Reel with one piece gearbox shell

A modular spinning reel is made with a modular gearbox that includes a one piece gearbox shell that encloses a drive gear within. The modular gearbox permits components subject to wear and damage to be readily replaced without disassembling the precision gears while also providing a drive component that can be manufactured in quantity with high precision.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates generally to a spinning reel in which the cranking 
mechanism is based on a discrete and self-contained modular gearbox 
subassembly of precise machining that uses a one piece gearbox shell. Such 
a modular design facilitates design, reduces the cost of manufacture, and 
allows the use of high precision gearing mechanisms at low cost. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The quality of the gearing in a spinning reel often is readily appreciated 
by an angler. High quality gearing provides the angler with a smooth, 
tight feel when the handle is rotated. There is little or no play in such 
a gear mechanism that would affect the angler's ability to exert precise 
control over the action of the bait. Precise gear mechanisms also provide 
a longer useful service life before repair. Precision gearing is highly 
desirable in a spinning reel. 
Unfortunately, precision gear mechanisms (i.e., tolerances of less than 
0.0005 inches) tend to be found only in the more expensive reels. The 
reasons for the increased price are numerous, but mainly because 
conventional spinning reels use internal surfaces, screws, and pins on 
each die cast housing plate to support the gearing mechanisms. Each of 
these parts is, itself, made with a certain tolerance. When combined into 
a final assembly, those individual part tolerances accumulate. Such a 
cumulative effect works as a limitation on the process of making precision 
spinning reel gear mechanisms. 
Moreover, any change in the external shape of the housing entails changes 
in the positions of the housing openings and the layout of the guiding 
surfaces used for the internal gears. New guide surfaces must be designed 
and positioned within the housing by a relatively low skill work force so 
that gears can be mounted inside the housing and operated. This process 
occurs for each new reel model. Also, because the reel foot is integral 
with one of the housing side plates in conventional spinning reels, wear 
or damage to the reel foot often requires that the entire reel be 
replaced. 
The intimate relationship between the gears and the housing means that the 
critical gearbox support surfaces must be disassembled for lubrication and 
reassembled by the angler under uncertain circumstances. This may 
introduce alignment problems that compromise the gear mechanism. 
It would be desirable to have a way to provide a high precision spinning 
reel gearing mechanism in spinning reels that offered and maintained a 
high level of precision for the life of the reel. It would be a further 
benefit to have a spinning reel gear mechanism that could accommodate 
changes to the external reel housing without re-designing the entire reel 
in order to make such changes, could separate the utility of the reel from 
the wear associated with the reel foot, or did not require disassembly of 
critical gear support surfaces for maintenance. 
In addition, the unique nature of spinning reel design (including the 
housing and gearbox) often means that economies of scale may be difficult 
to realize in the manufacture of any one model of reel. Conventional 
manufacturing practice often means that production of one part in large 
quantity has a lower per unit cost than production of the same part in a 
lesser quantity. This means that reels with uniquely designed housings and 
gearboxes may not be able to be manufactured in sufficient quantities to 
realize maximized economies of scale with an associated lowered unit cost 
of manufacture. 
It would be desirable to have a way to maximize manufacturing efficiency 
and lower per unit costs in the manufacture of spinning reels. Such 
lowered costs would permit the use of higher quality gearboxes without 
overall change in the manufacturing cost for the reel. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A spinning reel according to the invention includes: 
a one piece gearbox with a handle shaft extending therefrom, 
a reel foot attached to said gearbox, and 
a drive shaft rotatably extending axially from said gearbox and in 
communication with a bail arm assembly and a spool. 
The gearbox subassembly provides spinning reel manufacturers with new 
options for design of the housing while providing a high precision gearbox 
that can be machined in quantity at low tolerances. Manufacturing 
inventories are easier to control while economies of scale can be realized 
by large production of a key mechanical component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Spinning reels according to the invention employ a modular, self-contained, 
one piece gearbox to which the remaining components of a spinning reel are 
attached, e.g., reel foot, drive shaft, rotor and bail arm assembly, drag 
system, etc. The modular gearbox allows a gear assembly of high precision 
and low tolerance to be made in quantity for realizing economies of scale. 
The former limitations on reel performance associated with tolerance 
accumulation are avoided. 
The gearbox shell is preferably made into a spinning reel gearbox shell 
from a single piece of virtually any machinable or formable material. 
Suitable materials include many different types of metal (e.g., aluminum, 
brass, and titanium) and alloys thereof synthetic polymeric materials 
(thermoset polymers like epoxy composite, and thermoplastic polymers like 
a nylon or polyolefin) either with or without added reinforcing agents, 
ceramics (e.g., alumina, silicon nitride, and mullite) with or without 
reinforcing agents added thereto (e.g., silicon carbide as whiskers or 
particles, zirconia, hafnia, and boride). The preferred material is, 
however, aluminum 6061-T6 having a tensile strength of about 45 kpsi. This 
is stronger than a typical die cast aluminum, e.g., A380.0 which has a 
tensile strength of 24 kpsi. 
The one piece gearbox used in the invention can be formed by any number of 
methods applicable for the material that allows a gearbox shell to be 
formed as a machinable blank or directly into near net final shape. 
Suitable methods include injection molding, die casting, cold forging, hot 
forging, compression molding of thermosets and thermoplastics, extruding 
as solid billets and machining, investment casting, sand casting, and slip 
casting. The preferred method is precision machining an extruded channel 
to include suitable internal and external surface features to serve as the 
gearbox shell. 
The extrusion process is particularly preferred for making the gearbox 
shell for a number of reasons. The most important is the high degree of 
precision attained with extrusion so the gearbox shell can be made in 
quantity with tolerances of less than 0.0005 inches. Cutting and machining 
of the extrudate can also be performed manually or automatically with a 
similarly high degree of precision. 
For a gearbox that uses a worm drive and pinion mechanism on the drive 
shaft, exemplary interior surfaces include an axially disposed channel for 
the drive shaft and lateral channels for bearing assemblies used with a 
handle shaft inserted transverse to the drive shaft. The width of the 
extruded channel should be sufficiently wide for a gear mechanism to be 
disposed between the lateral bearing assemblies and engage the drive 
section of the drive shaft. A helical groove in the drive shaft engages 
the spool through the drag system to allow the spool to cease its 
rotational motion if the applied line tension on the spool exceeds the 
drag setting. Other gear systems (e.g., a conventional face gear system) 
will involve other surfaces to support the drive gears in a modular, one 
piece gearbox shell that is not intended to be disassembled by anglers. In 
this way, the precision alignment of the gears is maintained for the life 
of the reel. 
In general, it is preferred that bearing surfaces for the drive shaft be 
provided at either end of the gearbox shell. This provides spaced apart 
bearing support surfaces that offer a superior form of spaced drive shaft 
support compared to conventional spinning reel designs in which bearing 
surfaces are applied to one end, and the drive shaft extends therefrom 
without bearing support. 
Once the gearbox shell is formed, the internal components of the drive 
mechanism are positioned. Such components include the drive shaft, bearing 
surfaces for the drive shaft, the drive gear and the bearing surfaces for 
the drive gear. The reel foot is then attached to the gearbox shell in a 
manner that fully encloses the internal components of the gearbox although 
a covered access port may be provided to allow the drive system to be 
lubricated. The bail arm/spool assembly including an adjustable drag 
system is attached to the axially protruding drive shaft. 
The figures illustrate a preferred embodiment that uses a worm gear and 
pinion drive system. It will be understood that the figures are included 
to serve as an aid for understanding of the present invention and are not 
intended to serve as a limitation on the scope of the appended claims. 
In the preferred embodiment of the figures, extruded gearbox shell stock 1 
is formed in an extended length with a series of continuous external and 
continuous internal surface features that are sized and positioned to 
accept components of the gear mechanism. Shell stock 1 is cut to length to 
form gearbox shell 20. 
Blank 1 is shaped and machined to include positions for attaching a reel 
foot assembly 13 as well as a bail arm/spool assembly 14. Suitable 
connections include countersunk bore holes 16 for screws that will secure 
reel foot 13 to shell 1. Such an external connection to a modular gearbox 
allows anglers the ability to replace a damaged reel foot without 
disassembling the critical gear mechanism or otherwise opening a housing 
for aligned moving parts. Such independence provides a spinning reel with 
a longer useful life and maintenance of drive gear alignment. 
Opposing internal channels 2 and 3 are sized for ball bearing race 
assemblies 4 that are also centered vertically to support handle 5 
inserted through transverse openings 6 that are machined into shell 20. 
Assemblies 4 also support worm drive gear 15 above and in mesh engagement 
with worm section 17 in the outer sleeve of drive shaft unit 11. 
Openings 22 engage handle 5 inserted through either side for right or 
left-handed anglers. A threaded cap 12 can be used to close the opposite 
opening and retain the handle in the gearbox. Longitudinal bore 7 is 
dimensioned to allow shoulder 8 to be formed therein to a size sufficient 
to accept ball bearing assemblies 9 and 10 that will receive and support 
drive shaft unit 11. The ability to use a pair of ball bearing support 
assemblies for handle 5 and a separate pair for drive shaft unit 11 in a 
gearbox made with a high degree of precision along with a worm gear drive 
with a low surface friction provides a spinning reel with an exceptionally 
smooth gear action and a long useful life. 
Assemblies 9 and 10 are located at the rear and forward ends of gearbox 
shell 20, respectively, thereby providing bearing surfaces for drive shaft 
unit 11 at either end of gearbox shell 20. As shown, bearing assembly 9 is 
located at a distance within about 1-15% of the length of shaft unit 11 
from the terminal end thereof i.e., opposite the bail arm/spool assembly 
14. Bearing assembly 10 is spaced apart from assembly 9 at a distance 
within about 25-50% the total length of drive shaft unit 11 as measured 
from its terminal end. The spacing of bearing assemblies 9 and 10 both 
provide additional support for shaft unit 11 and virtually eliminate 
bending deflection over the contact length of worm section 17. The result 
is a gear mechanism that maintains a smooth action and more fully provides 
mechanical support for the drive shaft. 
Handle 5 is preferably secured by friction, adhesion, welding, threading or 
other structurally secure connection to a shaft with a cross sectional 
shape that is a simple geometric shape (triangle, rectangle, square, 
pentagon, hexagon, etc.) that will engage a correspondingly shaped central 
opening 23 in worm drive gear 15. Worm drive gear 15 may be made of 
virtually any material that can be threaded with worm gear ribs. 
Preferably, worm drive gear 15 is made of a metal that is not readily 
susceptible to corrosion and which has a fairly low frictional 
coefficient. Preferred materials for worm drive gear 15 include brass and 
similar materials. 
Worm drive gear 15 associates with worm section 17 the outer sleeve of of 
drive shaft unit 11 to rotate shaft 11 and bail arm assembly 14 as handle 
5 is turned. Pin 18 rides in helical groove 19 of shaft unit 11 to move 
spool 30 axially as handle 5 is turned. A suitable frictional drag system 
(not shown) allows the bail arm and spool assemblies to slip when the line 
tension on the spool exceeds a preset force. When drag washers (not shown) 
are positioned around drive shaft unit 11 and just ahead of helical groove 
19 and below spool 30, washers of a relatively large diameter and surface 
area can be used. Such increased surface area provides a smooth drag that 
does not exhibit the intermittent stick/slip action of small diameter 
washers. Such a position also permits spool 30 to be changed without 
changing drag settings or unpacking the drag washer stack. 
Drive shaft end cap 21 acts as a lubrication port that allows access to 
worm drive section 17 of drive shaft unit 11 without changing the 
alignment of the drive mechanism. This provides the reel with an extended 
useful life at the same precision feel. 
Spool 30 is preferably a removable spool for holding fishing line although 
a spool can be made that remains fixed within the rotor assembly. A 
preferred spool is removable with a push button mechanism. The spools can 
be made of plastic, aluminum, aluminum alloys, or any workable metal that 
will hold adequate lengths of fishing line ready for use over extended 
periods of time without corrosion or damage to the line. 
Reels according to the invention are based on a modular, self-contained 
drive gearbox with a protruding, supported drive shaft. Exposed wear parts 
like the reel foot and bail arm/spool assembly are attached to that drive 
gearbox and replaceable without adversely effecting the precision gearing. 
Numerous characteristics, advantages and embodiments of the invention have 
been described in detail in the foregoing description with reference to 
the accompanying drawings. However, the disclosure is illustrative only 
and the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Various 
changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the 
art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.