Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Reeling device – Fishing rod reel
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-17
2001-02-27
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Reeling device
Fishing rod reel
C242S264000, C242S301000, C242S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193182
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fishing rods and more particularly it concerns a fly-fishing reel for one such rod, equipped with an improved braking mechanism for the line spool.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A commonly adopted solution for the braking mechanism of the line spool in fly-fishing reels makes use of a clutch mechanism comprising brake disks which can be moved in or out of frictional engagement for braking the spool or letting it freely rotate, respectively. The braking action is adjustable by screwing/unscrewing a suitable actuating member, such as a nut or a knob.
An example of fly-fishing reel equipped with a braking mechanism of this type is disclosed in United Kingdom Patent Application No. 2,203,211.
The drawback of such prior art mechanisms is that the means for adjusting the braking action are to be operated separately from the handle used to wind the line. Now, while retrieving a fish hooked on the line, a fisherman must frequently alternate between winding the line and paying out it with different braking forces. Thus he must frequently alternate his hand between the winding handle and the knob or other actuating member of the braking mechanism. Even in cases in which that member is located near the winding handle, like in the above-mentioned U.K. patent application, that frequent alternation is annoying and makes the retrieve operation rather difficult.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fly-fishing reel comprising an improved braking system which eliminates the need for the fisherman to continuously alternate his hand between the winding handle and the actuating member of a braking mechanism.
According to the invention, a fly-fishing reel includes: a spool for a fishing line; a frame on which said spool is rotatably mounted so as to allow payout and winding of the line; means for securing the frame to a fishing rod; a handle for rotating the spool at least in a first direction in order to wind the line on the spool; primary braking means arranged to exert a first adjustable braking action on said spool and equipped with actuating means operated independently from said handle, and ancillary braking means operable in addition to said primary braking means to exert a second adjustable braking action on said spool, said second ancillary braking means being operatively connected to said handle so as to be operated upon rotation of said handle in a second direction, opposite to the first one.
According to a preferred feature of the invention, the ancillary braking system includes a pair of brake shoes fastened on a first surface of said handle so as to be integral for rotation with the handle and arranged so as to be housed within a hollow in the spool, and said brake shoes are fastened to said first surface through eccentrically located pivot means whereby said brake shoes are pivotally movable on said handle between an inactive condition, in which outer edges of the brake shoes are spaced apart from a confronting wall of said hollow, and a braking condition, in which said outer edges frictionally engage said confronting wall.
To achieve the pivotal movement, the brake shoes are each provided with a slot having a cam profile and said slots are each engaged by a respective pin projecting from a member which is integral for rotation with the handle and the brake shoes when the handle is rotated in said first direction, and which remains stationary when the handle is rotated in said second direction, so that the pins slide within the respective slot.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4352474 (1982-10-01), Kovalovsky
patent: 5118048 (1992-06-01), Childre et al.
patent: 5626303 (1997-05-01), Bringsen
Marcelo Emmanuel M.
Miller Austin R.
Walsh Donald P.
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