Table 1.

By day, if no line movement is sensed, the LED 18 remains fully turned off. If line movement is sensed by day, then the LED 18 is fully turned on, both when flashing in synchronism with the sound bleeps of the loudspeaker and when it remains energised after line movement has stopped.

By night on the other hand, in the absence of line movement sensing, the LED 18 glimmers just sufficiently to allow positioning of a rod on the rod support 12 while drawing as little current as possible from the internal battery of the indicator 10. The mark to space ratio may typically be 1:100 or even less in this state. When line movement is sensed by night, then the LED 18 will glow with sufficient brightness to be seen very clearly but still with less than its full brightness, the mark to space ratio being typically around 1:4.

The described embodiment enables automatic detection of the ambient light conditions and though this is preferred it is not essential. In the simplest embodiment of the invention, the bite indicator may have a mode switch to allow the user to set day or night mode in which case the output of the mode switch would be connected to the control circuit 50 in place of the ambient light sensor 30.

Claims (7)

1. A bite indicator having a rod rest, means for sensing movement of the line of the rod resting on the indicator, a light source that is energised to glow with relatively high intensity by the movement sensing means to provide a visual indication of line movement, and means for energising the same light source under low ambient light conditions to cause the light source to glimmer with relatively low intensity to assist in positioning a rod on the rod support.

2. A bite indicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode.

3. A bite indicator as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the means for energising the light source under low ambient light conditions comprises means for applying a pulse width modulated signal of low mark to space ratio to the light source.

4. A bite indicator as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for energising the light source under low ambient light conditions further comprises an ambient light sensor for automatically energising the light source when the ambient light level drops below a minimum threshold.

5. A bite indicator as claimed in claim 4, further comprising means for reducing the intensity of the light emitted by the light source when a bite is detected is reduced during low ambient light conditions.

6. A bite indicator as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the light source is positioned directly below the rod support.

7. A bite indicator constructed arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.