CA1120512A - Easy glide cue guide - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A guide adapted to be hand held and adapted to receive the shaft of a cue stick when playing pool so that the cue stick may glide easily when used to hit the cue ball. The guide in-cludes a longitudinally extending sleeve which is longitudinally split into two substantially identical sections having one longi-tudinal edge hingedly connected and the other longitudinal edge engaged by the forefinger when in use to retain the guide in proper association with the cue stick. The sleeve is internally tapered in a manner corresponding to the taper of the cue stick and is provided with longitudinal ribs and grooves to facilitate the sliding movement of the cue stick in relation to the guide.
The guide also includes a depending support to provide a handle for the guide and to supportingly engage the pool table surface during certain use procedures to provide a steady support for the cue stick to enable it to be more accurately aimed and controlled when hitting the cue ball.

Description

5~ ~ ~

The present invention generally relates to a gu-ide for a cue stick which enables the cue stick to be more accurately aimed and controlled during use when hitt;ng the cue ball w-ith the guide ;ncluding a split sleeve having a tapered, long-itudi-nally ribbed interior construction prov-id-ing easy gl;ding engage-ment with the cue stick~
Various devices have been provided to enable a cue s~ick to be guided when striking the cue ball. Such devices are frequently used when the cue ball is in a position on a table that requires the cue stick to be extended substantially complete-ly across the table, Such devices, usually referred to as "bridges", only provide supporting engagement with the undersur-face of the cue stick and do not provide any substantial guiding function~ Other devices are known which are hand held and facili-tate sliding movement of the cue stick in relation to the hand of the user, Exemplary of the development in th-is field of endeavor are the follow-ing U,S~ patents:
Pat, Nos. 529,731 - Nov~ 27, 1894 635,569 - Oct. 24, 1899 690,617 - Jan~ 7, 1902 1,299,720 - ~pr~ 8, 1919

2,014,788 - Sep~ 17, 1925 2,931,649 - Apr. 5, 1960.
~ n object of the present invention is to prov-ide an easy glide cue sti~k guide incorporat-ing a hand held, longitudi-nally elongated, tapered, internally ribbed, spli~ slee~e -in which the two halves of the sleeve are pivotally connected and retained in gu;ding but yet very light frict-ional engagement with the tapered shaft on the cue stick by exerting finger pressure thereon by the forefinger when the guide is being used thereby facil-itat-ing the long-itudinal movement of the cue s~ick by enabl-ing it to easily glide through the sleeve and also mainta-ining more accurate control of the aim and path of movement of the cue stick when the cue stick is used to strike the cue ball~
Another object of the invention is to provide a guide in accordance with the preceding object in which the ribs extend longitudinally and are constructed so that it is unnecessary to ; utilize powder on the exterior of the cue stick and friction re-ducing balls are employed internally of the sleeve to facilitate the ease of sliding movement of the cue stick in relation to the guide.
A further object of the invention is to provide a guide in accordance with the preceding objects having a laterally ex tending, adjustable length support member rigid with respect to the sleeve and perpendicular thereto for supporting engagement with the surface of the pool table to further control the a:im and provide a steady support for the guide and cue stick guided thereby~
Still another object of the invention is ~o prov:ide an easy glide cue atick guide in wh:ich the two halves of the longi-tudinally split sleeve have a spring structure assoc-iated w-;th the h-inge along one edge of the sleeve to spring bias the two halves of the sleeve together ;n a manner which will not -induce sufficient friction against the cue stick to retard its longi-tudinal movement with the control of the.longitudinal movement being obtained by the person using the device with his foref;nger wrapped par~ially around the split sleeve at the peripheral por-tion of the sleeve in opposite relation to the hinge connect;on~
Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a guide in accordance w-ith the preced-ing objects z wh;ch :is relatively simple in construct-ion, easy to use, effective to glidingly support a pool cue stick and mai.ntain an accurate aim and path of movement for the cue stick.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the easy gl;de cue guide illus~rat;ng schemat;cally the manner of using the gu:ide for aiming and controlling the path of movement of a cue stick when it is used to strike a cue ball~
Figure 2 t8 an end elevational view of the guide~ ~ -Figure 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken generally upon a plane passing along sect;on line 3--3 of Fig. 2 illustrating the structural details of the guide~
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device in use without the supporting pedestal.
The easy glide cue guide of the present invent;on is generally designated by numeral 10 and -is ;llustrated in use ;n Fig. l for guiding the cue stick generally des-ignated by numeral 12 toward a cue ball 14 for causing the cue ball 14 to move along a pool table surface 16 toward a target area, ball, or the like, -in which it i9 neceasary to properly pos-it-ion the cue stick 12 so that its tip 1~ will be properly positioned w-ith respect to the cue ball 14 and the tapered shaf~ 20 of the cue stick 12 will be properly aimed and controlled during its movement toward the cue ball 14 in a manner which is well known in playing pool or other : .
similar games.
The guide lO includes an elongated taper-ing sleeve 22 which is longitudinally split into two substantially :identical substantially semi-frusto-conical members 24 and 26 which are hingedly interconnected along their lower edges by a hinge struc-ture generally des-ignated by numeral 28 and which includes a hinge p:in 30 e~tending through aligned, interdig-itated hir~ge barrels or p:intles 32 and 34 which are -integral with the respec-tive members 24 and 26, An ax;al coil spring 36 is assoc:iated with the hinge pin in a manner to lightly spring bias the members 24 and 26 toward each other~ The oppos-ite edges of the members 24 and 26 are ~ree and capable of movement toward and away from each other to facilitate movement of the tapered shaft of the cue stick 12 in relation to the sleeve 22, The interior of the sleeve 22 is prov-ided with a plurality of long~tudinally extending ribs or ridges 38 intercon-nected by longitudinal grooves or valleys 40 with the apex of ~.
each of the ribs or r;dges also tapering or being -inclined at the same angle of taper as the tapered shaft 20 so that the plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs or ridges 38 will be in sliding and guiding contact with the tapered shaft 20 throughout the length of the ribs or ridges 38. The pivotal movement of the members 24 and 26 enables the tapered shaft 20 to slide through the sleeve 22 with the sleeve 22 opening or expanding ;n effective diameter as the tapered shaft moves toward the cue ball and clos-in~ or retract:ing in diameter as the tapered shaft 20 moves -in the opposite direction~
The sleeve 22 has a depending tubular holder or n:ipple 22 connected thereto by the hinge pin 30 which also extends through tabs 44 on the upper end of the holder 42 as illustrated in Fig~

3, The holder 42 is provided with a tubular socket 46 in its lower end for receiving a rather short t.ubular member 48 wh-ich : may be in the form of a p-ipe nipple, tubular plastic member, or solid rod, which is telescoped into the socket 46 and detachably secured thereto as by friction, screw threaded connection, or by any other suitable meansO The lower end of the support member 48 is provided w;th a cushioning cap 50 ~hereon which may be of )S~;~

plastic or resilient material and frictionally mounted on the cylindrical or tubular support member 48 as illustrated in Fig.
2. The cushioning c.ap 50 is adapted to rest on the pool table surface 16 as illustrated in Fig. 1 during use. The hand 52 of the person using the cue stick engages around the holder 42 and adjacent portion of the support mamber 48 as illustrated in Fig. 1 with the thumb 54 underlying the sleeve 22 and the fore-finger 56 extending over top of the sleeve 22 so that by exerting pressure on the sleeve 22 by use of the forefinger 56, the person using the guide 10 may determine the frictional engagement be-tween the cue stick shaft 20 and the guide sleeve 22, thereby enabling control of the movement of the cue stick 12 with the holder 42, support member 48 and cap 50 providing a steadying support for the stick in order to maintain proper control o the cue stick when aiming the cue stick in its optimum relationship to the cue ball 14 and when the cue stick ia being moved in lts path of movement when the cue ball is bein~ struck by the tip 18 of the cue stick 12.
In some lnstances, the guide 10 may be used without the support member 48 or the cap 50 in which event the hand 52 i8 placed around the sleeve 22 with the thumb 54 underlying the sleeve 22 and the forefinger 56 overlying the sleeve 22 as illus-trated in Fig. 4. In this position, the remainder of the hand including the fingers 5~ are spread out and rest against the pool table surface in a conventional and well known manner.
To reduce the frictional engagement between the guide sleeve and the cue stick, the grooves or valleys 40 may be provided with a plurality of spherical members in the form of ball bearings 9 or the like, 60 partially embedded therein in a manner that the peripheries of the ball bearings 60 will lie inwardly in the same circular plane as the apices of the ribs 3~ for engagement w;th the cue stick w-ithout -introducing any fr-ictional res;stance to movement and, in fact, reducing the frict;onal res-istance to a minimum. The spherical members are embedded in the ;nterior of the sleeves which may be formed integrally or as an ~;nsert of hard rubber, plastic, or similar material, as designated by numeral 62 with the material encapsulating slightly more than one half of the periphery of the spher;cal balls.
The internal taper of the guide sleeve 22 corresponds with the taper on the tapering shaft of the cue stick and guiding-` ly engages the cue stick at circumferentially spaced lines of contact, thus providing an accurate control of the cue st;ck dur-ing its movement so that the cue stick will glide easily when hitting the cue ball with a sort of interferring dry rub sim-ilar to that imparted to the cue stick when a person is guid-ing the cue stick by using his f-ingers and thumb in a convent-ional manner.
This device does not require the use of powder, such as is normal-ly employed on the fingers, to prevent the cue stick from st-ick-ing to the fingers and provides adequate control to the cue stick such that persons normally unahle to hold the cue stick steady w-ill be able to accurately aim and control the cue st:ick, thus enabling such players to obtain more enjoyment from playing pool.
The device rnay be constructed of plast-ic material, metal, or any other suitable equivalellt materials, thus rendering the device relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easily used by various pool players regardless of the size of cue stick wh-ich is used w-ithin the limits of the swinging movement of the sleeve members 24 and 26.

Claims (7)

The embodiments of the invention, in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A hand held guide for a cue stick when used to strike a cue ball comprising an elongated hollow sleeve, said sleeve being constructed of a pair of substantially identical members; hinge means pivotally connecting said members together along one longitudinal edge thereof to enable the two members to pivot in relation to each other to receive a tapered cue stick therebetween and to engage a cue stick along a substantial portion of its length at circumferentially spaced points to accurately guide a cue stick during relative longitudinal movement through the sleeve, said sleeve having internal, longitudinally extending ribs for engaging a cue stick and being longitudinally tapered with the effective circumference thereof increasing and decreasing as the tapered shaft of a conventional cue stick is moved longitudinally therethrough, the exterior of the sleeve being adapted to be engaged by the thumb and forefinger of a person using the guide to maintain supporting contact of the guide with a cue stick by forefinger pressure being exerted on the members forming the sleeve.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes a laterally extending support member adapted to rest upon a pool table surface in order to steady the sleeve and cue stick received therein, said support member including a downwardly opening socket and a detachable member having a cushioning cap on the lower end received in the socket with the cushioning cap adapted to engage the pool table surface.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said sleeve includes longitudinally extending rows of ball bearings oriented in circumferentially spaced relation for engagement with a cue stick.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1, together with spring means lightly biasing the pivotal members toward closed position.

5. The structure as defined in claim 2, wherein said sleeve further includes internal longitudinally extending rows of ball bearings oriented in circumferentially spaced relation, and said pivotal members being interconnected by resilient means biasing said members toward each other.

6. In combination, an elongated, longitudinally tapered pool cue stick adapted to be moved longitudinally when striking a cue ball, a hand held guide for the cue stick, said guide comprising an elongated, hollow, tapered sleeve with the internal taper of the sleeve corresponding generally to the external taper of a conventional pool cue stick, said sleeve being constructed of a pair of substantially identical semi-frusto-conical members, hinge means pivotally connecting sid members together along one longitudinal edge thereof with the other longitudinal edges adapted to be swung toward and away from each other to receive a tapered cue stick therebetween and to enable the sleeve to be snugly engaged with the cue stick by a player engaging the exterior of the sleeve with the thumb and forefinger of the hand holding the guide in stationay position in relation to a pool table, the interior of said sleeve including a plurality of inwardly projecting longitudinal ribs spaced circumferentially from each other to engage a cue stick at circumferentially spaced areas to facilitate relative longitudinal movement between a cue stick and guide when the cute stick is move longitudinally to engage a cue ball.

7. The combination as defined in claim 6, wherein said sleeve is provided with ball bearing members mounted on the interior thereof for reducing the friction between the sleeve and a cue stick during longitudinal movement of a cue stick through the sleeve when striking a cue ball, resilient means interconnecting said members defining the sleeve for biasing the members into engagement with a cue stick and a laterally extending stabilizing support member connected with the sleeve to enable the sleeve to be more stably supported in relation to n pool table.