1. Technical Field
This invention relates to fishing reels and particularly to a method and means of uniformly winding fishing line on to spinning reels.
2. Description of the Art
All spinning reels require some form of spool oscillation system that enables the spool to move back and forth as fishing line is being retrieved. Without this oscillation, the line would accumulate on the spool very unevenly. This is cosmetically and functionally undesirable.
Prior art
In accordance with this patent, the figure-8 configuration of the recessed area in the slider 68 produces substantially uniform speed in the axial direction of main shaft 56 by rotation of oscillating member 66 at a constant speed. '379 patent, column 8, lines 46 et seq. Accordingly, this patent teaches a single cam roller surface on a figure-8 track.
Performance problems resulting from uneven line lay are: (1) casting distance is adversely affected and (2) drag release (while fighting a fish) will not be as smooth. A uniform oscillation system allows the line to be laid flat on the spool and, as a result, corrects these problems.
In addition to producing uniform line lay, a good oscillation system should be durable (for reliability), simple (for low cost) and compact (to keep the reel small). Generally, there are two types of systems in use. The first, a crosswind gear and block type, is durable, simple and compact. However, the line lay is only somewhat uniform, and not flat across the length of the spool. The second, the worm type, does give a flat line lay, but it is not durable and simple because there are more parts in the mechanism. Thus, currently, there is a need for a system which meets all of these criteria.
In the prior art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,170,773, 5,012,990 and 6,000,653 show elliptical grooves.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,489 discloses a stud with an elliptical-shaped cross-section. In one embodiment, there is a Z-shaped groove.
Italian reference number 694177, Sep. 3, 1965, discloses a Z-shaped groove which has straight sections as well as sharp breaks between sections.
A number of references show S-shaped grooves, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,350,131 and 6,264,125. The latter has one straight leg in the groove as well as curved sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,597 shows a V-shape in the groove as well as an irregular shape in both the stud and the groove.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,990,130 and 3,055,607 disclose planetary gear systems with rounded gear teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,573 discloses an eccentric system including an eccentric curved captive cam groove or path (see
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,814 shows a crank pin, eccentrically mounted on a satellite wheel.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,465, 4,196,869 and Japanese reference 154543 (1994) all show straight grooves with studs having circular cross-sections.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,678,780, 5,941,470, 5,934,586, 4,618,107, 4,865,262 and 3,436,033 all show worm or helix gears with sliders, that is, eccentric crank pins engaging them.
It is my understanding that these all produce non-regular accumulations; particularly at the ends of the spool.
My invention is a fishing reel with an improved uniform oscillation system that has all the benefits of being durable, simple and compact, while also producing a line lay that is comparable to more complicated systems. This is accomplished by making improvements to the crosswind gear and block type system. These modifications allow the block to travel at a more uniform speed throughout the entire oscillation cycle by, among other things, reducing dwell at the ends of the stroke.
The commonly existing system (such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,379) utilizes a gear 66 (with an off-center round pin 80), wherein the gear 66 rotates, and the pin 80 pushes the block 68 back and forth to provide the oscillation (see prior art
I have provided a new fishing reel driven by a handle comprising: a reel frame; a spool spindle reciprocated longitudinally in said reel frame between two positions at which the direction of motion of said spool spindle is reversed; a fixed spool, mounted at an end of said spool spindle and coaxially with said spool spindle; a rotary line recovery device mounted coaxially with said spool for guiding fishing line onto said spool; a crankshaft connected at one end of said handle for rotation therewith; a drive gear connected to said crankshaft for rotation therewith; a transmission system, for longitudinally reciprocating said spool spindle, including: a transverse block connected said spool spindle to translate therewith; said transverse block having a guide slot therein; a transverse crosswind post fixed to said frame; a crosswind gear rotating about said transverse crosswind post; said drive gear engaging said crosswind gear for rotating said crosswind gear upon rotation of said drive gear; a cam stud means eccentrically mounted on the crosswind gear to rotate in a circular path about the axis of rotation of said crosswind gear; said cam stud means positioned within said guide slot and engaging said block to displace said block and move the spool spindle in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis; said block having walls forming said guide slot, comprising at least four surfaces; a first surface, a second surface at an angle to said first surface, a third surface, a fourth surface at an angle to said third surface; said first and third surfaces being substantially parallel to one another and said second and fourth surfaces being substantially parallel to one another; said cam stud means further comprising cam lobe means having at least three contiguous working surfaces; comprising a first radial surface; a second radial surface of a larger radius than said first radial surface; and a third radial surface following the second surface for engagement with the surfaces of said slot.
The prior art, as shown in
In my system, the fishing reel 100
In accordance with my new uniform oscillation system, as shown in
The corner speeds up block travel at the end of the stroke because the geometry of the lobe means 133 rotates as the gear 116 itself rotates; the leading edge speeds up block travel at the beginning of the stroke.
Although any one of these features will help with uniform oscillation; all three features produce the most uniform oscillation in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention. These features produce uniform oscillation in the horizontal direction by the gear rotating and the geometry of the lobe means 133 rotating during the gear rotation.
The lobe and its position on the crosswind gear are shown in greater detail in
The crosswind block 16 is shown in greater detail in
The interaction of these parts is shown in various time sequences in
The following equations and explanations describe the motion of the spool oscillation mechanism with reference to these figures. Formulas are in terms of variables.
The following is an analysis of my new spool oscillation system.
The axial position of the spool is determined by the position of the crosswind block relative to the crosswind gear. As the crosswind gear rotates, a cam lobe means 133 on its upper surface contacts the surfaces defining a uniquely shaped slot 135 in the underside of the crosswind block 134. 360 degrees of rotation of the gear will move the spool through a complete oscillation sequence, but symmetry of the crosswind block requires analysis of only the first 180 degrees of rotation. Displacements for the second 180 degrees of rotation are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction to those of the first 180 degrees. R-T is the center of the third radial surface, R-S is the center of the second radial surface and R-H is the center of the first radial surface. It is theorized that five formulas may be used to describe the parameters of the oscillation system in accordance with my invention.
The five formulas describing the position of the block relative to the gear have been generated for the first 180 degrees of gear rotation. Each formula is valid only for a defined segment of the motion.
First Segment. The first segment of motion is for contact of a first radial surface 40
X=XH cos(−Φ)−YH sin(−Φ)+RH
Φseq1=90+A tan|(XH−XS)/(YH−YS)|
Second Segment. The second segment of motion is for contact of the second radial surface 44
X=XS cos(−Φ)−YS sin(−Φ)+RS
Φseq2=90+A tan|(XT−XS)/YS|
Third Segment. The third segment of motion is for contact of the third radial surface 48 of the cam lobe means 133 with the second wall surface 42 of the block. The range of this segment is from Φ=Φseq2 to a point where the third radial surface 48 first contacts a first wall (ramp 36
For Φ=Φseq2 to Φ=Φseq3:
X=XT cos(−Φ)+RT
Φseq3=180−|(FS+RT tan(A tan(FH/FS)/2))/XT|.
Fourth Segment. The fourth segment of motion is for contact of the third radial surface 48 of the cam lobe means with said first wall surface 36 of the block. The range of this segment is from Φ=Φseq3 to a point where the third radial surface 48 of the cam lobe means 133 first contacts the end 41 of the first wall surface (ramp 36) of the block
For Φ=Φseq3 to Φ=Φseq4:
Last Segment. The final segment of motion is for positions starting at the point where the third radial surface 48 just makes contact with the end 41 of the first wall surface 36 of the block 134 to the point at which the crosswind gear has rotated 180 degrees
For Φ=Φseq4 to Φ=180°:
From this analysis, it will be noted that my invention provides a new fishing reel driven by a handle comprising: a reel frame; a spool spindle means mounted to be reciprocated longitudinally in said reel frame between two positions at which the direction of motion of said spool spindle is reversed; a fixed spool mounted at an end of said spool spindle and coaxially with said spool spindle means; a rotary line recovery device mounted coaxially with said spool for guiding fishing line onto said spool; a crankshaft connected at one end of said handle for rotation therewith; a drive gear connected to said crankshaft for rotation therewith; a transmission system, for longitudinally reciprocating said spool spindle means, comprising: a transverse block connected said spool spindle to translate therewith; said transverse block having a guide slot therein; a transverse crosswind post fixed to said frame; a crosswind gear rotating about said transverse crosswind post; said drive gear engaging said crosswind gear for rotating said crosswind gear upon rotation of said drive gear; a cam stud means eccentrically mounted on the crosswind gear to rotate in a circular path about the axis of rotation of said crosswind gear; said cam stud means positioned within said guide slot and engaging said block to displace said block and move the spool spindle means in the direction parallel to its longitudinal axis; said block having walls forming said guide slot, comprising at least four surfaces; a first surface, a second surface at an angle to said first surface, a third surface, a fourth surface at an angle to said third surface; said first and third surfaces being substantially parallel to one another and said second and fourth surfaces being substantially parallel to one another; said cam stud means further comprising cam lobe means having at least three contiguous working surfaces; comprising a first radial surface; a second radial surface of a larger radius than said first radial surface; and a third radial surface following the second surface for engagement with the surfaces of said slot.
In
In the alternate embodiment shown in
In the second alternate embodiment shown in
In the third alternate embodiment shown in
In the fourth alternate embodiment shown in
This application is a continuation of my prior application Ser. No. 10/302,637, filed Nov. 21, 2002, now abandoned entitled “Uniform oscillation system”, which was a continuation-in-part of my prior provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60/343,441, filed Dec. 31, 2001; and incorporates both of those applications herein as if fully set forth.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
562086 | Livingstone | Jun 1896 | A |
2528386 | Napper | Oct 1950 | A |
5350131 | Baumgartner et al. | Sep 1994 | A |
5513814 | Zanon | May 1996 | A |
5921489 | Shibata | Jul 1999 | A |
6170773 | Okada | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6264125 | Cockerham et al. | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6394379 | Ivie | May 2002 | B1 |
6655620 | Huat | Dec 2003 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20050056714 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60343441 | Dec 2001 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10302637 | Nov 2002 | US |
Child | 10973785 | US |