Trolling depth controller
First Claim
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1. An automatic trolling depth controller for a fishing boat, comprising:
- sonar depth indicating means for positioning on the boat and having a sonar transducer connected thereto;
a trolling line played out from a position on the boat;
a reversible motor connected to raise and lower the trolling line;
a depth control unit means connected to drive the motor to raise and lower the trolling line in response to depth indicating signals of the depth indicating means so as to automatically maintain the end of the trolling line at a substantially given constant spacing from the bottom despite variations in lake depth as the fishing boat trolls;
the depth control unit means including means for selectively automatically raising the trolling line by a momentary initial operator command during automatic operation so that the end of the trolling line is returned automatically to the surface without operator control during the raising and then upon subsequent operator momentary command automatically lowering the end of the trolling line back to said given spacing without operator control during the lowering.
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Abstract
An automatic trolling depth controller is disclosed for a fishing boat employing a downrigger system. A sonar depth indicating unit with a sonar transducer continuously measures changing depth as the boat trolls. A depth control unit is connected thereto which automatically raises and lowers the trolling line via a reversible motor in response to depth indicating signals of the depth indicator unit so as to automatically maintain the end of the trolling line at a substantially constant given spacing from the bottom despite variations in lake depth as the fishing boat trolls.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An automatic trolling depth controller for a fishing boat, comprising:
- sonar depth indicating means for positioning on the boat and having a sonar transducer connected thereto;
a trolling line played out from a position on the boat;
a reversible motor connected to raise and lower the trolling line;
a depth control unit means connected to drive the motor to raise and lower the trolling line in response to depth indicating signals of the depth indicating means so as to automatically maintain the end of the trolling line at a substantially given constant spacing from the bottom despite variations in lake depth as the fishing boat trolls;
the depth control unit means including means for selectively automatically raising the trolling line by a momentary initial operator command during automatic operation so that the end of the trolling line is returned automatically to the surface without operator control during the raising and then upon subsequent operator momentary command automatically lowering the end of the trolling line back to said given spacing without operator control during the lowering. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- sonar depth indicating means for positioning on the boat and having a sonar transducer connected thereto;
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14. An automatic trolling system for a fishing boat having a reversible motor driven trolling line, comprising:
- electronic depth indicating means for continually scanning a bottom of the water and providing electronic depth indicating signals representative of a changing depth beneath the boat;
depth control unit means for driving the motor to raise and lower the trolling line in response to said depth indicating signals so as to automatically maintain an end of the trolling line at a substantially constant given spacing from the bottom despite variations in water depth as the fishing boat trolls, said depth control unit means also including storage means for storing said constant given spacing, and automatic raising and lowering means for automatically raising the trolling line end to a region of a surface of the water by an initial momentary operator command but without the need for further operator control during the raising and automatically lowering the trolling line to the stored constant given spacing by an initial momentary operator command but without the need for further operator control during the lowering. - View Dependent Claims (15)
- electronic depth indicating means for continually scanning a bottom of the water and providing electronic depth indicating signals representative of a changing depth beneath the boat;
Specification