Patent Abstract:
A billiard cue has a main body formed of one or more segments which are connected end to end. At least one segment consists of an outer casing which is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material and is covered with a wooden sheath and a protective layer. The billiard cue is not prone to deformation and is provided with appearance of a wood texture.

Full Description:
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/604,738, Jun. 28, 2000, abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a billiard cue, and more particularly to a billiard cue which is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material and is covered with a wooden sheath for lending the wood texture to the billiard cue. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The billiard cue of a wooden material is vulnerable to deformation due to the climatic factors as well as the ageing of the wooden material. The billiard cue of a fiber-reinforced plastic material is free from the deficiencies of the wooden billiard cue described above; nevertheless the billiard cue made of the fiber-reinforced plastic material lacks wooden texture of surface characteristic of the wooden material. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the primary objective of the present invention to provide an improved billiard cue with wooden texture of surface characteristic of the wooden material. The billiard cue is not vulnerable to deformation caused by the ageing of the billiard cue as well as the climatic factors. 
     It is another objective of the present invention to provide an improved billiard cue which is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material, so as to reduce the consumption of the timber resource. 
     It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an improved billiard cue which is versatile in structure and appearance. 
     It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an improved billiard cue with a shock-absorbing means. 
     In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objectives of the present invention are attained by a billiard cue having a rodlike main body. The main body is made up of one segment or a plurality of segments. At least one segment consists of an outer casing of a fiber reinforced plastic material, a wooden sheath covering the outer casing, and a protective layer covering said wooden sheath. The billiard cue is not vulnerable to deformation and is provided with texture which are characteristic of a wooden material. In the meantime, the billiard cue of the present invention makes contribution to the timber conservation. 
     The main body of the billiard cue of the present invention is versatile in construction in that the main body may be made up of a plurality of segments which are made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material, and a plurality of segments which are made of a wooden material and arranged alternately with the segments of the fiber-reinforced plastic material. 
     The main body of the billiard cue of the present invention is provided with a shock-absorbing body which is made of a plastic foam material and is disposed in one of the segments. 
     The foregoing objectives, features, functions, and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a front view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a sectional view taken along the direction indicated by a line  2 — 2  as shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the sectional view being taken along the direction similar to that of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 shows a front view of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 shows a front view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 shows a front view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 shows a front view of a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a billiard cue  10  of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  12  of a tapered construction. The main body  12  is provided at the tip thereof with a leather head  14  fastened therewith, and at the bottom end thereof with a bumper  16 . 
     The main body  12  is formed of only one segment and has an outer casing  122  which is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting fiber-reinforced plastic material, such as a plurality of carbon fiber fabric plates which are preimpregnated with epoxy resin and stacked together before being wound. The main body  12  further has a hollow interior  124 , and a wooden sheath  126  covering the main body  12  and made of a wooden material, such as a thin wooden skin, a thin bamboo skin, a wooden film, a bamboo film, etc. 
     The wooden sheath  126  covers the whole surface of the outer casing  122 . In fabrication, the wooden sheath  126  is wound round the outer casing  122  and fixedly adhered to the surface of the outer casing  122 . According to the present preferred embodiment, the thickness of the wooden sheath  126  is about 0.1 mm. However, it is acceptable to have the thickness of the wooden sheath  126  within the range of 0.05 mm˜1.0 mm. 
     Furthermore, there is a protective layer  125  covering said wooden sheath. The protective layer  125  is made of transparent or semitransparent fiber material, for example, non-woven fabric, fiber reinforced plastic film, or epoxy resin-coated fiberglass film, and covered over the whole surface of the wooden sheath  126 . The presence of the protective layer  125  protects the wooden sheath  126  against impact of external objects, without keeping the color pattern of the wooden sheath  126  from sight. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, a billiard cue  20  of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  22  with an outer casing  222  of a fiber-reinforced plastic material, a wooden sheath  224 , a protective layer  225 , and a hollow interior  226  in which a core  24  of a PU foam material is disposed. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, a billiard cue  30  of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  32  consisting of a first segment  34  and a second segment  36 , which are connected end to end. The first segment  34  is made of a wooden material. The second segment  36  has an outer casing (not shown in the drawing) of a fiber-reinforced plastic material, a wooden sheath  362  covering the outer casing, and a protective layer (not been seen in the drawing) covering said wooden sheath  362 . The first segment  34  and the second segment  36  are fastened detachably or undetachably. The main body  32  is of a tapered construction such that the first segment  34  is smaller in diameter than the second segment  36 , or vice versa. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, a billiard cue  40  of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  42  formed of two segments which are connected end to end. The first segment  44  has an outer casing  442  which is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting fiber-reinforced plastic material and is devoid of a wooden sheath covering the periphery thereof. The second segment  46  has an outer casing (not shown in the drawing) which is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting fiber-reinforced plastic material and is covered with a wooden sheath  462  and a protective layer (not been seen in the drawing) covering said wooden sheath  462 . The first segment  44  and the second segment  46  are interchangeable in position. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, a billiard cue  60  of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  62  formed of three segments which are connected end to end. The first segment  64  has an outer casing (not shown in the drawing) which is made of a fiber-reinforced plastic material and is covered with a wooden sheath  644  and a protective layer (not been seen in the drawing) covering said wooden sheath. The second segment  66  is made of a wooden material. The third segment  68  has an outer casing  682  of a fiber-reinforced plastic material. These three segments are different in diameter and interchangeable in position. The fiber-reinforced plastic material of which the outer casings of the main body  62  are made may be either thermoplastic or thermosetting. 
     As shown in FIG. 7, a billiard cue  70  of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention has a rodlike main body  72  formed of four segments which are connected end to end. The first segment  73  is made of a wooden material. The second segment  74  has an outer casing which is made of a thermoplastic reinforced plastic material. The third segment  75  has an outer casing of a thermosetting reinforced plastic material. The fourth segment  76  has an outer casing which is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting fiber-reinforced plastic material and is covered with a wooden sheath  762  and a protective layer (not been seen in the drawing). These four segments form the main body  72  having a large diameter, an intermediate diameter, and a small diameter. 
     The embodiments of the present invention described above are 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. The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scopes of the following appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0