Cushion bumper for coupling a butt extension with a pool cue and a pool cue with the cushion bumper   

Abstract: A replaceable cushion bumper for coupling a butt extension with a butt end of a pool cue is disclosed. The cushion bumper includes a male stub to be screwed into the butt end and a cushion overwrapping the male stub. The male stub includes a female thread extending through the center so as to receive a male thread of the butt extension. The cushion also includes a bumper bore extending to the female thread of the male stub so as to receive the male thread of the butt extension. A pool cue with the cushion bumper is also disclosed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention relates to a cushion bumper for coupling a butt extension with a pool cue, and a cue with the cushion bumper. In particular, the present invention relates to a removable cushion bumper inserted into a butt section of a pool cue so as to receive a butt extension.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

At both of entertainment and professional levels, when a ball to be hit on a pool is too far away from a player to reach, the player may use a butt extension attached to the butt section of a cue so as to easily modify the length of the cue. Such butt extensions are disclosed by Bourque in U.S. Design Pat. No. 444,519, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,712. An extendable butt extension is also disclosed by the applicant in U.S. Design Pat. No. 617,861.

FIG. 1 is a plain view of a standard pool cue. A pool cue 10 is often separated into two parts; a shaft section 1 and a butt section 2, and coupled together to make them as one cue. At the bottom of the butt section 2, a butt end cushion 4 is attached. A butt extension 3 may be attached to the butt end cushion 4.

The butt extension 3 is conventionally attached with the pool cue 10 by directly inserting a male thread 31 of the butt extension 3 into a female thread formed in the butt end cushion 4.

It should be noted that an extension is frequently attached to and detached from a cue depending on the situation. Due to the frequent repeats of attaching and detaching, the female thread in the butt end cushion 4 would be worn down too much to attach an extension any more.

The purpose of the present invention is thus to provide a replaceable cushion bumper for coupling a butt extension with the butt section, which eliminates the inconvenience caused by the worn-down in the butt end cushion of the butt section.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a pool cue equipping cushion bumper at the butt end so that an extension can be coupled with the butt section.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a cushion bumper for coupling a butt extension with a butt section of a pool cue, wherein the cushion bumper comprises a male stub to be screwed into a butt end female thread of the butt section, and a cushion overwrapping the male stub. The male stub includes a female thread extending through the center so as to receive a male thread of the butt extension. The cushion has a bumper bore extending through the center to the female thread in the male stub so as to receive the male thread of the butt extension.

Also, the male stub may be made of metal or plastic, and the cushion may be made of rubber or plastic.

As the other embodiment, the present invention is a pool cue including the above cushion bumper. A weight bolt may be inserted in the butt section of the pool cue. A weight of the weight bolt could be in a range of 0.1 oz to 3.0 oz.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other advantages and particularities of the present invention will emerge during the following description given by the way of illustrative and non-limitative example with reference to the figure, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plain view of the standard pool cue and the butt extension to be attached thereto.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the relation among the butt section of the cue, the cushion bumper, and the butt extension.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the relation among a butt section 2 of the cue, a cushion bumper 5, and a butt extension 3.

The butt extension 2 includes a butt end female thread 22 at the butt end 21. The cushion bumper 5 comprises a male stub 51 to be screwed into the butt end female thread 22, and a bumper cushion 54 overwrapping the male stub 51. The male stub 51 includes a bumper female thread 52 in the portion where screw is formed thereon, and a bore between a stub head 53 and the bumper female thread 52, in which no screw is formed. A bumper bore 55 is also formed in the cushion 54 so as to be accommodated with the bore in the male stub 51.

The male stub 51 may be made of metal or plastic. The cushion 54 may be made of rubber or plastic.

The butt extension 3 includes a male thread 31 at the edge for connecting the butt section 2, and a concave cavity 32 for accommodating the cushion 54.

The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows the state of coupling the butt extension 3 with the butt section 2 via the cushion bumper 5.

In normal use, i.e. without using a butt extension, the cushion bumper 5 is attached to the butt section 2 by screwing the male stub 51 into the butt female thread 22 of the butt section 2. Since the cushion bumper 5 of the present invention is substituted for the butt end cushion 4 of FIG. 1, even when the extension is not used, a player can use the cue with the cushion bumper 5 attached to the butt end 21 of the butt section 2.

In attaching the butt extension 3 to the butt section 2, the male thread 31 of the butt extension 3 is inserted into the bumper bore 55 of the cushion bumper 5, and the male thread 31 is screwed into the bumper female thread 52 within the male stub 51 till the edge A of the butt extension 3 reaches the edge B of the butt end 21. Then, the cushion 54 is inserted into the concave cavity 32 of the butt extension 3.

As is shown in FIG. 1, in conventional art, the male thread 31 of the butt extension 3 is coupled with the cue 10 by being directly screwed into the butt end cushion 4 which is permanent installed to the butt section 2 and is undetachable from it.

In contrast, the present invention enables the butt extension 3 to be coupled with the cue 10 via the bumper cushion 5 by screwing the male thread 31 into the bumper female thread 52 of the bumper cushion 5 which is screwed into the butt section 2 and therefore is detachable from it. Thus, even if the bumper female thread 52 is worn down too much to attach the male thread 31 anymore, the butt extension 3 can be still coupled with the same cue 10 only by replacing the bumper cushion 5 itself with a new one.

The second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4. The connection-relation of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is same as that of the first embodiment. Difference between the first and second embodiments is in that a weight bolt 7 is screwed into the butt section 6. The butt section 6 includes a butt end female thread 62 for the male stub 51 to be screwed therein. The weight bolt 7 is screwed in the butt section 6 through the inside of the butt end female thread 62. The weight bolt 7 installed in the butt section 6 enables a player to adjust the weight balance of the cue as he wants. Also, the weight bolt 7 may have various weights, such as 0.5 oz, 1.0 oz, 1.5 oz, 2.0 oz, 2.5 oz, and 3.0 oz, or in the range of 0.1 oz to 3.0 oz so that a player can change the weight as his preference and/or the situation.

While particular embodiment of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variation and modifications can be made to the embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of this invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims.