Patents by Inventor James C. Cotillier, Sr.

James C. Cotillier, Sr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4850128
    Abstract: Two half sections of bamboo defining three chambers contain a pre-inflated helium gas balloon with a radio beacon, two bags of surface dye, and bait fish. The sections are secured together by multiple wrappings of line ending in hooks or lures. When the associated probe is deployed, the windings unravel in free-fall--separating the half sections and dispersing the bait. The balloon is released and descends to the water surface, where the line hooks and the bait submerge. An aquatic nibble causes the balloon to bob. A more forceful bite separates the bags of dye--creating a surface marker. If a hook is set, the line also extracts a pin from the balloon--activating the radio beacon and freeing it to rise to an altitude where an induced leak soon results in the balloon redescending to the surface of the water. Upon reaching the surface, normal wave propagation forces out the residual gas and the balloon, being no longer buoyant under the weight of the radio beacon, sinks to the ocean bottom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 1987
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1989
    Inventor: James C. Cotillier, Sr.