CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-004597, filed Jan. 15, 2020. The contents of that application are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fishing reel.

BACKGROUND ART

In a fishing reel, a rotating shaft such as a spool shaft is rotatably supported on a reel body via a rolling bearing. In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-95438, in order to absorb the vibration caused by the rotation of the rotating shaft, an annular elastic element is disposed between the outer peripheral surface of the rolling bearing and the inner peripheral surface of a mounting hole where the rolling bearing is mounted. The elastic element is held by a groove formed in the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole.

In a case of holding the elastic element with the groove formed in the inner peripheral surface of the mounting hole, it is difficult to accurately process and control the inner diameter of the groove. In addition, the vibration cannot be absorbed efficiently, and the press-fitting pressure of the bearing during assembly cannot be stabilized easily.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-97522 discloses a configuration in which the groove for holding the elastic element is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the rolling bearing.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In order to support a high-speed rotating shaft such as a spool shaft using a rolling bearing, it is desirable to use a rolling bearing with a small frictional resistance to the rotation, that is, a rolling bearing having a small outer diameter as long as the load bearing capacity allows. However, with a rolling bearing having an outer diameter of, for example, 8 mm or less, it is difficult to form the groove for holding the elastic element because the outer ring is thin. Consequently, the diameter of a rolling element disposed between the outer ring and the inner ring of the rolling bearing could be reduced, but in so doing, the load bearing capacity is significantly deteriorated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fishing reel configured to reduce the vibration caused by the rotation of a rotating shaft supported by a rolling bearing while reducing a decrease in load bearing capacity of the rolling bearing.

A fishing reel according to one aspect of the present invention includes a reel body, a shaft member, a rolling bearing, and an elastic element. The shaft member is rotatable with respect to the reel body. The rolling bearing has an outer diameter of 8 mm or less and supports the shaft member. The rolling bearing includes an outer ring having a holding groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof, an inner ring connected to the shaft member so as to be integrally rotatable, and a rolling element disposed between the outer ring and the inner ring. The elastic element has an annular shape and is held in the holding groove. The holding groove is located in a position that does not overlap with the rolling element in a radial direction of the shaft member. The outer ring has a minimum thickness that is 10% or more of the outer diameter of the rolling bearing.

In this fishing reel, since the minimum thickness of the outer ring is 10% or more of the outer diameter of the rolling bearing, the thickness of the outer ring can be secured to form the holding groove while reducing a decrease in load bearing capacity of the rolling bearing. With this configuration, the elastic element is able to absorb the vibration caused by the rotation of the rotating shaft, thereby reducing the vibration caused by the rotation of the rotating shaft. Further, since the outer diameter of the rolling bearing is 8 mm or less, the frictional resistance thereof to the rotation of the rotating shaft is also kept small.

The minimum thickness of the outer ring can be 20% or less of the outer diameter of the rolling bearing. In this case, a decrease in load bearing capacity of the rolling bearing can be reduced more effectively.

The minimum thickness of the outer ring can be 70% or more of the diameter of the rolling element. In this case, a decrease in load bearing capacity of the rolling bearing can be reduced more efficiently.

According to the present invention, the fishing reel has a configuration in which the vibration caused by the rotation of the rotating shaft supported by the rolling bearing can be reduced and the deterioration in load bearing capacity of the rolling bearing also can be reduced.

