US20020132677A1

US20020132677A1 - Billiard cue having an improved shaft

Info

Publication number: US20020132677A1
Application number: US09/805,476
Authority: US
Inventors: Jung-Shih Chang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-03-14
Filing date: 2001-03-14
Publication date: 2002-09-19

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.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a billiard cue, and more particularly to a billiard cue with an improved shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

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

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.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a billiard cue enabling a player to hit the balls with a greater precision.

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.

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.

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment in the present invention; [0008]
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view along the line [0009] 2-2 in FIG. 1 in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and [0010]
FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the shaft of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. [0012] 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.
The [0013] 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.
The [0014] 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.
The [0015] 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.
The bores of the [0016] 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.
A hollow [0017] 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.
In light of the wood [0018] 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.
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.[0019] 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.

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.