It is already known for fly fishing to use silk fishing line rolled on a reel fixed to the rod and which plays no part during the casting and influences neither the length nor precision of the cast, which characteristics depend essentially on the fisherman.
The reel is thus, in this type of fishing, only a reservoir in which can be stored thirty or so meters of line which must be allowed to unroll without resistance and capable of being drawn in automatically or manually.
These reels are generally equipped with a brake intended to oppose winding out of the line when the fish pulls and a noise signalling this movement to the fisherman. In certain reels, the braking is permanent and operates whatever the sense of rotation of the spool. Otherwise, its value is not adjustable. The braking is obtained by a spring equally carrying out the function of a noise-making pawl so that these reels make a noise whatever the sense of rotation of the spool. Certain reels of this type include a control means allowing variation of the pressure of the spring on the noise-making pawl so that the braking is thus adjustable within a given range.
In other reels, the braking means of the spool is separate from the noise-making pawl and allows adjustment of the amount of braking. In certain cases the braking is carried out solely when the reel is winding out. However, in these reels, the noise-making pawl makes a noise whatever the direction of rotation of the spool and the noise of the pawl during winding in of the line uselessly frightens the fish.
The invention is concerned with a reel with manual control for fly fishing comprising a rotatable spool of line and braking means including a movable organ, on which friction means act, moved only for one of the two directions of rotation of the spool, characterized in that the said movable organ controls a noise-making pawl.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non limiting example, in which:
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross section of a fly reel with manual control;
FIG. 2 is a face view of A of FIG. 1, the reel spool having been removed;
FIG. 3 is a lateral elevational view of this spool;
FIG. 4 shows, in cross section, a detail of the spool.
The reel for fly fishing shown in the drawings comprises a casing 1 on which is removably fixed a spool 2 for the line.
This casing 1 is constituted by a circular side 3, for example in plastics material, and by a ring 4 fixed to the side on the one hand by struts 5 and on the other hand by a part 6 including 2 feet for fixation of the reel to the rod. Between two neighbouring struts, the casing otherwise includes an armature acting as line guide. The side 3 forms a sort of dome in the centre in which is provided a tubular axle 8, slotted longitudinally at 8a and of which the right hand extremity, in the drawing, is fixed to receive a stopper 9.
In the opening of the axle 8 is disposed an extension 10 of which the left hand extremity carries a button 11 and the right hand extremity is threaded at 10a and lathed to a smaller diameter at 10b.
On the threaded extremity 10a of the stem 10 is screwed a nut 12 provided on its side with a radial flange 12a by which this nut is held with the sides of the slot 8a of the axle 8, so that any rotation of the extension 10 causes, by screwing of the nut 12, an axial displacement of this screw at the interior of the axle 8.
This nut 12 is intended to compress a spring 13 encircling the extension 10 and otherwise resting on a part 14 carrying on its side two diametrically opposed projections 14a and 14b respectively traversing the slot 8a and an orifice 8b and coming to rest by their extremity on a ring 15 angularly fixed on the axle 8 by a flange penetrating in the slot 8a.
The ring 15 is in contact by its left hand surface with a second friction ring 16 taking support in its turn on an annular protuberance 17a which carries a toothed plate 17 pivotably mounted on the axle 8 and capable of being axially placed on this axle.
This plate presents, in addition to its peripheral toothing, equally a second toothing 17b on its side opposed to the protuberance 17a with which a noise-making pawl 18 comes into contact.
Between the axis 8 of the toothing 17b, the plate 17 is otherwise provided with an annular housing 17c of which the bottom forms the support surface of the plate on a side of a friction ring 19 in contact by its other face with an annular protuberance 3a provided at the centre of the side 3.
It is understood that a more or less pronounced screwing of the nut 12 on the extension 10, by rotation of the button 11, will correspond to a more or less strong force provided by the spring 13 on the black 14 and leading to a corresponding braking more or less accentuated provided by the friction rings 16 and 19 which oppose eventual rotary displacement of the toothed plate 17. Such a braking is of course provided whatever the direction of rotation of plate 17.
To this end, the plate 17 is capable of being actuated by the spool due to the pawl 20 articulated on the catch 21a which is provided on the ring 21 pivotably mounted around the crown of plate 17 which forms a flange at the interior of a triangular housing 21b of this ring.
The pawl 20 is disposed in the opening of a U-spring 22 equally pivoted on the catch 21a and compressing by its extremities the plate 17 by one part or another of its toothing. A flat part 20a of the pawl presses on the bottom of the spring. Thus, for a given sense of rotation of the ring 21, the U-spring 22 pivots in one direction, moving the pawl 20 which comes into engagement with the toothing of the plate 17. For a rotation in the opposite direction, the spring 22 pivots in the other direction and disengages the pawl 20 so that the plate 17 is no longer moved.
Consequently, if the crown 21 is kinematically solid to the bobbin 2, any rotation in an anti-clockwise direction (FIG. 2) of this spool can only take place in opposition to the braking action with which the toothed plate 17 will be the object of the previously indicated part of the mechanism, (part 19 - 16 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 10) whilst rotation in a clockwise direction of this spool will not cause the displacement of plate 17.
Concerning the crown 21, it has still to be noted that it will preferably be made of automatically lubricated plastics matter and that its axial position around the plate 17 will be assured by a collar 21c coming into support against the back face of this plate and by contact with an annular band 3b of side 3.
It is also to be noted that, since for one given direction of rotation of the ring 21, the plate 17 is not moved, the noise made by the pawl 18 and the gearing 17b will equally not be caused, which means that winding out of the line of the spool 2 will take place in silence.
Otherwise, it is still to be noted that, because of its inventive nature, the reel according to the invention can advantageously be used by left or right handed fisherman since it is sufficient to remove the pawl 20 and its spring 22 from the teeth 21a and to replace these elements in the opposite direction on the teeth so that the pawl will thus enter into contact with the toothing of the plate 17 when this plate is moved in a clockwise sense.
Additionally, when the pawl is in its non use position, which corresponds to a rotation of the spool in an unwinding direction of the line, the spring 22 remains always in contact with a part of its extremities against the toothed plate 17 and will produce because of this fact a slight braking effort preventing rolling up of this spool in giving knots of line.
The liaison between the spool 2 and the crown 21 can only be movable since this spool must be capable of being easily removed from the reel by sliding on the axle 8. To this end, it is previewed that the left hand side of this spool (FIG. 1) will be provided with pins, preferably two, such as 2a inserted in bores 21d provided on the lateral face of the ring 21 (FIG. 2).
To assure axial fixing of the spool on the axle 8, this is provided on its right hand side (FIG. 1) with a latching device, partly hidden by a button 23 of substantially triangular form, on one of the sides which flange a command button 24. This button is in fact solid on one extremity of a plaque 25 of which the other extremity 25a is shouldered and is engaged in the opening of a recall spring 26 tending to maintain the button in the flange position.
The plate 25 is pierced with an oval hole 27 cooperating with a groove 9b of the head 9a of stopper 9. In the rest position, all disengagement between the head 9a and the plate is impossible. To allow this, the user must press the oval hole 27 in front of the head 9a.
As represented in the drawing, it is shown in addition that the right side of the spool is provided with a handle 28 to turn the reel and that this side is otherwise pierced with a series of circular windows 29 allowing the fisherman, when the handle is broken for example, to turn the spool all the same by inserting in one of the windows the extremity of a branch or of a pencil for example.