Rod bearing for table soccer or fussball game structure

An improved table soccer or fussball game structure of the type having a playing field portion surrounded by raised opposite side walls and raised end walls wherein a plurality of actuating rods extend through apertures in said opposite side walls and are spaced transversely of and above said playing field portion, said rods supporting game figures thereon which depend adjacent said playing field portion to contact a ball disposed thereon, said actuating rods being rotatively and axially movable relative to said side walls, and wherein the improvement includes a rod bearing mounted in each aperture in said side walls, said bearing comprising:

• a first bearing half having an outer sleeve portion snugly received into one of the apertures in the table wall, said sleeve portion having an inner threaded cylindrical wall for receiving a second bearing half, and a radially extending flange for engaging the outer side wall adjacent the aperture, said flange including a circular clearance aperture for receiving a playing rod coaxially through the bearing half;
• a second bearing half having an outer cylindrical threaded portion for engaging the threaded inner wall of the first bearing half, an outer sleeve portion received into one of the apertures in the table wall and separated from the threaded portion by a stepped region, and a radially extending flange for engaging the inner side wall adjacent the aperture, said flange including a clearance aperture for receiving a playing rod coaxially through said bearing half, said second bearing half being separable along opposed axial parting lines into two identical halves to expose an enlarged cylindrical cavity adjacent the inner wall of said flange and coaxial with the clearance aperture;
• and
• a bearing ring positioned in said cylindrical cavity of the second bearing half and having an inner diameter sized to closely receive a playing rod, said ring being formed of an anti-friction material to smoothly journal the rod for axial and rotational movement with the only contact between the rod and the assembled rod bearing, when the axis of the rod is straight, being at the inner surface of the bearing ring.