JP7704701B2 - Fishing reels - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fishing reel, and more specifically to a fishing reel equipped with an abutment member that is attached to the reel body by abutting against it.

Recently, fishing reels have been designed with a monocoque structure for the reel body in order to make them smaller and lighter. In this type of structure, an opening is formed in the reel body to allow easy access to the components inside the reel body, and a cap, cover member, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as abutment member) is attached to close the opening.

When attaching the abutment member to the main body, a seal member is placed between the two and the abutment member is fixed by screws or the like to ensure waterproofing and dustproofing. The seal member is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and when assembling a fishing reel, an operator attaches the abutment member to the reel body with the seal member in between.
However, the task of placing the sealing member between the reel body and the abutment member and attaching the abutment member requires a certain degree of skill. For example, a structure in which a rear cap is attached to the rear opening of the reel body is known for spinning reels, but the opposing edges of the rear cap and the reel body that come into contact with each other are curved, making it difficult to stably place the sealing member therebetween.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a protrusion with an approximately triangular cross-section (tapered shape) is formed on the edge of the rear cap so that a sealing member can be stably interposed between the rear cap and the reel body of a spinning reel, and the sealing member is inserted into the protrusion to join the two components (see Figure 8 described later).
With this configuration, the seal member is prevented from shifting or deforming, so that the seal member is held in an appropriate position and can exhibit its waterproof and dustproof functions.

JP 2017-108719 A

As described above, it is necessary to attach the abutment member between the abutment member and the reel body via a separate sealing member, but if the location where the sealing member is to be attached has a three-dimensional, complex shape, it is necessary to perform a procedure such as bending the sealing member to fit the shape of the attachment location. This makes the installation work difficult, takes time, and requires skill. In other words, it is difficult to attach the sealing member uniformly over the entire curved portion, which leads to problems such as the sealing member protruding from the reel, variations in each product, and the need to redo work, and in some cases, the sealing member and rear cap need to be discarded.

The present invention was made with a focus on the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a fishing reel in which the abutment member is attached to the reel body, and which can easily and at low cost stably provide waterproof and dustproof functions between the two.

To achieve the above-mentioned objective, the present invention provides a fishing reel having an abutment member that is fixed to the reel body, in which an elastic seal member is interposed between the reel body and the abutment member, and the seal member is integrally molded with the joint of the abutment member or the joint of the reel body.

The fishing reel according to the present invention is equipped with an abutment member that is fixed against the reel body. The reel body and the abutment member are separate members, and when they are fixed against each other, a seal member (packing) is interposed between the two members to ensure waterproofing and dustproofing. The seal member is integrally molded in advance at the joint of the abutment member or at the joint of the reel body, eliminating the need for the conventional work of abutting and fixing the abutment member against the reel body while interposing a separate seal member made of a ring-shaped rubber member or the like. This eliminates the occurrence of product-to-product variations and rework during assembly of the reel body, and eliminates the problem of having to discard the seal member or abutment member.

The present invention provides a fishing reel that can stably provide waterproof and dustproof protection between the abutment member and the reel body easily and at low cost when the abutment member is attached to the reel body.

1 is a side view (left side view) showing an embodiment of a fishing reel (spinning reel) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view (right side view) of the spinning reel shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the opposite side. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a rear cap (contact member) portion of the spinning reel shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, showing a first embodiment of a seal member; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a sealing member, and shows a rear cap. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line P1 in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line P2 in FIG. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear cap showing a third embodiment of a sealing member. FIG. 13 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear cap showing a fourth embodiment of a sealing member. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional method for attaching a sealing member.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of a fishing reel according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment described below, a spinning reel is used as the fishing reel, and a rear cap is used as an example of a member that is attached to the reel body.

Figures 1 and 2 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a spinning reel according to this embodiment. In these figures, the directions indicated by the arrows are defined as the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is defined as the width direction (Figure 1 is the left side, and Figure 2 is the right side).

First, the overall structure of a spinning reel will be outlined.
A reel body (hereinafter also referred to as the body) 2 of a spinning reel 1 is formed with legs 3 that are attached to a fishing rod. A handle shaft is rotatably supported by bearings on the body 2, and a handle 4 that is operated for winding is attached to the end of the handle shaft. A known driving force transmission mechanism is connected to the handle shaft, and the rotor 10 is rotated in response to the rotation of the handle 4, and the spool 5 is moved back and forth via a known oscillating mechanism.

The spool 5 has a fishing line winding body 5a around which the fishing line is wound, and a front flange 5b and a rear flange (skirt) 5c that define the amount of line wound around the fishing line winding body 5a in the front-rear direction. The rotor 10 is formed with a pair of support arms 11, 12 that extend axially forward and face each other at approximately 180° intervals, and the spool 5 is positioned between the pair of support arms and driven to reciprocate back and forth. At the tip of each support arm 11, 12, a bail support member 14, 15 is supported so as to be rotatable between a fishing line winding position and a fishing line releasing position. In addition, the base end of a semi-annular bail 17 is attached to each bail support member 14, 15, and the bail 17 is rotatable together with the bail support member 14, 15. At the tip of one of the bail support members 15, a fishing line guide device 20 is arranged to guide the fishing line to the spool.

1 and 2 show the fishing line winding state. When the handle 4 is rotated in this state, the rotor 10 is rotated through the drive force transmission mechanism, and the spool 5 is reciprocated back and forth through the oscillating mechanism. As a result, the fishing line is evenly wound around the fishing line winding body 5a of the spool 5 through the fishing line guide device 20 of the bail support member 15, which rotates with the rotor 10. When the bail 17 is rotated (in the direction of the arrow) from the fishing line winding state shown in the figure to the fishing line release position together with the rotation of the bail support members 14 and 15, the fishing line wound around the spool 5 is in a released state (not shown). After the fishing line is released in this fishing line release state, when the bail 17 is rotated from the fishing line release position to the fishing line winding position, the fishing line is picked up by the bail 17 and guided to the fishing line guide device 20, resulting in the fishing line winding state shown in the figure.

The spinning reel body 2 described above has a monocoque structure, and is small and lightweight. For this reason, the drive force transmission mechanism and the oscillating mechanism, which are internal parts of the body 2, are difficult to access from the outside, so it is necessary to form an opening and provide a member (such as a cap or cover, collectively referred to as an "abutment member" in this invention) to close the opening. When providing such an abutment member on the body 2, it is necessary to provide a seal member (packing) between the two to provide waterproof and dustproof functions.

In the spinning reel of this embodiment, an opening is formed at the rear end of the main body 2 to allow easy access to the oscillating mechanism, and a rear cap 30, which is an abutment member, is attached to this portion to close the opening. The rear cap 30 is removably fixed to the main body 2 by a fixing means such as a screw (not shown). In this case, an elastic sealing member is interposed at the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 (the edge portion of each member), as described below.

Here, we will explain the conventional technology in which a sealing member is interposed between the rear cap and the main body with reference to Figure 8.

Conventionally, when a seal member 100 made of an elastic material such as rubber is interposed between the joint 30A of the rear cap 30 and the joint 2A of the main body 2, a protrusion 30a having a substantially triangular cross section (tapered shape) is formed on the joint 30A of the rear cap 30, and the seal member 100 is inserted into the protrusion 30a to join the rear cap 30 to the main body 2. By forming the protrusion 30a in this manner, the seal member 100 is prevented from shifting or deforming, so that the seal member is held in an appropriate position and can perform waterproof and dustproof functions. In other words, due to the structure, there is a possibility that gaps will occur in two places, between the rear cap 30 and the seal member 100 (boundary A) and between the seal member 100 and the main body 2 (boundary B), so waterproofing is ensured by the fastening force of the screw and by inserting the seal member into the protrusion 30a described above.

However, the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 20 has a three-dimensional and complex shape that displaces in the front-back, up-down, and width directions (a complex shape that displaces in three dimensions), so the worker must bend the seal member 100 to fit the shape of the installation position while fitting the seal member 100 into the protrusion 30a. This makes it difficult to install the seal member 100 uniformly over the entire curved portion, resulting in problems such as the seal member protruding and variations between products, which requires redoing the work and resulting in the disposal of the seal member 100 and the rear cap 30.

In the present invention, when an elastic sealing member is interposed between the main body 2 and the rear cap 30, the sealing member is molded integrally with the joint of the abutting member or the main body. In other words, by molding the sealing member integrally with the abutting member or the main body, waterproofing and dustproofing are improved, and assembly is made easier by eliminating the need for work such as bending the sealing member or fitting it into a protruding portion as in the past.

The specific structure will be described below.
3 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the seal member, and is a cross-sectional view in which a seal member 50 is interposed between a joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30 and a joint portion 2A of the main body 2. In this embodiment, the joint portion 30A and the joint portion 2A have flat surfaces that come into contact with each other and are joined together.

The sealing member 50 is molded integrally with the rear cap 30 by two-color molding around the entire circumference of the joint 30A of the rear cap 30. This type of two-color molding can be performed using a general two-color molding machine, and the base rear cap 30 is molded integrally with a thermoplastic resin (e.g., ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyamide, etc.), and then the sealing member 50 can be molded integrally with the joint 30A of the rear cap 30 using a flexible material (e.g., styrene-based, olefin-based, urethane-based, ester-based, or amide-based thermoplastic elastomer).

There are no particular limitations on the thickness T of the sealing member 30, but if it is about 0.4 to 1.0 mm, the sealing member will not be damaged and will be able to exhibit sufficient waterproof and dustproof properties. In this way, with two-color molding, the boundary between the rear cap 30 and the sealing member 50 is fused during the manufacturing process, which reduces the possibility of a gap as shown in Figure 8 occurring (the only gap will be at boundary B), thereby improving airtightness.

Furthermore, as described above, when the sealing member 50 is molded integrally with the rear cap 30 by two-color molding, even if the opening end face of the rear cap 30 has a complex shape that displaces in three dimensions, the sealing performance can be ensured by simply fixing the rear cap 30 to the main body 2 (because the thickness is uniform and the sealing performance is stabilized). In other words, even if the sealing area is curved, the sealing member interposed between the two does not protrude or vary from product to product, so there is no increase in work effort or manufacturing costs. In addition, the degree of freedom in the design of the rear cap 30 can be improved, and the assembly man-hours can be reduced.

In the above-mentioned configuration, it is preferable that the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 are made of a material that can be plated, and the two-color molded seal member 50 is made of a material that cannot be plated. For example, when the main body 2 is resin-molded, a plating process is sometimes performed to give the exterior a glossy appearance, but if the above-mentioned seal member 50 is similarly plated, it may be damaged or deteriorated, and may not be able to exhibit sufficient waterproof and dustproof properties. For this reason, it is preferable that the seal member 50 is made of a material that cannot be plated even if the rear cap 30 is plated, such as a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer.
This allows plating to be performed on the portions other than the seal member 50, and at the same time, it is possible to achieve both the appearance required for the rear cap 30 and the waterproof and dustproof properties required for the seal member 50.

In the above configuration, the seal member 50 is integrally molded on the rear cap side, but it may be integrally molded on the main body side or on both. The seal member 50 may be formed to have a step 30A' on the surface of the rear cap 30 as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 3, or may be formed to be flush as in the following embodiment, or may be formed to be exposed from the outside in consideration of design, etc.

Figures 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the sealing member, where Figure 4 shows a rear cap, Figure 5(a) is a cross-sectional view at the position indicated by P1 in Figure 4, and Figure 5(b) is a cross-sectional view at the position indicated by P2 in Figure 4.

The rear cap 30 is attached to the opening at the rear end of the main body 2, and is also a part that exhibits design. The seal member 51 may be made invisible at the boundary between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2, or may be exposed, since two-color molding increases the degree of freedom in design. In other words, the seal member 51 may be integrally molded so as to be exposed between the joint of the main body 2 and the joint of the rear cap 30. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is easy to change the appearance by making the exposed thickness T1 thin at the exposed part P1 on the upper end side, and gradually increasing the exposed thickness as it curves downward from there (the exposed thickness T2 is thicker than the thickness T1 at the exposed part P2 on the lower end side).

Even if the sealing member 51 is exposed in a shape that changes thickness for the sake of appearance, by using two-color molding as described above, the thickness will not change unevenly when installed, and waterproof and dustproof properties will not be compromised. In addition, rear caps can be created to fit various shapes, making it possible to achieve both appearance and waterproof and dustproof properties.

As for the molding mode of the sealing member 51 on the rear cap 30, it is possible to mold the sealing member 51 integrally with the joining portion 30A of the rear cap 30 in an uneven shape along the joining direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) as shown in Fig. 5. That is, as shown in Fig. 5, it is possible to form a convex portion 30b along the joining direction on the joining portion 30A of the rear cap 30, and mold a concave sealing member 51 on this convex portion 30b. In this case, when molding the rear cap 30, the height of the convex portion 30b is changed along the joining direction, and accordingly, it becomes easy to make the thickness T of the sealing member 51 uniform and change the thicknesses (T1, T2) of the exposed portions.
In this way, it becomes easy to change the appearance while maintaining the thickness of the seal member 51.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a third embodiment of a sealing member, and is a partial cross-sectional view of a rear cap.
In this embodiment, the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 is configured to have a labyrinth structure. The labyrinth structure means that the mutually facing portions of the joints of both components are not single surfaces but composite surfaces, and each of the multiple surfaces faces each other. For example, in the configuration shown in Fig. 6, the rear cap 30 has three joint surfaces 30d, 30e, and 30f formed along the joint direction in the joint area, and the main body 2 has three joint surfaces 2d, 2e, and 2f formed along the joint direction so as to face the joint surfaces 30d, 30e, and 30f.

The use of such a labyrinth structure enhances the waterproof and dustproof effects, and furthermore, by integrally molding the sealing member 52, which is integrally molded with the rear cap 30 or the main body 2, in at least one location along the joining direction in the areas that face each other as a labyrinth structure, the sealing member can be easily molded and the waterproof and dustproof effects can be further enhanced.

In this embodiment, the seal member 52 is integrally formed with the mating surfaces 30e and 30f on the inside of the rear cap 30 so that the seal member is not exposed, but it may be formed on the mating surface 30d so that it is exposed.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a fourth embodiment of the sealing member, and is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear cap.
In this embodiment as well, the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 has a labyrinth structure, and the rear cap 30 has two joint surfaces 30g, 30h formed along the joint direction in the joint area.

The joining surface may be configured as a curved surface (curved surface 30h) instead of a flat surface, and the sealing member may be integrally formed at a plurality of locations along the joining direction (sealing members 54, 55).
In this way, two-color molding allows the shape of the joint and the seal member to be freely designed. That is, as in this embodiment, it is easy to achieve a structure in which the joint portion has a labyrinth structure and the seal member is molded in multiple places in the joint area, which makes it possible to further improve waterproofing and dustproofing.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in various ways.
In the above embodiment, the seal member and the contact member (rear cap 30) are integrally molded by two-color molding. However, they may be integrally molded by adhesive, heat welding, or the like, other than two-color molding.

In addition to the rear cap described above, the present invention can be applied to various openings formed in the main body 2 and members that close them, or members that cover the main body 2 (contact members). For example, it can be applied to a cover body attached to the main body on the side opposite the handle, or to various contact members, such as covers on both sides of the main body of a double-bearing reel. Furthermore, the thickness, shape, molding position, etc. of the seal member can be modified as appropriate depending on the configuration of the contact member.

1 Fishing reel 2 Reel body 4 Handle 5 Spool 10 Rotor 30 Rear cap (contact member)
50, 51, 52, 54, 55 Seal member

Claims (5)

In a fishing reel having a contact member fixed to a reel body,
An elastic seal member is interposed between the reel body and the contact member,
the seal member is integrally molded with a joint portion of the abutment member or a joint portion of the reel body ,
the contact member and the reel body are molded from a thermoplastic resin, and the seal member is molded from a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer;
the seal member is integrally molded so as to be exposed between the joint portion of the reel body and the joint portion of the abutment member,
The fishing reel is characterized in that the abutment member with which the seal member is integrally molded, or the reel body with which the seal member is integrally molded, is plated . The fishing reel according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing member is integrally molded by two-color molding with the joint of the abutment member or the joint of the reel body. 3. The fishing reel according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is integrally formed so that an exposed thickness of the sealing member varies depending on a joining position. 4. The fishing reel according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is integrally molded in an uneven shape along a joining direction with the joint portion of the abutment member or the joint portion of the reel body. the joint portion of the abutment member and the joint portion of the reel body have a labyrinth structure in which the joint portions of both members face each other and are formed as a composite surface, and a plurality of surfaces face each other;
5. The fishing reel according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is integrally formed in at least one location along a joining direction in the mutually opposing areas of the labyrinth structure.

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