Spinning reel used for fishing

Abstract: In a spinning reel used for fishing including a rotor (3) rotatable in linking with rotation of a handle, the rotor supporting a bail supporting member (8) having a guide (10) for guiding a fishing line therewith so that the bail supporting member (8) is able to swing between a fishing line winding position and a fishing line releasing position, the bail supporting member being biased by a spring member to position at each of the fishing line winding position and the fishing line releasing position, a backward return force produced when the bail supporting member returns where it used to be is absorbed and relaxed just before a return winding position at which the bail supporting member is returned from the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position. An impact (noise) can be eliminated when a bail supporting member is rotatingly returned from a fishing line releasing position to a fishing line winding position, and a fishing line winding position of a bail supporting member, that is, a position of a fishing line guide can be stabilized.

Description: The present invention relates to a spinning reel used for fishing, according to the preamble of independent claim 1. A conventional spinning reel used for fishing includes a rotor to be rotated by and linked with a handle. A support arm of the rotor supports at a distal end thereof a bail supporting member having a bail and a fishing line guide so that said bail supporting member is movable from a fishing line winding condition to a fishing line releasing condition or vise versa. The bail supporting member is biased by a dead-point spring to be held at either of the fishing line winging condition and the fishing line releasing condition. After a fishing line is released with the bail being in a fishing line releasing condition, the bail supporting member is returned to a fishing line winding condition manually or through an automatic return mechanism driven by handle rotation. When the bail supporting member is to be returned to its original position, an impact noise is produced by the bail supporting member regardless of the manual operation or the use of the automatic return mechanism. In order to eliminate the impact noise, Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publications Nos. 55-172081 and 4-129767 propose a resilient member made up of a spring member which is interposed between the bail supporting member and the rotor support arm when a bail supporting member has been returned to a fishing line winding position. However, in all of the above mentioned prior art, the backward rotation of the bail supporting member is received by the spring member which imparts a biasing force in the opposite direction at the fishing line winding position. Thus, the winding position (angle) of the bail supporting member, i.e. the position (angle) of the fishing line guide is not stable due to spring force of the spring member and spring force of the dead-point spring of the bail supporting member. If the winding position (angle) of the bail supporting member, i.e. the position (angle) of the fishing line guide was not stable, a fishing line path is not stable either, exerting an influence on fishing line wound condition, fishing line twisting, fishing line jam, fishing line scooping-up and rotor rotation balance, and posing a problem that a function of eliminating the impact noises is not stable. From prior art document US-A-5,261,628 a spinning reel for fishing is known. Said spinning reel comprises a rotor and a bail supporting member. Said bail supporting member is provided with a fishline guide. A spring member is provided for holding said bail support member in the fishline winding position or the fishline releasing position, respectively. A damping device is provided between said rotor and said bail supporting member. Said damping device comprises an elastic damping element provided in a pocket formed on part of said rotor. At one end said damping element has a projection in the form of a raised portion which extends into a groove formed on said bail support member. When said bail support member is pivoted an end wall of said groove abuts on said projection of the damping element just before an end position of the bail support member is reached. Said damping element constitutes an abutment means between the rotor and the bail supporting member. Thus, said damping element is provided with some elastic property which causes a soft final position of the bail supporting member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a spinning reel used for fishing as indicated above, wherein the bail supporting member can be moved into a fishline winding position in a smooth and stable manner. According the present invention, said objective is solved by a spinning reel used for fishing according to independent claim 1. When the bail supporting member is.returned by the spring member from the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position, the backward return force exerted on the bail supporting member is absorbed in and thus relaxed by the buffer means just before the original, winding position. That is, a rotation force exerted on the bail supporting member by the dead-point spring member is absorbed and relaxed to thereby be gradually weakened, resulting in that a final, backwardly-returned, winding position of the bail supporting member is able to be stabilized without . causing an impact (noise). Preferred embodiments are laid down in the dependent claims. Hereinafter the present invention is illustrated and explained by means of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is an entire view of an example of a spinning reel used for fishing, Fig. 2 is a view illustrating a first embodiment of the spinning reel, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 3 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member is located at a fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a gist in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is a view showing a structure of a silencer member, Fig. 7 is a view obtained when Fig. 4 is viewed in a direction indicated with an arrow, Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B in Fig. 2, Fig. 9 is a view illustrating an engagement portion between a rotor supporting arm.and a bail supporting member, Fig. 10 is a view illustrating a second embodiment of the spinning reel, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 11 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a . fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 10, Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C in Fig. 10, Fig. 13 is an enlarged view of a gist in Fig. 11, Fig. 14 is a view showing a structure of a gear wheel having highly viscous fluid material, Fig. 15 is a view illustrating a variant of the second embodiment and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line releasing position, Fig. 16 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 15, Fig. 17 is a view illustrating a third embodiment of the spinning reel, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 18 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 17, Fig. 19 is a view illustrating a variant of the third embodiment invention, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 20 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 19, Fig. 21 is a view illustrating a fourth embodiment of the spinning reel, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 22 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 21, Fig. 23 is a view illustrating a fifth embodiment of the spinning reel, and illustrates that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line winding position, Fig. 24 is a view illustrating that a bail supporting member supported by a rotor supporting arm is located at a fishing line releasing position in a structure illustrated in Fig. 23, Fig. 25 is a view illustrating a structure of a rotatable member in a structure illustrated in Fig. 23, Fig. 26 is a view illustrating a structure of a fan integrally formed with a rotatable member illustrated in Fig. 25. ` As illustrated in Fig. 1, in a spinning reel used for fishing, by rotating a handle 2 provided on a reel main body 1, a rotor 3 is made to rotate whereas a spool 5 is made to make forward and backward movement. The rotor 3 is formed with a pair of rotor supporting arms 7 (only one of them is illustrated) which face to each other. Bail supporting members 8 (only one of them is illustrated) are supported at distal ends of the rotor supporting arms for rotational movement. A respective, base end of a bail 9 is secured to each of the bail supporting members 8, and one of the bail supporting members is provided with a fishing line guide 10, as illustrated. The bail supporting members 8 supported at the rotor supporting arms 7 for rotational movement are held at either a fishing line winding position or a fishing line releasing position by a not-illustrated dead-point spring. A fishing line is wound uniformly around a spool 5 through the fishing line guide 10 with the bail supporting members being held at the fishing line winding position as illustrated in Fig. 1. The bail supporting members 8 are returned from the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position either by manual operation grasping the bail 9 or by a conventional automatic return mechanism which automatically returns the bail supporting members when the handle 2 is rotated. As mentioned above, a spinning reel for fishing is characterized by the bail supporting member 8 supporting the bail 9, and hence hereinbelow only the bail supporting member is explained without showing an entire structure of a spinning reel for fishing. That is, hereinbelow will be explained in detail the buffer means which absorbs and relaxes the backward return force, to thereby relax an impact when the bail supporting member 8 is going to return from a fishing line releasing position to a fishing line winding position. Figs. 2 to 9 illustrate the first embodiment of the spinning reel. As illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the bail supporting member 8 is rotatably supported on the rotor supporting arm 7 through a fixing pin 12 and a boss 7a formed in the-rotor supporting arm 7. The backward return force produced when the bail supporting member 8 is returned from the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position is absorbed and relaxed by the buffer means 15. The buffer means 15 in the instant embodiment is disposed in the vicinity of a rotational support portion of the bail supporting member 8, as mentioned below. A silencer member 16 in the form of a circular plate . shape as illustrated in Fig. 6 is fitted on a boss 7a, and is supported for rotational movement on an inner surface of the bail supporting member 8 (a surface facing to the rotor supporting arm) in a condition that engagement portions 8a (see Fig. 7) formed on the bail supporting member 8 prevent the silencer member from being removed therefrom. The circular plate shaped silencer member 16 is formed with an arcuate engagement projection 16a projecting towards the bail supporting member and an abutment projection 16b projecting towards the rotor supporting arm. The projection 16a is received into an arcuate recess 8b formed in an inner surface of the bail supporting member 8 (see Figs. 3 and 5), and the abutment projection 16b is received into an arcuate engagement groove 7b formed in the rotor supporting arm 7 (see Figs. 5, 8 and 9). An end stopper 7c and the other end stopper 7d of the engagement groove 7b respectively define a fishing line releasing position and a fishing line winding position of the bail supporting member 8 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 9). The arcuate recess 8b is designed to have a size enough to define a certain sized space between the projection 16a and itself. Highly viscous fluid material 20 such as silicone grease, is sealingly filled within the space for absorbing an impact force (see Figs. 2 and 8). For this purpose, sealing members 20a are disposed between the silencer member 16 and the bail supporting member 8 (see Fig. 5). Hereinbelow will be explained the operation of the buffer means 15 having the above mentioned structure. When a fishing line is to be released, the bail 9 is grasped and rotated from the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 1 in a direction indicated with an arrow. With the rotation of the bail 9, the bail supporting member 8 is also rotated, and the projection 16b formed on the silencer member 16 makes abutment with the end stopper 7c formed at one end of the engagement groove 7b in the rotor supporting arm 7. Thus, the bail supporting member 8 is fixed at the fishing line releasing position illustrated in Fig. 3. With the rotation of the bail supporting member 8, the projection 16a formed on the silencer member 16 moves from the position illustrated in Fig. 2 to the position illustrated in Fig. 3. With the rotation of the bail supporting member 8, there is produced a slight resistive force between the projection 16a formed on the silencer member 16 and the highly viscous fluid material 20, however, since the rotation of the bail supporting member 8 is manually made, the resistive force dose not cause a problem. The bail supporting member 8 is fixed at the fishing line . releasing position by a biasing force provided by a not-illustrated dead-point spring. Just after a fishing line has been released, the bail 9 is returned back to the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 1. The return of the bail is made manually, or automatically by a conventional automatic return mechanism when the handle 2 is rotated. When the bail is returned to the fishing line winding position, the bail supporting member 8 is going to forcibly return from the position illustrated in Fig. 3 to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by a biasing force of the spring beyond its dead point. However, since the projection 16a formed on the silencer member 16 receives the resistive force from the highly viscous fluid material 20, a force with which the bail returns to the fishing line winding position is absorbed into the highly viscous fluid material. That is, the projection 16b formed on the silencer member 16 makes abutment by a biasing force of the spring with the end stopper 7d formed at the other end of the engagement groove 7b. However, since a force with which the bail supporting member is going to return to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 is absorbed into the buffer means as mentioned above while the bail supporting member returns to the position, and hence there will not be produced an impact when the projection 16b makes abutment with the end stopper 7d. The shape and size of the projection 16a formed on the silencer member 16, the amount and material of the fluid 20 for providing buffering function, the size and shape of the recess 8b formed in the bail supporting member 8 and so on may be varied depending on the biasing force of the spring and the like. As mentioned above, a force with which the bail supporting member 8 is going to return to the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position is absorbed through the projection 16a of the silencer member 16 and the highly viscous fluid material 20, and hence an impact noise is prevented from being produced when the projection 16b abuts the end stopper 7d. The fishing line winding position of the bail supporting member 8 is defined by the projection 16b of the silencer member 16 making engagement or abutment with the end stopper 7d of the engagement groove 7b formed in the rotor supporting arm 7 after the impact has been absorbed in the above mentioned manner, the fishing line winding position is kept stable. That is, since the fishing line winding position of the bail supporting member 8 is determined by the abutment with a biasing force of the spring to be a constant position and fixed at the position, the fishing line guide 10 fixed to the bail supporting member 8 is also kept at a constant position. Consequently, a fishing line path becomes stable when a fishing line is to be wound. As a result, a fishing line wound condition, fishing line scooping-up and rotor rotation-balance are made better, and thus occurrence of fishing line twisting and the like is prevented. The above mentioned buffer means can be structured as follows, for instance, as long as it can absorb and relax a return force with which the bail supporting member returns and it can stabilize a position of the bail supporting member when a fishing line is to be wound. In an embodiment explained hereinbelow, parts corresponding to the previously mentioned embodiment will be provided with the same reference numerals, and will not be explained or explained simply. Figs. 10 to 14 illustrate the second embodiment of the spinning reel. The buffer means in the previously mentioned embodiment is disposed in the vicinity of the a portion where the bail supporting member 8 is supported for rotation, whereas the buffer means 15 in the instant embodiment is disposed in an internal space of the rotor supporting arm 7. As illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12, the rotor supporting arm 7 is formed with a projection 7e projecting towards the bail supporting member 8. The bail supporting. member 8 supported on the rotor supporting arm 7 for rotation is formed with an arcuate elongate hole 8d to which the projection 7e is to be engaged. The elongate hole 8d defines rotation positions of the bail supporting member 8, that is, a fishing line releasing position and a fishing line winding position of the bail supporting member 8 by the projection 7e making engagement with the elongate hole 8d at its opposite ends. The bail supporting member 8 is also formed with an elongate hole. Be to which a later mentioned linkage member is engaged. In an internal space of the rotor supporting arm 7, a linkage member 30 is supported for slidable movement in a linear direction. The linkage member 30 is formed at one end thereof with a projecting engagement pin 30a which is to be engaged to the elongate hole 8e formed.at the bail supporting member 8. That is, when the bail supporting member 8 is made to rotate between the fishing line releasing position and the fishing line winding position, the linkage member 30 is made to slide linearly-through the elongate hole 8e and the engagement pin 30a engaged to the elongate hole 8e. The linkage member 30 is formed at the other end with a rack 30b, which is in mesh with a gear wheel 32 supported for rotation on the rotor supporting member 7 by means of a screw 7f. The above mentioned structure ensures the following. When the bail supporting member 8 is made to rotate from the fishing line releasing position (see Fig. 11) to the fishing line winding position, the bail supporting member 8 is going to forcibly return to the position illustrated in Fig. 10 by a biasing force of a spring (not illustrated) beyond a dead point of the spring. However, since the elongate hole 8e make engagement with the engagement pin 30a formed on the linkage member 30 while the bail supporting member 8 returns, a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns is absorbed and relaxed by the mesh between the rack 30b and the gear wheel 32. That is, the bail supporting member 8 is fixed at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 10 when an end of the elongate hole 8d makes engagement or abutment with the projection 7e of the rotor supporting arm 7 by a biasing force of the spring, however, a force with which the bail supporting member returns to the position is absorbed by the above mentioned mesh between the rack and the gear wheel, and hence there will not be generated an impact when the elongate hole 8d (the bail supporting member 8) makes engagement with the projection 7e. Absorption of a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns can be effectively accomplished if a certain load can be given to a rotational force of the gear wheel 32. The gear wheel 32 in the instant embodiment has highly viscous fluid material 32a sealed between the rotor supporting arm 7 and itself to receive such a load, as illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14. More specifically, a cylindrical projection 7h is formed so that the rotor supporting arm 7 can house the -gear wheel 32. The projection 7h is circumferentially formed with a plurality of grooves 7g at angular intervals. The highly viscous fluid material 32a is sealed in the grooves through a seal 33. The gear wheel 32 including the highly viscous fluid material 32a sealed therein ensures that the rotation of the gear wheel 32 caused by the movement of the rack 30b generates a shearing force in the highly viscous fluid material 32a, and hence a force with which the rack 30b moves is effectively absorbed and thus an impact which will be generated when the bail supporting member 8 is returned to the fishing line winding position can be effectively absorbed. Of course, the gear wheel 32 may be structured to be supported on the rotor supporting arm 7 with a certain load being exerted thereon. Though the rack 30b is always in mesh with the gear wheel 32 in the instant embodiment, the rack 30b may be formed anywhere else in order to prevent buffering function from being produced at the fishing line winding position. That is, the rack 30b may be formed on the linkage member 30 so that the rack is in mesh with the gear wheel 32 while the bail supporting member 8 is made to rotate from the fishing line releasing position illustrated in Fig. 15 to a position where the bail supporting member 8 exceed a dead point of the spring to a certain degree, but is not in mesh with the gear wheel when the bail supporting member is located at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 16. The above mentioned structure also ensures that a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns is effectively absorbed, resulting in that there will not be generated an impact when the bail supporting member 8 abuts the projection 7e, and hence it is possible to make the bail supporting member 8 immediately return to the fishing line winding . position. Since the rack is not in mesh with the gear wheel at the fishing line winding position, the buffering function does not occur at the fishing line winding position. Figs. 17 and 18 illustrate the third embodiment of the spinning reel. Though the buffer means is structured by utilizing the mesh between the rack and the gear wheel in the above mentioned second embodiment, the mesh can be established as follows. In the instant embodiment, a gear wheel 35 having highly viscous fluid material sealed therein as similarly to the gear wheel 32 in structure is disposed in the vicinity of a portion at which the bail supporting member 8 of the rotor supporting member 7 is supported. On the other hand, a gear wheel 8h is provided on a base end of the bail support member 8 so that it can mesh with the gear wheel 35 when the bail support member 8 is rotated. The above mentioned structure ensures the following. When the bail supporting member 8 is made to rotate from the fishing line releasing position (see Fig. 18) to the fishing line winding position, the bail supporting member 8 is going to forcibly return to the position illustrated in Fig. 17 by a biasing force of a spring (not illustrated) beyond a dead point of the spring. However, since a gear wheel 8h of the bail supporting member 8 makes in mesh with the gear wheel 35, while the bail supporting member 8 returns, a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns is absorbed and relaxed. That is, the bail supporting member 8 is fixed at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 17 when the elongate hole 8d makes engagement with the projection 7e of the rotor supporting arm 7 by a biasing force of the spring, however, a force with which the bail supporting member returns to the position is absorbed by the mesh between the gear wheels 8h and 35, and hence there will not be generated an impact when the bail supporting member 8 makes engagement with the projection 7e. In the instant embodiment, as illustrated in Fig. 17, the gear wheels 8h and 35 are designed to be in mesh with each other at the fishing line winding position, however, the gear wheels may be designed to be not in mesh with each other at the fishing line winding position, as illustrated in Figs. 15 and 16. The above mentioned mesh between the gear wheels may be replaced with the use of a resilient member 35a such as rubber, as illustrated in Figs. 19 and 20, unless a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns is effectively absorbed. The resilient member 35a is to be in mesh with the gear wheel 8h of the bail supporting member 8. Of course, the resilient member may be formed in place of the gear wheel 8h, or the mesh between the gear wheels may be replaced with the engagement of the resilient members. Figs. 21 and 22 illustrate the fourth embodiment of the spinning reel. In the above mentioned second embodiment, the linkage member 30 is formed with a rack which is to be in mesh with a gear wheel to thereby absorb a force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns to the position, whereas in the instant embodiment, there is formed a chamber 41 in an internal space of the rotor supporting arm 7 and filled with highly viscous fluid material 40. A distal end of the linkage member 30 is inserted into the chamber, and the linkage member is formed with a resistor 30d to thereby provide buffering function to the linkage member 30. The resistor 30d formed at a distal end of the linkage member 30 is formed with a communication valve 30e which is vertically open, in order for the highly viscous fluid material 40 to flow in the chamber 41. The above mentioned structure ensures that when the bail supporting member 8 returns from the fishing line releasing position illustrated in Fig. 22 to the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 21, the resistor 30d receives a resistive force from the highly viscous fluid material 40, and thus a return force is absorbed. That is, the bail supporting member 8 is fixed accurately at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 21 by the elongate hole 8d making engagement with the projection 7e of the rotor supporting arm 7 due to a biasing force of the spring. A force with which the bail supporting member returns to the position is absorbed by a resistive force which the resistor 30d receives from the highly viscous fluid material 40, and hence there will not be produced an impact when the bail supporting member 8 makes engagement with the projection 7e. Figs. 23 to 26 illustrated the fifth embodiment of the spinning reel. A buffer means in the instant embodiment is constructed as follows. Ends of strings 50a and 50b are fixed to certain positions of the bail supporting member 8 supported on the rotor supporting arm 7 for rotation. A force with which the bail supporting member 8 returns to the fishing line winding position is absorbed in and relaxed by use of the strings 50a and 50b. As illustrated in Figs. 23 and 24, a rotatable member 52 is supported in the rotor supporting arm 7. The other ends of the strings 50a and 50b are fixed to the rotatable member and the strings 50a and 50b can be wound around the rotatable member 52. The relation among the bail supporting member 8, the strings 50a and 50b, and the rotatable member 52 is as follows. The string 50a is wound around the rotatable member 52 when the bail supporting member 8 is located at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 23. When the bail supporting member 8 is rotated to the fishing line releasing position illustrated in Fig. 24, the string 50a makes disengagement out of the rotatable member 52, and instead the string 50b is wound around the rotatable member 52. Thus, the rotatable member 52 is made to rotate through the strings 50a and 50b while the bail supporting member 8 is rotating. Between the bail supporting member 8 and the rotatable member 52, there are supported tension pulleys 53a and 53b for rotation for providing tension to the strings 50a and 50b. The rotatable member 52 holds a fan 55 through a screw 54 so that the fan 55 can rotate together with the rotatable member, as illustrated in Fig. 25. As illustrated in Fig. 26, the fan 55 is circular in shape, and is formed with a plurality of radially extending recesses 55a provided at angular intervals in a circumferential direction. The fan 55 is sealingly contained in a chamber 7k formed at a surface of the rotor supporting arm 7 through a screw 57. The chamber 7k is filled with highly viscous fluid material 60, so that when the fan 55 is made to rotate by the rotation of the bail supporting member 8 through the strings 50a and 50b, a resistive force is imparted to the rotation of the fan 55. The above mentioned structure ensures that when the bail supporting member 8 returns from the fishing line releasing position illustrated in Fig. 24 to the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 23, the fan 55 rotating together with the rotatable member 52 receives a resistive force from the highly viscous fluid material 60, and thus a return force is absorbed. That is, the bail supporting member 8 is fixed accurately at the fishing line winding position illustrated in Fig. 23 by the elongate hole 8d making engagement with the projection 7e of the rotor supporting arm 7 due to a biasing force of the spring. A force with which the bail supporting member returns to the position is absorbed by a resistive force which the fan 55 receives from the highly viscous fluid material 60, and hence there will not be produced an impact when the bail supporting member 8 makes engagement with the projection 7e. As explained earlier, the embodiments are characterized by that when the bail supporting member returns from a fishing line releasing position to a fishing line winding position, a return force caused by a biasing force of a spring is absorbed and relaxed by a buffer means. A location where the buffer means is to be disposed and a structure by which a return force is absorbed and relaxed near a fishing line winding position are not to be limited to the above mentioned embodiments, but may be varied. Though a gear wheel, as a buffer means, utilizing a shearing force of highly viscous fluid material absorbs and relaxes an impact to be generated when the bail supporting member returns in an embodiment, a braking gear wheel making rotatable and frictional engagement with the rotor supporting arm by compressing a braking plate thereto may be engaged to the bail supporting member. In accordance with the embodiments of the spinning reel used for fishing, when the bail supporting member returns from a fishing line releasing position to a fishing line winding position, a return force caused by a biasing force of a spring is absorbed and relaxed by a buffer means, resulting in that an impact noise is prevented from being generated. In addition, since there is not given a biasing force against a return force caused by a biasing force of a spring, a fishing line winding position (angle) of the bail supporting member, that is, a position (angle) of the fishing line guide can be kept stable, resulting in that a fishing line path is stable, and that it is possible to prevent exerting a harmful influence on fishing line wound condition, fishing line twisting, fishing line jam and rotor rotation balance.

Claims: A spinning reel used for fishing including a rotor (3) rotatable in linking with rotation of a handle (2), said rotor (3) supporting a bail supporting member (8) having a fishing line guide (10) so that said bail supporting member (8) is able to swing between a fishing line winding position and a fishing line releasing position, said bail supporting member (8) being biased by a spring member to be held at each of said fishing line winding position and said fishing line releasing position, wherein said bail supporting member (8) is brought into engagement with buffer means (15) before said bail supporting member (8) is returned from said fishing line releasing position to said fishing line winding position, to thereby absorb and relax a backward return force produced when said bail supporting member (8) is returned to said fishing line winding position, characterized in that said buffer means (15) comprises highly viscous fluid material (20, 32a, 40, 60) for absorbing said return force. A spinning reel used for fishing according to claim 1, characterized in that said buffer means (15) comprises a gear wheel (32,35) which is in mesh with a member (30,8h) which moves in association with movement of said bail supporting member (8) to said fishing line winding position. A spinning reel used for fishing according to claim 1, characterized in that said buffer means (15) comprises a rotatable member (35a,52) which is in engagement with a member (8h,50a,50b) which moves in association with movement of said bail supporting member (8) to said fishing line winding position. A spinning reel used for fishing according to at least one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said spring member is a dead-point spring for biasing and holding said bail supporting member (8) at either of said fishing line winding position and said fishing line releasing position with the aid of dead-point action; A spinning reel used for fishing according to at least one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said rotor (3) is rotatable in linking with rotation of a handle (2) and having a rotor support arm (7), said bail supporting member (8) is supported on said rotor support arm (7), and said buffer means (15) is disposed between said rotor support arm (7) and said bail supporting member (8). A spinning reel used for fishing according to claim 5, characterized in that said fishing line winding position is regulated by abutment of a portion (16b, 8d) of said bail supporting member (8) against a portion (7b,7e) of said rotor support arm (7), said highly viscous fluid material (20, 32a, 40, 60) is provided for resisting swing motion of said bail supporting member (8) with respect to said rotor support arm (7) and permitting said abutment of said portion (16b, 8d) of said bail supporting member (8) and against said portion (7b,7e) of said rotor support arm (7).

Inventors: KATAYAMA MASATOSHI, MATSUZAWA SHUICHI, TSUKIHIJI MUNEAKI, KATAYAMA, MASATOSHI, MATSUZAWA, SHUICHI, TSUKIHIJI, MUNEAKI
Applicants: DAIWA SEIKO INC, DAIWA SEIKO INC.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: A01K89
IPC codes: A01K89