Shuffleboard court surface having multiple pimples for sliding a disc
A molded polymeric shuffleboard court has multiple closely spaced apart primary squares containing multiple secondary squares having open center portions to form a top surface for movement of a sliding disc. The secondary squares have an upwardly directed pimple at each corner to reduce friction caused by the sliding disc.
The invention relates to a shuffleboard court. More particularly, it refers to a shuffleboard court having a top surface containing upwardly directed pimples for enhancing the speed of discs moving over the top surface.
Shuffleboard courts have existed for many years to provide enjoyment for players at both indoor and outdoor sites as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,692. As a disc slides over a shuffleboard court, a bottom surface of the disc is in frictional engagement with the top surface of the shuffleboard court. Previously, the top surface of shuffleboard courts have been waxed or have contained small holes or perforations to reduce friction and enhance the ability of elderly players to easily slide a disc from the start line to the scoring triangle. Although friction is reduced by waxing and manufacturing small perforations in the top surface, a disc still exerts considerable friction in moving over the shuffleboard court surface. Currently, the International Shuffleboard Association has not approved any polymeric shuffleboard courts for tournament play because of the friction problem. A need exists for a still further reduction in such friction in order for a shuffleboard polymeric court to be approved by the International Shuffleboard Association for tournament play.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention provides a reduced friction shuffleboard court top surface. The shuffleboard court is made from a molded polymeric material, preferably, polypropylene. The top surface has multiple primary geometric squares closely spaced apart. Included within the primary squares are multiple secondary squares having open centers and four corners. Each corner has a molded upwardly directed pimple to create a slightly raised surface for the shuffleboard court.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention can be best understood by those having ordinary skill in the art of shuffleboard courts by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Throughout the following detailed description, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures.
Referring first to
Referring to
A group of sections 26 shown in
The primary sections 26 snap together by inserting latches 34 in corresponding openings 36. The completed polymeric shuffleboard court 10 as seen in
Equivalent elements can be substituted for the elements disclosed above to provide substantially the same results in substantially the same way.
Claims
1. In a molded polymeric shuffleboard court having a top surface configured as a grid, the grid structure consisting of multiple closely spaced apart primary squares, each primary square consisting of multiple juxtaposed secondary squares, each secondary square having four corners with an open center portion, the improvement comprising molding a raised pimple at all four corners of each secondary square whereby there is decreased friction generated by a disc sliding over the top surface.
2. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court improvement according to claim 1 wherein the polymer is polypropylene.
3. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court improvement according to claim 1 wherein there are 81 secondary squares within each primary square.
4. A molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface comprising:
- a grid structure having multiple geometric configurations and multiple upwardly raised pimples at a juncture of the geometric configurations throughout the shuffleboard court top surface to reduce friction generated by a disc sliding over the top surface.
5. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface according to claim 4 wherein the grid structure consists of multiple closely spaced apart primary squares, each primary square consisting of multiple juxtaposed secondary squares, each secondary square having four corners with each secondary square having an open center portion, the upwardly raised pimples located at the four corners of the secondary squares.
6. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface according to claim 4 wherein the polymer is polypropylene.
7. The molded polymeric shuffleboard court top surface according to claim 5 wherein there are 81 secondary squares within each primary square.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 14, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 15, 2005
Inventor: James Allen (Seminole, FL)
Application Number: 10/868,647