JP7737862B2 - Dual-bearing reel - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dual-bearing reel.

Conventional dual-bearing reels are known to transmit handle rotation to the spool via a pinion gear and include a clutch that switches the transmission on and off (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The dual-bearing reels described above may also feature a clutch pin that protrudes radially outward from the spool shaft of the spool, allowing the clutch to be switched between an engaged position where it rotates in conjunction with the pinion gear and a disengaged position where it is disengaged from the pinion gear by operating the clutch. When a clutch pin is used, it is provided with an inclined portion that guides the clutch pin into the engaged position with the pinion gear (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2012-100624 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-125467

In such conventional dual-bearing reels, as shown in Figure 7, the tooth portion 101 provided on the outer periphery of the pinion gear 100 and the engaged portion 102 with which the clutch pin engages are positioned apart in the spool axial direction 103, which creates a problem in that it limits the ability to make the dual-bearing reel smaller in the axial direction.
Furthermore, in order to machine the inclined portion 104 that guides the engaged portion 102 as in Patent Document 2, the side of an end mill is used to avoid interference with the tooth portion 101 of the tool. This means that the engaging portion of the clutch pin, including the inclined portion 104, needs to protrude further in the axial direction of the spool than the pinion gear, making it difficult to reduce the size of the dual-bearing reel in the axial direction, and there is room for improvement in this regard.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a dual-bearing reel that can be made smaller in the axial direction.

(1) The dual-bearing reel of the present invention is a dual-bearing reel that transmits the rotation of the handle to the spool via a pinion gear and is equipped with a clutch that switches the transmission on and off, wherein the spool shaft of the spool has an engaging portion, and the pinion gear has a gear portion with teeth on its outer periphery and an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion when the clutch is in the on state and the rotation of the handle is transmitted to the spool, and at least a portion of the teeth and the engaged portion overlap in the spool axial direction.

According to the dual-bearing reel of the present invention, the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion with at least a portion of the pinion gear overlapping in the spool axial direction, so that the dual-bearing reel can be made smaller in size in the spool axial direction.
Furthermore, in the present invention, since the engaged portion is positioned on the gear portion of the pinion gear, machining can be performed using the tip of the end mill rather than the side of the end mill, eliminating the need for a long portion extending in the axial direction of the spool as in the past, and allowing the dual-bearing reel to be made smaller in the axial direction of the spool.

(2) It is preferable that the engagement portion is a clutch pin that protrudes radially outward from the spool shaft of the spool.

In this case, at least a portion of the pinion gear engages with the engaged portion while overlapping in the axial direction of the spool, making it possible to reduce the size of the reel in the axial direction of the spool as a dual-bearing reel.

(3) A recess recessed in the axial direction of the spool may be formed in the center of the radially inner side of the gear portion, and the engaged portion with which the clutch pin engages may be provided in the recess.

In this case, the clutch pin engages with the engaged portion provided in the recess of the gear portion, making it possible to increase the amount of overlap between the tooth portion and the engaged portion in the spool axial direction, further ensuring the miniaturization of dual-bearing reels.

(4) The recess may be formed with a stepped portion along the circumferential direction around the spool shaft, and the engaged portion may be groove-shaped and provided at the lowest step of the stepped portion.

In this case, a step is provided on the gear portion of the pinion gear, so that the clutch pin can be guided by the stepped step toward the engaging position, which is the engaged portion, and can be engaged.
In the present invention, the stepped portion allows machining to be performed with the tip of an end mill.

(5) The clutch pin may have a circular cross section, and the width dimension of the step portion in the circumferential direction at the center end in a radial direction perpendicular to the spool shaft may be smaller than the radius of the cross section of the clutch pin.

In this case, the width dimension of the center end of the step is narrower, so once the clutch pin has moved to the step, it is more likely to drop from the step into the engaged part rather than remaining there. In other words, in this case, the clutch pin can be reliably guided into the engaged part.

The dual-bearing reel of the present invention allows for the dual-bearing reel to be made smaller in the axial direction.

1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a dual-bearing reel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the dual-bearing reel taken along line XI-XI of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the configuration of a pinion gear. FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a first end of the pinion gear as viewed from the spool axial direction. 12 is a view taken along the line XII-XII in FIG. 3. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional pinion gear.

Embodiments of a dual-bearing reel according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that in each drawing, the scale of each component may be changed as necessary to ensure that each component is large enough to be visible.

<Overall structure>
As shown in Figure 1, the dual-bearing fishing reel 1 of this embodiment comprises a reel body 10, a handle 20 for rotating the spool located on the side of the reel body 10, and a star drag 3 located on the reel body 10 side of the handle 20. A spool 30 is rotatably attached to the reel body 10, and the spool 30 is rotated to reel in and pay out fishing line. The reel body 10 is attached to a fishing rod via a rod attachment part 18.

In the following description, the "left-right direction" refers to the left-right direction as seen by an angler holding a fishing rod equipped with a dual-bearing reel 1 while fishing. In this embodiment, the handle 20 is located on the right side of the reel body 10.

<Handle>
The handle 20 has a crank arm 21 non-rotatably attached to the tip 41a of a drive gear shaft 41 (described later) that protrudes to the right side of the reel body 10, and a handle grip 22 attached to one end of the crank arm 21 so as to be rotatable around an axis perpendicular to one end of the crank arm 21.

<Reel body>
The reel body 10 has a frame 11, a right cover 12, and a left cover 13. The frame 11 has a right side plate 11A and a left side plate 11B arranged at a predetermined distance, and a plurality of connecting members 11C connecting the right side plate 11A and the left side plate 11B. The right side cover 12 is integrally formed with the right side plate 11A so as to cover the outside of the right side plate 11A. The left side cover 13 is fixed to the left side plate 11B so as to cover the outside of the left side plate 11B. A space is formed between the right side plate 11A and the right cover 12 to accommodate various mechanisms, which will be described later.

When viewed from the side, the right side plate 11A and right side cover 12 have a generally elliptical shape that bulges outward in the axial direction from the mounting portion of the drive gear shaft 41 (described below). The left side plate 11B and left side cover 13 have a circular shape when viewed from the side. The right side cover 12 is detachably connected to the right side plate 11A. The left side cover 13 is detachably connected to the left side plate 11B.

The multiple connecting members 11C are plate-like members formed integrally with the right side plate 11A and left side plate 11B, and connect them to the right side plate 11A and left side plate 11B at three locations: the top, bottom, and rear of the reel body 10. By providing these connecting members 11C, deformation such as bending is less likely to occur even when a large load is applied to the reel body 10, and a decrease in winding efficiency is suppressed. A rod attachment portion 18 is fixed to the lower connecting member 11C, and a clutch operating member 14 is attached to the rear connecting member 11C.

The right side plate 11A rotatably supports the base end of the drive gear shaft 41 (described below), to which the handle 20 is connected, and also supports the pinion gear 60 (see Figure 2) (described below) so that it can rotate and move axially.

As shown in Figure 2, between the right side plate 11A and the left side plate 11B are arranged a rotatable spool 30 for winding the fishing line, a level wind mechanism 16 for winding the fishing line evenly around the spool 30, and the clutch operating member 14 described above.
A spool shaft 31 is fixed through the center of the spool 30. The spool shaft 31 is rotatably supported by the right side plate 11A and the left side plate 11B via bearings 32 and 33.

The clutch operating member 14 is provided to swing around the spool shaft 31 to switch the clutch mechanism 50 between a clutch-on state and a clutch-off state.
2 etc. indicates the center line of the spool shaft 31. The spool axial direction is indicated by the symbol X.

A rotation transmission mechanism 40 for transmitting torque from the handle 20 to the spool 30, and a clutch mechanism 50 provided within the rotation transmission mechanism 40 are disposed in the space between the right side plate 11A and the right cover 12. Also disposed in the space between the right side plate 11A and the right cover 12 are a clutch control mechanism for controlling the clutch mechanism 50 in response to operation of the clutch operating member 14, a drag mechanism, and a casting control mechanism, which is a braking mechanism for adjusting resistance to rotation of the spool 30. The clutch control mechanism, drag mechanism, and casting control mechanism have known structures, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here.
A spool braking device that brakes the spool 30 by centrifugal force is disposed between the left side plate 11B and the left side cover 13. The spool braking device is a device that suppresses backlash during casting.

<Spool and spool shaft>
2, the spool 30 has a cylindrical bobbin trunk 301 around which fishing line is wound, a pair of left and right flanges 302, and a shaft insertion hole 303. The flanges 302 are provided integrally with and protrude radially outward from both ends of the bobbin trunk 301. The spool 30 is coupled to a spool shaft 31 that is inserted and supported in the shaft insertion hole 303 so as to be rotatable together with the spool shaft 31.

The spool shaft 31 extends through the right side plate 11A and outward from the right cover 12. One end 31a of the spool shaft 31 is rotatably supported by a first bearing 32 housed inside the left side plate 11B. The other end 31b of the spool shaft 31 is rotatably supported by a second bearing 33 provided on the right side plate 11A. The portion of the spool shaft 31 supported by the second bearing 33 has a larger diameter than the other portions of the spool shaft 31. In this way, the spool shaft 31 is supported by bearings at two locations on the reel body 10.

A clutch section 5 that constitutes the clutch mechanism 50 is provided in the portion of the right side plate 11A through which the spool shaft 31 passes. As shown in Figure 3, the clutch section 5 has a clutch pin 51 (engagement portion) that passes through the spool shaft 31. The clutch pin 51 has a circular cross section and passes through the spool shaft 31 along the direction, with both ends protruding radially from the spool shaft 31. The pin penetration portion 31c of the spool shaft 31 through which the clutch pin 51 passes is formed with a large diameter, similar to the portion of the spool shaft 31 that is supported by the second bearing 33.

<Clutch mechanism>
As shown in Figure 2, the clutch mechanism 50 includes a clutch unit 5 having a clutch pin 51 and a pinion gear 60, which will be described later. The clutch mechanism 50 is capable of transmitting and blocking rotation from the handle 20 to the spool 30 via a drive gear (not shown). A clutch-on state is when rotation from the handle 20 can be transmitted to the spool 30, and a clutch-off state is when rotation from the handle 20 is blocked. In the clutch-off state, the spool 30 is in a free-spinning state, allowing fishing line to be released.

<Rotation transmission mechanism>
The rotation transmission mechanism 40 has a function of regulating torque when torque is transmitted in the reverse direction from the spool 30 to the handle 20. In addition, a centrifugal brake mechanism is disposed in the center of the left side plate 11B to brake the spool 30, which rotates freely in the line-releasing direction.
The rotation transmission mechanism 40 has a drive gear shaft 41 to one end (right end) of which the handle 20 is fixed, a drive gear (not shown) connected to the other end (left end) of the drive gear shaft 41, and a pinion gear 60 that meshes with the drive gear. The drive gear has a gear on its outer periphery and is rotatably mounted on the drive gear shaft 41. The pinion gear 60 constitutes the rotation transmission mechanism 40 and also functions as the clutch mechanism 50.

The drive gear shaft 41 is arranged parallel to the spool shaft 31, and one end is rotatably supported on the right side plate 11A. The drive gear is connected to one end of the drive gear shaft 41 so that they rotate together. In this configuration, when the clutch mechanism 50 is engaged, torque from the handle 20 is transmitted directly to the spool 30.

In the clutch mechanism 50, the pinion gear 60 slides along the spool shaft 31, and an engagement groove 64 (described later) engages with the clutch pin 51, thereby transmitting rotational force between the spool shaft 31 and the pinion gear 60. This state is the connected state (clutch-on state).
When the engagement groove 64 and the clutch pin 51 are disengaged, no rotational force is transmitted between the spool shaft 31 and the pinion gear 60. This state is called the disconnected state (clutch-off state). In the clutch-off state, the spool 30 rotates freely.

The pinion gear 60 is biased by the clutch operating member 14, which is located outside the right cover 12, in a direction in which the engagement groove 64 engages with the clutch pin 51, i.e., in the clutch-on state. In this way, the clutch operating member 14 is used to turn the clutch mechanism 50 on and off.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pinion gear 60 is a metal member made of, for example, a stainless steel alloy or a brass alloy. The pinion gear 60 is a cylindrical member having a stepped through-hole 60a (see FIG. 4) through the center of which the spool shaft 31 passes. The pinion gear 60 is supported by bearings (not shown) on the reel body 10 so that it can rotate freely and move freely in the spool axial direction X. The pinion gear 60 is moved axially by the clutch control mechanism described above between a clutch-on position close to the spool 30 and a clutch-off position farther away from the spool 30 than the clutch-on position.

The pinion gear 60 has a connecting portion 61 and a support portion 62 extending from the first end 60b on the spool 30 side to the second end 60c on the opposite side toward the right.

The connecting portion 61 is disposed between the pinion gear 60 and the support portion 62. The outer diameter of the connecting portion 61 is smaller than that of the pinion gear 60.

The pinion gear 60 is supported by a bearing on the right side plate 11A so that it can rotate freely and move axially. The support part 62 is located to the right of the connecting part 61. The support part 62 is supported by a bearing on the right cover 12 so that it can rotate freely and move axially. Because the pinion gear 60 is supported on both ends by the reel body 10 in this way, the pinion gear 60 is less likely to tilt and does not come into contact with the spool shaft 31.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the pinion gear 60 is formed in a disk shape with its center coaxial with the spool shaft 31, and has a gear portion 65 (tooth portion) on its outer periphery.
The gear portion 65 is arranged at approximately the same position as an engagement groove 64 (described later) when viewed from the side in a direction perpendicular to the spool axial direction X, and is configured to be able to mesh with the teeth of the drive gear.

As shown in Figure 1, the pinion gear 60 thus constitutes the rotation transmission mechanism 40, rotates in conjunction with the handle 20, transmitting the rotation of the handle 20 to the spool 30, and also constitutes the clutch mechanism 50, which moves back and forth in the direction of the spool shaft 31 in response to operation of the clutch operating member 14.

A recess 63 is formed in the radially inner central portion of the end face of the first end 60b of the pinion gear 60 facing the spool 30, recessed in the spool axial direction X. The recess 63 is provided with an engagement groove 64 (engaged portion) that can be engaged with and disengaged from the clutch pin 51 at the clutch-on position, where rotation of the handle 20 is transmitted to the spool 30.

A roughly circular protrusion 631 is formed in the center of the recess 63. The height of the protrusion 631 in the spool axial direction X (the height from the first end 60b to the upper surface 631a of the protrusion 631) is smaller than the recess dimension of the recess 63. The protrusion 631 has two stair-shaped steps 632 formed in the circumferential direction around the spool shaft. Furthermore, the lower steps of these steps 632 are provided with the groove-shaped engagement grooves 64 described above.

The step portions 632 are provided at opposing positions across the through hole 60a (spool shaft 31), with the upper step portion 632A and the lower step portion (engagement groove 64) arranged in that order counterclockwise when viewed from the direction facing the first end 60b in the spool axial direction X. The step portion 632 is set so that the circumferential width dimension at the center end in the radial direction perpendicular to the spool shaft 31 is smaller than the radius of the cross section of the clutch pin 51.
At least a portion of the gear portion 65 and the engagement groove 64 overlap in the axial direction X of the spool.

The engagement grooves 64 are provided in pairs on a straight line extending radially of the spool shaft 31. The engagement grooves 64 are formed radially on the end surface of the first end 60b, which is located on the bottom surface of the recess 63. Each of the two engagement grooves 64 has a bottom 64a, a first wall 64b, and a second wall 64c. The bottom 64a is recessed from the first end 60b and extends along the rotational direction of the pinion gear 60. The first wall 64b is a wall located upstream of the engagement groove 64 in the line winding direction of the pinion gear 60. The second wall 64c is a wall located downstream of the engagement groove 64 in the line winding direction of the pinion gear 60, facing the first wall 64b.
The first wall portion 64b is formed so that when it is connected to the clutch pin 51 and rotation in the line-releasing direction is transmitted from the spool 30, the clutch pin 51 urges the pinion gear 60 in a direction away from the spool 30 (clutch-off direction).

Next, the operation of the dual-bearing reel 1 configured in this manner will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the dual-bearing reel 1 of this embodiment is equipped with a clutch that transmits the rotation of the handle 20 to the spool 30 via the pinion gear 60 and switches the transmission on and off, the spool shaft 31 of the spool 30 having a clutch pin 51, the pinion gear 60 having a gear portion 65 with teeth on its outer periphery and an engagement groove 64 that engages with the clutch pin 51 when the clutch is in an on state where the rotation of the handle 20 is transmitted to the spool 30, and at least a portion of the gear portion 65 and the engagement groove 64 overlap in the spool axial direction X.
As a result, at least a portion of the clutch pin 51 engages with the engagement groove 64 while overlapping with the pinion gear 60 in the direction of the spool shaft 31, so that the dual-bearing reel 1 can be made smaller in the spool axial direction X.

In addition, in this embodiment, the engagement groove 64 is located in the gear portion 65 of the pinion gear 60, so it can be machined using the tip of an end mill rather than the side of the end mill. This eliminates the need for a long section extending in the spool axial direction X as in conventional methods, allowing the dual-bearing reel 1 to be made more compact in the spool axial direction X.

In addition, in this embodiment, the clutch pin 51 protrudes radially outward from the spool shaft 31 of the spool 30, and at least a portion of the pinion gear 60 engages with the engagement groove 64 while overlapping in the spool axial direction X, allowing the dual-bearing reel 1 to be made more compact in the spool axial direction X.

In this embodiment, a recess 63 recessed toward the spool shaft 31 is formed in the radially inner central portion of the gear portion 65, and an engagement groove 64 with which the clutch pin 51 engages is provided in the recess 63.
As a result, the clutch pin 51 engages with the engagement groove 64 provided in the recess 63 of the gear portion 65, making it possible to increase the amount of overlap between the gear portion 65 and the engagement groove 64 in the spool axial direction X, thereby making it possible to more reliably reduce the size of the dual-bearing reel 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the recess 63 is formed with a stepped portion 632 along the circumferential direction around the spool shaft, and a groove-shaped engagement groove 64 is provided at the lowest step position of the stepped portion 632.
As a result, the gear portion 65 of the pinion gear 60 is provided with a step portion 632, so that the clutch pin 51 can be guided by the step-like step portion 632 toward the engagement position, which is the engagement groove 64, and can be engaged.
In this embodiment, the step portion 632 allows machining to be performed with the tip of an end mill.

In addition, in this embodiment, the clutch pin 51 has a circular cross section, and the circumferential width dimension of the step portion 632 of the recess 63 at the center end in the radial direction perpendicular to the spool shaft 31 is smaller than the radius of the cross section of the clutch pin 51.
As a result, the width dimension of the center side end of the step portion 632 is narrowed, so that the clutch pin 51 that has once moved to the step portion 632 does not remain at the step portion 632 but is easily dropped from the step portion 632 into the engagement groove 64. That is, in this case, the clutch pin 51 can be reliably guided into the engagement groove 64.

The dual-bearing reel 1 of this embodiment, configured as described above, allows the dual-bearing reel 1 to be made smaller in the axial direction.

The above describes embodiments of dual-bearing reels according to the present invention, but these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Examples of embodiments and their variations include those that would be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are equivalent.

For example, in this embodiment, the engagement portion is a clutch pin 51 that protrudes radially outward from the spool shaft 31 of the spool 30, but it is not limited to this type of clutch pin 51.

In addition, in this embodiment, a recess 63 recessed in the spool axial direction X is formed in the radially inner central portion of the gear portion 65, and an engagement groove 64 with which the clutch pin 51 engages is provided in the recess 63, but this is not limited to this.

In addition, in this embodiment, the recess 63 has a stepped portion 632 formed in a circumferential direction around the spool shaft, and a groove-shaped engagement groove 64 is provided at the lowest step of the stepped portion 632, but this is not limited to this.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the clutch pin 51 has a circular cross section, and the stepped portion 632 has a circumferential width at the center end in a radial direction perpendicular to the spool shaft 31 that is smaller than the cross-sectional radius of the clutch pin 51, but this is not limited to this.

1 Dual-bearing reel 10 Reel body 20 Handle 30 Spool 31 Spool shaft 40 Rotation transmission mechanism 41 Drive gear shaft 50 Clutch mechanism 51 Clutch pin (engagement portion)
60 Pinion gear 63 Recessed portion 64 Engagement groove (engaged portion)
65 Gear portion 632 Step portion X Spool axial direction

Claims (5)

A dual-bearing reel that transmits the rotation of the handle to the spool via a pinion gear and is equipped with a clutch that switches the transmission on and off.
The spool shaft of the spool has an engagement portion,
the pinion gear has a gear portion having teeth on its outer periphery, and an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion when the clutch is in an on state in which the rotation of the handle is transmitted to the spool, and that disengages from the engaging portion when the clutch is in an off state in which the rotation of the handle is not transmitted to the spool ,
A dual-bearing reel in which, when viewed from the side in a direction perpendicular to the spool axial direction, at least a portion of the tooth portion and the engaged portion overlap in the spool axial direction. A dual-bearing reel as described in claim 1, wherein the engagement portion is a clutch pin that protrudes radially outward from the spool shaft of the spool. A recessed portion recessed in the spool axial direction is formed in the center of the radially inner side of the gear portion,
3. A dual-bearing reel according to claim 2, wherein the recess is provided with the engaged portion with which the clutch pin engages. The recess has a stepped portion formed along a circumferential direction around the spool shaft,
4. A dual-bearing reel according to claim 3, wherein the engaged portion is formed in a groove shape at the lowest step of the stepped portion. The clutch pin has a circular cross section,
5. A dual-bearing reel according to claim 4, wherein the width dimension of the step in the circumferential direction at the center end in the radial direction perpendicular to the spool shaft is smaller than the radius of the cross section of the clutch pin.