Clutch releasing and braking mechanism for fishing reel

A clutch releasing and braking mechanism for a below-the-rod double-bearing type fishing reel having a simplified and compact construction. An operating lever of the reel is pivotally mounted on a frame member of the reel, and a cam portion, rotatable with the operating lever, is provided at the pivot point of the operating lever. The cam portion engages with and operates a braking mechanism. A clutch operating lever, which may be formed as a separate lever and connected to the operating lever via a rotary shaft or as a rearward extension of the operating lever, has a clutch-operating pin at its outward end. The clutch-operating pin engages a second clutch lever, the latter having a pin which directly operates the clutch mechanism.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a below-the-rod double-bearing type 
fishing reel. More particularly, the invention relates to a clutch 
releasing and braking mechanism for selectively braking the spool of the 
reel and releasing a clutch of the reel at the start of a casting 
operation by operating a lever pivotally mounted on an upper portion of 
the reel. 
Fishing reels of the below-the-rod doublebearing type are of course well 
known. An example of such a reel is disclosed in published Japanese 
Utility Model Application No. 58-4176, laid open on Jan. 11, 1983. In the 
reel described in this document, a release lever, pivotally mounted on the 
case of the reel, has a forwardly extending portion which the operator can 
actuate to release the clutch and to brake the spool of the reel. First 
and second operating members, which effect the braking and clutch moving 
operations, protrude rearwardly from the forwardly extending portion. This 
construction is, however, disadvantageous in that the first and second 
members protruding from the rear end of the second portion of the 
operating lever require a significant amount of space to accommodate them, 
thereby making the overall size of the reel larger than desired. Also, the 
two protruding members can interface with one another, thereby giving rise 
to the possibility of failure. Further, during casting operations, if the 
reverse rotational speed of the spool exceeds the speed at which the 
fishing line is played out evenly, the line may well become entangled on 
the spool. 
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
below-the-rod double-bearing type fishing reel in which the 
above-mentioned drawbacks are eliminated. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the above and other objects, the invention provides a 
below-the-rod double-bearing type fishing reel in which an operating lever 
is pivotally mounted on an upper part of a case of the reel, and a shaft 
to which the operating lever is fixed and which rotates with the operating 
lever has fixed thereto both a cam portion and a clutch lever. Rotation of 
the operating lever causes the cam portion to rotate against a 
spring-biased brake shoe mechanism which controls the braking of the reel. 
Also, rotation of the operating lever causes rotation of the clutch lever 
which, through a pin engaging with a second rotatable clutch lever, 
controls the operational state of a clutch mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 6 of the accompanying drawings, a first 
embodiment of a below-the-rod double-bearing type fishing reel constructed 
in accordance with the present invention will be described. As seen in 
FIG. 1, a reel body 1 includes two opposed end plates 2a and 2b, fixedly 
supported and spaced apart by supporting rods 3. A shank 4 extends above 
the end plates 2a and 2b, and flares into a mounting foot 4a for 
attachment to the rod (not shown). Covers 5 and 5' cover the outer sides 
of the end plates 2a and 2b and define spaces in which the operating 
mechanism of the reel is contained. A fishing line spool 6 is rotatably 
mounted between the end plates 2a and 2b via a spool shaft 7. 
As seen in FIG. 5, the shaft 8 of a winding handle is rotatably mounted to 
the cover 5. In the space defined between the cover 5 and the end plates 
2a, a clutch mechanism, as shown in FIG. 1, is provided for selectively 
rotatably coupling the shaft 8 to the shaft 7 of the spool 6. A 
conventional drag mechanism may be provided between the shafts 7 and 8. 
Further, a reverse rotation preventing mechanism may be provided within 
the space defined between the cover 5 and the end plate 2a. 
An operating lever 12 is fixed to a shaft 10, and the shaft 10 is rotatably 
mounted between the end plates 2a and 2b. A spring 11 is provided for 
rotatably biasing the operating lever 12 opposite to the direction a 
indicated in FIG. 1. The operating lever 12 is movable in the direction a 
by the operator. 
A first clutch lever is fixedly mounted to one end of the shaft 10 inside 
of the space defined between the cover 5 and the end plate 2a. The clutch 
lever 13 has on one side thereof a cam portion 14. The clutch lever 13 
also includes an arm portion 15a. At the end of the arm portion 15a 
opposite the shaft 10 is attached a pin 15, the latter extending parallel 
to the shaft 10. 
A brake lever 17 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 16, as is a second clutch 
lever 18. The shaft 16 is fixed to the end plate 2a. The brake lever 17 is 
urged in the direction opposite the direction b indicated in FIG. 1 by a 
coil-type brake spring 19. The brake spring 19 is connected between a pin 
17a, fixed to approximately the center portion of the brake lever 17, and 
the shaft 10. The brake spring 19 thus urges one side of the brake lever 
17 into engagement with the cam portion 14 of the first clutch lever 13 
with the shaft 16 acting as the fulcrum. 
One end of a dead-point spring 20 is engaged with the free end of the 
second clutch lever 18, while the other end of the dead-point spring 20 is 
engaged with the end plate 2a. The spring 20 thus urges the second clutch 
lever 18 into abutment with the pin 15. Accordingly, movement of the 
operating lever 12 in the direction a causes the brake lever 17 and second 
clutch lever 18 to move in the directions b and c against the forces of 
the springs 19 and 20, respectively. 
A brake shoe 21 is provided at the movable end of the brake lever 17, 
positioned so as to contact with a flange 6a of the spool 6 to brake the 
spool 6. The brake shoe 21 is fixedly mounted, as shown in FIG. 3, with a 
washer 24 to an inner end of a shaft 17b which is fixed to the movable end 
of the brake lever 17. The shaft 17b passes through an elongated hole 2a' 
formed in the end plate 2a. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the clutch mechanism 9 includes an operating plate 26 
and a clutch plate 27. The operating plate 26 is journaled on the spool 
shaft 7. The operating plate 26 is slidably engaged at opposite ends with 
fixed shafts 25, and a spring (not shown) for biasing the operating plate 
26 inwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 is engaged with the shafts 25. The clutch 
plate 27 is provided with two cam portions 26 which, when the clutch plate 
27 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 1, engage with the 
operating plate 26 to move it against the force of the spring engaged with 
the shafts 25. A pin 22, fixed to one end of the second clutch lever 18, 
is engaged with an arm of the clutch plate 27 via an elongated hole 23 
formed in the arm. The operating plate 26 is slidable axially to engage a 
gear of a drag mechanism (not shown) with a pinion (not shown). The 
operating plate 26 is moved axially by the cam portions 27a when the 
clutch plate 27 is rotated couterclockwise by operation of the second 
clutch lever 18 upon the operator pulling the operating lever 12 in the 
direction a. This action releases the interconnection between the spool 
shaft 7 and the handle shaft 8. On the other hand, when the operating 
lever 12 is released, the reverse movement of the clutch plate 27 causes 
the operating plate 26 to move in the opposite direction, thereby 
rotatably linking the spool shaft 7 and the handle shaft 8. 
More specifically, when the operating lever 12 is at the position indicated 
by a solid line in FIG. 1, the levers 13, 17 and 18 are at positions also 
indicated by solid lines due to the biasing actions of the springs 19 and 
20. In this state, the brake shoe 21 is held separated from the flange 6a 
of the spool 6 and the clutch mechanism 9 is in the engaged state. 
Then, when the lever 12 is pulled in the direction a, the first clutch 
lever 13 is rotated in the clockwise direction, thereby rotating the brake 
lever 17 and the clutch 18 counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively, 
with the shaft 16 acting as a fulcrum. This action simultaneously releases 
the clutch mechanism 9 and causes the brake shoe 21 to move into contact 
with the flange 6a of the spool 6, thereby halting the rotation of the 
spool 6. When the operator releases his finger from the lever 12, allowing 
lever 12 to return to the position indicated by the solid line, the first 
clutch lever 13 is restored to the position indicated by the solid line, 
thereby restoring the brake lever 17 due to the force of the spring 19. 
Also, the brake shoe 21 is separated from the flange 6a of the spool 6, 
releasing the braking state and allowing the spool 6 to rotate to allow 
the fishing line to be played out. It is of course possible to brake the 
spool by operating the lever 12 in the direction a during the casting 
operation to prevent backlash of the line. 
The construction of the below-the-rod double-bearing type reel of the first 
embodiment described above is advantageous over the prior art construction 
with respect to the clutch releasing and braking mechanism. Specifically, 
in the above-described embodiment, the construction of the operating lever 
is simpler than that employed in the conventional reel since all elements 
other than the lever 12 and brake shoe 21 are received inside of the case 
of the reel. The overall size of the reel is made more compact, and 
backlash of the fishing line during the casting operation can easily be 
prevented. 
Referring now to FIGS. 7 through 9, a second embodiment of the invention 
will now be described. In FIGS. 7 through 9, components identical or 
similar to corresponding components in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 6 
are identified by like reference numerals, and further detailed 
descriptions thereof are omitted. 
As shown in FIG. 7, a reel body 1 is connected to the shank 4 with screws 
47. As in the first-described embodiment, the shank 4 flares into a 
mounting foot 4a used to attach the reel to a rod 30. In this embodiment, 
the operating lever 12 is mounted upon a shaft 10' extending between leg 
portions 4b and 4c provided in the lower portion of the shank 4. The 
operating lever 12 is rotationally biased counterclockwise in FIG. 7 by a 
spring 11 wound around the shaft 10'. A clutch pin 41 is provided at an 
end of a portion of the lever 12 which protrudes rearwardly from the 
juncture point with the shaft 10'. The pin 41 is slidably inserted into an 
elongated hole 42 provided in the end plate 2b of a side frame 2'. 
A cam portion 14' is formed integrally with a central portion 43 of the 
operating lever 12. A brake shoe 21' is disposed below the central portion 
43 of the operating lever 12, between the bottom of the cam portion 14' 
and the flange 6a of the spool 6. The brake shoe 21 is movable in the 
vertical direction of FIG. 7 and is urged upwardly by a spring 19'. 
The cam 14' is in the position shown in FIG. 7 when the operating lever 12 
is in the illustrated released state. However, when the operating lever 12 
is pulled upwardly (rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 7), the cam 
portion 14 is rotated so as to depress the brake shoe 21' against the 
force of the spring 19', thereby moving the brake shoe 21' into abutment 
with the flange 6a of the spool 6, and thereby braking rotational movement 
of the spool 6. The braking mode is illustrated in FIG. 9. 
If desired, the cam 14' can be formed integrally with the operating lever 
12 by deforming a part of the central portion 43 of the operating lever 
12, or it may be formed by uniting a second member to the operating lever. 
Any desired construction of the cam portion 14' may be employed so long as 
the cam portion 14' is rotatable together with the operating lever 12. 
The brake shoe 21', which has a generally rectangular configuration, has an 
elongated through-hole 45a at the center thereof as shown in FIG. 8. A 
guide piece 48 is provided at the inner surface of the leg portion 4c and 
fitted into the elongated hole 45a to guide the movement of the brake shoe 
21' in the vertical direction. The spring 19a is disposed between a top 
end 45b of the elongated hole 45a. The guide piece 48 is prevented from 
disengaging from the elongated hole 45 by a holding plate 49, the latter 
being attached to the leg portion 4c by pins 50. The bottom end of the 
brake shoe 21' passes through a recess 51 provided in a flange portion 2c 
of the end plate 2b. 
The pin 41 performs the function of the pin 15 in the first-described 
embodiment. Therefore, the arm portion 15a of the lever 13 employed in the 
first-described embodiment can be omitted. Otherwise, the clutch mechanism 
in this second embodiment may be the same as in the first-described 
embodiment. Of course, there is no need to provide the brake lever 17, 
etc., used to perform the braking function in the first-described 
embodiment. 
In operation, when the operating lever 12 is pulled upwardly (turned 
counterclockwise in the drawing) by the finger f of the operator, the 
rotation of the operating lever 12 causes the clutch pin 41 at the rear 
end of the operating lever 12 to move downwardly along the elongated hole 
42, thereby releasing the clutch mechanism. Simultaneously, the cam 
portion 14' rotates to push the brake shoe 21' downwardly by the top 
portion 14a' of the cam portion 14'. This action forces the brake shoe 21' 
into engagement with the periphery 6a of the spool 6, thereby braking the 
rotational movement of the spool 6. When the operating lever 12 is 
released, the operating lever 12 turns in the counterclockwise direction 
in FIG. 7, thereby moving the clutch pin 41 outwardly and thus engaging 
the clutch. Also, rotation of the cam portion 14' causes the brake shoe 
21' to disengage from the periphery 6a of the spool 6. Accordingly, the 
mode illustrated in FIG. 7 is restored. 
In the second preferred embodiment described above, because the brake shoe 
21' is provided at a position under the pivoted central portion of the 
operating lever 12 while the clutch pin 41 is provided at the end of a 
rearward extension from the central portion of the operating lever 12, 
there is no danger whatsoever of any interference between the two 
operating members. Also, the brake shoe 21' will always be pushed down 
smoothly and surely by the rotation of the cam portion 14' so that the 
braking and clutch operating movements are always performed smoothly. 
This completes the description of the preferred embodiments of the 
invention. Although preferred embodiments have been described, it is 
believed that numerous modifications and alterations thereto would be 
apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the 
spirit and scope of the invention.