WO2005025691A1

WO2005025691A1 - Detachable cue tip

Info

Publication number: WO2005025691A1
Application number: PCT/GB2004/003868
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alan Charles James
Original assignee: Alan Charles James
Priority date: 2003-09-12
Filing date: 2004-09-10
Publication date: 2005-03-24
Also published as: GB2405808A; GB0321393D0

Abstract

A detachable cue tip for playing massè shots with a rubber tip.

Description

Detachable Cue Tip

The present invention relates to an improved cue for playing games such as snooker, pool, billiards and the like. Conventional cues have a tip with an end which has a leather or other similar material on its end so that the ball can be controlled when it is struck, the tip is kept covered in a chalk when being used, usually by rubbing the tip into a chalk block. This kind of tip_, has been satisfactorily used for a long time.

There is shot normally referred to as a Masse. This is a billiards shot and not commonly used in snooker. It can be useful for creating an angle, though not in the normal alignment method. The stroke itself is made by striking downwards on the side of the ball, as if forcing it through the table. The shot originated in early billiards games and has infiltrated all manner of cueing games in UK and USA including snooker and American pool.

The masse may best be described as an extreme form of swerve, and is used in similar situations. The cue is inverted so as to be raised vertically and an angle is created to swerve the cue ball around an intervening ball. The butt is high above the ball and the tip directly over the cue ball; the cue is brought swiftly downwards and so imparting extreme spin. The shot is sometimes made to escape from a snooker or is occasionally made to pot a ball a player would not normally be able to get at without striking one or two cushions first.

Where the cue ball is struck governs how it will spin; if the ball is struck at the front the ball will get topspin - the ball will momentarily go backwards and then shoot forwards as the spin grips the cloth. If the ball is struck at the back the opposite effect is obtained.

It is sidespin, however, that is mostly required since the masse is mostly used to swerve the cue ball round an obstacle in a limited space. It might be used to negotiate a snooker, or to pot a ball on the jaws of a pocket. The swerve imparted obeys the laws of the normal swerve shot, going at first sharply in the opposite direction before curving round more gently in the desired direction. It is a difficult shot requiring utmost skill of the player. It needs no follow-through, obviously, and has to be played with a lot of conviction. The effect is to add massive sidespin to the cue ball to pass it around an intervening ball and hit the object ball.

In the professional snooker game, it is not uncommon to see a player shape up to play a masse shot, but nine times out of ten he decides discretion is the better part of valour and chooses an alternative shot.

The shot is very rarely played because of its difficulty and what can happen if it goes wrong. When the masse shot goes wrong there is invariably a miss-cue and a penalty or foul shot; it is very hard to stop the follow through and therefore strike the cloth and the (slate) bed of the table with some force. This can result in damage to the bed, ripping of the cloth and damage to the tip of the cue. For this reason American pool and snooker clubs traditionally display "No Masse" signs. The fact that British snooker halls do not normally display such signs is because of the ignorance that such a shot can be played.

I have now devised a detachable cue tip for use with cues which facilitates the playing of shots such as the masse shot.

According to the invention there is provided a detachable tip for a cue or the like which tip has a first section which can fit over the end of the cue and grip the cue and a second section in the form of an end section which end section is made from a material with different properties to that of the tip of the cue.

Preferably the end section of the detachable tip comprises an elastic or resilient material. Preferably between the first section and the end section there is added weight or the tip is made sufficiently heavy to provide the desired balance to the cue.

The first section can be in the form of a tube preferably with one or more resilient or soft inserts, e.g. made of a rubber or plastics material, so that it provides a grip with the cue and does not come off in use. The insert can be in the form of a sleeve which fits inside the cue tip. As the end of the cue is normally tapered, this form of attachment is convenient, but any form of attachment can be used which achieves this result; in addition the insert can be tapered. Preferably the tip of the invention can be used with a range of cues and cue sizes.

The end of a conventional cue has a tip which is made of a relatively hard material such as leather so that the ball can be controlled when it is struck. The tip is kept covered in a chalk when being used, usually by rubbing the tip into a chalk block to give the desired degree of control. The end of the detachable cue tip of the present invention is made of a substantially softer material than the cue tip.

The end of the detachable tip is preferably made of a rubber material so that it can give good contact and grip with the ball and does not damage the cloth or bed of the table if it strikes the table. A soft rubber can be used such as a balata rubber. If the end of the cue tip should strike the table in play the soft rubber end section will prevent damage to the cloth, table or cue.

Because the tip is detachable, a player can have his own tip with him wherever he plays and can fit it onto whatever cue he decides to use. It requires no modification to the cue or any other equipment.

It is a feature of the invention that, in use, it can impart massive spin to a ball, it greatly reduces the chance of a miss-cue, it does not need chalking and does not damage the cue tip, cloth or table and enables players of standard ability to play the masse shot.

As well as being used with the masse shot, the tip can be used with any shot in which the behaviour of the cue when stroking a ball is desired to be changed, e.g. more control or spin is required, for example on playing off. It is possible for a player to have a plurality of detachable cue tips so that the end of the cue which strikes the ball can be adapted to the type of shot to be played.

The invention is described in the accompanying drawings in which: -

Figs. 1 and la show the detachable cue tip and Fig. 2 shows the tip fitted on the cue.

Referring to fig. 1, the detachable cue tip comprises a first section formed of a plastic tube (4) on the inside of which are rubber gripping strips (7). On the end of the tip is end section (6) formed of a soft solid rubber.

Referring to fig. la, in this embodiment there is a sleeve (8) made of a rubber material inside of the tube (4).

Referring to fig. 2, this shows the tip in use with a cue (1) which has a brass ferrule (2) and a tip (3) formed of leather. The plastic tube (4) has a lead weight (5) fitted within it adjacent to the rubber tip (6).

In use, when a player wishes to play a masse shot he fits the cue tip over the end of the cue so that the tube (4) is fitted over the cue (1) and the strips (7) (fig. la) or sleeve (8) (fig. la) grip the cue and prevent the tip falling off. The cue can then be used to make the masse shot and, after the shot has been played, the tip can be removed and the cue used as normal. This gives the player a means of changing the behaviour of the cue in accordance with the shot to be played.

Claims

1. A detachable tip for a cue or the like which tip has a first section which can fit over the end of the cue and grip the cue and a second section in the form of an end section which end section is made from a material with different properties to that of the tip of the cue.

2. A detachable cue tip as claimed in claim 1 in which the end section is made of a material which is softer than the tip of the cue to which it is fitted.

3. A detachable cue tip as claimed in claims 1 or 2 in which the end section comprises an elastic or resilient material.

4. A detachable cue tip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the end section is made of a rubber material.

5. A detachable cue tip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which there is added weight between the first section and the end section.

6. A detachable cue tip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the first section is in the form of a tube.

7. A detachable cue tip as claimed in claim 6 in which the tube is tapered.

8. A detachable cue tip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which there are one or more resilient inserts in the tube which provide a grip with the cue.

9. A detachable cue tip as claimed in claim 8 in which the resilient inserts are in the form of strips of material.

10. A cue having a detachable cue tip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims fitted over its end.