Patent Application
20240058671
The disclosure relates to beer pong devices and more particularly pertains to a new beer pong device for portably providing a unique setup configuration for the cups in beer pong.
The prior art relates to beer pong devices which provide various means of setting up cups for the play of beer pong, many of which are portable. Some of the devices in the prior art disclose apparatuses which attach to external structures while some of them setup independent from external structures. At least one device discloses a tiered apparatus for setting cups while another discloses an angled apparatus for a finger flicking football game. However, the prior art does not disclose a device which is collapsible for storage and transport, and which deploys such that there are two surfaces with slots for setting cups, one surface of which is at an angle and supported by a support member. It follows that the present invention discloses a device for setting cups for the play of beer pong in a unique setup not disclosed by the prior art.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a table with a tabletop and a detachable leg. A connecting panel is pivotably coupled to a front end of the tabletop, and a cup holding panel is pivotably coupled to the connecting panel opposite the tabletop. A support member is coupled to the cup holding panel opposite the connecting panel for supporting the cup holding panel in an angled position relative to a support surface. A plurality of main cup slots extends through the tabletop for receiving therethrough and holding a corresponding one of a plurality of cups. And a plurality of secondary cup slots extends through the cup holding panel for the same.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A connecting panel 34 has a front side 36 and a back side 38. The connecting panel 34 also has a top surface 40 and a bottom surface 42, each of which extends between the front side 36 of the connecting panel 34 and the back side 38 of the connecting panel 34. The back side 38 of the connecting panel 34 is angled toward the front side 36 of the connecting panel 34 from the bottom surface 42 of the connecting panel 34 to the top surface 40 of the connecting panel 34. The front side 36 of the connecting panel 34 is pivotably coupled via a first hinge 58 to the front end 18 of the tabletop 14.
A cup holding panel 44 has a front side 46 and a back side 48 and a pair of lateral sides 50 extending between the front side 46 of the cup holding panel 44 and the back side 48 of the cup holding panel 44. The cup holding panel 44 has a top surface 52 and a bottom surface 54, each of which extends between the pair of lateral sides 50 of the cup holding panel 44 and between the front side 46 of the cup holding panel 44 and the back side 48 of the cup holding panel 44. The front side 46 of the cup holding panel 44 is angled toward the back side of the panel from the bottom surface 54 of the cup holding panel 44 to the top surface 52 of the cup holding panel 44. The front side 46 of the cup holding panel 44 is pivotably coupled via a second hinge 60 to the back side 38 of the connecting panel 34. A support member 56 is pivotably coupled via a third hinge 62 to the back end 20 of the cup holding panel 44.
Each of the table 12, the connecting panel 34, the cup holding panel 44, and the support member 56 is configurable in a deployed configuration 64 wherein the plurality of legs 16 is attached to the tabletop 14 and extend downward therefrom, the connecting panel 34 extends from the front end 18 of the tabletop 14 downward and toward the back end 20 of the tabletop 14, the cup holding panel 44 extends from the connecting panel 34 upward and away from the connecting panel 34, and the support member 56 extends downward. Each of the table 12, the connecting panel 34, the cup holding panel 44, and the support member 56 is configurable in a folded configuration 66 wherein the plurality of legs 16 is detached from the tabletop 14, the top surface 40 of the connecting panel 34 abuts the bottom surface 26 of the tabletop 14, and the support member 56 is positioned between and in abutment with the connecting panel 34 and the cup holding panel 44.
Ten circular main cup slots 68 extend through the tabletop 14. Each main cup slot 68 is configured for receiving an associated cup of a plurality of cups 78 therethrough and holding the associated cup. The main cup slots 68 are equally spaced and positioned to define a triangle 70. A vertex 72 of the triangle 70 facing the front end 18 of the tabletop 14, and a side 74 of the triangle 70 opposite the vertex 72 is parallel to the front end 18 of the tabletop 14. Three circular secondary cup slots 76 extend through the cup holding panel 44. Each secondary cup slot 76 is configured for receiving an associated cup 78 of the plurality of cups 78 therethrough and holding the associated cup. One of the secondary cup slots 76 is positioned proximate the back side 48 of the cup holding panel 44 and is centered between the pair of lateral sides 50 of the cup holding panel 44. A pair of the secondary cup slots 76 is positioned along a line parallel to the back side 48 of the cup holding panel 44 such that each of the pair of the plurality of secondary cup slots 76 is positioned proximate an associated lateral side 50 of the pair of lateral sides 50 of the cup holding panel 44.
In use, the device 10 may be setup in the deployed configuration 64 and set on a support surface 32 for use. While deployed on the support surface 32, the plurality of legs 16 support the tabletop 14, and the connecting panel 34 and the cup holding panel 44 hang below in a V-shape with the supporting member holding up the back side 48 of the cup holding panel 44, supporting it on the support surface 32. The plurality of cups 78 is placed in each of the main cup slots 68 and the secondary cup slots 76 so that a game of beer pong can be played. To store the device 10, the legs 16 are detached, and the tabletop 14, the connecting panel 34, the cup holding panel 44, and support member 56 are folded up.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
