US611334A - Puzzle - Google Patents

Description

Patnted Sept. 27, uses, J. E. RICHARDSON.

PUZZLE.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1897.)

(No Model.)

THE NDRmS PETERS w Pnorouwm msmum'o 0.4:

JAMES E. RICHARDSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- PATENT OFFICE.

HALF TO JULIAN C. DOWELL, OF WOODSIDE, MARYLAND.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,334, dated September 27, 1898.

' A li ti fil d December 3, 1897. Serial No. 660,661. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES E. RICHARDSON, a citizen-of the United States, residing at Bal timore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

This invention relates to that class of devices which are especially designed for amusement and pastime and which are commonly callec puzzles.

The primary object of the invention is to amusement by presenting to the user the solution of a problem which, though simple enough when known, is not apparent and which will hold the attention and aiford amusement to the user and others who may witness the efforts of the player in attempting to solve the problem.

The invention consists, essentially,of a body or plate having a plurality of slightly-separated orifices therein, through which are inserted the looped portions of a cord or string having both ends free and each provided with a stop to limit its movement and'prevent the passage thereof through said orifices, said looped portions being interlocked with capacity for disengagement when the parts are in the proper position and having a sliding button or device thereon which can be removed by disengagingsaid looped portions, but which in the normal position of the parts is incapable of removal without breaking or cutting the cord.

The invention consists, further, in a device of the character described having, in addition to the above-mentioned features, a, bead or stop arranged .upon the looped portions of the cord on opposite sides of said button or.

device to add to the delusion by making it appear that the said device cannot be removed without first removing one of said beads.

In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification and in which I have illustrated one form of my invention, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a puzzleembodying my invention,

ing the cord, Fig. 2 showing'the parts in position for engaging or disengaging the looped portions of the cord, Fig. 3 showing the parts as they appear when the loops are being disengaged, and Fig. 4 showing the loops disengaged and indicating in dotted lines how the button or device to be removed is taken off the cord.

Referring to the drawings, in which the same letters of reference are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, A denotes an oblong body orplate which in the construction shown is of ovalform, having at or near each end thereof an orifice a. Said body may be formed of any suitable material adapted to afford the desired rigidity or resistance to bending, though a certain degree of flexibility is not undesirable and may be preferable. The openings at a are-adapted to receive the cord, string, or other flexible device B, which has its intermediate portion loopedandthe loops thereof engaged with each other or interlocked and each passed through one of said openings, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The parts may be connected by forming a loop I) of suitable length at one end or part of the cord B and passing the same through one of the orifices a, then slipping thereon a disk, button, or other device 0, and then passing the loop through the other orifice a, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and engaging therewith the other end of the cord by passingthe latter through the projecting portion of the loop I) and drawing the second loop I) thus formed out through the orifice into the position shown inFig. 1, in which positionthe ends of the cord may be prevented from passing through'the orifices a a by suitable stops B 13*, formed of any suitable material and of any desired shape, as a knot or swell in the cord or a knob or ball attached thereto. As

thus connected there is apparently no way in which the device 0 may be removed without breaking or cutting the cord, and the delusion may be increased by placing one or more beads D on one branch or limb of each of the loops b b on opposite sides of the disk 0 prior to fastening or forming the balls or stops B B on the ends thereof, so as to make it appear that the device 0 cannot be removed without first removing one or the other of said beads, which should be larger than the orifice through said device to give this impression. These beads, however, are not essential and may be dispensed with.

The parts being arranged and connected in the manner shown in Fig. 1, the solution of the problem consists in drawing or passing one of the loops b or bas b, for example through one of the orifices a, as shown in Fig. 2, then passing the end of the loop I), having the stop B thereon, through the projecting portion of the loop I), Fig. 3, in the opposite direction to that in which it was passed in making the connection, whereupon the said loop 1) may be drawn back free of the loop I), as shown in Fig. 4, and the looped and interlocked connections being thus disengaged or disconnected the device 0 may be removed, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4:. To again connect the parts, the operation is the same as hereinbefore described.

Any suitable material may be employed in forming the body Asuch as wood, celluloid, cardboard, papier-mach, &c.and the cord may also consist of any suitable material having the desired flexibility. While the oblong oval-shaped construction shown is preferable for the body, any other suitable shape, either round, square, polygonal, or egg-shaped or globular, may be employed, the only essential being that said body shall be adapted to be perforated at two different points to receive the flexible cord and permit the connection and disconnection of the parts substantially in the manner shown and described.

The device or annulus C may be of any desired form or configuration adapted to encircle the loop ofthe string or cord, and in the use of the term annulus I do not desire to be limited to a ring or annular device, strictly speaking, as various other forms may be employed as the equivalent of the ring or disk shown.

To distinguish this puzzle by name from the puzzle shown and described in my application filed simultaneously herewith, and called The Rubber Neck, I have designated this puzzle as The Klondyke.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. In a puzzle, the combination of a suitable body having a pair of orifices, a cord or string extending along one side of said body between said orifices and passing through the same and thence back so as to form a loop on the opposite side; said loops being engaged with each other or interlocked and the ends of the cord being formed or provided with stops to prevent the passage thereof through the body, and an annulus on the looped portions of the cord. I

2. In a puzzle, the combination of a suitable body having a pair of orifices, a cord or string extending along one side of said body between said orifices and passing through the same and thence back so as to form a loop on the opposite side; said loops being engaged with each other or interlocked and each end of the cord being formed or provided with a stop to prevent the passage thereof through the body, a bead on one limb of each loop of the cord arranged on the side of the body opposite said stops, and an annulus on said interlocked loops.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES E. RICHARDSON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. RIORDON, M. E. FOWLER.

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