U.S. patent number 3,785,651 [Application Number 05/244,582] was granted by the patent office on 1974-01-15 for dice maze puzzle.
Invention is credited to M. Kent Smith.
United States Patent |
3,785,651 |
Smith |
January 15, 1974 |
DICE MAZE PUZZLE
Abstract
A cube having a maze contained therein through which a ball is
movable. The puzzle has a transparent outer enclosure containing
the maze and ball. Nontransparent intermediate walls are positioned
inwardly of each transparent wall providing a space on each side of
the cube in which the ball is freely movable. The nontransparent
intermediate walls are provided with the holes through which the
ball is passable to the maze within the intermediate walls. One
hole is bisected by an inner wall thereby allowing the ball to go
in one of two opposite directions. The maze extends vertically and
horizontally through the cube.
Inventors: |
Smith; M. Kent (Indianapolis,
IN) |
Family
ID: |
22923341 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/244,582 |
Filed: |
April 17, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/113; 273/146;
273/153R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
7/042 (20130101); A63F 9/0078 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
9/00 (20060101); A63F 7/04 (20060101); A63F
7/00 (20060101); A63b 067/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/1R,195R,108-117,153R,153S,155,156,157R,157A,146 ;46/1R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1,146,275 |
|
Sep 1957 |
|
FR |
|
752,110 |
|
Jul 1956 |
|
GB |
|
Other References
"Playthings" magazine; August 1961; page 8..
|
Primary Examiner: Pinkham; Richard C.
Assistant Examiner: Apley; Richard J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Moriarty; John V.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A puzzle comprising a ball, a six sided main body having a
plurality of spaced apart parallel inner walls each having arranged
thereon upstanding walls in a maze configuration, at least one of
said upstanding walls of at least one of said inner walls having at
least one maze opening, and a plurality of nontransparent
intermediate walls positioned outwardly of and enclosing said inner
walls to conceal said inner walls with each intermediate wall
having at least one hole, and having said at least one hole aligned
with said at least one inner wall and said at least one maze
opening for said ball to pass from said at least one inner wall and
through said intermediate wall, said body having a plurality of
transparent outer walls spaced outwardly from and enclosing said
intermediate walls forming six separate storage areas with one of
said six separate storage areas located on each side of said six
sided main body, said body having means mounted thereon separating
said storage areas apart and preventing said ball from passing from
one storage area to another storage area without first pasing
through a maze configuration, said ball being rollable from a first
position between one of said outer walls and one of said
intermediate walls by tilting and moving said puzzle until said
ball drops through said at least one hole in said one of said
intermediate walls onto said at least one of said innerwalls and
then through said maze configuration, then onto at least one other
inner wall and through its maze configuration until it reaches said
maze opening therein aligned with a hole in another one of said
intermediate walls and then out to a second position between said
another one of said intermediate walls and another one of said
outer walls.
2. The puzzle of claim 1 wherein said body is a cube with the
number of holes of each of said intermediate walls is different and
ranging from one to six and with the holes positioned on said body
in a die arrangement.
3. The puzzle of claim 2 wherein one of said holes is bisected by
one of said upstanding walls to divert said ball in either of two
opposite directions.
4. The puzzle of claim 3 wherein the hole bisected is the only hole
on one of said intermediate walls.
5. The puzzle of claim 4 wherein said means includes spacing bars
extending along each end of the cube, said bars contact said outer
walls and said intermediate walls forming said storage areas on
each side of the cube in which said ball is freely movable, said
bars separate each space from every other space with said ball
being movable from one space to another space only by passing
through said intermediate walls and said maze configuration.
6. The puzzle of claim 5 and further comprising markings on each
side of the cube to indicate the number of holes on the adjacent
cube sides, said markings being arranged in 24 different sets with
four sets positioned on each side of said six sided main body.
7. The puzzle of claim 6 wherein said maze configuration includes a
plurality of passages per each side which lead to other sides, and
said outer walls being imperforate thereby preventing said ball
from escaping said main body.
8. The puzzle of claim 6 wherein said markings include a number of
dots marked on said bars ranging from one dot to six dots in each
set.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of maze puzzles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disclosed herein is yet another puzzle having a maze therein with a
ball movable through the maze. The puzzle disclosed herein is
better than the prior art puzzles in that the ball is movable to
each side of the cubical main body of the puzzle. Each side of the
cubical main body is provided with a different number of holes
thereby giving an appearance of a die. In addition, a wall bisects
one of the holes thereby providing for the travel of the ball in
one of two opposite directions depending on which side of the hole
the ball enters. Also, markings are provided on the main body so as
to indicate the number of holes on the adjacent sides which are not
visible to a person unless the main body is turned over.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention is a puzzle comprising a
ball, a main body having a plurality of inner walls arranged in a
maze and a plurality of nontransparent intermediate walls
positioned outwardly of and enclosing the inner walls to conceal
the maze with each intermediate wall having at least one hole for
the ball to pass from the maze and through the intermediate wall,
the body having a plurality of transparent outer walls spaced
outwardly from and enclosing the intermediate walls forming storage
areas, the ball is rollable from a first position between one of
the outer walls and one of the intermediate walls by tilting and
moving the puzzle until the ball drops through one of the holes in
the one intermediate wall and then through the maze and out a hole
in another one of the intermediate walls to a second position
between one of the intermediate walls and one of the outer
walls.
One object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved puzzle.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a
hidden maze puzzle having a self contained ball which is movable
through and to each side of the puzzle.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hidden
maze puzzle having a plurality of holes through which a ball is
movable with at least one of the holes having a divider so as to
direct the ball in one of two opposite directions depending upon
the side of the hole the ball enters.
Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be
apparent from the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a puzzle incorporating the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is an opposite end view of the puzzle of FIG. 1 with the
puzzle being turned upside down.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the spacing frame 30 positioned
between the outer walls and intermediate walls of the puzzle of
FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the intermediate wall assembly
positioned within the frame of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is an exploded fragmentary view of the maze within the
intermediate wall assembly of FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of
the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment
illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to
describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no
limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such
alterations and further modification in the illustrated device, and
such further applications of the principles of the invention as
illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to
one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.
Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a puzzle
10 which has the overall appearance of a die. The die is cubical
having six identical sides 11 through 16. A transparent plastic
container 20 provides the outer walls of the puzzle and includes a
top wall 21 and bottom wall 22 secured to side walls 23, 24, 25 and
26 by means such as adhesives. Positioned immediately inward and
adjacent transparent container 20 is a frame 30 which may be made
from a material such as wood or plastic. Frame 30 includes a square
top wall 31 and bottom wall 32 spaced apart and connected together
by vertical struts 33. The struts are spaced apart forming square
openings therebetween. Likewise, a square opening is provided in
walls 31 and 32. It is understood that although square openings are
shown, any type of rectangular opening, circular opening or any
other shape of opening is included in the present invention. Spaced
immediately inward and adjacent frame 30 is a cubical box 40 which
includes six identically sized walls 41 through 46, each of which
has a hole for freely receiving a spherical ball 17. A plurality of
inner walls are mounted within box 40 and are arranged in a maze
for ball 17 to traverse in order for the ball to move from one side
of the puzzle to another side of the puzzle.
The number of holes on each of the intermediate walls 41 through 46
is different. The number of holes on each intermediate wall ranges
from one hole to six holes with the holes positioned on the body in
a dice arrangement. For example, wall 41 is provided with a single
hole 47, wall 42 is provided with a pair of holes 60 and wall 43 is
provided with three holes 61. Likewise, walls 44, 45 and 46 are
provided respectively with six holes, five holes, and four
holes.
Frame 30 is made of bars which extend along each edge of box 40 and
container 20. The frame bars contact both the intermediate walls of
box 40 and the outer walls of container 20 forming a separate
rectangular space on each side of the puzzle. Ball 17 is freely
movable in each space and may pass from one side of the puzzle to
another side of the puzzle only by first passing through a hole in
one of the intermediate walls, and then through the maze within box
40 until eventually it exits an intermediate wall. Frame 30
separates each space from every other space so that the ball may
move from one space to another space only by passing through the
intermediate walls of the maze.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of box 40 with sides 41, 43, 44 and 46
removed for sake of clarity. Box 40 includes four separate walls 50
through 53 which are connected to and between walls 42 and 45.
Walls 45 and 50 through 53 are each provided with a plurality of
inner walls arranged in a maze. The maze is not visible since the
intermediate walls 41 through 46 are nontransparent. Walls 50
through 53 are provided with holes to allow the ball to pass from
one level to another level. The upstanding walls mounted atop walls
45 and 50 through 53 are respectively secured to the bottom
surfaces of walls 50 through 53 and 42 providing an assembly 49 to
which intermediate walls 41, 43, 44 and 46 are secured by means,
such as adhesives. An inner wall 54 (FIG. 4) bisects hole 47 and is
adjacent to the inside surface of wall 41. Thus, when ball 17 drops
through hole 47, wall 54 will divert the ball in either the
direction of arrow 55 or the direction of arrow 56. That is, the
ball will be diverted in either of two opposite directions. Hole 47
is the only hole which is elliptical and bisected by a wall. In the
event that the ball moves in the direction of arrow 55, then it
will hit wall 80. The ball will then travel upwardly in the
direction of arrow 59 through space 84 of wall 52. The ball may
then move in the direction of arrow 83 passing through one of the
holes 64 (FIG. 1) of wall 46. Two of the holes of wall 46 are
aligned with locations 70 of wall 52 whereas the other two holes 64
are aligned with locations 70 of wall 50. Alternatively, the ball
may travel in the direction of arrow 56 and then through space 85
of wall 51 in the direction of arrow 57. The ball will continue in
the direction of arrow 57 through wall 50 thereby contacting wall
45 and eventually passing through one of the holes 65 of wall 45 as
shown by arrow 58. Thus, it may be seen that the ball is movable
from a first position such as located between walls 25 and 41 to a
second position located between walls 45 and 22. The inner walls
are arranged in five separate subassemblies such as shown by walls
45, 50, 51, 52 and 53 which are then stacked together.
A plurality of passages from each side leading to all the other
sides are provided by the inner walls. The outer walls are
transparent and plastic but do not have any openings thereby
preventing the ball from escaping from the puzzle. Holes 64 by side
12 (FIG. 1) are aligned with locations 70 of FIG. 5. Holes 63 by
side 11 (FIG. 1) are aligned with locations 71 (FIG. 5) of walls 50
through 52. The three holes 61 of intermediate wall 43 (FIG. 4) are
aligned with locations 89 of walls 50 through 52. Holes 60 of wall
42 are positioned immediately over areas 62 of wall 53.
Markings 34 are provided on frame 30 to indicate the number of
holes on the adjacent cube side. For example, when viewing the
puzzle from the top as shown in FIG. 2, two holes are visible on
side 14. Three dots are located on frame 30 as viewed from the top
thereby indicating that the adjacent side 16 is provided with three
holes. Likewise, a single dot is provided on the frame as viewed
from the top thereby indicating that the adjacent side 15 is
provided with only a single hole.
By slanting and tilting the puzzle, the ball will roll into any
hole. Several games may be played utilizing the puzzle. For
example, turn the ball side of the cube up, with this side
remaining up, roll the ball into any hole at random. The ball will
then fall into your number for the game (at any time the sum of 2
loses, 1 wins). Turn the ball side up and attempt to roll the sum
of your game numbers. Do this with ease then start the following
games.
Seven-Eleven -- Rotate the cube to bring the ball side up, with the
ball side remaining up, roll the ball into a selected hole (noting
the hole's relative location for future reference). The ball will
then fall into your first score. Now with the ball side up, roll
the ball into another selected hole which will add to your first
score (seven or 11 wins, two or 12 and over loses).
Craps -- Craps is played in the same manner as Seven-Eleven except
that you can stop at any time with your score, up to and including
12, and attempt to match that score with a second series of rolls
(a sum of 2 anytime loses, seven or 11 does not win on the second
series).
Four Ball -- Roll the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 in any order, and
then 4. Number 4 is a loser any other time during the game.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in
the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be
considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it
being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown
and described and that all changes and modifications that come
within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.
* * * * *