US548796A - Labyrinth - Google Patents

Description

(-No Model.)

S. BAYUK.

LABYRINTH.

No. 548,796. Patented Oct. 29, 1895.

WITNE'SSES:

exit. These rooms or inclosures communicate UNITTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL BAYUK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

LABYRINTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,796, dated October 29, 1895-. Application filed May 6, 1895. SerialNo. 548,205. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern.: Be it known' that I, SAMUEL BAYUK, of th city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Labyrinths, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to labyrinths designed for purposes of amusement; and it vconsists of theimprovements which are fully set forth in the following specification and are shown in the accompanying drawings.

It is the object of the invention to afford amusement by means of a labyrinth of rooms or inclosures through which a person entering the labyrinth must pass in order to reach an with one another in s uch a way that passage is permitted only in certain directions, so that in order to enter certainl rooms it will be necessary to first pass through certain other rooms, the whole arrangement being such as to create confusion.

In one arrangement of my labyrinth I arrange certain rooms with doors or gates permitting access,but preventing egress, so that if a person enters any of these rooms he will be locked in and must be released by an attendant or other person opening the door or gate from the outside.

In my preferred arrangement the labyrinth consists of a framework divided into a series of inclosures or rooms having communicating doors which may be opened from one side and not from the other, the doors and rooms being so arranged that the person will have to pass through a series of rooms before reaching the exit.

The doors or gates are provided with latches, handles, or other opening devices by which they may be opened from one side, but not from the other, and--to prevent the person in the labyrinth from seeing from which side a door may be opened, and thus guiding his course, the doors or gates may be provided with similar latches or handles on each side, those on one side only being operative. Some of the doors may, if desired, be made to open from both sides.

I shall now refer to the accompanying drawings for the purpose of more particularly describing my invention.

Figure 1 is a front elevation ot' a portion of the wall or partition of one of the inclosures or rooms, showing one of the doors or gates. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, enlarged, 55 on the line ma of Fig. l, through the latch. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line e' z of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the labyrinth.

Referring first to the diagrammatic view, Fig. 5, A is the outer wall or frame of the labyrinth, which is divided by partitions B and C into a series of rooms, compartments, or inclosures. The particular shape, arrangement, or number of these rooms or inclosures is of course immaterial. For illustration I have shown a rectangular inclosu re A, divided by the partitions B C into twenty-five compartments, numbered from 1 to 25. y 7o D are doors or gates between the adjacent compartments, which are shown turned partly inward in the direction of the side from which they may beopened. Any room may be selected as the room of entrance and any other room as the room of exit. In the diagram room 1 is shown as the room of entry and room 25 as the room of exit. A person entering room 1 must make hisway through the labyrinth ofrooms to room 25 to obtain an 8o exit. The dotted line in the diagram shows one course that may be followed in the example shown. Passage is made through the rooms 12 5 8 9 10 1l 12 151617 1820 2224to the room 25. Other courses may, of course, be followed. Rooms 4, 14, and 23 are shown without doors opening outward, so that if a person in making his way through the labyrinth should enter any of these rooms he would be locked in and would have to be re- 9o leased by the attendant or some one outside. When any room of this character is located at the outside of the labyrinth-t'. e., adjacent to the outer Wall-it may be provided with'a door opening from the outside, as at a'. It is 95 preferable, however, when such doors are provided that the othercompartments should be provided withfsimilar doors, so that these particular rooms may not become distinguished and avoided. The doors to the other ro i rooms, however, may be merely false doors.

It is immaterial to the invention in what particular way the outer walls A and the divided partition C and B are constructed. In

Fig. l I have illustrated one construction consisting of a fence provided with a gate or door D, having the usual automaticallyclosing hinges d, instead of which springs may be employed, and a handle E. Instead of the handle E shown any other suitable door-opening device may be employed. I have shown the handle E, having a shank F, the latch G of which engages the usual springbolt I-I to withdraw it from the catch I. On the other side of the door is afalse handle E', appearing in every waylike the handle E, but not connected with the latch, so that the door cannot be opened by it. To prevent the person from putting his hand over the top of the pa-*rtition or gate and opening the handle, a screen or guard .I may be employed, arranged on the gate or partition and extending above the handle. The partitions may be of any height desired and may form actual closed rooms. I prefer, however, to employ partitions of moderate height, so as not to obstruct the View, in order that spectators on the outside may watch persons passing through the labyrinth.

A person entering the room l may pass by the doors D D into either room 6 or 2. If he enters room 6, he cannot pass through the doors into either of the adjacent rooms 5 or 7, for the doors leading to those rooms do not open from the room 6. IIe must therefore pass into the room 23, when he becomes locked in, as that room has no door that may be opened from it. If he enters room 2, he may pass into 5 or 3; but if he enters 3 he must go into 4, where he will become locked. From 5 he can make his way through the labyrinth in the manner indicated by the dotted line or in other ways that may be traced; but if he enters either of the rooms 4, 14, or 23 he will be locked in. This particular arrangement of rooms and doors is of course merely illustrative and may be varied in a great Variety of ways.

The rooms-such as 4, 14, and 23-of which the doors cannotv be opened from the interior may be omitted; but the presence of one or more of such rooms properly placed will add greatly to the difficulty of traversing the labyrinth and will materially increase theinterest and amusement.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A labyrinth consisting of an inclosure divided by internal partitions into a number of rooms or small inclosures, each provided with a series of openings or outlets located on different sides and communicating with the different adjacent rooms or inclosures, whereby each room is provided with different outlets or openings leading to different rooms, in combination with means such as gates normally closing said communicating outlets and adapted to be opened from one side only, whereby, while egress may apparently be made from any room through any one of the communicating outlets, it may be actually made only through certain of the outlets leading therefrom.

2. A labyrinth consisting of an inclosure divided by internal partitions into a number of rooms or small inclosures, grouped together so that one or more of said rooms is substantially surrounded by others, with adjacent rooms communicating with one another by passageways or openings,in combination with means such as gates normallyclosing said communicating passageways and adapted to be opened from one side only, whereby passage may be made through said rooms only in certain directions, and one or more of said rooms or inclosures having its gates arranged to be opened from the outside to permit entrance thereto, but not to be opened from the inside,

whereby any person entering said room will be locked therein.

In testimony of which invention Ihereunto set my hand.

SAMUEL BAYUK. Witnesses:

ERNEsT HOWARD HUNTER, THEO. L. EVANS.

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