Ball bearings, fishing reels, methods for modifying fishing reels

Abstract

To provide a new ball bearing that improves operability of a fishing reel, the fishing reel having the ball bearing, and a remodeling method for the fishing reel using the ball bearing.SOLUTION: A ball bearing 1, which has the substantial thickness (T1) of an inner ring 2 set larger than the substantial thickness (T2) of an outer ring 3, is attached to a spool shaft 12 serving as a rotating shaft of a spool 11, around which a fishing line is wound, of a double bearing-type fishing reel 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a ball bearing, a fishing reel provided with the ball bearing, and a method for modifying a fishing reel using the ball bearing.

Background Art

[0002] A fishing reel attached to a fishing rod is a fishing tool for winding a fishing line. The fishing reel is classified into a two-bearing type, a spinning type, a spin-cast type, etc. according to the difference in its structure.

[0003] Among these, the two-bearing type fishing reel has a structure in which both ends of a spool shaft, which is a rotating shaft of a spool for winding a fishing line, are supported by ball bearings. This type of fishing reel has a mechanism for winding the fishing line in a direction perpendicular to the spool shaft while rotating the spool, and thus has an advantage of having a stronger winding force compared to reels of other structures.

[0004] On the other hand, since the fishing line is paid out against the rotational resistance of the spool, it has been difficult to cast a relatively light rig far.

[0005] Regarding this point, in the invention (fishing reel) described in Patent Document 1 below, by reducing the outer diameter of the ball bearing, the frictional resistance during rotation inside the bearing is reduced, thereby improving the rotational performance of the spool.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In other words, the invention described in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to cast a light lure a long distance by reducing the rotational resistance of the spool.

[0008] However, if the rotational resistance of the spool decreases, the moment of inertia increases, and in the latter half of a long cast, the rotational speed of the spool may exceed the rate at which the fishing line is released, making it easier for backlash to occur, where the fishing line is released excessively.

[0009] The present invention was developed to solve the aforementioned technical problems and aims to provide a novel ball bearing for improving the operability of a fishing reel, a fishing reel equipped with the ball bearing, and a method for modifying a fishing reel using the ball bearing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The ball bearing of the present invention, which solves the aforementioned technical problems, comprises an inner ring, an outer ring arranged concentrically with the inner ring, and a plurality of steel balls held between the inner ring and the outer ring, characterized in that the substantial thickness of the inner ring is greater than the substantial thickness of the outer ring (hereinafter referred to as "the ball bearing of the present invention").

[0011] In the ball bearing of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is one in which the substantial thickness of the inner ring is 1.5 times or more the substantial thickness of the outer ring.

[0012] The fishing reel of the present invention, which solves the aforementioned technical problems, is a double-bearing type fishing reel, characterized in that the ball bearing of the present invention is attached to the spool shaft, which is the rotation axis of the spool around which the fishing line is wound (hereinafter referred to as "the reel of the present invention").

[0013] In the reel of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is one in which a plurality of ball bearings are attached to one end or both ends of the spool shaft.

[0014] The present invention provides a method for modifying a fishing reel that solves the aforementioned technical problems, and is a method for modifying a double-bearing type fishing reel, characterized by performing a de-bearing step of removing the original ball bearing attached to the spool shaft, which is the rotation axis of the spool around which the fishing line is wound, and an installation step of attaching the ball bearing of the present invention to the position where the original ball bearing was attached (hereinafter referred to as the "modification method of the present invention"). [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, the operability of fishing reels can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] Figure 1(a) is a front view showing one embodiment of the ball bearing of the present invention, and Figure 1(b) is a cross-sectional view AA of the ball bearing of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2(a) is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the reel of the present invention, and Figure 2(b) is a perspective view showing the spool of the reel of the present invention. [Figure 3] Figures 3(a) to 3(c) are perspective views illustrating the implementation of the modification method of the present invention. [Figure 4] Figure 4(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the spool shaft with the original ball bearing installed, and Figure 4(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the spool shaft with the ball bearing of the present invention installed. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a spool of a reel according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0018] <Invention Ball Bearing 1> Figure 1 shows the present invention's spherical bearing 1. The present invention's spherical bearing 1 includes an "inner ring (2)", an "outer ring (3)" arranged concentrically with the inner ring 2, and a plurality of "steel balls (4)" held between the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 3.

[0019] - Inner ring 2 - The inner ring 2 serves as the inner raceway ring of the present invention's spherical bearing 1. In this embodiment, the inner ring 2 has an inner diameter dimension of 3 mm. Also, an outer circumferential groove 21 that circumscribes along the circumferential direction is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the inner ring 2.

[0020] - Outer ring 3 - The outer ring 3 serves as the outer raceway ring of the present invention's spherical bearing 1. In this embodiment, the outer ring 3 has an outer diameter dimension of 10 mm. Also, an inner circumferential groove 31 that circumscribes along the circumferential direction is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the outer ring 3.

[0021] - Steel ball 4 - The steel ball 4 serves as a rolling element that rolls between the two raceway rings composed of the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 3. In this embodiment, the steel ball 4 has a ball dimension of 1.1906 mm. Also, the steel balls 4 are held in a state of being sandwiched between the outer circumferential groove 21 of the inner ring 2 and the inner circumferential groove 31 of the outer ring 3 (9 in this embodiment), and each steel ball 4 is arranged at equal intervals by a member called a "retainer" not shown in the figure.

[0022] And, in the present invention's spherical bearing 1 having the above configuration, the substantial thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 is made larger than the substantial thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3. In the present invention, the substantial thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 means the distance from the inner circumferential surface of the inner ring 2 to the bottom of the outer circumferential groove 21. Also, in the present invention, the substantial thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3 means the distance from the outer circumferential surface of the outer ring 3 to the bottom of the inner circumferential groove 31.

[0023] <The present invention's reel 10> Figure 1 shows the reel 10 of the present invention. The reel 10 of the present invention is a double-bearing type fishing reel and has a structure in which the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is attached to the spool shaft 12 which is the rotation axis of the "spool (11)".

[0024] -Spool 11- The spool 11 is a part of the reel 10 of the present invention for winding fishing line, and is designed to rotate around the spool shaft 12 as the center of rotation when the handle of the reel 10 of the present invention is turned. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the spool shaft 12 is 3 mm, which is a size that allows the ball bearing 1 of the present invention to be fitted onto it.

[0025] <Modification Method of the Invention> Figure 3 shows the modification method of the present invention. The reel 10 of the present invention is constructed by applying the modification method of the present invention to a commercially available fishing reel 100. The modification method of the present invention includes a "bearing removal process" and a "bearing installation process".

[0026] -Debearing process- In the aforementioned bearing removal process, the original ball bearing 101 attached to the spool shaft 12, which is the rotation axis of the spool 11 around which the fishing line is wound, is removed. In practice, the spool 11 is removed from a commercially available fishing reel 100 (see Figure 3(a)), and the original ball bearing 101 attached to the spool shaft 12 is removed (see Figure 3(b)). The original ball bearing 101 refers to the original ball bearing that was originally installed in the commercially available fishing reel 100.

[0027] -Bearing process- In the bearing installation process, the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is installed in the position where the original ball bearing 101 was installed.

[0028] After each of the above steps is performed, the spool 11 is returned to its original position to construct the reel 10 of the present invention (see Figure 3(c)).

[0029] As shown in Figure 4(a), in the commercially available fishing reel 100, a standard ball bearing 101 equipped with multiple (7) steel balls 4 with a ball size of 1.5875 mm is attached to the spool shaft 12. However, as shown in Figure 4(b), in the reel 10 of the present invention, the ball bearing 1 of the present invention, equipped with 9 steel balls with a ball size of 1.1906 mm, is attached to the spool shaft 12.

[0030] Furthermore, in the ball bearing 1 of the present invention, the effective thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 is greater than the effective thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3, and the raceway radius of the steel balls 4, which constitute the raceway, is larger than that of the genuine ball bearing 101, so the moment of inertia (the property of continuing to rotate) is smaller than that of the genuine ball bearing 101.

[0031] In other words, the reel 10 of the present invention equipped with the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is given the characteristic that the time until the rotation of the spool 11 stops is short, and as a result the reel 10 of the present invention has improved operability, such as being less prone to backlash.

[0032] Furthermore, in the ball bearing 1 of the present invention, since the effective thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 is greater than the effective thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3, the gap between the inner ring 2 and the outer ring 3 is inevitably narrowed, and the size of the usable steel balls 4 becomes smaller. If the size of the steel balls 4 becomes smaller, the frictional resistance during rotation of the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is reduced.

[0033] As a result, the rotational resistance of the spool 11 in the reel 10 of the present invention equipped with the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is lower than that of a commercially available fishing reel 100. Therefore, the reel 10 of the present invention is given the characteristic of starting to rotate with less force compared to a commercially available fishing reel 100, making it possible to cast even light rigs a long distance.

[0034] By the way, in this embodiment of the present invention, the ball bearing 1 has dimensions of an outer diameter of 10 mm and an inner diameter of 6 mm as an example, but the dimensions of the ball bearing 1 of the present invention are not particularly limited as long as the effective thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 is greater than the effective thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3.

[0035] However, since it has been observed that the moment of inertia tends to decrease as the effective thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 becomes larger than the effective thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3, it is preferable to set the effective thickness (T1) of the inner ring 2 to be 1.5 times or more (preferably 2 to 5 times) the effective thickness (T2) of the outer ring 3.

[0036] Furthermore, in the reel 10 of the present invention in this embodiment, the ball bearing 1 of the present invention is attached to both shafts of the spool shaft 12, but the ball bearing 1 of the present invention may be attached to only one of the left or right shafts (one shaft) of the spool shaft 12.

[0037] Furthermore, in the reel 10 of the present invention in this embodiment, one ball bearing 1 of the present invention is fitted onto each of the spool shafts 12. However, as shown in Figure 5, multiple ball bearings 1 of the present invention may be fitted onto each of the spool shafts 12. When multiple ball bearings 1 of the present invention are fitted onto each of the spool shafts 12 in this way, the rated load increases, and thus durability is improved.

[0038] In this embodiment of the modification method of the present invention, the spool 11 is removed from the commercially available fishing reel 100, and then the original ball bearing 101 attached to the spool shaft 12 is removed. However, some commercially available fishing reels 100 have a structure in which the original ball bearing 101 is built into the left and right casings. In this case, the original ball bearing 101 remains inside the casing after the spool 11 is removed. Therefore, after the bearing removal process is performed, it becomes necessary to remove the original ball bearing 101 that remains inside the casing.

[0039] Furthermore, the present invention can be implemented in various other forms without departing from its spirit or main features. Therefore, the embodiments described above are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted restrictively. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and is not restricted in any way by the text of the specification. Moreover, any modifications or changes falling within the equivalent scope of the claims are all within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]

[0040] The present invention is suitably used as a means to improve the operability of fishing reels. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0041] 1. Ball bearing of the present invention (ball bearing) 2 Inner ring 21 Outer perimeter groove 3 Outer ring 31 Inner circumferential groove 4 steel balls 10. The present invention: a fishing reel (for fishing) 11 spools 12 Spool shaft 100 commercially available fishing reels 101 Genuine Ball Bearing

Claims

1. A method for modifying a double-bearing type fishing reel, The bearing removal process involves removing the original ball bearing attached to the spool shaft, which is the axis of rotation of the spool around which the fishing line is wound. A bearing installation step involves installing a ball bearing in the position where the original ball bearing was installed, the ball bearing having an inner ring with a substantial thickness greater than the outer ring, and the ball dimensions of the multiple steel balls held between the inner ring and the outer ring being smaller than the ball size of the steel balls provided in the original ball bearing. A method for modifying a fishing reel, characterized by performing the following:

2. In the method for modifying a fishing reel according to claim 1, A method for modifying a fishing reel, wherein, during the bearing installation process, a ball bearing is installed in which the effective thickness of the inner ring is 1.5 times or more than the effective thickness of the outer ring.

3. In the method for modifying a fishing reel according to claim 1, A method for modifying a fishing reel, wherein, during the bearing attachment process, a plurality of ball bearings are attached to one end or both ends of the spool shaft.

4. In the method for modifying a fishing reel as described in Claim 1, A method for modifying a fishing reel, which involves replacing only the original ball bearing that was attached to either the left or right shaft of the spool shaft.

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