US3690672A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Puzzle
Assignee: UNIVERSAL RESEARCH Co
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Filing: 1971-07-22
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Granted: 1972-09-12
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Expires: 1991-07-22
Abstract
Abstract A polyhedral puzzle is provided which is assembled from pairs of faces held to each other by an elastic member swivelably attached at the midpoint of the face, with said faces all having recessed edge configurations and being slightly but not perceptively different from each other, and formed to assemble into a regular polyhedron. A typical assembled puzzle is a cube formed with three pairs of opposed faces attached through elastic members with each face having a step-like recessed portion at the edge. Each of the opposed face members are alike and formed so that one pair of faces will nest completely into the other faces, another pair will completely overlap the other faces, and the third pair will partially nest and partially overlap. Another form of puzzle also contains design configurations on the faces which must be oriented as the puzzle is assembled in order to increase the difficulty of assembly thereof.
Inventors
- 👤 Allen E Dreyer
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 05:45
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63F; A63F9/00; A63F9/06; A63F2250/00; A63F2250/12; A63F2250/124
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
139 words
A polyhedral puzzle formed from a plurality of pairs of opposed face members, each of the face members being of similar size and shape to the corresponding paired member, and eaCh face member having recessed edges to provide outer faces larger than the inner faces thereof, and a plurality of elastic members corresponding to the number of pairs of opposed faces with each elastic member being disposed between each pair of said face members and centrally connected to the inner faces thereof, said elastic members being of a length sufficient to be taut and under tension between the face members when the face members are assembled in the form of a polyhedron said elastic members being sufficiently elastic to enable any one of said face members to be pulled outwardly from the assembly and rotated relative to the same.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
139 words
A polyhedral puzzle formed from a plurality of pairs of opposed face members, each of the face members being of similar size and shape to the corresponding paired member, and eaCh face member having recessed edges to provide outer faces larger than the inner faces thereof, and a plurality of elastic members corresponding to the number of pairs of opposed faces with each elastic member being disposed between each pair of said face members and centrally connected to the inner faces thereof, said elastic members being of a length sufficient to be taut and under tension between the face members when the face members are assembled in the form of a polyhedron said elastic members being sufficiently elastic to enable any one of said face members to be pulled outwardly from the assembly and rotated relative to the same.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
A polyhedral puzzle as defined in claim 1, in which the recessed configuration at the edges of each face member is in the form of a staircase configuration having two steps thereof, with the puzzle formed for the intermediate step to be pulled against and accurately fit the edges of adjacent faces by the elastic member for holding the polyhedral shape of the solved puzzle.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A polyhedral puzzle as defined in claim 2, in which the staircase configuration is similar on all sides of the face member so as to present a symmetrical pattern.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
A polyhedral puzzle as defined in claim 1, in which the elastic members are connected to the face members through swivels permitting relative rotation of the face members with respect to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
57 words
A polyhedral puzzle as defined in claim 1, in which each of the faces of the polyhedral puzzle contains color designs which are to be matched with the color designs on adjacent faces when the desired polyhedral solution is obtained, whereby the number of solutions is restricted by requiring rotational and opposed orientation of the puzzle faces.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
A polyhedral puzzle as defined in claim 1, in which the faces are formed with manual gripping means for allowing the player to grasp the opposed faces, pull them apart against the elastic tension, and rotate same.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
132 words
A cubical box puzzle comprising three pairs of opposed face members, with the opposed face members of each pair being of the same size and shape as its mate, each of said face members having its edges formed in a staircase configuration to present outer faces larger than the inner faces thereof, and three elastic members disposed with a single member between each pair of said face members and centrally connected to the inner faces thereof, said elastic members being of sufficient length to be taut and under tension between the face members when the face members are assembled in the form of a cube said elastic members being sufficiently elastic to enable any one of said face members to be pulled outwardly from the assembly and rotated relative to the same.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
132 words
A cubical box puzzle comprising three pairs of opposed face members, with the opposed face members of each pair being of the same size and shape as its mate, each of said face members having its edges formed in a staircase configuration to present outer faces larger than the inner faces thereof, and three elastic members disposed with a single member between each pair of said face members and centrally connected to the inner faces thereof, said elastic members being of sufficient length to be taut and under tension between the face members when the face members are assembled in the form of a cube said elastic members being sufficiently elastic to enable any one of said face members to be pulled outwardly from the assembly and rotated relative to the same.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
33 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 7, in which the elastic members are connected to the face members through swivels permitting relative rotation of the face members with respect to each other.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
57 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 7, in which each of the faces of the polyhedral puzzle contains color designs which are to be matched with the color designs on adjacent faces when the desired polyhedral solution is obtained, whereby the number of solutions is restricted by requiring rotational and opposed orientation of the puzzle faces.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
37 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 7, in which the faces are formed with manual gripping means for allowing the player to grasp the opposed faces, pull them apart against the elastic tension, and rotate same.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
176 words
A cubical puzzle comprising three pairs of opposed face members, and three connecting means forming three units with each unit consisting of one of the pairs of face members and one of the connecting means extending between said pair of members, each face member having an outer face and a smaller inner face formed from a stepped-edge configuration extending around the perimeter of said member, each of the opposed face members being alike, and the units of face members being formed so that one unit will nest completely into The other units while another unit completely overlaps the other units and the third unit partly nests and partly overlaps the other units, said face members each having a thickness of less than about one-tenth of the length of the shortest face side so that all face members will superficially appear alike, and said connecting means being formed to allow any of the face members to be pulled outwardly and rotated with respect to one another and yet normally retain the assembled cubical position of the puzzle.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
176 words
A cubical puzzle comprising three pairs of opposed face members, and three connecting means forming three units with each unit consisting of one of the pairs of face members and one of the connecting means extending between said pair of members, each face member having an outer face and a smaller inner face formed from a stepped-edge configuration extending around the perimeter of said member, each of the opposed face members being alike, and the units of face members being formed so that one unit will nest completely into The other units while another unit completely overlaps the other units and the third unit partly nests and partly overlaps the other units, said face members each having a thickness of less than about one-tenth of the length of the shortest face side so that all face members will superficially appear alike, and said connecting means being formed to allow any of the face members to be pulled outwardly and rotated with respect to one another and yet normally retain the assembled cubical position of the puzzle.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 11, in which the connecting means are connected to the face members through swivels permitting relative rotation of the face members with respect to each other.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
59 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 11, in which each of the outer faces of the polyhedral puzzle contains four color designs which are to be matched with the color designs on adjacent faces when the desired polyhedral solution is obtained, whereby the number of solutions is restricted by requiring rotational and opposed orientation of the puzzle faces.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
32 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 13, in which the color design forms four squares on each of the faces of the assembled cube and a border at each edge thereof.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 13, in which the color design forms four triangles and a border on each face of the assembled cube.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
32 words
A cubical puzzle as defined in claim 11, in which the faces are formed with gripping means for allowing the player to grasp the opposed faces, pull them apart, and rotate same.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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US3120078A
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US3222072A
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US3276148A
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US3289322A
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US3646592A
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-09-12 | 1976-03-13 | 1976-09-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-09-12 | 1980-03-13 | 1980-09-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-09-12 | 1984-03-13 | 1984-09-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |