A Game to be Played on a Board with a Spring Cue and Discs or Balls.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Game to be Played on a Board with a Spring Cue and Discs or Balls.
I, ESSEX HOLCOMBE, of Allensmore Court, Tram Inn R.S.O., Herefordshire,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
The board may be made of any suitable material preferably wood & of any
size or shape preferably oblong 4 feet by 2 feet it may rest on legs or placed on
an ordinary table; round the edge of the board is a ledge about ½ inch high. &
1/2 inch wide in which are pockets (like a billiard table) or other suitable recep-
tacles; in various places against the ledge are fix'd small blocks of india-rubber
from which the discs or balls rebound. The cues may be made of any suitable
material preferably cane & of any dimensions preferably 2 feet long & inch
in diameter at the butt tapering to about 1 inch at the point & the tube through
which the cue passes should be about six inches shorter & for preference made
of nickel-inside this tube is fix'd a wire spiral spring through which the cue
passes or instead of this the cue may be attached to the tube by a small india-
rubber band at the butt (in either case the cue would project about 2 inches
beyond the tube here & about 4 inches at the other end). The discs may be
made of any suitable material preferably wood & of any shape preferably round
about 1 inch in diameter & ½ inch thick & the balls of composition about 4 inches
in circumference.
Dated this Ninth day of April 1898
I, ESSEX HOLCOMBE, of Allensmore Court, Tram Inn R.S.O., Herefordshire,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:
My invention has for its object a new game to be played on a board with a
spring cue and discs or balls having slightly flattened surfaces. My new game
while being easy to understand requires considerable skill and practice before

page_text: being able to play it in a satisfactory manner while at the same time the board,
spring cue and discs can be produced to sell at a reasonable price and do not
require any more room for manipulation than is usually to be met with in
any ordinary room.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood and more easily carried
into practice I have appended hereunto one sheet of drawings upon which I
have fully illustrated the nature of my said invention together with the mode
of and means for carrying the same into effect.
Figure 1 is a general view of the board, spring cue and disc with game in
course of operation.
Figure 2 is an enlarged view of one of the corner pockets.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 but shewing the mode of removing the
disc from the pocket.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal elevation of the spring cuc.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a view of one of the discs.
Figure 7 shews a modification of Figure 6.
In carrying my invention into effect I form my board A. either of polished
wood, or of any other suitable material which may be covered with glazed
American or other similar cloth etc. and having corner pockets E side pockets E
and end pocket E. In connection with this board A I provide several discs C
ranging from say 3 to 12 in number according to the game to be played and the
spring cue B which consists of the outer tube B with an inner rod b¹ which
may be retained in the forward position shewn by the expansion of the coiled
or other suitable spring 62 so that by drawing back the head 63 of the inner
rod and allowing to go again when the cue is in the required position the
discs C are driven as may be desired for going into the pockets or by canoning
or other varieties of movements as may be by the rules of the game being played.
Apertures for the pockets E, E and E2 are formed in the edge of the board
and the leather or other flexible guards or stops H are provided to stop the
dises and cause them to drop into the shallow receptacle J provided to receive them
and from which they can readily be removed by pressing back the flexible guards H
with the fingers as shewn in Figure 3. As the discs C are liable to rebound
from the guard on to the table the metal hangers Fare pivoted to hang upon
the spindle f and while allowing the discs C to enter they prevent their rebound
back to the table. Rubber pads K may be provided for the rebound of the discs
at required angles and a thin strip of rubber k may be provided round the edges
to receive the concussion of the disc at the side.
The disc C may be formed slightly concave on one side so that when desired
the rate of their travel may be retarded while the cues are tipped at 2 with cork
or india rubber.
The board may be mounted on legs A¹ so as to rest upon an ordinary table
at the most convenient height for playing and the requisite spring of the cue
may be provided by a connecting rubber band between the outer tube B and
the head of the stem 63. I may vary the shapes and arrangements of_the_board
pockets and cue without departing from my invention as for instance I may use
a ball such as shewn by Cat Figure 7 whereby additional difficulty is encoun-
tered in keeping the ball C¹ sliding on its flat face and preventing it from
rolling. Small holes may be provided round the outside bottom ledge of the
board for receiving pegs for scoring purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1st. In a new game the combination of the board A spring cue B and discs C
substantially such as and for the purpose herein set forth and illustrated.

page_text: 2nd. The combination of the pockets E E¹ or E and hangers F substantially
as and for the purpose herein set forth and illustrated.
3rd. The spring cue such as B substantially as and for the purpose herein
set forth and illustrated.
Dated this 1st day of December 1908
LEWIS WM. GOOLD,
Agent for Applicant, 5, Corporation Street, Birmingham.