Abstract:
The present invention is pool or billiard table having a system of multiple local section, wedge leveling devices secured in recesses in a support frame, which allow a user to precisely and in very small increments adjust sectionwise leveling of a slate slab.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is broadly directed to leveling of a slate slab or slabs as horizontal playing surface for a billiards sport table, and, more particularly to devices and a method for highly localized control of leveling of that slate slab. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of playing surfaces require leveling in order to permit proper movement of playing pieces thereon. Certain games, such as billiards and pool and the like, are very sensitive to proper leveling in order to fairly allow the balls to travel on the surface. Specifically, the preferred playing surface of a billiard or pool table is a smooth, horizontal slab of slate up to six by nine feet in width and length and from three quarters to one inch thick. The weight of this slab (apart from that substantial structure and frame to support it) can weigh up to 900 pounds. 
     The billiard sports comprise sports using a cue and a table for individual games such as billiards, pool, carom, and snooker, where tables for carom and snooker are generally larger than the pool table. 
     The width of slates for these tables can be shorter than six feet, the length can be longer than nine feet, the thickness can be thinner or thicker than one inch. Some pool tables comprise a slate with a thickness of around one and one fourth inches. For the snooker and carom tables, the width, the length, the thickness are much different than for a pool table, where the thickness for snooker and carom tables are often at 45 mm, 50 mm, or 60 mm. 
     the slates size could be any width, any length, any thickness. 
     The slate slab may be provided in a single piece or in a number of pieces which are positioned side by side on top of a support frame, typically having two horizontal, lengthwise outer sections joined with multiple cross pieces, where the support frame is thereby supported by at least four sturdy legs. It is common that, for the purposes of maintaining a level playing surface for pool or billiard balls, the playing surface of the slate slab is generally not level with respect to the overall frame, or it is locally not level with respect to horizontal portions of the slate slab. 
     Such local variations in leveling of the slate slab is predictable, in that the pool table support frame is usually made of some type of wood, which expands and contracts with humidity and compresses differentially across its horizontal support structure over years of support not only the weight of the slate slab, but also the constant upper body compression applied to it by pool players, which compression is most likely to be greatest in a central area of the slate slab. 
     There is a need for a carefully distributed set of leveling devices across the underside surface of the slate slab easily operable to perform local leveling of small portions of the horizontal sections of a pool table, but which are also have increased density of leveling devices across a central section of the slate slab. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is pool or billiard table having a system of multiple local section, wedge leveling devices secured in recesses in a support frame, which allow a user to precisely and in very small increments adjust sectionwise leveling of a slate slab. 
     Further, the invention system provides for hiding the wedge leveling devices by way of the nature of the wedge leveling devices being accessible for adjustment by way of horizontal access to the head of an adjusting bolt and reducing the overall size of the wedge leveling devices for secreting them away in the recesses created in the support frame pieces. 
     The wedge leveling devices have a wedge piece and a corresponding wedge incline integral with a device box, which has an open top and a floor defining the wedge incline. A drive mechanism comprises an adjustment bolt that is threadedly engaged with one end of the device box so that a distal end of the adjustment bolt is engaged in the wedge piece and turning the adjustment bolt results in movement of the wedge piece up or down on the wedge incline, thereby causing a cover piece to respectively lift or lower a local section of a slate slab located just above the cover piece. 
     With respect to locations of the invention leveling wedge devices with respect to the support frame, a unique combination of head-to-head arrangement of two invention wedge leveling devices for a single local section of the slate slab is disclosed for cross-pieces of the support frame, recognizing that the additional compression and stress upon the central sections of the slate slab away from a peripheral section of the frame will regularly receive impression of nearly the full upper body weight of a player, requiring a greater degree of fine adjustment to that local section as provided by two closely located wedge leveling devices. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide fine, small increment leveling adjustment to a pool or billiard table by way of multiple wedge leveling devices located in recesses in a support frame in peripheral and cross piece parts of that support frame. 
     Various objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings submitted herewith constitute a part of this specification, include exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and features thereof. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded, perspective view of a wedge leveling device according to the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the wedge leveling device of  FIG. 1  with a cover piece shown in an exploded position. 
         FIG. 3  is a side and cutaway view of the wedge leveling device of  FIGS. 1 and 2  assembled and located in a recess in a support frame, which the assembly of which supports a slate slab (shown in side and cutaway view) so that the cover piece can be raised to provide local leveling of the slate slab. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a recess in the support frame shown in cutaway view in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a support frame and a portion of a slate slab with recesses in the support frame supporting and enclosing wedge leveling devices. 
         FIGS. 6, 7 and 8  are alternate representations of wedge leveling devices in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded, perspective view of a wedge leveling device according to the invention comprising a support box  10 , a wedge piece  11 , and a lock piece  12 . Support box  10  comprises side walls  14 , front section  17  and rear section  27 , defining a space between them and having a floor forming a wedge incline surface  16 . Side walls  14  comprise guides  15  that are integral with wedge incline surface  16  and are adapted to guide wedge piece  11  along wedge incline surface  16  when its bottom surface  32  is engaged with the wedge incline surface  16  in operation. Sections  17  and  27  respectively comprises sides  37  and  36 , which, along with bottom surface  28  of support box  10 , respectively contact side walls and a floor of a support frame recess parts  45  and  46  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , bolt  19  comprises a head  20 , an outer shaft  20 , a threaded inner shaft  23  (shown in broken lines), and an end shaft  24  (in which is defined a lock groove  25 , which is adapted to engage inside surfaces of slot  35   a  of lock tab  12 , where slot  35   a  is defined in the body  35  of lock tab  12 ). Optionally, a threaded nut  18  (shown in broken lines) is fixed within the front section  17  to threadedly engage threaded inner shaft  23  so that rotation of head  20  causes bolt  19  to move inward or outward with respect to front section  17 . 
     Wedge piece  11  comprises a bottom incline surface  32  adapted to substantially surround end shaft  24 , thereby allowing tab  12  to be inserted in through slot  30  to lock wedge piece  11  to bolt  19  at groove  25 , when the separated pieces of  FIG. 1  are engaged together. Wedge piece  11  further comprises a front face  33  which is adapted to oppose an inside surface of section  17  when properly connected with support box  10  and sidewalls  31  also adapted to slidingly engage and be guided by guides  15  when wedge piece  11  is urged up or down wedge incline surface  16  in operation. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the wedge leveling device of  FIG. 1  with a cover piece  13  shown in an exploded position relative to the assembled support box  10 , bolt  19 , wedge piece  11 , and tab  12  (not shown, but having been inserted into slot  30 ). Cover piece  13  comprises a U-shape cross section piece having side walls  38  and a top joining section  39 . Inside surfaces of sidewalls  38  engage outside surfaces of sidewalls  14  of support box  10  then cover piece  13  is properly assembled, whereby an underside of top joining section  39  contacts the top surface  29  of wedge piece  11 , thereby resulting in a fully assembled wedge leveling device. 
       FIG. 3  is a side and cutaway view of the wedge leveling device of  FIGS. 1 and 2  assembled and located in a recess (comprising sections  45  and  46 ) in a support frame  43 , which the assembly of which supports a slate slab  41  (shown in side and cutaway view) so that the cover piece  13  (of which top joining section  39  is shown in cross section and contacting slab underside  42  can be raised or lowered to provide local leveling of the slate slab  41 , by rotation of bolt  19 , whereby the entire wedge leveling device is not integrally part of the support frame  43  but merely rests upon floor  47  of sections  45  and  46 . In preferred embodiments, a top surface of top joining section  39  is equal or less than 3 inches by 3 inches, more preferably equal to less than 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches to accomplish the objects of the invention of highly local leveling of slab  41 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a recess in the support frame  43  (shown in cutaway view) where the recess is defined by a large section  46  adapted to contain the support box  10  covered with the cover piece  13  and access section  47  is defined by a smaller recess with openings into large section  46  and an outside surface of support frame  43 , whereby a user can insert a tool, such as a ratchet bearing an appropriately sized socket, to rotate the head of bolt  19  to cause wedge piece  11  to move up or down wedge incline surface  16 , thereby further causing cover piece  13  to rise or lower with respect to underside  42  of slab  41  and adjust local leveling thereby. Support frame  43  comprises multiple recesses comprised of sections  45  and  46 , preferably uniformly along peripheral sections and cross pieces of the support frame  43 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a support frame and a portion of a slate slab with recesses in the support frame  43  supporting and providing recesses for the invention wedge leveling devices. End frame  49  is shown with three recesses  201 . Side frames  100  comprise engaged cross pieces  50  and  51 , whereby recesses  200  are formed adjacent to the location where cross pieces  50  and  51  engage with side frames  100 . Further, head to head recesses  203  and  204  are formed in a center part of cross pieces  50  and  51 , whereby recesses  200 ,  203  and  204  comprise an operative group of locations for the invention wedge leveling devices so that leveling of the essentially continuous support surface of the cross pieces  50  and  51  and their connection locations to side frames  100  can be most effectively controlled. 
     Alternate Specific Description 
       FIGS. 6, 7 and 8  are alternate representations of wedge leveling devices in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , invention leveling equipment consists of main panel  100 , cover panel  300  and several of LevelBox  200 . The LevelBox has pedestal  210 , the first shift block  220 , the second shift block  230 , the bolt  240 . The pedestal  210  is a top opening box which has front wall  211 , back wall  212 , side walls  213 . The first shift block  220  is with high front and low back surface. When the bolt  240  shift around the main axis, it drives the second shift block  230  to move along the high and low surface on first shift block  220 . There is the screw thread in the hole on the back wall  212 . The first end of bolt  240  connects back wall  212 , the second end connects the second shift block  230 . Through the high and low surface on the first shift block  220 , the vertical pressure from the cover panel  300  can change into the horizontal power on bolt  240 . Through the horizontal power and the pressure, friction from first shift block  220  to the second shift block  230 , with all these powers to support the cover panel  300  which reduce the effects to the bolt  240 , further to protect the bolt  240 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , on a second shift block  230 , there is a latch  250 , a fillister  231 , the second hole  232 , stuck piece  251 . There is a circle groove  214  on the second end of bolt  240 ; a lead rail  215  set on the side wall  213 . The lead rail  215  set on side wall  213 , parallel with the surface of first shift block  220 . A location limitation part (not shown) is located between the second shift block  230  and lead rail  215 . There may be the ball bearing on the lead rail  215  so as to reduce the friction during the moving of second shift block  230 , further for the convenient leveling. Based on need, inlayed nut  214  may be located in the first hole. It can enhance the strength of the screw thread to prolong the using life. 
     With reference to  FIG. 8 , there is a top cover  260 , set atop and move with the second shift block  230 . Also side blocks  261  which are inside side walls  213 . Slot  216  and the location limitation part  217  set on both side walls  213 . The fastener  262 , set inside side blocks  261 . Slot  216  and fastener  262  to control the shifting highest height of top cover  260  to avoid derail.