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US 5,074,561 AGranted
Puzzle
OwnerHarvey P. Johnsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A self-contained puzzle has a plurality of slide elements having faces displaying indicia. The elements form a mosaic geometric surface characterized by the absence of one of the elements leaving a slot. A slide element adjacent the slot may be slid into the slot, leaving behind a slot in the position from which the slide element was slid. Rotation of a row adjacent the row containing the slot will bring a new slide element adjacent the slot to be slid thereinto. Accordingly, the plurality of slide elements may be manipulated about so as to juxtapose indicia to bring about an overall composition that is a solution to the puzzle. One embodiment has a solution that is frustum shaped.
Claims12
A self-contained puzzle having a central axis, the puzzle comprising:
- an arrangement of discrete slide elements, some of which are of different thicknesses than others, the arrangement including columns arranged parallel to the central axis and rows intersecting said columns, each row arranged generally to encircle the central axis and being rotatable thereabout, at least one column of said columns including discrete slide elements and including at least one slot being fillable by one slide element of said discrete slide elements, a slide element juxtaposed to said slot being capable of sliding to fill said slot, a plurality of said columns arranged about the central axis with said at least one column so that said columns cooperate to completely encircle the central axis, at least one row including discrete slide elements and including said at least one slot at an intersection of said at least one row and said at least one column, each slide element having at least one face facing generally radially outwardly from the central axis so that all of the faces facing generally radially outwardly from the central axis together form a mosaic geometric surface;
- and
- indicia displayed on each at least one face so that all of the at least one faces together are capable of displaying a compositional pattern on said mosaic geometric surface and are capable of displaying a random pattern, depending upon the position in rows and columns of the slide elements with respect to one another, whereby manipulations of the puzzle, by rotating any row of discrete slide elements relative to an adjacent row so as to change the positions of all of the slide elements in said any row has in any column to a position in another column and by sliding a slide element into the slot at one intersection of at least one row and at least one column to change the position of the slide element from one row to another, may be used to position indicia on the faces of the slide elements to represent a solution for the puzzle.
A puzzle comprising:
- axial means for holding component parts of the puzzle in axial alignment;
- a plurality of slide elements, some of said slide elements being thicker than others, each slide element having first part holding means for holding said each slide element radially inwardly toward said axial means while allowing said each slide element to slide in a direction parallel to said axial means and each slide element including a face having indicia thereon and projecting radially outwardly from said axial means, all of the faces of the slide elements generally forming together a mosaic geometric surface about said axial means, the surface characterized by the absence of at least one slide element, leaving a first slot into which an axially juxtaposed slide element is slidable to leave a second slot from which said axially juxtaposed slide element would slide to fill said first slot;
- and
- a multiplicity of rotatable base structures aligned end to end concentrically about said axial means so that one base structure is axially juxtaposed to another, each base structure having a second part holding means for cooperating with said first part holding means to hold said each slide element radially inwardly toward said axial means while allowing said each slide element to slide from one rotatable base structure to another as said each slide element slides axially into a first slot and out of a second slot,
- whereby the puzzle may be manipulated by rotating one base structure relative to an axially juxtaposed base structure so as to change axial juxtapositions of slide elements held by said axially juxtaposed base structures thereby changing the juxtapositions of indicia on the faces of said slide elements and putting some of said faces out of and into registry with other of said faces and the puzzle may be manipulated by sliding said axially juxtaposed slide element into said first slot thereby changing the juxtaposition of indicia on the face of said axially juxtaposed slide element with respect to other indicia and the puzzle may be continually manipulated by rotating base structures and sliding elements juxtaposed to slots until the indicia is arranged to represent a solution for the puzzle.
2 more elements
A self-contained puzzle embodied about an axis, the puzzle comprising:
- a plurality of slide elements, some of said slide elements being thicker in cross-section than other of said slide elements, each including a face projecting outwardly from the axis so that the plurality of slide elements forms at least one mosaic geometric surface characterized by the absence of at least one element so as to leave a slot in one position on the surface into which one of the plurality of slide elements is slidable so as to leave a slot in another position on the surface and each slide element having first part retention means for cooperating with second part retention means;
- a multiplicity of rotatable base structures aligned end to end to extend along and rotate about said axis, each base structure having second part retention means cooperative with said first part retention means for keeping the face of a respective slide element into registry with a said at least one surface and restricting said respective slide element so that said respective slide element is only capable of sliding into a slot in a direction parallel to the axis and each base structure having first part camming detent means for cooperating with second part camming detent means;
- and
- an axle extending along said axis, each of the rotatable base structures rotatable thereabout, the axle having second part camming detent means cooperative with said first part camming detent means for holding each rotatable base structure in a relative angular disposition with respect to other rotatable base structures, whereby the puzzle may be manipulated to change said at least one mosaic geometric surface by rotating base structures to axially align said slot with said one of the plurality of slide elements and by sliding said one of the plurality of slide elements into said slot.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.