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The invention relates to a puzzle system
comprising a first and second polyhedral object, wherein
the first polyhedral object comprises at least a first
picture-bearing face and the second polyhedral object
comprises at least two picture-bearing faces, each picture
on an associated picture-bearing face being displayed
correctly at one intended angle about an axis perpendicular
to the associated picture-bearing face, wherein the puzzle
system comprises co-operating detection and sound-emitting
systems, arranged to emit a first sound only upon detecting
that the first and second polyhedral object have been
juxtaposed with a face of the first polyhedral object
facing a face of the second polyhedral object and with a
picture on the first picture-bearing face of the first
polyhedral object at its intended angle being observable
adjacent to a picture on a first picture-bearing face of
the second polyhedral object at its intended angle when
looked at in a direction substantially parallel to the
facing faces.
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An example of such a puzzle system is known and
currently marketed by the applicant under the trade name
"Sound Cubes". The known system comprises two identically
shaped plastic cubes. A set of six pictures has been
distributed over the faces of the first cube and the same
six pictures have been distributed over the faces of the
second cube. Each picture occupies substantially the whole
area of an associated picture-bearing face and is thus
substantially square in shape. Each pictures has a definite
orientation in the sense that of the four sides of the
square, it is possible to distinguish between an upper, a
lower, a left and a right side, regardless of the actual
contents of the picture. Thus, it is possible to define an
upright position as an orientation about a viewing axis
perpendicular to the picture-bearing face in which the
upper side is at the top. Two electric contacts are
arranged on each surface of both cubes. One of the cubes
contains a sound-emitting system. A detection system
comprises an electric circuit, which is closed when two
contacts on the surface of one cube make contact with two
contacts on the surface of the other cube. A sound-emitting
system is responsive to the detection system for emitting
one of six sounds, each associated with one of the
pictures. The player must arrange the cubes side-by-side
and in contact with each other. When a picture on one cube
is placed adjacent the same picture on the other cube, with
both pictures the right way up, this is detected and the
associated sound is emitted.
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The known system thus tests merely the player's
ability to find appropriate combinations of two pictures.
Thus, it can only be used to implement a very limited test
of the player's cognitive abilities and is thus suited
primarily for very young children.
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It is an object of the invention to provide an
improved system of the kind mentioned above, that
implements a more advanced test of the player's cognitive
abilities.
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This object is achieved by the puzzle system
according to the invention, which is characterised in that
the detection and sound-emitting systems are arranged to
emit a second sound only upon detecting that the first and
second polyhedral object have been juxtaposed with a
further face of the first polyhedral object facing a
further face of the second polyhedral object and with the
picture on the first picture-bearing face of the first
polyhedral object at its intended angle being observable
adjacent to a picture on a second picture-bearing face of
the second polyhedral object when looked at in a direction
substantially parallel to the further facing faces.
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Thus, the puzzle system is suitable for
implementing a test of the ability of a player to order the
pictures on the picture-bearing faces into a sequence.
Because the first sound is only emitted when the picture on
the first picture-bearing face of the first polyhedral
object is combined with the first picture-bearing face of
the second polyhedral object and a different second sound
is only emitted when it is combined with that on the second
picture-bearing face of the second polyhedral object, the
player must mentally order the combinations. The first
sound is a reward for finding the first combination, the
second sound is a reward for finding the second
combination.
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Preferably, the system is arranged to emit the
first sound only when the second polyhedral object has been
placed at a first position relative to the first polyhedral
object and the second sound only when the second polyhedral
object has been placed at a different position relative to
the first polyhedral object.
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Thus, the order of the sounds gives a further
indication of whether the polyhedral objects have been
juxtaposed in the intended order of relative positions. The
reward for combining the objects in the correct relative
orientations in the correct order is a correct order of
different sounds, each sound being unique for a unique
juxtaposition of the polyhedral objects.
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In a preferred embodiment, the first and second
position are on opposite sides of the first picture-bearing
face of the first polyhedral object.
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Thus, a story can unfold, with each picture on a
picture-bearing face forming a frame in a sequence
depicting the story. This arrangement is rather like that
of a comic strip and thus comes naturally to the user of
the puzzle system.
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In a preferred embodiment, the first polyhedral
object comprises at least one further picture-bearing face,
each picture on the further picture-bearing face being
displayed correctly at one intended angle about an
orientation axis perpendicular to the associated picture-bearing
face, wherein the detection and sound-emitting
systems are arranged to emit a third sound, only upon
detecting that the first and second polyhedral objects have
been juxtaposed with a face of the first polyhedral object
facing a face of the second polyhedral object and with a
picture on the further picture-bearing face of the first
polyhedral object at its intended angle being observable
adjacent to a picture on the second picture-bearing face of
the second polyhedral object at its intended angle when
looked at in a direction substantially parallel to the
facing faces.
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Thus, sequences of more than three pictures are
possible, making the game more interesting.
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In a preferred embodiment, the sound-emitting
system comprises an arrangement for reproducing a voice
recording, wherein preferably, each sound comprises a voice
recording comprising a different spoken message.
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Thus, a sequence of pictures can represent a
sequence of episodes in a story, which is told as the
polyhedral objects are juxtaposed in the correct
orientation relative to each other in a plane. The reward
for finding the correct next combination is the recital of
a further episode, preferably building on the previous
episode.
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The invention will now be explained in further
detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, of
which:
- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a puzzle system
comprising two cubes;
- Fig. 2 is a perspective view from one side of the
cube containing the sound-emitting system;
- Figs. 3A and 3B are schematic views of the faces
of the two cubes with their contact arrangement; and
- Fig. 4 is a very schematic diagram of another
variant of the puzzle system, comprising two prisms.
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The embodiment of the puzzle system described
herein by way of non-limiting example comprises a first
cube 1 and a second cube 2, both examples of a polyhedral
object. Other embodiments of the puzzle system may comprise
two prisms, as shown in Fig. 4 or two cuboctahedrons, for
example. Other polyhedrons will easily occur to the
mathematically inclined. The invention is not limited to
any particular class, nor is it absolutely necessary that
the two polyhedral objects be of the same shape.
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The first and second cubes 1,2 are made of two
halves, for instance from plastic. At least the first
cube 1 is hollow, as it houses some electronics (not shown)
and a battery compartment 3, shown in Fig. 2. On the faces
of the first and second cubes 1,2 are recessed surfaces 4
(Fig. 1), on which a picture (not shown) can be applied,
for example by means of a transfer. The pictures each
represent a scene in a sequence, for instance forming a
story. The object of the puzzle is to position the two
cubes 1,2 next to each other, with the second cube 2
alternately to the right and to the left of the first
cube 1. This is to be done in such a way that two
consecutive scenes are projected on a plane facing the
player, the scene to the right following the scene to the
left in the story.
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To aid in understanding, Fig. 1 shows a first
picture-bearing face 5 of the first cube, and an axis 6
perpendicular to the first picture-bearing face 5. Fig. 1
also shows a second picture-bearing face 7 of the second
cube 2, and a corresponding axis 8, which is perpendicular
to the second picture-bearing face 7. The picture on the
first picture-bearing face 5 is the right way up when
placed in a plane at one intended angle α, just as the
picture on the second picture-bearing face 7 is the right
way up when oriented at an angle β around the axis 8
perpendicular to it. The first and second cube 1,2 are to
be juxtaposed, for example by placing them on a shelf or
table, in which position the two axes are in parallel and
the angles α,β are at their intended values for viewing the
pictures the right way up.
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Each time two picture-bearing faces have been
correctly placed side-by-side in the plane, an appropriate
sound is emitted by a sound emitting system in the first
cube 1 through holes 9 in the first cube 1. In this
example, the sound emitting system comprises an arrangement
for reproducing a voice recording and a different spoken
message is reproduced for each combination of pictures.
Each spoken message is only reproduced for a specific
combination of pictures. Thus, a story is told, for example
providing dialogue to characters shown on the pictures on
the picture-bearing faces.
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Subsequently, the cube placed to the right is to
be left in place, with its picture-bearing face remaining
in position. The cube on the left must be picked up and
rotated, before being placed to the right of the cube that
remained in position, i.e. in a position on the opposite
side of the other cube from that occupied previously. The
trick is to do this in such a way that the picture
following the picture on the picture-bearing face that
remains in position is placed next to the picture-bearing
face remaining in position, with both pictures the right
way up.
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The puzzle system comprises a detection system,
distributed over the first and second cubes 1,2. The
detection system detects whether, and if so, which two
consecutive pictures have been correctly placed side by
side in a plane, and co-operates with the sound-emitting
system to reproduce the appropriate voice recording.
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In the present example, the detection system
comprises electric contacts 10, provided on the picture-bearing
faces of the first and second cubes 1,2. Faces on
the first cube 1 comprise three contacts, those on the
second cube 2 comprise two. The two contacts on the face of
a second cube 2 are electrically connected inside the
second cube 2. When placed in contact with two of the three
contacts on the face of the first cube 1, a circuit is
closed, providing a signal for the co-operating detection
and sound-emitting systems.
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Fig. 3 shows an example of the lay-out of the
first cube (Fig. 3A) and second cube 43 (Fig. 3B). It is
assumed that there are eleven different sound recordings,
thus eleven different combination of pictures. Faces 11-16
of the
first cube 1 are each shown with an arrow to aid in
applying the pictures on their surface. Faces 17-22 of the
second cube 2 are similarly adorned. In addition,
contacts 23-39 provided on the faces of the
first cube 1
and contacts 40-51 provided on the faces of the
second
cube 2 are labelled for reference when consulting Table 1,
provided below.
Left Picture | Right picture | First contact combination | Second contact combination |
Number | Orientation | Number | Orientation |
13 | → | 19 | ← | 46-33 | 29-42 |
19 | ← | 14 | ← | 28-44 | 45-31 |
14 | ← | 18 | ← | 39-47 | 43-37 |
18 | ← | 12 | → | 51-34 | 50-35 |
12 | → | 20 | ↓ | 41-24 | 40-23 |
20 | ↓ | 16 | ↓ | 49-25 | 48-24 |
16 | ↓ | 21 | ↑ | 34-43 | 47-36 |
21 | ↑ | 15 | ↑ | 51-38 | 37-50 |
15 | ↑ | 17 | → | 28-46 | 32-42 |
17 | → | 11 | → | 45-33 | 44-30 |
11 | → | 22 | ↓ | 41-27 | 40-26 |
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In Table 1, the arrows depicted show the
inclination of the corresponding angle shown in Figs. 3A
and 3B when the pictures applied to that face is at its
intended angle, i.e the right way up. Thus, the first
picture in the sequence of pictures is borne by the face of
the first cube 1 labelled 13 in Fig. 3A. The second
picture, which follows the first picture logically in the
sequence, is on face number 19 of the second cube 2. When
placed at their intended angle, with the first cube in
contact with the second cube, the contacts 29 and 33 on the
face 14 of the first cube 1 contact the contacts 42 and 46
on a face 18 of the second cube 2. This closes a circuit
which triggers the reproduction of a first voice recording.
The first cube 1 is then placed to the right of the second
cube 2, with a different picture-bearing face 14 adjacent
the face 19 that was previously the face bearing the
picture on the right-hand side. Now, the contacts 28 and 31
provided on a face 13 of the first cube 1 are in contact
with contacts 44 and 45 on a face 20 of the second cube 2.
This closes a different circuit, triggering the
reproduction of a different voice recording, the second
part of the story.
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Fig. 4 shows a variant of the puzzle system
comprising a first prism 52 and a second prism 53. A first
face 54 of the second prism 53 faces a corresponding face
(not visible) of the first prism 52. In Fig. 4, the first
and second prisms 52,53 are shown spaced slightly apart for
illustrative purposes. To ensure that a sound is emitted in
the actual physical embodiment, the first face 54 must be
in close proximity and thus parallel to the corresponding
face of the first prism 53. The outlines of a first
orientation plane 55, parallel to the first face 54 are
shown for reference purposes. Perpendicular to the first
orientation plane 55 is a second orientation plane 56 also
indicated by means of its outlines. The direction of
viewing is normal to the second orientation plane 56, and
thus parallel to the first orientation plane 55. When the
first and second prism 52,53 have been so juxtaposed, a
first picture-bearing face 57 of the first prism 52
projects an image 58 on the second orientation plane 56. A
first picture-bearing face 59 of the second prism projects
an image 60 on the second orientation plane 56 too. Note
that the picture-bearing faces 57,59 are not parallel to
the second orientation plane 56 and that the orientation
planes 55,56 are imaginary constructs, defined here to aid
in the definition of the invention. The images 58,60 are
adjacent, in the sense that no picture-bearing face of the
first and second prisms 52,53 projects an image in between
the two images 58,60.
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Assuming that both the first picture-bearing
faces 57,59 are both at their intended angle about an
orientation axis perpendicular to these faces, the two
images 58,60 are both the right way up, and depict two
consecutive scenes in a story. A first sound is then
emitted. If the second prism 53 is subsequently placed on
the other side of the first prism 52, with a particular
predetermined further face (not shown) correctly facing a
further face 61 of the first prism 52, a second sound is
emitted. In that case, a second picture-bearing face of the
second prism 53 will project an image adjacent and to the
left of the image 58 projected by the picture on the first
picture-bearing face of the first prism 52.
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The invention is not restricted to the embodiments
described above, which may be varied in a number of ways
within the scope of the appended claims. For example,
instead of using electric contacts, there may be provided
an optical detection system, comprising light-emitting
diodes on one cube and light sensors on the other cube, for
example. In this respect, it is to be noted that the term
juxtaposed does not necessarily imply that the polyhedral
objects in the puzzle system are positioned in contact with
each other. Rather, their proximity is determined by the
sensitivity and type of detection system employed. It is
further noted, that it is not a necessary requirement that
there be only two polyhedral objects in the puzzle system.
An implementation is possible, in which three or four cubes
are to be placed in a line, with the leftmost cube being
transferred to the right each time a sound has been
emitted.