GB2255486A

GB2255486A - Bag and method of determining the size of a fish.

Info

Publication number: GB2255486A
Application number: GB9109129A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernard Thomas Barnett
Original assignee: DOLCAN Ltd
Current assignee: DOLCAN Ltd
Priority date: 1991-04-27
Filing date: 1991-04-27
Publication date: 1992-11-11
Also published as: GB9109129D0

Abstract

A bag (10) for containing a fish has marks (18) to indicate the girth of the fish and marks (19) to indicate the length of the fish. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Bag and method of determining the size of a fish Description of Invention From one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of measuring the size of a fish.

When fish are caught in the pursuit of fishing as a sport, it is usual to weigh the fish and record the weight. However, it is not convenient to carry suitable weighing apparatus to a river bank or other site at which fishing is to take place. Carrying the fish and essential equipment, including a fishing rod, from a remote site at which fishing takes place to transport is tiring and the additional encumbrance of weighing apparatus would exacerbate this problem.

It is known that there is good correlation, for a particular species of fish, between the weight of a fish and an expression which includes the girth of the fish and the length-of the fish. Thus, one alternative to weighing a fish which has been caught is to measure the girth of the fish and to measure the length of the fish and then to compute the weight of the fish.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of measuring a fish wherein there is prepared an elongated bag which has an array of end indicia near to one end of the bag, the end indicia being at respective different positions along the bag, or an array of mid-indicia at the mid portion of the bag, the mid-indicia being at respective different positions around the bag, or a combination of both said arrays, the fish is placed in the bag, the mid-portion of the bag is drawn firmly around the fish and/or the one end portion is drawn along the fish until the bag is extended along the fish and the size of the fish is then read from the array or from the arrays.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an elongated bag which has an array of end indicia near to one end of the bag, the end indicia being at respective different positions along the bag, or an array of mid-indicia at a mid-portion of the bag, the mid-indicia being at respective different positions around the bag, or a combination of both said arrays.

The bag is preferably formed of a water-impermeable film and may be transparent or translucent.

At an end of the bag remote from said one end, opposite walls of the bag are preferably sealed together in a substantially V-shaped region having an apex which is directed away from the one end of the bag. The nose of the fish can then be seated in the heat-sealed region of the bag, when the bag is extended along the fish.

An example of a bag embodying the second aspect of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which there is shown a perspective view of one bag and a part of an adjacent bag.

The bag 10 which is shown in the accompanying drawing is elongated and comprises a front wall 11 and a rear wall which meets the front wall at top and bottom folds 12 and 13 respectively. When the bag is empty and in a flat condition with the front wall resting on the rear wall, the folds 12 and 13 are mutually parallel. The bag is elongated and the separation between ends 14 and 15 of the bag is typically a plurality of times the separation between the folds 12 and 13.

The bag 10 is typically manufactured by extruding a thermoplastics material to form a seamless tube and then forming rows of perforations across the tube at intervals to define the adjacent ends of the bags. One such row of perforations is shown in the drawing at 16.

The front wall 11 is heat-sealed to the rear wall of the bag 10 in a Vshaped region 17 which is near to the end 14 of the bag. The heat sealed region 17 may extend to the row of perforations at the end 14 of the bag but preferably the apex of the heat sealed region is spaced somewhat from this end of the bag.

The apex lies substantially mid-way between the folds 12 and 13. Those parts of the heat seal which extend from the apex are mutually divergent in a direction towards the end 15 of the bag and intersect the folds 14 and 15 at respective positions which are considerably nearer to the end 14 than to the end 15 of the bag. As shown, the apex of the heat seal may be curved, rather than pointed.

In a mid-portion of the bag which includes a point at the centre of the bag, the front wall 11 bears a mid array 18 of marks which lie at respective different positions around the bag. In the example illustrated, the array 18 includes a number of rectilinear lines which are each parallel to the folds 12 and 13, when the bag is flat. Although not shown in the drawing, there may be adjacent to each of the lines of the array 18 a respective number which identifies the line.

Near to the end 15 of the bag there is an end array 19 of marks which occupy respective different positions along the bag. In the example illustrated, the array 19 comprises a row of chevrons with the apex of each chevron directed towards the end 14 of the bag, the chevrons being arranged in a row with the length of the row along the length of the bag. The chevrons are spaced equally from the folds 12 and 13, when the bag is flat. On or adjacent to each chevron, there may be a number which identifies the chevron. These number indicate the distance from the apex of the heat sealed region 17 to the apex of the particular chevron.

As manufactured, the bag 10 is joined at the row of perforations 16 to an adjacent bag 20. A large number of bags may be supplied as a roll. To prepare a bag for use, the outermost bag is drawn from the roll and is separated at the row of perforations from the adjacent bag. Once separated from the adjacent bag 20, the bag 10 is open at its end 15. Prior to separation, the bag 10 is substantially closed by the bag 20 so that the interior of the bag will remain clean When the bag 10 is to be used for measuring the size of a fish, the fish is introduced into the bag through the open end 15 and the bag is drawn along the fish until the nose of the fish seats on the heat sealed portion 17 and the bag is extended along the fish. The position of the apex of the tail of the fish relative to the marks of the end array 19 is noted, this providing a measurement of the length of the fish.The mid-portion of the bag is drawn around the fish until the mid-portion is in substantially continuous firm contact with the fish from the fold 13 up a part of the front wall and a part of the rear wall. Those parts of the walls which lie between the fish and the fold 12 are held in mutual contact and the position relative to the marks of the mid array 19 of the point where the front and rear walls diverge from each other is noted. This gives a measurement of the girth of the fish.

The front wall 11 preferably has a white region 21 on which information relating to the fish can be marked.

The indicia of the arrays 18 and 19 may be printed on the bag in a known manner. The lines of the array 18 are preferably spaced equally from one another. The chevrons of the array 19 also are preferably at uniform spacing from each other.

In preparation for carrying the fish, the end 15 of the bag 10 is closed.

For this purpose, an end portion of the bag may be embraced by a tie, for example a known tie comprising a wire covered by paper or by a plastics material.

The bag can be sealed to prevent egress of liquid from the bag.

The bag may incorporate a handle or provision for attachment of a handle to the bag. For example, apertures may be formed in opposite end portions of the bag to receive a string or other carrying means. If required, the bag may be extended beyond the top fold 12 to provide carrying means.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, 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, as appropriate may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An elongated bag which has an array of end indicia near to one end of the bag, the end indicia being at respective different positions along the bag, or an array of mid indicia at a mid-portion of the bag, the mid indicia being at respective different positions around the bag, or a combination of both said arrays.

2. A bag according to Claim 1 wherein the or each array is a scale of units of length.

3. A bag according to Claim 1 wherein the or each array comprises a row of similar marks.

4. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein the mid indicia include mutually parallel lines.

5. A bag according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the end indicia include chevrons incorporating respective mutually parallel lines.

6. A bag according to any preceding claim wherein opposite walls of the bag are sealed together in a substantially V-shaped region having an apex at or near to an end of the bag remote from said one end.

7. A method of measuring a fish wherein there is prepared a bag according to any preceding claim, the fish is placed in the bag, the mid-portion of the bag is drawn firmly around the fish and/or the one end portion is drawn along the fish until the bag is extended along the fish and the size of the fish is read from the bag.

8. A bag substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.