Patent Publication Number: US-2006016116-A1

Title: Center ring structure for a fishing rod

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a center ring structure for a fishing rod, and more particularly to a center ring structure for a fishing rod, which can simplify the structure of fishing line guide means by allowing a center ring to be affixed to the fishing rod, and can allow adjustment of the distance between the center ring and the fishing rod through the variation in shape and size of a center ring aperture formed in a frame.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In general, fishing rods have a plurality of guide means mounted in a longitudinal direction thereof, each of which is formed with a center ring for guiding a fishing line.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrating a conventional structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Registration No. 3077839, a center ring  5  for guiding a fishing line is adjoined to a tubular guide ring  2  which is fitted around a fishing rod  1 , preventing fluctuation thereof.  
      That is, the fishing rod  1  is inserted in the tubular guide ring  2 , and the guide ring  2 , in turn, comes into external contact with an annular flexible member  4 .  
      The tubular guide ring  2  has a greater width than the annular flexible member  4 .  
      Inside the annular flexible member  4  occurs interference fitted the center ring  5  for guiding a fishing line.  
      The guide ring  2  and the flexible member  4  are both surrounded by a fixing guide  3  so that they come into contact with and are fixed to each other.  
      In this case, since the guide ring  2  wraps the fishing rod  1  over a large area, it can be stably fixed to the fishing rod  1 .  
      Such a large contact area between the fishing rod  1  and the guide ring  2 , however, may cause the fishing rod  1  to be distorted when being bent and may cause damage to joint portions thereof, and may also result in deterioration of the elasticity of the fishing rod  1 .  
      As part of efforts to solve the above problem, U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,549 discloses a structure as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . In the disclosed structure, a fishing rod  10  is in contact with a guide ring  12  over a small area, securing smooth bending thereof.  
      That is, the fishing rod  10  is inserted through the guide ring  12  having only a narrow width, and the guide ring  12  comes into external contact with a center ring  15 .  
      In this case, at an outer peripheral surface of the center ring  15  in contact with the guide ring  12  is formed a longitudinal recess  16  so that the guide ring  12  is partially seated therein, thereby preventing the guide ring  12  from rolling along the outer peripheral surface of the center ring  15 .  
      In addition, throughout an outer periphery of the center ring  15  is formed a circumferential recess  17  in order to guide a thread  18  for binding the center ring  15  with the guide ring  12 .  
      Inside the seal  18 , outside of both the guide ring  12  and the center ring  15 , is filled a synthetic resin material  19  for fixing the guide ring  12  and the center ring  15  relative to each other.  
      Such a conventional center ring as stated above, although it is fixed to the outside of the fishing rod by being wound by the thread, fails to secure a sufficient spacing with the fishing rod.  
      In order to space the conventional center ring from the fishing rod by a desired distance, although filling a synthetic resin material between the center ring and the fishing rod and surrounding them with the seal has been tried, it may cause unintentional separation of the synthetic resin material in case of movement of the center ring due to a tensioned fishing line therein.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a center ring structure for a fishing rod which is designed so that a frame, in partial, external contact with the fishing rod, is formed with a center ring, and an adhesive is applied to a thread by winding the thread on both the fishing rod and the frame so as to increase the strength of the thread, thereby securing firm attachment between the frame and the fishing rod, and which can allow adjustment of the distance between the center ring and the fishing rod through variation in shape and size of the center ring relative to the frame as occasion demands.  
      In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a center ring structure for a fishing rod, a plurality of center rings being provided on the fishing rod for guiding a fishing line, wherein each of the center rings is defined in a frame so as to penetrate through, wherein the frame comprises: a surface contact recess formed at a lower side of the frame for allowing the frame to come into partial contact with an outer peripheral surface of the fishing rod or with a mount ring slidably fitted around the fishing rod; and a guiding groove formed along an outer periphery of the frame for winding a thread around the frame and the fishing rod so as to fix them relative to each other. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of a center ring fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with an embodiment of the prior art;  
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of a center ring fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with another embodiment of the prior art;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating center rings fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIGS. 6 and 7  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of the center ring fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;  
      FIGS.  8  to  10  are sectional views illustrating the structure of different center rings fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with second to fourth embodiments of the present invention, respectively; and  
       FIGS. 11 and 12  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of a center ring fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating center rings fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 6 and 7  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of one of the center rings fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.  
      In addition, FIGS.  8  to  10  are sectional views illustrating the structure of different center rings fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with second to fourth embodiments of the present invention, respectively.  
      Finally,  FIGS. 11 and 12  are a longitudinal side view and a sectional view, respectively, illustrating the structure of a center ring fixed to a fishing rod in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention.  
      As shown in FIGS.  5  to  12 , the present invention features a structure wherein a plurality of center rings  125  or  125   a  are provided on a fishing rod  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113  or  114  for guiding a fishing line. The respective center rings  125  and  125   a  are centrally defined in frame  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123  or  127  so as to penetrate through. Frame  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123  or  127  is formed at a lower side thereof with a surface contact recess  124 , so that frame  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123  or  127  comes into partial contact with an outer peripheral surface of the fishing rod  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113  or  114  or a mount ring  130  slidably fitted around the fishing rod  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113  or  114 . The frame  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123  or  127  is also formed with a guiding groove  126  along an outer periphery thereof for guiding a thread  118 . As the thread  118  is wound along the guiding groove  126 , frame  120 ,  121 ,  122 ,  123  or  127  is fixed to the fishing rod  110 ,  111 ,  112 ,  113  or  114 .  
      Referring to FIGS.  5  to  7  illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the frames  120  are longitudinally affixed to the fishing rod  110 .  
      The frames  120 , each taking the form of a plate, are affixed so as to come into contact, at one end thereof, with the fishing rod  110 .  
      At the lower side of the respective frames  120  is depressed the surface contact recess  124 , so that part of the outer peripheral surface of the fishing rod  110  is received in the recess  124  in a surface contact manner.  
      In this case, the surface contact recess  124  has a contour corresponding to that of the outer peripheral surface of the fishing rod  110  such that it comes into close contact with the fishing rod  110 .  
      Such a surface contact recess  124  enables the frame  120  to be stable and closely supported on the fishing rod  110  even with a minimal contact area between. This has an effect of preventing the frame  120  from interfering with bending of the fishing rod  110 .  
      The frame  120  is perforated so as to form the center ring  125 .  
      The center ring  125  has a circular or polygonal shape, and is variable in its position on the frame  120  in order to enable adjustment of the distance between the center ring  125  and the fishing rod  110 .  
      In addition, along the outer periphery of the frame  120  is formed the guiding groove  126 .  
      Preferably, the guiding groove  126  is formed throughout the outer periphery of the frame  120  except for the surface contact recess  124 .  
      When the frame  120  is in contact with the fishing rod  110 , the thread  118  is wound along the guiding groove  126  in order to affix the frame  120  to the fishing rod  110  without a risk of unintentional secession.  
      In this way, after the surface contact recess  124  of the frame  120  comes into contact with the fishing rod  110 , and the thread  118  is wound around the frame  120 , an adhesive  128  is applied thereon in order to enhance firm attachment between.  
      The adhesive  128 , applied on the thread  118 , has an additional effect of increasing the rigidity of the thread  118 , thereby allowing the frame  120  to be firmly affixed to the fishing rod  110  when a fishing line is tensioned.  
      The frame  120  is made of a material having good durability, such as a ceramic material, thereby preventing it from being worn or damaged due to abrasion by a fishing line.  
      As shown in  FIG. 7 , if the diameter of the fishing rod  110  is smaller than the diameter of the center ring  125 , the frame  120  is shaped so that the width thereof is narrowed downward from its upper side formed with the center ring  125  to its lower side formed with the surface contact recess  124 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 8 , if the diameter of the fishing rod  111  is equal or similar to the diameter of the center ring  125 , there may be provided the frame  121  having a constant width at upper and lower sides thereof.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 9 , if the diameter of the fishing rod  112  is larger than the diameter of the center ring  125 , there may be provided the frame  122  wherein the width thereof is widened downward from its upper side to its lower side, enhancing contact stability of the frame  122  on the fishing rod  112 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 10 , the frame  123  comes into contact, at the surface contact recess  124  thereof, with the fishing rod  113 , and is affixed thereto as the thread  118  is wound around both the frame  123  and the fishing rod  113 , in the same manner as those of the previous embodiments. However, in the present embodiment, the center ring  125   a , which has an elliptical shape is formed in the frame  123 . Such an elliptical center ring  125   a  effectively increases displacement or a fishing line therein in proportion to the intensity of an external tension force.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , in case of a multistage telescopic type fishing rod  114 , mount rings  130  are installed at regular intervals.  
      In this case, each of the mount rings  130 , in a state wherein it comes into partial contact at its outer peripheral surface with the surface contact recess  124  of the frame  127 , is affixed relative to the frame  127  as the thread  118  is wound around. The frame  127  is formed with the center ring  125  for guiding a fishing line.  
      In order to prevent unintentional separation of the thread  118 , the frame  127  is formed with the guide groove  126  throughout the outer periphery thereof except for the surface contact recess  124 .  
      To the thread  118  is applied the adhesive  128  in order to increase the rigidity thereof.  
      As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a center ring structure for a fishing rod wherein a frame, containing the center ring for guiding a fishing line, takes the form of a plate having a certain thickness, thereby being integrally affixed to the fishing rod. This has an effect of simplifying the structure of guide means as well as reducing a contact area between the frame and the fishing rod, thereby preventing the fishing rod from being distorted when being bent.  
      Further, since both the frame and the fishing rod are wound by a thread, and an adhesive is applied to the thread in order to firmly fix them, it is possible to prevent fluctuation of the frame. Furthermore, the frame, made of a ceramic material, has an effect of minimizing abrasion by a fishing line.  
      Finally, by varying the shape of the center ring into a circular or polygonal shape, or adjusting the position of a center ring aperture formed in the frame, it is possible to adjust the distance between the center ring and the fishing rod.  
      Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.