Fishing rod and guide element for same

A fishing rod comprises a tubular tip section having an inner passage bore through a longitudinal center to opened at both a first end and a second end; a butt section is provided at a second end of the tip section, having a butt grip and a reel seat and a guide element provided intermediate the tip section and the butt section, having an inner bore opening at the first end thereof coupling with the second end of the tip section, and a guide hole section formed with a hole penetrating through an outer wall proximate the tip section second end over an area of the inner bore having a width larger than the inner diameter of said inner passage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a hollow fishing rod, in which a fishline 
passes through a hollow extent of the rod interior, and more particularly, 
it relates to a guide element, the guide element having a guide hole for 
guiding fishline from a reel attached to the rod, to the interior of the 
rod and a drain hole for expelling seaweed and other undesirable things 
such as water out from the interior of the rod. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Hollow fishing rods having an interior passage for guiding fishline 
therethrough are well-known. Such fishing rods have had guide holes 
provided therein for guiding fishline unwound from a reel to the inside of 
the rod. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 
248945/1992 discloses a hole in a position extending to the inside of the 
rod, and it also has a guide attached for guiding the line into the hole. 
The guide has a tubular element for containedly guiding and passing the 
fishline. 
The hole of the prior art fishing rod as mentioned above cannot be larger 
in diameter than the inner passage of the rod. Should the hole be larger, 
the line comes in contact with the tubular element in the area of the 
hole, and this, in turn, results in a large amount of friction being 
placed on the fishline when it passes this part of the rod. 
When winding the fishline up on the reel, seawater and other things are 
brought into the inner passage via the line passing through it. The 
seawater and other things remaining in the rod have salt and other 
components which upon crystallization yet increase the frictional 
resistance on the line as it contacts the hole. In order to overcome this 
disadvantage, for example, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication 
No. 3072/1994 discloses a device in which behind a guide element for 
guiding fishline from a reel into the inside of a rod there is provided a 
bank to block seawater and other undesirable things entering the inside of 
the rod, and a drain hole to expel the seawater out of the rod. 
However, the drain hole formed in the prior art fishing rod is smaller in 
diameter than the inner fishline passage, and hence, seaweed, dust and 
other undesirable things brought inside the rod via the line are often 
hard to expel through the drain hole. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to keep the fishline off a guide 
hole to reduce friction caused on the fishline sliding through it such 
that the fishline can be smoothly wound and unwound to and from a reel. 
It is another object of the present invention to expel undesirable things 
like seaweed as well as water out from the inside a rod. 
In an aspect of the present invention, a fishing rod includes a tubular tip 
section, a butt section, and a fishline guide element. The tip section has 
an inner passage defined therein through which fishline is to extend. The 
butt section has a butt grip and a reel seat and is provided behind the 
tip section. The guide element is disposed intermediate the tip section 
and the butt section, having a inner bore in its first end for 
interconnection with the tip section and a guide hole of larger width than 
an inner diameter of the tip section inner passage. The guide hole extends 
through the outer wall of the guide element proximate the opening into the 
tip section inner passage, and is for guiding a fishline from a reel 
mounted on the reel seat into the inner passage. 
In accordance with the present invention, the guide hole can be made 
without restricting or hindering the fishline as it passes through the 
inner passage of the rod, and frictional resistance on the line at the 
guide hole can be reduced without reducing the strength of the rod. 
In another aspect of the present invention, a fishing rod includes a 
tubular tip section, a butt section, and a guide element. The tip section 
of the rod has an inner passage through which fishline is to extend 
through. The butt section of the rod is disposed behind the tip section 
and has an a butt grip and reel seat. The guide element is provided 
intermediate the tip section and the butt section, and is provide with an 
inner bore in its first end for interconnection of the tip section, a 
guide hole for guiding fishline from a reel mounted on the reel seat into 
the inner passage of the tip section, and a drain hole for opening the 
lower portion of the rod to the outside. The guide hole is formed with a 
width larger than an inner diameter of inner passage of the tip section, 
and the drain hole is of a larger diameter than a minimum diameter of the 
inner passage. Water, dust and the like brought into the rod with the 
line, through the inner passage to the guide element, are discharged out 
the guide element drain hole. 
Here also, in accordance with the present invention, the guide hole and the 
drain hole can be made without restricting or hindering the fishline as it 
passes through the inner passage of the rod. Furthermore, frictional 
resistance on the line at the guide hole can be reduced and undesirable 
matter may be expelled from the rod without reducing the strength of the 
rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present 
invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed 
description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawings where like reference numerals denote corresponding 
parts throughout, in which a fishing rod 1, in accordance with a first 
embodiment of the present invention, is shown in FIG. 1A. The lure rod 1 
has a tip section 2 and a butt section 3, where the sections 2 and 3 are 
interconnectable and may be disconnected from one another, as is shown in 
FIG. 1B. The tip section 2 is tube shaped having a tapered inner bore (b) 
defined between a first end opening 2A and a second end opening 2B (FIG. 
1B). The tip section 2 has a gradually tapered portion on the tip of its 
first end adjacent to the opening 2A and a rear portion adjacent to the 
opening 2B tapered at taper angle of .theta..sub.2 (FIG. 3). A tapered 
inner rod 5 is insertable into the second end opening 2B into the inner 
passage (b) of the tip section 2. Inside the inner rod 5, an inner passage 
(a) is defined through which fishline may extend. 
The butt section 3 has a butt grip 3C and a reel seat 3B provided on the 
front portion of the butt grip 3C. A guide element 3D on the first end of 
the butt section 3, is formed wider in diameter than its immediately 
proximate rod sections. The guide element 3D may be formed integrally with 
the butt section 3 or may be a removable element, as is described in a 
application Ser. No. 08/363,077 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,848 entitled 
"COUPLING SLEEVE FOR A FISHING ROD" filed on the same day herewith and 
assigned to a common assignee. 
As can be seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the guide element 3D includes a 
mid-section 3M formed with a guide hole 3A, a first side tapered portion 
3F with a taper angle .theta..sub.1 (see FIG. 3), a back side tapered 
portion 3R, an inner bore (e) which extends from the first side tapered 
portion 3F to the guide hole 3A. As is apparent from FIG. 1A, the second 
end of the tip section 2 adjacent to the opening 2B extends through the 
inner bore (e) of the guide element 3D and partially extends into the 
guide hole 3A when the rod 1 is fully assembled. Hence, the inner passage 
(a) is open to the guide hole 3A. 
Referring to FIG. 3, the taper angle .theta..sub.1 of the first side 
tapered portion of the guide element 3D is larger than the taper angle 
.theta..sub.2 the tip section 2. The guide hole 3A is for guiding a 
fishline into the inner passage (a) of the inner rod 5. A step portion (d) 
is formed at the end of the front side tapered portion of guide element 
3D. The width of the guide element 3D at its mid-portion 3M is greater 
than the first side tapered portion 3F, the tip section 2, the second end 
portion 3R and the step portion (d). The greater width of the guide 
element 3D at the mid-portion 3M provides greater rigidity to the area 
around the guide hole 3A. The tip section 2, having inner rod 5 inserted 
within, is interconnectable with the guide element 3D via the inner bore 
(e). The guide hole 3A is open to the upper side of the rod and is 
elongated in a lengthwise direction of the rod. A space (c) is defined by 
the guide hole 3A, the space (c) being open to the underside of the guide 
element 3D via a drain hole 3E. The passage (a) is open to the space (c) 
and the guide hole 3A to allow a fishline to extent therethrough. 
Referring again to FIG. 3, the guide hole 3A is elongated in the 
longitudinal direction of the rod and has, generally, a width L that is 
larger than an inner diameter of bore (b) of the tip section 2. The width 
of the guide hole 3A allows a fishline more breadth of movement than in 
conventional rods and severely reduces contact between the line and the 
rim of the guide hole 3A when the fishline passes through the inner 
passage (a). Accordingly, even in the event the reel 4 causes the line to 
oscillate due to the operation of a level winding mechanism on reel 4 and 
the line comes in contact with the rim of the guide hole 3A, resistance is 
greatly reduced compared to conventional rod art. However, the width L of 
the guide hole 3A is much greater than an inner diameter l of the inner 
rod inner passage (a) at a position near the step portion (d) at the 
leading portion of the butt section 3. The maximum width L is defined as 
the width of the guide hole 3A without an attachment ring; such as a 
ceramic ring, or other rigid ring, which is often used to help more 
smoothly guide the fishline and is the subject of a patent application, 
entitled "HOLLOW COLLAPSIBLE FISHING ROD WITH FISHLINE GUIDE" filed on the 
same day herewith, Dec. 23, 1994, Ser. No. 08/363,078, now U.S. Pat. No. 
5,577,338, and is incorporated herein by reference. Similarly, the 
diameter of the inner passage (a) of the inner rod 5 at the end nearest 
the butt section 3 is also determined without an attachment such as a 
grommet. 
In a bottom wall of the cavity (c) of the guide element 3D, a drain hole 3E 
penetrating to the outside is formed. The drain hole 3E is positioned 
opposed to the guide hole 3A, is elliptical in shape elongated in the 
longitudinal direction, and is smaller in both length and width than the 
guide hole 3A. A width K.sub.1 of the drain hole 3E (see FIG. 5) is larger 
than a minimum diameter l of the inner passage (a). Thus, dust and other 
undesirable things entering the inner passage (a) with the line, fall into 
space (c) and are expelled through the drain hole 3E. As can be seen in 
FIGS. 3 and 5, the mid-portion 3M includes two side walls W.sub.1 and 
W.sub.2. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the inner rod 5 is a tubular elongated element 
gradually tapered to correspond to the shape of the inside of the tip 
section 2, and is removable from the tip section 2. The inner passage (a) 
through which the fishline is to extend is defined throughout the inside 
the inner rod 5. A plurality of guide elements 6 are placed at intervals 
over the entire extension of the inner rod 5 in the inner passage (a), as 
shown in FIG. 2. The guide elements 6 are disk-shaped components each of 
which is provided with a small diameter guide aperture 6a at its center, 
and a funnel-like surface 6b facing the second end of the rod. The guide 
elements 6 may be made of material like cermet, resin or ceramics. Via 
these guide elements 6, a fishline is supported and guided through the 
center of the guide aperture 6a and, thereby, the fishline avoids contact 
with inner wall of the inner rod 5. The inner rod is more fully described 
in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/363,067 entitled, "AN 
INNER ROD FOR A HOLLOW COLLAPSIBLE FISHING ROD", assigned to the same 
assignee as the present application and filed on the same day herewith. 
The inner rod 5 has holes 5A formed through the length of the rod which 
penetrate through the circumferential wall, as shown in FIG. 2. The holes 
5A collect dust entering the inner rod and help to make the inner rod 5 
flexible. A tab-like section 5B is formed protruding from the second end 
of the inner rod 5 and is formed with a hole 7 which is for use during 
assembly and separation 
In the fishing rod as stated above, the inner rod 5 is inserted and fitted 
in the tip section 2. When further connected with the butt section 3, tip 
section 2 is inserted into the inner bore (e) of the butt section 3, and 
the tab section 5B protrudes fully into the space (c) of the guide element 
3D. In this condition, fishline from a reel 4 enters the guide hole 3A, 
goes through the cavity (c), extends into the inner passage (a) within the 
inner rod 5. The line is guided through the inner passage (a) and is 
supported and guided by the guide elements 6 at the apertures 6a, and 
finally comes out the first end opening 2A of the tip section 2. 
In this way, as the fishline is supported by the guide elements 6 within 
the inner rod 5, the fishline contacts the inner circumferential wall of 
the inner rod 5 less, and resistance on the fishline is reduced when 
winding and unwinding the fishline. 
Moreover, in this embodiment, since the inner passage (a) is defined in the 
tip section 2 while the guide hole 3A is formed in the butt section 3, no 
restriction is imposed on the formation of the guide hole 3A in relation 
to the tip section 2. Thus, the maximum width of the guide hole 3A can be 
larger than the diameter of the inner passage (a), and the fishline moved 
by the level winding mechanism 4 comes in contact less with the rim of the 
guide hole 3A. 
When cleaning the inside of the rod, the inner rod 5 is removed from the 
tip section 2. This simple action of taking out the inner rod 5 allows for 
the easy removal of dust deposits and other undesirable things the rod. By 
inserting an accessory tool in hole 7, removal of the inner rod 5 from the 
tip section 2 is conveniently facilitated. 
In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the guide element 
3D may be formed integrally as a part of the tip section 2. 
In yet another embodiment, the drain hole 3E may be the same in shape as 
the guide hole 3A, as is shown in FIG. 9. Also, as can be seen in FIG. 9, 
the guide element may have a generally rectangular box shape such that the 
lateral surfaces of a bottom, top and sides of the guide element 3D may be 
formed with holes open to a hollow interior (c) to create multiple drain 
holes. 
In yet another embodiment, as is shown in FIG. 10, the guide element 3D may 
be shaped cylindrical in cross section and drain holes 3E may be formed 
therein; aligned lengthwise with the guide hole 3A but not directly 
opposite it. 
In still another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the rod includes 
a tip section 2 and a butt section 3 permanently formed together such that 
they cannot be separated from each other. In this embodiment, there is no 
inner rod. Instead, guide rings 6 are directly fitted in an inner passage 
of the tip section 2. The guide rings 6 may be made of ceramics, metal, 
resin or the like. The guide elements and other components are similar to 
those previously mentioned in the above referenced copending application. 
In still further embodiments, depicted in FIGS. 13-17, a transit region 
from the tip section 2 to the butt section 3 may be contiguously flat, 
without steps, as shown in FIG. 13. Here, the taper angle .theta..sub.2 at 
the first end of the butt section 3 is to be larger than a taper angle 
.theta..sub.1 at the second end of the tip section 2. A width L of the 
guide hole 3A is to be larger than an inner diameter l of the inner 
passage (a) where the respective sections meet. 
Varied and multiple step sections may be formed in the transition region 
between the tip section 2 and the butt section 3, as shown in FIG. 14. In 
the situation where the average taper angle of these step sections, shown 
in FIG. 14 as .theta..sub.1, is the average taper of the rod according to 
its length; then the butt section average taper angle .theta..sub.2, which 
includes the guide element, is set larger than the tip section average 
taper angle .theta..sub.1. A width L of the guide hole 3A is larger than 
an inner diameter 1 of the inner passage (a) in a position corresponding 
to a point (f) where the average taper angle varies. 
The guide hole 3A is not restricted to any particular shape previously 
described in the embodiments. For instance, in an embodiment shown in FIG. 
15, a first end width L.sub.1 of the guide hole 3D is smaller than a 
second end width L.sub.2. In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 16, 
the width L, is larger than the width L.sub.2. 
The guide element 3D may be shaped elliptical in cross section, as shown in 
FIG. 17 in yet another embodiment. In such a case, the guide hole 3A may 
have a larger lateral width. 
As can be seen in the various figures and various embodiments, for instance 
in FIGS. 3, 5, and 17, the mid-section 3M of the guide portion 3D of the 
butt section 3 is formed with side walls W.sub.1 and W.sub.2. The side 
walls W.sub.1 and W.sub.2 are formed with sufficient width to provide 
rigidity to the rod 1 in the area around the guide hole 3A to prevent 
bending in that area. The tip section 2, being tapered, is intentionally 
designed to bend in accordance with the stresses associated with fishing. 
Various details of the invention may be changed without departing from its 
spirit nor its scope. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the 
embodiments according to the present invention is provided for the purpose 
of illustration only, and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as 
defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.