US1763612A - Cue tip - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1930. J CROQKSTQN 1,763,612

CUE TIP Filed Sept. 17. 1921 I v lnvenzan' Patented June 10, 1930 UNITED STATES JAMES B. CROOKSTON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA CUE TIP Application filed September 17, 1921. Serial No. 501,494.

My invention relates to the making of cue tipsfor billiard and pool cues, from blanks of suitable compressible material. One of the principal objects of my invention is to effect a substantial reduction of the time and labor required in the tipping of cues. Another object is to produce a finished cue tip that may be adhesively attached to the cue point and be ready to use as soon as the adhesive is dry without cutting or shaping and which shall embody the advantages of being of the exact form desired, of containing the maximum amount of material within a given compass, of possessing such form, density and firmness throughout, as to give the necessary resilient effect, and ofbeing exempt from liabilityto go flat or change form in use. Such cue tip is made in any desired number of sizes to fit the different sized cue points met with in practice. 7

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

Cue tips in the form of blanks or unfinished articles of more or less rounded or convex playing surface and circular bottom have heretofore been furnished the trade in several sizes, each blank having a diameter in excess of that of the end of the cue to which it is to be attached, so as to allow for trimming and finishing. In ordinary practice, the blank tip is first flattened with a hammer or in a vise, and then cemented to the cue. After this operation, the tip is then trimmed, around its periphery, to that of the cue-point, and its playing face also trimmed ofi, or somewhat rounded in form, preferably convex, and leavinga base portion above the bottom. It

- is then further dressed by sand paper, to reduce the playing surface and side as smooth and evenly as possible, then polished by friction and finally chalked, after which operations it is ready for use. i

The above operations are not only slow and tedious, but require the services of an expert to properly finish the tips foruse, and even then, desired density of playing surface cannot be obtained because the natural or'molecular structure is so easily ruptured, but even then there is no assurance that the finished tip will not go flat and require redressing to bring it back to its proper playing condition. Again, it has been found that approximately thirty percent of the tip blanks are too soft to permit flattening and trimming, and that in so working, the under leather or disc, forming the tip backing, becomes loose, thus causing further loss. 1

It is well known that the tips of commerce are not uniform, one with another, in their size or in their consistency, and that each tip is not symmetrically uniform" in respect to density, and molecular structure. Further, V the cutting, abrading, and bufiing processes do not introduce the qualities which are well knogvn to be highly desirable in tips ofhigh gra e. p y v By the method hereinafter described, these objections are overcome, and one tips can be made in any desired number of sizes, shape and height, and be adhesively attached to the 7 cue point ready to be used as soon as adhesive is dry, thereby effecting a substantial reduction in the time and labor required in tipping cues. Each cue tip of predetermined size is made of the desired density in respect to its playing surface or closeness of which its molecules are compacted, and there is a great increase in resiliency; and the shape of the tip, because of the compression, becomes practically permanent during the life of the tip. Indeed, the steps heretofore followed of cutting away more or less of the volume of the initial blank, did not produce the desired dis tribution of the molecules, whereas in my method of makin a tip by compression, all 8 of the initial mo ecules are preserved, and are compacted into a volume or compass longitudinally less than that occupied by the same molecules initially, and the resiliency of the material is increased by this treatment. 0 While the transverse diameter is predetermined, and is,.preferably, the same in the initial blank that it is in the finished tip, and is maintained by havingthe same diameter for the cavity in the die, there is a lateral condensation of the particles at the base of the tip, whichresults from applying the pressure longitudinally, as there tends to be an upward crowding of the particles, which is resisted by the walls of the die. Consequently, with the finished tip, there is a greatly reduced tendency for the particles along the outer edge, that is to say with those that are adjacent to the base plane of the convex playing surface to become sharp pointed or ragged, as is common with tips made in the ordinary way.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown an embodiment of a simple means for carrying out the method of my invention, and a tip blank and a finish tip in accordance therewith.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a die, partly in section, adapted to compress a tip blank into finished form.

Fig. 2 is a plan and side elevation, respectively, of the tip blank.

Fig. 3 is a plan and side elevation, respectively, of the finished tip; and

Fig. 4 shows a finished tip embodying my invention applied to a cue.

A simple form of a compressing device adapted to the practice of my invention, which is shown in Fig. 1, consists of a female die, comprising two separable sections, 3 and 3*, connected by screw threads, and a male compressing plunger 4 which fits nearly in a central bore in the section 3, and is of a diameter corresponding with that desired for the finished tip. A face, 6, which, in this instance, is concave, Corresponding in form with convexity desired to be given to the face of the finished tip, is formed on the top of the section, 3, in line, axially, with the bore of the section 3. A leather flat backing disc 7, may be adhesively attached to the bottom of the blank and its function is to prevent expansion of the bottom 8 of the tip and furnishes a solid non-yielding surface to attach to the one point by a suitable adhesive means.

In producing finished tips with a die structure of the type herein exemplified, a tip blank 1, preferably as shown in Figs.- 1 and 2, having the playing surface 1*,- curved continuously in convex form from its flat bottom 8, to the apex 2, is placed in the section, 3, of the female die, and the compressing plunger, 41-, inserted therein and by uninterrupted pressure forced down upon the blank, with a predetermined pressure, thereby compressing the blank and reducing it to the desired finished form shown in Fig. 3. By separating the sections of the female die, the finished tip can be readily removed.

As shown in Fig. 3, the finished tip has been, by uninterrupted compression, reduced in depth or thickness, and its playing surface spread out, from the center of the original rounded or semi-elliptic form shown in Fig.

2, to a less convex form, corresponding to the die.

It is important to note that not all blanks having a convex face would be desirable for my process, such, for example, those of substantlally the, shape of my finished tip, shown in Fig. 3; that is to say, having a cylindrical base portion, 9, and a convex face extending above such base portion. The convex face of the blank should be continuously curved from the plane bottom to its apex, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, as the provision of a base portion would oppose the production of the desired density in the playing surface, and would also cause the tip to become hard on the edge, by reason of the surplus material, as well as cause it to go out of shape, or go flat.

Cue tips made in accordance with my invention will all be exactly alike in form, and even though some of the blanks should be originally softer than others, they can be made serviceable by my method, and without danger of unloosening the leather disc portion 7 therefrom. Also the desired density and formation of playing surface of the tips is assured. It is, in some cases, desirable to obtain substantial uniformity of densities over the outer or operating surface Whereas in other cases it is desirable to graduate the densities within restricted limits and my invention enables any desired distribution of densities to be obtained. The method illustrated in Figure 1 would obviously produce the maximum density in the longitudinal axis of the tip. This I effect by the proper designing of the die surface or that of the tip blank.

The finished tip is substantially convex, and it may be varied inconvexity to suit different players, by proper die formation, and other detail changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

Among the advantages of my invention the following may be noted:

Finished cue tips can be made in any desired number of sizes to fit the different size cue points and be attached to cue point ready to use, without cutting and shaping to bring it to the desired finished form, thereby effecting a substantial reduction in time and labor in tipping cues. The desired density of playing surface and resiliency is assured by effecting a proper disposition of its molecules, and prevents the loosening of the under leather caused by the flattening or pounding which has heretofore been done to obtain a firm solid hand shaped tip. The

disposition of the molecules, resultant from density of playing surface forming the same into a finished cue tip of less convexity of playing surface with a base portion above the flat bottom.

2. The method of making one tips, which consists in taking a blank of suitable material, continuously curved from its bottom to the apex of the playing surface and a flat backing disk, and by pressure sufiicient to increase the density of the playing face reducing it to a less convexity than initially, and retaining all of the initial material.

3. The method of tipping cues which comprises: providing a finished cue tip of resilient material ready for attachment to a one point without trimming or reshaping and having a bottom of substantially the diameter of the one point to be tipped and a convex playing surface which has been reduced by compression to a less convexity than initially, and attaching the tip to the cue point.

4. A finished cue tip of resilient material, ready for attachment to a cue point without trimming or reshaping and having a flat bottom and a substantially convex playing surface reduced by compression to the desired convexity of playing surface, and to a volume less than initially, and having its maximum density in its longitudinal axis.

5. A finished one tip of resilient material, ready for attachment to a one point without retrimming or reshaping and having a flat bottom and a substantially convex playing face compressed from its original volume to the desired convexity of playing face with its maximum density in its lon itudinal axis, with its maximum density, an having a cylindrical base portion of'the diameter of the bottom.

6. A finished cue tip of resilient material, having initially a continuously curved playing surface extending from the bottom to the apex, and a flat backing disc equal in diameter with the bottom of the tip, compressed to the desired density of playing surface and of less convexity than initially.

7 A finished one tip of resilient material ready for attachment to a cue point without retrimming or reshaping and having a convex playing surface formed by compression applied to the entire surface of the blank and having its maximum density in its longitudinal axis.

8. A finished cue tip of resilient material having a convex playing surface compressed from a blank having a greater convexity of playing surface, all of the original material of the blank being retained in the finished tip.

9. A finished one tip of'resilient material ready for attachment to a one point without retrimming or reshaping and having a convex playing surface, said tip being formed by compression from a blank, having a greater convexity of playing surface than and a able blank by compression applied to all.

points of the surface and graduated to give the desired convexity of playing surface and the maximum density in the longitudinal axis of the tip.

12. The method of making a finished cue tip, having the final form and distributed texture characteristics desired, which comprises providing a die having substantially the desired form of the entire exposed surface of the finished tip above its bottom, dimensioning a tip blank with respect to said die to produce, when said blank is compressed in said die, an inward pressure at each point of said entire exposed surface of the tip to efiect a predetermined distribution of density over said surface in the finished tip.

13.'The method of producing a finished cue tip, ready for attachment to a cue point without trimming or reshaping, which consists in taking a blank of suitable material and shape and by compression applied'in a single operation to all points of its surface imparting to said tip the predetermined density dis tribiiltion and convexity of playing surface desire 14. The method of producing a finished cue tip, ready for attachment to a cue point without trimming or reshaping, which consists in taking a blank of suitable material and shape and by compression applied to all points of its surface imparting to said tip the convexity of playing surface desired, with the maximum density in the longitudinal axis of the tip.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

JAMES B. CROOKSTON.

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