Abstract:
A spinning reel has a drag assembly in its spool on one end of the reel body, and an adjustment knob for the drag assembly on another end of the reel body, where it is conveniently accessed during use of the reel. The reel has a handle arm with two slidably disposed handle arm portions, which are releasably secured together at selected positions to provide a variable length handle arm.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention here in relates to a spinning reel having a drag mechanism adjustable from the rear of the reel body, a handle arm of adjustable length, with the handle further providing a rotatable and pivotal grip.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Deep sea fishing for large game fish, such as swordfish and tuna, is a demanding and rigorous sport that requires excellent fishing tackle. Some fishermen prefer to use spinning reels for deep sea fishing; however, present deep sea spinning reels have several drawbacks.  
           [0003]    The drag, or amount of frictional force the reel itself applies to the fishing line, must be set accurately and quickly. Spinning reels traditionally have drag adjustments positioned on the front of the spool, and it is highly difficult to reach around the reel and make an adjustment while fighting a fish. Yet, it is desirable to be able quickly set an initial drag for use following the initial strike, and then be able to adjust the drag during the ensuing fight with the fish.  
           [0004]    The very large game fish are also quite strong, and require substantial leverage on the handle of the reel to rotate the reel in landing the fish. At other times, the fish may be moving such that rapid rotation of the reel is necessary to avoid slack in the line. The length of the handle is thereby typically a compromise selected to provide sufficient length for good leverage but being sufficiently short to achieve good winding speed.  
           [0005]    The handle has a knob or grip extending therefrom, and the fisherman grasps the knob or grip to operate the handle. The knob or grip generally rotates, but is limited to one degree of freedom to which the fisherman must adjust. In fighting a fish over a period of one hour or more, the ergonomics of the handle become an important factor in the fisherman&#39;s ability to perform at utmost efficiency.  
           [0006]    Accordingly, improvements in deep sea spinning reels would be desirable and would increase the enjoyment and success of the fisherman.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    It is a principal object of the invention herein to provide an improved fishing reel, and more particularly to provide a spinning reel adapted for deep sea fishing.  
           [0008]    It is an another object of the invention herein to provide a spinning reel having an easily adjusted drag mechanism.  
           [0009]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a spinning reel having a drag adjustment mechanism which can be set at the rear of the reel.  
           [0010]    It is an additional object of the invention herein to provide a fishing reel adapted for both high leverage and high speed retrieval of fishing line.  
           [0011]    It a further object of the invention herein to provide a fishing reel having a handle arm of adjustable length.  
           [0012]    It is another object of the invention herein to provide a fishing reel having a handle arm of adjustable length wherein the adjustment may be made quickly and easily during use of the reel.  
           [0013]    It is a still further object of the invention to provide a spinning reel having a comfortable and efficient handle grip.  
           [0014]    In carrying out the foregoing objects of the invention, a fishing reel of the spinning type is provided with a reel body and a foot for mounting the reel body to a rod. The reel body has a cup shaped flyer at the front thereof, and a spool assembly including a spool is mounted on a longitudinal main shaft extending from the reel body. A handle shaft and handle assembly extends from the reel body and the reel body contains a drive mechanism operated by the handle shaft to rotate the flyer and reciprocate the spool assembly with respect to the flyer. A drag assembly is at least partially contained within the spool assembly and includes friction clutch means coupling the spool and the main shaft to provide an adjustable friction drag upon compression of the clutch means, and a pulling shaft connected to compress the frictional clutch means and extending through the tubular main shaft into the reel body. A drag nut is threadably received on the pulling shaft to compress the clutch upon rotation thereof, and a drag adjustment handle is rotatably mounted on the reel body and connected for rotating the drag nut.  
           [0015]    According to additional aspects of the invention, the drag handle is positioned on the rear of the reel body, opposite the spool, and operates a shaft engaged with the drag nut. The shaft is axially and slidably received in the drag nut, so that the drag nut, pulling shaft and main shaft may reciprocate with the spool assembly.  
           [0016]    According to other aspects of the invention, the drag assembly also includes drag calibration means, which is operable to calibrate the drag adjustment settings provided by the drag handle.  
           [0017]    According to further aspects of the invention, the drag handle releasably engages an adjustable positioned strike stop, so that the drag may be quickly and accurately set at a pre-adjusted strike level. The strike stop is adjustably positioned on the reel body with respect to a free spool position of the drag handle.  
           [0018]    According to still further aspects of the invention, the drag handle engages the reel body in incremental detents, each detent corresponding to an increment of drag force.  
           [0019]    According to other aspects of the invention, the reel has a rotatable handle shaft extending from the reel body and a handle arm and mounting a handle grip for rotating the handle shaft, wherein the length of the handle arm is adjustable. In accordance with more particular aspects of the invention, the handle arm has a fixed receptor arm slidably receiving an extensible arm, and the extensible arm has notches releasably engaged by a keeper. The keeper is operable by a spring loaded depressible button positioned on the fixed arm, adjacent the handle grip.  
           [0020]    According to yet additional aspects of the invention, the handle grip is rotationally and pivotally mounted to the handle arm, providing a range of motion in grasping an applying force to the handle arm. The pivotal motion is selectively disengageable.  
           [0021]    The foregoing and other more specific objects and features of the invention will in part be readily understood by those skilled in the art and will in part appear in the following description of the preferred embodiments and the claims, taken together with the drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in section, of a spinning reel according to the invention herein;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is an exploded side elevation view of the main shaft and drag adjustment shaft elements of the spinning reel of FIG. 1;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the spool assembly of the spinning reel of FIG. 1;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 is a rear end view, partially in section, of the spinning reel of FIG. 1 with the drag handle set in the free spool position;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, taken along the lines  5 - 5  of FIG. 1;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 6 is a rear view of the drag adjustment mechanism of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, showing the drag handle set adjacent the strike zone position;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 7 is a rear view of the drag adjustment assembly of the spinning reel of FIG. 1 with the drag handle at an adjusted position past the strike zone;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 8 is a side view of the handle arm of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, in its innermost adjusted position;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the handle arm of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, taken along the lines  9 - 9  of FIG. 4;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 10 is a side view of the handle arm of the spinning of FIG. 1, with the handle arm between adjusted length positions;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 11 is a side view of the handle arm of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, shown in a first extended adjusted length position;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 12 is a side view of the handle arm of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, shown in a maximum extended adjusted length position;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 13 is a view of the handle grip of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, with the handle grip locked in a rotational mode; and  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the handle of the spinning reel of FIG. 1, with the handle grip unlocked for rotational and pivotal motion. 
     
    
       [0036]    The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the various figures.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0037]    A spinning reel  10  according to the invention herein is illustrated in the various Figures. It generally comprises a reel body  12  having a foot  14  extending therefrom on a strut  16 , the foot  14  being adapted for mounting the reel  10  to a fishing rod. The reel body  12  has a rotating flyer  18  mounted on the front thereof, and a spool assembly  20  mounted on a tubular main spool shaft  22  extending from the reel body.  
         [0038]    The spool assembly partially contains a drag assembly generally indicated at  24 . A drag adjustment mechanism  26  has its handle  28  positioned at the rear of the reel body  12 .  
         [0039]    The spinning reel  10  further generally comprises a handle  30  including a handle arm  100  and a handle grip  114 .  
         [0040]    It will be understood that the reel body  12  contains a drive mechanism for rotating the flyer  18  and for reciprocating the spool assembly  20  in and out of the flyer, whereby the flyer retrieves and winds fishing line smoothly onto the hub of the spool. The flyer  18  has at least one line roller  19  to direct line onto the spool. The drive mechanism structure is seen primarily in FIGS. 1, 4 and  5 , and generally comprises a bevel gear  11  driving a pinion gear  13  connected with the flyer. A traveler  15  is driven by an eccentric pin  17  on bevel gear  11  to reciprocate the main spool shaft  26  and spool assembly  20 .  
         [0041]    The general operation of the spinning reel further embraces the function of the drag assembly  24  and drag adjustment mechanism  26  in permitting rotation of the spool  21  of the spool assembly  20  relative to the main spool shaft  22 , for releasing fishing line when the force on the line exceeds a predetermined level set by the drag adjustment mechanism  26 .  
         [0042]    With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the spool assembly includes a spool hub  32  fitted on the end of the main spool shaft  22  and pinned against rotation-with respect to the main spool shaft by pin  34  (FIG. 1). The spool hub  32  extends forwardly from the main spool shaft  22 , inside the hub  23  of the spool  21 . A retainer  36  is fitted over the spool hub  32  near its distal end. The spool  21  is supported on the spool hub  32  by a first set of ball bearings  38  and a second set of ball bearings  39 . A clutch pack  40  of washers is positioned between the ball bearing assemblies  38  and  39 , including base drag washers  42  at the ends, slotted drag washers  44  that are keyed to the spool hub  32 , octagonal drag washers  46  that are keyed to the spool  21 , and drag washers  48  interposed between the slotted washers  44  and the octagonal washers  46 . Thus it will be appreciated upon compression of the clutch pack  40  of washers between the bearing assemblies, friction between the washers increases to create a friction drag force against rotation of the spool  21  relative to the spool hub  32 . A similar drag assembly is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,547 incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0043]    A drag adjustment pull shaft  50  extends through the tubular main spool shaft  22  and the spool hub  32 , and terminates in a distal threaded end  52 .  
         [0044]    A drag calibration knob  54  is generally mounted on the drag adjustment pull shaft  50  on the forward end of spool  21 . The calibration knob  54  has an inner sleeve  56  which bears against the retainer  36  and captures a compression spring  58  between it and a spring guide  60 , which is threaded on the threaded end  52  of the drag adjustment pull shaft  50 . A pin  62  extends through a slot  64  in the spring guide and the pin is engaged with the calibration knob  54  for turning the spring guide to adjust the compression of the spring  58  in calibrating the drag, with the slot  64  permitting the pull shaft to pull the spring guide toward the clutch pack to compress the spring independent of calibration knob  54 , and thereby compress the clutch pack in order to adjust the operating range of the drag. A set screw  66  is provided adjacent the end of the pull shaft  52 , and the set screw  66  operates to lock the pull shaft  52  and spring guide  60  in a calibrated position.  
         [0045]    As noted above, the drag is adjusted by pulling on the drag pull shaft  52  to compress the clutch pack  40 , and this is accomplished by the drag adjustment assembly  26  position generally through and at the rear end of the reel body  12 . With reference to FIGS.  1 - 3 , the pull shaft  50  extends through the tubular main spool shaft  22 , and the pull shaft is also threaded at its end  68 . A thrust washer  70  is seated on a shoulder  72  of the main spool shaft  22 . A drag nut  76  is threaded on to threaded end  68  of the drag adjustment pull shaft  50 , and it will be appreciated that turning the drag nut  76  causes axial movement of the pull shaft  50  to tighten or loosen the compression of the clutch pack  40  and thereby adjusts the drag on the spool  21 .  
         [0046]    The drag nut  76  is turned by a spline shaft  78  which extends through a mating opening in the drag nut  76  and further extends into a tubular recess  80  in the drag adjustment pull shaft  50 . This permits the drag nut and pull shaft to reciprocate on the spline shaft  78 , so that the spool assembly may reciprocate  20  in and out of the flyer  18 . This is illustrated in FIG. 1, wherein the drag nut  76  is shown in solid in a first position with the spool assembly  21  extending from the flyer  18 , and is shown in dotted in a second position in which the spool assembly  21  would be retracted in the flyer  18 . As also seen in FIG. 2, the traveler  15  is secured to the main spool shaft  22  by nut  74 , for reciprocating the spool shaft and spool assembly.  
         [0047]    The spline shaft  78  is fitted with an end bushing  82  on which handle  28  is mounted for rotating the spline shaft. With reference to FIG. 4, the handle  78  is shown against a stop pin  84 , and this preferably corresponds to a free spool position wherein the drag assembly provides zero drag or free wheeling of the spool  21 . The calibration knob  54  is adjusted to achieve the zero drag condition when the handle  28  is in the free spool position of FIG. 4.  
         [0048]    Rotating the handle  28  counter clockwise turns the drag adjustment nut  76  to compress the clutch pack  40  via pull shaft  50 , thereby providing a drag force which increases with the amount of counter clockwise rotation of the handle  28 . A plurality of detent openings  86  are provided in a plate  88  adjacent the drag handle  28 , and the drag handle  28  is provided with a first spring loaded detent ball assembly  90  which sequentially engages the detent openings  86 . In the preferred embodiment, the distance between each of the detent openings  86  provides an increase or decrease of one pound of drag force, whereby the fisherman can adjust the drag in one pound increments by tactile feedback from the handle  28 . The detent ball assembly  90  includes a ball for engagement with the detents, and a spring biasing the ball toward the detents. The spring also permits the ball to retract within the handle for movement between detents.  
         [0049]    Drag adjustment assembly  26  also provides for rapid setting of a strike zone drag. The strike zone drag is a drag force that is preselected by the angler for engagement upon encountering a fish strike. It will be appreciated that this is a moment of high activity, during which the fisherman may not have time to carefully adjust the drag to a desired setting, but during which a properly adjusted drag is very important.  
         [0050]    Rapid adjustment of strike zone drag is achieved by providing a stop  92  adjustably positioned with respect to the handle  28  and releasably engaged by the handle  28 . To this end, and arcuate notched sector plate  94  extends adjacent the path of rotation of handle  28 , and stop  92  is adjustably positioned along the sector plate  94 . The stop  92  is cylindrical and slotted to accommodate the sector plate  94 , and includes a thumb screw  96  for setting the position of the stop along the sector plate. The handle  28  has a second detent ball assembly  98 , also including a ball spring biased to extend from the handle, which engages the stop  92  when the handle  28  is positioned adjacent thereto. However, the handle  28  may override the stop  92  upon application of additional force, causing the detent ball to retract as the handle passes over the stop  92 .  
         [0051]    Thus, with reference to FIGS. 4, 6 and  7 , the drag may be set at a zero or other low force when the handle  28  is against the post  84 . The strike zone stop  92  may be positioned along the sector plate  94 , at a preselected amount of drag force. With reference to FIG. 6, upon encountering a fish strike, the fisherman may pivot the handle,  28  toward the stop  92  and upon reaching stop  92 , the handle  38  will be releasably engaged. FIG. 6 shows the handle  28  just short of engaging with the stop  92 , so that the stop  92  can be seen. This releasable engagement of handle  28  and stop  92  provides the fisherman with a quick and accurate way of setting a preselected strike zone drag. With reference to FIG. 7, as the fighting of the fish continues, the fisherman may override the stop  92  and move the handle  28  to set a higher, or lower, selected drag force, with each of the detent openings  86  providing an increment of selected drag. The handle  28  may be rotated counter clockwise to increase drag until it again encounters the stop post  84 , and the handle is slotted at  99  so that nearly 360° of rotation is available before the handle  28  again encounters the stop post  84 .  
         [0052]    The drag adjustment is accomplished from the rear of the reel body  12 , with the spline shaft turning the drag nut  76  to operate the main pull shaft  50  and compress the clutch pack  40  in the spool assembly. This achieves both an accurate and convenient drag adjustment.  
         [0053]    It will also be appreciated that in fighting large game fish, it is desirable to change the leverage provided by the handle  30  of the spinning reel  10  and that any changes must be accomplished quickly while the fighting of the fish is in progress.  
         [0054]    The handle  30  provided on the spinning reel  10  achieves rapid adjustment of its length to provide varying leverage. Thus, the handle  30  has a handle arm  100  including a fixed base arm  102  and an extensible handle grip arm  104 . With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the fixed arm  102  has a bushing  106  thereon which is mounted to a handle shaft  108  for operating the drive mechanism of the reel  10 , shown in FIG. 5. The fixed arm  102  is thereby “fixed” with respect to the handle shaft  108 .  
         [0055]    The fixed arm  102  has a C-shaped cross section to define slot  110  slidably receiving the extensible arm  104 , and a releasable stop mechanism  112  for securing the extensible arm at selected positions. The extensible arm  104  mounts the handle grip or knob assembly  114  at an opening  116 , with position of the handle grip assembly on handle arm  100  best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.  
         [0056]    The extensible arm  104  has a series of notches  120 ,  121 ,  122  and  123  along one edge thereof. The stop mechanism  112  includes a keeper  124  which fits into the notches  120 - 123 , and holds the extensible arm  104  in position with respect to the fixed arm  102 . With respect to FIG. 8, in which the arms  102 ,  104  are shown in isolation, the keeper  124  is positioned in notch  120 , providing the handle arm  100  with its shortest length. As best seen in FIG. 9, the stop mechanism  112  includes a depressible button  126  connected with the keeper  124  and spring biased from the fixed arm by springs  128  and  130  to maintain the keeper in a notch.  
         [0057]    With respect to FIG. 10, the button  126  is depressed against the springs  128  and  130 , lifting the keeper  124  out of notch  120  and permitting the extensible arm  104  to slide outwardly from the fixed arm  102 . With reference to FIG. 11, the keeper  124  is settled in notch  121 , securing the extensible arm  104  in its first outwardly adjusted position. The button  126  may be depressed to remove the keeper from notch  121 , and the extensible arm may be moved to any one of the four notches  120 - 123  to provide the desired adjustable length of the handle arm  30 , including the longest adjustable position of FIG. 12.  
         [0058]    It will be appreciated that the button  126  may be depressed while gripping the handle grip assembly  114  and the handle grip assembly may then be used to adjust the position of the extensible arm  104 . Thus, adjustment of the handle arm length is a one hand operation quickly and easily achieved while operating the reel  10  in the midst of fighting a fish. The longest adjustable length provides the most leverage, and the shortest adjustable length provides the most speed in operation of the reel  10 .  
         [0059]    The handle grip assembly  114  is also adapted for maximum ergonomic comfort to the fisherman. Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5,  13  and  14 , it will be appreciated that the handle grip assembly includes a shank  134  mounted to the extensible arm  104  at opening  116  and a handle grip  136  mounted on the shank  134 . The handle shank includes an axle  138  and outer sleeve  140 , and the outer sleeve terminates in a ball  142  received in a recess  144  in the handle grip. The handle grip is pinned to the ball by pin  146 , and the handle may rotate relative to the arm  104  by virtue of the axle and sleeve arrangement of the shank  134 .  
         [0060]    The pin  134  also permits the handle to pivot with respect to the shank, as shown by comparing the positions of grip  136  in FIGS. 4 and 5, providing an extra degree of freedom of the handle grip, which in turn provides the fisherman with the utmost of comfort and leverage in operating the handle. This feature may be selectively engaged or disengaged, and is shown in FIG. 13 with a set screw  148  locking the handle grip  136  against such pivoting and in FIG. 14 with the set screw  148  disengaged from the ball  142 , so that the handle grip  136  is free to pivot as well as rotate. This provides the fisherman with freedom in applying force to the handle arm  30 .