U.S. patent application number 09/805476 was filed with the patent office on 2002-09-19 for billiard cue having an improved shaft.
Invention is credited to Chang, Jung-Shih.
Application Number | 20020132677 09/805476 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25191668 |
Filed Date | 2002-09-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020132677 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chang, Jung-Shih |
September 19, 2002 |
Billiard cue having an improved shaft
Abstract
A billiard cue comprises a wood shaft and an inner rod. The
shaft has a hollow portion and a solid portion. The hollow portion
has a bore. The inner rod is made of material with a stiffness
higher than woods. The length and outer diameter of the inner rod
correspond to the bore for being tightly received in the bore.
Thereby, the cue has the advantage of a wood material but without
deformation due to the affect of the environment and a preferred
control to the billiards.
Inventors: |
Chang, Jung-Shih; (Taichung
Hsien, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BROWDY AND NEIMARK, P.L.L.C.
624 NINTH STREET, NW
SUITE 300
WASHINGTON
DC
20001-5303
US
|
Family ID: |
25191668 |
Appl. No.: |
09/805476 |
Filed: |
March 14, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/44 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63D 15/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/44 |
International
Class: |
A63D 015/08 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A billiard cue comprising a wood shaft having a hollow portion
and a solid portion, the hollow portion having a bore extending a
predetermined distance along the length of the shaft; and an inner
rod made of material with a stiffness higher than woods, a length
and outer diameter thereof corresponding to the bore for being
tightly received in the bore.
2. The billiard cue as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner rod is
a hollow rod.
3. The billiard cue as claimed in claim 1, wherein the length of
the bore is greater than or equal to 10 inches.
4. The billiard cue as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the
diameter of the bore is greater than or equal to 0.2 inches.
5. The billiard cue as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wood shaft
is formed of at least two longitudinal sections, each section
having a longitudinal groove with a predetermined length, each
groove opened through one of the lateral faces of the sections for
forming the bore when the sections secured together.
6. A billiard cue comprising: a wood shaft comprising a first
segment and a second segment; wherein the first segment has a front
end, a rear end, a first solid portion extending from the front end
toward the rear end with a predetermined length, and a first hollow
portion extending from one end of the first solid portion toward
the rear end of the first segment; and the first hollow portion has
a bore extending a predetermined distance along the length of the
segment and the bore has an opening at the rear end of the first
segment; wherein the second segment has a front end, a rear end, a
second hollow portion extending from the front end towards the rear
end of the second segment with a predetermined length, and a second
solid portion extending from one end of the second hollow portion
toward the rear end of the second segment; the second hollow
portion has a bore extending a predetermined distance along the
length of the segment; the bore has an opening at of the front end
of the second segment; wherein the front end of the second segment
is connected to the rear end of the first segment, and the bores of
the hollow portions will be formed as a cylindrical hole when the
segments are connected together; and an inner rod made of material
with a stiffness higher than woods, a length and outer diameter
thereof corresponding to the cylindrical hole for being tightly
received in the hole.
7.The billiard cue-as claimed in claim 6, wherein the inner rod is
a hollow rod.
8. The billiard cue as claimed in claim 6, wherein the length of
the cylindrical hole is greater than or equal to 10 inches.
9. The billiard cue as claimed in claims 6, 7 or 8, wherein the
diameter of the bore of each segment is greater than or equal to
0.2 inches.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a billiard cue, and more
particularly to a billiard cue with an improved shaft.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The conventional billiard cue is generally made of a natural
wood due to good elasticity and stiffness thereof. Nevertheless, a
wooden cue gets easily warped due to moisture. Furthermore, the
number of fibers distributed in a natural wood is varied in
different part thereof causing the fact that the hitting force of a
billiard cue made of the natural wood can not concentrate on the
axis thereof. As a result, the player is unable to hit the ball
with precision.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is
to provide a billiard cue with the physical property of a wooden
material without the drawback of warping caused by moisture.
[0004] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
billiard cue enabling a player to hit the balls with a greater
precision.
[0005] To achieve above objects, the present invention is a
billiard cue which comprises a wood shaft having a hollow portion
and a solid portion. The hollow portion has a bore extending a
predetermined distance along the length of the shaft. The billiard
cue further comprises an inner rod made of material with a
stiffness higher than woods, a length and outer diameter thereof
corresponding to the bore for being tightly received in the
bore.
[0006] Thereby, the solid portion of the wood shaft can contribute
the needed physical property of a wooden material to the billiard
cue. The inner rod with a larger stiffness can be used to prevent
the wood shaft from warping due to moisture. In addition, since the
center portion of the wood shaft is replaced by the inner rod, the
hitting force of the billiard cue will concentrate on the axis
thereof. In other words, the billiard cue gives it user to hit the
balls precisely.
[0007] The foregoing objective, features, functions, and advantages
of the present invention will be more readily understood from the
following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the
present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment in
the present invention;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along the line 2-2 in FIG.
1 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0010] FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention; and
[0011] FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the shaft of
another preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a billiard cue 10 embodied in the
present invention comprises a shaft 12, a butt 14, a tip 16 and a
bumper 18.
[0013] The shaft 12 and the butt 14 are fastened end to end
together by a male threaded member 20 and a female threaded member
22. The tip 16 is fastened with a top end of the shaft 12. The
bumper 18 is fastened with a bottom end of the butt 14.
[0014] The shaft 12 is made of nature woods, such as maple. In the
preferred embodiment of the present invention, the total length of
the shaft 12 is 29 inches and has a taper shape. The shaft 12 is
formed of a first segment 24 and a second segment 38. The first
segment 24 has a length of 20 inches, a front end 26 with an outer
diameter of 0.52 inches or so, a rear end 28, a first solid portion
30 and a first hollow portion 32. The hollow portion 32 has a bore
34 with a diameter of 0.28 inches and a length of 11 inches and has
an opening 36 at the rear end of the first segment 24.
[0015] The second segment 38 is connected to the rear end of the
first body 24 by a suitable adhesive material, such as glue or the
like. The second segment 38 has a length of 9 inches, a front end
40 with an outer diameter of about 0.84 inches, a rear end 42, a
second hollow portion 44, and a second solid portion 48. The hollow
portion 44 has a bore 46 with a diameter of 0.28 inches, a length
of 4 inches (or 2 inches), and has an opening 50 at the front end
40 of the second segment 38.
[0016] The bores of the hollow portions 32,44 will be formed as a
cylindrical hole when the segments 24, 38 are connected together.
In this embodiment, the diameter of the cylindrical hole is 0.28
inches and the length thereof is 15 inches.
[0017] A hollow inner rod 60 is made of material with stiffness
larger than that of wood, for example, metals or fiber-reinforced
plastics. The ends of the inner rod 60 are inserted through the
openings 36 and 50 into the hollow sections 32 and 44 respectively.
The length and the outer diameter of the inner rod 60 are
corresponding to the cylindrical hole so as to be tightly received
therein.
[0018] In light of the wood solid portions 30, 48 of the two
segments 24,38, the billiard cue 10 has the physical property of a
wooden material. In addition, for the center portion of the wood
shaft 12 being replaced by the inner rod 60, the hitting force of
the billiard cue will concentrate on the axis thereof. In other
words, the billiard cue 10 gives it user to hit the balls
precisely.
[0019] The embodiment of the present invention described above is
to be regarded in all respects as being merely illustrative and not
restrictive. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in
other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof. For
example, as shown in Fig.4, the shaft 12 can also be formed of two
(or more) longitudinal sections. Each section is provided with a
longitudinal groove 13 opening through one of the lateral faces of
the sections for forming the cylindrical hole to receive the inner
rod 60.
* * * * *