Apparatus for Propelling Billiard, Bagatelle, and the like Balls.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Propelling Billiard, Bagatelle, and the like Balls.
ROBERT ANTHONY THOMPSON, Glenlyn, Effra Road, Wimbledon, Surrey, Clerk,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
My invention relates to a novel method of playing the games of billiards,
bagatelle, and the like. I take a tube of any suitable material & of any suitable
length and of a bore slightly larger than the balls to be played with and placing
a ball therein the latter is impelled over the board by being blown through the
tube by the players breath.
To the above tube I may attach a second tube preferably of india rubber or the
like and a mouth-piece of any suitable form and material. Or the mouthpiece may
be replaced by an elastic bulb.
Dated this 20th law of Nov 2007
I, ROBERT ANTHONY THOMPSON, of Glenlyn, Effra Road, Wimbledon, in the
County of Surrey, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to a novel method of playing billiards bagatelle and other
games by means of an air gun or pneumatic ejector.
Now according to this invention I provide a tube of metal or other suitable
material the said tube being of any convenient length and diameter.
The bore of the tube is preferably slightly larger than the diameter of the balls
or other projectiles with which the game is played.
The gun or ejector which may be either muzzle or breech loading is provided
at the breech end with a flexible pipe to the free end of which I attach a suitable
mouth piece or a hollow elastic compressible bulb or ball so that on blowing through
the mouthpiece or suddenly squeezing or compressing the bulb or ball (herein-
after called the bulb) the players breath or the air contained in the bulb is forced
into the barrel of the gun or ejector.
To ensure proper working of the apparatus I may insert a piston in the tube
forming the barrel of the gun or ejector which piston is free to move backwards

page_text: and forwards in the said tube the said piston being formed or packed so as to move
airtight in the tube.
The piston is prevented from leaving the barrel by any suitable means.
The gun or ejector being loaded by placing a ball or other suitable projectile
therein the said projectile is discharged by blowing into the tube or by suddenly
squeezing or compressing the bulb the air in which is forced into the barrel behind
the piston (which acts as a gas check) or behind the ball or projectile if no piston
is used.
And in order that my said invention may be fully understood I will proceed to
explain the same with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawings in which:-
Fig. 1 represents section of an apparatus for propelling billiard bagatelle and
other balls constructed according to this invention.
Fig. represents alternative form of the same apparatus.
The same letters denote the same parts in all the figs.
a is a tube of metal or other suitable material having a smooth cylindrical bore.
is a piston fitting the said tube accurately but able to move freely from one
end to the other thereof without allowing escape of air between the outside of the
piston and the bore.
One way of making the said piston is by forming a series of grooves in the
periphery of a cylinder of vulcanite wood metal or other suitable material, or the
piston may be merely one or more discs of felt clamped between discs of wood or
other suitable material.
Pistons so formed are light and airtight. The piston is prevented from leaving
the tube by any suitable means for example a hole may be formed in the tube a
short distance from the muzzle as shewn at d Fig. 1 so that when the piston has
passed the said hole the air escapes and the piston comes to rest.
Or the piston may be secured in the tube by means of a piece of string k or other
suitable material secured at one end to the piston and at the other end to the
tube a or to a piece of wire e passing through the muzzle n.
f is an elastic compressible bulb connected to the tube a by means of a flexible
pipe so that when the bulb is squeezed or otherwise compressed the piston is
forced to the muzzle of the tube a and when the bulb is released the piston bis
drawn back to the breech end of the said tube.
In some cases I may omit the flexible pipe and attach the bulb f to the tube a.
As shewn by Fig. 2 the flexible pipe terminates at the free end in a suitable
mouthpiece in which case the projectile or ball is discharged from the tube a by
the player blowing into the said tube through the mouthpiece.
Although this method of construction is cheaper than the bulb yet on hygienic
grounds I prefer to use the bulb.
By means of the apparatus hereinbefore specified and the requisite number of
balls or marbles several games may be played bagatelle table football and others
for example.
In some cases as for instance when the apparatus is to be used for playing
billiards I make the piston in the form of a cylinder having an approximately
conical or other suitably shaped head tipped with indiarubber or leather the said
piston being much longer than usual and when at the one end of its travel the
tipped head projects beyond the muzzle of the tube as shewn by dotted lines
Fig. 2 thus enabling the apparatus to be used in place of the ordinary cue instead
of placing the ball to be played within the tube a.
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:
1. Apparatus for propelling billiard bagatelle and other balls consisting of a
tube to receive the ball and a means whereby air may he forced into the said tube
behind the ball by the players breath or otherwise.
2. In an apparatus for propelling billiard and other balls the combination of

page_text: a tube a a piston b moving therein the travel of the said piston being limited by
a suitable stop or stops and a compressible elastic bulb f attached to the tube a
behind the piston by means of a flexible pipe y or otherwise all substantially as and
for the purpose specified.
3. Apparatus for propelling billiard bagatelle and the like balls constructed as
shewn by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of August 1898.
T. E. HALFORD,
11, Furnival Street, London, E.C., Agent for Applicant.