US3576324A - Adjustable billiard cue bridge - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable billiard cue bridge of usual outline, a horizontal slider at the rear face thereof, integral spring fingers on the slider, a series of recesses in the bridge to receive the spring fingers in releasable latching adjusted position.

Description

I United States Patent 1111 3,576,324

[72] Inventor Rodolph Lareau [56] References Cited Fllchburs UNITED STATES PATENTS in No 211 11 3 1969 2,817,525 12/1957 Niemann 273/23 [45] gf 1971 3,081,999 3/1963 Harris 46/lX 9 [73] Assignee Extension Bridgehead Inc. FOREIGN PATENTS 3,112 12/1903 England 273/23 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Attorney-Charles R. Fay [54] ADJUSTABLE BILLIARD CUE BRIDGE 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: An adjustable bllliard cue bridge of usual [52] US. Cl 273/23 outline, a horizontal slider at the rear face thereof, integral spring fingers on the slider, a series of recesses in the bridge to [51] 15/00 receive the spring fingers in releasable latching adjusted [50] Field of Search 273/23,46 position.

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II I I .:'::ll| 30!) )K I/U 1-- Z6 Z6 Z4 PATENTEU m ml fiocZoZ aiz Larecnu 3y ADJUSTABLE BILLIARD CUE BRIDGE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a positive but inexpensive adjustable cue bridge of plastic, the bridge being of usual conformation with notches at the top edge and the ends to guide the cue as usual, there being an undercut groove in the rear face of the bridge slidably guiding and flatly holding a slider to the rear face, the slider being longitudinally adjustable in its guide and having a spring finger adjacent each end to latchingly snap into any selected one of a series of spaced-parallel recesses under the slider and in the bridge to temporarily hold the slider where desired. The rod to hold the bridge is attached to the slider and the bridge can be used horizontally or vertically with a maximum of extent of adjustment, because the undercut edges of the groove hold the slider firmly in position in conjunction with the spring finger latch in any position of adjustment of the slider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation;

FIG. 2 is an end view looking in the direction of a row 2 in FIG. I, and

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the extent of adjustment possible.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The bridge is generally indicated at and comprises a flat plate of conventional design at the forward face thereof. At its rear face it has a flat groove 12 with undercut side edges 14. This groove extends from end to end of the bridge and is open at both ends.

An elongated slider 16 having beveled edges 13 slidably fitting the undercuts M slides in the groove. The slider has a flat bottom which slides in contact with the flat bottom of the groove.

A pair of longitudinal spring fingers 20 are located in corresponding slots 22 in the slider and have free ends with transverse lugs 24 thereon adjacent the ends of the slider. These legs protrude slightly from the lower surface of the slider and ride resiliently on the bottom of the groove, maintaining bevels 18 against the undercuts.

The bottom of the groove has a series of spaced-parallel notches or recesses 26 therein which selectively receive a lug 24.which snaps into each recess 26 forming a releasable temporary latch for the slider, holding it in its selected adjusted position at either end of the bridge. FIG. 3 shows the slider in one extreme position wherein the cue can be guided as in notch 30 at a very elevated position from the table, the lower lug 24 being held in the highest recess 26. The slider can be thus located and held a plurality of different degrees of extent.

The slider has two end cue guide notches 30 and when the slider is located centrally of the bridge, it conforms exactly to the shape of the latter, lying completely behind it so that it is invisible from the front, FIG. 1, if the bridge is opaque. The slider also has a boss 32 for the rod 34 that acts as a handle.

The fingers 20 may be integral with the slider or attached in some convenient manner.

Whereas the slider may be of any length and may in fact extend outwardly from both ends of the bridge member, it is preferred that it shall be exactly the same length as the bridge 10 and should be provided with indentations at the ends thereof coinciding with the indentations at the side edges of the bridge. On the other hand if it should be desired, the slider can be longer than the bridge member as is indicated in FIG.

Iclaim:

1. Adjustable billiard cue bridge comprising a plate element having a top edge with a series of cue receiving notches therein, a rear face, a longitudinal groove in said rear face, said groove extending along the series of notches, a slider element in said groove, means on the slider element for the application of a handle thereto, said slider element being movable along said groove to project at either end of said plate element to varying degrees, and interengaging means between the elements for temporarily holding the slider element in selected adjusted position, said interengaging means comprising a spring-pressed member on one of the elements and a corresponding receptive member on the other of the elements, and a notch at at least one end of the slider element.

2. The one bridge of claim 1 wherein said interengaging means comprises a series of transverse grooves in the bottom of the groove in the plate element, the spring-pressed member comprising a spring finger integral with the slider element and a projection at the free end of said spring finger.

3. The cue bridge of claim 1 wherein the side edges of the groove are undercut and the slider element has beveled edges fitting therein for a light frictional sliding contact therewith, the spring-pressed member tending to engage the bottom of the groove and yieldingly resisting sliding action of the slider element with respect to the plate element, tending to tighten the bevel on the slider element against the undercut side edges of the walls of the groove.

Claims (3)

1. Adjustable billiard cue bridge comprising a plate element having a top edge with a series of cue receiving notches therein, a rear face, a longitudinal groove in said rear face, said groove extending along the series of notches, a slider element in said groove, means on the slider element for the application of a handle thereto, said slider element being movable along said groove to project at either end of said plate element to varying degrees, and interengaging means between the elements for temporarily holding the slider element in selected adjusted position, said interengaging means comprising a spring-pressed member on one of the elements and a corresponding receptive member on the other of the elements, and a notch at at least one end of the slider element.

2. The cue bridge of claim 1 wherein said interengaging means comprises a series of transverse grooves in the bottom of the groove in the plate element, the spring-pressed member comprising a spring finger integral with the slider element and a projection at the free end of said spring finger.

3. The cue bridge of claim 1 wherein the side edges of the groove are undercut and the slider element has beveled edges fitting therein for a light frictional sliding contact therewith, the spring-pressed member tending to engage the bottom of the groove and yieldingly resisting sliding action of the slider element with respect to the plate element, tending to tighten the bevel on the slider element against the undercut side edges of the walls of the groove.

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