Table Soccer Patents Page
last updated 2/7/2000 Click here or title bar to return to top
Did you ever wonder what all of those patents listed on the metal serial number plate on Tornado foosball tables? Are you just curious what sorts of US and International patents exist for table-soccer games? Well, I've started to collect a few here.
Each file was sourced as a black-white GIF file, including the text, so it isn't as small or convenient as a PDF document. However, you should be able to print these out, and each individual file is fairly small. These files are sourced from various public-service patent listing websites.
We begin with Furr's original conception of the Tornado foosball table. Note his listed address, and the description of the counterweights, and other Tornado pecularities. Several C.E. McCloud patents follow next, covering the bearing, thermoplastic ball, and bearings. A few interational patents are at the bottom of the page. There are more out there, and I've only scratched the surface; note that each patent references past patents. I'll go through these and post any interesting ones, or any ones you may suggest to me. The abstracts are listed verbatim from the actual patent copy.
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Table Soccer or Football Game Structure Robert L. Furr, Robert I. Hayes, Jr. Dallas, TX Patent 4,025,073 May 24, 1977 Abstract A generally improved rectangular fussball game table having raised side walls and end walls with goal openings and a pebbled glass playing surface for improved ball handling. The game table includes four vertical legs of rectangular cross-section having table leveling feet and a plurality of rod-mounted, balanced and weighted playing figures each having the foot thereof configured for improved ball handling characteristics. |
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Rod Bearing for Table Soccer or Fussball Game Structure Calvin E. McCloud Ft Worth, Texas Patent 4,382,598 May 10, 1983 Abstract An improved bearing structure for a rod which permits both rotational and axial movement of the rod in conjuction with longitudinal bending thereof. Two semi-cylindrical pieces are assembleable along an axial line of separation to enclose a ring of low friction material and form a first cylindrical bearing half while a second cylindrical bearing half is integrally formed for matingly receiving the first half. The two halves of the bearing each include an outer, radially extending flange and are each passed through opposite sides of an aperture in a wall and are assembled into a complete bearing by theadably engaging one another within the hole. The rod to be journaled is inserted through an axial opening formed through the bearing. The axial opening of the second bearing half is constructed with a larger diameter than the anti-friction ring for permitting a select degree of longitudinal bending within the elastic limits of the materials involved. |
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Table Soccer Game Bumper Structure Calvin E. McCloud Patent 5,071,137 Dec 10, 1991 Fort Worth, Texas Abstract An improved bumper for a fussball game table constructed with a plurality of apertures for improving the inergy dissipation thereof. Each bumper is constructed of solid rubber in a generally cylindrical configuration having a central aperture formed therethrough for snugly receiving an actuation rod therein. The walls of the bumper include a plurality of apertures formed axially therethrough for removing mass therefrom. The apertures reduce the structural strength of the rubber bumper and increase its longitudinal compressibility to permit a harder, more reliable rubber to be utilized with sufficient energy absorptive characteristics for dissipating forces generated in the use of the actuation rods of the fussball game table. |
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Table Soccer or Fussball Game Playing Ball Calvin E. McCloud Fort Worth, Texas Patent 5,058,892 Oct 21, 1991 Abstract A substantially improved table soccer/fussball game playing ball is fabricated by molding an oversized spherical blank entirely from a single thermoplastic material, preferably a urethane material having a hardness within the approximate range of from about 50 Shore D to about 60 Shore D. The oversized molded blank is then subjected to a precision surface machining process, preferably using a centerless grinding machine, to reduce its diameter to a desired finished magnitude and to provide the resulting finished playing ball with a very precisely spherical shape. Compared to conventionally fabricated table soccer playing balls, the machined, single thermoplastic material playing ball provides a variety of advantages including a truer playing roll, considerably more durability and resistance to surface wear, and the desirable ability to retain its "like-new" playing characteristics for a much longer period of time. |
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Soccer Game Housing Kazumi Matsumoto, Asayoshi Asami Tokyo, Japan Tomy Kogyo Co., Japan Patent Des 303,684 Sep 26, 1989 |
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Compendium Game Table Richard Tilly, Saint Germain les Arlay, France Patent Des. 397,727 Sep 1, 1998 |
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Soccer Table (folding) Claudio Ceccheti Cermasco Sul Naviglio, Milano, Italy Patent Des. 347,245 May 24, 1994 |
