GB2463305A

GB2463305A - Puzzle comprising concentric spherical containers

Info

Publication number: GB2463305A
Application number: GB0811571A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shaun Hume
Original assignee: Fillaball Holdings Ltd
Current assignee: Fillaball Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 2008-06-24
Filing date: 2008-06-24
Publication date: 2010-03-17
Also published as: GB0811571D0

Abstract

A puzzle comprises a nested structure of hollow containers 1, 2, 3 with an outer container 1and at least one inner container 2, 3. Each container has an aperture 4, 5, 6, and the or each inner container 2, 3 rotates within the next larger sized container about at least one axis such that the apertures may be brought into alignment allowing the insertion and extraction of an article, e.g. a ball, into and from the innermost container 3. The structure preferably comprises three to five concentric spherical containers. The outermost container 1 may include a base 7. At least some adjacent pairs of containers may be linked to define the relative motion of the inner container, e.g. via spigots, shafts, trunnions or such-like (not shown) on the inner container which engage with sockets, cups or sleeves (not shown) on the inside of the next larger sized container. The structure may comprise three transparent spheres each having a circular aperture, with the two inner spheres being able to rotate freely about an axis passing through the centre of the sphere. The spheres may be arranged to take up a position at rest where the apertures are aligned when the outermost sphere is in one orientation and non-aligned when the outermost sphere is in a different orientation. The structure may alternatively be used as a display container, e.g. for confectionary items.

Description

I

NESTED STRUCTURES

This invention relates to nested structures, i.e. structures consisting of a series of articles, the smallest of which fits inside the next article in the series which in turn fits inside the next article of the series, and so on. The smallest of the articles may be hollow, but all of the remainder of the articles must be hollow in order that the smaller articles may fit inside.

The best known example of a nested structure is probably the so-called Russian doll, where each doll save the smallest is in the form of a hollow into which the next size down doll fits. The dolls are conventionally composed of two pieces of wood which fit together to make a doll shape encasing the successively smaller doll shapes.

Another example of a nested structure is the so-called Chinese ivory ball, which consists of a set of concentric spheres, each rotating within the next and formed from what was originally a single block of ivory.

Nested arrays of objects of this type are of little practical use, but Russian dolls have found widespread commercial application.

We have now found that if all but the smallest of a set of nested articles have apertures in their walls, for example cut out of a hollow shell structure, a variety of structures may be devised which may be used as containers for the smallest article or a plurality of small articles and where the extraction of the smallest article may be achieved via the apertures by manipulation of the nested structure itself.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a container in the form of a nested structure of hollow members, each of which (save the largest) may rotate about at least one axis within the next larger sized member and each of which has an aperture, the arrangement being such that the apertures may be brought into registration to enable the insertion of an article into the innermost of the members or its extraction from the innermost of the members to the outside.

By varying the relative shapes and/or sizes of the set of hollow members making up the nested structure, the ease or difficulty of such insertion and extraction may be varied within very wide limits.

Preferably the number of hollow members is three to five though, in certain circumstances, just two such members may be present. Above five, the difficulties of manipulation, even if these are assisted by mechanism linking the members one to another to define the nature and degree of freedom of relative movement between two adjacent hollow members become manipulatively extreme. On the other hand, only three members each constrained to move relative to the adjacent member(s) may make extraction and insertion relatively easy, albeit still intriguing.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, some at least of the adjacent pairs of nested articles are linked one to another to define the relative motion which the inner article may make with respect to the outer. A particularly simple form of such linkage is to provide on opposite sides of the inner article a pair of spigots, shafts, trunnions or the like and to provide, on the interior surface of the outer article, sockets, cups or sleeves into which the pair fit. The pivotal connection thereby established may, of course, be as easily achieved the other way round, i.e. inward-facing spigots, trunnions or the like on the outer article and two oppositely facing sockets, cups or sleeves on the inner article. If the articles have a circular cross-section, the cups or sleeves may be replaced by a circular track along which the spigots, shafts or trunnions may move.

For convenience and, indeed, ease of manufacture, the preferred general shape of the hollow articles which go to make up the nested structure are preferably spherical or approximately spherical. However, other shapes may be conceived of, for example cylindrical or egg-shaped.

Within the constraints identified above, a variety of structures may be developed of which two are described in what follows, purely by way of

example.

In the first, a nested structure consists of a set of spherical or egg-shaped hollow shells, each of which has a circular aperture in its wall of sufficient size to enable the passage of a steel ball. The relative sizes of the hollow shells are such that each is a loose fit inside the next largest, providing sufficient space to enable the steel ball to be located between the exterior surface of the inner respective shell and the interior surface of the respective outer shell.

By manipulating such a structure, it is possible to have the steel ball travel through the aperture in the outermost shell, then into the next inner shell and so on until it reaches the innermost shell. Likewise, it should be possible to extract the ball from the innermost shell by causing it successively to pass through the apertures in the ever increasing size shells. By suitable choice of dimensions of the shells, the aperture and the ball, the "puzzle" item may be made more or less easy to solve, solution being defined as moving the ball from the middle to the outside or vice versa.

A second exemplary embodiment of the invention is a display container for storing items such as confectionery units, for example aniseed balls, sugared almonds or wrapped boiled sweets. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a display container for such items consists of three transparent spheres, each of which has a circular aperture in its side. Each of the spheres save the largest is typically mounted inside the next largest sphere enabling it to swivel freely about an axis passing through the centre line of the sphere.

Because the sphere has an aperture, the centre of gravity of the sphere lies offset from the axis about which the sphere pivots and accordingly each sphere tends to rotate under gravity to a position of lowest potential energy.

By arranging the pivotal axes of the spheres differently with respect to the position of the hole, the nested structure may be constrained to take up a position at rest where the apertures in the spheres are registered with the outermost sphere in one orientation and non-registered when the outermost sphere is in a different orientation. This enables a container to be essentially closed when in one position (which may be defined, for example, by a foot support attached to the outermost sphere), but where the apertures may be brought into register, thus enabling access to the interior of the smallest sphere, if the orientation of the outermost sphere is changed. This repositioning of the spheres relative to one another takes place under the influence of gravity acting on the spheres themselves on any content in the innermost one, and optionally on any extra weights applied to parts of the spheres, or content in between two spheres.

By making the spheres of transparent material, the articles can be seen. If, on the other hand, the spheres are not made of transparent material, the item in question constitutes a "magic box" which can be opened very easily once one knows the trick required to bring the three apertures into registration with the apertures upwards, so enabling access to the content.

The attached drawings illustrate practical embodiments of this type of container. In the drawings, Figures 1 to 3 show a first type in perspective diagrammatic view and in sectional views, while Figures 4 to 6 show an alternative construction, likewise as a perspective diagrammatic view (Figure 4) and two sections.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 3, the container consists of three identically shaped spheres 1, 2, 3, each of which has a circular aperture (4, 5, 6 respectively) on one side. The outermost sphere denoted 1 in the drawings has an attached foot 7 on which it may rest stably and, when that foot 7 is placed on a horizontal surface, the aperture 4 lies in the upper portion of the sphere with the plane of the aperture being approximately at 45° to a horizontal surface on which the container rests.

Within the outer sphere 1 is an intermediate sphere 2 with an aperture and within the sphere 2 is a third sphere 3 with a corresponding aperture 6.

On the outside of spheres 2 and 3 are in each case a pair of cups into which a pointed spike projecting inwardly from the interior surface of the next larger sphere may be seated. The cups and spikes define the axes about which the spheres rotate.

The locations of these mountings are such that, in the position shown in Figure 1, the three apertures do not coincide. By lifting the outer sphere 1 and rotating it so that the periphery of aperture 4 lies in a horizontal plane, the apertures 5, 6 in the two inner spheres may be brought into registration with aperture 4 and with one another so that an object or objects held in sphere 3 may be extracted by the user's fingers.

Figures 4 to 6 show a slight variant where the foot 7 actually surrounds the aperture in the outer sphere. When the apparatus shown in Figure 2 is placed on a horizontal flat surface, the periphery of the aperture in the outermost sphere 1 likewise lies in a horizontal plane. So does the periphery of the innermost sphere 3, but the aperture is facing up. If the apparatus shown in Figures 4 to 6 is inverted, the two inner spheres swivel on the swivel mountings attached to them and all three apertures come to lie in successive horizontal planes near the top of the outermost sphere.

It will be seen that the linking structures enabling each sphere to rotate about an axis act in the fashion of a gimbal to ensure that the innermost sphere cannot be moved easily to a position in which the periphery of its aperture is otherwise than horizontal, once any oscillations have died down. p

Claims

CLAIMS1. A container in the form of a nested structure of hollow members, each of which (save the largest) may rotate about at least one axis within the next larger sized member and each of which has an aperture, the arrangement being such that the apertures may be brought into registration to enable the insertion of an article into the innermost of the members or its extraction from the innermost of the members to the outside.
2. A container according to Claim 1 wherein the number of hollow members is three to five.
3. A container according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein at least some of the adjacent pairs of nested articles are linked one to another to define the relative motion which the inner article may make with respect to the outer.
4. A container according to Claim 3 wherein at least one inner article has on opposite sides a pair of spigots, shafts, trunnions or the like and the interior surface of the next outermost article, sockets, cups or sleeves are provided into which the pair of spigots, shafts, trunnions or the like fit.
5. A container according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein the general shape of the hollow members is spherical.*::: 25
6. A container according to Claim Sand consisting of three transparent spheres, each of which has a circular aperture in its side, each of the spheres save the largest being mounted inside the next largest sphere in a * way enabling it to swivel freely about an axis passing through the centre line * of the sphere.: .. 30 *..*
7. A container according to Claim 6 wherein the pivotal axes of the spheres are arranged differently with respect to the position of the hole in such a way that the nested structure may be constrained to take up a position at rest where the apertures in the spheres are registered with the outermost sphere in one orientation and non-registered when the outermost sphere is in a different orientation. a * S * ** S **** * *
S.-. *S *S * . * * . *0SS * S* * . S SS**SS.....