Baitcast fishing reel with spool free mechanism

Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Reeling device – Fishing rod reel

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C242S321000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06270028

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rewinding systems for fishing reels. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a baitcast fishing reel wherein a pinion gear is rotatably supported such that, during casting, the pinion gear does not contact the spool or spool shaft, thereby reducing the friction acting on the spool during casting and, during rewind, the drive gear and the pinion gear are held in precise alignment.
2. Background
Baitcast fishing reels are well known in the art. A baitcasting reel will typically comprise a frame having a pair of opposing side plates; a foot extending from the frame for attaching the reel to a fishing rod; a line spool, rotatably positioned between the frame side plates, for retrieving and holding a fishing line; a spool shaft, on which the spool is secured, having ends extending through the frame side plates; a pinion gear (typically a helical gear) provided on the spool shaft; a manually rotatable crank handle; a gear train and crankshaft assembly mechanically linking the crank handle to the spool shaft pinion gear; a level-wind mechanism which transverses the spool during winding to ensure that the fishing line is properly wound along the length of the spool; a clutch mechanism for preventing reverse rotation of the crank handle; an exterior actuator (typically a thumb lever) for disengaging the pinion gear from the spool shaft to allow the spool to rotate during casting; and a spool drag or spool braking mechanism.
During casting, it is advantageous to reduce the frictional forces acting upon the spool in order to achieve the longest cast possible. In a typical baitcasting reel, the crank handle rotates a drive gear which, in turn drives a pinion gear which rotates the spool to rewind the fishing line. The pinion gear slides along the spool shaft such that, in a first position, the pinion gear nonrotatably engages the spool shaft, and in a second position, the spool shaft rotates in relation to the pinion gear for casting. In the second position, the spool shaft supports the pinion gear resulting in frictional contact between the spool shaft and the pinion gear. Although slight, this frictional force adversely affects casting performance.
When the fisherman begins turning the crank handle, the pinion gear is pushed into locking engagement with the spool shaft. The closeness of the fit between the spool shaft and the pinion gear determines the alignment between the drive gear and the pinion gear. Proper alignment is necessary for the reel to achieve a quality feel and for long gear life. Improper alignment results in roughness, noise, and undue wear during the rewind operation.
Thus it can be seen that conflicting needs exist for the interface between the spool shaft and the pinion gear. When casting, there should be minimal contact between the pinion gear and the spool shaft to improve casting distance. During rewind, close tolerances must be maintained for proper alignment between the pinion gear and the drive gear.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a baitcasting fishing reel wherein the pinion gear causes virtually no friction on the spool shaft during casting but is held in precise alignment with the drive gear during rewind.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a baitcasting fishing reel which incorporates a spool free mechanism wherein the pinion gear is rotatably released from the spool shaft during casting such that there is no contact between the spool shaft and the pinion gear. During rewind, the pinion gear is nonrotatably engaged with the spool shaft while being held in precise alignment with the drive gear.
The spool free mechanism incorporated in the inventive reel comprises a pinion gear having an inner shoulder and an outer shoulder rotatably supported within the frame. In an a first position, a first coupling member on the pinion gear nonrotatably engages a second coupling member on the spool shaft, allowing the user to rewind the fishing line with the crank handle. In response to a user accessible actuator, the pinion gear is placed in a second position wherein the first coupling member is disengaged from the second coupling member, allowing free rotation of the spool relative to the pinion gear for casting.
In a preferred embodiment of the inventive bait casting reel, the pinion gear includes inner and outer shoulders which are rotatably supported by bearings. In a first position, a keyed recess in the inner shoulder is nonrotatably engaged with a mating boss on the spool shaft. Thus, the spool will rotate in response to rotation of the pinion gear when driven by the drive gear. The bearings which support the inner and outer shoulder of the pinion gear maintain precise alignment between the drive gear and the pinion gear. In response to the exterior actuator, the pinion gear is pushed outward along the spool shaft into a second position wherein the keyed recess no longer engages the mating feature on the spool shaft, thereby allowing rotation of the spool shaft relative to the pinion gear. The bearings support the inner and outer shoulders such that the pinion gear is held in concentric alignment with the spool shaft so that there is no physical contact between the spool shaft and the pinion gear when the pinion gear is in its second position. Thus, when the external actuator is actuated for casting, there is no frictional contact between the pinion gear and the spool shaft, resulting in longer casts.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon examining the accompanying drawings and upon reading the following description of the preferred embodiments.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4222537 (1980-09-01), Noda
patent: 4648566 (1987-03-01), Furomoto
patent: 4899952 (1990-02-01), Aoki
patent: 5193763 (1993-03-01), Sakaguchi
patent: 5613646 (1997-03-01), Miyazaki
patent: 5746381 (1998-05-01), Miyazaki
patent: 5791576 (1998-08-01), Miyazaki
patent: 5799890 (1998-09-01), Kim
patent: 5855330 (1999-01-01), Kobayashi
patent: 5875986 (1999-03-01), Miyazaki et al.
patent: 5904310 (1999-05-01), Miyazaki
patent: 6045074 (2000-04-01), Kim

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