Cue Pod

Abstract

A cue holder having a base with an upper surface. An elongated support having an elongated extending channel open along one side ahs one end secured to the upper surface of the base so that the axis of the support intersects vertical at an acute angle and so that the channel opening opens upwardly from the base.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a holder for pool cues.

II. Description of Material Art

In order to play the game of billiards or “pool”, at least one pool cue is utilized by the players to strike the cue ball, and as with a more professional atmosphere, anywhere from two to four pool cues are utilized by the same player. More typically, however, each player has his or her own pool cue or cues.

There are previously known cue racks which hold the pool cues when not in use. There are three basic types of previously known cue racks or holders.

In one type of previously known cue rack, the cue rack is mounted on the wall, in a specific area of the game room. This type of cue rack includes a ledge on which the base of the cue is positioned. In order to hold the cue or cues to the rack, a snap coupling mounted to the rack resiliently engages a midpoint of the cue as it is either inserted into or removed from the cue rack. The racks hold a specified quantity of cue sticks and the player must sort through all cue sticks to locate that player's cue stick. The player must either hold his or her own cue stick in the hand, lean against a wall or table, or travel to and from the centralized location of the wall mount cue rack. This type of cue rack provides for no mobility.

A second type of pool cue storage comprised little more than a basket into which pool cues were inserted and removed, and also are located in a specific area of the game room. The insertion and removal required a lifting motion, enough to clear the retaining holes in the said basket or holder. The racks hold a specified quantity of cue sticks and the player must sort through all cue sticks to locate that player's cue stick. The player must either hold his or her own cue stick in the hand, lean against a wall or table, or travel to and from the centralized location of the floor model cue rack. This type of cue rack provides for little mobility due to its size, weight, and bulkiness.

A third type of cue holder also comprised of little more than a cylindrical basket on foldable tripod legs. The insertion and removal required a lifting motion, enough to clear the top of the cylindrical basket. The holder holds one cue stick only. Its design allowed for a great deal of movement of the cue stick in the holder, thus allowing the potential for damage to any cue stick. This unit is cumbersome to unfold, or fold. This holder through its design does not have the capability to match game room decor.

These previously known cue racks, however, all suffered from a number of common disadvantages. One disadvantage of these previously known cue racks is that it was awkward to both insert the cue into the rack as well as to remove the cue from the rack or holder. Since the pool cue is oftentimes stored in the rack numerous times during a single game, the awkwardness of utilizing these previously known pool racks detracted from the overall enjoyment of the game.

A still further disadvantage of these previously known pool cue racks is that such pool racks by their nature were generally immobile. In many situations, however, it would be desirable to have a pool rack or holder which could be easily manually moved when desired for more convenient temporary storage of the cue, such as next to the table or seat of the pool player, without the cumbersome task of lifting, or fear of knocking over a lightweight individual holder.

A still further disadvantage of these previously known pool cue racks is that such racks seldom, if ever, match the décor of the game room. For that reason, the previously known pool cue racks were found objectionable to those persons who desired a coordinated décor.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides a cue holder which overcomes all of the above mentioned disadvantages of the previously known pool cue racks.

In brief, the cue holder of the present invention comprises a base having an upper surface The base may be constructed of any suitable material, such as wood, and this material may be selected to match the game room décor. This base is also of sufficient weight as to keep the holder in place without allowing the holder to fall over from the weight of the cue stick.

The cue holder further includes an elongated support having a longitudinally extending channel. This channel has a longitudinally extending opening along one side of the support as well as a longitudinally extending bottom.

One end of the support is secured to the upper surface of the base so that an axis of the channel intersects vertical at an acute angle. Furthermore, the support is positioned so that the channel opening is positioned above the channel base.

In operation, the butt of a pool cue is positioned on the base with the lower end of the channel. Thereafter, the pool cue is leaned against the bottom of the channel so that the support supports the pool cue in an upright, but slightly angled position. Whenever use of the cue is desired, the pool cue may be simply pivoted out of the channel and used.

In order to protect the pool cue from scuffing from the support member, preferably a protective lining, such as felt, is provided on the support within the channel. Similarly, in order to prevent the pool cue from slipping off of the base, a shallow pocket is optionally formed in the upper surface of the base which receives the butt end of the pool cue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

A better understanding of the present invention will be had upon reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top view thereof;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view thereof;

FIG. 5 is an exploded elevational view thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 4

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

With reference first to FIGS. 1-4, a preferred embodiment of a cue holder 10 of the present invention is shown. The cue holder 10 includes a base 12 having an upper surface 14. A bottom 16 of the base 12 is adapted to be supported on a floor 17 (FIG. 4)

The base 12 generally rectangular or round in shape although other shapes may optionally be used without deviation from either the scope or spirit of the invention. Furthermore, any material may be utilized for selection of the base 12 which enables the base 12 to be designed to match the décor of the pool room. For example, the base 12 may be constructed of wood, plastic, metal, laminate, etc. Furthermore, the base 12 is designed with sufficient weight to maintain the holder in an upright position with the cue stick 30 placed in the cue holder.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6, an elongated support 18 includes an elongated channel 20 extending between the ends 22 and 24 of the support 18. This channel 20 is generally U-shaped and includes both an elongated opening 26 as well as an elongated bottom 28. This channel 20, furthermore, is dimensional to receive an end of a conventional pool cue 30 and preferably includes a protective lining 32 (FIG. 4) which protects the pool cue 30 from scuffing or other damage. The protective lining 32 may be made of any conventional material, such as felt and can also match game room décor.

With reference now particularly to FIGS. 4 and 5, the end 22 of the support 18 is mounted in any conventional manner to the upper surface 14 of the base 12 so that a longitudinal axis 34 (FIG. 4) of the support 18, and thus a longitudinal axis of the channel 20, intersects a vertical 36 at an acute angle 38. Furthermore, the support 18 is positioned such that the channel opening 26 is positioned above the channel base 28 and, as such, the channel 20 is open in an upward direction.

Any conventional means may be utilized to secure the support 18 to the base 12. For example, the support 18 may be secured to the base 12 by an adhesive, fasteners, and/or the like. FIG. 5 illustrates a pair of dowels 23 used to secure the support 18 to the base 12 as on exemplary attachment means.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 4, in order to utilize the cue holder 10 of the present invention, a butt 40 of the pool cue 30 is positioned within the channel 20 at the lower end 22 of the support 18. The cue 30 is then pivoted into the channel 20 so that, upon release, the bottom 28 of the channel 20 supports the pool cue 30 in a generally upright position, albeit at a slight acute angle relative to vertical, within the channel 20. When use of the cue 30 is desired, the cue is simply pivoted out of the channel 20 and used.

As best shown in FIG. 4, in order to ensure that the pool cue 30 is firmly, but removably, retained to the cue holder 10, a pocket 42 is optionally formed in the upper surface 14 of the base 12 so that the pocket 42 is aligned with the channel 20 of the support 18. With the butt 40 of the pool cue 30 positioned within the pocket 42, the pocket 42 prevents the pool cue 30 from unintentionally slipping off of the base 12.

Although the invention has been described as utilizing a single support 18 secured to a single base 12, it will be understood that multiple supports 18 may be secured to a single base 12 in order to either temporarily, or permanently store multiple pool cues.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention provides a cue holder which may be easily used to either temporarily, or permanently store pool cues. Furthermore, the cue holder of the present invention may be easily manually moved, and thus enjoys portability over many of the previously known cue holders. Furthermore, the cue holder of the present invention allows for ease of placement, retention, and acquisition of pool cue 30 without cumbersome movements by the player. Furthermore, since the base 12 as well as the support 18 may be made in a wide variety of different materials, the cue holder may be designed to match virtually any desired room décor.

Having described my invention, many modifications thereto will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains without deviation from the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cue holder comprising:

a base having an upper surface,

an elongated support having a longitudinally extending channel, said channel having a longitudinally extending opening and a bottom, said support having one end secured to said upper surface of said base so that an axis of said channel intersects vertical at an acute angle and so that said channel opening opens upwardly from said base.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 and comprising a packet formed in said upper surface of said base, said pocket being aligned with said channel.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 and comprising a protective lining positioned in said channel.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said lining comprises felt.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said base is generally rectangular or round in shape.

6. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said channel is U-shaped.