SPHERE PUZZLE

PUZZLE SPHERIQUE

English Abstract

A Sphere puzzle having a plurality of sliding blocks (7), and a series of protrusions (14), (24) and (34), and rails (41) and (51). The sliding blocks (7) move in a double row along rings (1), (2) and (3) on tracks (11), (21) and (31) through the necks (16), (26) and (36) and under the bottom surfaces of rails (42) and (52) and stay fixed in their correct position with the help of the sliding balls (74) on dents (19), (29) and (39) of the rings (1), (2) and (3), and finally have a missing block (7) from the entire array which enables movements with a large number of combinations, in order to complete the required designs on the sphere surface. The aforementioned Sphere puzzle can be assembled by the player using the basic members (1), (21), (31), (4), (5), (6) and (7).

French Abstract

La présente invention concerne un puzzle sphérique comportant une pluralité de blocs coulissants (7), et une série de saillies (14), (24) et (34), et des rails (41) et (51). Les blocs coulissants (7) se déplacent dans une double rangée le long d'anneaux (1), (2) et (3) sur des pistes (11), (21) et (31) à travers des cols (16), (26) et (36) et sous les surfaces inférieures de rails (42) et (52) et restent fixés dans leur position correcte à l'aide des billes coulissantes (74) sur des creux (19), (29) et (39) des anneaux (1), (2) et (3), et présentent enfin un bloc manquant (7) sur l'ensemble total, ce qui permet de réaliser des déplacements avec un grand nombre de combinaisons en vue de réaliser les motifs requis sur la surface de la sphère. Le puzzle sphérique susmentionné peut être assemblé par le joueur à l'aide des éléments de base (1), (21), (31), (4), (5), (6) et (7).

Claims

5
CLAIMS
1.- A sphere puzzle having an outer surface consisting of
seven triangular surface members (4) with first rails (41), the first rails
(41)
having a bottom surface (42);
a further triangular surface member (5) with second rails (51) and an opening
(54), the second rails (51) having a bottom surface (52);
a cover (6);
a first ring (1), a second ring (2) and a third ring (3), each one of the
rings (1, 2,
3) having protruding guides (14, 24, 34)
each protruding guide (14, 24, 34) having protruding guide necks (16, 26, 36),
and each
one of the rings (1, 2, 3) comprising tracks (12, 22, 32) with dents (19);
a plurality of sliding blocks (7), adapted for entering through the opening
(54),
the sliding blocks (7) having a stability ball (74);
wherein the sliding blocks (7) are secured with the cover (6) and driven by
the bottom
surfaces (42, 52) of the first and second rails (41, 51) and by the protruding
guide necks
(16, 26, 36);
wherein the stability ball (74) is adapted to cooperate in moving the sliding
blocks (7)
along the tracks (12, 22, 32) and on finding a position on the dents (19);
wherein the sliding blocks (7) are adapted to be moved by a human finger, so
that may
be combined to form a predetermined drawing;
wherein one of the sliding blocks (7) is allowed to move because there is a
missing
block adjacent to said sliding block (7), so that the block may take the
position of the
missing block.
2.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each triangular surface
member (4)
has a perimeter and the first rail (41) is arranged across the perimeter, each
second rail
(4) further comprising top portions (43) and three coupling portion retaining
hooks
(45).
3.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the further triangular
surface
member (5) has a perimeter and the second rail (51) is arranged across the
perimeter,
each second rail (51) further comprising top portions (53) and three coupling
portion
retaining hooks (55).
4.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 1, wherein each one of the protruding
guides
(14) of the first ring (1) are arranged along the length of the first ring
(1), and has a
body (15) with a T-shaped section, the protruding guide neck (16) dividing the
first ring
(1) in two tracks (12), the dents (19) being located along a center line of
the track (12),
and the first ring (1) having eight engaging slots (17), four on each side of
the first ring
(1), to connect the first ring (1) with the second and third rings (2, 3).

6
5.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second ring (2)
consists of two
second semi-ring pieces (21), each one of the protruding guides (24) of the
second ring
(2) being arranged along the length of each of the second semi-ring pieces
(21), each of
the protruding guides (24) having a body (25) with a T-shaped section, the
protruding
guide neck (26), dividing the second ring (2) in two tracks (22), the dents
(29) being
located along a center line of the track (22), and the second ring (2) having
two
connection protrusions (27), one on each end of the second ring (2), to
connect the
second ring (2) with the first ring (1), and an connection slots (28) located
in the middle
of the second ring (2), to connect the second ring (2) with the third ring
(3).
6.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the third ring (3) consists
of two third
semi-ring pieces (31), each one of the protruding guides (34) of the third
ring (2) being
arranged along the length of each of the third semi-ring pieces (31), each of
the
protruding guides (34) having a body (35) with a T-shaped section, the
protruding
guide neck (36) dividing the third ring in two tracks (32), the dents (39)
being located
along a center line of the track (32), and the third ring (3) having two
connection
protrusions (37), one on each end of the third ring (3), to connect the third
ring (3) with
the first ring (1), and connection slot (38) located in the middle of the
third ring (3), to
connect the third ring (3) with the second ring (2).
7.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 6, wherein each sliding block (7)
consists of two
convex surfaces, the top surface (73) and the bottom surface (72), connected
by a
block neck (71), the block neck (71) being adapted to receive the protruding
guides (14,
24, 34) and the rails (41, 51) and wherein the bottom surface (72) of the
sliding block
(7) cooperates with the protruding guide necks (16, 26, 36) and the bottom
surfaces
(42, 52) of the first and second rails (41, 51) to slide on tracks (12, 22,
32), wherein the
stability balls (74) and the dents (19, 29, 39) cooperate to keep the sliding
block (7) in a
fixed position along each ring (1, 2, 3).
8.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cover (6) seals the
opening (54)
of the further triangular surface member (5) when the sliding blocks (7) are
inserted on
the tracks (12, 22, 32).
9.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in claim 8, where the sliding blocks (7) are
able to move
along the two tracks (12, 22, 32) of each of the rings (1, 2, 3), following a
double row
way, in x-1 number, x being the number of sliding blocks (7) comprised in each
of the
six tracks (12, 22, 32) of the three rings (1, 2, 3), so that a large number
of
combinations may be achieved in order to complete a predetermined design.

7
10.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the
first ring is
a complete ring.
11.- A sphere puzzle as claimed in any of claims 7, 8 or 9, wherein the bottom
surface
(72) comprises a cantilever (75) with one end fixed on the sliding block (7)
and other
end attached to the stability ball (74), wherein the cantilever (75) is free
to move
between a position where the stability ball (74) enters a dent (19, 29, 39)
and a
position where the stability ball (74) slides on tracks (12, 22, 32).
12.- A sphere puzzle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the
number of
protruding guides (14, 24, 34) in each ring (1, 2, 3) is equal to the number
of sliding
blocks (7) in each track (12, 22, 32), wherein the sliding blocks (7) are
adapted to be
moved from each track (12, 22, 32) to the parallel adjacent track (12, 22, 32)
at any
position of the rings (1, 2, 3),
13.- A sphere puzzle according to any of the preceding claims, wherein each
protruding
guide neck (16, 26, 36) is square.

Description

CA 02996878 2018-02-27
PCT/GR 2016/000 042 ¨ 28-06-2017
1
DESCRIPTION
This invention relates to a game where, on a spherical surface, sliding blocks
can be
moved in a double row along three mutually perpendicular circles, with a
missing
block, offering moves with a large number of combinations, in order to
complete the
required drawing on the sphere.
Existing games of this kind, with three mutually perpendicular circles,
usually have a
single series of sliding blocks on their ring tracks, without a missing
sliding block,
offering a limited number of movement combinations. Document CN 103736271 A
shows some of these features.
Other documents, such as DE 202011004711 U1, disclose a sphere puzzle with two
rows and a different structure.
A Sphere puzzle according to claim 1 is aimed to an alternative way of
providing such a
product. Dependent claims include preferred embodiments of the invention.
Figure 1 shows the sliding blocks (7) and the triangular surface members (4,
5) that
form the outer surfaces of the puzzle sphere.
Figure 2 shows the connection of the rings (1, 2, 3) that creates the base (8)
of the
puzzle sphere.
Figure 3 shows the complete-ring piece of the first ring (1) with the
protruding guides
(14), the tracks (12), the dents (19), and the connection slots (17).
Figure 4 shows the two identical semi-ring pieces (21) of the second ring (2)
with the
protruding guides (24), the tracks (22), the dents (29), the connection
protrusions (27)
and the connection slots (28).
Figure 5 shows the two identical semi-ring pieces (31) of the third ring (3)
with the
protruding guides (34), the tracks (32), the dents (39), the connection
protrusions (37)
and the connection slots (38).
Figure 6 shows two views of the triangular surface members (4) with the rails
(41, 42)
and the three retaining hooks (45).
Figure 7 shows two views of the triangular surface members (5) with the rails
(51, 52),
the three retaining hooks (55), the opening (54) and the cover (6).
AMENDED SHEET

CA 02996878 2018-02-27
PCT/GR 2016/000 042 ¨ 28-06-2017
2
Figure 8 shows two views of the sliding block (7), the bottom surface (72),
the top
surface (73), the block neck (71) and the cantilever (75) with the stability
ball (74).
The Sphere puzzle, according to the now exposed invention, comprise three
rings (1, 2,
3), with protruding guides (14, 24, 34) forming six sliding tracks (12, 22,
32), seven
triangular surface members (4) plus a surface member with an opening (5) and
convex
sliding blocks (7).
The three rings (1, 2, 3) are located on three mutually perpendicular great
circles of the
sphere, and divide the sphere's outer surface into eight equal regions.
Although there are some inventions of similar puzzle spheres, either few or no
real
product exists on the global market until the filing date of this invention.
The main
reasons are that previous approaches have some serious drawbacks in terms of
both
the manufacturing part and the functional part of the puzzle sphere.
Longitudinally on the first ring (1) there is a series of protruding guides
(14) which
divide the ring (1) into two tracks (12), in the middle of which there is a
number of
dents (19). Also, along the ring there are eight connection protrusion (17),
four on each
side, through which the second and third rings (2, 3) are connected to the
ring (1).
The second ring (2) consists of two identical semi-ring pieces (21) engaged
with the
first ring (1) through the connection protrusions (27), forming the second
ring (2).
Longitudinally on the semi-ring pieces (21) there is a series of protruding
guides (24)
which divide the ring (2) in two tracks (22), in the middle which there is a
number of
dents (29). Also, at each end each semi-ring piece (21) there is a connection
protrusion
(27) for connecting with the first ring (1), and in the middle of each semi-
ring piece (21)
there is a connection slot (28) for connecting with the third ring (3).
The third ring (3) consists of two identical semi-ring pieces (31) engaged
with the first
ring (1) through the connection protrusions (37), and with the second ring (2)
through
the engaging recesses (38) so forming the third ring (3).
Longitudinally on the semi-ring pieces (31) there is a series of protruding
guides (34)
which divide the third ring (3) in two tracks (32) in the middle of which
there is a
number of dents (39). Also, at each ending each semi-ring piece (31) there is
a
connection protrusion (37) for connecting with the first ring (1), and in the
middle of
each semi-ring piece (31) there is a connection slot (38) to connect with the
second
ring (2).
AMENDED SHEET

CA 02996878 2018-02-27
PCT/GR 2016/000 042 - 28-06-2017
3
The novel geometry of the rings (1, 2, 3) contains important elements of the
invention,
such as the protruding guides (14, 24, 34), dents (19, 29, 39), etc. At the
same time,
this configuration allows easy industrial manufacturing through simple molds
and easy
connection between pieces (1, 21, 31) via the connection slots (17, 28, 38)
and the
connection protrusions (27, 37) to form the rings structure.
The protruding guides (14, 24, 34) are located in the middle of the rings (1,
2, 3) and
separate each of the rings into two tracks (12, 22, 32).
The protruding guides (14, 24, 34) have a T-shaped sectional form with a
square
protruding guide neck (16, 26, 36) wherein sliding blocks (7) are driven on
the tracks
(12, 22, 32).
The number of protruding guides (14, 24, 34) in each ring (1, 2, 3) is equal
to the
number of sliding blocks (7) in each track (12, 22, 32). Because of the shape
and the
number of the protruding guides (14, 24, 34), the sliding blocks (7) are moved
from
each track (12, 22, 32) to the parallel adjacent track (12, 22, 32) at any
position of the
rings (1, 2, 3). Thus, the player has a wider range of moves resulting in a
more
enjoyable experience than the existing puzzle spheres.
The spherical sections between the rings (1, 2, 3) are covered with seven
triangular
surface members (4) and one triangular surface member (5) with an opening.
The triangular surface members (4) have a rail (41) across the perimeter where
sliding
blocks (7), driven by the bottom surface of the rail (42), slide on the top
surface of the
rail (43). The triangular surface members (4) also have three coupling portion
retaining
hooks (45) with which they are fixed on the sides (10) of the rings (1, 2, 3).
The triangular surface member with an opening (5), has a rail (51) across its
perimeter
where sliding blocks (7), driven by the bottom surface of the rail (52), slide
on the top
surface of the rail (53). The triangular surface member (5) also has three
coupling
portion retaining hooks (55) with which it is fixed on the sides (10) of the
rings (1, 2, 3).
On one side of the triangular surface member (5) there is an opening (54)
through
which, when assembling the Sphere puzzle, sliding blocks (7) are led on the
tracks (12,
22, 32).
Once the sliding blocks (7) are led on the tracks (12, 22, 32) through the
opening (54),
the cover (6) closes the opening (54), securing the blocks (7) on the Sphere
puzzle.
Rings (1, 2, 3) have their sides bounded by the rails (41, 51) and the
triangular surface
members (4, 5).
AMENDED SHEET

CA 02996878 2018-02-27
PCT/GR 2016/000 042 - 28-06-2017
4
Tracks (12, 22, 32) of the rings (1, 2, 3) are defined in width by the rails
(41, 51) and the
protruding guides (14, 24, 34), which drive sliding blocks (7) on tracks (12,
22, 32) with
the bottom surfaces of the rails (42, 52) and square protruding guide necks
(16, 26, 36)
where they can move and stay fixed in their correct position with the help of
stability
balls (74) when they enter on dents (19, 29, 39). Hence, dents (19, 29, 39)
provide the
correct positions of the sliding blocks (7).
The sliding blocks (7) consist of two convex surfaces, the bottom surface (72)
and the
top surface (73) connected by the block neck (71). The bottom surface (72) has
a
stability ball (74) for smooth sliding of the sliding block (7) on tracks (12,
22, 32). Each
sliding block further comprises a cantilever (75) which in one ending is fixed
on the
block (7) and on the other free ending is attached to the stability ball (74).
The
cantilever (75) with the stability ball (74) oscillates, and has a lower
position when the
stability ball (74) enters a dent (19, 29, 39) and an upper position when the
sliding
block (7) is moving on tracks (12, 22, 32).
The bottom surface (72) of the sliding blocks (7) is trapped in the square
protruding
guide necks (16, 26, 36) and in the space under the bottom surfaces of the
rails (42, 52)
and moves on the tracks (12, 22, 32), positioned in the right position by the
stability
balls (74) that are either on dents (19, 29, 39) or on the tracks (12, 22,
32).
The stability balls (74), the cantilevers (75) and the dents (19, 29, 39)
constitute the
stabilization system of the sliding blocks (7) on the tracks (12, 22, 32). The
present
stabilization system has significant advantages in both production and
operation. The
system is autonomous in each sliding block (7), operating just as well in any
move of
the player, regardless of how many sliding blocks (7) are moved. By having the
most
elements of the system on the sliding block (7) and only the dents (19, 29,
39) on the
tracks (12, 22, 32) is achieved the simplest, most economical and industrial
correct
solution for producing mass-production modules of all the parts of the Sphere
puzzle.
The total number of the sliding blocks (7) is X-1, where X is the number of
sliding blocks
(7) that fully occupy the six tracks (12, 22, 32) of the three rings (1, 2,
3). In an
alternative version of the Sphere puzzle, the total number of the sliding
blocks (7) is X,
where X is the number of sliding blocks (7) that fully occupy the six tracks
(12, 22, 32)
of the three rings (1,2, 3).
The top surfaces (73) of the blocks (7) and the triangular surface members (4,
5) that
form the outer surfaces of the Sphere puzzle, can be painted with different
colors or
bear different designs.
AMENDED SHEET

Representative Drawing