Patent Description:
A fishing spinning reel includes a rotor rotating in accordance with a winding operation of a handle and a spool reciprocating in a front-rear direction. Due to its structure, a gap is formed between the rotor and the spool in the fishing spinning reel. Especially when the spool is moved to the front most during the winding operation, a large gap is generated between the spool and a front cylindrical portion of the rotor. When line slack occurs in this condition, the fishing line may move beyond a skirt portion of the spool and be tangled with the spool shaft, which is so-called line dropping. If the line dropping occurs, it is necessary to untangle the fishing line, which is a time-consuming task, grease on the spool shaft may adhere to the fishing line, breakage of the fishing line may occur, and other troubles may occur.

To address this, for example, Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a line anti-drop portion provided in front of the rotor cylindrical portion to prevent the fishing line from entering the inside even if the line slack occurs. The line anti-drop portion is formed by screwing a tapered annular body that gradually expands in diameter toward the tip end (rod tip when attached to the fishing rod) in the rotor cylindrical portion. <CIT> discloses a fishing spinning reel, comprising a reel body, a spool, a rotor, and a line anti-drop portion having a peripheral wall with slits thereon. <CIT> discloses a fishing spinning reel comprising a reel body, a spool, a rotor, and a line anti-drop portion having cylindrical wall, wherein a drain hole is formed on a connecting wall part of the rotor.

The fishing spinning reel winds a fishing line that contains a lot of seawater, moisture, foreign matter and the like around the spool while the line is squeezed by a fishing line guide portion (line roller) provided at a tip portion of a rotor support arm. Once the reel body is attached to a fishing rod, it is used in various postures such that the spool faces diagonally upward or upward when the fishing line is released or wound up, when it is installed in a rod holder and the like. A plurality of through holes may be formed in the periphery of the front surface of the spool in order to reduce weight and improve operability. In this case, seawater or water may enter from the outside through the spool or the rotor into the line anti-drop portion disposed in the front portion of the rotor and stays therein during actual fishing.

If such sea water or water remains in the line anti-drop portion, it eventually solidifies and may enter between the spool shaft and the drive shaft (pinion), which may deteriorate smooth sliding motion and rotation. Moreover it may corrode components thereof, which causes the strength to be lowered. Especially, if sea water or moisture penetrates into the inside of the rotor, rotation support members such as a one-way clutch and a bearing will be damaged.

The invention has been made in view of the above, and one object of the invention is to provide a fishing spinning reel in which water entered inside can be effectively drained to the outside of the reel without stagnation of the water therein and thereby damage of parts can be prevented while preventing line dropping.

A fishing spinning reel according to the invention defined in claim <NUM> includes a reel body, a spool supported by the reel body for retaining a fishing line wound therearound, a rotor having a fishing line guide portion for guiding the fishing line to the spool, and a line anit-drop portion attached to a front portion of the rotor and formed in an annular shape that prevents the fishing line from entering inside. The rotor is rotationally driven and the spool is reciprocated in a front-rear direction by a rotational operation of a handle provided on the reel body, and a drain hole is formed in the line anti-drop portion to discharge water entered inside to the outside of the rotor.

With the above-described fishing spinning reel, it is possible to prevent the line dropping which may cause the fishing line to be tangled with the spool shaft even when the line slack occurs since the annular line anti-drop portion is attached to the front portion of the rotor. Depending on the user condition of the reel, moisture (seawater, water) may move into the reel as the line anti-drop portion is formed in the annular shape. However, the drain hole for discharging the water to the outside of the rotor is provided therein so that stagnation of the water inside the rotor is prevented, which prevents any troubles caused by water immersion such as damaging components of the drive mechanism and the like.

Provided is a fishing spinning reel in which water entered inside can be effectively drained to the outside of the reel without stagnation of the water therein and thereby damaging of parts can be prevented while preventing the line dropping.

An embodiment of a fishing spinning reel according to an aspect of the invention will be hereinafter described with reference to <FIG>.

A reel body 1A of the fishing spinning reel <NUM> (hereunder may also be referred to as a "reel") in the embodiment may be integrated with a rod attachment portion (reel leg) <NUM> that is designed to be mounted on a fishing rod. In front of the reel leg <NUM>, provided are a rotor <NUM> rotatably supported and a spool <NUM> supported so as to be movable back and forth in synchronization with rotation of the rotor <NUM> and around which a fishing line S is wound and retained.

The rotor <NUM> may include a pair of arms 3a rotating around the spool <NUM>, and on a front end portion of each arm 3a, provided is a bail supporting member 3c on which a proximal end of a bail 3b is mounted. The bail supporting member 3c is rotatably movable between a line winding position and a line releasing position. One of the proximal ends of the bail 3b is mounted on a line guide portion (line roller) 3d integrally formed with the bail supporting member 3c.

A handle shaft is rotatably supported in the reel body 1A, and a handle <NUM> is attached to the extruded end portion of the handle shaft. The handle shaft is coupled with a heretofore known wind drive mechanism which includes a pinion <NUM> meshing with a drive gear <NUM> fixed on the handle shaft so as to be rotationally driven. The rotor <NUM> is fixed to a tip end of the pinion <NUM> by a rotor nut <NUM>, and the rotor <NUM> is rotationally driven by rotational operation of the handle <NUM>. A spool reciprocating device driven via the pinion <NUM> is engaged with a rear end of a spool shaft 5A having the spool <NUM> attached to its tip end. The spool shaft 5A is inserted into the pinion <NUM> and is reciprocally driven in the front-rear direction by the rotational operation of the handle <NUM>. With the above-described configuration, the rotor <NUM> is driven to rotate by the rotational operation of the handle <NUM>, and the spool <NUM> is reciprocated in the front-rear direction. The fishing line S is evenly wound around a winding body 5a of the spool <NUM> via the line guide portion 3d of the rotationally driven rotor <NUM>.

The rotor <NUM> has a cylindrical portion 3A that extends inside the winding body 5a of the spool <NUM>, and components such as an anti-reverse mechanism (one-way clutch) and a bearing are disposed within the cylindrical portion. A recess 3f is formed in a central region of a front surface (surface situated closer to the rod tip) 3e of the cylindrical portion 3A, and the pinion <NUM> is inserted in a central region of the recess 3f. An external thread 10a is formed at the tip end of the pinion <NUM>, and the rotor nut <NUM> is threadably engaged with this portion and brought into contact with the bottom of the recess 3f so that the rotor <NUM> is fixed such that it rotates in conjunction with the pinion <NUM>.

A bearing <NUM> is disposed between the rotor nut <NUM> and the spool shaft 5A inserted through the pinion <NUM> so as to smoothly rotate and drive the rotor <NUM>. Inside the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM>, components (not shown) such as the one-way clutch disposed on the pinion <NUM> to prevent reverse rotation and a bearing for rotatably supporting the pinion and the like are provided.

On the front end face of the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM>, attached is a line anti-drop portion <NUM> that prevents a fishing line from entering the inside from a gap between the rotor <NUM> and the spool <NUM>. The line anti-drop portion <NUM> is provided with a peripheral wall <NUM> opposed to an inner peripheral surface of the winding body so that the fishing line is unable to enter the inside along the inner surface of the winding body 5a of the spool even when the spool <NUM> moves to the foremost position from the state shown in <FIG> and a large gap is generated between the spool <NUM> and the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM>. The line anti-drop portion <NUM> of the embodiment will be now described.

The line anti-drop portion <NUM> of the embodiment is formed separately from the rotor <NUM> and configured to be mounted on the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM>. Further, the line anti-drop portion <NUM> is formed in an annular (cup-like) shape having the peripheral wall <NUM> that opens at the front side and an inner bottom portion <NUM>. At the center of the inner bottom portion (bottom portion) <NUM>, an opening 22a is formed to allow the spool shaft 5A to be inserted therethrough.

A circular opening 22b for fixing is formed in the inner bottom portion <NUM> so as to coincide with a boss 3C protrudingly formed on the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM>. in the embodiment, two bosses 3C are formed at approximately <NUM> ° interval (on each side in the diametrical direction), and the circular opening 22b is formed in the inner bottom portion <NUM> of the line anti-drop portion <NUM> respectively at a position corresponding to the boss 3C. By fitting the bosses 3C of the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM> into the circular openings 22b, it is possible to attach the line anti-drop portion <NUM> to the rotor <NUM>. An internal thread is formed on the boss 3C. The line anti-drop portion <NUM> is integrated (fixed) with the rotor <NUM> (see <FIG> and <FIG>) by disposing the line anti-drop portion <NUM> onto the rotor <NUM> and inserting a screw <NUM> into the internal thread.

A drain hole 20A is formed in the line anti-drop portion <NUM> so that water moving along the peripheral wall <NUM> to the inside can be discharged to the outside of the rotor <NUM>. The drain hole 20A in the line anti-drop portion may be formed at any suitable position in the peripheral wall <NUM> or the inner bottom portion <NUM> as long as it can discharge water entered the inside to the outside of the rotor. However it is preferable that the drain hole 20A be formed in the inner bottom portion <NUM> to prevent the water from remaining inside. By forming the drain hole in a boundary region between the peripheral wall <NUM> and a radially outer area of the inner bottom portion <NUM>, it is possible to effectively drain the water flowing along the peripheral wall <NUM>. In the embodiment, eight drain holes 20A having the same size are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction in the boundary region.

The inner bottom portion <NUM> has a flat surface and the drain hole 20A is preferably formed such that an annular concave portion (concave groove) <NUM> is firstly formed in the flat surface of the inner bottom portion <NUM> and then the drain hole 20A is formed in the concave portion <NUM>. By providing the concave portion <NUM> in the inner bottom portion <NUM> in this way, it is easy to converge the water entered inside on the concave portion. Moreover by forming the drain hole 20A in that area, it is possible to effectively drain the converged water.

Although the inner bottom portion <NUM> may have a flat surface, it is preferable that the inner bottom portion <NUM> have an inclined surface such that the height gradually decreases toward the radially outer side (the radially outer side portion becomes gradually deeper). That is, as shown in <FIG>, when forming the annular concave portion <NUM> in the outer peripheral region of the inner bottom portion <NUM>, for example, the periphery of the opening 22a through which the spool shaft is inserted and provided in the inner bottom portion <NUM> is made as a flat surface 22c. An inclined surface 22d gradually descending from the peripheral edge of the flat surface 22c toward the peripheral wall <NUM> is formed and the annular concave portion <NUM> in which the drain hole 20A is provided is formed between the inclined surface 22d and the peripheral wall <NUM>. With this configuration, it is possible to efficiently drain water without stagnation of the water even in a situation where water easily enters into the line anti-drop portion <NUM>, such as during actual fishing.

The peripheral wall <NUM> of the line anti-drop portion <NUM> may be formed in a cylindrical shape. However it is preferable that the peripheral wall <NUM> be formed in a tapered shape so that its diameter increases toward the tip end of the spool as shown in <FIG>. By making the peripheral wall <NUM> gradually enlarge in diameter in this manner, it becomes possible to effectively stop the fishing line that has dropped off. In particular, by forming a flange 21a projecting outward in the radial direction at the tip opening portion of the peripheral wall <NUM>, it is possible to decrease the distance to the inner surface of the winding body of the spool so that the line dropping can be more effectively prevented.

It is preferable that the concave portion <NUM> is formed in an inclined manner such that its inner surface <NUM>'A and outer surface <NUM>'B of a bottom portion <NUM>' expands in diameter toward the tip end of the spool (see <FIG>).

As the bottom portion <NUM>' is inclined in this manner, it is possible to efficiently discharge water moving along the peripheral wall <NUM> and the inclined surface 22d when the reel (line anti-drop portion <NUM>) tilts diagonally upward or upward as shown in <FIG>. In particular, when an inclination angle of the peripheral wall <NUM> with respect to the spool shaft center X is denoted by "α" and an inclination angle of the concave portion <NUM> (bottom portion <NUM>') formed in the inclined manner with respect to the spool shaft center X is denoted by "β", the line anit-drop portion <NUM> is formed to satisfy α < β. In this way, it is possible to more efficiently guide water moving along the peripheral wall <NUM> and water moving along the inclined surface 22d to the concave portion <NUM>, discharge the water therefrom, and prevent the water from remaining in the concave portion. In the same manner as the outer peripheral surface, the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall <NUM> is formed into a tapered shape (reverse tapered) in which the diameter increases toward the tip end of the spool. Also, the outer surface <NUM>'B of the bottom portion <NUM>' with the inclination angle β makes it difficult for water to enter from the outside and move along the peripheral wall <NUM> and the cylindrical portion 3A of the rotor <NUM> to penetrate into the inside through the drain hole 20A, which means that the water hardly enters and easily goes out.

During actual fishing, the fishing spinning reel <NUM> as described above, for example, is put on a rod holder <NUM> while the reel is attached to the fishing rod <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, or when the fishing rod is held by a user, the user whips or moves the fishing rod in other ways, so that the line anti-drop portion <NUM> built in the reel main body may be directed such that the opening faces upward as shown in <FIG>. When the handle is operated to wind the fishing line around the spool in such a state, water adhered to the fishing line sometimes penetrates into the line anti-drop portion <NUM>. However since the drain hole 20A is provided at the above-described position, it is possible to effectively drain the water to the outside of the rotor and to prevent the water from staying in the line anti-drop portion. Therefore it is possible to prevent troubles such as water stays and is eventually solidified, the staying water enters between the spool shaft 5A and the drive shaft (pinion <NUM>) and deteriorates smooth sliding motion and rotation, the water corrodes components thereof to lower the strength of the components and so on.

Claim 1:
A fishing spinning reel (<NUM>), comprising:
a reel body (1A);
a spool (<NUM>) supported by the reel body (1A) for retaining a fishing line (S) wound therearound;
a rotor (<NUM>) having a fishing line guide portion for guiding the fishing line (S) to the spool (<NUM>); and
a line anti-drop portion (<NUM>) attached to a front portion of the rotor (<NUM>), the line anti-drop portion (<NUM>) having a peripheral wall (<NUM>) and an inner bottom portion (<NUM>) and being formed in an annular shape that prevents the fishing line (S) from entering inside,
wherein the rotor (<NUM>) is rotationally driven and the spool (<NUM>) is reciprocated in a front-rear direction by a rotational operation of a handle (<NUM>) provided on the reel body (1A), said fishing spinning reel being characterized in that
a drain hole (20A) is formed in the peripheral wall (<NUM>) or the inner bottom portion (<NUM>) of the line anti-drop portion (<NUM>) to discharge water entered inside of the rotor (<NUM>) to the outside of the rotor (<NUM>), and that
the drain hole (20A) is formed in a boundary region between the peripheral wall (<NUM>) and a radially outer area of the inner bottom portion (<NUM>).