Abstract:
A rotating pool cue holder has a table from which an inner tube extends upwardly and is held coaxial with an outer tube. The outer tube is held rotationally in a bearing within the table. A carrousel is fixedly engaged with the outer tube for rotation with it and the carrousel is positioned above the table. A tray is also fixedly engaged with the outer tube for rotation and positioned above the carrousel with a spacing enabling the game equipment to be rested on the carrousel while being inserted into apertures within the tray. The inner tube forms a conduit for an electrical cord for a lamp and as a support for mounting the lamp above the tray.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     1. Related Applications: none  
         [0002]     2. Field of the Present Disclosure  
         [0003]     This disclosure relates generally to supports and stands for holding elongated objects such as pool cue sticks and such in a near vertical attitude, and more particularly to a rotating stand for holding pool table equipment.  
         [0004]     3. Description of Related Art  
         [0005]     The following art defines the present state of this field:  
         [0006]     Beckwith, U.S. Pat. No. 599,925, discloses a display-rack, with a sleeve or hub, a series of legs secured thereto, a standard passing through the sleeve or hub, a set-screw for adjustably securing the standard to the sleeve or hub, a series of wheels or frames mounted on the standards and adapted to support whips; and braces connecting the wheels or frames so as to cause them to revolve together.  
         [0007]     White, U.S. Pat. No. 663,838, discloses a display stand with a suitably-supported standard, a tray mounted thereon capable of turning, a perforated disk also mounted on the standard, stay-rods connecting the disk with the tray and having their intermediate portions converging, a sleeve threaded on the standard, and a block seated on the sleeve and attached to the converging portions of the stay-rods.  
         [0008]     Abbe, U.S. Pat. No. 739,275, discloses a whip-stand that is portable and revolves, and including a combination of a base-plate, a smaller plate arranged above the base-plate, a sheet-metal frame formed with pockets secured to the base-plate and surrounding the upper plate, the frame extending above the upper plate and having the upper ends of its pockets open, a supporting-base, and a standard secured in the base and extending through the base-plate and upper plate.  
         [0009]     Matteson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,478,043, discloses a cue rack comprising a rotary standard having a plurality of spiders spaced apart to rotate therewith and having outwardly projecting registering arms, the lower spider having sockets on the upper side of each arm adjacent the edges thereof, the intermediate spider having recesses in the side edges of each arm and the upper spider having slots in each arm.  
         [0010]     Pryde, U.S. Pat. No. 1,761,088, discloses a display stand that revolves, a stationary member; a moveable member associated therewith; and means for preventing accidental disengagement of the latter from the former, comprising a sliding bolt in the stationary member, which in one of its positions is projected into the path of a part connected with the movable member and thereby prevents relative vertical movement thereof in either direction.  
         [0011]     Kravitt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,488,087, discloses a lamp structure comprising a base member, a central tube extending upwardly therefrom for supporting lamp bulbs and a shade, and a device rotatably mounted on the central tube having a lower-disc-like member provided with a plurality of spaced depressions adapted to receive the bowls of the smokers&#39; pipes, an upper disc-like portion provided with a plurality of similarly spaced openings to receive the stem portions of the smokers pipes, and a sleeve surrounding the central tube and connecting the upper and lower disc-like portions, the rotatable device being positioned below the lamp bulbs, and in such location that the lamp bulbs will illumination to a mild degree of heat and air circulation when not in use.  
         [0012]     Blumenschein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,824, discloses a rack for pool cues and the like comprising: a telescopic extensibly biased pole adapted to be held between the floor and ceiling of a room by the bias of the pole, a platform on the pole adjacent the lower end thereof, adapted to support the handle ends of the cues, a formed wire rack adjacent the top of the pole comprising a plurality of circular loops formed from a single piece of wire and extending to opposite sides of a central open bight formed in the single piece of wire and adapted to fit partially about the pole, and having parallel legs extending from the central open bight forwardly of the pole and forming supports for the circular loops, and clip means clipped to the outer sides of the parallel legs and compressing the bight into firm engagement.  
         [0013]     Castano, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,583, discloses an illuminating cue stick rack made up of a rack frame and a lighting system built into or attached onto the rack frame. The lighting system is electrically connectable to a power supply such as a wall outlet and includes provision for selective illumination by a customer to request customer assistance.  
         [0014]     Baughman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,261, discloses a holder that is designed to hold fishing rods, poles or pool cues for storage when transporting or when not in use. Our designed holder is free standing and basically consists of very few components. There are five major parts: a foundation plate; a bottom plate of the holder; a turntable assembly that allows the holder to rotate in a circular manner, a base plate that fastens to a turntable assembly, the base plate having a number of recesses to support bottoms of stored items, a rod or post that is recessed into the base plate and top plate; and a top plate that has the same number of recesses as base plate. Here the top ends of rods or cues are locked into place by a recess closure lock. Holder being upright in design with a larger foundation plate than top plate it will not fall over easily. To use and operate this holder is very simple. Place the bottom end of rod or cue into the base plate recess. Next lift the recess closure lock from recess closure lock pin. Then place top of rod, pole or cue into aligned top plate recess. Close recess closure lockdown over closure pin. One item is now secure for storage or transporting repeat procedure for number of pieces to be stored by turning holder in either direction. To remove rods or cues reverse the procedure above. To transport holder grasp by rod and carry to desired location. Being of light weight and free standing, this holder is superior to all previous rod or cue holders. Our holder is of wood structure and holds eight items.  
         [0015]     Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches that it is well known to provide a holder for pool cue sticks and other elongated objects, where the objects are arranged in near vertical attitudes on a revolving carrousel; witness Beckwith, White, Abbe, etc. It is also known to illuminate a cue stick rack as shown in Castano. Further, it is known to provide a revolving support rack which is also a lamp as shown in Kravitt. The Kravitt rack rotates about a central tube which is used for lamp wires. Of interest, Pryde teaches a rotating object support or rack that has an inner rod or tube as a stationary support element, with an coaxial outer tube rotating on a pivot at the top of the inner rod. However, the prior art fails to teach a cue stick rack of the type described herein. The notable improvement in the present apparatus being that a pair of tubes are mounted concentrically with an inner one of the tubes providing rigid and fixed structural support, and in one embodiment, a path for electrical wires as in Kravitt, while the outer tube is mounted in a novel manner for rotation about the inner tube without blocking its upper end which may be used to support an upper fixture spaced apart from a lower carrousel all of which revolve with the outer tube and carry with them in rotation, pool cue sticks or other game equipment. The rotational and fixed elements of the invention are mutually engaged by a bearing set in a novel arrangement. The present disclosure therefore distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0016]     This disclosure teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.  
         [0017]     As shown in the above described references, the use of rotating devices for display and access convenience of sport and miscellaneous equipment is well known. However, the present apparatus provides advantages over the prior art as will be understood in the following summary and the detailed description to follow. In this apparatus, an inner tube extends upwardly and coaxially with an outer tube both centered in a fixed table. The outer tube is held rotationally in a bearing within the table. A carrousel is fixedly engaged with the outer tube for rotation with it and the carrousel is positioned just above the table at a level convenient for placing and removing pool or billiards cue sticks; referred to herein as cue sticks. The table may have one or more drawers for holding items related to the games of pool. A tray is also fixedly engaged with the outer tube for rotation and is positioned above the carrousel with a spacing enabling the cue sticks to be rested on the carrousel while being inserted into apertures within the tray so that the cue sticks are secured on the apparatus. Since the inner tube is stationary it is advantageously used as a conduit for an electrical cord for a lamp mounted above the cue sticks. Such a lamp is optional, but when used it provides an electrical switch preferably mounted in a convenient location near the top of the apparatus.  
         [0018]     A primary objective inherent in the above described apparatus and method of use is to provide advantages not taught by the prior art.  
         [0019]     Another objective is to provide a combination cue stick holder and lamp.  
         [0020]     A further objective is to provide such a holder enabled for rotation so as to efficiently provide access to cue sticks placed by simply rotating the cue sticks until the one desired has been brought within reach.  
         [0021]     A further objective is to provide such a holder that is fixtured to hold cue sticks, pool or billiard balls and cue chalk.  
         [0022]     Other features and advantages of the described apparatus and method of use will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the presently described apparatus and method of its use. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]     The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the present apparatus and method of use. In such drawings:  
         [0024]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are perspective views of a first and second embodiments of an apparatus described herein;  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a partial vertical section of the second embodiment taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged partial vertical section defined by line  4  in  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged partial vertical section defined by line  5  in  FIG. 3 , and  
         [0028]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged partial vertical section defined by line  6  in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0029]     The above drawing figures illustrate the described apparatus and its method of use in two of its preferred embodiments, which are further defined in detail in the following description. Those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications what is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, it must be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of the present apparatus and method of use.  
         [0030]     A rotating storage and display apparatus, as shown in  FIG. 1 , is capable of holding a plurality of elongated game equipment pieces  10  and other game equipment, as described herein with respect to the game of pool with the elongated game equipment pieces being pool cue sticks  10 . However, those of skill in the art will realize that the present apparatus may be used to support and hold objects other than pool cue sticks  10 ; including such items as are shown in the references above.  FIG. 1  shows a first embodiment with a table  20  and a carousel  60  mounted on top; and  FIG. 2  shows the same apparatus as a second embodiment with a lamp  85  mounted thereon. The lamp  85  comprises a lighting fixture, a lamp bulb, a lamp shade and a switch, the latter not shown in the figures. Preferably, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , depressions  62  are provided in the carousel  60  for resting game balls  5  and cue sticks  10  for the games of table pool and billiards, etc. Other objects may be facilitated by providing recesses, draws, hangers and other accoutrements on, or in, table  20 , carousel  60  and other parts of the apparatus as will be recognized by those of skill in the art. The table  20  and carousel  60  are preferably made of fine wood with a fine furniture finish, but may also be constructed of metal, plastic and other structural materials.  
         [0031]     In the preferred embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a receiver disk  70  is fixedly engaged with the apparatus. The tray  70  is positioned above the carrousel  60  with a spacing between that enables the placement of the cue sticks  10 , which are rested on the carrousel  60  to extend upwardly in engagement with apertures  72  in the tray  70 , i.e., the tips of the cue sticks  10  terminate within apertures  72  as shown in  FIG. 1 , and the opposite ends of the cue sticks  10  rest in depressions  62  in the carrousel  60 . A chalk tray  75 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , may be fixedly engaged with the apparatus.  
         [0032]     As shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3 , an inner tube  30  and an outer tube  40 , both preferably of a rigid material such as metal, are in coaxial vertical alignment and held fixedly within the table  20  as will be described in detail below. The outer tube  40  is able to rotate relative to the inner tube  30 , the two tubes being of such relative diameters as to create a diametric space between them.  
         [0033]     Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 4 , a threaded fastener  90  is engaged with a lower end of the inner tube  30 , joining it to a bracket plate  22  fixed to the table  20 .  
         [0034]     The tubes  30 ,  40  may be each a single continuous tube, or preferably, as shown in  FIG. 5 , each may be made up of two or more segments joined together linearly by any conventional means, but preferably as described herein. In  FIG. 5  it is seen that the a lower inner tube segment is joined to an upper inner tube segment by a threaded coupler  95 . The coupler  95  is preferably made of a low friction material, and is positioned for contact with the outer tube  40  so that it not only joins the tube segments of inner tube  30 , but it also acts as a spacer to maintain the diametric spacing between the inner tube  30  and outer tube  40 . In a similar manner, upper and lower segments of the outer tube  40  are joined by mutual threaded portions  44 . The carrousel  60  is fixedly engaged with the outer tube  40 , so that it rotates with the outer tube  40  in a position just above the table  20 .  
         [0035]     A cylindrical bushing  80  of a low friction bearing material, such as bronze ( FIG. 4 ), is pressed into the outer tube  40 , at its lower end so that the outer tube  40  is able to rotate freely relative to the inner tube  30  while maintaining its concentric relationship with the inner tube  30 . The same bushing  80  is used at the upper end  42  of the outer tube  40  as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0036]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a lamp  85  is preferably mounted at an upper terminal end of the inner tube  30  which extends upwardly beyond outer tube  40 , and its electrical wiring  82  is interconnected with the lamp  85  from below the table  20  through the inner tube  30 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the tray  70  includes a cylindrical housing  74  extending upwardly and terminating in proximity to lamp  85 .  
         [0037]     Preferably, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a flat washer  49  is fixed to tube  40 , preferably by welding it in place as shown. A dish-shaped metal support frame  51  is placed into accommodating recesses  53  in table  20  as shown. This support frame  51  rests on the table  20  at annular flange  51 ′. Next Bearing set  50  is placed over tube  40  and rested on annular flange  51 ′ of support frame  51 . Bearing set  50  comprises outer race  50 ′, bearing cage  50 ″ and inner race  50 ′″. Outer race  50 ′ and bearing cage  50 ″ rest on the annular flange  51 ′ while inner race  50 ′″ rests on flat washer  49  and is fixed to outer tube  40  by set screw  52 . Compression plate  55  is placed on top of bearing set  50  and rests on the outer race  50 ′ and against support frame  51 . Screws  57  are set into table  20  through lower compression plate  55  and support frame  51  which places the outer race  50 ′ in compression between the lower compression plate  55  and the lower flange  51 ′ of the support frame  51 . Therefore, the outer race  50 ′ cannot rotate as it is fixed to table  20 .  
         [0038]     Next, a key  42  is placed into a recess in outer tube  40  and then sleeve  43  is engaged over key  42  with both the key  42  and the sleeve  43  in contact with the inner race  50 ′″, but, as shown, not into contact with the outer race  50 ′ or the bearing cage  50 ″. Carrousel  60  is placed over sleeve  43  until it rests on sleeve shoulder  43 ′ where it is spaced apart from table  20 . Next, upper compression plate  46  is positioned on top of carrousel  60  and sleeve  43  and compressed downwardly by nut  45  which is threaded onto the lower segment of outer tube  40  as shown. After nut  45  has been tightened against upper compression plate  46 , the upper segment of tube  40  is threaded onto the remaining threads of the lower segment of tube  40  until it is locked against nut  45 .  
         [0039]     As can be seen from the figures and especially from  FIG. 5 , the assembly allows the carrousel  60  to rotate independently of table  20  while providing rigidity and engagements that will not loosen in use.  
         [0040]     The enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of at least one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to the achievement of the above described objectives. The words used in this specification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings, but to include by special definition in this specification: structure, material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings. Thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning, then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element.  
         [0041]     The definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein are meant to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth, but all equivalent structure, material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result. In this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements described and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim.  
         [0042]     Changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and its various embodiments. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. This disclosure is thus meant to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, what can be obviously substituted, and also what incorporates the essential ideas.  
         [0043]     The scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear, here, that each named inventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended to be patented.