ERGONOMIC SPINCAST REEL

Abstract

The spincast reel of the invention provides a thumb button system of extended length and shorter displacement travel for engagement and disengagement that enable anglers having small hands, lower grip strength and/or lower dexterity. Such features provide new tools to bring the sport of fishing to more potential anglers. In particular, the extended and lowered thumb portion of the reel optionally combined with a rod handle portion of greater elevation at the reel seat allows the user to use more of a downward motion to engage the casting mechanism of the reel rather than the forward rotational movement of prior spincast reels. The thumb button system is especially well suited for young anglers.

Claims

1. A spincast combo that comprises: (a) an axially extended fishing rod including: a handle at a rear end of the fishing rod, said handle having a reel seat, and a plurality of fishing line guides distributed from a mid-position to a forward position of said fishing rod; and (b) a spincast reel having: a reel foot dimensioned to be secured in the reel seat of the fishing rod handle, and an actuating thumb button having an upper portion oriented at a first angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the handle, and a lower portion extending from the upper portion, wherein said lower portion is oriented at a second angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle, and wherein the first angle is larger than the second angle.

2. The spincast combo of claim 1, wherein the second angle is less than about 30 degrees.

3. The spincast combo of claim 1, wherein the second angle is between about 5 degrees and 25 degrees.

4. The spincast combo of claim 3, wherein the second angle is between about 5 degrees and 20 degrees.

5. The spincast combo of claim 1, wherein the first angle is between about 45 degrees and 60 degrees.

6. The spincast combo of claim 1 wherein: the handle has an upper surface extending in a plane above the reel seat; the lower portion of the actuating thumb button has a rear edge at a distal end of the lower portion, and in an undepressed state, the rear edge of the lower portion is spaced from the plane of the upper surface of the handle.

7. The spincast combo of claim 6 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is less than 20-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

8. The spincast combo of claim 6 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is between about 5-mm and 17-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

9. The spincast combo of claim 6 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is between about 7-mm and 12-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

10. The spincast combo of claim 6 wherein depression of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button actuates casting components within the spincast reel to allow unspooling of fishing line therefrom.

11. A spincast reel comprising: a reel foot dimensioned to be secured in a reel seat of a fishing rod handle, and an actuating thumb button including: an upper portion oriented at a first angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the handle, and a lower portion extending from the upper portion, wherein said lower portion is oriented at a second angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the handle, and wherein the first angle is larger than the second angle.

12. The spincast reel of claim 11, wherein the second angle is less than about 30 degrees.

13. The spincast reel of claim 11, wherein the second angle is between about 5 degrees and 25 degrees.

14. The spincast reel of claim 13, wherein the second angle is between about 5 degrees and 20 degrees.

15. The spincast reel of claim 11, wherein the first angle is between about 45 degrees and 60 degrees.

16. The spincast reel of claim 11 wherein: the handle has an upper surface extending in a plane above the reel seat; the lower portion of the actuating thumb button has a rear edge at a distal end of the lower portion, and in an undepressed state, the rear edge of the lower portion is spaced from a plane in which an upper surface of the handle extends.

17. The spincast reel of claim 16 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is less than 20-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

18. The spincast reel of claim 16 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is between about 5-mm and 17-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

19. The spincast reel of claim 16 wherein the distance between the rear edge of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button is between about 7-mm and 12-mm from the plane of the upper surface.

20. The spincast reel of claim 16 wherein depression of the lower portion of the actuating thumb button actuates casting components within the spincast reel to allow unspooling of fishing line therefrom.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a reel and rod handle section according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, spincast reel 1 is seated in reel seat 2 of handle 3 that extends generally along rod axis 4. An upper surface 12 of handle 3 extends axially in an axis 5 that is substantially parallel to rod axis 4. Crank handle 16 is shown in a right-handed orientation.

[0013] Thumb button 6 is positioned at the rear 8 of spincast reel 1. Thumb button 6 includes an elongated contact surface 7 with an upper portion 9 and a lower portion 11. Upper portion 9 of the contact surface 7 extends in a generally down-and-back direction toward the handle 3. In an example embodiment, the upper portion 9 may slope at an angle 10 that is generally within the range of 45-60 from rod axis 4. The lower portion 11 of elongated contact surface 7 extends rearward in a direction toward the upper surface 12 of handle 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion 11 of the contact surface 7 also extends at an angle 13 relative to the rod axis 4. However, the angle 13 of the lower portion 11 is preferably less than angle 10 of the upper portion 9. In an example embodiment, the angle 13 relative to rod axis 4 and upper surface 12 is generally less than 30. Preferably, the angle 13 is within the range of 5-25, and even more preferably is within the range of 5-20.

[0014] As will be understood, the specific length of upper portion 9 can be made smaller or longer. A smaller length for upper portion 9 would increase the angle 13, thereby adjusting the orientation of the contact surface 7 relative to the angler's thumb. Consequently, a longer length for upper portion 9 would decrease the angle 13, to a similar but opposite effect. Indirectly, modification of the length of upper portion 9 allows for adjustments to accommodate different hand sizes, grip strengths and thumb lengths.

[0015] Another measure of ease of use is the travel distance required to actuate the reel components that engage and disengage the line for retrieving and casting, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear edge 14 of lower portion 11 of thumb button 6 is spaced a distance 15 from the plane formed by the upper surface 12 of handle 3. A small distance 15 results in less possible travel of the lower portion 11 of the thumb button 6. Less travel results in easier actuation of the thumb button 6. The shallowness of angle 13, which is relatively flat, results in an angle of lower portion 11 that is more comfortable to use for anglers having small hands, reduced grip strength, relatively short thumb length, or anglers with compromised strength or dexterity.

[0016] In an example embodiment, distance 15 is less than 20 mm, and is preferably within the range of 5-17 mm, and more preferably within the range of 7-12 mm. It will be understood that the lower limit on travel distance is bounded only by the physical travel distance that is required to actuate the particular casting components between engaged and disengaged positions with the fishing line held by reel 1.