Reel Mechanism with line tension/fish weight indicator
AssigneeW.C. Bradley/Zebco Holdings, Inc.
InventorRoy E. Stiner
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fishing reel which displays an estimated weight of a fish on the fishing line while the fish is reeled-in including: a line spool; a load cell for measuring an outward force pulling on the line; a processor in communication with the output of the load cell such that the processor can periodically read the outward force on the line; and a display for displaying an estimated weight of the fish to a fisherman. Based on forces measured between the time a fish strikes the hook and the landing of the fish, the processor calculates and displays an estimated weight.
Claims12
A fishing reel having a line spool in communication with a crank handle for rewinding a fishing line onto said spool which displays the weight of a fish on said fishing line comprising:
- a load cell for measuring an outward force on said fishing line, said load cell having an output;
- a processor in communication with said output, wherein said processor calculates an estimate of the weight of a fish on the fishing line;
- and
- a display in communication with said processor for displaying the value of said estimate of the weight to a fisherman.
An apparatus for displaying the weight of a fish on a fishing line comprising:
- a load cell for measuring an outward force on the fishing line, said load cell having an output;
- a processor in communication with said output;
- and
- a display in electrical communication with said processor,
- wherein said processor displays an estimate of the weight of said fish on said display, said estimate calculated from one or more values read from said output as said fish is being reeled-in.
A method for estimating the weight of a fish on a fishing line including the steps of:
- (a) creating a table of estimated fish weights, wherein each estimated weight stored in said table corresponds to a particular force acting on the fishing line as a fish is reeled-in;
- (b) providing a fishing reel configured to measure the outward force applied to the fishing line, said reel further including a processor having memory and a display;
- (c) storing said table in said memory;
- (d) measuring a force applied to the fishing line as a fish is reeled-in;
- (e) calculating an average force comprising the average of said forces measured in step (d);
- (f) reading a value for the estimated weight of the fish on the line from said table, a pointer to said value corresponding to said average force;
- (g) displaying said value of the estimated weight on said display;
- (h) repeating steps (d)-(g) until the fish is landed.
A method for estimating the weight of a fish on a fishing line including the steps of:
- (a) creating a table of estimated fish weights, wherein each estimated weight stored in said table corresponds to a particular peak force applied to the fishing line as a fish is reeled-in;
- (b) providing a fishing reel configured to measure the outward force applied to the fishing line, said reel further including a processor having memory and a display;
- (c) storing said table in said memory;
- (d) measuring the force applied to the fishing line as a fish is reeled-in;
- (e) comparing said force to a peak force;
- (f) if said force is greater than said peak force, storing said force as said peak force;
- (g) reading a value for the estimated weight of the fish on the line from said table, a pointer to said value corresponding to said peak force;
- (h) displaying said value of the estimated weight on said display;
- (i) repeating steps (d)-(h) until the fish is landed.
A method for estimating the weight of a fish on a fishing line including the steps of:
- (a) creating a table of estimated fish weights, wherein each estimated weight stored in said table corresponds to a particular hook-set force measured on the fishing line as a fish is caught;
- (b) providing a fishing reel configured to measure the force applied to the fishing line, said reel further including a processor having memory and a display;
- (c) storing said table in said memory;
- (d) measuring the force applied to the fishing line as a fish is caught;
- (e) reading a value for the estimated weight of the fish on the line from said table, a pointer to said value corresponding to the hook-set force;
- (f) displaying the value of the estimated weight on said display;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.