Reel for fishing

Abstract

To provide a fishing reel in which a contact member is attached to a reel body, and that can stably fulfill waterproof and dustproof functions between them easily at low cost.SOLUTION: A fishing reel according to the present invention comprises a rear cap 30 fixed in contact with a reel body 2. An elastic seal member 50 is interposed between the reel body 2 and the rear cap 30. The seal member 50 is formed integrally with a joint part 30A of the rear cap 30 or a joint part 2A of the reel body 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fishing reel, and more particularly to a fishing reel provided with a contact member that is attached to and abuts against a reel body.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, in order to make fishing reels smaller and lighter, the reel body has been made into a monocoque structure. In such a structure, an opening is formed so as to facilitate access to the constituent members inside the reel body, and a cap, a cover member, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as a contact member) are attached so as to close that portion.

[0003] When attaching the contact member to the main body, the contact member is fixed by screwing or the like with a seal member interposed therebetween so as to achieve waterproofing and dustproofing. The seal member is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and when assembling the fishing reel, the operator attaches the contact member to the reel body with the seal member interposed therebetween. By the way, the work of interposing the seal member between the reel body and the contact member and attaching the contact member requires a certain degree of skill. For example, as a spinning reel, a structure in which a rear cap is attached to the rear opening of the reel body is known, but since the opposing edges of the rear cap and the reel body that come into contact with each other are curved, it is difficult to stably interpose the seal member.

[0004] Therefore, in Patent Document 1, in order to stably interpose a seal member between the rear cap and the reel body of a spinning reel, a protrusion having a substantially triangular cross section (tapered shape) is formed at the edge of the rear cap, and the seal member is recessed into the protrusion to join the two members (see FIG. 8 described later). According to such a configuration, displacement and deformation of the seal member are prevented, so that the seal member is held in an appropriate position and it becomes possible to exhibit waterproofing and dustproofing functions.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] As described above, it is necessary to separately attach the contact member to the reel body with a seal member interposed therebetween. However, if the location where the seal member is to be attached has a three-dimensional and complex shape, procedures such as bending the seal member according to the shape of the attachment position are required. For this reason, the attachment work is not easy, it takes a long time, and proficiency is required for the attachment work. That is, in the curved portion, it is difficult to attach the seal member in a uniform state over the entire body, and variations occur for each product, such as the seal member protruding, and rework is required. In some cases, problems such as discarding the seal member or the rear cap occur.

[0007] The present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fishing reel in which a contact member is attached to a reel body, and which can stably exhibit waterproof and dustproof functions between the two easily and at low cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fishing reel including a contact member that is applied and fixed to a reel body, wherein an elastic seal member is interposed between the reel body and the contact member, and the seal member is integrally formed at a joint portion of the contact member or a joint portion of the reel body.

[0009] The fishing reel according to the present invention includes a contact member that is attached and fixed to the reel body. The reel body and the contact member are separate members, and when they are attached and fixed, a sealing member (packing) is interposed between the two members so as to be waterproof and dustproof. Since the sealing member is integrally formed in advance at the joint portion of the contact member or the joint portion of the reel body, it is not necessary to perform the operation of attaching and fixing the contact member to the reel body while interposing another sealing member formed of a ring-shaped rubber member or the like as in the prior art. Therefore, during the assembly operation of the reel body, variations between products and rework operations do not occur, and problems such as discarding the sealing member and the contact member do not occur.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, when attaching the contact member to the reel body, a fishing reel can be obtained that can easily and at low cost stably exhibit the waterproof and dustproof functions between the two.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of a fishing reel according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, a spinning reel is taken as the fishing reel, and a rear cap is exemplified as a member attached to the reel body.

[0013] FIGS. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing a configuration example of the spinning reel according to the present embodiment. In these figures, the direction indicated by the arrow is defined as the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is defined as the width direction (the left side surface side in FIG. 1 and the right side surface side in FIG. 2).

[0014] First, an outline of the overall configuration of the spinning reel will be described. A leg portion 3 for attaching to a fishing rod is formed on the reel body (hereinafter also referred to as the body) 2 of the spinning reel 1. A handle shaft is rotatably supported on the body 2 via a bearing, and a handle 4 for winding operation is attached to an end portion of the handle shaft. Further, a known driving force transmission mechanism is connected to the handle shaft, and the rotor 10 is rotationally driven along with the rotational operation of the handle 4, and the spool 5 is moved back and forth via a known oscillating mechanism.

[0015] The spool 5 has a fishing line winding cylinder portion 5a around which the fishing line is wound, and a front flange portion 5b and a rear flange portion (skirt portion) 5c that define the amount of the wound fishing line in the front-rear direction. Further, on the rotor 10, a pair of support arms 11, 12 are formed so as to extend forward in the axial direction and face each other at substantially 180° intervals, and the spool 5 is located between the pair of support arms and reciprocally driven back and forth. At the tip of each of the support arms 11, 12, veil support members 14, 15 are rotatably supported between the fishing line winding position and the fishing line releasing position. Further, at the base end of each of the veil support members 14, 15, a base end portion of a semi-circular veil 17 is attached, and the veil 17 is rotatable together with the veil support members 14, 15. And at the tip of one of the veil support members 15, a fishing line guiding device 20 for guiding the fishing line to the spool is provided.

[0016] FIGS. 1 and 2 show a fishing line winding state. When the handle 4 is rotated in this state, the rotor 10 is rotationally driven via a driving force transmission mechanism, and the spool 5 is reciprocally driven back and forth via an oscillating mechanism. Thereby, the fishing line is evenly wound around the fishing line winding cylinder portion 5a of the spool 5 via the fishing line guiding device 20 of the veil support member 15 that rotates with the rotor 10. And when the veil 17 is rotated (rotated in the direction of the arrow) to the fishing line releasing position together with the rotation of the veil support members 14, 15 from the fishing line winding state shown in the figure, the fishing line wound around the spool 5 is in a released state (not shown). Further, after the fishing line is released in this fishing line released state, when the veil 17 is rotated from the fishing line releasing position to the fishing line winding position, the fishing line is picked up by the veil 17 and guided to the fishing line guiding device 20, and becomes the fishing line winding state shown in the figure.

[0017] The main body 2 of the spinning reel described above has a monocoque structure, aiming for miniaturization and weight reduction. For this reason, since the driving force transmission mechanism and the oscillating mechanism, which are internal components inside the main body 2, are difficult to access from the outside, it is necessary to form an opening portion, and it is necessary to provide a member (such as a cap or a cover, which is collectively referred to as a "contact member" in the present invention) for closing the opening portion. And when providing such a contact member to the main body 2, it is necessary to dispose a seal member (packing) for fulfilling waterproof and dustproof functions between the two.

[0018] In the spinning reel of the present embodiment, an opening is formed at the rear end of the main body 2 so as to facilitate access to the oscillating mechanism, and a rear cap 30, which is a contact member, is attached to this portion to close the opening. The rear cap 30 is detachably fixed to the main body 2 by fixing means such as screws (not shown). In this case, an elastic seal member is interposed at the joint portion (the edge portion of each member) between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2, as will be described later.

[0019] Here, a prior art in which a seal member is interposed between the rear cap and the main body will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

[0020] Conventionally, when interposing a seal member 100 formed of an elastic material such as rubber between the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30 and the joint portion 2A of the main body 2, a protrusion 30a having a substantially triangular cross section (tapered shape) is formed on the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30, and the seal member 100 is recessed into the protrusion 30a to join the rear cap 30 to the main body 2. By forming the protrusion 30a in this way, displacement and deformation of the seal member 100 are prevented, so that the seal member is held in an appropriate position and it becomes possible to exhibit waterproof and dustproof functions. That is, due to its structure, there is a possibility that gaps may occur at two locations, between the rear cap 30 and the seal member 100 (boundary A) and between the seal member 100 and the main body 2 (boundary B), so waterproofness is ensured by the fastening force of the screw and by recessing the seal member into the above-described protrusion 30a.

[0021] However, since the opposing joint portions of the rear cap 30 and the main body 20 have a three-dimensional and complex shape (a complex shape that displaces in three dimensions) that displaces in the front-rear direction, up-down direction, and width direction, an operator needs to perform procedures such as bending the seal member 100 according to the shape of the attachment position and causing the seal member 100 to sink into the protrusion 30a. For this reason, in the curved portion, it is difficult to attach the seal member 100 in a uniform state over the entire seal member, and problems such as the seal member protruding and variations from product to product occur, resulting in rework operations and the like, and problems such as discarding the seal member 100 and the rear cap 30 have arisen.

[0022] In the present invention, when an elastic seal member is interposed between the main body 2 and the rear cap 30, the seal member is integrally formed with the joint portion of the abutting member or the joint portion of the main body. That is, by integrally forming the seal member with the abutting member or the main body, the waterproof and dustproof properties are enhanced, and the configuration is such that operations such as bending the seal member and causing it to sink into the protrusion as in the prior art are not required, and it can be easily assembled.

[0023] Hereinafter, a specific structure will be described. FIG. 3 is a view showing a first embodiment of the seal member, and is a cross-sectional view in which the seal member 50 is interposed between the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30 and the joint portion 2A of the main body 2. The joint portion 30A and the joint portion 2A in the present embodiment are flat surfaces that are joined in surface contact with each other.

[0024] The seal member 50 is integrally formed with the rear cap by two-color molding over the entire circumference of the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30. Such two-color molding can be performed using a general two-color molding machine. First, the base rear cap 30 is integrally molded with a thermoplastic resin (e.g., ABS, acrylic, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyamide, etc.). Then, the seal member 50 can be integrally molded using a flexible material (e.g., styrene-based, olefin-based, urethane-based, ester-based, amide-based thermoplastic elastomer) on the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30.

[0025] The thickness T of the seal member 30 is not particularly limited. However, if it is about 0.4 to 1.0 mm, the seal member can exhibit sufficient waterproof and dustproof properties without being damaged. In this way, in the case of two-color molding, since the boundary portion between the rear cap 30 and the seal member 50 fuses during the manufacturing process, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a gap as shown in FIG. 8 (the gap is only at the boundary B), and the airtightness can be enhanced.

[0026] Also, as described above, when the seal member 50 is integrally molded with the rear cap 30 by two-color molding, even if the opening end face of the rear cap 30 has a complex three-dimensional displaced shape, the sealing performance can be ensured simply by fixing the rear cap 30 to the main body 2 (because the thickness can be made uniform to stabilize the sealing performance). That is, even if the sealing area is curved, the seal member intervening between the two does not protrude, and there is no variation from product to product, so the labor and manufacturing costs do not increase. In addition, the degree of freedom in the design of the rear cap 30 can be improved, and the assembly man-hours can be reduced.

[0027] In the above-described configuration, it is preferable that the rear cap 30 is formed of a material that can be plated together with the main body 2, and the two-color molded seal member 50 is formed of a material that cannot be plated. For example, when resin-molding the main body 2, plating may be performed so that the appearance has a shiny property. However, if the above-described seal member 50 is similarly plated, there is a possibility that sufficient waterproof and dustproof properties cannot be exhibited, such as damage or deterioration. Therefore, the seal member 50 is preferably formed of a material on which plating is not deposited even when the rear cap 30 is plated, for example, a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer. Thereby, it becomes possible to perform plating on parts other than the seal member 50, and at the same time, it becomes possible to achieve both the appearance required for the rear cap 30 and the waterproof and dustproof properties required for the seal member 50.

[0028] In the above-described configuration, the seal member 50 is integrally molded on the rear cap side, but it may be integrally molded on the main body side or integrally molded on both. Further, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the seal member 50 may be formed to have a step 30A' on the surface of the rear cap 30, or may be formed to be flush as in the following embodiment, or may be formed to be exposed in appearance in consideration of design properties or the like.

[0029] FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing a second embodiment of the seal member. FIG. 4 is a view showing the rear cap, FIG. 5(a) is a cross-sectional view at the position indicated by P1 in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view at the position indicated by P2 in FIG. 4.

[0030] The rear cap 30 is attached to the opening at the rear end of the main body 2 and also serves as a part that exhibits design characteristics. Regarding the seal member 51, since the degree of freedom in design is increased by two-color molding, it may or may not be made invisible at the boundary between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2. That is, the seal member 51 may be integrally molded so as to be exposed between the joint portion of the main body 2 and the joint portion of the rear cap 30. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the thickness T1 of the exposed portion P1 on the upper end side is made thin, and as it curves downward from there and transitions, the thickness to be exposed can be gradually increased to easily bring about a change in appearance (at the exposed portion P2 on the lower end side, the thickness T2 to be exposed is thicker than the thickness T1).

[0031] Even if the seal member 51 is exposed in a shape with a changing wall thickness in consideration of the appearance, by two-color molding as described above, the wall thickness does not change unevenly in the attached state, and the waterproof and dustproof properties are not impaired. Also, even for various shapes, the rear cap can be created according to the shape, making it possible to achieve both appearance and waterproof and dustproof properties.

[0032] Regarding the molding mode of the seal member 51 with respect to the rear cap 30, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to integrally mold it in a concave-convex shape along the joining direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface) with respect to the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a convex portion 30b is formed along the joining direction on the joint portion 30A of the rear cap 30, and it is possible to mold the concave seal member 51 on this convex portion 30b. In this case, when molding the rear cap 30, the height of the convex portion 30b is changed along the joining direction, and accordingly, it becomes easy to make the wall thickness T of the seal member 51 uniform and change the wall thickness (T1, T2) of the exposed portion. In this way, it becomes easy to bring about a change in appearance while maintaining the thickness as the seal member 51.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the seal member and is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear cap. In this embodiment, the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 is configured to have a labyrinth structure. Here, the labyrinth structure means that the opposing portions of the joint of the two members are not single surfaces but composite surfaces, and each of the plurality of surfaces faces each other. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, in the rear cap 30, three joint surfaces 30d, 30e, and 30f are formed along the joint direction in the joint region, and in the main body 2, three joint surfaces 2d, 2e, and 2f are formed along the joint direction so as to face the joint surfaces 30d, 30e, and 30f.

[0034] When such a labyrinth structure is used, the waterproof and dustproof effects are enhanced. Further, by integrally forming the rear cap 30 or the seal member 52 integrally formed with the main body 2 at at least one location along the joint direction in the regions facing each other as the labyrinth structure, the seal member can be easily formed and the waterproof and dustproof effects can be further enhanced.

[0035] In this embodiment, the seal member 52 is integrally formed on the joint surfaces 30e and 30f inside the rear cap 30 so as not to expose the seal member, but it may be formed and exposed on the joint surface 30d.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a view showing a fourth embodiment of the seal member and is a partial cross-sectional view of the rear cap. Also in this embodiment, the joint between the rear cap 30 and the main body 2 has a labyrinth structure, and in the rear cap 30, two joint surfaces 30g and 30h are formed along the joint direction in the joint region.

[0037] The joint surface may be configured as a curved surface instead of a flat surface (curved surface 30h), and a plurality of seal members (seal members 54 and 55) may be integrally formed along the joint direction. In this way, by performing two-color molding, it becomes possible to freely design the shapes of the joint portions and the seal members. That is, as in the present embodiment, a structure in which the joint portion has a labyrinth structure and a plurality of seal members are molded at a plurality of locations in the joint region can be easily achieved, thereby making it possible to further enhance the waterproof and dustproof properties.

[0038] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been explained. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be variously modified. In the above-described embodiment, the seal member and the contact member (rear cap 30) are integrally molded by two-color molding. However, in addition to two-color molding, they may be integrally molded by an adhesive, heat welding, or the like.

[0039] In addition, the present invention can be applied not only to the above-described rear cap but also to various openings formed in the main body 2, members that close them, or members (contact members) that cover the main body 2. For example, it may be applied to a cover body attached to the main body on the opposite handle side, or it can be applied to various contact members such as being provided on the cover bodies on both sides of the main body of a double-bearing type reel. Furthermore, it can be appropriately deformed according to the configuration of the contact member, such as the thickness, shape, and molding position of the seal member.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0040] 1 Fishing reel 2 Reel main body 4 Handle 5 Spool 10 Rotor 30 Rear cap (contact member) 50, 51, 52, 54, 55 Seal members

Claims

1. In a fishing reel having a contact member that is attached and fixed to a reel body, an elastic seal member is interposed between the reel body and the contact member, the seal member is integrally formed at a joint portion of the contact member or at a joint portion of the reel body, the contact member and the reel body are formed of a thermoplastic resin, and the seal member is formed of a polyurethane-based thermoplastic elastomer, the seal member is integrally formed so as to be exposed between the joint portion of the reel body and the joint portion of the contact member, A fishing reel, characterized in that the contact member integrally formed with the seal member or the reel body integrally formed with the seal member is subjected to plating.

2. The fishing reel according to claim 1, characterized in that the seal member is integrally formed by two-color molding with respect to a joint portion of the contact member or a joint portion of the reel body.

3. The fishing reel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the seal member is integrally formed so that the exposed thickness varies depending on the joint position.

4. The fishing reel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the seal member is integrally formed in a concavo-convex shape along the joint direction with respect to a joint portion of the contact member or a joint portion of the reel body.

5. The joint portion of the contact member and the joint portion of the reel body have a labyrinth structure in which the opposing portions of the joint portions of both members form a composite surface, and each of a plurality of surfaces faces each other, The fishing reel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the seal member is integrally formed at least at one location along the joint direction in a region facing each other in the labyrinth structure.

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