GB2116857A

GB2116857A - Three dimensional adjustable maze puzzle

Info

Publication number: GB2116857A
Application number: GB08304929A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernest James Buxton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-02-24
Filing date: 1983-02-22
Publication date: 1983-10-05
Also published as: GB8304929D0

Abstract

The puzzle comprises a shell 10, defining a hollow interior, and at least one orifice 26 in the shell permitting passage of a slider member 38 into the shell. Sets of pairs of opposed aligned apertures 12 are also provided in the shell for receiving support rods 34 which support the slider 38 within the shell, the slider and rods being formed so that the slider can be transferred within the shell between support rods extending in mutually perpendicular directions. The slider member may thus be made to describe a path within the shell, an object of the puzzle being to try and extract the slider member form the interior of the shell via the orifice. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to puzzles Field of invention This invention relates to puzzles and is concerned particularly with a puzzle in the form of a three-dimensional maze.

The invention According to the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional maze puzzle comprising a shell defining a hollow interior, at least one orifice in, the shell wall for permitting passage of a slider member between the interior and exterior of the shell, a plurality of sets of pairs of opposed aligned apertures in the shell wall for removably receiving support members adapted slidably to support the slider member within the shell, the slider member and support members being so adapted that the slider member can be transferred within the shell between support members extending in intersecting directions.

In use, a slider member is introduced to the interior of the shell by being passed through an orifice supported on a first support member or set of support members located in appropriate apertures of a first set in the shell wall. When supported in this way, the slider member is free to slide within the shell in a first direction. Inside the shell, the slider member can be transferred to a second support member or set of support members located in appropriate apertures of a second set in the shell wall. The first support member or set of support members can then be removed, leaving the slider member supported by the second support member or set of support members for sliding movement within the shell in a second direction intersecting the first direction.The first support member or set of support members (or possibly different support member(s) can be reinserted into the shell located in appropriate apertures of a further set (which may be the first set) and the slider member transferred to this support member(s) for sliding movement within the shell in a direction intersecting the second direction. The process is repeated so that the slider member describes a path within the shell.

In one embodiment of the invention, the shell wall has a single orifice, with one slider member and a pair of support members (or sets of support members) being provided. In use, the slider member is introduced to the interior of the shell and mainpulated within the shell as described above, the object being to try and extract the slider member from the interior of the shell via the orifice.

In an alternative embodiment, two slider members and three support members (or sets of support members) are provided. In use, the two slider members are introducd to the interior of the shell and manipulated as described above, the object being to support both slider members within the shell on the same support member (or set of support members). In this case, the shell wall preferably has two orifices, although the arrangement of apertures may be such that it is not necessary (or appropriate) to use both orifices in order to achieve the object.

The difficulty or ease of solution of the puzzle is influenced by various factors. For instance, the number of entry/exit orifices provided in the shell wall affects the difficulty of the puzzle. In one embodiment using a single slider member, in order to make a puzzle easier, more than one such orifice may be provided.

Further, the actual arrangement of apertures in the different sets also influences the ease of solution. Preferably, these are arranged so that at each step the user generally has a choice of two or more options, leading to a greater number of possible paths within the shell.

The shell may be of a variety of different configurations including, for example, spherical and those having planar side walls. In one preferred practical embodiment, the shell is in the form of a cube, with three sets of pairs of apertures in opposed faces defining three mutually perpendicular directions of sliding movement within the shell. One convenient size of cube has a side of about 8cm.

The shell may be any suitable material, with plastics material being particularly preferred.

In this case, the shell may conveniently be produced by injection moulding techniques.

For instance, in the case of the cubic embodiment discussed above, the shell may be formed in two pieces, each having three faces, by injection moulding.

The shell may be initially formed with a particular desired arrangement of apertures in the shell wall. As a manufacturing alternative, however, a shell may be produced with an array of a large number of possible holes in the wall, with separate overlays revealing only certain selected apertures being provided for subsequent attachment to the shell exterior to produce a desired arrangement of apertures.

In this way, a single base shell may be modified by use of different overlays to produce a series of different puzzles, possibly varying in ease of solution.

The exterior of the shell may be coloured or patterned as desired to produce an attractive article. As a further possibility, the shell may be transparent so that a user can follow visually the path of a slider member inside the shell.

The slider member conveniently includes apertures or recesses for receiving the support members. In one peferred arrangement, suitable for use with the cubic shell mentioned above, the slider member is of generally cubic configuration, with generally part cylindrical recesses in each face. Such a slider member may be slidably supported by a pair of rod-like support members located in recesses in opposed faces of the member. It will be clear that the slider member may be supported in this way for sliding movement in any one of three mutually perpendicular directions. The slider member may also be readily transferred from a first pair of supporting members to a second pair at right angles thereto.This is conveniently achieved by locating a first supporting member of the second pair between the first pair, at right angles thereto, sliding the slider member along the first pair into contact with the first support member of the second pair, and inserting the second support member of the second pair to contact the opposed face of the slider member. The slider member will then be fully supported by the second pair and the first pair can be removed.

The slider member may alternatively be of generally similar construction, but with cylindrical apertures in place of the recesses. This arrangement may be used in a generally similar manner, except the support members must be aligned with the apertures for positive insertion thereinto (rather than being slid into engagement with recesses) so that manipulation is slightly more difficult.

The use of a pair of support members for supporting the slider member eliminates any difficulties due to rotation of the slider member relative to the support members. A similar effect may be achieved by use of a single support member provided this is arranged to be fixed in rotation with respect to the slider member. This may be achieved, for example, by having square section apertures in the slider member with closely fitting square section support rods.

The slider member may be of any suitable material, including plastics material, metal, wood, and should be of sufficient mass to slide readily on the support member(s).

The support members are conveniently in the form of elongate rods, as discussed above, of any suitable material such as plastics material, eg nylon, or metal.

The support member should be of sufficient length to be able to pass through the shell and protrude at both ends. One end of each support member preferably includes an enlarged end piece to engage the shell face and prevent the member from sliding completely through the shell. Removable end caps may conveniently be provided for the other free ends of the support members to enable a support member to be retained in position in the shell, for example to preserve a particular position of the puzzle to be resumed at a later point in time.

The free ends of the support members are preferably chamfered or rounded to facilitate easy fitting of the support members into the apertures of the shell. The apertures are preferably also chamfered, both at their inner and outer ends, for a similar reason.

An embodiment of the invention comprising a cubic shell will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cubic shell; Figure 2 is a plan view from below of the shell; Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the shell; Figure 4 is a right hand side elevation of the shell; Figure 5 is a left hand side elevation of the shell; Figure 6 is a plan view from above of the shell; Figure 7 is a front elevation of the shell; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a slider member; and Figure 9 is a plan view of four support rods.

Detailed description of the drawings Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 7 illustrate a hollow cubic shell 10 having a side of about 8cm and formed of transparent, coloured plastics material.

Each wall of the cube is provided with a number of apertures such as aperture 12, the apertures being arranged in a series of opposed, aligned pairs. Thus, the arrangement of apertures in the front wall 1 4 of the cube (Figs. 1 and 7) is a mirror image of the arrangement of apertures in the rear wall 1 6 (Fig. 3). Similarly, the arrangement of apertures in the right side wall 1 8 (Figs. 1 and 4) is a mirror image of the arrangement of apertures in the left side wall 20 (Fig. 5). Further, the arrangement of apertures in the top wall 22 (Figs. 1 and 6) is a mirror image of the arrangement of apertures in the bottom wall 24 (Fig. 2), with one exception in this case.

The exception is orifice 26 in the top wall to which there is no direct counterpart in the bottom wall 24. As shown best in Fig. 6, orifice 26 is of generally square configuration with a respective semi-circular recess 28 in the centre of each side. The bottom wall 24 includes four apertures 30 aligned with the positions of the recesses 28.

The apertures in the shell wall thus form three sets of aligned pairs, the sets arranged at right angles to one another.

The puzzle further comprises four elongate cylindrical plastics rods 32, as illustrated in Fig. 9. The rods are dimensioned to be capable of being inserted through a pair of opposed aligned apertures in the shell wall, passing through the shell and protruding at both ends. As shown, each rod includes an enlarged end 34 to engage the shell outer face and prevent the rod from sliding com pletely through the shell.

The opposed, free, end 36 of each rod is chamfered or rounded to facilitate easy fitting of the rods into the apertures of the shell.

Referring to Fig. 8, the puzzle further comprises a plastics slider member 38. The slider member 38 is of generally cubic configuration, with two perpendicular part cylindrical recesses 40 in each face. The slider member 38 may be supported by a pair of parallel rods 32 located in appropriate recesses in opposed faces of the member. The member 38 may be supported in this way for movement in any of three mutually perpendicular directions. The member 38 may also be readily transferred from a first pair of supporting rods 32 to a second pair of rods 32 extending at right angles to the first pair.This is conveniently achieved by locating a first rod of the second pair between the first pair, at right angles thereto, sliding the slider member along the first pair of rods and into contact with the first rod of the second pair, and inserting the second rod of the second pair to contact the opposed face of the slider member. The slider member will then be fully supported by the second pair of rods, and the first pair can be removed.

The slider member 38 is dimensioned so that it can be passed through the orifice 26 between the interior and exterior of the shell 10.

In use, slider member 38 is introduced to the interior of the shell 10 by being passed through the orifice 26 supported on two rods 32 passing through a selected opposed pair of the apertures 30 in the bottom wall 24 and through aligned recesses 28 in the top wall 22. When supported in this way, the slider member 38 is free to slide within the shell in a first direction, perpendicular to the top and bottom shell walls. Inside the shell, the slider member then is transferred to a second pair of rods 34 located in appropriate apertures in the left and right side walls or front and rear walls of the shell as appropriate. The process is repeated, each time transferring the slider member for movement in a perpendicular direction. The object of the puzzle is to try and extract the slider member 38 from the interior of the shell via the orifice 26.

The arrangement of orifices in the shell walls determines the number of options available at each stage and so affects the character of the puzzle. The illustrated arrangement was carefully selected so that the user generally has a choice of two or more options at each stage, providing a large number of possible paths within the shell, but without making the puzzle unduly difficult.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional maze puzzle comprising a shell defining a hollow interior, at least one orifice in the shell wall for permitting passage of a slider member between the interior and exterior of the shell, a plurality of sets of pairs of opposed aligned apertures in the shell wall for removably receiving support members adapted slidably to support the slider member within the shell, the slider member and support members being so adapted the the slider member can be transferred within the shell between support members extending in intersecting directions.

2. A puzzle according to claim 1, comprising a single orifice in the shell.

3. A puzzle according to claim 1, comprising two orifices in the shell wall.

4. A puzzle according to claim 1, 2 or 3, comprising two slider members.

5. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shell is in the form of a cube, with three sets of pairs of apertures in opposed faces defining three mutually perpendicular directions of sliding movements within the shell.

6. A puzzle according to claim 5, wherein the cube has a slide of about 8 cm.

7. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the shell is of plastics material.

8. A puzzle according to claim 7, wherein the shell is produced by injection moulding techniques.

9. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shell in initially formed with a particular desired arrangement of apertures in the shell wall.

1 0. A puzzle according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a shell is produced with an array of a large number of possible holes in the wall, with separate overlays revealing only certain selected apertures being provided for subsequent attachment to the shell exterior to produce a desired arrangement of apertures.

11. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the slider member includes apertures or recesses for receiving the support members.

1 2. A puzzle according to claim 11, wherein the slider member is of generally cubic configuration, with generally part cylindrical recesses in each face, being supportable by a pair of rod-like support members located in recesses in opposed faces of the member.

1 3. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the slider member comprises plastics material.

1 4. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support members are in the form of elongate rods.

1 5. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support members comprise plastics material.

16. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support members are of sufficient lengths to be able to pass through the shell and protrude at both ends.

1 7. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one end of each support member includes an enlarged end piece to engage the shell face and prevent the member from sliding completely through the shell.

1 8. A puzzle according to claim 17, wherein removable end caps are provided for the other, free, ends of the support members.

1 9. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the free ends of the support members are chamfered or rounded.

20. A puzzle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apertures are chamfered, both at their inner and outer ends.

21. A three-dimensional maze puzzle sub stantialiy as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.