COLLAR MEMBER FOR SPINNING REEL

Abstract

A collar member is used for a spinning reel. The spinning reel has a reel body, a spool shaft that moves in a front-back direction with respect to the reel body, a pinion gear that rotates around the spool shaft, a rotor nut that rotates integrally with the pinion gear, and a bearing that is disposed between the spool shaft and the rotor nut in a radial direction and rotatably supports the rotor nut. The collar member is disposed between the spool shaft and the bearing in the radial direction. The collar member is formed by a resin material that has a linear expansion coefficient of 10×10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or more and 50×10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or less.

Claims

1. A collar member for a spinning reel having a reel body, a spool shaft that moves in a front-back direction with respect to the reel body, a pinion gear that rotates around the spool shaft, a rotor nut that rotates integrally with the pinion gear, and a bearing that is disposed between the spool shaft and the rotor nut in a radial direction and rotatably supports the rotor nut, the collar member being disposed between the spool shaft and the bearing in the radial direction, and being formed by a resin material that has a linear expansion coefficient of 10×10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or more and 50x 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or less.

2. The collar member for a spinning reel according to claim 1, wherein the resin material contains carbon.

3. The collar member for a spinning reel according to claim 2, wherein the carbon is carbon fiber.

4. The collar member for a spinning reel according to claim 3, wherein the carbon fiber is 10-25 weight percent of the resin material.

5. The collar member for a spinning reel according to claim 1, wherein the collar member has a tubular shape in which the spool shaft is movable along an inner surface of the collar member in the front-back direction, and a surface roughness of the inner surface of the collar member is defined by the linear expansion coefficient.

6. A spinning reel comprising: a reel body; a spool shaft movably supported in a front-back direction with respect to the reel body; a pinion gear disposed outside of the spool shaft in a radial direction and configured to rotate around the spool shaft; a rotor disposed outside of the pinion gear in the radial direction and configured to rotate integrally with the pinion gear; a rotor nut disposed between the spool shaft and the rotor nut in the radial direction. the rotor nut configured to restrict forward movement of the rotor relative to the pinion gear and rotate integrally with the pinion gear; a bearing disposed between the spool shaft and the rotor nut in a radial direction and rotatably supporting said rotor nut with respect to said spool shaft; and a collar member according to claim 1.

7. The spinning reel according to claim 6, wherein the collar member has a tubular shape in which the spool shaft is movable along an inner surface of the collar member in the front-back direction, and a surface roughness of the inner surface of the collar member is defined by the linear expansion coefficient.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a side view of a spinning reel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the spinning reel.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the spinning reel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] A spinning reel 1 in which an embodiment of the present invention is employed includes a reel body 3, a handle 5, a spool 7, and a rotor 9, as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the spinning reel 1 further includes a handle shaft 11, a drive gear 13, a spool shaft 15, an oscillating mechanism 17, a pinion gear 19, a rotor nut 21, a bearing 23, and a collar member 25. The spinning reel 1 further includes a seal member 27 and a retaining member 29.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the handle 5 is rotatably supported with respect to the reel body 3. In this embodiment, an example is shown where the handle 5 is positioned on the left side of the reel body 3. The handle 5 can also be positioned on the right side of the reel body 3. The handle 5 is attached to the handle shaft 11.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the handle shaft 11 is rotatably supported with respect to the reel body 3. The drive gear 13 is mounted on the handle shaft 11 so that the drive gear 13 can rotate integrally with the handle shaft 11. The drive gear 13 meshes with the pinion gear 19.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, a fishing line is wound around the spool 7. The spool 7 is configured to move forward and backward with respect to the reel body 3 together with the spool shaft 15. The spool 7 is attached to the tip of the spool shaft 15.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2, the spool shaft 15 is supported to be movable with respect to the reel body 3 in a front-back direction. The spool shaft 15 is inserted into the inner circumference of the pinion gear 19 which has a tubular shape. The spool shaft 15 moves back and forth with respect to the reel body 3 by the operation of the oscillating mechanism 17.

[0028] The spool shaft 15 has a spool axis X1. The front-back direction and an axial direction are the directions in which the spool axis X1 extends. A radial direction is the direction away from the spool axis X1. A circumferential direction and a rotational direction are the directions around the spool axis X1.

[0029] The oscillating mechanism 17 moves the spool shaft 15 in the front-back direction in accordance with the rotation of the handle shaft 11. The oscillating mechanism 17 is disposed in the internal space of the reel body 3. The oscillating mechanism 17 has a worm shaft 17a, a slider 17b, and an intermediate gear 17c. The worm shaft 17a is positioned parallel to the spool shaft 15. The worm shaft 17a is rotatably supported with respect to the reel body 3.

[0030] The slider 17b is fixed to the rear end of the spool shaft 15. The slider 17b is engaged with the groove of the worm shaft 17a and moves in the front-back direction with the rotation of the worm shaft 17a. The intermediate gear 17c is fixed to the front end of the worm shaft 17a and engaged with the pinion gear 19.

[0031] In the oscillating mechanism 17, when the handle shaft 11 is rotated by the rotating operation of the handle 5, the drive gear 13, the pinion gear 19, the intermediate gear 17c, and the worm shaft 17a rotate. This causes the slider 17b and the spool shaft 15 to move in the front-back direction.

[0032] The rotor 9 is used to wind a fishing line around the spool 7. The rotor 9 is disposed at the front area of the reel body 3. The rotor 9 is rotatable with respect to the reel body 3. The rotor 9 is disposed radially outside of the pinion gear 19. The rotor 9 is integrally rotatable with respect to the pinion gear 19.

[0033] The pinion gear 19 has a tubular shape. The pinion gear 19 is rotatably supported with respect to the reel body 3. The pinion gear 19 is disposed radially outside of the spool shaft 15. The pinion gear 19 rotates about the spool shaft 15. For example, the pinion gear 19 rotates around the spool axis X1. The rotor 9 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the pinion gear 19.

[0034] The rotor nut 21 is used to regulate the forward movement of the rotor 9 relative to the pinion gear 19. The rotor nut 21 rotates about the spool shaft 15. For example, the rotor nut 21 rotates around the spool axis X1.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 3, the rotor nut 21 has a tubular portion 21a and a mounting portion 21b. The tubular portion 21a has a tubular shape. The tubular portion 21a is formed integrally with the mounting portion 21b. The tubular portion 21a has a larger diameter than the mounting portion 21b. The tubular portion 21a extends forward from the mounting portion 21b and is positioned forward of the front end of the pinion gear 19. The bearing 23 and the collar member 25 are disposed between the tubular portion 21a and the spool shaft 15 in the radial direction.

[0036] The mounting portion 21b is fixed to the front end of the pinion gear 19. For example, the mounting portion 21b is screwed to the front end of the pinion gear 19. This causes the rotor nut 21 to rotate integrally with the pinion gear 19. The mounting portion 21b contacts a radially inner portion 9a of the rotor 9, e.g., the portion 9a where the rotor 9 is mounted on the pinion gear 19. With this, the rotor nut 21 regulates the forward movement of the rotor 9 relative to the pinion gear 19.

[0037] The backward movement of the rotor 9 relative to the pinion gear 19 is regulated by a bearing 31 and a tubular member 32. The bearing 31 is disposed between the pinion gear 19 and the reel body 3. The outer ring of the bearing 31 is attached to the reel body 3. The inner ring of bearing 31 is disposed on the outer circumference of the pinion gear 19. The tubular member 32 is disposed between the bearing 31 and the rotor 9 in the axial direction. In more detail, the tubular member 32 is disposed between the bearing 31 and the radially inner portion 9a of the rotor 9 in the axial direction.

[0038] The bearing 23 rotatably supports the rotor nut 21 with respect to the spool shaft 15. For example, the bearing 23 rotatably supports the rotor nut 21 with respect to the spool shaft 15 via the collar member 25.

[0039] The bearing 23 is disposed between the spool shaft 15 and the rotor nut 21 in the radial direction. In more detail, the bearing 23 is disposed forward of the pinion gear 19. The outer ring of the bearing 23 is integrally rotatable with respect to the inner surface of the rotor nut 21, for example, the inner surface of the tubular portion 21a. The inner ring of the bearing 23 is disposed on the outer circumference of the collar member 25. Rolling elements are placed between the outer and inner rings of the bearing 23.

[0040] The seal member 27 has an annular shape. The seal member 27 is attached to the rotor nut 21. For example, the seal member 27 is attached to the opening end of the tubular portion 21a of the rotor nut 21. The seal member 27 thereby covers the front end of the bearing 23. The inner end of the seal member 27 contacts the spool shaft 15.

[0041] The retaining member 29 holds the seal member 27. The retaining member 29 is attached to the rotor nut 21. The retaining member 29 positions the seal member 27 relative to the rotor nut 21. For example, the seal member 27 is held in the axial direction by the retaining member 29 and the opening end of the tubular portion 21a of the rotor nut 21.

[0042] The collar member 25 has a tubular shape. The collar member 25 is disposed between the spool shaft 15 and the bearing 23 in the radial direction. For example, the collar member 25 is disposed between the outer circumference of the spool shaft 15 and the inner ring of the bearing 23 in the radial direction.

[0043] The spool shaft 15 is inserted into the inner circumference of the collar member 25. A minute gap is formed between the inner circumference of the collar member 25 and the outer circumference of the spool shaft 15. In this state, the spool shaft 15 moves in the front-back direction along the inner surface of the collar member 25.

[0044] The collar member 25 is formed by a resin material. The resin material contains carbon. The resin material can further contain polyacetal. For example, the carbon is carbon fiber. The carbon fiber is 10-25 weight percent of the resin material. The carbon can contain granular carbon rather than fibrous carbon. The carbon can also include both fibrous and granular carbon.

[0045] The resin material has a linear expansion coefficient of 10 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or more and 50 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or less. For example, in a case where the temperature is between 23 (°C) and 55 (°C), the average value of the coefficient of linear expansion is set between 10 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) and 50 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C). The resin material has a coefficient of kinetic friction which is more than 0.15 and less than 0.40. The coefficient of kinetic friction is used to define the surface roughness of the inner surface of the collar member 25.

[0046] The spinning reel 1 described above has the following features. In the spinning reel 1, the surface roughness of the inner surface of the collar member 25 can be easily adjusted because the collar member 25 is formed by a resin material. This improves the sliding feeling when the spool shaft 15 slides with the inner circumference of the collar member 25.

[0047] If the gap between the collar member 25 and the spool shaft 15 in the radial direction is designed to be small to reduce the rattling of the spool shaft 15 against the collar member 25 after adjusting the surface roughness of the inner surface of the collar member 25, the gap may change due to temperature changes, and the sliding feeling may be deteriorated. In the spinning reel 1, however, the resin material has a linear expansion coefficient of 10 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or more and 50 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or less, and thus, the deterioration in the sliding feeling can be suppressed.

[0048] As discussed above, in the spinning reel 1, the collar member 25 is formed of a resin material, and the linear expansion coefficient of the resin material is set to 10 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or more and 50 × 10.sup.-6 (1/°C) or less to stabilize the sliding feeling when the spool shaft 15 moves in the front-back direction.

[0049] Further, in the spinning reel 1, since the resin material contains carbon, the weight of the collar member 25 can be made small. Furthermore, since the carbon is carbon fiber, the strength of the collar member 25 can be improved. When the carbon is granular carbon rather than fibrous carbon, the orientation of shrinkage during injection molding can be suppressed and the collar member can be molded with high precision. In addition, since the carbon fiber is 10-25 weight percent of the resin material, the strength of the collar member 25 can be suitably increased.

[0050] The present invention can be used for spinning reels.

Reference Signs List

[0051] 1 Spinning reel [0052] 3 Reel body [0053] 9 Rotor [0054] 15 Spool shaft [0055] 19 Pinion gear [0056] 21 Rotor nut [0057] 23 Bearing [0058] 25 Collar member