Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to the art of fishing reels and more particularly to a large arbor anti-reverse fly fishing reel having a drag which is adjustable on the side of the reel opposite the handle. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Fly fishing is a sport in which an angler uses a fishing rod, reel and line to present a fly to a fish in hopes of catching the fish. In fly fishing, the flies, or artificial lures, are frequently very light and feathery. The angler therefore casts the line which carries the fly to the desired location. The quantity of line is sometimes taken off the reel by the angler and paid out during casting to achieve the desired result. 
     The elements recited above, a fly fishing rod, a fly fishing reel, a fly fishing line, and a fly all come in a large variety of types from various organizations. Lighter equipment is often used in fresh water environments when an angler is pursuing smaller varieties of fish. Larger, more robust equipment is often used when one is pursuing large saltwater fish. Different types of rods and reels are also available as anglers have different tastes and desire different types of equipment even when it pursuing the same quarry. 
     The present invention is an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel and particularly a fly fishing reel having attributes useful in pursuing large saltwater species. 
     Large arbor fly fishing reels have found favor in the last several years particularly in the saltwater environment. Large arbor reels store line in larger coils resulting in a line more likely to cast and lay down straight rather than in a helical form due to the memory of being coiled on a tight small arbor reel. One successful large arbor reel is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,508 assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. That large arbor reel provides a reel with easily replaceable spools having a large area drag adjustable with a drag knob. The handle for turning the spool is mounted directly on the spool and the drag knob is on the side of the reel opposite the spool knob. U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,508 to Lepage entitled “Large Arbor Fly Fishing Reel” is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Another successful saltwater fly fishing reel is offered by The Orvis Company of Manchester, Vt. under the trademark DXR. That reel is an anti-reverse reel. The handle used to turn the spool on a DXR brand reel is not attached directly to the spool. Rather, it acts through an anti-reverse mechanism. The handle will only rotate in the “line in” direction. When line is being paid out as when a fish is running away from the angler at high speed, the handle does not rotate. With an anti-reverse reel, the angler will not be struck by a rotating spool handle. With an anti-reverse reel, the angler can grasp the spool handle and start to reel in or apply pressure to the line even when the line is still paying out at high speed. In the DXR anti-reverse reel, the drag adjustment knob is on the same side of the reel as the spool handle. 
     The drag feature of both the reel described in the &#39;508 patent and the DXR anti-reverse reel are important to the operation of the reel. The drag on both reels is adjustable. One can set the drag to a light setting in which the friction of the drag prevents overrun and tangling. Overrun can occur when the drag on a reel is set too lightly. If one is pulling line off the reel with no drag, the reel will keep tuning after one stops pulling line. Several of the coils of line on the reel may loosen-up and possibly overlap one another becoming tangled. Then, when it is attempted to remove more line, either by the fisherman pulling with his hand or by the fish trying to run, the tangled coil prevents line pay-out. Line cannot be paid out until tangled coils are untangled and cleared. This can result in a lost fish. Therefore, setting the drag properly is important. 
     The drag is also useful when fighting a larger fish. The drag setting can be increased thereby increasing the friction between the rotating spool and the reel frame. This requires more effort by the fish to swim away from the angler. However, if the drag setting is too high, too much force is applied to the line and the fish may break the line and escape. If the drag setting is too low, the fish is not sufficiently impeded and may run with the entire length of the line and backing, also, possibly resulting in lost fish. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel is provided having a spool retrieve handle not mounted directly on the spool and a drag adjustment on the side of the reel opposite the spool retrieve handle. 
     Still further in accordance with the invention, an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel is provided having two large engaging annular friction surfaces, one mounted directly on the reel spool and the other mounted on a friction plate adapted to rotate in a selected direction only. 
     Still further in accordance with the present invention, an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel is provided having a drag adjustment knob on the side of the reel opposite the spool handle, said drag adjustment knob adjusting the force urging the two drag annular surfaces into frictional engagement. 
     Still further in accordance with the present invention, a drag offset is provided adjacent set drag adjustment knob, set drag offset adapted to switch between an increased drag position and a decreased drag position. 
     Yet further in accordance with the invention, the drag offset is a disk position between the reel frame and the drag adjustment knob which has a first surface bearing against the drag offset knob and a second surface bearing against the reel frame which occupies a first axial distance in a low drag setting and a second greater axial distance in a high drag setting. 
     Still further in accordance with the invention, the drag offset disk is provided with low drag setting detentes and high drag setting detentes holding the drag offset disk in one of these two positions. 
     Yet further in accordance with the invention, the drag offset disk is provided with raceways engaging protuberances on the reel frame said raceways connecting the low drag detente position and the high drag detente position. 
     Yet further in accordance with the invention, the protuberances on the wheel frame are balls adapted to slidably engage the raceways on the drag offset disk and semi-fixably engage the detente recesses on the drag offset disk. 
     Yet further in accordance with the invention, the drag offset disk is provided with a gripping surface allowing an angler to easily move the drag offset disk from the low drag position to the high drag position. 
     Still further in accordance with the present invention, the drag offset disk gripping surface is either a knurled outer surface, a protrusion, or a number of protrusions spaced around the disk. 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel which is robust in design, suitable for use in challenging environments such as saltwater flats, and has a drag system which is easily adjustable by the angler. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an anti-reverse fly fishing reel in which the drag adjustment knob is on the side of the reel opposite from the spool rotating handle. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fly fishing reel having an adjustable drag which also has a second separate drag offset adjustment or switch. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a fly fishing reel in which an adjustable drag is provided with a drag offset adjustment having detentes retaining the drag offset in a light drag offset position or a heavy drag offset position. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel having an improved drag and improved reel control and operation. 
     These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, preferred embodiments which will be described in detail and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention showing the spool rotating handle on the left and the drag offset actuator on the right; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment seen in FIG. 1 taken along Line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reel seen in FIG. 1 with the drag offset mechanism in a second position; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the reel of FIG. 3 also showing the drag offset mechanism in the second position; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drag offset disk used in the reel shown in FIGS. 1-4; 
     FIG. 5A is a plan view of the drag offset disk seen in FIG. 5 showing the side of the disk facing the drag adjustment knob; 
     FIG. 5B is a plan view of the side of the drag offset disk opposite the side shown in FIG. 5A; 
     FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of the drag offset disk taken along line C—C in FIG. 5B; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the central portion of the reel frame which engages the drag offset disk; 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of the invention using a different drag offset disk; 
     FIG. 8 shows another drag offset disk; and, 
     FIG. 9 shows the reel of FIGS. 1-6 from the spool handle side. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows an anti-reverse large arbor fly fishing reel  10  in accordance with the present invention. The reel  10  comprises several parts and subassemblies including a frame  12 , a foot  14 , a friction plate assembly  16 , the handle assembly  18 , a drag knob assembly  20 , and a spool  22 . Many of the parts and assemblies of the reel  10  rotate around a central axis  30 . In use, the frame  12  does not rotate. A hollow frame shaft  32  has an enlarged base  34  which is fixed to the frame side wall  36  by means of machine screws or the like (not shown). The frame side wall  36  is generally disk shaped with a top axial extension  36   a  and a bottom axial extension  36   b . The foot  14  is fixed to the top axial extension  36   a  as is conventional. 
     The frame shaft  32  has a cylindrical outer surface. A hollow friction plate shaft  38  surrounds the frame shaft  32  over a substantial portion of the blank. The friction plate shaft  38  has an enlarged base which is fixed to a friction plate  42 . The friction plate  42  serves multiple functions and is sometimes referred to as a ratchet plate. As can be best seen in FIG. 2, the friction plate  42  is generally disk shaped extending radially outwardly from the axis  30  of the reel. The friction plate  42  has an annular ratchet flange  44  extending toward the frame side wall  36 . The ratchet flange  44  has an inner surface with a sawtooth surface  48 . Spring loaded ratchet pawls  46  are fixed to the frame  12  and engage the sawtooth surface  48  on the flange  44  allowing the friction plate  42  to rotate in one direction only with respect to the frame  12 . The structure and operation of the ratchet flange  44  and ratchet pawls  46  are substantially the same as used and described in Lepage 6,155,508 and will not be further described herein. The ratchet mechanism is switchable. In one position, the friction plate assembly  16  (the friction plate  42  and the friction plate shaft  38 ) can rotate clockwise and only clockwise with respect to the frame  12 . In the second position, the friction plate assembly  16  can rotate counterclockwise and only counterclockwise with respect to the frame  12 . 
     The friction plate shaft  38  is cylindrical over most of its length starting from the enlarged base  40 . The portion of the friction plate shaft remote from the base  40  has four flat sides giving it a generally rectangular cross-section with rounded corners. A handle arm  50  forming part of the handle assembly  18  has a central aperture with a cross-section identical to the external cross-section of the end of the friction plate shaft  38 . The handle arm  50  is mounted on the friction plate shaft  38  and therefore rotationally fixed to the friction plate shaft  38  and can rotate with and only with the friction plate shaft  38 . The handle plate aperture has an enlarged portion accommodating a ball bearing  52 . The ball bearing  52  bears against the handle shaft  50  and also against frame shaft  32 . Similarly, a ball bearing  54  is positioned between the end of the frame shaft  32  closest to the frame side wall and the friction plate  42 . Thus, the friction plate assembly  16  is rotatably supported with respect to the frame shaft  32  on ball bearings  52 ,  54  for smooth rotation in the selected direction. 
     The handle assembly  18  comprises the handle arm  50 , a spool handle knob  56  and a spool handle knob axle  58 . 
     The spool  22  is comprised of an inner spool cylinder  60  an outer spool cylinder  62 , a spool web  64 , a first spool side wall  66 , and a second spool side wall  68 . The inner spool cylinder  60  is supported on two ball bearings  70 ,  72  which engage the inner spool cylinder  60  and the cylindrical portion of the friction plate shaft  38 . The spool web  64  is robust and rigidly supports the remaining elements of the spool on the inner spool cylinder  60 . The spool side wall  66 ,  68  and outer spool cylinder  62  form a cylindrical trough which will carry a fly line for use in fly fishing. 
     The surface of the first spool side wall  66  facing the frame  12  supports an annular body of friction material  74 . This annular body is also sometimes referred to as the first (or spool) drag surface. The spool drag surface  74  engages a second annular body of friction material  76  which bears against the first body of friction material  74 . The first body of friction material  74  is permanently bound to the spool by means of adhesive or the like. The second body of friction material  76  is permanently bound to the ratchet plate  42  by adhesive or the like. One of the bodies of friction material is a composite. The other body is Rulon brand PTFE as is conventional in drag design. 
     The spool  22  also contains a clicker pawl  78  containing a recess in the periphery of the first spool side wall  66 . The clicker pawl engages teeth  80  evenly spaced around the entire periphery of the friction plate  42 . The design and operation of the clicker pawl and teeth are substantially similar to similar structures and operation described and illustrated in Lepage 6,155,508. 
     From the above description, it can be seen that the spool  22  and friction plate assembly  16  can rotate as a unit in one direction. In this direction, the line in direction, the two friction material surfaces  74 ,  76  do not move with respect to one another and rotation of the spool  22  is relatively friction free. When the spool is rotated in the opposite direction, the ratchet pawls  46  engage the sawtooth surface  48  on the friction plate  42  preventing rotation of the friction plate assembly  16 . The spool must therefore rotate with respect to the friction plate assembly  16  creating friction between the two friction material layers  74 ,  76  which adds drag to rotation in the line out direction. As the handle assembly  18  is fixed to the friction plate shaft  38 , the handle assembly does not rotate in the line out direction. As described earlier, the line out direction can be either clockwise or counterclockwise as selected by the user by placement of the pawls  46 . 
     The amount of retarding torque exerted on the spool by the action of the two friction surfaces  74 ,  76  is adjustable with the drag knob assembly  20 . A drag knob shaft  90  passes through the central aperture of the frame shaft  32  from one side of the reel to the other. A pin (not shown) is press fit into an alignment hole  92  and extends into mating slots (not shown) in the frame shaft  32 . The slots extend axially along the frame shaft  32  allowing movement of the drag knob shaft  90  axially within the frame shaft  32  but preventing rotational movement. The drag knob shaft  90  has an enlarged head  94  resting and in recess in the drag knob  96 . The drag knob  96  has a central bore which is coaxial with the reel axis  30  and surrounds the drag knob shaft  90 . The drag knob  96  is threaded over a portion of the central bore. The drag knob shaft  90  has a threaded portion  98  engaging the threads on the drag knob  96 . Therefore, when the knob  96  is rotated, the shaft  90  is moved axially. 
     The end of the drag knob shaft  90  remote from the drag knob  96  has a threaded bore  102  which accepts an arm cap screw  104 . The cap screw  104  has an enlarged head with an inwardly facing shoulder which engages against the ball bearing  52  which in turn engages against the handle arm  50 . The handle arm  50 , as previously described, is slidably mounted upon the friction plate shaft  38 . The handle arm  50  has an inwardly facing surface  110  which bears against a coil spring  112  contained within a spring holder  114 . The spring holder  114  in turn bears against the ball bearing  70  which bears against a shoulder on the spool  22 . This structure applies spring force from the spring  112  axially urging the spool  22  and the spool friction material surface  74  against the friction material surface  76  on the ratchet plate  42 . By turning the drag knob  96  in a tightening direction, the drag knob shaft  90  is pulled toward the drag knob (to the right in FIG.  2 ). The drag knob shaft must move axially when the threads are turned as it cannot move radially due to the presence of the pin in the alignment hole  92 . Moving the drag knob shaft  90  to the right pulls the handle arm  50  against the spring  112  compressing the spring and increasing the force exerted normally to the friction surfaces  74 ,  76 . The drag or retarding torque exerted on the spool is thereby increased. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 2, the drag knob  96  has an enlarged disk portion  100  and a cylindrical extension  124 . The disk portion is provided with a number of spring-loaded detente posts  116 . The detente posts engage selected ones of an array of dimples  126  arranged in a circle around the axis  30  on a drag offset disk  120 . 
     The drag offset disk  120  is shown in more detail in FIGS. 5,  5 A,  5 B, and  5 C. The drag offset disk  120  has a central aperture  122  through which the cylindrical extension  124  of the drag knob  96  passes. On the side of the drag offset disk  120  facing the drag knob disk portion  100 , a plurality of dimples  126  are spaced around a circle coaxial with the axis of the reel. The dimples interact with the detente posts  116  described above. 
     The side of the drag offset disk  120  opposite the dimpled side, illustrated in FIG. 5A, has a number of grooves in its surface. Each groove  130  has a shallow dimple  132  at one end and a deeper dimple  134  at the other end. The grooves are sloped from a shallow portion near the shallow dimple  132  to a deeper and wider portion near the deeper dimple  134 . The shallow end of the groove adjacent the shallow dimple  132  is somewhat less deep than the shallow deep dimple itself. Similarly, the groove  130  directly adjacent the deeper dimple  134  is somewhat less deep than the dimple  134  itself. On larger reels, four sets of grooves and dimples are spaced evenly around the drag offset disk  120 . On smaller reels, three sets of grooves and dimples are spaced around the drag offset disk  120 . 
     A pin  136  is press fit into a blind hole  138  near the central aperture of the drag offset disk  120 . A drag offset handle  140  extends outwardly from the periphery of the disk portion of the drag offset disk  120 . 
     FIG. 6 shows an enlarged detail of the outwardly facing portion of the frame  12  directly adjacent the drag offset disk  120 . The frame has an aperture  144  accommodating the drag knob extension  124  at its center. Surrounding the central aperture are four larger holes  146  which accommodate spheres  148  (FIG.  2 ). These holes are spaced 90° apart in larger reels. In smaller reels, only three holes are present, spaced 120° apart. Four smaller holes  152  are also evenly spaced around the center axis of the reel. The smaller holes  152  are threaded. Machine screws are used to fix the frame shaft  32  to the frame  12  using the four holes  152 . An arcuate slot  154  penetrates through the frame wall close to the central aperture  144 . The slot accommodates the pin  136  held in the blind hole  138  when the drag offset disk  120  is assembled onto the reel. The length of the slot is selected to limit the rotation of the drag offset  120  so that the disk can move between a position where the spheres  148  engage the shallow dimples  132  on the one extreme and the deeper dimples  134  at the other extreme. Thus, on a larger reel with four races, the center point of the shallow dimple is spaced from the center point of the deeper dimple a radial distance of 60°. The slot  154  is sized to allow 58° motion of the pin  136  providing two positive stops with the spheres  148  just engaging the dimples at either end of the grooves  130 . Of course a different slot length would be selected if different length grooves were selected. 
     A comparison of FIGS. 2 and 4 illustrates the operation of the drag offset disk  120  and the reel in general. Looking first at FIG. 2, one sees the reel  10  with the drag offset disk  120  in the light drag position. The drag knob  96  is turned until the appropriate light drag is achieved. Often a fisherman will select a drag sufficient to prevent overrun only which allows line to be easily taken off the reel but prevents the reel from continuing to spin after tension is removed. In this configuration, a light spring pressure is exerted by the spring  112  against the spool  22 . Line may be removed by the angler by simply pulling on the line causing the spool  22  to spin with respect to the frame  12 . The friction plate assembly  16  does not spin as line is removed. Therefore, the handle assembly  118  including the retrieve handle  160  remains stationary. Line may be easily removed from the spool by the fisherman and may be easily retrieved by simply grasping the retrieve handle  160  and rotating in the only possible direction pulling in line. In the line in direction, the handle arm  50 , friction plate assembly  16 , and spool  22  rotate as a unit. The drag is therefore not engaged and no resistance to rotation is created. This configuration is often used when an angler is casting to fish. The angler can easily pay out or retrieve line to cast a fly to the appropriate location. When a fish takes the fly, an angler will wish to apply more drag but not too much more drag. This is accomplished with the present invention by moving the drag offset disk  120  from the light drag position seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the heavy drag position seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The handle  140  is pushed from one stop to the other as seen in FIG. 3 causing the disk to rotate an appropriate amount, in the illustrated embodiment, 60°. The spheres  148  which were previously engaged in the deeper dimples  134  are now engaged in the shallow dimples  132 . The drag knob  96  is pushed away from the frame  12  which in turn draws the handle arm  50  inwardly compressing the spring  112 . A predetermined increase in spring force is thereby applied to the spool and the normal force applied to the two friction material surfaces  74 ,  76  is increased. Drag torque resistance is increased to a fighting drag level. 
     The amount of drag resistance increase is preset by selecting an appropriate difference in depth of the shallow dimples  132  when compared to the deeper dimples  134 . This distance is directly translatable into an increased in spring compression and spring force exerted on the spool. The normal compressive force to the friction surfaces is increased a preset amount in a predictable way. 
     The angler can also preset a desired fighting drag by adjusting the knob  96  when the drag offset disk  120  is in the heavy drag position seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. After presetting the desired fighting drag, the angler simply switches to the light drag configuration seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 providing a significantly lighter drag usable while casting. 
     FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment for the drag offset disk  120 . Rather than having a single handle  140 , a star-shaped disk is used having several outwardly extending tabs  166  regularly spaced around the periphery of the disk  120 . All other operative portions of the disk remain identical. FIG. 8 shows another variation of the drag offset disk  120  in which the circumference of the disk is enlarged and an upstanding rim is provided around its periphery. The rim  170  is textured on its outer surface to provide easy gripping. The advantage of this design is ease of adjusting between the light and heavy drag set and a lack of protuberances which can tangle line. 
     The above-described reel provides an anti-reverse large arbor reel suitable for use in the saltwater environment with a very smooth and versatile drag mechanism. The controls for the reel with two drag adjustments on one side and an anti-reverse retrieve handle on the other provide ease of use. These advantages and others are provided by the structures described above. While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, obviously, modifications and alterations to these structures will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of this specification. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as to come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalence thereof.

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