Games using tangible projectile – Billiards or pool – Table or gameboard
Patent
1996-07-17
1998-09-15
Grieb, William H.
Games using tangible projectile
Billiards or pool
Table or gameboard
273DIG8, A63D 1500
Patent
active
058071822
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a table for playing billiards of a type also used for snooker and pool.
All such tables will hereinafter be referred to as billiards tables.
Good quality billiards tables, and certainly those provided for championships, always use a so-called slate bed, i.e. a large slab of slate covered with a woven green cloth. The table edge and supports are in heavy wood, with `pockets` around the edge to receive the balls during play. Such tables are enormously heavy e.g. 500 kgs and are not normally moved. Other billiards tables are known in which the playing surface or bed is of some other lighter material, such as wood. However, these tables cannot be used for serious play and in no way reproduce the solidity or other characteristics of a table with a slate bed.
The invention aims to provide a billiards table which is light enough to be moved, but which also provides a playing bed which replicates the playing characteristics of a slate bed.
The invention provides a billiards table comprising a playing bed of sandwich construction having a playing surface which mimics the bounce of slate for a billiards ball, an edge member for said surface formed of moulded plastics and having a cushioned surface, and legs fixed to the underside of the table. Preferably, the legs at one end of the table are adapted to receive wheels so that the table can be moved by lifting the other end only. Further, the invention proposes a billiards table comprising a playing bed supported on legs with a cushioned edge surrounding the bed, wherein said edge is formed of moulded plastics and incorporates external channel formations, to receive the balls, which communicate with the pockets through said edge.
Much depends upon the construction of the playing bed, and the invention proposes a panel member suitable for use as the playing bed of a billiards table which is of sandwich construction with a solid inflexible base layer, and intermediate relatively resilient layer, and a playing surface layer which is relatively hard but flexible. The cloth fabric feel may be provided either by an actual cloth, or by a moulded surface finish which retains that feel.
Finally, the invention also encompasses a self-supporting panel member comprising a plastics member one surface of which is moulded with a finish having the feel of a cloth fabric. Such a panel member may have utility in fields other than the construction of a billiards table.
In order that the invention shall be clearly understood, an exemplary embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a billiards table in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a side elevation of the table in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a view of one of the middle pockets, seen from over the playing bed;
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a portion of the moulded edge, including the pocket seen from the outside;
FIGS. 5 & 6 show sectional views on the arrows 5--5 and 6--6 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 shows a cross section through the playing bed;
FIG. 8 shows a cross section through the playing bed at a point where a leg is to be attached;
FIG. 9 shows a cross section through the playing bed at right angles to FIG. 8, with a leg attached; and
FIG. 10 shows a view of one end of the billiards table. FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate two cross sections through a moulded edge showing changes in the channel formation; and
FIG. 12 illustrates a corner of a modified form of playing bed.
In FIG. 1, a billiards table has a playing bed 12, cushions 13 with pockets 14 and legs 15. As is well known, the cushions are the padded edges of the playing surface from which the balls can rebound; the pockets are to receive balls which enter them during play. The formation of edge members 16 which include the pockets 14 and which are covered to form cushions 13 is described later. The edge member 17 at one end of the table has built in holders for cues, cue chalk, a spirit level and a triangle for the game of snooker. There are four holes through the
REFERENCES:
patent: 3319958 (1967-05-01), Bender
patent: 3337216 (1967-08-01), Miller et al.
patent: 3455551 (1969-07-01), Untiedt
patent: 3495825 (1970-02-01), Nielsen
patent: 3670049 (1972-06-01), Stein et al.
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