Patent Application
20050177963
In the sport of bowling, it has long been a practice to apply lubricant material to the soles of bowling shoes to effect desired sliding on hardwood bowling lanes. Soapstone in powdered form has long been widely used for this purpose. Soapstone is a soft stone which has a soapy feel and is composed essentially of talc, chlorite, and often some magnetite. It is a natural composite and is mined like a mineral. The soapstone has long been provided, typically in pillowed bags, and is typically patted onto a bowling shoe sole. This process is messy and leaves residue on the hands, on the floor, etc., often resulting in persons stepping thereon unknowingly with possible accidents and certainly inconvenience.
Powder residue remains on the hands of the user and, even though he may wipe some off, some remains on the hands and on a floor. This can affect the user's handling of a bowling ball. Other persons may sit or walk where a bowler has powdered his shoe soles, resulting in other people getting the soapstone powder on their shoe soles which is not appreciated and which can cause them to slip and fall, and which can affect their bowling play.
The prior art also includes a Teflon material adhered to a shoe bottom to facilitate sliding. Also, a small sock has been provided and is positioned on a shoe to facilitate sliding.
The present invention provides an applicator comprising a body of solid soapstone or appropriate lubricant in a holder or handle for applying the soapstone to a bowling shoe sole. The holder or handle is adapted for manual grasping, while applying the soapstone to a bowling shoe sole. The hands of the user are free and are not in contact with the soapstone. There is no powder to get on the hands of a user or to fall to the floor to cause possible slipping and falling of persons or to cause a person having a bowling ball slip from his hands. The applicators according to the invention are compact, easily carried and stored. The user's hands are free and clean of the lubricant, so that the user's fingers are not slippery and cannot result in a bowling ball slipping from a person's hands. No powder is deposited on a floor and persons cannot slip thereon.
A preferred embodiment 10 of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 comprising a generally block-shaped handle 12 having recessed side portions 14, 16 for grasping, and mounted thereon two generally rectilinear bodies 18, 20 of soapstone lubricant adhered to the handle 12 by appropriate adhesive or other appropriate means.
Shown in
Soapstone has been long used in powdered form to provide desired lubrication between a bowling shoe sole and hardwood surfaces of bowling lanes. When appropriately applied to the sole of a bowling shoe, it provides a desired amount of dry lubricant to reduce friction between a bowling shoe sole and a hardwood bowling lane, thus to provide an easier glide in a person's lane approach, and to enable a bowler to have a desired slide. For newer alleys, which are more slippery, a bowler need not use as much lubricant on bowling shoes, whereas with older alleys or with worn shoes, lubricant may be required to prevent relatively new shoes from sticking to a floor. A bowler seeks to make the sole of the bowling shoe slippery to a desired degree, so that bowler may slide in a desired manner on an alley and a bowler may use soapstone three or four times during a period of bowling, depending upon lane conditions, shoe condition, etc.
The present invention provides a number of distinct advantages. Use is simplified and easy, and spreads no powdery mess onto a person, floors, or elsewhere. A person's hands remain clean and free of powder during the handling and application of the soapstone. It fits conveniently into a pocket or purse, etc. A block of soapstone, utilized with the handle of the invention, has a very long service life. Further, in contrast with powdered soapstone of the prior art, there is no soapstone left on a person's fingers which comprises nuisance and interferes with a person's handling of a bowling ball, and thus affecting the person's bowling performance.
