Improvements in and relating to Cushions for Billiard-tables.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 18th May, 1895-Accepted, 14th Sept.. *1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Cushions for Billiard-tables.
I, ALBERT CHESTER IVES, of 3, Adelaide Street, in the Parish of St. Martin's
in the Fields, in the County of London, Journalist, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved construction of cushion for billiard-tables,
and it consists in making them in the form of a hollow chamber, either wholly or
partially covered with rubber, the said chamber being adapted to be inflated with
air under pressure, the object being to provide a cushion which is faster, more
reliable, and requires less attention than those at present in use, and which are not
effected by change in temperature.
One method of carrying this invention into practical effect, which is given by
way of illustration only, is to take a pocket of canvas or other suitable material of
a sufficient length to form one of the cushions of a table, and to form on or fix to
the said pocket a web. This pocket is fitted with an inflatable rubber tube of any
suitable kind, and it is attached to the side of the table by inserting the web
thereof between a' loose piece adapted to be screwed down to the edge of the table,
and if desired it may also be cemented thereto, the adjacent 'face of the table
being preferably shaped to receive it. The upper side of the pocket is faced with
rubber to give the cushion the desired exterior shape.
The inflatable tubes in each of the cushions of the table are connected with
one another by means of short junction tubes or pipes, and one of the said cushions
or pipes is fitted with a suitable valve for inflating and deflating the whole of the
cushion simultaneously, a suitable gauge being provided to show the 'pressure in
the cushion.
If desired a safety valve may be fitted at any convenient part, adapted to blow
off at a predetermined pressure, so as to prevent the cushions' being inflated above
that pressure.
Dated this with day of Contember 1801
Improvements in and relating to Cushions for Billiard-tables,
1, ALBERT CHESTER IVES, of 3, Adelaide Street, in the Parish of St. Martin's
in the Fields, in the County of London, Journalist, 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:-
This invention relates to an improved construction of cushion for billiard-tables,
and it consists in making the cushion of a hollow chamber contained in a fabric
pocket and either wholly or partially covered with rubber the said chamber being
adapted to be inflated with air under pressure, the object being to provide a cushion

page_text: which is faster, more reliable, and requires less attention than those at present in
use, and which are not effected by change of temperature.
All pneumatic cushions hereto applied to billiard tables have been failures owing
to the fact that the balls when they struck the cushions had a tendency to jump
the table. Such cushions were also imperfect inasmuch as if they were made large
enough to hold the requisite volume of air to stand the impact of a smartly
driven ball the height of the cushion was increased beyond the limit considered
desirable.
By my improved construction I obtain an inflatable tube of a sufficient size to
give the increased cushioning effect under all conditions; I am able to reduce the
height of the cushion lower even than that of cushions made of rubber; and I
entirely overcome the tendency of the balls to jump the table. I also obtain a
cushion which is faster than anything yet made and is also unaffected by change of
climate or temperature, and this latter result alone is of considerable importance
and utility, for as my improved cushion never becomes hard from change of tem-
perature it does not require such care to keep it in perfect working order as the
ordinary solid rubber cushions.
I attain the object of my invention in the manner illustrated in the accompanying
drawing, which is a view in transverse section of one of the cushions of a billiard
table embodying my invention.
The frame V, bed W, and rail X are all of the usual construction. The bed W
is made of slate or other suitable material and is covered with a cloth Y stretched
over and fastened to a strip of wood y in the usual manner. The rail X also is
fixed to the bed W by means of the bolt or screw a threaded into the nut w in the
bed W in the usual manner.
The cushion consists essentially of an inflatable tube A of rubber or other
suitable material enclosed in a pocket B of canvas or other textile fabric having a
web b formed on or attached to it, and of a rubber nose or cap C to give the
cushion the necessary exterior shape.
The block D is formed with a grooved recess on its inner face as shown to
receive the inflatable tube, and in order that the position of the tube may be
absolutely accurate with the bed of the table, it is preferably produced by a
moulding machine of the exact form required and it is then afterwards cut in two
to receive the web b of the pocket B by means of a saw which leaves a space
between the two parts just equal to the thickness of the said web, so that when
the top of the block D is fixed to the lower part by means of screws such as E
the position of the inflatable tube is accurately determined. On to the top of the
canvas pocket B carrying the inflatable tube A is fixed the nose or cap C. The
cushion so formed is then covered in the usual manner with a piece of flannel Z
and cloth Q, the latter being fixed in the usual manner by means of a strip g fitting
in a recess in the top of the block D. The block D is fixed to the rail X in any
convenient manner.
The fabric pocket B may be either woven in the form of a tube with the web on
it, or it may be made out of a strip of material sewn up, the web being formed by
the free edges of the strip.
The air tube A is provided in any convenient place with a nozzle and valve for
inflation.
The several parts of the cushion of a table are connected together together by
junction pipes or tubes so that they are all inflated at the same time and
therefore all contain air at the same degree of pressure.
As a modification I may make the inflatable tube A and the pocket B with its
web ball in one piece as a compound tube, and as a further modification I may
make the nosing or cap C in one piece with the compound tube A, A, but I prefer
to make them separately as I am thereby enabled to ensure greater accuracy in
the size of the tube when inflated.
I wish it to be particularly understood that I do not limit myself to the precise
details of construction herein before described and illustrated by the accompanying

page_text: drawing, but that I hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as
fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
(1.) The herein before described combination of parts forming my improved
cushion for billiard tables and the like.
(2.) A cushion for billiard tables and the like, consisting essentially of an
inflatable tube A, a fabric pocket B, and a nose or cap of rubber C, as set
forth.
(3.) In a billiard cushion, the combination of an inflatable tube such as A, of
a fabric pocket such as B having a web such as b, and of a nose or cap of rubber
such as C, all combined, arranged and adapted to operate as and for the purpose
set forth.
(4.) In a billiard cushion, the combination of an inflatable tube such as A, of a
fabric pocket such as B having a web such as b, of a block such as D to which the
web b is fixed and of a nose or cap such as C, all combined, arranged as and for
the purpose set forth.
Dated this 18th day of May 1895.
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., M.I. Mech. E„,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.