Three-dimensional tube puzzle

Abstract

A three-dimensional tube puzzle is disclosed as a new modification of Rubik's Cube™. It consists of plurality of straight and curved hollow cylindrical elements. The dimensions of each tube element are so that it fits into cubical cell. Assembled puzzle forms a continuous pipeline that fits into cubical space, wiggling from entry point to exit point so that an article of an appropriate size can be put through the tube puzzle from its top layer to its bottom layer. Tube elements are interconnected so that arrays of nine elements, belonging to one of six side surfaces of the puzzle, can be rotated about spatial axes. Each tube element or layer of the puzzle can be made of the same one color or different colors or gray scale levels to define puzzle difficulty. The subject puzzle requires specific imagination skills to assemble a continuous pipeline based on elements' shapes and orientation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.