Abstract:
A spinning reel has a level wind system wherein a slot is formed in the crosswind block. A lobe is carried on a crosswind gear. The surfaces of the lobe interact with the surfaces in the block. There are three curved surfaces on the lobe and four working surfaces in the block.

Description:
UNIFORM OSCILLATION SYSTEM  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior co-pending provisional patent application, Serial No. 60/343441, filed Dec. 31, 2001, and incorporates that application herein as if fully set forth. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Technical Field  
           [0003]    This invention relates to fishing reels and particularly to a method and means of uniformly winding fishing line on to spinning reels.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Art  
           [0005]    All spinning reels require some form of spool oscillation system that enables the spool to move back and forth as fishing line is being retrieved. Without this oscillation, the line would accumulate on the spool very unevenly. This is cosmetically and functionally undesirable. Performance problems resulting from uneven line lay are: (1) casting distance is adversely affected and (2) drag release (while fighting a fish) will not be as smooth. A uniform oscillation system allows the line to be laid flat on the spool and, as a result, corrects these problems.  
           [0006]    In addition to producing uniform line lay, a good oscillation system should be durable (for reliability), simple (for low cost) and compact (to keep the reel small). Currently, there is no system which [suitably, appropriately, sufficiently, satisfactorily, adequately, in a prudent or sensible manner, in a favorable manner, thoroughly, clearly, appropriate manner] meets all of these criteria. Generally, there are two types of systems in use. The first, a crosswind gear and block type, is durable, simple and compact. However, the line lay is only somewhat uniform, and not flat across the length of the spool. The second, the worm type, does give a flat line lay, but it is not durable and simple because there are more parts in the mechanism.  
           [0007]    In the prior art, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,170,773, 5,012,990 and 6,000,653 show elliptical grooves.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,489 discloses a stud with an elliptical-shaped cross-section. In one embodiment, there is in a Z-shaped groove.  
           [0009]    Italian reference number 694177, Sep. 3, 1965, discloses a Z-shaped groove which has straight sections as well as sharp breaks between sections.  
           [0010]    A number of references show S-shaped grooves, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,350,131 and 6,264,125. The latter has one straight leg in the groove as well as curved sections.  
           [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,597 shows a V-shape in the groove as well as an irregular shape in both the stud and the groove.  
           [0012]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,990,130 and 3,055,607 disclose planetary gear systems with rounded gear teeth.  
           [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,573 discloses an eccentric system including an eccentric curved captive cam groove or path (see FIG. 2).  
           [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,814 shows a crank pin, eccentrically on a satellite wheel.  
           [0015]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,465, 4,196,869 and Japanese reference 154543 (1994) all show straight grooves with studs having circular cross-sections.  
           [0016]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,678,780, 5,941,470, 5,934,586, 4,618,107, 4,865,262 and 3,436,033 all show worm or helix gears with sliders, that is, eccentric crank pins engaging them.  
         DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION  
       Summary of the Invention  
         [0017]    My invention is an improved uniform oscillation system that has all the benefits of being durable, simple and compact while also producing a line lay that is comparable to more complicated systems. This is accomplished by making improvements to the common crosswind gear and block type system. These modifications allow the block to travel at a more uniform speed throughout the entire oscillation cycle by, among other things, reducing dwell at the ends of the stroke.  
           [0018]    The common system utilizes a gear (with an off-center round pin), wherein the gear rotates, and the pin pushes the block back and forth to provide the oscillation (see prior art FIG. 1). As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, I have made the following modifications: first, instead of being round, the pin has a leading edge to reduce dwell at the beginning of each stroke. Second, the pin has a corner to reduce dwell at the end of each stroke. Also, a ramp is incorporated in the block to increase the block speed at the end of each stroke. As a result, this new system provides a relatively uniform line lay which is desirable from both cosmetic and performance standpoints, while being very durable, simple and compact. This is explained in more detail in the accompanying Figures.  
           [0019]    I have provided a new fishing reel driven by a handle comprising: a reel frame; a spool spindle reciprocated longitudinally in said reel frame between two positions at which the direction of motion of said spool spindle is reversed; a fixed spool, mounted at an end of said spool spindle and coaxially with said spool spindle; a rotary line recovery device mounted coaxially with said spool for guiding fishing line onto said spool; a crankshaft connected at one end of said handle for rotation therewith; a drive gear connected to said crankshaft for rotation therewith; a transmission system, for longitudinally reciprocating said spool spindle, including: a transverse block connected to said spool spindle to translate therewith; said transverse block having a guide slot therein; a transverse crosswind post fixed to said frame; a crosswind gear rotating about said transverse crosswind post; said drive gear engaging said crosswind gear for rotating said crosswind gear upon rotation of said drive gear; a cam stud means eccentrically mounted on the crosswind gear to rotate in a circular path about the axis of rotation of said crosswind gear; said cam stud means positioned within said guide slot and engaging said block to displace said block and move the spool spindle in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, the improvement comprising: said block having walls forming said guide slot, comprising at least four surfaces; a first surface, a second surface at an angle to said first surface, a third surface, a fourth surface at an angle to said third surface; said first and third surfaces being substantially parallel to one another and said second and fourth surfaces being substantially parallel to one another; said cam stud means further comprising cam lobe means having at least three contiguous working surfaces; comprising a first radial surface; a second radial surface of a larger radius than said first radial surface; and a third radial surface following the second surface for engagement with the surfaces of said slot. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a schematic layout of the common oscillating spinning reel winding system as known in the prior art;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a schematic layout of an improved uniform winding oscillating system in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a schematic blow-up of a portion of the system shown in FIG. 2;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the structure shown in FIG. 4;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a plan view of a lobe in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention, showing diagrammatically its position on the crosswind gear.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is plan view of a crosswind block.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIGS. 9A through 9F show the interaction of these parts in various time sequences.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a plot showing the motion of a prior art mechanism and the plot of a theoretically perfect line wrap and the plot of my improved line wrap.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of an alternate embodiment of my oscillating system;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of a different alternate embodiment of my new oscillating system;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a further alternate embodiment of my oscillating system; and  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 14 is a schematic plan view of a further alternate embodiment of my oscillating system.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0034]    The prior art, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a spool  10 , an oscillating spool shaft  12 , a crosswind block  14 , a rotating crosswind gear  16  and a pin  18 . As line  19  is laid on the spool (as shown by the dash line P) in accordance with the prior art, more fishing line is laid at the ends, as shown diagrammatically at numbers  11  and  13  on the spool  10 . The lines L 1  through L 2  shown represent the movement of the crosswind block per the location of the pin  18 . Each of the lines shown in this envelope within the spool represents a portion of the lay of the fishing line per the location of the pin  18 . The shape of the lay of the spool lines is shown at  28 . The oscillating travel of the spool shaft is shown by the double headed arrow T. The movement of the crosswind block  14  is from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in phantom lines and return.  
         [0035]    In accordance with my new uniform oscillation system, as shown in FIG. 2, the shape S of the profile of the lay of the line on the spool  30  is substantially uniform. Note that ideally the same amount of line is laid at the ends of the spool as there is in the center. This is made possible by the improved mechanical pieces shown in FIGS. 3 through 6. FIG. 3 shows the parts schematically; and FIG. 4 shows them in perspective view. A crosswind gear  16 , FIGS. 4 and 5, supports a newly designed pin in the shape of a lobe means  32  which operates in cooperation with a newly designed crosswind block  34 . The lines and arrows in FIG. 3 show moving stages. There are various advantages to the geometry of this newly designed lobe rotating during the gear rotation. In particular, the ramp  36  speeds up block travel at the end of the stroke because the corner  38  of the lobe  32  rides up the ramp  36 .  
         [0036]    The corner speeds up block travel at the end of the stroke because the geometry of the lobe  32  rotates as the gear  16  itself rotates. The leading edge speeds up block travel at the beginning of the stroke, because the geometry of lobe  32  rotates as the gear  16  itself rotates.  
         [0037]    Any one of these features will help with uniform oscillation; all three features produce the most uniform oscillation in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention. These features produce uniform oscillation in the horizontal direction by the gear rotating and the geometry of the lobe  32  rotating during the gear rotation.  
         [0038]    The lobe and its position on the crosswind gear are shown in greater detail in FIG. 7; in which the values of the letters are as follows:  
         [0039]    R−S=0.2285  
         [0040]    X−S=−0.1954  
         [0041]    Y−S=−0.1134  
         [0042]    R−T=0.0189  
         [0043]    X−T=−0.3717  
         [0044]    R−H=−0.0135  
         [0045]    X−H=−0.2259  
         [0046]    Y−H=0994  
         [0047]    The crosswind block  16  is shown in greater detail in FIG. 8, wherein F−S=0.1002 and F−H=0.0100.  
         [0048]    The interaction of these parts is shown in various time sequences in FIGS. 9 a  through  9   f.  FIG. 9 a  represents a schematic of the device at a starting position. FIG. 9 b  shows the device at the end of a first segment. FIG. 9 c  shows the apparatus at the end of a second segment. FIG. 9 d  shows the apparatus at the end of a third segment. FIG. 9 e  shows the apparatus at the end of a fourth segment. FIG. 9 f  shows the apparatus at the end of its cycle.  
         [0049]    The following equations and explanations describe the motion of the spool oscillation mechanism with reference to these figures. Formulas are in terms of variables. Values of these variables for a specific example of a product are shown. FIG. 9 shows the mechanism in positions that are transition points between different formulas that describe the motion of the mechanism. The equations that describe the motion were entered into a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet, and the results plotted for one rotation of the crosswind gear. For reference, a plot showing the motion of a prior art mechanism and a plot of a theoretically perfect line wrap has been plotted over the spreadsheet results as shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0050]    The following is an analysis of my new spool oscillation system.  
         [0051]    The axial position of the spool is determined by the position of the crosswind block relative to the crosswind gear. As the crosswind gear rotates, a cam lobe means on its upper surface contacts a uniquely shaped slot in the underside of the crosswind block. 360 degrees of rotation of the gear will move the spool through a complete oscillation sequence, but symmetry of the crosswind block requires analysis of only the first 180 degrees of rotation. Displacements for the second 180 degrees of rotation are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction to those of the first 180 degrees. It is theorized that five formulas may be used to describe the parameters of the oscillation system in accordance with my invention.  
         [0052]    The five formulas describing the position of the block relative to the gear have been generated for the first 180 degrees of gear rotation. Each formula is valid only for a defined segment of the motion.  
         [0053]    First Segment. The first segment of motion is for contact of a first radial surface with a second wall surface forming the guide slot in said block. This contact will take place from Φ=0° to a position where the centers of the first radial surface and a second radial surface are aligned along a line that is perpendicular to said second wall surface of said block. Formulas defining this motion are:  
         [0054]    For Φ=0° to Φ=Φseq1 
           X=X   H  cos(−Φ)− Y   H  sin(−Φ)+ R   H   
         Φ seq 1=90 +A  tan|( X   H   −X   S )/( Y   H   −Y   S )| 
         [0055]    Second Segment. The second segment of motion is for contact of the second radial surface of the cam lobe means with said second wall surface of the block. The range of this segment is from Φ=Φseq1 to a position where a line drawn between centers of the radii of the second and third radial surfaces are aligned along a line that is perpendicular to the second wall surface of the block. Formulas defining this motion are:  
         [0056]    For Φ=Φseq1 to Φ=Φseq2 
           X=X   S  cos(−Φ)− Y   S  sin(−Φ)+ R   S   
         Φseg2=90 +A  tan|( X   T   −X   S )/ Y   S | 
         [0057]    Third Segment. The third segment of motion is for contact of the third radial surface of the cam lobe means with the second wall surface of the block. The range of this segment is from Φ=Φseq2 to a point where the third radial surface first contacts a first wall surface of the slot of said block.  
         [0058]    For Φ=Φseq2 to Φ=Φseq3 
           X=X   T  cos(−Φ)+ R   T   
         Φseg3=180−|( F   S   +R   T  tan( A  tan( F   H   /F   S )/2))/ X   T | 
         [0059]    Fourth Segment. The fourth segment of motion is for contact of the third radial surface of the cam lobe means with said first wall surface of the block. The range of this segment is from Φ=Φseq3 to a point where the third radial surface of the cam lobe means contacts the beginning of the first wall surface of the block.  
         [0060]    For Φ=Φseq3 to Φ=Φseq4  
             X   =                         cos        (     180   -   Φ     )            X   T            +       cos        (     A                   tan        (       F   H     /     F   S       )         )            R   T       +                                  F   H       F   S            (       F   S     -            sin        (     180   -   Φ     )            X   T            +       R   T          sin        (     A                   tan        (       F   H       F   S       )         )           )                     Φ   seg4     =                180   -     A                   sin        [         sin        (     A                   tan        (       F   H       F   S       )         )            R   T              X   T            ]                                       
 
         [0061]    Last Segment. The final segment of motion is for positions starting at the point where the third radial surface just makes contact with the beginning of the first wall surface of the block to the point at which the crosswind gear has rotated 180 degrees.  
         [0062]    For Φ=Φseq4 to Φ180°  
       X   =         cos        (     180   -   Φ     )                 X   T            +       cos        [     A                   sin        (         sin        (     180   -   Φ     )                 X   T              R   T       )         ]            R   T       +     F   H                             
 
         [0063]    From this analysis, it will be noted that my invention provides a new fishing reel driven by a handle comprising: a reel frame; a spool spindle reciprocated longitudinally in said reel frame between two positions at which the direction of motion of said spool spindle is reversed; a fixed spool, mounted at an end of said spool spindle and coaxially with said spool spindle; a rotary line recovery device mounted coaxially with said spool for guiding fishing line onto said spool; a crankshaft connected at one end of said handle for rotation therewith; a drive gear connected to said crankshaft for rotation therewith; a transmission system, for longitudinally reciprocating said spool spindle, including: a transverse block connected said spool spindle to translate therewith; said transverse block having a guide slot therein; a transverse crosswind post fixed to said frame; a crosswind gear rotating about said transverse crosswind post; said drive gear engaging said crosswind gear for rotating said crosswind gear upon rotation of said drive gear; a cam stud means eccentrically mounted on the crosswind gear to rotate in a circular path about the axis of rotation of said crosswind gear; said cam stud means positioned within said guide slot and engaging said block to displace said block and move the spool spindle in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, the improvement comprising: said block having walls forming said guide slot, comprising at least four surfaces; a first surface, a second surface at an angle to said first surface, a third surface, a fourth surface at an angle to said third surface; said first and third surfaces being substantially parallel to one another and said second and fourth surfaces being substantially parallel to one another; said cam stud means further comprising cam lobe means having at least three contiguous working surfaces; comprising a first radial surface; a second radial surface of a larger radius than said first radial surface; and a third radial surface following the second surface for engagement with the surfaces of said slot.  
         [0064]    In FIGS. 11 through 14, I have shown alternate and less desirable forms of my invention. These forms incorporate one or more of the features of my invention, but do not incorporate others. Accordingly, they provide a less uniform wind.  
         [0065]    In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the device will produce a somewhat uniform oscillation, but because of the large difference between the distances “A” and “B” (as illustrated), excessive clearance between the lobe and crosswind block slot will occur at various degrees of the gear rotation. With one side of the lobe flat, the second radial surface is no longer there to make up the space. This causes a jerky movement, a slightly less uniform distribution of line, and excessive spool play longitudinally.  
         [0066]    In the second alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the lobe is reconfigured so it does not have a corner to speed up the block travel at the end of the stroke. Therefore, at least 90 degrees of rotation would have no more effect than just a round pin. Thus, this will produce not as uniform a distribution of line as would be the case if my preferred embodiment was used.  
         [0067]    In the third alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 13, a crosswind block has been modified so that it does not have a ramp therein to speed up the block travel at the end of the stroke. In my preferred embodiment, we get a little extra travel because of the ramp action. Here, there is no ramp and thus that extra channel is missing. Therefore, one would not get as flat a line wrap.  
         [0068]    In the fourth alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 14, the crosswind block has been modified so that it does not have a ramp therein. The lobe has been modified so it does not have a corner on the lobe to speed up travel at the end of the stroke.