US-12616181-B1 - Collapsible umbrella fishing rig apparatus and method of use

US12616181B1US 12616181 B1US12616181 B1US 12616181B1US-12616181-B1

Abstract

An umbrella fishing rig apparatus including a rig body having an upper end and an opposite lower end and a central axis therethrough and comprising a spacer and a support, the spacer having a spacer upper surface and an opposite spacer lower surface, the spacer lower surface having formed therein radially spaced apart downwardly-opening spacer arm bent end channels communicating with radially spaced apart outwardly-opening spacer arm slots formed in the spacer intersecting the spacer upper and lower surfaces, and arms operably engaged with the rig body, each arm being elongate and formed having a proximal bent end configured to pivotally seat within the respective spacer arm bent end channel.

Inventors

Ronald T. Davis

Assignees

Ronald T. Davis

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250724

Claims (20)

1 . An umbrella fishing rig apparatus comprising: a rig body having an upper end and an opposite lower end and a central axis therethrough and comprising a spacer and a support, the spacer having a spacer upper surface and an opposite spacer lower surface, the spacer lower surface having formed therein radially spaced apart downwardly-opening spacer arm bent end channels communicating with radially spaced apart outwardly-opening spacer arm slots formed in the spacer intersecting the spacer upper and lower surfaces, and the support having a support upper surface and an opposite support lower surface wherein the spacer lower surface is in contact with either the support upper surface or a stacker upper surface so as to have no gap therebetween; and arms operably engaged with the rig body, each arm being elongate and formed having a proximal bent end configured to pivotally seat within the respective spacer arm bent end channel, wherein the arm bent ends and the spacer arm bent end channels are coextensive, wherein the spacer arm slots are parallel to the central axis, wherein in a first operational mode of the apparatus the arms are splayed radially outwardly from the rig body as extending from the respective spacer arm slots parallel to the spacer lower surface, wherein in a second operational mode of the apparatus the arms are shifted upwardly toward the rig body upper end through the respective spacer arm slots parallel to the rig body central axis, and wherein selectively shifting the apparatus between the first operational mode for use and the second operational mode for storage involves no tools, unscrewing any fasteners, or unclamping any mechanisms, or any disassembly of the apparatus.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each spacer arm slot is formed having a circumferentially inwardly protruding slot stepped ramp that the respective arm frictionally engages and flexes over in shifting between the first and second operational modes, wherein the arms are caused to latch open in the first operational mode.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein in the first operational mode the arms are positioned in a first plane perpendicular to the rig body central axis.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the first plane is parallel to and offset from the spacer lower surface.
5 . The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the support is formed as a flat washer and the support upper surface is planar and perpendicular to the rig body central axis, the arms resting on and supported by the support upper surface when in the first operational mode.
6 . The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the arm bent ends and the spacer arm bent end channels are parallel to the first plane.
7 . The apparatus of claim 3 wherein in the second operational mode the arms are positioned in second planes perpendicular to the spacer lower surface and the first plane.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the spacer arm slots are parallel to the second planes.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arm bent ends are retained within the spacer arm bent end channels by the support upper surface.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the arms rest on and are supported by the support upper surface when in the first operational mode.
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the rig body further comprises a stacker positioned between the spacer and the support, the stacker having the stacker upper surface and an opposite stacker lower surface, the stacker lower surface having formed thereon radially spaced apart downwardly-opening stacker arm bent end channels communicating with radially spaced apart outwardly-opening stacker arm slots formed in the stacker intersecting the stacker upper and lower surfaces; and the arms having their proximal bent ends configured to pivotally seat within the respective spacer arm bent end channels define a first set of arms, and the arms operably engaged with the rig body further comprise a second set of arms with their proximal bent ends configured to pivotally seat within the respective stacker arm bent end channels, the first and second sets of arms being vertically offset, wherein in the first operational mode of the apparatus the first set of arms are splayed radially outwardly from the rig body as extending from the respective spacer arm slots parallel to the spacer lower surface and the second set of arms are splayed radially outwardly from the rig body as extending from the respective stacker arm slots parallel to the stacker lower surface, the first and second sets of arms being radially offset, wherein in the second operational mode of the apparatus the first set of arms are shifted upwardly toward the rig body upper end through the respective spacer arm slots parallel to the rig body central axis, the spacer is rotated relative to the stacker to radially align the second set of arms with the spacer arm slots, and the second set of arms are shifted upwardly toward the rig body upper end through the respective spacer arm slots parallel to the rig body central axis and to the first set of arms.
12 . The apparatus of claim 11 wherein in the first operational mode the first and second sets of arms are positioned in first planes perpendicular to the rig body central axis.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the first planes are parallel to and offset from the spacer and stacker lower surfaces.
14 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the stacker upper surface is planar and perpendicular to the rig body central axis, the first set of arms resting on and supported by the stacker upper surface when in the first operational mode.
15 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the support is formed as a flat washer and the support upper surface is planar and perpendicular to the rig body central axis, the second set of arms resting on and supported by the support upper surface when in the first operational mode.
16 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the arm bent ends and the spacer and stacker arm bent end channels are parallel to the first planes.
17 . The apparatus of claim 12 wherein in the second operational mode the first and second sets of arms are positioned in second planes perpendicular to the spacer lower surface and the first planes.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the spacer and stacker arm slots are parallel to the second planes.
19 . The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the arm bent ends of the first set of arms are retained within the spacer arm bent end channels by the stacker upper surface and the arm bent ends of the second set of arms are retained within the stacker arm bent end channels by the support upper surface.
20 . The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first set of arms rest on and are supported by the stacker upper surface and the second set of arms rest on and are supported by the support upper surface when in the first operational mode.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This non-provisional patent application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to and is entitled to the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/676,000 filed Jul. 26, 2024, and entitled “Collapsible Umbrella Fishing Rig Apparatus and Method of Use.” The contents of the aforementioned application are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND The subject of this patent application relates generally to fishing gear or tackle, and more particularly to umbrella rigs configured for simultaneously fishing with a plurality of baits as by having splayed arms with bait attachment eyes or the like and a central hub allowing the rig to be fastened to and fished, cast, or trolled from a single fishing line. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art. Applicant hereby incorporates herein by reference any and all patents and published patent applications cited or referred to in this application, to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. By way of background, umbrella rigs, as they are currently commonly called, are fishing tackle devices designed to basically support a plurality of fish hooks from a single line. Such umbrella rigs generally have a central axial body and an arrangement of two or more splayed arms extending radially outwardly from the central body, somewhat resembling a crib mobile or the like or the support structure of an umbrella, hence the name “umbrella rig.” Each such splayed arm may be configured with one or more eyes, or essentially loops or bends in the arm, which is typically made of metal wire, such as at its end opposite the central body and at an intermediate location along the arm. The idea is to then bait the umbrella rig as by affixing baits of a desired type at the eyes on the various arms, such as swimbaits with hooks at the ends of some or all of the arms and teasers or attractants elsewhere, such that when cast and then reeled in the umbrella rig gives the appearance in the water of a school of baitfish and is thus highly attractive to larger fish. And with the proper configuration of the rig including its baits and possibly additional weights, an angler can fish such an umbrella rig at a variety of depths and in a variety of situations, making it quite versatile and effective for various targets or kinds of fish and fishing. One downside of umbrella rigs, though, is storage or handling of the rigs out of the water or when not in use, as with the splayed arms in its assembled or “in use” configuration such rigs are quite cumbersome and unwieldy in storage and transport. Accordingly, there have been proposed over the years various configurations of umbrella rigs, or what have also been called “spreaders” and “dredges,” having arms that are selectively collapsible or removable, or rigs that can be disassembled for storage and reassembled for use. While such earlier versions of umbrella rigs and the like configured for collapsing or disassembly are thus aimed at the same problem of conveniently and effectively transitioning an umbrella rig from a collapsed condition for storage to an expanded condition for use, each has drawbacks or shortcomings in actual practice that previously have not been satisfactorily addressed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,352,979 to Lawrence entitled “Fishline Spreader” and granted on Sep. 14, 1920 is directed to “a novel line spreader in which the spreader arms are connected to the body in such a way as to permit the arms to be folded together when the device is not in use, thus providing structure which can be put into a small compact space for storage or transportation.” How this is achieved in Lawrence, though, is through a clamping two-half body wherein a screw or threaded stud passes axially through one half of the body into the other so as to selectively clamp and secure the selectively splayed spreader arms in place between the two halves. And then when the spreader is to be collapsed, the threaded stud must be unscrewed to allow the arms to again move freely, which then fold into a common plane that is perpendicular to the axis of the two-half body and related threaded stud and so does not allow the overall profile of the spreader to be as reduced when collapsed as it would be if the arms were folded into an arrangement parallel to the central axis of the spreader. And other com