Bite Indicator
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(19) & (11) EP 2 356 903 A1 (12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION (43) Date of publication: (51) Int Cl.: 17.08.2011 Bulletin 2011/33 A01K 97/12 (2006.01) (21) Application number: 11154560.4 (22) Date of filing: 15.02.2011 (84) Designated Contracting States: • Lloyd, Trevor AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB Shoeburyness, Essex SS3 9QT (GB) GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO • Hawker, John PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR Hadleigh, Suffolk IP7 5AP (GB) Designated Extension States: BA ME (74) Representative: Messulam, Alec Moses Harrison IP (30) Priority: 17.02.2010 GB 1002706 Marlborough House Westminster Place (71) Applicant: Catchum 88 Limited York Business Park Hockley, Essex SS5 5LR (GB) York YO26 6RW (GB) (72) Inventors: • Nash, Kevin Hockley, Essex SS5 5LR (GB) (54) Bite indicator (57) A bite indicator (10) is disclosed having a hous- to movement of the line and a sensor for producing an ing (12), a wheel (22) mounted on the housing (12) to electrical pulse with each rotation of the wheel through rotate freely about an axle, a surface (18) on the housing a predetermined angle. In the invention, the wheel is (12) for supporting a fishing rod in a position in which a formed as a drum (22) of a transparent or translucent line of the fishing rod makes contact with the wheel (22) material and overlies one or more light sources that are to cause the wheel to rotate about the axle in response energised when a bite is detected. EP 2 356 903 A1 Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR) 1 EP 2 356 903 A1 2 Description the invention is that the wheel itself glows when a bite is detected avoiding the need to clutter the remaining sur- Field of the invention face of the housing. [0006] Advantageously, the drum is arranged on the [0001] The present invention relates to a bite indicator 5 housing of the bite indicator in such a manner as to be for use by anglers, the bite indicator having a housing, a exposed and visible over its entire length. wheel mounted on the housing to rotate freely about an [0007] Conveniently, a light source may be energised axle, a surface on the housing for supporting a fishing with a lesser intensity to serve as a guide for aligning the rod in a position in which a line of the fishing rod makes fishing line with the bite indicator when fishing under poor contact with the wheel to cause the wheel to rotate in 10 lighting conditions. response to movement of the line and a sensor for pro- [0008] If the wheel is faceted and polished the resulting ducing an electrical pulse with each rotation of the wheel light scattering allows the warning light to be seen more through a predetermined angle. clearly when viewed from a distance or from the side. [0009] In an embodiment of the invention, the drum is Background of the invention 15 mounted in the housing for rotation about an axis that extends horizontally and transverse to the line of the fish- [0002] Bite indicators of the type using a wheel en- ing rod when the bite indicator is in use, and magnets gaged and rotated by a fishing line are well known and are mounted on the drum that are spaced apart from described for example in GB 1,503,596. The wheel is each other circumferentially. mounted on an axle that carries a member which forms 20 [0010] The drum may have an axial length comparable part of a photoelectric, magnetic or electro magnetic sen- with or greater than its diameter. sor which provides an electrical signal indicative of any [0011] By placing the magnets on or in the surface of such movement and its rate. In particular, the sensor pro- the drum, rather than on the axle which supports it, it is duces electrical pulses as the wheel rotates and the rep- possible to maintain the drum and its axle entirely outside etition frequency of these pulses increases with the25 a watertight enclosure containing the sensor. speed of rotation of the wheel. The electrical pulses are [0012] It is currently preferred to mount four magnets used to produce audible and/or visible alarm signals to 90° apart on one end of the drum. It is however alterna- warn the angler of a bite. tively possible to use more magnets by spacing them [0003] Conventionally, the wheel used in bite indica- both axially and circumferentially around the drum. Such tors is disc like, that is to say its diameter greatly exceeds 30 a construction permits the use of a larger magnets or an its axial thickness. The axle on which the wheel is mount- increase in the number of magnets. ed carries the member that interacts with a sensor to [0013] Electronic bite indicators are commonly used enable rotation of the wheel to be detected. The member with a line tensioner which may take the form of a free may for example be a paddle that interrupts the light path weight that will move up and down as the line tension between a light emitting diode (LED) and a phototransis- 35 increases and decreases. More commonly, the line ten- tor but electro- optical sensing severely affects battery life sioner includes a pivoted weighted arm or a resiliently because the LED has to operate constantly. It is generally bendable arm that acts to tension the arm. The arm is preferred instead to use magnets that are detected by a connected to the line by a line clip that is designed to reed switch or a Hall effect device. When magnets are release the line automatically when the angler strikes and used, the prior art configuration limits the number of elec- 40 lifts the rod off its rest. trical pulses that can be produced by the detector during [0014] Hitherto, a line tensioning arm has been mount- each rotation of the wheel. ed on the rod rest to which the bite indicator is secured, be it a bank stick or a pod with three or more legs. Be- Summary of the invention cause of the independent mounting of the bite indicator 45 and the tensioning arm, their correct alignment could not [0004] In the present invention, there is provided a bite always be guaranteed. indicator having a housing, a wheel mounted on the hous- [0015] To mitigate this problem, it is preferred for the ing to rotate freely about an axle, a surface on the housing housing to include a fixing to permit a line tensioning arm for supporting a fishing rod in a position in which a line to be secured directly to the housing of the indicator. of the fishing rod makes contact with the wheel to cause 50 [0016] The fixing may conveniently be a screw thread- the wheel to rotate in response to movement of the line ed nut to enable the line tensioning arm to the directly and a sensor for producing an electrical pulse with each mounted on the housing by means of a screw threaded rotation of the wheel through a predetermined angle, fastener. Alternatively, the fixing may take the form of a characterised in that the wheel is formed as a drum of a bayonet socket. transparent or translucent material and overlies one or 55 [0017] In an embodiment of the invention, an alarm more light sources that are energised when a bite is de- circuit is provided that produces an audible or visible tected. alarmsignal only when the time interval between the elec- [0005] An advantage offered by the bite indicator of trical output pulses of the sensor falls below a predeter- 2 3 EP 2 356 903 A1 4 mined value. In this way, an alarm signal is not triggered a rod resting in a recess 18 from moving from side to side by the length of line moving over the wheel but by its and coming away from the bite indicator 10, even when speed of movement. Even a brief rapid twitch of the line the fishing line is dragged sideways. To resist accidental will suffice to generate an alarm signal whereas several displacement of the rod still further, the posts 16 have metres of line can be drawn from the reel without an alarm 5 enlarged heads 17 so that the rod is captured by the being generated provided the line movement falls below overhang and cannot escape when a lateral force is ap- the set speed sensitivity threshold. plied to it but can be pulled out readily if raised vertically [0018] The alarm signals that indicate the speed of by the angler. movement of the fishing line provide the angler with more [0024] A groove 20 positioned centrally beneath the meaningful information especially when fishing in windy 10 recess 18 allows the lineof the fishing rod to make contact conditions or in fast moving waters. Under such condi- with a freely rotatable drum 22 that has several rows of tions, the rig at the end of the line may drift or be dragged small magnets, the individual magnets being staggered gradually without a fish having taken the bait. Systems from one another both axially and tangentially. proposed in the prior art that only detect line movement [0025] The drum 22 is disposed entirely outside the will therefore produce a continuous stream of alarm sig- 15 bite indicator and is made of a polished, faceted, trans- nals even though no bite has occurred.