Cue rest for clamping on a table edge

A cue rest for attachment to a suitable support such as the table top includes two opposed jaws with jaw surfaces for engaging opposed sides of the support. The jaws are connected for relative pivotal movement and are spring biased to the clamping position. Each jaw has a manually engageable portion on a side of the pivot axis opposite to the jaw surface and arranged such that the jaws can be moved to the release position by manual squeezing of the manually engageable portions. A generally U-shaped receiving surface is provided on at least one and preferably both of the jaw members, the receiving surface defining an open mouth at an edge of the manually engageable portion opposite to the jaw surfaces for receiving and cradling the cue within the receiving surface.

This invention relates to a cue rest of a type which can be damped onto a 
table edge and which provides a receiving surface against which a cue can 
be rested. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Players of games such as billiards, snooker and pool all use a cue which, 
for players of any skill, requires careful protection to ensure 
particularly that the sliding surfaces adjacent the tip of the cue are 
maintained smooth and accurate. 
Pool halls which are particularly designed for these games often have a 
rack which allows the cue to be stored in a carefully protected location 
to avoid possibility of it being knocked or dropped. 
However in recent years the game has expanded to many other locations which 
are not properly equipped with the racks. Thus the player often has to 
resort to simply leaning the cue against a side of the table when not in 
use. This can lead to the cue being knocked and, as it is not properly 
restrained, it can fall to the ground with the danger of scuffing, denting 
or marking the sliding surfaces. 
One device has been proposed for solving this problem which provides a 
metal base with a screw clamp at one side. The screw clamp simply 
comprises a threaded pin which is rotated manually to drive a head at the 
end of the pin into engagement with a suitable surface on the table. On 
the exposed face of the device away from the table is provided a moulded 
receptacle of a foam material which is bonded onto the metal base. While 
this device goes someway toward solving the problem, the device proposed 
is unsatisfactory from a practical point of view. Firstly the screw clamp 
is difficult to apply so that it cannot be applied and removed quickly. 
The device is therefore more of a permanent nature but this may be 
unsatisfactory since it can be located in an area which causes the device 
to interfere with proper access. Secondly the screw clamp requires the 
pinching effect of the head of the screw which can mar the table. Thirdly 
the foam material can rapidly break down and break away from the metal 
base so that the device is unsatisfactory for repeated or extended use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an 
improved cue rest of a type which can be rapidly attached to and removed 
from a suitable supporting surface such as a table and provides a 
receptacle for the cue to rest the cue in a secure position. 
According to the invention there is provided a cue rest comprising: a first 
jaw member defining a first jaw surface for engaging one side of a support 
member; 
a second jaw member defining a second jaw surface for engaging an opposed 
side of the support member; the first and second jaw members being 
connected for relative pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the jaw 
surfaces so as to be movable from a clamping position engaging the support 
member in a direction to increase the spacing between the jaw surfaces to 
release the support member; a spring biasing the jaw members to the 
clamping position; each jaw member having a manually engageable portion on 
a side of the pivot axis opposite to the jaw surface and arranged such 
that the jaw members can be moved to the release position by manual 
squeezing of the manually engageable portions; and a generally U shaped 
receiving surface on at least one of the jaw members, the receiving 
surface including two sides and a base with an open mouth at one edge of 
said at least one jaw member for receiving and cradling the cue within the 
receiving surface. 
Preferably the receiving surface is located at a suitable position in the 
manually engageable portion of said at least one of the jaw members which 
can be at the rear edge but could also be at other locations around the 
portion. 
Preferably the manually engageable portion has a wall portion generally 
parallel to the jaw surface such that with the jaw surface engaging a 
horizontal support member the wall portion is horizontal with the 
receiving surface at one edge. 
Preferably the wall portion is of constant thickness with a top surface and 
a bottom surface both of which are substantially horizontal. 
Preferably the receiving surface is arranged in the edge of the at least 
one jaw member, which edge faces away from the pivot axis. 
Preferably each of the jaw members has a receiving surface therein with the 
receiving surfaces being vertically aligned to receive the cue in vertical 
orientation. 
Preferably each jaw member comprises a substantially horizontal plate 
having the jaw surface at one end and the manually engageable portion at 
the opposed end and wherein each plate includes a pair of side walls 
extending at right angles to the plate, the side walls of one plate having 
overlapping parts relative to the side walls of the other plate for 
defining the pivot axis between the overlapping parts and parallel to the 
plates. 
Preferably the depending sides are aligned with parts of reduced thickness 
overlapped. 
Preferably the plates are substantially identical in plan view and are 
aligned so that one directly overlies the other. 
Preferably the receiving surface forms an arc of a circle extending over an 
angle greater than 180.degree.. 
Preferably the receiving surface is dimensioned such that the cue is a 
loose fit therein. 
Preferably the receiving surface has a layer of a resilient material for 
engaging the cue. 
Preferably so at least one of the jaw members has two receiving surfaces 
arranged side by side for receiving two cues side by side.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts 
in the different figures. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The following description uses terms for describing the parts of the device 
and their relative location which relate to the device in its normal 
operating orientation as shown in the drawings, although it will be 
appreciated that the device can be rotated to other orientations in which 
the terms may no longer be applicable. 
The cue rest as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 comprises a first jaw 
member 10 and a second jaw member 11 which are mounted for pivotal 
movement about a transverse pivot pin 12. The jaw members are 
substantially identical and arranged in directly overlying position. Each 
jaw member comprises a horizontal plate 13 with a substantially planar top 
surface 14 and a substantially planar bottom surface 15 spaced by the 
thickness of the plate 13. In plan view the plate is substantially 
rectangular so as to define a forward edge 15, a rearward edge 16 and two 
side edges 17 and 18. The side edges are slightly concave so that the 
width of the plate is slightly less at the centre adjacent the pivot pin 
12 then at the forward and rearward edges. The forward edge 15 is slightly 
convex. Each of the corners is smoothly rounded so as to provide an 
attractive appearance. 
At the rear edge of each plate is provided a receiving surface 19 which is 
cut through the thickness of the plate so as to define an open mouth 20, a 
base 21 opposite the open mouth and two sides 22 and 23. The base 21 and 
the sides 22 and 23 form a smoothly curved shape which is substantially 
part circular and extending over an angle greater than 180.degree. such 
that the sides converge inwardly. Thus the open mouth 20 is slightly 
narrower than the maximum width between the sides which occurs at the 
centre 24 of the part circular shape. The sides 22 and 23 smoothly curve 
into the end surface 16 which forms thus two separate end surface portions 
16A and 16B defining in effect a pair of lobes. Thus the surface is 
rounded or smoothly curved from the sides 22 around the lobes defined by 
the surface portion 16A and 16B and onto the sides 17 and 18. 
The receiving surface may also carry a thin layer of a resilient material 
to avoid marring the surface of the cue. However the receiving surface is 
formed substantially wholly by the material of the jaw members which is a 
molded plastics material and is substantially rigid since it accepts the 
forces necessary for opening and closing the jaws as they clamp the 
surface. The receiving surface is therefore resistant to damage by 
repeated insertion of the cue. 
The plate carries two depending side walls 30 and 31 which lie at right 
angles to the plate each at a respective side edge of the plate. The walls 
30 and 31 extend forwardly from the pivot pin 12 to a front edge 32 which 
is spaced rearwardly of the forward edge 15 of the plate. The walls extend 
rearwardly to a rear edge 33 which is spaced forwardly of the rear edge 16 
of the plate. Thus each plate has a jaw surface 35 defined rearwardly of 
the front edge 15 and in front of the edges 32 which can clamp onto the 
top and bottom surfaces respectively of a suitable member located 
therebetween. The location of the side walls ensures that the side walls 
are spaced from the receiving surface 19. 
The walls 31 and 32 thus are directly aligned one on top of the other as 
best shown in FIG. 4. However the wall of the upper plate includes a 
recessed section 30A on the inside surface thereof and the wall of the 
bottom plate includes recessed section 30B on the outside surface thereof 
so that the walls can overlap at the recessed sections. The overlapping 
portions 30A and 30B have a hole 30C for the pin 12 so that the pin passes 
through the overlapping sections and allows pivotal movement of the two 
plates relative to each other to occur around the axis 12A of the pin. A 
spring 36 is mounted on the pin and wraps around the pin with two end 
portions 36A and 36B engaging respective ones of the jaw members so as to 
close the jaw member in a direction to provide a clamping action between 
the jaw surfaces 35. 
The top or outer surfaces of the jaw members are substantially smooth and 
flat. Also the bottom surfaces are generally smooth and flat so that the 
clamping surfaces 35 are also flat. However these may have slight raised 
ribs for additional grip or may include an applied layer of a resilient 
material to avoid marring of the surface to which the clamping jaws are 
attached. 
In operation, the cue rest is relatively small and compact and therefore 
can be carried simply in the pocket of the user. Its size is not 
significantly greater than that of a paper type clip. The product is 
manufactured from a suitable moulded plastics which provides smooth 
attractive surfaces. 
The device can therefore be readily removed from the pocket and attached to 
a suitable table edge by pressure on the rear ends of the jaw members 
squeezing them together to open the jaw surfaces. The spring holds the 
device onto the table edge with the rear edge 16 exposed away from the 
table edge. A cue 40 can then be rested in the receiving surface with the 
cue being received as a loose fit inside the part circular shape defined 
by the base and sides of the receiving surface. The cue engages into the 
aligned receiving surfaces of the top and bottom jaw members as shown in 
FIG. 3. The cue is thus held securely in place in that a simple knock in 
any direction other than directly in the direction of the mouth will 
ensure that the cue is held in place and cannot topple to the ground with 
the potential of damaging impacts. As the mouth is in the rear surface of 
the device facing away from the table impacts tend not to be in this 
direction. As the receiving surface is loose around the cue and the mouth 
has a width slightly greater than the width of the cue, there is no 
frictional engagement with the cue so there is little possibility for 
damage to the lobes surround the receiving surface and no marring of the 
cue. 
The cue can be readily removed for use and replaced in its stored position 
when not in use. 
When the player moves from a particular table, the player can readily grasp 
and remove the device simply by squeezing the exposed rear ends of the jaw 
members and can take the device to another table where the player may be 
playing next. 
In FIG. 5 is shown a modified arrangement in which the rear surface 16C 
includes two receiving surfaces 19A and 19B which are substantially 
identical to those previously described. Such an arrangement therefore can 
be used for both of the cues of the two players at a table. The device is 
of course of increased width to accommodate the two receiving surfaces. 
Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above 
described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made 
within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such 
spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the 
accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and 
not in a limiting sense.