Flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher's litter

Abstract

The flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher's litter, has an internal hollow body chamber surrounded by the external shape of a trout and is constructed of flexible rubber material which incorporates design functions into a trout fish shape for pleasing user aesthetics, attachment location, ease of one handed operation and user safety.The fin locations of the trout fish shaped container guide finger placement and the natural grip of the hand with thumb and forefinger resting at the tips of the trout shaped tail for one handed operation.Access occurs through a normally closed slit in the tail. When the tips of the fish tail are squeezed toward each other the slit opens thereby providing access to the internal cavity for disposal of fisher's litter and waste items. When thumb and finger pressure is released the slit closes.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 456,427 filed Nov. 1, 2010.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to fishing by providing an aesthetically pleasing and flexible trout fish shaped container for convenient disposal of a fishers incidental waste materials and litter.[0004]2. Discussion of Prior Art[0005]U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,309 to Oppelt shows a fisherman's trash receptacle and fly rig holder. The invention includes a cylindrical container closed at one end and opened at the other. The container is wrapped with a Velcro material, or a foam material, to which leader and fly rigs can be easily wrapped and kept in place. A lid is provided to cover the open top of the container, the lid is hinged to the container to prevent inadvertent loss of the lid. The lid is also provided with cross slits so items can be pushed through the slits for storage within the cl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024]A flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher's litter materials, is comprised of an aesthetic pleasing trout fish shaped container with a hollow internal cavity constructed from a mold of flexible rubber material. The aesthetics of the pleasing trout shape provide specific design functions in the containers operation. These functions include; guided finger placement for ease of one handed operation, attachment location for ease of use and user safety if container is inadvertently pressed against the body.

[0025]The fin locations of the trout fish shaped container guide finger placement into a natural grip of the hand with thumb and forefinger placed at the tips of the trout shaped tail for one handed operation. This allows the other hand to be free for ease of placing disposal items into the container. The attachment feature location not only provides for aesthetic display it also allows the functional use of the container to be in a ready to use tail up position for a one handed grip and ease of operation. Ease of attachment to a fisher's vest split ring, lanyard snap, necklace snap, zinger-reel snap and other devices used by fishermen to attach gadgets to their body is through the hollowed out hole at the top end of the trout shaped container's tail. This hollowed out attachment hole allows aesthetic display, ease of one handed operation and the design function of keeping the container opening in an upright position to assure no spillage of internal cavity contents will occur.

[0026]The container has an internal hollow body chamber surrounded with the external shape of a trout fish. Access occurs through the unique location of a slit opening located at the end of the trout shaped tail which is naturally the widest part of the trout fish shape and therefore provides a unique access point for easy non inhibited disposal of fisher's litter. This preferred embodiment contains a normally closed slit in the end of the container's fish shaped tail that extends the entire length from one end of the tail tip to the other end. When the tips of the fish tail are squeezed toward each other the slit opens providing a generally oval opening to the internal length of the hollow container allowing for easy disposal or removal of small waste objects. This one handed procedure enables the other hand to be free and used with ease to drop unwanted waste and litter products into the trout shaped container. When pressure is released the slit closes. The trout shape aesthetics and flexible rubber form provide specific design functions for attachment placement, ease of operation and user safety for disposal of fisher's litter and waste.

Problems solved by technology

A design that encompasses the combination of these two functions may affect aesthetic appeal and ease of function of one purpose or the other Velcro on the outside of the container functions as a fly rig holder but it also collects and retains unsightly materials and can be clogged with unwanted debris.

Foam on the outside of the container may also collect unwanted items and may tend to breakdown and fall off.

Aesthetics of a cylindrical receptacle may affect what a angler will wear and utilize.

The second function as a fly rig holder may prevent where one can grip the container thereby hampering the ease of function as a trash receptacle.

Pushing waste materials through slits in the lid versus a clear opening affects the ease of disposal of some materials however opening the lid to provide a clear opening also affects the ease of disposal.

The disadvantages of a dual purpose container lead to the necessity of single purpose waste disposal container that incorporates ease of function due to shape, comfort and safety when pressed against a fisherman's body, plus an aesthetic trout fish shape design that fishermen will proudly wear and utilize.

There are no known prior art examples that have access to an inner cavity through an opening in a trout fish shaped tail.

Prior art recognizes and utilizes a rubber material and a hollow center design in the aesthetic shape form of an animal, fish, reptile or the like however the pocket size design is limited to the size of the mouth opening.

This small and specific design opening at the mouth is too small and does not conform to the length and size of opening required for disposal of the size of materials of fisherman's litter and waste products.

There are no known prior art examples that have access to an inner cavity through a slit opening in the end of a trout fish shaped tail or utilize the natural fin locations of a trout fish-shaped design to guide finger placement of the grip of the hand so that the thumb and forefinger line up in a natural grip to compress the tips of the tail for container access.

Prior art recognizes and utilizes a rubber material and a hollow center design in the form of an animal however the coin purse is limited in design to the shape size and opening including reinforced springs and zigzag opening to urge the slot closed as required to meet its design purpose.

It does not conform to the design, shape size of body cavity and opening structure of a trout shaped fish tail location required for the disposal of fisher's litter and waste products.

The products design, purpose and function is that of a coin purse and does not conform to the design requirement for disposal of anglers litter and waste materials.

There are no known prior art examples that have access to an inner cavity through an opening in a trout fish shaped tail.

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