Abstract:
This invention teaches a simple eccentric reel sideplate design to provide greater sideplate volume in one area than another.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The following references are considered to be relative prior art.
   U.S. Pat. No. RE 31,920   U.S. Pat. No. 2,361,239   U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,943   U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,977   U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,245   U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,285   U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,741   U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,410   U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,974   U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,856   U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,849   U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,629   U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,978   U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,327   U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,362   U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,374   U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,991   U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,396   U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,634   U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,066   U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,854   U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,763   U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,247   U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,117   U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,891   U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,019   U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,228   U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,073   U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,845   
 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0031]    Not applicable 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, TABLE, OR DISK APPENDIX 
       [0032]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]    Fishing reels generally categorized as conventional reels have long had the common features of a center frame enclosing a spool and sideplate covers positioned on either side of the center frame carrying various reel mechanisms including transmission systems to convert handle rotation into spool rotation. Original designs of the sideplates were simple, regular geometric shapes, most commonly circular, that housed the transmission and other internal mechanisms. As these internal systems developed over time they became larger and more complicated, and the sideplates as well became more complex in design to properly house and protect the larger internal mechanisms. 
       PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    It is a purpose of this invention to teach a simpler sideplate design that permits proper housing and protection of larger internal mechanisms. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0035]      FIG. 1  is an inside elevation view of a prior art conventional reel sideplate assembly showing a simple geometric shape housing standard transmission parts. 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  is a cross section of the sideplate assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  is an inside elevation view of a conventional reel sideplate assembly showing a modified edge detail. 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  is a cross section of the reel of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0039]      FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of a circular sideplate illustrating the concentric application of an edge detail to a circular sideplate. 
           [0040]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of the sideplate of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0041]      FIG. 7  is a front elevation view of the circular sideplate of  FIG. 5  illustrating the eccentric application of the edge detail of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0042]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the sideplate of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0043]      FIG. 9  is an inside elevation view of a reel sideplate assembly showing an eccentric edge detail producing a reduced volume sideplate. 
           [0044]      FIG. 10  is a cross section of the sideplate of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0045]      FIG. 11  is an outside elevation view of the sideplate of  FIG. 9 . 
           [0046]      FIG. 12  is the side view of the sideplate of  FIG. 11 . 
           [0047]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of the sideplate of  FIG. 11 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0048]    From the inception of conventional reels, enduring design elements have been a pair of sideplate bodies held rigidly apart to support a rotating spool between them. Reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,361,239 and 4,131,245 show this initial construction as well as the characteristic that sideplates function as housings that support transmission systems for converting handle rotation into spool rotation. Referring to the FIG&#39;s, a representation of this prior art shows a conventional sideplate housing assembly  1  with sideplate  3  housing a main gear  5  and pinion gear  4 . The main gear and pinion gear are common elements of transmission systems which are not claimed and the two gears together shall be considered as a unitary transmission element  13  throughout the following description. 
         [0049]    As transmissions developed in size and complexity, so too did their associated sideplate designs become wider and more complex to accommodate the new transmission systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,516,741, 5,090,634 and other patents teach both enlarged transmission systems and a growing size and complexity of the sideplate designs required to house these transmissions. 
         [0050]    One solution to the larger sideplate designs was to add simple chamfers or fillets to sideplate edges in order to reduce the sideplates&#39; volume. But such solutions still required complex sideplate designs.  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  illustrate the problem associated with adding simple edge chamfers or fillets to sideplates. In  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , sideplate assembly  10  shows sideplate  12  formed to have a concentric chamfered face  14 . It can be seen that by adding this chamfer, an area of interference  15  between the transmission and sideplate develops which can only be resolved by either making the sideplate wider or by reverting to a more complex geometry sideplate design. 
         [0051]      FIGS. 5 and 6  show the concentric application of a simple edge detail  17  to a circular sideplate  16  to yield a reduced volume sideplate  20  wherein the reduced volume is dispersed evenly around the full perimeter of the sideplate. 
         [0052]      FIGS. 7 and 8  show the eccentric application of the same simple edge detail  17  to the same circular sideplate  16  with a rotational offset  19  to produce an uneven reduction of sideplate volume  21  around the perimeter of the sideplate. 
         [0053]    A sideplate design that unevenly removes sideplate volume and avoids interference with transmission elements is illustrated in  FIG. 9  through  FIG. 13 . In these FIG&#39;s sideplate  27  is formed with a simple bevel surface  28  wherein the bevel detail&#39;s center of rotation is offset from the center of the sideplate&#39;s center of rotation so that an eccentric sideplate shape is formed to remove substantial volume from one portion of the sideplate while removing very little volume in another so as to leave enough sideplate volume in the area of the transmission to avoid the  FIG. 4  interference problem. It can be seen that the eccentric application of the edge detail provides a substantially reduced sideplate volume  30  where there is are no transmission elements and almost no reduction of sideplate volume in the area  29  where transmission elements are present. 
         [0054]    While these illustrations teach a simple bevel or chamfer eccentric edge detail design, it is understood that the edge detail shape may be a bevel, an arc, a radius or many other edge detail shapes.