GB2160505A - Bait container - Google Patents

Abstract

Live bait typically comprising maggots and or worms which an angler collects or purchases prior to a fishing expedition is stored in a bait container comprising a box unit (2) suitable for storage of bait therein, and a cooling or warming unit (6) lying removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit (2; 2'; 11) so as to be in the thermal communication with the interior of the box unit. The unit (6) comprises a hollow body (7) charged with a hot or cold liquid. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bait container This invention is concerned with storage of, and keeping warm or cool, live bait for use in fishing.

Such bait typically comprises live maggots and/or worms which an angler collects or purchases prior to a fishing expedition.

Conventionally, in hot weather, many anglers place the bait in a refrigerator prior to a fishing expedition in order to cool the bait and thereby prolong its usable life. However, the temperature of the bait tends to return to external ambient temperature unacceptably soon after removal thereof from the refrigerator, so that during the expedition, the maggots and worms tend to become undesirably mobile and the maggots may metamorphose into flies.

In cold weather, anglers have to keep the bait warm, for example by wearing about their person, so that the bait does not freeze.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a bait container comprising a box unit suitable for storage of bait therein, and a cooling or warming unit lying removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of cooling, or keeping cool, bait for use in fishing, wherein the bait is stored in a box unit of a bait container, the bait container also having a pre-cooled cooling unit which, in use, lies removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit and hence with the bait.

In this manner, in the use of the bait container, bait stored in the box unit may be cooled or kept cool by loss of heat therefrom to the cooling unit.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of warming, or keeping warm, bait for use in fishing, wherein the bait is stored in a box unit of a bait container, the bait container also having a pre-warmed warning unit which, in use, lies removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit and hence with the bait.

In this manner, in use of the bait container, bait stored in the box unit may be warmed or kept warm by gaining heat from the warming unit.

Preferably, said portion of the exterior of the box unit is the underside of the box unit.

The container may comprise means for retaining the cooling or warming unit in such thermal communication with the interior of the box unit.

The retaining means may comprise a pocket structure fixed to, or integrally formed with, the box unit, the pocket structure being capable of receiving and retaining the colling or warming unit.

Alternatively or additionally, the retaining means may comprise a cover plate which is capable of releasably engaging the box unit so as to retain the cooling or warming unit between the cover plate and the box unit. The cover plate is preferably provided with formations which can interfit with formations on the box unit.

Alternatively or additionally, the retaining means may comprise snap-interfitting formations on the box unit and on the cooling or warming unit itself.

Preferably, the cooling or warming unit is of large thermal capacity. In this manner, where the unit is a cooling unit, if prior to a fishing expedition the cooling unit is cooled in a refrigerator and then removed therefrom, the cooling unit will remain cool for a considerable length of time since it needs to absorb a relatively large quantity of heat for its temperature to rise by any given amount.

Thus, in the use of the container, bait in the box unit may be cooled or kept cool by the cooling unit for a considerable length of time.

Conversely, where the unit is a warming unit, which is warmed prior to a fishing expedition, the warming unit will remain warm for a long time.

Preferably, the cooling or warming unit is hollow and said large thermal capacity is at least partially achieved by filling the cooling unit with a liquid of high specific heat capacity.

Said liquid may, for example, be water, and may, where the unit is a cooling unit, contain additives to prevent freezing of the liquid during refrigeration.

Any such container may be made largely or entirely of plastics material of low thermal conductivity, for example polythene, polypropylene, or 'ABS'. In order to facilitate thermal communication between the interior of the box unit and the cooling or warming unit. Dividing walls therebetween may be of reduced thickness and/or of more thermally conductive materials.

The cooling or warming unit and any surface of the box unit with which the cooling or warming unit contacts, may have an irregular surface andíor insulation to slow down the transfer of heat therebetween.

The box unit may have one or more dividing walls, which may be movable to divide the box unit into sections in which different bait may be contained.

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first bait container embodying the invention: Figure 2 is a perspective view, to a greatly reduced scale, of a second bait container embodying the invention; Figure 3 is a perspective view, to approximately the same scale as Figure 1, of a third bait container embodying the invention; and Figure 4 is a perspective view to the same scale as Figure 3, of a cover plate and alternatively cooling unit suitable for use with the box unit of Figure 3.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, a first bait container 1 embodying the invention comprises a box unit 2 and a cooling unit 6. The box unit 2 has a substantially rectangular lid 2a which may be removed to admit live bait, for example maggots and/or worms, to the box unit 2, and which may then be pressed downwardly around its outer periphery to obtain a tight sealing fit thereof over an upper edge of side walls of the box unit 2.

The lid 2a is provided with holes 3 which admit air to bait (not shown) in the interior of the box unit 2.

The size of the hole 3 is exaggerated for clarity.

The box unit 2 has a base 2b below which a retaining pocket structure 4 is provided, the pocket 4 being in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit 2 via the base 2b. The pocket 4 is provided with a hinged access door 4a and is integrally formed with the box unit 2. Alternatively, the pocket 4 could be formed separately from the box unit 2 and then ultrasonically welded to the box unit 2 during manufacture.

Within the box unit are two dividing walls D which may be removable, of course these may be omitted where not required, or more or less than two dividing walls D may be provided, which need not be removable.

The cooling unit 6 comprises a hollow body 7 for accommodating a liquid, and is re-openably closed by a cap 7a. The cooling unit 6 is capable of being fully received within the pocket 4, with its upper surface in thermally conductive contact with the underside 2c of the base 2b. The door 4a is then closed by rotating it until a projection 5 thereon engages a recess 5a in the pocket 4, so as to retain the cooling unit 6 in the pocket 4.

The hollow body 7 contains liquid of high specific heat capacity, so that the cooling unit 6 has a large thermal capacity. The container 1 may be placed overnight in a refrigerator, with the box unit 2 containing bait, and with the cooling unit 6 in the pocket 4, in order to cool the bait, and more importantly, the liquid.When the container 1 is removed from the refrigerator and taken on a fishing expedition, the high thermal capacity of the cooling unit 6 prevents heat gained by the liquid from the bait and from the environment from having a significant effect on the temperature of the liquid for a considerable time, so that the cooling unit 6 and hence the bait remain cool for a considerable time, thereby prolonging the usable life of the bait by delaying attainment of a bait temperature at which the maggots and/or worms can become undesirably mobile or at which the maggots can metamorphose into flies. If bait is purchased on the day of the fishing expedition, then only the cooling unit 6 need be cooled overnight in the refrigerator.

The cooling unit 6, the box unit 2 and the pocket 4 are fully re-usable.

Since the cooling unit 6 is retained against the exterior of the box unit 2, it could be exchanged at any time during a fishing expedition for another such cooling unit which has more recently been removed from a refrigerator, without disturbing the bait, in order to keep the bait cool for a longer period of time.

If desired, the lower surfaces S of the container 6 and/or the upper or lower surface B of the box unit, may have an irregular surface, e.g. provided by ribs, to reduce heat transfer from the cooling unit to the surface B and hence to the exterior, thereby prolonging the period for which the cooling unit 4 remains cool. Otherwise the surface B may be insulated.

Referring now to Figure 2 of the drawings, a second bait container 1' embodying the invention is substantially identical to the bait container 1 of Figure 1, except that it comprises an alternative box unit 2' having a side wall with an approximately circular upper edge and an approximately rectangular lower edge and base. The box unit 2' is provided with a substantially circular removable perforated lid, and has a larger capacity than the box unit 2, due to its shape.

Referring next to Figure 3 of the drawings, a third bait container 10 embodying the invention comprises a box unit 11 and a cooling unit 16. The box unit 11 has a lid 12 which may be removed to admit live bait to the box unit 11.The lid 12 is provided with ventilation holes 13 the size of which are again exaggerated. Lower portions of certain of the side walls 14 of the box unit 11 have indentations 15 formed therein.

The cooling unit 16 comprises a hollow main body 17 for accommodating liquid, and is re-openably closed by a cap 17a. The cooling unit 16 further comprises two upstanding side portion extensions 18 which are provided with projections 19 integrally formed therewith.

The indentations 15 and the projections 19 are so positioned that if the box unit 11 and the cooling unit 16 are moved together until the underside 1 lea of the box unit 11 lies against the upper surface 17b of the main body 17, the projections 19 are snap-interfittingly received by the indentations 15, thereby releasably retaining the box unit 11 on the cooling unit 16, between the extensions 18.

Thermal communication between the externally located cooling unit 16 and the interior of the box unit 11 is possible via the dividing walls therebetween constituted by the box unit underside 1 1a and the cooling unit upper surface 17b.

Instead of using the cooling unit 16, an alternative hollow liquid-filled cooling unit 21, shown in Figure 4, may be retained beneath the box unit 11 using a cover plate 22. The cooling unit 21 is of such a size as to fit in a recess 23 of the cover plate 22 and be retained therein by side walls 24, the base 25 and end walls 26 of the cover plate 22.

With the cooling unit 21 thus retained, the box unit 11 and the cover plate 22, carrying the cooling unit 21, may be moved together until the underside 1 1a of the box unit 11 comes into thermally conductive abutment with the cooling unit 21, thereby permitting cooling of bait in the box unit 11 by the liquid in the cooling unit 21. Projections 27 on upstanding side wall extensions of the cover plate 22 are snap-interfittingly received by the indentations 15, thereby retaining the cooling unit 21 between the box unit underside 1 lea and the cover plate 22.

The containers and cooling units illustrated are all moulded from polythene, and have walls typically of about 2mm in thickness, but could alternatively be moulded from polyproplene or 'ABS' of the same or similar thickness, these alternative materials being appropriately poor conductors of heat.

Although it is desirable to have outwardly facing walls of low thermal conductivity in order to hinder heat absorption from the environment, it is desirable for the bait to be in good thermal communication with the liquid in the cooling unit. Thus, the bases of the box units 2, 2' or 11 and/or the upper surfaces of the cooling units 6, 16 or 21, could be of high thermal conductivity, e.g. by being of more thermally conductive material than the outwardly facing walls of the assembled containers, or by being thinner than the outwardly facing walls of the assembled containers.

The box units 2 and 11 have approximate dimensions 3" depth x 4" width x 6" length (approximately two pints capacity but could be of any other size or capacity. The cooling units 6, 16 and 21 are of approximately the same length and width as the box units 2 and 11, but have main body depths of approximately 1". The upper edge of the box unit 2" is of approximately 9" in diameter. The box units are typically half-filled with bait in use.

Functionally equivalent containers and/or cooling units of sizes and/or shapes other than those illustrated will remain within the scope of the invention.

The liquid employed in the cooling units 6, 16 and 21 is water, with methylated spirit added as an anti-freeze in order to prevent freezing of the liquid in a refrigerator, and consequential damage which could be caused to the cooling units. In order to keep bait alive if it also in the refrigerator, such low temperatures are preferably to be avoided but may advantageously be employed if the cooling unit is frozen separately from the bait prior to use.

For example, with the box unit and the cooling unit of a container in accordance with the invention separated from each other, the bait may be cooled in the box unit in a normal refrigerator while the cooling unit may be cooled in a "deep freeze" prior to use, the box unit and the cooling unit being assembled immediately before commencement of the fishing expedition.

Some other suitable liquid may be used if desired.

As described above, in each of the embodiments a cooling unit is used to cool or keep cool the bait in hot weather conditions. In cold weather conditions it may be desired to warm or keep warm the bait.

The same constructions described may be used, but instead of filling the container 6 with liquid to be cooled, the container 4 may be filled with hot water or other liquid, or cool liquid which is warmed as required. Alternatively, another type of warming unit altogether may be employed.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (20)

1. A bait container comprising a box unit suitable for storage of bait therein, and a cooling or warming unit lying removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said portion of the exterior of the box unit is the underside of the box unit.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2 comprising means for retaining the cooling or warming unit in such thermal communication with the interior of the box unit.

4. A container according to claim 3 wherein the retaining means comprises a pocket structure fixed to, or integrally formed with, the box unit, the pocket structure being capable of receiving and retaining the cooling or warming unit.

5. A container according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the retaining means comprises a cover plate which is capable of releasably engaging the box unit so as to retain the cooling or warming unit between the cover plate and the box unit.

6. A container according to claim 5 wherein the cover plate is provided with formations which can interfit with formations on the box unit.

7. A container according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the retaining means may comprise snapinterfitting formations on the box unit and on the cooling or warming unit itself.

8. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooling or warming unit is of large thermal capacity.

9. A container according to claim 8 wherein the cooling or warming unit is hollow and said large thermal capacity is at least partially achieved by filling the cooling unit with a liquid of high specific heat capacity.

10. A container according to claim 9 wherein said liquid is water.

11. A container according to claim 10 wherein the unit is a cooling unit and the water contains additives to prevent freezing of the liquid during refrigeration.

12. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the container is made largely or entirely of plastics material of low thermal conductivity.

13. A container according to claim 11 wherein dividing walls between the cooling or warming unit and the box unit are of reduced thickness and/ or of more thermally conductive materials.

14. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the cooling or warming unit and any surface of the box unit with which the cooling or warming unit contacts, has an irregular surface and/or insulation to slow down the transfer of heat therebetween.

15. A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the box unit has one or more dividing walls, to divide the box unit into sections in which different bait may be contained.

16. A container according to claim 15 wherein the dividing walls are movable.

17. A bait container such as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in figure 1 or figure 2 or figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.

18. A method of cooling, or keeping cool, bait for use in fishing, wherein the bait is stored in a box unit of a bait container, the bait container also having a pre-cooled cooling unit which, in use, lies removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit and hence with the bait.

19. A method of warming, or keeping warm, bait for use in fishing, where in the bait is stored in a box unit of a bait container, the bait container also having a pre-warmed unit which, in use, lies removably against a portion of the exterior of the box unit so as to be in thermal communication with the interior of the box unit and hence with the bait.

20. Any novel feature or novel combination of features disclosed herein and/or as shown in the accomanying drawings.