GB2481054A

GB2481054A - Table games having flexible walls

Info

Publication number: GB2481054A
Application number: GB201009754A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Bernard Stone
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-06-11
Filing date: 2010-06-11
Publication date: 2011-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 2030-06-11
Also published as: GB201009754D0; GB2481054B

Abstract

A table game includes a playing surface 3 and flexible boundary walls 2, the walls comprising thin, resilient material disposed at an acute angle to the playing surface. The angle and height of the wall relative to the playing surface are such that the contact point when a ball 1 strikes the wall 2 lies above the equator of the ball. Upon contact with a ball, the wall deflects upwardly so as to increase the angle relative to the playing surface, and the resilience of the wall causes the ball to return to the original angle thus imparting a downward return force on the ball in order to assist in keeping the rebounding ball in contact with the playing surface. Gaps (5, fig. 4) may be provided at corner sections of the wall in order that each wall may flex independently. The playing surface may include a fold line (7, fig. 7), with corresponding gaps (6, fig. 7) being provided in the walls adjacent the fold line to allow folding of the playing surface. The table game may be table-hockey (fig. 7), table-football, billiards, snooker, table-squash (fig. 8) or similar.

Description

TITLE

Resilient walls for table games

BACKGROUND

Some table games require that a ball propelled by the players must be able to rebound efficiently, and along a predictable trajectory, from the walls which serve as full or partial boundaries to the playing surface. Such games include table-hockey, table-football, billiards, snooker and table-squash (for an example of the latter, refer to UK patent application GB0904527.9). In order to ensure an efficient rebound, such walls are conventionally of substantial and fairly rigid construction and may be covered in a resilient material such as rubber. This has several consequences: such walls are relatively costly in terms of materials and construction, they are not easy to mass-produce, they are inevitably fairly heavy and the games are not readily portable. The present invention overcomes these limitations.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

To overcome the above limitations, the present invention comprises a resilient wall technology in which the walls are made from relatively thin, strong, springy material set at a suitable acute angle to the playing surface such that the height of the wall's upper edge above the playing surface is slightly higher than the centre of a ball moving along the playing surface, and such that when a ball collides with the angled wall the first contact is between a point at or close to the upper edge of the wall and a point on the surface of the ball just above its equator. The ball's momentum distorts the upper part of the wall in the region of the impact, while the lower part of the wall, fixed to the playing surface, and the remainder of the wall remote from the impact area, remain largely undistorted. The wall's resilience causes the wall immediately to spring back into position, an action which propels the ball back across, and in contact with, the playing surface, at a speed in proportion to the force of the impact and the consequent extent of distortion. The wall's angle in relation to the playing surface is such that even when the wall is distorted by the impact of a ball, no part of the wall reaches a vertical position or assumes an obtuse angle in relation to the playing surface. This ensures that the ball does not rebound upwards but remains in contact with the playing surface. As with the walls of, say, a billiard table, in a horizontal plane a ball is deflected from the wall at an angle equal and opposite to the angle of impact. An impact at right angles to the wall sends the ball back along its incoming trajectory. Where two resilient walls meet at a corner of the playing surface, a ball's behaviour follows this general rule if it impacts each wall in succession. The angled walls can either be fashioned as intergral parts of the playing surface, formed by bending or moulding the peripheries of the playing surface to the appropriate angle, or they can be manufactured separately and subsequently attached to the playing surface.

ADVANTAGES

The resilient walls as described above, and in more detail later, are less expensive and more straightforward to manufacture and mass-produce than the conventional walls used in table games. The novel walls are lightweight yet have considerable strength, and the low weight facilitates the games' portability. The appropriate degree of flexibility and the appropriate angle and height of the walls in relation to the diameter of the ball ensures that the ball remains in contact with the playing surface after either a slow or fast rebound. The angle of rebound from the wall in a horizontal plane along the playing surface follows a predictable path. A narrow gap between two resilient walls where they intersect at the corners of the playing surface allows each wall to flex independently of the other, ensuring that a ball rebounds effectively. If the playing surface incorporates a hinge to allow it to be folded for packaging and storage purposes, narrow gaps between contiguous lengths of wall, adjacent to the hinge, while not significantly interfering with the ball's trajectory, allow the playing surface to be folded unimpeded by the walls.

INTRODUCTION TO DRAWINGS

Examples of the invention will be described by referring to the accompanying drawings (not to scale): * Figure 1 shows the angled wall formed by bending the playing surface, with the ball making contact with the upper edge of the wall.

* Figure 2 shows an example of how the wall may be manufactured as a separate component and then attached to the underside of the playing surface by its lower flange.

* Figure 3 shows how the impact of the ball distorts the upper edge of the resilient wall, which then springs back and propels the ball along the playing surface. A, B and C show this from above, and D, E and F show lateral views. The broken lines in sketches B and B show examples of the ball causing excessive distortion, which is precluded by this technology.

* Figure 4 shows a narrow gap between the angled walls where they intersect at a corner of the playing surface.

* Figure 5 shows a narrow gap between contiguous lengths of wall to allow a hinged playing surface to be folded for packaging and storage purposes.

* Figure 6 shows a typical trajectory of a ball aimed at a corner of the playing surface * Figure 7 shows an illustrative example of the angled walls fixed to all four sides of a typical table-hockey game.

* Figure 8 shows an illustrative example of the angled walls fixed to three sides of a table-squash game such as that described in UK patent application GB0904527.9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The accompanying Figures illustrate the main features of the resilient wall technology for use in table games such as table-hockey, table-football, billiards, snooker, table-squash (for an example of the latter refer to UK patent application GB0904527.9) and similar games. The resilient walls (2) can be formed by bending or moulding the periphery of the playing surface (3) to the appropriate angle, as shown in Figure 1, or they can be manufactured separately as a strip of angled cross-section (4) and subsequently firmly attached to the playing surface (3) by welding, adhesive, staples or other means, as shown in Figure 2. The walls are made from relatively thin, strong, springy material, for example plastics such as polyvinylchloride (PVC), polypropylene or polyethylene or other plastics, metal, plywood, fibreglass, composites, laminates and other materials.

Figure 3 illustrates the functioning of the resilient wall, as seen from above (sketches A, B and C) and from the side (sketches D, E and F). When a ball (1) collides with the angled wall (2) at a point close to its upper edge (sketches A and D), the ball's momentum distorts the upper part of the wall in the region of the impact (sketches B and E). The lower part of the wall, fixed to the playing surface (3), and the remainder of the wall remote from the impact area, remain largely undistorted. The wall's resilience causes the wall immediately to spring back into position (sketches C and F), an action which propels the ball back along the playing surface at a speed in proportion to the force of the impact and the consequent extent of distortion.

To function effectively and as intended, the wall must form a suitable acute angle with the playing surface, angle X in Figure 3D, and must be of such a height that its upper edge contacts a ball just above its equator (shown by the horizontal broken line in Figure 3D). In order to ensure that a ball rebounding off the wall remains on the playing surface and does not fly into the air, no part of the wall must reach a vertical position or assume an obtuse angle in relation to the playing surface even when the vall is distorted by a powerful impact of a ball. The broken lines in Figures 3B and 3E show examples of the ball causing excessive distortion, which is precluded by this technology. A suitable angle for the wall at rest is 45-65 degrees, preferably 50-60 degrees, and more preferably 55 degrees. If the angle is too great (that is, if the wall is closer to the vertical plane) a ball will rebound relatively poorly and into the air rather than remaining in contact with the playing surface. If the angle is too small (that is, if the wall is closer to the horizontal plane), or if the wall is of insufficient height, the upper edge of the wall will catch a ball below its equator and flip it into the air.

As an illustrative example, for a ball of diameter 35nim weighing 12gm, a suitable wall is made from resilient polyvinyl chloride (PVC) of thickness 1.2mm, set at an angle of 55 degrees from the playing surface, with an upper edge 22mm above the playing surface.

Figure 4 shows that where two angled walls intersect at a corner of the playing surface, a narrow gap (5) between the walls allows each wall to flex independently of the other and ensures that a ball rebounds efficiently from either or both. A suitable width of gap is 1-8mm, preferably 2-4mm.

As shown in Figure 5, if the game is designed to be folded at a hinge for packaging and storage purposes (a hinge is shown by the broken line (7) in Figure 5), a narrow gap (6) between contiguous lengths of wall and adjacent to the hinge, while not significantly interfering with a ball's trajectory, allows the two hinged parts of the playing surface to be folded downwards and against each other unimpeded by the walls, all of which will face outwards when the game is folded. A suitable width of gap is 1-8mm, preferably 2-4mm.

As with the walls of, say, a billiard table, in a horizontal plane a ball is deflected from the wall at an angle equal and opposite to the angle of impact. Where two walls intersect at a corner of the playing surface, a ball's behaviour follows this general rule if it impacts each wall in succession (see Figure 6). An impact at right angles to a wall sends the ball back along its incoming trajectory.

For illustrative purposes, Figure 7 shows an example of resilient walls fixed to all four sides of a typical table-hockey game, and Figure 8 shows an example of the resilient walls fixed to three sides of a table-squash game such as that described in UK patent application GB0904527.9.

These sketches show narrow gaps (5) between the ends of the walls where they intersect at the corners of the playing surface, and narrow gaps (6) between contiguous lengths of wall to allow the two parts of the playing surface to be folded downwards at the hinge (7) for packaging and storage purposes.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Resilient walls for use as full or partial boundaries to the playing surfaces of table games, such as table-hockey, table-football, billiards, snooker, table-squash and similar games, are made from relatively thin, strong, springy material and set at a suitable acute angle to the playing surface and reaching a suitable height above the playing surface such that when a ball moving along the playing surface collides with the angled wall the first contact is between a point at or close to the upper edge of the wall and a point on the surface of the ball just above its equator, so that the ball's momentum distorts the upper part of the wall in the region of the impact, making it subtend a greater, yet still acute, angle in relation to the playing surface, while the lower part of the wall, fixed to the playing surface, and the remainder of the wall remote from the impact area, remain largely undistorted, such that the wall's resilience causes the distorted part of the wall immediately to spring back into position, an action which propels the ball across, and remaining in contact with, the playing surface.
2. Resilient walls according to Claim 1, in which a narrow gap between the ends of two walls where they intersect at the corners of the playing surface allows each wall to flex independently of the other, ensuring that a ball rebounds effectively from either or both walls.
3. Resilient walls according to Claim 2, in which narrow gaps between contiguous lengths of wall allow the playing surface to be folded at a hinge adjacent to the narrow gaps, to facilitate packaging and storage.
4. Resilient walls according to the above Claims, integral to the playing surface, formed by bending or moulding the peripheries of the playing surface to the appropriate angle.
5. Resilient walls according the Claims 1-3, manufactured separately from the playing surface, and subsequently firmly attached to the playing surface by welding, adhesive, staples or other means. SI--'Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: 1. A table game including a playing surface and boundary walls, the walls consisting solely of thin, resilient material extending upwards at an acute angle to the playing surface, the walls being of a height such that when a ball moving along the playing surface collides with the angled wall the first contact is between a point close to the upper edge of the wall and a point on the surface of the ball above its equator, the arrangement being such that the impact causes the wall to assume a greater, yet still acute, angle to the playing surface, and the wall's inherent resilience returns the wall to the original angle thus imparting a downward return force on the ball in order to assist in keeping the ball in contact with the playing surface as it rebounds from the wall.2. A table game according to Claim 1, in which the thin resilient walls are formed by bending or moulding the peripheries of the playing surface to an appropriate angle.3. A table game according to Claim I, in which the thin resilient walls are manufactured separately from the playing surface and subsequently attached to the playing surface by welding, adhesive, staples or other means.4. A table game according to the previous Claims, in which a gap is provided between the walls at the corners of the playing surface, allowing each wall to flex independently of the other, ensuring that a ball rebounds effectively from either or both walls.5. A table game according to the previous Claims, in which the playing surface is provided with a hinge, and gaps are provided in the walls adjacent to the hinge, allowing the game to be folded to facilitate packaging and storage.I*IeI*fII -._ * I I *** I S... p S51