CA1066252A - Ruggedized closed face spinning reel - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The disclosure herein relates to heavy-duty closed face spinning reels, and it is directed more specifically to several unique structural improvements in closed face spinning reels for the purposes of ruggedizing the reels for landing large fresh water fish such as catfish and carp. The new reel is of all metal construction and includes an improved ruggedized frame body and cover arrangement which houses a non-rotatable (zero drag) line spool uniquely locked therein.

Description

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Closed face f~shing reels are well known tv the art and have been manufactured in large quantities at comparatively low cost for many years in a variety of embodiments. Represent-ative of ~he earlier reel3 and the well developed and rather crowded state of the art are the many Canadian patents lssued to R. D. Hull, includin~ among many others No~. 857,727; 857,728 858,960; 864,~52; 865,564; 865,566; 885,865.
Closed face spinning reel~ of the general type con-te~plated herein typically include a non-rotatable line spool from whlch fishing i~ne is paid out and retrieved by an appro-priate piCkupél~em-ent rotated by a crank mechanism ~eared thereto;
a line brake to hold the line during the initial phases of casting;;
an anti-reverse mechanism to prevent the rotation of the crank handle in the payout direction; and a closed face housing com-pletely enveloping the reel mechanism and including a thumb button for actuatlng the line brake and preparing the internal mechanism for casting.
In one type of closed face spinning reel~ a line carrying spool i8 normally non-rotatably mounted on a hub which proiect~
forw2rdly from a reel frame. The line spool i~ axially f~xed and normally non-rotatable; howe~er, provision is made for limited rotary slippage or "drag" of the spool relative to the reel frame for controlled withdrawal of l~ne from the spool. During casting, the-line i8 drawn off and over the spinnerhead of the spool by the momentum of the lure and travels through a line guide in a cover generally surrounding the spool. In the reel of the present lnvention, the line spool is fixed to the housing by a double-locked bayonet-type connection and i5 non-rotatable at all times, i.e., it is provided with a "locked drag" or "zero drag".
Retrieval of paid out fishing line may be effected in reels of this type by a cup-shaped spinnerhead ~ounted on a rotatable ~ain shaft carried by the reel frame and driven by a crankshaft appropriately geared therewlth. Advantageously, ,, . , ,. ,, . . " . . . ..
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the spinnerhead of such a reel includes a rearwardly directed flange having notched, line engaging edges and mounting a line brake ring on its forwardly facing surfaces. Typically, the reel also includes a crank assembly to effect the necessary rotation of the main shaft to retrieve paid out line. Advan~ ~ -tageously, a selectively actuatable anti-reverse mechanism is also included in the reel to prohibit rotation of the retrieval mechanism in a line payout direction. The line brake is actuated by a thumb button to clamp the line between the brake ring and cover housing preparatory to casting and also to displace the -~
spinnerhead into a position in which the aforementioned notches are non-interfering with line payout.
The aforementioned basic closed face reel components have taken a variety of shapes, forms and structures in the constructions of the prior art. IIowever, there are certain .
improvements therein in the nature of simplification and/or rearrangement and/or restructuring of parts which, advantageously lead to a reduction in manufacturing expense, a simplification .. ..
; of assembly and use of a closed face spinning reel, a rugged-ization of the overall reel assembly, and an enhancement of reel reliability and response.
In accordance with the invention, a closed face spinning reel comprises an all metal cylindrical reel frame supporting a line spool, rotatable spinnerhead, and associated reel control mechanism thereon. The reel frame mounts axially extending anchor bars on diametrically opposed inner surfaces thereof. First and second pairs of locking screws have shank portions extending through the reel frame, each screw being threadedly engaged with the anchor bar means and each screw having an enlarged head portion defining a smaller cylindrical shoulder portion at the underside thereof. A pair of cup-shaped covers telescope the .
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frame body and define two "keyhole" shaped lock screw openings including narrow throat portions of width slightly greater than the diameter of said shanks of said locking screws, said throat portions extending from the free edges thereof into circular portions having a diameter slightly greater than that of said cylindrical shoulder portions of said locking screws; whereby said covers may be telescopically assembled with said reel frame upon aligning said throat portions with said shank por-tions and thereafter ruggedly locked thereto upon the tightening of said shoulder portions in saia circular portions.
For a more complete understanding of the reel of the present invention and a greater appreciation of its attendant advantages derived from its specific structural features, :

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~ference should be made to the following detailed description .
of the new a~l metal~ ruggedized closed face reel~ taken in con-junction with the accompanying arawings~ i Fig. 1 is an exploaed, perspective view o the compo-nents of the new and improved closed face spinning reel o~ the : i present invention showing the manner in which they are assembled; .-Fig. 2 is a rear elèvational view of the reel of the invention with parts broken away to show aetails of construction;
Fig 2A is an enlargea, fragmentary~ cross-sectional :
view taken along line 2A-2A of Fig. 2 to show details of the line spool locks .
Fig~ 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig 2 to show detai~s o construction of the cover locking arrangement;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view showing the integral frictional cover lock;
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line ~ 5-5 of Fig. 4;
- Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the reel of ¦.
the invention with parts broken away to show details of con-~ struction; and - Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig, 6.
. Referring now to Fig. 1, the improved hP.avy-duty !~ .
reel of the invention includes a cup-shaped front cover 10 having . forwardmost frusto-conical portions 11 terminating in a line guide opening 12 a~nd rearwardly opening cylindrical wall ~.
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portions 13, Formed at diametrically opposed edge portions o~ :
cylindrical wall 13 are special "keyhole" locking slots 14, 15 ha~ing narrow throat portions 16 leading into enlarged circular openings 17 In addition and as shown, the front cover includes integrally formed inwardly projecting dimples 18. The rear edge .
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o the front cover lO also includes a reces~ l9. The function8 of the d~mple~ 18, keyhole opening~ 14, 15 and recess 19 will be explained in greater detail hereinafter.
A rear cover 20, which ha~ a shallow, convex reas wall portion 21 and forwardly faclng cylindr~cal wall portion8 22, closes off the rear portions of a reel fraale body suba~sembly, generally indicated by reference numeral ~0. The rear cover also includes a plurallty of dlmples 23 (similar to the afore-~entioned di~ple~ 18) and a pair of keyhole locking slots 24 (similar ~o the aforementioned keyhole locking slots 14, 15~.
Pivotally hin~ed in the rear cover 20 and permanPntly attached thereto is a thumb button ~ember 24, ~shich may be made of metal or o~ in~ection molded, high impact plastic, as desired. A~
shown in Fig~, 6 and 7, the thumb button 24 Includes a trans-versely extending pivo~ pin 2S about the axis of which the entire button pivots inwardly of the reel with respect to the rear cover portion 21~ Specifically, and in accordance with one aspect of the invention, the thumb button 24 is provided with a constant bia~ ~nto the position indicated in FLg. 6 by a cantilev-20 ered leaf spring ~ember 26, which is fastened by rivet~ 27 tothe rear cover wall 21 and which sprlng 26 is also fastened by rivet~ 28 directly to longitudinally extendlng button portion~
29 (Fig. 6). The dis~al end 30 of the spring 26 extends below the lower edge o the generally rectan~ular thumb button opening 31 formed in the rear cover 20, so that the leaf spring 26 tends to constantly ur~e the thumb button 24 rearwardly and outwardly of the oover 20 to a maximum, limited and det r~ined by the engagement of the spring portlon 30 with the rear cover wall 21, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The rivet~ 27 also secure a simple clip 32 generally shaped to conform to the contour~ of the inner wall portions of the rear cover and t~e contour of the plvot pin 25 of the thumb button. Thu8, as will be appreciated, the rear co~er asse~bly 20 includes only our parts, which may be , ~:: ~. " . .- ,. , , ,: , . . .
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~066Z52 readily assembled by flrst rivetin~ the sprin~ 26 to the th~mb :
button 24 and the~ ~iveting the clip 32 to the rear cover wall 21 through the upper end of the spring 26 ater the thumb button has been placed in its proper operative po~tion~ as indicated ..~
in Fig. 6. ~. . .
~he all metal reel frame subassembly, ~n accordance .:
with the present invention, is comprised of a rearwardly facing cup-shaped reel body member having cylindrical wall5 41 and a transverse vertical central reel frame wall 42. Attached to the j:.
front surface o the reel frame wall 42 ls a special spinnerhead recelving groove member 43 comprised of an outer ring element 44 having an outwardly flared forward peripheral portion 45 force fit upon an ~nner cylindricàl rlng element 46 (Fig. 6) having a circular 1ange 4~' through which the groove member 43 ¦~
is r veted or otherwise permanently affixed to the main frame wall 42. The elements 44. 46 cooperate to define a spînnerhead ¦
receiving groove 48. The cylindrical lower wall 41 of the.
frame boay 40 mounts a conventional tang 41a and a reel main j-shaft 47 with its associated line retrieval mechanism is supportedl ..
by the wall 42, in a manner to be described in greater detail i~ ~
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In accordance with the inventlon, the cup-shaped reel body walls 41 include a pair of oblong anchor plates 50 1~ :
riveted thereto by rivet~ 51 for receiving cover locking screws 52. The cover locking screws include narrow threaded :.:
shank portions~5.3, enlarged head portions 54 and annular :
locking shoulder portions 55 of a diameter approxlmately equal to the diameter of the circular locking hole openings 17 formed -.
on the front and rear covers 10, 20, respectively. The diameter ~ 30 of the shank3 53 of the loc~ln~ screws i8 slightly less than the width of the throat portions 16 of the locking slot~ 17 for~ed on the cover member.~. Thus, in accordance w~th the ; princlples of the invention, the front and rear cover member~ 10 _ ~ _ , :
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20 may be ~er~anently and securely a~fixed to the reel fra~e subasse~bly 40 by tele~coping the members thereover, allgning the throat portion 16 w~th the locking screw shank~ 53, and pressing the -covers ~rmly onto the fra~e body ~Jall port~on.
41. At th~ 8 stage of'assembly, di~ple~ 18, 23 hold the cover~
in their proper al~nment by a frlction fit. Thereafter, the ti~htening down of the screws 52 into the anchor bars 5Q will ¦' permanently and ruggedly lock the covers 10~ 20 to the reel frame when the locking shoulder portions 55 are disposed within , the openings 17 of each of the keyhole slots. This i~lproved cover lock arrange~ent assures tne integrity o~ the entire reel assembly when using the reel to 'land large fish, as should be ;
understood. -Referrin~ aga~n to Fig. 1, the new reel includes a ,~
line spool 60 o generally conventional coniguration, with ' the e,~ception of inte~ral bayonet pron~s 61 inte~rally formed ;.
at th~ rear wall 62 thereof. The bayonet prongs 61 are inserted '.
through the L-shaped bayonet slots 63 formed in the rear wall 42 (Fig. 29 and are rotated from the wide to ~he harrow portion I :
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' 20 ~ I;no~ manner to loc~ingly fasten the lin~ spool.60 to the !~
frame body. The integrity o the fastenlng of the spool to ~he :
wall 42 i8 further lnsured by the prov~sion on the rear surface : of the wall 42 of a pivotal latch member 65; A notch 68 in the i~
latch prevents the prong 61 and the spool 60 from'rotating when ' the latch is pivoted about'rivet 66, (~hich'secures the ~atch l. .. ' -to the rear l~all) to enga~e the tail 67 of the bayonet prong as sho~m in Fi~. 2. In its en~aged'position, the'bayonet prong 61 is in the upper portion of the bayonet slot 63. :
The reel assembly of Fig. 1 also includes a cup-shaped spinnerhead 70 having a notched rear line picl;up'edge 71, which spinnerhead is fastened to the forward end of t~e shaft 47 by a lock nut 72. -The line casting and retrieval mechanism cf Lhe present invention an~ the associated anti-reverse mechanism ~.
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therefore are generally ~imilar to that descrlbed in ~y earlier Canadi~n Patent ~lo. 857,728 and my earlier disclosures of ~7hich are incorporated by reference herein. The axially extending main shaft 47 iB mounted in a forwardly pro~ecting hub 73 rlveted to the front face of wall 42 for rotation and limited axial dis~
placement, The forward end 74 of the main sha~t i~ threaded and mount~ the splnnerhead 70 thereon, while the rearward end 75 is engageable by the inner surace~ of a thumb button spring 26. Keyed to the shaft 47 for rotation therewith i8 a dr~e io gear 80 which is engaged by a gear 81. The gear 81 is mounted on a crankshaft 82~ which ls journaled ~or rotation in a bracket 83 fastened to the wall 42. A winding crank 95 mounting handles 96 is fixed to the free end of the crankshaf~ 82 by locking muc 97.
The anti reverse mechanism 90 includes a control lever 91, a blocking pawl 92, and an actuating member 93, which elements cooperate to prohibit reverse rotation of the main shaft 47 when the anti-re~erse ~echanism Is in its operati~e condition, as controlled by the position of the lever 91. The ~;
blocking pawl 92 may be deactivated by moving the lever 91 into an opposite position~ The lever 91 pro~ects through a slot 94 formed in the ~rame body wall 41, the ends of which 810t limit the travel o the le~er 91 between "on" and "off"
positions of control of the anti-reverse mechaniæm. The operation of this type of anti-reverse mechanism is now well ~now and is described in Llcr~ detail in my earlier patent 3,489,365 (U.S.A.).
Operation of the new and improved reel i~ simpli~ied and reliable. To prepare for a cast, the fisherman depresse~
the thu~b lever 24, ~oving the main shaft 47 and spinnerhead 70 forw~rd and pinching the line L between the inside of the front cover 10 and the spinnerhead periphery 74. Release of ~he thwnb lever during the ca~t will pennit the spinnerhead to retreat to an intermediate po~ition ln which the line may ~;

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freely unwind itself from the spool through the force of the cast to travel freely over the spinnerhead and through the line guide 12 on the front cover.
As described in detail in the aforementioned patent No. 774,444, the spinnerhead is held in the intermediate posi-tion by the cooperation of a spring actuated lever 75 and a cam surface 76 formed on the front surface of the hub 73. However, when the spinnerhead is thereafter rotated by the crank handle 96, the lever 75 is engaged by the cam surface 76 at the forward ~ ;
extremity of the hub extension, swinging the lever 75 out of locking position and permitting the main shaft and spinnerhead to be returned in a rearward direction by a biasing spring 78. :~
In the rearward position of the spinnerhead 70, the notches 71 are disposed partially within the annular groove 48, so that the groove walls (inner and outer ring elements 44, 46) and a spinnerhead notch cooperate to completely encircle or trap the line L in its retrieval and winding back upon the line ~--spool 60 in the manner described in greater detail in my earlier patent 774,444. As will be understood, this occurs within one revolution of the pickup head. Retrieval of the line is -accomplished through the continued cranking of the crank handle 96, which will cause the rotation of the main shaft, driving the pickup head in a clockwise direction.
It should be understood that the specific form of the reel herein illustrated and described is intended to be repre-sentative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Ac-cordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.
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Claims (2)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A closed face spinning reel comprising:
a) an all metal cylindrical reel frame supporting a line spool, rotatable spinnerhead, and associated reel control mechanism thereon;
b) said reel frame mounting axially extending anchor bars on diametrically opposed inner surfaces thereof;
c) first and second pairs of locking screws having shank portions extending through said reel frame, each screw being threadedly engaged with said anchor bar means and each screw having an enlarged head portion defining a smaller cylindrical shoulder portion at the underside thereof;
d) cup-shaped front and rear covers having annular flanges of predetermined diameter slightly greater than the diameter of said reel frame;
e) each of said covers including a pair of keyhole shaped openings including narrow throat portions of width slightly greater than the diameter of said shanks of said locking screws, said throat portions extending from the free edges thereof into circular portions having a diameter slightly greater than that of said cylindrical shoulder portions of said locking screws;
f) whereby said covers may be telescopically assembled with said reel frame upon aligning said throat portions with said shank portions and thereafter ruggedly locked thereto upon the tightening of said shoulder portions in said circular portions.

2. The reel in accordance with claim 1, further characterized in that (a) said cover means includes integral dimples formed on the inner surfaces thereof; (b) said dimples cooperating with outer cylindrical surfaces of said reel frame to hold said covers firmly thereon by a friction fit independently of the effects of said locking screws.