Patent Publication Number: US-6712712-B2

Title: Butt extender having a cushion-receiving cavity for a pool cue

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of my application entitled EXTENDER FOR A POOL CUE, filed on Aug. 10, 2000 having Ser. No. 29/127,695 now issued as United States patent D444,519. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the present invention relates to pool cues and extenders for same. Further, the field of this pool cue invention relates to one that has one or more butt extenders that may easily and quickly be attached to a standard cue for breaking a rack of cue balls or for play in places having limited space. 
     EXPLANATION OF TERMS 
     My invention interfaces and operates in conjunction with pool cue apparatus for playing the sport of pool. Provided below are brief descriptions of certain relevant terms which further the understanding of the invention and provide a basis for a detailed teaching of the improvement in the art provided by this invention. 
     Pool Cues 
     All pool cues whether one piece or detachable for ease of carrying and handling have both a tip and a butt end. On the butt or base end a cushion is normally attached by a screw with the cushion serving to protect the cue from damage when same comes into contact with the floor. This invention modifies the butt end of a standard pool cue by boring a threaded receiving female hole through the center of the butt cushion where it is ready to receive a male threaded stub of an extender. 
     Butt Extender 
     An extender is sized to fit the butt end of a pool cue and has at its forward end a cavity to receive the butt cushion and a center-located threaded bolt that is sized to mate with the threaded bore in the center of the cue cushion. One or more butt extenders may be connected in tandem in that some of the extenders are adapted at the butt end to receive other extender sections. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The game of pool, whether at pastime or professional level, requires various cue sizes, weights and capabilities. Each pool player has his own cue that may be one piece or more often is a sectional device for ease of handling and carrying. Each cue in a ready to play condition has a tip and a butt end. 
     For the casual player - particularly at home - the pool table may be placed in a crowded area that requires dexterity and inventiveness to carry out some shots around posts and other obstructions surrounding the pool table. One or more extender sections of this invention may take the place of the butt section of a modified pool cue for use in such tight space environments. Such a cue is referred to as “modified” in that its cushion and base end must be adapted to the inventive principles mentioned above under the pool cue and butt extender definitions. 
     DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
     Turning now to the prior art, a search was done by the patent Office for the parent design application and the Examiner cited some art of peripheral relevance. The examination and allowance of the earlier parent application resulted in citation of the following patents. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,370 to Mortellacci (July, 1985) 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,197 to Parsons (April, 1995) 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,003 to LeBeau (September, 1997) 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,019 to Taylor (September, 2000) 
     U.S. Design Patent D-370,955 to Fisher (June, 1996) 
     The above listed patents have only a very limited relevance and do not achieve either the structure or the functions of the invention as disclosed and claimed herein. 
     The advantages and inventive nature of my apparatus and method over the aforementioned body of prior art is significantly two fold. First, a user can effectively attach one or more extenders to a modified pool cue. These extenders can vary the usable length and weight of a pool cue so adapted. 
     Additionally, should a user want to achieve a heavy weighted cue for breaking a rack of balls, the extender series each have cavities that house a user-selected series of weight rings so that a user&#39;s particular break requirements may easily and quickly be met by use of my invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The butt extender of this invention fits over the butt end cushion of a pool cue and is adaptable for play in tightly obstructed table areas. Moreover the butt extender has the capability of regulating the weight in the extender portions by a series of weight rings. My method invention includes the novel steps of placing a bore in the center of a butt end cushion in order to receive an extender section that has a male threaded post to mate with the threads of the bore, which extender has a cushion-receiving void that houses the butt cushion of the cue. 
     My pool cue extender may consist of a series of extender sections of differing lengths. Such extenders are adapted to threadably fit within a modified prior art pool cue. That cue has, at its butt end, a cushion that has been bored centrally along the longitudinal axis of the cue. The inner surface of that bore is threaded to mate with a longitudinally aligned and threaded extender stub which protrudes from the front of an extender section. A cushion-receiving cavity surrounds the stub and is adapted to house the cue cushion when the extender has been added to the modified pool cue. 
     Further, my extender invention provides a deep elongated cushion-receiving cavity to additionally receive and house a series of washer-like weight rings, some of which have slightly oversized openings that may be dropped over the threaded extender stub before the extender itself is screwed unto the modified pool cue. The outermost weight ring is also threaded such that the extender houses and conceals both the cue cushion and the user-selected weight rings when in an attached condition for play. 
     Further yet, my extender comes in a series of differing lengths so that any user may select the length and weight that suits him for playing pool. The extender unit may easily and simply be added or removed from the cue without disrupting play and may be carried within the users pocket or case for convenience sake. 
     OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object to provide a longitudinal and threaded bore through the butt cushion of a pool cue in order to modify the cue so that it may receive my extender invention. 
     It is an object to provide a series of extender sections that may be installed by a user on a pool cue in order to vary the weight and the length to suit that particular user. 
     It is an object to provide a series of both threaded and unthreaded weight rings that may be housed in a forward or rearward facing cavity which is provided at either end of an extender section. 
     It is an object to provide for simple hand attachment/removal of pool cue extenders to conceal and house a pool cue cushion in a forward facing cavity of an extender. 
     It is an object to provide a weight ring spanner wrench that allows the user to tighten threaded weight ring(s) around a protruding stub of an extender. 
     It is an object to provide a method and apparatus which easily and simply adjusts the length and weight of a pool cue by use of a series of extender and weight ring combinations. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a standard prior art pool cue; 
     FIG. 2 is another plan view of one extender for a pool cue depicted in an attached position on the lower or butt section of a modified pool cue; 
     FIG. 3 is another plan view showing two extender sections attached to a modified pool cue; 
     FIG. 4 is a cross section of FIG. 2 taken along the lines  4 — 4  and showing a single extender section housing a pool cue cushion on the butt end of a pool cue; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross section of FIG. 3 taken along the lines  5 — 5  and showing two tandem-connected extender sections housing a pool cue cushion and an extender cushion as well; 
     FIG. 6 is a partial cross sectional view showing three weight rings received in and concealed within a cavity in the forward facing end of an extender section; 
     FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of a single extender for a pool cue; 
     FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the extender of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is an exploded view of FIG.  6  and depicts the novel method of installing weight rings along the longitudinal axis of an extender stub and cavity; 
     FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view showing threaded and non-threaded weight rings aligned for placement in the forward facing cavity of an extender and against the base or butt cushion of a pool cue or another extender section; and 
     FIG. 11 shows a spanner wrench for tightening a threaded outer weight ring unto a threaded extender stub in accordance with my invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S) 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of a standard prior art pool cue  10  having a tip end  11  and a butt end  12 . At the base of butt end  12  is a cushion  13  that is normally fastened to the butt section by a screw or other suitable fastening means. Such a prior art cue  10  may be either of the continuous one piece or of the break down variety as both are well known. A break down variety has a centrally positioned coupling  14  for joining the two sections  11  and  12 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 2, one extender  25  of my invention may be joined manually to a modified pool cue  10  of FIG.  1 . Sectional line  4 — 4  taken along the modified and extended cue  30  of FIG. 2 shows the nature and extent of modification required for a prior art cue  10  of the type shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross section showing that the cushion  13 , FIG. 1, has been provided with a central longitudinally positioned bore  41  that extends through the recess area normally occupied by a screw (not shown). Bore  41  extends into the butt end proper of the cue base  38  and has a fitting  42  that is secured to the base  38  by any suitable means such as cement or the like. Fitting  42  has a continuous series of internal threads  44 . 
     Butt extender  25  has a forward facing concave cavity  50  and a bore  52  for housing a male stub  55  that is threaded at an exposed forward end thereof to mate with the threads  44  of the cue  30 . Extender stub  55  is secured by cement or otherwise in the extender cavity and is centrally positioned for mating alignment with the butt end of modified cue  30 . 
     At the other end of extender  25  may be located a standard cushion  13  which is fastened to the base of extender  25  by a screw  16 . This extender  25  may be carried in a pocket or purse pack of the player for convenience of attachment/removal as play demands. 
     FIG. 3 depicts a cue  30  having a multiplicity of extenders in use. Sectional arrows  5 - 5  on FIG. 3 depict a cross sectional area along both extenders  60  and  65 . As shown in FIG. 5, extender  60  has both opposed ends bored and provided with a stub  55  in the manner earlier described for FIG.  4 . Additionally, however, FIG. 5 depicts that extender  60  has, at the opposed - or rearward - end remote from stub  55  a cushion  13  that has been bored and fitted with internal threads in the manner earlier described for the forward facing end of the extender  25  of FIG.  4 . Extender  60  is thus attached to a cue as required for play but in this instance the user has elected to add an additional weight free extender  65  in tandem with extender  60 . 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 show in perspective views the general configuration of both ends of an extender such as extender  60  of FIG.  5 . FIG. 7, has the bore  41  of FIG. 4 clearly depicted as well as depicting the stub end of a threaded shaft  55 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 6, an enlarged section shows that the deep elongated cavity  50  has been provided with three weight rings  70 ,  72  and  74 . These rings have been seated in the closed end of cavity  50  and the deepest rings  70  and  72  are shown lacking any threads, whereas ring  74  has mating threads that allow outermost ring  74  to be threaded securely unto the stub shaft  55  of extender section  65 . 
     FIGS. 9 through 11 demonstrate the manner in which a user may choose to select and install weight rings  70 ,  72  and  74  for any given play situation which may be encountered. FIG. 9 depicts in dashed lines a centrally positioned longitudinal axis through the center of stub shaft  55  and bore  41 . Such weight rings may take the form of heavy washer-like configuration and may be selected of steel, lead or other suitably heavy material as is well known in the art. 
     Rings  70  and  72  have centrally positioned oversized openings  80  and  82 , respectively, such that they may easily be slipped over the stub shaft  55 . A central bore  84  for outermost weight ring  74  is suitably threaded to engage and mate with stub shaft  55  of extender  60 . This outermost weight ring  74  additionally is provide with a pair of span recesses  78  that are diagonally located on a weight ring diameter for ring  74 . 
     FIG. 11 depicts a spanner wrench  90  having a pair of opposed prong inserts  85  which are adapted to tit within the indents  78  of weight ring  74 . A user simply spins weight ring  74  unto stub  55  and throat  95  of wrench  90  is deep enough to allow tightening of ring  74  into place in cavity  50  of FIG.  9 . Obviously only three weight rings have been shown but any suitable number are available to the user in order to allow such an artisan to select the length and weight of cue a particular play situation requires. 
     While my invention has been described with reference to a particular example of preferred embodiments, it is my intention to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims. It is therefore requested that the following claims, which define my invention, be given a liberal interpretation which is within the spirit and scope of my contribution to this art.