ABDOMINAL SHIELD
The abdominal shield is worn by an angler when fishing to prevent injury and irritation to the abdomen which might otherwise be caused by the butt end of a fishing rod rubbing or pressing against the abdomen. The shield distributes forces associated by the butt end of the fishing rod more widely and permits the angler to adjust the position of the fishing rod to achieve the leverage necessary to reel in the fish.
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONI. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pads worn to absorb and distribute forces encountered when participating in sporting activity to reduce or eliminate the risk of injury. More specifically, the present invention relates to a shield worn by an angler while engaged in the sport of fishing to protect the abdomen from irritation or injury which can arise when the butt end of a fishing rod is brought into contact with the abdomen while reeling in a large fish.
II. Related Art
The sport of fishing continues to grow in popularity. Whether anglers are fishing for fresh water fish such as trout, walleye, catfish or Muskie, or saltwater fish such as tuna, swordfish or marlin, the goal is often to catch a large, if not the largest, fish.
Large Muskies, by way of example, often weigh thirty pounds or more. Some weigh almost seventy pounds. Swordfish often reach a weight of nearly 1400 pounds. Atlantic blue marlin can be as large as 1800 pounds. To reel in a fish weighing 1800 pounds, or even a fish weighing 30 pounds, requires a substantial amount of strength, stamina, and time.
To gain increased leverage while reeling in a large fish, anglers almost universally draw the butt end of the fishing rod into their abdomen. Due to the motion employed to operate the reel and the forces transferred through the fishing line and the rod to the butt end when fighting a fish, the butt end of the rod moves about. Over time, the rubbing of the butt end of the rod against the abdomen irritates and injures the skin of the angler. In some cases, and given the small cross-section of the butt end of the rod, abdominal muscle injuries may occur.
To help anglers control the butt end of a fishing rod, various socket arrangements have been developed. These are usually held in place using a belt surrounding the angler's waist. Such arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,054 to Haislip issued Jan. 19, 1937; U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,721 to Vanus issued May 27, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,115 to White et al issued Mar. 28, 1978, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,323 issued Apr. 4, 1989 to Braid. Such socket arrangements, however, are limiting because the position of the socket dictates a specific location for the butt end of the rod relative to the angler's body. This may not, however, be the best position for comfort or for the angler to maximize leverage or conserve strength. Also, as the battle to land the fish continues, it may be beneficial for the position of the butt end of the rod to be changed for the comfort of the angler. A change in position cannot occur because position of the socket dictates the position of the butt end of the rod.
In an effort to address the problems with such sockets, others have adopted a strategy of widening and/or padding the butt end of the rod. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,184 to Grosse issued Sep. 3, 1996 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,765,732 to Canevari issued Aug. 3, 2010. The Canevari patent discloses a T-shaped coupling device used to attach to the butt end of a fishing rod a pad shaped like the arm pit pad of a crutch used by someone with a leg injury. While some benefit is provided by these arrangements, injury and irritation can still arise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe abdominal shield comprises a large and somewhat stiff plate which is curved to fit comfortably over and cover a portion of the abdomen of the angler. The plate, which is typically integrally formed of plastic using an injection molding process, has front and back surfaces, and first and second opposing ends. The plate has an outer frame comprising at least one raised lip surrounding a central area. The central or fighting area has a number of perforations extending through the plate from the front to the back surfaces to permit air to flow through the plate and body heat generated by the angler to pass readily through the plate. The perforations are smaller than the butt end of a typical fishing rod so that the butt end of the fishing rod cannot pass all the way through the perforations and directly engage the abdomen of the angler. The surface area of the plate is much larger than the butt end of the fishing rod so that the plate is able to adequately distribute, over a large area of the abdomen, forces encountered by the butt end of the fishing rod contacting the plate.
The central fighting area of the plate may also comprise a plurality of cells defined by ribs. The ribs surrounding a cell may be used to help anchor the butt end of the rod at a particular location in the fighting area. The butt end, of course, may be easily moved from cell to cell as desired by the angler, but the ribs defining the cells inhibit the butt end from sliding across the plate when the butt end is in contact with the plate.
A belt is coupled to the plate. The belt is sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over the covered portion of the abdomen of the angler. The belt may be adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes.
The frame of the plate may include a pair of slots at opposite ends of the frame. One end of the first belt member may be coupled to the plate via one of the slots of the pair and one end of a second belt member may be coupled to the plate via the other slot of the pair. Various means can be used to join the free ends of the first and second belt members together so that the belt surrounds the angler with the plate held in position over the abdomen of the angler by the belt defined by the first and second belt members. Such means may include a belt buckle attached to the first belt member and a series of cooperating holes through the other belt member. Such means may be a button or series of buttons on one belt member and a series of cooperating button holes on the other belt member. Such means may also include a pad of hook material on one belt member and a pad of loop material on the other belt member to provide a Velcro-type closure. Snaps and other types of mechanisms may be employed for adjustably securing the free ends of the belt members together without deviating from the invention.
Further details related to the construction, use and advantages of the abdominal shield will become readily apparent from reading the following detailed description in view of the drawings.
The front of the plate 10 includes a frame 19 comprising top lip 20 and a bottom lip 23. The frame 19 also includes a pair of side lips 21 extending between and at opposite ends of the top lip 20 and bottom lip 23. The lips of the frame 19 define a central fighting area 22. The raised lips of the frame 19 help the angler maintain the butt end 18 of the rod 14 in the central fighting area 22 of the plate 10.
As illustrated in
The embodiment of
Located on opposite sides of the central area 22 of the plate 10 shown in
The ribs 30 and cells 32 of
Those skilled in the art should recognize that the size, shape and number of cells 32, like the shape and number of the perforations 24, may be modified for aesthetic or other reasons without deviating from the invention.
More specifically, end 42 of elongate piece 40 may be passed through elongate slot 26 of plate 10 and then folded back over such that the hooks of pad 48 engage the loops of pad 46 to secure end 42 of the belt 12 to the plate 10. Likewise, end 44 of elongate piece 40 may be passed through elongate slot 48 of plate 10 and folded back over such that the hooks of pad 48 of the other pair of pads engages pad 46 of such other pair to form a hook and loop Velcro-type attachment. The overall length of belt 12 may be easily adjusted to fit about the angler's waist by changing the point where the pad 48 comes into contact with the pad 46 of either pair.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the foregoing description related to buckles and length adjustment is not intended to be limiting. Virtually any known type of buckle or any known length adjustment technique for belts may be employed without deviating from the invention.
Claims
1. An abdominal shield worn by anglers to protect the angler's abdomen from the butt end of a fishing rod, the abdominal shield comprising:
- a. A plate covering a portion of the abdomen of the angler, the plate comprising first and second opposing ends, an outer frame comprising at least one lip, a central area comprising a plurality of perforations, each perforation of the plurality large enough to permit air to pass through the plate and body heat generated by the anger to escape through the plate, each perforation of the plurality of perforations small enough to prevent the butt end of the fishing rod from passing through the plate;
- b. A belt coupled to the plate, said belt sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over the covered portion of the abdomen of the angler.
2. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt is adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes of different anglers.
3. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt is integrally formed with the plate.
4. The abdominal shield of claim 1 further comprising a first elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the first of the opposing ends, and a second elongate slot extending through the frame adjacent the second of the opposing ends.
5. The abdominal shield of claim 4 wherein the first and second elongate slots are used to couple the belt to the plate.
6. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the belt includes a buckle.
7. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein the central area of the plate further comprises a plurality of ribs extending outwardly from the front surface of the plate and defining a plurality of cells.
8. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein the plurality of cells form a honeycomb-shaped pattern.
9. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein each cell is large enough to receive the butt end of the fishing rod.
10. The abdominal shield of claim 9 wherein the rib portions defining a particular one of the cells in which the butt end of the fishing rod is positioned prevent the butt end of the rod from sliding along the plate unless the butt end is extracted from the cell.
11. The abdominal shield of claim 7 wherein the perforations are located within the cells.
12. The abdominal shield of claim 1 wherein a plurality of perforations are located within at least one of the cells.
13. An abdominal shield worn by anglers to protect the angler's abdomen from the butt end of a fishing rod, the abdominal shield comprising:
- a. a plate covering a portion of the abdomen of the angler, the plate comprising first and second opposing ends, an outer frame comprising at least one lip, a central area comprising a plurality of perforations and a plurality of cells defined by rib portions, each cell of the plurality of cells large enough to receive the butt end of the fishing rod used by and angler, each perforation of the plurality of perforations large enough to permit air to pass through the plate and body heat generated by the anger to escape through the plate, each perforation of the plurality of perforations small enough to prevent the butt end of the fishing rod from passing through the plate;
- b. a belt coupled to the plate, said belt sized to extend around the waist of the angler to secure the plate over a portion of the abdomen of the angler.
14. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt is adjustable to accommodate different waist sizes of different anglers.
15. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt is integrally formed with the plate.
16. The abdominal shield of claim 13 further comprising a first elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the first of the opposing ends, and a second elongate slot extending through the plate adjacent the second of the opposing ends.
17. The abdominal shield of claim 16 wherein the first elongate slot and the second elongate slot are employed to couple the belt to the plate.
18. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the belt includes a buckle.
19. The abdominal shield of claim 13 wherein the plurality of cells form a honeycomb shape.
20. The abdominal shield of claim 19 wherein the rib portions defining a particular one of the cells in which the butt end of the fishing rod is positioned prevent the butt end of the rod from sliding along the plate unless the butt end is extracted from the cell.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 3, 2012
Publication Date: Jan 9, 2014
Inventor: Jerald R. Stoker (Clearbrook, MN)
Application Number: 13/541,372