GB2059732A - Improvements in fishing rods - Google Patents

Abstract

Two winch fittings (5, 6) in the form of plastics sleeves are slidably mounted on the handle (1) of a fishing rod with each fitting being a wedge fit over a respective end of a reel foot (7) which is to be fastened to the handle. The length of each fitting is greater than one-half of the length of the reel foot (7) and the inner, mutually adjacent ends of the fittings abut or virtually abut when the reel foot is fastened in position so that an effectively continuous sleeve is formed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in fishing rods The present invention relates to fishing rods and, more particularly, to the winch fittings for fastening a fishing reel to the reel seat on the butt or handle of the rod.

Traditionally, winch fittings comprise a pair of aluminium or other metal rings slidably mounted on the butt of the rod adjacent opposite ends of the reel seat. These fittings operate on a wedging principle.

They taper slightly in a direction away from the reel seat and, in order to fasten a reel in position on the seat, they are simply pushed along the butt and over the reel foot, which is positioned on the seat, so as to wedge over opposite ends of the foot. Such fittings, which have been in use for decades, have certain disadvantages. Hence, the rings can and do work loose as a result of the friction of the angler's hand during casting and, frequently, have to be pushed into place. Because they tend to work loose, it is not unusual for the reel to fall off the rod and, sometimes, into the water. Also, the angler has two cold metal rings under his hand at all times whilst using the reel, and the design of the fittings leaves a bumpy contour which is uncomfortable to hold for long periods.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of traditional winch fittings and, to this end, the invention consists in a set of winch fittings comprising two sleeves slidably mounted on the butt of a fishing rod adjacent the reel seat, each sleeve fitting (a) being formed from plastics material, (b) being longer than one-half of the length of a reel foot to be fastened to the seat and (c) being a wedge fit over the cooperating end of the reel foot, the arrangement being such that the mutually adjacent ends of the fittings abut or nearly abut when a reel foot is fastened in position on the seat by the fittings.

The sleeve fitting adjacent the bottom or butt end of the rod may be formed from a rigid plastics material, for example, rigid nylon, and may have a portion at its end adjacent the reel seat shaped so as generally to conform to the adjacent end of the reel foot.

This fitting may have axially extending ribs formed at spaced positions around its internal surface which engage in the cork, which is normally provided on the butt of a fishing rod to form a handle, as the fitting is pressed over the reel seat and onto the reel foot. The fact that the fitting is firstly moulded to accommodate the reel foot and the ribs grip into the cork, as a result of the pressure of the wedging action, effectively prevents the fitting and, hence the reel, from turning about the butt unless considerable force is applied.

The other sleeve fitting may be formed from rigid plastics material, similarly to the butt end fitting. In this event one set of tools and the same plastics material may be utilised for the production of both fittings. Alternatively, this other fitting may be formed from a flexible plastics material, such as flexible nylon. It may then either be formed as a cylindrical or tapered sleeve with a sufficient degree of stretch to enable it to accommodate the adjacent end of the reel foot when the fitting is pushed over the foot. It may be movable into its fastening position by a screwing action, that is, by turning the sleeve about the butt as it is pushed into position and, to assist such a screwing action, the internal surface of the fitting may be formed with a spiral thread of large pitch. Such a construction also helps to prevent turning movement of the reel about the butt.

The butt may have an annular shoulder or other stop means against which one of the sleeve fittings can abut to define a specific reel seat position which is at a suitable fishing position.

The construction of the fittings should be such that, in initial use, there is some spacing between the adjacent ends of the sleeves when a reel foot is fastened in position, in order that the degree of stretch which occurs in use can be accommodated and, in practice, after a period of use, the fittings will substantially abut to form a substantially continuous sleeve.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure lisa side elevation of a part of the butt of a fishing rod showing a reel foot fastened in position by two fittings constructed in accordance with the invention, Fig. 2 is an underneath plan view of the assembly shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view through the butt end fitting, and Fig. 4 is a side elevation similar two Fig. 1 of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the fishing rod comprises a butt 1 sheathed in a cork layer 2 forming the handle of the rod. Over a portion of the handle, the cork is removed to form a generally rectangular recess 3 defining a reel seat 4.

Slidably mounted on the handle are two winch fittings 5, 6 for fastening the foot 7 of a reel to the reel seat. Each fitting is in the form of a sleeve having a length greater than one-half the maximum length of a reel foot which can be accommodated in the seat 4.

The butt end fitting 5 is moulded from a rigid plastics material, such as rigid nylon and, at its bottom side 8, it is contoured generally to conform to the shape of the adjacent end of the reel foot 7. The internal surface of the fitting 5 is moulded, at equally spaced positions, with six axial ribs 9 oftriangular cross section (see Fig. 3). At its end adjacent the reel, the bottom partof the fittings 5 is cut away so as to form a recess 10 for accommodating the leg 11 of the reel.

The fitting 6 remote from the butt end of the rod is moulded from flexible plastics material, such as flexible nylon, and is a parallel-sided or tapered sleeve. It may have an oval cross section which permits the fitting to grip the handle, when the reel is not in place, and prevents undesirable movement. Simi The drawing(s) originally filed was/were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

larly to the fitting 5, the end of the fitting 6 adjacent the reel leg 11 is cut away at its bottom side to form a recess 12 for accommodating the reel leg.

In order to fasten a reel to the handle, the fittings 5, 6 are moved apart and the reel foot 7 is located on the seat 4. The fittings are then moved together in order to fasten the foot in position. As the butt end fitting 5 is pushed up the hanndle and on the reel seat, the ribs 9 engage into the cork 2 and, together with the contoured portion 8 ofthe fitting engaging the reel foot, serve to prevent the fitting and also the reel from turning about the handle. The upper fitting 6 is moved on to the reel seat with a screwing action and, to assist such action, the internal surface of this fitting may be moulded with a spiral thread (not shown) of large pitch. When fastening a reel in position, the adjacent ends of the two fittings, upon initial use of the rod, almost abut, as shown in the drawings.During further use, however, the fittings will tend to stretch and, after a period will, in fact, abut so as to form an effectively continuous sleeve.

In one typical example of the above described embodiment, the winch fittings on a rod in which the outside diameter of the butt is 26 mm each have an axial length of 50 mm and, in initial use, there is a spacing of approzimately 1.5 mm between the adjacent ends of the fittings when fastening a reel in position on the reel seat. The recesses 10,12 may have a maximum depth of approximately 8 mm.

In the Fig. 4 embodiment, the butt 13 of the fishing rod is sheathed in a cork layer 14 which provides a cylindrical portion 14a over which the two sleeve fittings 15,16 can slide. Adjacent the end of the cylindrical portion 14a which is remote from the butt end (not shown) of the rod, the portion 14b of the cork layer 14 diverges in the direction towards the fittings 15,16 and defines an annular shoulder 17 on the butt. Each fitting 15, 16 is generally cylindrical and is moulded from a rigid plastics material, such as rigid nylon. Circumferentially milled portions 18 and 19 are provided adjacent the mutually outer ends 15a and 16a, respectively, of the fittings 15, 16 to facilitate gripping and moving the fittings on the butt 13.The bottom sides of the fittings 15,16 are formed with socket portions 20,21, respectively, which are contoured generally to conform to adjacent ends of the foot 22 of a reel. Each socket portion 20,21 extends from the inner end of respective fitting 15, 16 to the milled portion 18 or 19.

As in the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, the fittings 15, 16 have axially extending ribs on their internal surfaces (not shown), and have at their ends adjacent the reel respective cut away bottom parts (also not shown) for accommodating the leg 23 of the reel.

When the fittings 15, 16 are moved towards each other over the reel foot 22 to fasten the reel to the butt 23, the fitting 16 can be located so that its outer end 1 6a abuts the annular shoulder 17. With the fitting 16 abutting the shoulder 17, a reel seat position is defined in a suitable fishing position.

Whilst a particular embodiment has been described, it will be understood that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a recessed reel seat 4 is not essential and the fittings 5, 6 provided by this invention may be used to fix a reel foot directly onto the normal round section of a fishing rod handle.

Claims (12)

1. A set of winch fittings for fastening a fishing reel to a reel seat on the butt of a fishing rod, comprising two sleeves slidably mounted on the butt of the fishing rod at or adjacent the reel seat, each sleeve fitting (a) being formed from plastics material, (b) being longer than one-half of the length of a reel foot to be fastened to the seat and (c) being a wedge fit over the cooperating end of the reel foot, the arrangement being such that the mutually adjacent ends of the fittings abut or nearly abut when a reel foot is fastened in position on the seat by the fittings.

2. A set of winch fittings as claimed in claim 1, wherein either one or each of the sleeve fittings is formed from rigid plastics material and has a socket portion for receiving the adjacent end ofthe reel foot.

3. A set of winch fittings as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein either one or each of the sleeve fittings has substantially axially extending ribs formed at spaced positions around its internal surface which engage with the material of the butt to resist turning of the fitting about the butt.

4. A set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sleeve fitting remote from the bottom or butt end of the rod is formed from flexible plastics material.

5. A set of winch fittings as claimed in claim 4, wherein the flexible sleeve fitting is cylindrical or of oval cross-section or otherwise parallel-sided.

6. A set of winch fittings as claimed in claim 4, wherein the flexible sleeve fitting is of tapered form.

7. A set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of claims 4, 5 or 6, wherein the internal surface of the flexible sleeve fitting is formed with a spiral thread which facilitates moving the fitting into its fastening position by a screwing action.

8. A set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein one or each ofthe sleeve fittings is provided with a cut away portion which provides a recess for accommodating the leg of the fishing reel.

9. A set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the butt is provided with a recess which defines the reel seat.

10. A set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the butt has an annular shoulder or other stop means against which one of the sleeve fittings can abut to define a reel seat position on the butt.

11. A set of winch fittings substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, or Figure 4 ofthe accompanying drawings.

12. A fishing rod having a butt provided with a set of winch fittings as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.