Top Mounted Ball Spotting Rack and Method of Racking Billiard Balls

Abstract

An improved billiards ball spotting rack for the compact and precise formation of a plurality of billiard balls that operates by resting on top of and in contact with said billiard balls. The top mounted ball rack consists of a rigid frame and a series of aligning features that induce all of the balls into a tight position in contact with each adjacent ball. The design of the aligning features is such that a secondary compressing action required by ball spotting racks of prior art, commonly performed by pressing the balls with the fingers or thumbs or by the use of a moving mechanical device, is not necessary to achieve a compact and precise formation where every ball is in contact with every adjacent ball.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In billiard and pocket billiard games, it is customary to begin each game or stage with a compact grouping of a plurality of balls, commonly known as a “rack,” in a formation on the playing surface of a table and placed in such a manner that each ball is in contact with all of the balls adjacent to it. This contact is essential for an accurate, consistent and proper manner of play. Ball spotting racks of prior art operate by means of a framework that loosely surrounds the balls and requires the application of a secondary compressing action to move the balls, either by personal (human) touch (such as with U.S. Pat. No. 228,879 6/1880 DeGeatano) or the use of a mechanical device (such as with U.S. Pat. No. 8,911,299 12/2014 Day), into a tight and compact arrangement. Ball spotting racks of prior art then require removal of the rack without disturbing the balls commonly by sliding the rack slightly forward out of contact with the balls and then carefully lifting it up past the balls. It is in these secondary actions that errors in racking can occur resulting in a formation of balls that are not all in contact with one another (commonly known as a “loose rack”). This invention improves the manner in which the billiard balls are grouped together by eliminating the possibility of any ball not being in contact with all adjacent balls and eliminating the need for a secondary movement of balls to form a compact grouping.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various versions of the invention are described below. These versions are examples only and are not intended to restrict the invention to the exact features and appearances of the versions depicted herein. The distinguishing characteristic of this invention from ball spotting racks of prior art, which loosely surround the balls and require the operator to physically apply a compressing action to move the balls into a compact position, is that the invention is placed on top of and in contact with the billiard balls and by its design induces the balls into precise position in contact with one another without the need for additional compressing actions required by ball spotting racks of prior art. Furthermore, particular versions of the invention may be used to assemble different formations with various numbers of balls with equal accuracy and effect. Many billiards and pocket billiards games use fewer than fifteen balls in alternate formations. While some ball spotting racks of prior art may still be used for some of these games, the lack of precision inherent in their operation is increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Legend:

10—Rigid Frame

11—Aligning Features

12—Shaped Edge of Aligning Feature

B—Billiard Ball

T—Table or Playing Surface

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a version of the invention capable of arranging up to fifteen billiard balls in the common triangular configuration, up to nine balls in the common rhombus configuration, and up to seven balls in the common hexagonal configuration.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 1 illustrating fifteen billiard balls present in the aligning features.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 2 illustrating how the invention is supported by the billiard balls and does not contact the playing surface.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a version of the invention capable of arranging up to nine balls in the common rhombus configuration, and up to seven balls in the common hexagonal configuration.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 5 illustrating nine billiard balls present in the aligning features

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a version of the invention capable of arranging up to nine balls in the common rhombus configuration, and up to seven balls in the common hexagonal configuration.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 8 illustrating nine billiard balls present in the aligning features

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the version of the invention shown in FIG. 1 illustrating an alternate formation and quantity of billiard balls.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a the version of the invention shown in FIG. 1 illustrating how the invention may be used as a ball tray suitable for transportation, storage or display of a plurality billiard balls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is more fully described below with reference to the drawings that depict possible versions of the invention. These versions are provided to illustrate the operation of the invention and are only examples of how the invention may appear and are not limiting to the scope of the invention. There are many possible versions of the invention, including alternate ball configurations and quantities, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention.

Where the operation of the invention is described, the steps indicated are illustrative only and not restrictive. Where a sequence of steps is described, alternate sequences are possible. Billiard balls are depicted in the drawings to illustrate how the invention operates and the billiard balls are not part of the invention.

The terms “adjacent ball” and “immediately adjacent ball” are used interchangeably and refer to a plurality of balls that are directly next to each other and physically capable of being in contact with each other and do not refer to balls which may be in close proximity to each other, but are physically separated by one or more intervening balls.

A version of the invention (herein after referred to as the “top mounted ball rack”) capable of arranging up to fifteen balls is shown in FIG. 1 and is further illustrated with fifteen billiard balls in FIG. 2. The top mounted ball rack consists of a rigid frame 10 and a series of aligning features 11. The aligning feature is shaped such that when it engages a ball, it induces the ball toward the center of the aligning feature (herein after also referred to as “centering action”). In each of the versions depicted herein, the aligning feature 11 is a circular hole or cutout through the rigid frame 10. Other aligning features are possible, such as a semi-circular recess in the frame or any other shape that induces the ball toward the center of the aligning feature such as an equilateral triangle or polygon. The edges 12 between the horizontal surfaces of the frame 10 and the vertical sides of the aligning features 11 are shaped to facilitate the centering action of the ball B to the aligning feature 11. The shape of the edges 12 may be of any form that facilitates the centering action of the ball within the aligning feature 11. The aligning features are arranged such that the distance between the exact center point of one aligning feature to all immediately adjacent aligning features is slightly less than the diameter of the billiard balls. Because each ball is induced to the center of its respective aligning feature and the distance between adjacent aligning features is slightly less than the ball diameters, the balls are forced into contact with each other. The top mounted ball rack rests on top of and is supported entirely by the plurality of billiard balls and uses its weight in combination with the aligning features to induce the balls into contact with each other as illustrated in FIG. 2, FIG. 6, FIG. 9, and FIG. 11. The top mounted ball rack may be made of any sufficiently rigid material or combination of materials including, but not limited to metal, wood, and plastic.

The best mode of arranging fifteen billiard balls into a triangular configuration commonly used to begin a billiards or pocket billiards game is carried out by loosely placing three balls on the playing surface in a triangular pattern and placing the rigid frame on top of the balls such that the three center aligning features engage the balls. The remaining balls are subsequently slid under the sides of the top mounted ball rack causing the frame to temporarily rise slightly until the ball is induced toward the center of its respective aligning feature. This action is repeated until all balls are in place as illustrated in FIG. 2 and the top mounted ball rack is completely supported by the billiard balls as illustrated in FIG. 4. The top mounted ball rack is lifted vertically off of the billiard balls resulting in a precisely compact grouping of balls in which every ball is in contact with each adjacent ball.

The best mode of arranging balls into alternate configurations such as a rhombus shape of nine balls commonly used in pocket billiards, or a hexagonal shape of seven balls, is identical to that described above. It is not necessary that each aligning feature of the top mounted ball rack contain a respective ball in order to function properly, as illustrated in FIG. 11. This is especially useful in the pocket billiards game commonly known as “straight pool” when fourteen balls are repeatedly racked in a fifteen ball triangular formation during the course of a game. Any number of balls, up to and including the number of aligning features in the top mounted ball rack, will be in precise contact with any ball immediately adjacent to it. For instance, the top mounted ball rack depicted in FIG. 1 which is capable of arranging fifteen balls may be used with equal precision for the nine ball rhombus configuration as illustrated in FIG. 11 and the top mounted ball racks depicted in FIG. 5 and FIG. 8 may be used with equal precision for the seven ball hexagonal configuration.

Claims

1. A ball spotting rack for the compact and precise arrangement of billiard balls on a table comprising of a rigid frame containing a series of precisely located aligning features.

2. A ball spotting rack according to claim 1, wherein said aligning features are in any quantity from three to fifteen inclusive.

3. A ball spotting rack according to claim 1, wherein said aligning features consist of any shape that induces said billiard balls to align their geometric centers with the geometric center points of the respective aligning feature (herein after referred to as “centering action”).

4. A ball spotting rack according to claim 2, wherein the edge between the horizontal surface of said rigid frame and the vertical surface of said aligning features is shaped in any manner which facilitates the centering action.

5. A ball spotting rack according to claim 1, wherein the said aligning features are arranged and located in such a manner that the distance between the geometric center points of said aligning features is sufficiently less than the diameter of the said billiard balls that said billiard balls are induced into contact with one another.

6. The ball spotting rack according to claim 1, which operates by resting on top of and in contact with a plurality of billiard balls.

7. The ball spotting rack according to claim 6, which induces said plurality of billiard balls into a precise formation wherein each ball is in contact with each adjacent ball without the need for a secondary compressing action.

8. The ball spotting rack according to claim 6, that rests on top of and is supported entirely by a plurality of billiard balls and does not contact the playing surface upon which the billiard balls are located.

9. A ball spotting rack according to claim 6, which induces any plurality of billiard balls up to and including the number equal to the quantity of aligning features in said rigid frame into any precise formation made possible by the quantity and arrangement of said aligning features.

10. A ball spotting rack according to claim 1, which may also be used as a ball tray for storage, transportation or display.