Billiard training ball

Abstract

A mostly transparent billiard ball particularly useful as a training cue ball is disclosed. The ball includes an inner core centered within a sufficiently transparent spherical outer covering that provides an optimum zone, visible to the player, at which he or she can aim the tip of a cue stick. This inner zone is especially serviceable to restrict a player's aim when striking the ball off-center in order to effectively impart sidespin while limiting lateral deflection to the ball. The inner zone may also simply assist the player to determine the ball's exact center when striking the ball in order to accurately impart no sidespin. In either case, cueing technique is enhanced and the player practices with consistency. The centered inner core also provides enough mass to bring the training ball to within an acceptable weight range for casual and professional levels of play.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not Applicable STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable. REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX [0003] Not Applicable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] (1) The U.S. patent code classifications that are applicable to this new invention: [0005] Class 473: Games Using Tangible Projectile [0006] Subclass 1: Billiards or Pool [0007] Subclass 2: Practice device or device to aid in aiming cue or cue ball during shots. [0008] Subclass 52: Ball; Subject matter relating to the structural details of a generally spherical member (i.e. a ball) which is spherically adapted for use in playing a game of billiards or pool. [0009] (2) The present invention pertains to the field of sports generally referred to as “billiards,” and specifically to an improved type of “cue ball” for training purposes. [0010] (3) Billiards is widely recognized as comprising all...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0061] (39) The ball also trains the player to aim at the image of the central core in order to assist the player in determining the absolute center of the cue ball when not applying sidespin to the cue ball. While the present invention is particularly useful when applying sidespin, it could still help narrow a player's field of vision to focus on a smaller central zone, like a bull's-eye does within a target for archery.

[0063] (41) The ball allows the inner opaque core to be made of a substantially dense material in order to compensate for any lacking weight of the transparent outer shell, thereby bringing the cue ball to an acceptable customary total weight. Totally transparent cue balls are nearly 25% lighter than standard professional opaque cue balls. Dense materials such as steel or lead that are at least 25% heavier than a transparent material such as acrylic would readily compensate for lost weight, thereby bringing the training cue ball to within a regulation range, regardless of ball size.

[0066] (44) The ball allows the inner core to be designed slightly smaller for expert players or slightly larger for beginners, so as to match various levels of players' proficiencies.

[0068] (46) The ball also permits the inner core to be optimally adjusted relative to the cue stick tip sizes employed in various billiard games. For example, snooker cue sticks use an average tip diameter of about 9.5 mm; pool and carom billiard cue sticks both use a tip diameter size about 12.75 to 13 mm in diameter.

Problems solved by technology

In many instances, billiards requires that the cue ball be driven in a manner that a center-ball hit cannot accomplish.

As will be explained in the following text, it is frequently this imparting of particularly left or right spin (sidespin) on the cue ball that can produce an unwanted or undesirable outcome, for the novice and champion alike.

Irrespective of which component is in fact a contributor, a hard blow to the side of the cue ball from a cue stick will produce noticeable or even startling squirt.

(17) It is interesting to note that as yet, there is no way to distill the governing scientific principles and formulas into a foolproof aiming system when applying sidespin to the cue ball; the variables are too complex.

When similarly striking a standard cue ball during play, deflection will thereby also be limited, thus increasing the percentage of hitting the mark at all times.

(24) U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,283, issued to Simpson in 1998, also does not offer a remedy to limit deflection after aiming and striking since it too uses surface patterns on both the cue ball and object ball.

While unique and curious, these two inventions also do not directly address the effect of deflection after striking the cue ball.

(29) All of the prior art have not provided a remarkable method for aiming, in a prevailing three-dimensional sense, with regards to initiating sidespin and limiting deflection to the cue ball.

Some schematic art referenced above will show you where to aim by centrally striking the cue ball, or where to aim on the surface of the cue ball in order to independently apply sidespin without adjusting for deflection; however, none will show you where to definitively aim when taking into account the two parameters of both spin and deflection.

(30) The constraints of the prior art have led to its inability to successfully instruct a billiard player on how to effectively impart sidespin and limit cue ball deflection in order to achieve the desired result.

They fail to allow a player to practice in an uninterrupted manner.

Images