Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Fishing – Rod
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-22
2001-08-07
Rowan, Kurt (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Fishing
Rod
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269585
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a collapsible fishing rod, and more particularly, it relates to a collapsible fishing rod having an inner rod within it through which a fishing line may extend.
A hollow fishing rod in which a fishline extends through the hollow interior of the rod, are well-known in the art. In a hollow fishing rod, the fishline is unwound and wound up from a reel extends through a passage defined within the rod. As a result, friction resistance is produced as the line contacts the inner surfaces of the hollow fishing rod. As water and other things become trapped or caught in the passage within the rod, the friction resistance is increased, and this results in reduction in speed and efficiency of the unwinding and winding operations of the fishline.
In order to reduce the friction resistance of the sliding fishline, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 127032/1981, No. 304836/1989, No. 67554/1991, and No. 341133/1992 disclose a fishing rod in which a fishline guide such as a ring or coil for supporting fishline, is fitted into a passage formed the inside the fishing rod. In the above-mentioned prior art, the fishline guide is provided within the rod and since the fishline guide projects inwardly from inner surface of the rod, waterweed, salt in seawater or the like taken on the fishline into the rod tends to deposit in corners and crevices defined by the fishline guide and the inner surface of the rod.
As the accumulation of the undesirable material increases, the fishline comes into contact with the material, and the friction resistance on the sliding fishline is further increased. Thus, in order to make the fishing rod a more effective and useful instrument, the deposits must be occasionally removed. However, it is hard for cleaning equipment to reach the deposits in the corners between the fishline guide and the inner surface of the rod. Removing the deposits can be an annoying task
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to suppress the friction resistance on the sliding fishline and to facilitate removal of dust taken in the rod.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fishing rod with a construction which allows for ease of cleaning by providing the fishing rod with a removable inner rod.
It is further another object of the present invention to facilitate drainage of water and other undesirable things which accumulate in the inner rod.
In one aspect of the present invention, a collapsible fishing rod is provided with a tubular rod, an inner rod, and one or more fishline guides. The inner rod has a fishline guiding passage therethrough, and it is removably disposed within the tubular rod. The fishline guides project toward a center axis within the fishline guiding passage, and they are detachable from the tubular rod.
While the inner rod and the fishline guide(s) are fitted in the tubular rod, the fishline is supported by the fishline guides within the tubular rod and is drawn out or pulled back through an opening at the tip of the rod. In cleaning the inside of the rod, the inner rod and the fishline guide(s) are taken out of the rod. Thus, they can be cleaned easily. Preferably, the fishline guides are attached to the inner rod in advance; that is, the fishline guides and the inner rod can be unitarily formed and the fishline guide(s) and inner rod can be easily installed or removed from the rod as a unit.
The fishline guide(s) and the inner rod may be formed in unity. In such a case, similar to the above modification, they can be easily fitted in or detached from the rod. Additionally, fabrication of them is facilitated. The fishline guide(s) may be made of helix coil. In such a case, a simple configuration of the rod is sufficient to support and guide the fishline over a long range within the rod. Preferably, the fishline guide(s) is arranged at given intervals over the entire length of the inner rod. In such a case, the fishline can be supported and guided over the entire length of the inner rod, and the friction resistance on the fishline is reduced.
The inner rod may be divided into sections in an axial direction. The fishline guide or any of the fishline guides is put between the adjacent sections of the inner rod, and herein the fishline guide may be tightly held by the sections of the inner rod fore and after it. In such a case, the fishline guide(s) can be easily positioned in the axial direction, and further, the inner rod and the fishline guide can be easily cleaned.
Preferably, the tubular rod has a butt section with a butt grip and a tip section connectable in joint-to-joint style with a distal end of the butt section, and the inner rod is fitted in or detached from the tip section.
(2) An inter-line fishing rod in another aspect of the present invention has a tubular rod having a fishline guiding passage therethrough, a plurality of fishline guides, and an inner rod. The fishline guides are arranged in the fishline guiding passage almost over the entire length of the tubular rod to support and guide the fishline. The inner rod is put in the fishline guiding passage to hold the fishline guides in position in the axial direction. Herein, since the fishline guides are arranged almost over the entire length of the rod, the friction resistance on the sliding fishline within the rod can be reduced.
The fishline guides may be formed in unity with the inner rod. In such a case, the number of components of the inner rod becomes, smaller, and additionally, incorporation of them into the rod is facilitated. The fishline guides and the inner rod may be made of different materials from each other. In such a case, optimum materials for them may be chosen, respectively. The inner rod is preferably made of thermoplastic resin. In such a case, fabrication of the inner rod is facilitated. The inner rod may have a plurality of tubular units respectively including the fishline guides, and a joint unit connecting the tubular units with each other. In such a case, since the fishline guides can be held by the tubular units, a shape of the joint unit can be simplified, and the configuration of an assembly of those units becomes simple.
The inner rod may have a position regulating element which holds the fishline guides while it release the fishline guides when force over a certain level of regulating capability is applied to the fishline guides. This allows the fishline guides to be easily fitted in the inner rod, and since the fishline guides are movable, the fishline can be easily passed through the fishline guides. Each of the fishline guides preferably has a fishline guide opening formed at axial center and a fishline guide surface spread out backward from the fishline guide opening. In such a case, the fishline can be easily passed through the fishline guides. Moreover, undesirable things such as waterweed taken on the fishline into the rod can be scraped off the fishline at an edge encircling the fishline guide opening. Furthermore, since the fishline is supported by the fishline guide opening, the fishline hardly comes in contact with the inner surface of the rod, and the friction resistance on the sliding fishline is further reduced.
The fishline guides may be formed of helix coil. The fishline guides may include helix coil fishline guides and ring-shaped fishline guides, and the helix coil fishline guides are arranged in a distal half of the inner rod while the ring-shaped fishline guides are arranged in a proximal half of the inner rod. In such a case, since the helix coil is put in the distal half where more water is taken in, drain of the water is facilitated. In addition to that, since the ring-shaped fishline guides support the fishline in the proximal half of the inner rod, the friction resistance on the sliding fishline is reduced.
(3) An inter-line fishing rod in still another aspect of the present invention has a tubular rod having a fishline guiding passage therethrough, a plurality of fishline guides arranged in the fishline guiding
Hamayasu Norio
Harada Takafumi
Matsumoto Kiyohiko
Tokuda Isamu
Utsuno Nobuyoshi
Rowan Kurt
Shimano Inc.
Shinjyu Global IP Counselors, LLP
LandOfFree
Inner rod for a hollow collapsible fishing rod does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Inner rod for a hollow collapsible fishing rod, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Inner rod for a hollow collapsible fishing rod will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2516135