Bumper Air Hockey Table Top

Abstract

A structure for air hockey table top is provided, including a surface and a plurality of bumper units surrounding the surface,. The bumper units form a frame surrounding the surface with two openings located at the centers of two opposite sides of the surface to form goals. According to the present invention, the bumper units surrounding the surface are made of strong elastic material to rebound the puck to sustain the speed of the game. In addition, the bumpers may be hidden under a surrounding canopy around the surface so as to prevent from interfering with the movement of the pushers by the players. As the present invention uses no air generation and vent mechanism, the present invention provides a cost-effective and simple structure of air hockey table top for subsequent maintenance.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a structure for air hockey table top, and more specifically to a structure for air hockey table top with rubber bumper.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The air hockey is a world-wide popular game and many regional and world tournaments are held annually. The air hockey game is for two competing players to use pusher, called mallet, to push a puck to score points in the opposing goal. The conventional air hockey table top typically includes a large smooth surface, a rail surrounding the surface to keep the puck and the pushers within the table surface, and two slots located at the center of two opposing sides of the table to as the goals. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the smooth surface of the air hockey table includes a plurality of tiny holes, and a mechanism is required to generate air under the smooth surface and vent the air through the tiny holes to form a cushion air layer so as to reduce the friction between the puck and the smooth surface.

However, the air generation and venting mechanism usually makes the manufacturing cost of the air hockey table too high and subsequent maintenance complicated. It is imperative to devise a structure for air hockey table cost effective to promote the game to an even wider popularity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective structure for air hockey table top, including bumper rail surrounding the table surface so as to sustain the speed of the puck during the game to replace the air generation and venting mechanism that is expensive to manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple structure for air hockey table top, by substituting the air generation and venting mechanism with surrounding bumpers so as to simplify the subsequent maintenance.

To achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention provides a structure for air hockey table top, including a surface and a plurality of bumper units surrounding the surface, and the bumper units form a frame surrounding the surface with two openings located at the centers of two opposite sides of the surface to form goals. According to the present invention, the bumper units surrounding the surface are made of strong elastic material to rebound the puck to sustain the speed of the game. In addition, the bumpers may be hidden under a surrounding canopy around the surface so as to prevent from interfering with the movement of the pushers by the players. As the present invention uses no air generation and vent mechanism, the present invention provides a cost-effective and simple structure of air hockey table top for subsequent maintenance.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood from a careful reading of a detailed description provided herein below with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be understood in more detail by reading the subsequent detailed description in conjunction with the examples and references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a structure for air hockey table according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the structure shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows an air hockey table with an air hockey table top of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a structure for air hockey table top according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an air hockey table top 100 of the present invention includes a smooth surface 101 and a plurality of bumper units 103. Bumper units 103 are arranged close to the boundary of surface 101 to form a frame surrounding surface 101, with two openings 1051, 1053 located at the centers of opposite sides of surface 101 to form goals.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the embodiment in FIG. 1. It is worth noting that the number of bumper units in a bumper unit 103 is not limited to any specific number, and the embodiment of bumper unit in the figure is for illustrative purpose instead of restriction purpose. As shown in FIG. 2, each bumper unit 103 further includes two fixing pegs 107 and a rebounding band 109, where rebounding band 109 is held by two fixing pegs 107 to form a rebounding segment so that when the puck hits bumper unit 103, the puck will be rebounded. Rebounding band 109 is made of an elastic material, such as, elastic rubber, with sufficient rebounding strength and appropriate width so that the puck can be fully rebounded when hitting rebounding band 109. Fixing pegs 107 are fixed to surface 101 to form the two ends of a bumper unit 103. It is worth noting that while the embodiment in the figure shows that rebounding band 109 is a closed band stretched by two fixing pegs 107 from inside the loop of the closed band, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment. For example, a bumper unit 103 can also include a strip of rubber band fixed to two fixing pegs 107. In addition, the adjacent bumper units are arranged close together so that no gap exists any two adjacent bumper units. This is to ensure that the puck will always rebounded when hitting bumper unit other than openings 1051, 1053, i.e., the goals.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an air hockey table with a table top of the structure of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, an air hockey table with table top 100 of the present invention has surface 101 surround by bumper unit 103 for the puck to slide on, and openings 1051, 1053 as the goal for the puck to score. The table top of the present invention may further include a canopy covering bumper unit 103 so that bumper units 103 are hidden underneath the canopy from the top view. This may further prevent the player hitting bumper unit 103 with the pusher when playing on the air hockey table.

In summary, the structure of an air hockey table top of the present invention provides a rebounding mechanism to sustain the speed of the puck so as to replace the air generation and venting mechanism in the conventional air hockey table. The structure of the air hockey table top of the present invention is cost-effective to manufacture and further simplifies the subsequent maintenance of the air hockey table.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details described thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A structure for air hockey table top, comprising:

a smooth surface; and

a plurality of bumper units, located close to boundary of said surface, arranged to form a frame surrounding said surface with two openings located at the centers of two opposite sides of said surface to from goals of air hockey game.

2. The structure for air hockey table top as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bumper unit comprises two fixing pegs and a rebounding band, and no gap exists between any two adjacent bumper units.

3. The structure for air hockey table top as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rebounding band is made of an elastic material.

4. The structure for air hockey table top as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a canopy surrounding said surface to cover said bumper unit so that said bumper unit being hidden from the top view.