An Attachment to Billiard Tables by which the Balls Falling into either the Spot or Centre Pockets Return to Baulk End of Table.
Year: 1893

page_text: The decision of the Comptroller-General, of the 15th day of June 1895, allowed,
under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883, an Amendment of this
Specification.
Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 23rd June, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Attachment to Billiard Tables by which the Balls Falling into
either the Spot or Centre Pockets Return to Baulk End of
Table.
HENRY KELLY Clerk 12 Cheethams Court Sidney Street Bolton ROBERT
STUART, Spring Maker 184 Fletcher Street Bolton JOHN LAWLOR, Contractor
97 Weston Street, Great Lever, Bolton, Lancashire do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
The attachment to tables consists of brackets and rods forming an inclined plane.
In the event of a ball or balls falling into either the spot or centre pockets which
are so arranged that the ball or balls are allowed to fall into the said inclined
plane and so proceed automatically to the baulk end of the table.
Dated this Twenty-aighth dox of November 1893.
HENRY KELLY.
ROBERT STUART.
JOHN LAWLOR.
An Attachment to Billiard Tables by which the Balls Falling into
either the Spot or Centre Pockets Return to Baulk End of
Table.
HENRY KELLY 12 Cheetham's Court Sidney Street, Bolton Clerk, ROBERT
STUART 184 Fletcher Street, Bolton, Spring Maker, JOHN LAWLOR 97 Weston
Street, Great Lever near Bolton, Contractor, 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 the attachment to billiard tables of a framework of
rods of metal or other material, running the whole length of longer sides and
terminating in short arms round the ends of the table and fixed in an inclined
position falling to baulk end of table. (See Fig. 1.)
When a ball falls into a pocket it is passed on to these rods and runs by force
of gravitation to within easy reach of the player's hand at baulk end.

page_text: The object is to enhance the comfort of the player making hazard strokes and
to obviate the clumsy practice of dipping the hand into the pocket which soils and
wears the cloth at those parts.
This invention relates also to the arrangement of the pockets by which the balls are
allowed to fall or are passed onto the inclined plane formed by the rods placed at the sides
of the table. From an ordinary pocket the bottom is removed and there is fixed
instead, by a C steel spring, a drum-shaped trap, D (made of brass or other
material) open to the pocket to receive the ball and open to the rods R that the
ball may pass through.
But Pressing against the under-side of this trap is a metal tongue, fixed T pivoted
to it by a straight bar b of wire, upon which the tongue can rise and fall see-saw
fashion. Fig. 2.
The tongue, when at rest, is maintained in a horizontal position by a weight W
at its wider end. But a billiard ball falling through the pocket counter overbalances
the weight and presses down the tongue, T'upon which it rolls to the rods R and
proceeds down the incline to the baulk end, the tongue, meanwhile, forced up by
the weight at its wide end, resumes its horizontal position against the bottom of
the trap. The rods Krest on brackets B fixed to the side of the table. Each
bracket consists of two parts one fixed by being screwed to table and having a
perforated flange F. The U shaped part of bracket is slotted and perforated so as
to fit flange on which it can slide up and down and may be fitted to it at different
elevations by a pin p passing through the perforations. The object of this is to
make it easy to reverse the direction of the incline, lowering the elevated end and
raising the other end when it is desired to interchange the spot and baulk ends of
table. Fig. 4.
Provision is also made for trap D and tongue T to be reversed or interchanged
when the spot end is made the baulk end.
For The trap with tongue is held in position by the C spring S which is fastened
to network of pocket. Contracting this spring immediately releases trap. It is
then turned through a half circle and fitted again on to spring S which by its natural
expansion on removal of pressure catches firmly to the trap D under a rim at the
top. Fig. 6.
The rods are covered by cloth or other material so that the balls may run almost
noiselessly and suffer no injury.
For the better understanding of this invention we have caused the accompanying
drawings to be appended.
Fig. 1 shows elevation of a billiard table with our invention attached. R rods,
B brackets, D drum-shaped trap T tongue W weight.
Fig. 2. I. Elevation of tongue, trap & weight enlarged scale from Fig. 1.
Dotted lines shew position of tongue when in action.
II. Plan of same shewing fixed bar of wire b.
III. Elevation of weight.
Fig. 3. I. Plan of rods with ball in motion.
II. Elevation of same.
III. Another elevation of same.
Fig. 4. I. Plan of bracket.
II. Elevation of bracket shewing flange F pin p and U bracket.
Fig. 5. Plan of framework of rods for one side of table.
Fig. 6. I. Elevation of pocket with our trap attached. P pocket, D drum-
shaped trap S spring.
II. S. Plan of C steel spring.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is.

page_text: 2. Breaking the fall of the ball by causing it to roll down a tongue on to rods.
3. Cansing tongue to resume horizontal position by action of a weight,
4. Reversing direction of incline by brackets having-moveable-parts-fixed-by
pins.
5. Reversing tongue or interchanging traps--and tongue by means of a
C-spring.
6. Preventing noise & wear of balls by covering the rods.
7. Fixing trap to network of pocket by means of C-spring.
8. And for whole arrangements by which these operations are carried out.
1. An attachment to billiard tables for returning the balls from the pockets consisting
of a framework of rods R and supporting brackets B fixed in an inclined position along
the sides of the table extending the whole length of the longer sides and terminating in short
arms at the ends substantially as described.
2. An attachment for billiard tables for returning balls from the pockets consisting of
rods R and supporting brackets B forming inclined planes placed at the sides of the table
in combination with the trap D and balanced tongue T affixed to the bottom of the pockets
whereby the balls are allowed to fall, or are passed, from the pocket to the inclined plane
substantially as described.
3. An attachment for billiard tables constructed and arranged in combination
substantially as described and shewn and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 3rd day of April 1894.
HENRY KELLY.
ROBERT STUART.
JOHN LAWLOR.