Spinning reel having a narrow reel body housing

To make a reel body compact, a fishing reel is mounted on a fishing rod with a cylindrical portion 30, and is provided with a rotatable rotor 3, a reel body 2, a spool shaft 20, a spool 4, a handle shaft 7, a pinion gear 14, and a oscilating mechanism 6. The reel body 2 has a rotor support portion 10c for rotatably supporting the rotor, and a flange portion 10d formed so as to cover a rear end portion of the cylindrical portion 30 outside the rotor support portion 10c. A housing of the reel body 2, has a lateral width rearward of the flange portion 10d that is in the range of 20 to 60% of a diameter of the flange portion 10d. The spool shaft 20 is reciprocatingly rotatably supported for back and forth movement within the housing of the reel body 2. The spool 4 is fixed to an end of the spool shaft 20 such that the fishing line may be guided by a fishing line guiding portion and wound around an outer circumference of the spool. A oscilating mechanism 6 includes a screw shaft 21 disposed above and generally parallel with the spool shaft 20 within the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a fishing reel, and more particularly to a 
fishing reel mounted on a fishing rod for winding a fishing line around a 
spool by using a rotor that rotates synchronized with a rotation of a 
handle. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
In general, a fishing reel has a reel body, a rotor that is rotatably 
mounted on the reel body, and a spool around which a fishing line is to be 
wound and which is located in a front side of the rotor. The reel body has 
a rotor support portion for rotatably supporting the rotor, and a flange 
portion formed outside the rotor support portion so as to cover a rear end 
portion of a cylindrical portion. The rotor has the cylindrical portion 
having a front wall and a pair of arm portions that are formed to oppose 
each other at sides of the cylindrical portion. A line guide portion that 
may be pivoted to a line discharge position and closed to a line winding 
position, is provided between the pair of arm portions. The line guide 
portion has bail support members pivotally supported on the pair of arm 
portions, respectively, a line roller rotatably supported at a tip end of 
one of the bail support members, and a bail for connecting the pair of 
bail support members. 
Furthermore, a oscilating mechanism for winding a fishing line, guided by 
the bail and the line roller, around an outer periphery of the spool 
uniformly back and forth is provided for the fishing reel. The oscilating 
mechanisms are classified generally into ones having an oscillating gear 
and others having a screw shaft along the spool shaft. In the oscillating 
gear type oscilating mechanism, a winding density is different between 
opposite end portions and a central portion of the spool. Often, the 
winding density at the central portion being low is such that the windings 
of the fishing line in the central portion form a recess or depression 
with the windings on the axial ends of the spool being thicker than the 
central portion. For this reason, the screw shaft type oscilating 
mechanism that may uniformly wind the fishing line around the spool has 
recently been used in many cases. 
The screw shaft type oscilating mechanism is provided with a screw shaft 
arranged in parallel with the spool shaft, an intermediate gear for 
rotating the screw shaft and a slider for sliding moving the screw shaft. 
The screw shaft is disposed along the spool shaft on, for example, an 
oblique side of the spool shaft. A crossing spiral groove is formed in an 
outer circumference of the screw shaft. A part of a slider is engaged with 
the spiral groove. The intermediate gear is fixed to a tip end of the 
screw shaft and is to be rotated in synchronized with the handle. The 
slider is fixed to the rear end of the spool shaft substantially at the 
same position in the axial direction as that of the engagement portion 
with the screw shaft. The slider is reciprocatingly moved along the screw 
shaft so that the spool shaft and the spool are reciprocatingly moved in 
the same manner. Thus, the spool is reciprocated in accordance with the 
rotational operation of the handle so that the fishing line is uniformly 
wound around the outer circumference of the spool. 
In such a fishing reel, it is important to make the structure compact in 
size and light in weight for the purpose of easy casting. However, in the 
structure having the screw shaft type oscilating mechanism as in the 
conventional fishing reel, since the screw shaft is located on the oblique 
side of the spool shaft, a right and left dimension (transverse width) of 
the reel body is increased, and is usually 50% or more of a diameter of 
the flange portion. For this reason, it is difficult to make the reel body 
compact. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide a reel body that may be 
made compact. 
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a fishing reel is 
mountable on a fishing rod and includes a rotatable rotor formed with a 
cylindrical portion. The cylindrical portion is formed with a front wall 
and arm portions provided on opposite sides of the cylindrical portion. A 
fishing line guiding portion is pivotally mounted at one end of one of the 
arm portions. A reel body is formed with a housing and a rotor support 
portion for rotatably supporting the rotor, and a flange extending from a 
portion of the rotor support portion. The flange is formed so as to cover 
a rear end portion of the cylindrical portion of the rotor. The housing is 
formed rearward of the flange and a width that is about 20 to 60% of a 
diameter of the flange. A spool shaft is reciprocatingly rotatably 
supported within the reel body. A spool is fixed to an end of the spool 
shaft such that a fishing line guided by the fishing line guiding portion 
is woundable around an outer circumference of the spool, A rotatable 
handle shaft is arranged in the reel body in a direction perpendicular to 
the spool shaft. The handle shaft has a handle and a master gear mounted 
thereon. A pinion gear is arranged so as to engage the master gear on an 
outer circumferential side of the spool shaft and connected to the rotor. 
A reciprocating mechanism is disposed in the housing for reciprocating the 
spool shaft. The reciprocating mechanism includes a spiral shaft arranged 
along the spool shaft in the reel body and has a spiral groove on its 
outer circumference, an intermediate gear mounted unrotatably to the 
spiral shaft and meshing with the pinion gear, an engagement member 
engaging with the spiral groove, and a sliding member that is fixed in an 
axial direction relative to the spool shaft and that reciprocates together 
with the spool shaft upon rotation of the spiral shaft. 
Preferably, the spiral shaft is located in generally the same plane and 
generally parallel to the spool shaft within the housing. 
Preferably, the handle is provided at a tip end of the handle shaft, the 
master gear is provided at a proximal end of the handle shaft, and the 
handle shaft is supported rotatably on the reel body at an intermediate 
portion thereof. 
Preferably, the spiral shaft and the spool shaft are disposed generally 
within the same plane within the housing, the plane being generally 
parallel to the master gear. 
Preferably, the plane is generally perpendicular to a direction 
corresponding to the width of the housing. 
In the fishing reel of the present invention, when the handle is rotated, 
the handle shaft is rotated so that the master gear is rotated. The pinion 
gear that is engaged with the master gear is rotated to thereby rotate the 
rotor. When the pinion gear is rotated, the intermediate gear that meshes 
with the pinion gear is also rotated. When the intermediate gear is 
rotated, the screw shaft arranged along the spool shaft is rotated and the 
sliding member that engages with the screw shaft is reciprocated back and 
forth to thereby reciprocate the spool and the spool shaft. Thus, the 
fishing line that has been guided to the fishing line guiding portion of 
the rotor is uniformly wound back and forth around the spool. 
It should herein be noted that since the lateral width, rearward of the 
flange portion, of the reel body is in the range of 20 to 60% of the 
flange portion, the lateral width of the reel body becomes short and the 
size of reel body may be reduced. 
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.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Overall Structure and Structure of Reel Body 
In FIGS. 1 to 3, a fishing reel according to one embodiment of the present 
invention is provided with a reel body 2 for rotatably supporting a handle 
1, a rotor 3, and a spool 4. The rotor 3 is rotatably supported on a front 
portion of the reel body 2. The spool 4 in configured to wind a fishing 
line around an outer circumferential surface thereof, and is movable in an 
axial direction on a front portion of the rotor 3. 
The reel body 2 is formed with a housing 10 which supports the rotor 3 and 
the spool 4. A pair of covers 11a and 11b detachably screw fasten to each 
side surface of the housing 10, respectively. A fishing rod mounting 
portion 12 extends upwardly from the housing 10. The housing 10 is, for 
example, a thin member made of aluminum alloy and has openings 10a and 10b 
formed on opposite sides of the housing 10, as is shown in FIG. 2. The 
cover 11a covers the opening 10a and the cover 11b covers the opening 10b. 
The housing 10 also has a rotor support portion 10c for rotatably 
supporting the rotor 3 at a front end thereof, and a circular flange 
portion 10d shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The circular flange portion 10d is 
formed with a generally circular shape which corresponds to a rear end 
open portion of a cylindrical portion 30 (described below) of the rotor 3. 
The flange portion 10d covers an open space of the cylindrical portion 30 
for the purpose of preventing foreign matters such as dusts or the like 
from entering the interior. A slight gap is defined between the flange 
portion 10d and the rear end portion of the cylindrical portion 30 as best 
shown in FIG. 3. A lateral width W is measured from the outer side of the 
covers 11a and 11b of the flange portion 10d of the reel body 2. The 
lateral width W is in the range of 20 to 60% of a diameter D of the flange 
portion 10d. 
In the interior of the housing 10, there are provided a rotor drive 
mechanism 5 for rotating the rotor 3 and a oscilating mechanism 6 for 
moving the spool 4 back and forth and uniformly winding the fishing line. 
The covers 11a and 11b are, for example, thin members made of aluminum 
alloy and are used to cover the opening portions 10a and 10b of the 
housing 10, respectively. Disposed on the cover 11a (the upper side in 
FIG. 2) is a cylindrical handle support portion 8 projecting on one side 
for supporting a handle shaft 7 to which the handle 1 is fixed at one end. 
Bearings 9 are arranged at both ends of the handle support portion 8. The 
handle shaft 7 is rotatably supported to the handle support portion 8 by 
the bearings 9. 
The fishing rod mounting portion 12 is a member extending obliquely 
upwardly, in a forward direction from the housing 10, as shown from the 
side in FIG. 1, and is formed with a T-shaped that is integral with the 
housing 10. A fishing rod mounting surface 12a is formed on an upper 
portion of the fishing rod mounting portion 12. 
The rotor drive mechanism 5 has a master gear 13 (FIG. 2) formed integrally 
with the handle shaft 7 at a proximal end of the handle shaft 7, and a 
pinion gear 14 that meshes with the master gear 13. The pinion gear 14 is 
formed into a cylindrical sleeve with its front portion 14a extending 
through the central portion of the rotor 3 and into the interior of the 
spool 4. The intermediate portion and the rear end portion, in the axial 
direction, of the pinion gear 14 are rotatably supported to the housing 10 
of the reel body 2 through bearings 15 and 16, respectively. 
The oscilating mechanism 6 is a mechanism for reciprocatingly moving in the 
axial direction a spool shaft 20 having an end to which the central 
portion of the spool 4 is fixed, for moving the spool 4 in the same 
direction. The oscilating mechanism 6 includes a screw shaft 21 disposed 
above the spool shaft 20, a slider 22 moving in the axial direction along 
the screw shaft 21, and an intermediate gear 23 fixed at a tip end of the 
screw shaft 21. The screw shaft 21 is arranged in parallel with the spool 
shaft 20 with its end portion being rotatably supported to the housing 10 
within the interior of the rotor 3. A spiral groove 21a is formed in an 
outer circumferential potion of the screw shaft 21. A rear end of the 
spool shaft 20 is fixed to the slider 22. The intermediate gear 23 is 
fixed to a front end portion of the screw shaft 21 and is engaged with the 
pinion gear 14. 
The spool shaft 20 and the screw shaft 21 being parallel, define a plane P 
indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The plane P is perpendicular to the image 
shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and therefore the plane P is shown as a line. The 
plane P is generally parallel to the master gear 13. Further, the plane P 
is generally perpendicular to the measured width W of the housing 10. 
Slider Structure 
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the slider 22 has a slider body 25 and an 
engagement member 26 received in the slider body 25. The slider body 25 
has a body portion 25a disposed along side the screw shaft 21, as shown in 
FIG. 5, a guide portion 25b extending from a front portion (on the upper 
left side of FIG. 5) of the body portion 25a, and a fixture portion 25c 
extending from a rear side (on the lower right side of FIG. 5) of the body 
portion 25a. A lateral or transverse hole 27 is formed so as to intersect 
the screw shaft 21, as shown in FIG. 6. The engagement member 26 is 
rotatably inserted into this hole 27. The guide portion 25b is slidably 
mounted on a guide shaft 24a arranged in parallel with and above the screw 
shaft 21. 
The fixture portion 25c is slidably mounted on a guide shaft 24b arranged 
in parallel with and below the screw portion 21, and at the same time is 
fixed in the axial direction by a screw 28 relative to the spool shaft 20 
arranged below the guide shaft 24b. Incidentally, a cutout 20a is formed 
in the portion of the spool shaft 20 that engages with the fixture portion 
25c. The cutout 20a is generally flat, as is shown from the rear end 
thereof in FIG. 6. An associated hole 25d of the fixture portion 25c has a 
partially circular shape in cross-section and has a flat portion 25e 
corresponding to the cutout 20a. With such an engagement, the slider body 
25 is prevented from rotating relative to the spool shaft 20. 
Formed at the tip end of the engagement member 26 is the engagement portion 
26a engaged with the grooves 21a of the screw shaft 21. A cover member 29 
is fixed to a proximal end of a hole 27 of the body portion 25a for 
preventing the engagement member 26 from being pulled out from the hole 
27. Also, a stop (not shown) is provided at a distal end of the hole 27 
for limiting the movement of the engagement member 26 on the distal end 
side. 
Rotor Structure 
Referring back to FIG. 1, the rotor 3 has the cylindrical portion 30, a 
first rotor arm 31 and a second rotor arm 32 that are provided to face one 
another on opposite sides of the cylindrical portion 30. The cylindrical 
portion 30 and the two rotor arms 31 and 32 are formed integrally with 
each other. 
A front wall 33 is formed in the front portion of the cylindrical portion 
30, and a boss 33a is formed in the central portion of the front wall 33. 
The front portion 14a of the pinion gear 14 and the spool shaft 20 extend 
through a through-hole of the boss 33a. The rear end portion of the 
cylindrical portion 30 is covered by the flange portion 10d of the reel 
body 2 as described above. A nut 34 is disposed on the front side of the 
front wall 33. This nut 34 engages with the screw portion at the tip end 
of the pinion gear 14. A bearing 35 is disposed on the inner 
circumferential portion of the nut 34 for rotatably supporting the nut 34 
relative to the spool shaft 20. 
A first line tangle preventing member 36 is formed in the front wall 33 of 
the rotor 3 and has a cylindrical shape. The first line tangle preventing 
member 36 is formed with a pair of slits extending in the axial direction. 
The first line tangle preventing member 36 is a member for preventing the 
fishing line, as it is wound around the spool 4, from entering through a 
gap between the rotor 3 and the spool 4 and getting tangled around on the 
spool shaft 20. A second fishing line tangle preventing member 37 is 
provided on the interior of the spool 4 between the spool 4 and the rotor 
3 for preventing the fishing line as it is wound around the spool 4 from 
entering through a gap between the rotor 3 and the spool 4 and getting 
tangled around on the spool shaft 20. The second fishing line tangle 
preventing member 37 is a member formed with a cup-shape. 
The second fishing line tangle preventing member 37 is formed with a pair 
of arcuate through-holes 37a through which the first fishing line 
preventing member 36 extends. A bearing 38 for rotatably supporting the 
spool shaft 20 is disposed at the central portion of the second fishing 
line preventing member 37. Provided at the circumferential edge portion of 
the second fishing line tangle preventing member 37 are a cylindrical 
portion 37b for obstructing a gap between the rear end portion of the 
spool 4 and the rotor 3. Further, a pair of rotor retaining portions 39a 
and 39b extend radially outwardly from the cylindrical portion 37b. The 
rotor retaining portions 39a and 39b engage portions of the pair of rotor 
arms 31 and 32 of the rotor 3 to rotate the second fishing line tangle 
preventing member 37 in synchronized with the rotor 3. 
A first bail support member 40 is pivotally mounted on an inner 
circumferential portion of an end of the first rotor arm 31. The first 
bail support member 40 is rotatably supported on the first rotary arm 31 
by two bearings 40a. A line roller 41 is mounted at an end of the first 
bail support member 40 for guiding the fishing line onto the spool 4. A 
second bail support member 42 is pivotally mounted on an inner 
circumferential portion of an end of the second rotor arm 32. It is 
possible to function the second bail support member 42 as a weight 
balancer, for example, by making the second bail support member 42 of 
material having a greater specific weight than that of the other parts for 
eliminating an unbalance upon rotation caused by the first bail support 
member 40 and the line roller 41. A bail 43 is provided which extends 
between the line roller 41 at the end of the first bail support member 40 
and the second bail support member 42. A bail arm 45 is constituted by the 
bail support members 40 and 42, the line roller 41 and the bail 43. Thus, 
each bail support member 40, 42 is mounted on the inner circumferential 
side of the rotor arms 31 and 32 so that the rotational radius of the bail 
arm 45 is decreased and the bail arm 45 hardly hits the fisherman's hand 
gripping the fishing rod. Accordingly, the fishing rod mounting portion 12 
is shortened, and it is possible to make the spool 4 and the fishing rod 
close to each other making the overall structure more compact than prior 
art configurations. 
It should herein be noted that the two bail support members 40 and 42 may 
be pivotally mounted about a single swing axis M, shown in FIG. 1. A point 
at which the swing axis M and the first bail support member mounting 
surface of the first rotor arm 31 intersect with each other is referred to 
as a swing center C1, and a point at which the swing axis M and the second 
bail support member mounting surface of the first rotor arm 32 intersect 
with each other is referred to as a swing center C2, the swing center C2 
is located forward of the swing center C1, where a forward direction is 
defined as being the left side of FIG. 1. Namely, the swing axis M is 
slanted rearwardly relative to an axis perpendicular to the spool shaft 
20. Also, each of the bail support members 40 and 42 is arranged so that 
its pivoting surface is perpendicular to the swing axis M. 
A reverse rotation preventing mechanism 50 is provided in the interior of 
the cylindrical portion 30 of the rotor 3. The reverse rotation preventing 
mechanism 50 has a roller type one-way clutch (not shown) and an operating 
mechanism 51 for switching over the one-way clutch between the operative 
condition and the inoperative condition (allowing rotation is both 
directions). An outer race of the one-way clutch is fixed to the housing 
10, and an inner race thereof is fixed to the pinion gear 14. The 
operating mechanism 51 has an operating lever 52 located in the lower 
portion of the housing 10. The operating lever 52 may be swung to thereby 
perform the switch-over from one-way clutch operation and allowing 
rotation in both directions. In the operative condition, the rotor 3 is 
prevented from rotating reversely, and in the inoperative condition the 
rotor 3 may rotate in the reverse direction. 
Spool Structure 
The spool 4 is disposed between the first rotor arm 31 of the rotor 3 and 
the second rotor arm 32 thereof and is fixed to the end of the spool shaft 
20. The spool 4 has a fishing line winding drum portion 4a around which 
the fishing line is to be wound, a rear flange portion 4b formed 
integrally with the rear portion of the fishing line winding drum portion 
4a, and a front flange portion 4c fixed to the front portion of the 
fishing line winding drum portion 4a. The fishing line winding drum 
portion 4a extends up to the outer circumferential side of the cylindrical 
portion 30 of the rotor 3, with its drum length extending more than that 
of a prior art fishing reel. A height or diameter of the flange portion 4b 
and a height or diameter of the flange portion 4c are smaller than that of 
the prior art fishing reel. Thus, a resistance upon the release of the 
fishing line becomes low, and even if a thin fishing line is wound around 
the fishing line winding drum portion 4a, the fishing line is less likely 
to become twisted. 
Reel Operation 
In the foregoing fishing reel, upon casting, the bail 43 is manually 
pivoted so that it moves to a line release side of the spool 4 from a line 
winding side thereof. Thus, the first and second bail support members 40 
and 42 are pivoted in the same direction about the swing axis M. At this 
time, the first and second bail support members 40 and 42 are arranged 
inside of the first and second rotor arms 31 and 32 and at the same time 
the swing axis M is slanted rearwardly relative to the spool shaft 20 so 
that the first bail support member 40 and the line roller 41 at its end 
are moved more inwardly than when in the line winding position. For this 
reason, the fishing line which has been reeling out upon casting would be 
less likely to become entangled around the first bail support member 40 or 
the line roller 41. 
Upon winding the fishing line in, the bail 43 is pivoted to the line 
winding position. This is automatically effected by the action of a cam 
and a spring (not shown) when the handle 1 is rotated in the fishing line 
winding direction. When the handle 1 is rotated in the fishing line 
winding direction, its rotational torque is transmitted to the pinion gear 
14 through the handle shaft 12 and the master gear 13. The rotational 
torque that has been transmitted to the pinion gear 14 is further 
transmitted to the rotor 3 through the front portion of the pinion gear 14 
to thereby rotate the rotor 3 in the fishing line winding direction. 
On the other hand, the screw shaft 21 is rotated by the intermediate gear 
23 that meshes with the pinion gear 14, so that the slider 22 engaging 
with the spiral groove 21a of the screw shaft 21 is moved back and forth 
while being guided by the guide shafts 24a and 24b. For this reason, the 
spool shaft 20 and the spool 4 are reciprocatingly moved back and forth in 
the axial direction. The fishing line that is guided to the spool 4 by the 
bail 43 and the line roller 41 is substantially uniformly wound back and 
forth in the axial direction around an outer circumferential surface of 
the line winding drum portion 4a of the spool 4. 
In the fishing reel having such a structure, since the slider 22 is 
reciprocatingly moved by the guidance of the two guide shafts 24a and 24b, 
the slider 22 is smoothly reciprocated without any rotational displacement 
or tilt. For this reason, it is unnecessary to cover the full 
circumference of the screw shaft 21 by the slider body 25, so that it is 
possible to make small the space opposite to the engagement member 26. As 
a result, it is possible to reduce the projection in the lateral direction 
in the rear portion of the reel body 2 to thereby make the reel body 2 
compact. 
Also, since the screw shaft 21 is located above the spool shaft 20, the 
lateral width W of the portion, rearward of the flange portion 10d, of the 
reel body 2 is narrowed down to 20 to 60% of the diameter D of the flange 
portion 10d, and the projection in the lateral direction may be further 
decreased. At the same time, since the one end of the screw shaft 21 to 
which the intermediate gear 23 is fixed is located in the interior of the 
rotor 3, the rear end of the screw shaft 21 is located more forwardly than 
the conventional structure. Thus, the axial length of the reel body 2 may 
be shortened. For this reason, it is possible to significantly reduce the 
overall width in comparison with the conventional screw shaft type fishing 
reel as mentioned above. It is possible to make the reel body 2 further 
compact. 
Furthermore, in the slider body 25, since the fixture portion with the 
spool shaft 20 is located rearwardly of the engagement portion with the 
screw shaft 21, even if the one end of the screw shaft 21 is located in 
the interior of the rotor 3, it is possible to make the structure so that 
the spool shaft fixture portion of the slider 22 that has been forwarded 
could not interfere with the pinion gear 14. 
Also, since the handle shaft 7 is supported only to the cover member 11a, 
it is unnecessary to provide the handle shaft 7 penetrating fully through 
the reel body 2. For this reason, it is possible to easily arrange the 
screw shaft 21 above and close to the spool shaft 20, whereby it is 
possible to shorten the vertical length (height) of the reel body 2. 
Furthermore, it is possible to make the reel body 2 compact. Also, the 
mounting precision for the handle shaft is enhanced and the rotation of 
the handle is smooth. 
Other Embodiments 
(a) The embodiments of the fishing reel should not be limited to the 
above-described specific embodiment. It is possible to apply the present 
invention to ones having a drag mechanism in a front or a rear portion, or 
ones having a braking mechanism with a brake lever instead of the reverse 
rotation preventing mechanism. 
(b) The structure of the slider and the like of the oscilating mechanism 
should not be limited to that shown in the foregoing embodiment. 
Advantages of the Invention 
In the fishing reel according to the present invention, since the lateral 
width, rearward of the flange portion, of the reel body is in the range of 
20 to 60% of the diameter of the flange portion, the lateral width of the 
reel body is short and the reel body may be miniaturized. 
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.