US2640697A

US2640697A - Ball collecting trough for pool tables

Info

Publication number: US2640697A
Application number: US154927A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank E Elersich
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-04-10
Filing date: 1950-04-10
Publication date: 1953-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-02

Description

J n 1953 F. E. ELERSICH BALL COLLECTING TROUGH FOR POOL. TABLES Filed April 10, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Frank 5. E lersich INVENTOR.

June 1953 F. E. ELERSICH 0,

BALL COLLECTING TROUGH FOR POOL TABLES Filed April 10, 1950 2 sheets-sheet 2 Fig.2

Frank E. E lerslbh IINVENTOR.

Patented June 2, 1953 BALL LCOL-LECTINGETR OUGH. FOR.;POQL;T.;

TABL S Frank E-iTElrsic'hiNorth flollywoodjCalit-" z Applicmtio'neAflril'il 0, '1950, Serial-N: 21547927: Kbffilili'fsi (Cl. 273- 12) the'rtabl'e l and underlying-said openings" and adapted'zto. retain balls passing through th e openings; 2ther'einQuntil-the -troughs are manua-lly de pressed to release the bal-lsw A further object of the present invention is to and practical in constructidn td permit the same to be available to the purchasing public at a reasonable cost.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a pool table that is strong and reliable in use, small and compact in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view looking at the top of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view looking at the bottom of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the present pool table and with parts broken away and shown in section;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 5-5 of Figure 1; and,

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 and showing the manner in which a ball is released from one of the pocket-forming troughs.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral It! represents a substantially rectangular game board the side edges I2 of which are received in recesses [4 in the inner sloping faces l6 of elongated strips H3. The strips [8 extend well above the upper surface of the game board to confine balls upon the game board.

A base rotatably supports the game board and includes a circular base plate 20 and a, plurality of super-imposed disks 22 that are interposed between the base plate 20 and the game board I0.

troughs depending srrom V .10.- provide a pool table that"is"extremelylsirnple"' thedis ks 2 2 s. Tlielendsizof the piIiH-Z 4 are flattened; l

in; recesses-2 6 and .2 illinth'eunDer.fiatsurfacei .of..'fj

.the board 10 and'th'e lower flatsurface.ofjtli'e,-

base p1ate2 0.1:. V U

The=game looardv .I 0 is provided. with. openings;

3 0 1 at. :it's -corners and-Jet its 1d gi Q iq edges ,medially' ethe :endswof thelboardsl Th'el openings are sufficiently. largeas tofiperm'it a game-.

ball'B ilto pass .tli'erethrough.

An elongated and flexible pocket-forming channel or trough 32 is associated with each of the openings 30. The troughs 32 underlie the openings 30 and include

side edges

34 and 36 that are suitably secured to the undersurface of the game board and the undersurfaces of the strips 8. The troughs 32 all extend transversely of the board Ill and the depth of the troughs is sufiicient to accommodate the balls B, as shown in Figure 5.

In order to release the balls from the troughs 32, the troughs 32 are manually depressed, as shown in Figure 6, to permit the balls to be ejected from a selected open end of the troughs and into a user's hand. Since all troughs extend transversely of the board 10 the balls can be discharged laterally from the side edges of the board at which the troughs are located thereby avoiding any confusion in releasing the balls from the troughs.

The inner faces of the strips, the upper surface of the game board and the edges defining the openings 30 are suitably covered with a soft, preferably rayon flocking, covering to better the control of the balls and to reduce noise as well as cushion the balls.

It should be noted that the disks 22 are highly finished, polished or waxed to permit the table 10 to rotate against the disks 22 and the base plate 20 with ease.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a pool table including a board having a group of ball receiving openings therein and a peripheral edge, an elongated flexible pocket-forming open ended trough underlying and extending diametrically across each opening and secured to the undersurface of said board, the longitudinal axes of said troughs lying in a common plane that is parallel to the plane of the board, said troughs adapted to receive and retain balls passing through the openings until the troughs are manually depressed, said troughs each having an open end at the peripheral edge of the board.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein all of said troughs extend transversely of said board.

3. In a miniature pool table including a horizontally supported board having a group of ball receiving openings therein, a flexible pocketforming open ended trough supported horizontally beneath each opening and having longitudinal side flanges secured throughout their length to the undersurfaceof the board, said troughs being of sufficient depth and width to accommodate balls passing through the openings, said troughs being elongated and open at their ends to permit manual depression or the troughs to force a ball from one end thereof.

4. In a miniature pool table including a horizontally supported board having a ball receiving.

opening and a peripheral edge, a flexible elongated pocket-forming trough secured to the undersurface or the board and underlying the opening, said trough being disposed horizontally under the board and extending diametrically across the opening and having an open end at the peripheral edge of said board, said trough including side edges disposed tangential to diametrically opposite sides of the opening.

5. In a miniature pool table including a horizontally supported board having side edges and openings therein spaced along said side edge, a plurality of elongated flexible horizontally disposed troughs secured to the undersurface of the board under the openings and having open ends projecting radially outwardly from diametrically opposite sides of the openings so that the board will form a rolling surface for balls in the troughs as the same are depressed to force balls from an end thereof, the troughs at one side of the board being aligned with the troughs at the other side of the board, and said troughs each having an open end.

FRANK E. ELERSICI-I.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 810,224 Sackett Jan. 16, 1906 1,121,184 Hobbs Dec. 15, 1914 1,512,442 Arnold Oct. 21, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 197,021 Great Britain May 7, 1923