Fishing line guide and fishing rod equipped with said fishing line guide

Abstract

Provided are: a fishing line guide that is formed by injection molding, said fishing line guide allowing a guide ring to be attached to a guide body without removing a gate trace, rendering a gate trace removal process unnecessary, and contributing to improving the adhesive strength between the guide body and the guide ring by means of the gate trace, which is conventionally removed; and a fishing rod having said fishing line guide. A fishing line guide according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a fishing rod. The fishing line guide comprises: a guide body in which a through-hole is formed; a guide ring that is fitted into the through-hole in the guide body; and a gate trace that is formed on the inner peripheral surface defining the through-hole in the guide body and is formed so as to protrude into the through-hole in the guide body. When the guide body is viewed in the direction perpendicular to the guide body, the through-hole is formed so as to include one or more protruding sections that expand radially outward from a perfect circle, and the gate trace is located at a position where the one or more protruding sections of the through-hole are formed on the inner peripheral surface that defines the through-hole in the guide body.

Description

Fishing line guide and fishing rod equipped with the fishing line guide

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-003428 (filed January 12, 2024), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The present invention relates to a fishing line guide and a fishing rod equipped with the fishing line guide.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various fishing rods have been known which have a fishing line guide attached to the outside of the fishing rod for guiding the fishing line.

[0003] A fishing line guide for such a fishing rod typically comprises a guide ring for guiding the fishing line and a guide frame for holding the guide ring, the guide frame having an attachment portion for attaching to the fishing rod body and a frame main body portion extending from the attachment portion, and the guide ring is attached to a ring attachment hole in the frame main body portion, and the fishing line is passed through the guide ring to be guided.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses such a fishing line guide, which is attached to the outside of a fishing rod body and includes a guide ring for guiding the fishing line and a guide frame made of synthetic resin for holding the guide ring, the guide frame having an attachment portion for attachment to the rod body and a frame main body portion standing upright from the attachment portion and having a ring attachment hole into which the guide ring is attached, the guide frame being integrally formed by injection molding, and the ring attachment hole being formed by drilling after injection molding to remove a predetermined portion including gate marks.

[0005] JP 2016-135103 A

[0006] However, in the fishing line guide disclosed in Patent Document 1, a gate is arranged on the inner diameter side of the ring holding portion, and the guide frame structure requires the gate to be removed when drilling holes, which poses the problem that the gate removal process is unavoidable when drilling holes in the fishing line guide.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a fishing line guide formed by injection molding that allows a guide ring to be attached to the guide body without removing the gate marks, thereby eliminating the need for a gate mark removal process and also contributing to improving the adhesive strength between the guide body and the guide ring by the gate marks that were previously removed, and a fishing rod equipped with such a fishing line guide. Other objects of the present invention will become apparent by reading this specification as a whole.

[0008] A fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention is attached to a fishing rod and comprises a guide body having a through hole formed therein, a guide ring fitted into the through hole of the guide body, and a gate mark formed on an inner peripheral surface of the guide body that defines the through hole and that protrudes into the through hole of the guide body, wherein when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the guide body, the outline shape of the guide body that defines the through hole is formed to include one or more convex portions that bulge radially outward from a perfect circle, and the gate mark is located on the inner peripheral surface that defines the through hole of the guide body at a position where the one or more convex portions of the through hole are formed.

[0009] In the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, when a plurality of gate marks are formed, the one or more convex portions are formed in a number corresponding to the number of gate marks to be formed.

[0010] In one embodiment of the fishing line guide, the one or more convex portions are crescent-shaped.

[0011] In the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, the gate mark has a maximum height (D1) in the range of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm.

[0012] In one embodiment of the fishing line guide according to the present invention, the gate mark is formed at a position that does not overlap with the center of the inner surface that defines the through hole of the guide body or with both end positions of the inner surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the guide body.

[0013] In the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, the maximum height (L1) of the one or more convex portions is equal to or greater than the maximum height (D1) of the gate mark.

[0014] In one embodiment of the fishing line guide according to the present invention, the guide ring is curved so as to leave a gap between its outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the guide body, and the gate mark is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the guide ring and the inner peripheral surface of the guide body.

[0015] The fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes an adhesive disposed in the gap.

[0016] A fishing rod according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to include at least one of the fishing line guides described above.

[0017] According to the above embodiment, in a fishing line guide formed by injection molding, the guide ring can be attached to the guide body without removing the gate marks, and by eliminating the need for a gate mark removal process, the conventional process can be effectively simplified and costs can be reduced. Furthermore, by utilizing the gate marks that were previously removed, it is possible to provide a fishing line guide that also improves the adhesive strength between the guide body and the guide ring, and a fishing rod equipped with this fishing line guide.

[0018] 5(a) is a diagram showing a fishing rod according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5(b) is a perspective view of a fishing line guide (without a guide ring) according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5(c) is a cross-sectional view of the ring holding portion of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, taken along the Z-Z line of FIG. 5(a) of the ring holding portion of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5(c) is a diagram showing gate marks on the guide body of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 5(d) is a diagram showing the contour shape defining the through hole of the guide body of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of a fishing line guide and a fishing rod equipped with the fishing line guide according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Components common to multiple drawings are designated by the same reference numerals throughout the multiple drawings. Please note that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale for the sake of convenience.

[0020] 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a fishing rod according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the fishing rod 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a rod body 2, a reel 6 attached to the rod body 2 via a reel seat 9, and a fishing line guide 10 attached to the rod body 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the reel seat 9 and the fishing line guide 10 each correspond to an attachment part attached to the outer circumferential surface of the rod body.

[0021] The rod body 2 is constructed by connecting, for example, a butt rod 3, a middle rod 5, and a tip rod 7. These rod bodies are joined, for example, using a straight joint. The butt rod 3, middle rod 5, and tip rod 7 can be joined using a telescoping system, a reverse straight joint system, a spigot joint system, or any other known joining system. The rod body 2 may also be constructed from a single rod body.

[0022] The butt rod 3, middle rod 5, and tip rod 7 are each constructed, for example, as a tubular body made of fiber-reinforced resin. This fiber-reinforced resin tubular body is produced by winding a fiber-reinforced resin prepreg (prepreg sheet), in which reinforcing fibers are impregnated with a matrix resin, around a core and then heating and curing the prepreg sheet. The reinforcing fibers contained in the prepreg sheet can be, for example, carbon fiber, glass fiber, or any other known reinforcing fiber. The matrix resin contained in the prepreg sheet can be a thermosetting resin such as epoxy resin. After the prepreg sheet has cured, the core is removed. The outer surface of the tubular body is polished as appropriate. Each rod body may also be constructed in a solid shape.

[0023] In the illustrated embodiment, the butt rod 3, middle rod 5, and tip rod 7 are provided with a plurality of line guides 10 (line guides 10A to 10D) that guide the fishing line that is let out from the reel 6 attached to the reel seat 9. More specifically, the butt rod 3 is provided with line guide 10A, the middle rod 5 is provided with line guide 10B, and the tip rod 7 is provided with line guide 10C. A top guide 10D is provided at the tip of the tip rod 7, but details will be omitted.

[0024] Next, a fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 7. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a fishing line guide (without a guide ring) according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the fishing line guide, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a fishing line guide (with a guide ring) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Also, Figure 5(a) is a view showing a portion of the ring holder of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5(b) is an enlarged view of a portion of the ring holder of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 5(c) is a cross-sectional view of the ring holder of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention taken along the Z-Z cross section of Figure 5(a). Furthermore, Figure 6 is a view showing gate marks on the guide body of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 7 is a view showing the contour shape defining the through-hole of the guide body of the fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the fishing line guide 10 comprises a guide body 11 and an annular guide ring 12 attached to the guide body 11. The guide body 11 comprises a foot 13 attached to either the fishing rod body 3, the fishing rod body 5, or the fishing rod body 7, and a plate-shaped ring holder 14 connected to the foot 13. As shown in Figure 4, the annular guide ring 12 is typically fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the ring holder 14 via an adhesive (adhesive layer) 21. Note that although the adhesive (adhesive layer) 21 is typically 0.1 mm or less, the gap is exaggerated in Figures 3 and 4 for the sake of clarity in order to more clearly show the appearance of the guide ring 12 and the ring holder 14. For ease of explanation, the following description will be given taking the case where the fishing line guide 10 is attached to the fishing rod body 5 as an example.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present invention, the foot 13 is a long, thin, plate-like or tongue-like member extending along the outer periphery of the fishing rod body 5. The foot 13 is wound around the fishing rod body 5 with a winding line made of, for example, nylon fiber. While FIG. 2 illustrates a single-foot type fishing line guide attached to the fishing rod body by one foot, the guide ring to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this single-foot type. For example, the present invention is also applicable to double-foot type guide rings. A double-foot type fishing line guide has a pair of feet extending from the ring holder to the front and rear, respectively, and is fixed to the fishing rod body by this pair of feet. The present invention is also applicable to both fixed and movable fishing line guides (sometimes called floating guides).

[0027] In one embodiment of the present invention, the ring holder 14 extends from the upper end of the foot 13. This ring holder 14 is inclined upward from the rear to the front of the fishing rod 5. In other words, when the guide 10 is attached to the fishing rod 5, the ring holder 14 assumes a posture in which it is tilted forward of the fishing rod 5. As shown in the figure, the ring holder 14 has a through-hole that passes through the ring holder 14 generally in the front-to-rear direction of the fishing rod 5. This through-hole is defined by the inner peripheral surface 14a of the ring holder 14. The guide ring 12 is fitted into this through-hole. The ring holder 14 is a generally flat, plate-like member, but the connection portion with the foot 13 is gently curved as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the ring holder 14 includes a generally flat portion in which a through-hole into which the guide ring 12 is fitted is formed, and a gently curved portion connected to the foot 13.

[0028] The foot portion 13 and ring holder 14 of the fishing line guide 10 can be integrally formed by injection molding using metal or synthetic resin. As will be described in detail below, during injection molding, gate marks are inevitably formed on the inner circumferential surface of the ring holder 14 that defines the through-hole. Conventionally, a process of first removing the gate marks was employed to fit the guide ring 12 into the ring holder 14. Here, the term "gate" refers to the resin inlet (the entrance through which resin is injected into the product portion of the mold), and the term "gate mark" refers to the remnant (offcut) of the gate portion that remains at the location where the gate was removed during the injection molding process. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6 as an example, a fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention has been developed that allows the guide ring 12 to be fitted and adhesively fixed to the ring holder 14 without removing the gate marks. Details will be described below.

[0029] As described above, the annular guide ring 12 is fitted into the through-hole of the ring holder 14. The guide ring 12 is typically, but not limited to, an elliptical, circular, or nearly circular shape. As shown in FIG. 3 , the guide ring 12 has an inner ring surface 12a extending annularly in the circumferential direction of the guide ring 12 and an outer ring surface 12b extending generally parallel to the inner ring surface 12a. The guide ring 12 is made of, for example, ceramics, metal, alloy, or a composite material thereof. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , the guide ring 12 is made of a ceramic material. However, it should be noted that the cross-sectional shape of the guide ring 12 is not uniform and may vary depending on the material used.

[0030] 2, 3, and 5, 6 and 7, details of the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described. A fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is attached to a fishing rod 1, and comprises a guide body 11 having a through hole formed therein, a guide ring 12 fitted into the through hole of the guide body 11, and a gate mark 16 formed on an inner circumferential surface 15 that defines the through hole of the guide body 11 and that protrudes into the through hole of the guide body 11 (one gate mark 16 is shown in FIG. 6 , but multiple gate marks 16 may be provided). When viewed perpendicularly to the guide body 11, the outline shape of the guide body 11 that defines the through hole (the outline shape of the inner circumferential surface 15) is formed to include one or more convex portions 18 that bulge radially outward from a perfect circle (one convex portion 18 in the example shown in FIG. 5 ), and the gate mark 16 is located on the inner circumferential surface 15 that defines the through hole of the guide body 11 at a position where the one or more convex portions 18 of the through hole are formed.

[0031] The contour shape (contour shape of inner peripheral surface 15) defining the through hole may be, for example, an oval shape, a perfect circle with one or more trapezoidal (or trapezoidal with rounded corners) convex portions, a perfect circle with one or more small-diameter circular (or triangular) convex portions, a perfect circle with one or more triangular (or triangular with rounded corners) convex portions, or a perfect circle with one or more quadrilateral (or quadrilateral with rounded corners) convex portions, but is not limited to these. The contour shape 20 (contour shape of inner peripheral surface 15) defining the through hole is composed of a perfect circular portion 17 and one or more convex portions (convex portions) 18. Here, the direction perpendicular to guide body 11 refers to the direction perpendicular to the extension plane of ring holder 14 of guide body 11 (vertical axis X shown in FIG. 2 ). Furthermore, the contour shape of the guide body 11 that defines the through hole refers to the contour shape that defines the through hole at the central position of the inner surface 15 of the guide body 11 when viewed in the direction of the vertical axis X.

[0032] According to a fishing line guide 10 and a fishing rod equipped with said fishing line guide according to one embodiment of the present invention, a fishing line guide formed by injection molding allows a guide ring to be attached to the guide body without removing gate marks, eliminating the need for a gate mark removal process, thereby effectively simplifying the conventional process and achieving cost reductions. Furthermore, by utilizing the gate marks that were previously removed, it is possible to provide a fishing line guide and a fishing rod equipped with said fishing line guide that also contributes to improving the adhesive strength between the guide body and the guide ring.

[0033] In the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, when multiple gate marks 16 are formed, one or more convex portions 18 are formed in a number corresponding to the number of gate marks 16 to be formed. In this manner, the space between the guide body and the guide ring can be utilized to accommodate the gate marks 16 and hide them from view from the outside. As a result, the process of removing the gate marks is no longer necessary, effectively simplifying the conventional process and achieving cost reductions. In the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, when multiple gate marks 16 are formed, the gate marks 16 are formed at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions, the 12 o'clock, 4 o'clock, and 8 o'clock positions, or the 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock positions, assuming that the position of the gate marks 16 in Figures 5 and 6 is 12 o'clock like a clock.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 7 , in the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, one or more convex portions 18 are crescent-shaped (in the illustrated example, two convex portions each form a crescent shape). In this way, the space between the guide body and the guide ring can be utilized to accommodate the gate marks 16 and hide them from view from the outside. As a result, the process of removing the gate marks is no longer necessary, effectively simplifying the conventional process and achieving cost reductions. Alternatively, in the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more convex portions 18 may be, for example, triangular, rectangular, trapezoidal, or circular.

[0035] 5(b), in the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the gate mark 16 is formed so that its maximum height (D1) is in the range of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. This is because if the gate mark height is too small, it will be difficult for it to function as an anchor, while if the gate mark height is too large, the clearance between the ring and the frame will be large, reducing the adhesive strength. In this way, the space between the guide body and the guide ring can be used to accommodate the gate mark 16 without it being visible from the outside.

[0036] As previously mentioned, Figure 5(c) is a cross-sectional view of the ring holder 14 of the guide body 11 taken along the Z-Z cross section of Figure 5(a), but in the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the gate mark 16 is formed at a position that does not overlap with the center of the inner circumferential surface 15 that defines the through hole of the guide body 11 (the position shown in Figure 5(c), which is the position indicated by position AC in Figure 5(c)), or with both end positions of the inner circumferential surface (positions A1 and A2 in Figure 5(c) are both end positions), when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the guide body 11 (the direction of the vertical axis X in Figure 2). In this way, when the ring is bonded, the gate mark does not appear on the surface, resulting in a beautiful appearance.

[0037] The maximum heights (L1) and (D1) are as shown in Figures 5(b) and 7. In the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the maximum height (L1) of one or more convex portions 18 is equal to or greater than the maximum height (D1) of the gate mark. Here, the maximum height (L1) of one or more convex portions 18 is formed to be, for example, in the range of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm. In this way, the space between the guide body and the guide ring can be utilized to accommodate the gate mark 16 and hide it from view from the outside. As a result, the need for a gate mark removal process is eliminated, effectively simplifying the conventional process and achieving cost reduction.

[0038] As shown in Figure 3, in a fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, the guide ring 12 is formed so as to leave a gap between its outer peripheral surface 12b and the inner peripheral surface 15 of the ring holder 14 of the guide body 11 (an adhesive (adhesive layer) 21 is inserted into the gap), and the gate mark 16 is formed between the outer peripheral surface 12b of the guide ring 12 and the inner peripheral surface 15 of the ring holder 14 of the guide body 11. In this way, the space between the guide body and the guide ring can be used to contain the gate mark 16 and make it invisible from the outside. As a result, the process of removing the gate mark is no longer necessary, which effectively simplifies the conventional process and reduces costs.

[0039] The fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes an adhesive disposed in the gap, thereby enabling the guide ring 12 to be adhesively fixed to the ring holder 14 of the guide body 11.

[0040] A fishing rod 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to include at least one of the above-described fishing line guides 10. According to a fishing rod 1 including the fishing line guide 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, a guide ring can be attached to the guide body without removing gate marks in a fishing line guide formed by injection molding, eliminating the need for a gate mark removal process, thereby effectively simplifying the conventional process and achieving cost reductions. Furthermore, by utilizing the gate marks that were previously removed, it is possible to provide a fishing line guide and a fishing rod including the fishing line guide that also contributes to improving the adhesive strength between the guide body and the guide ring.

[0041] The dimensions, materials, and arrangement of each component described in this specification are not limited to those explicitly described in the embodiments, and each component can be modified to have any dimensions, materials, and arrangement that can be included in the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, components not explicitly described in this specification can be added to the described embodiments, and some of the components described in each embodiment can be omitted.

[0042] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fishing rod 2 Rod body 3 Butt rod 5 Middle rod 6 Reel 7 Tip rod 9 Reel seat 10 Fishing line guide 11 Guide body 12 Guide ring 12b Outer surface 12h Guide top 13 Foot 14 Ring holding portion 15 Inner surface 16 Gate mark 17 Perfect circle portion (perfect circle portion) 18 Convex portion (convex portion) 20 Contour shape 21 Adhesive (adhesive layer) AC Center position of inner surface A1, A2 End positions of inner surface L Fishing line

Claims

1. A fishing line guide attachable to a fishing rod, the fishing line guide comprising: a guide body having a through hole formed therein; a guide ring fitted into the through hole of the guide body; and a gate mark formed on an inner peripheral surface defining the through hole of the guide body and protruding into the through hole of the guide body. When viewed in a direction perpendicular to the guide body, the contour shape of the guide body defining the through hole is formed to include one or more convex portions bulging radially outward from a perfect circle. The gate mark is disposed at a position on the inner peripheral surface defining the through hole of the guide body where the one or more convex portions of the through hole are formed.

2. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of the gate marks are formed, the one or more convex portions are formed in plurality in accordance with the number of the formed gate marks.

3. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein the one or more convex portions have a crescent shape.

4. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein the gate mark has a height in a range of 0.1 mm to 1.0 mm in maximum height (D1).

5. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein the gate mark is formed at a position that does not overlap with a central position of the inner peripheral surface defining the through hole of the guide body or both end positions of the inner peripheral surface when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the guide body.

6. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein the maximum height (L1) of the one or more convex portions is equal to or greater than the maximum height (D1) of the gate mark.

7. The fishing line guide according to claim 1, wherein the guide ring is curved so as to form a gap between an outer peripheral surface thereof and an inner peripheral surface of the guide body, and the gate mark is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the guide ring and the inner peripheral surface of the guide body.

8. The fishing line guide according to claim 7, further comprising an adhesive disposed in the gap.

9. A fishing rod comprising at least one fishing line guide according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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