Hue sequence device

• US 4,796,888 A
• Filed: 06/17/1986
• Issued: 01/10/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nigel Louez
• Original Assignee: Nigel Louez
• Inventors: Louez, Nigel
• Primary Examiner(s): Marlo, George J.
• Application Number:
  US06/885,609
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 40/327, 434/98, 434/104, 434/403, 434/101, 273/58 R, 273/65 R
• US Class Current: 446/243
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/008 with means for improving visibility, e.g. special markings or colours illuminating or reflecting means A63B43/06
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0473 on different faces of a dice
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0605 referring to colour theory
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0415 Details of dice, e.g. non-cuboid dice
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0613 Puzzles or games based on the use of optical filters or elements, e.g. coloured filters, polaroid filters, transparent sheets with opaque parts optical, colour or shadow toys A63H33/22
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0826 Three-dimensional puzzles with slidable or rotatable elements or groups of elements, the main configuration remaining unchanged, e.g. Rubik's cube elements rotatable about just one axis, e.g. discs stacked as a cylinder A63F9/0811

Abstract

A novelty item comprising a sphere, sphereoid or polyhedron. The surface of the novelty item is divided into a plurality of differently colored areas with the sum of the areas constituting the surface of the item. The size and shape of all the areas is approximately the same and the color of any one area and the color of the adjacent areas are spectrally related having an angular spacing on the color wheel corresponding to the angular spacing between the normals to each of the areas passing through the center of the novelty item. Also, a color mapping method from the two dimensional color wheel to a three dimensional color wheel.

Claims

1. A novelty item capable of producing variable axis colour mixing, said novelty item comprising:

a sphere, spheroid or polyhedron capable of spinning freely and randomly upon many axes of spin when spun on a generally planar surface, the whole exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron being divided into a plurality of generally equally sized and generally equally shaped coloured areas, said axes including both neutral and non-neutral axes, a neutral axis being an axis passing through the center of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron and through a point on the surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron which is a function point of a triadic colour combination, a triadic colour combination being a set of three of said coloured areas having colours selected from points located at equal spacings around a 2D colour wheel;

said coloured areas being coloured according to a 2D to 3D colour mapping scheme wherein no two adjacent one of said coloured areas are of the same colour and the colour of each one of said coloured areas is selected such that any two of said coloured areas which are respectively coloured with colours which are at a maximum distance from each other on the 2D colour wheel with respect to any other colour on the 2D colour wheel are also at a maximum distance, measured across the exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron, from each other with respect to any other of said coloured areas on said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

said mapping scheme providing an inherent infinite plurality of non-neutral and an inherent finite plurality of neutral axes of spin of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

whereby when said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron is randomly spun on any one of said infinite plurality of non-neutral axes a clean mix of colours near the poles and a strobing effect of colours at the equator is presented to an observer, the detailed colour composition of which varies as the axis of spin varies;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron when randomly spun on one of said finite number of neutral axes presenting to an observer an overall even, neutral tone;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron spinning on a planar surface continually and randomly varying its axis of spin so that said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron spins successively upon a multiplicity of the infinite plurality of non-neutral axes interspersed with the occasional spin on ones of said finite number of neutral axes.

2. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein the number of areas equals six, three of said areas being coloured by the subtractive primary cyan, magenta and yellow respectively, the three remaining areas being coloured by the additive primary colours blue/violet, red and green respectively, and the spectrally opposite ones of said primary colours being located on radially opposite areas.

3. The novelty item of claim 2 wherein said areas are substantially square.

4. The novelty item of claim 3 wherein the item is a cubic spheroid comprising a bloated cube.

5. The novelty item of claim 1, wherein said areas number twelve and comprise two groups of six colours being a first group having a polar center of yellow hue surrounded by green, lime-green, red, orange and blue-green and a second group having a polar center of blue-violet surrounded by blue-red, ultra-marine, cyan, purple and magenta with the cyan colour of the first group adjoining the green colour of the second group.

6. The novelty item of claim 5 wherein said areas are substantially pentagonal.

7. The novelty item of claim 6 wherein the item is a dodecahedron.

8. The novelty item of claim 6 wherein the item is a sphere.

9. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein the hues are selected from the group consisting of saturated maximum hues and pastel hues.

10. The novelty item of claim 9 wherein the hues are selected from more than one member of the group consisting of saturated maximum hues or any tint or shade thereof.

11. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein a white border surrounds each said equal area.

12. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein a black border surrounds each said equal area.

13. The novelty item of claim 1 wherein a grey border surrounds each said equal area.

14. A method of producing variable axis colour mixing by providing a sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

randomly spinning said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron on a planar surface;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron being capable of spinning freely and randomly upon many axes of spin;

the whole exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron being divided into a plurality of generally equally sized and generally equally shaped coloured areas;

said axes including both neutral and nonneutral axes, a neutral axis being an axis passing through the center of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron and through a point on the surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron which is a junction point of a triadic colour combination, a triadic colour combination being a set of three of said coloured areas having colours picked from points located at equal spacings around a 2D colour wheel;

said coloured areas being coloured according to a 2D to 3D colour mapping scheme wherein no two adjacent ones of said coloured areas are of the same colour and the colour of each one of said coloured areas is selected such that any two of said coloured areas which are respective coloured with colours which area at a maximum distance from each other on the 2D colour wheel with respect to any other colour on the 2D colour wheel are also at a maximum distance, measured across the exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron, from each other with respect to any other of said coloured areas on said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

said mapping scheme providing an inherent infinite plurality of non-neutral and an inherent finite plurality of neutral axes of spin of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

whereby when said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron is randomly spun on any one of said infinite plurality of non-neutral axes a clean mix of colours near the poles and a strobing effect of colours at the equator is presented to an observer, the detailed colour composition of which varies as the axis of spin varies;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron when randomly spun on one of said finite number of neutral axes presenting to an observer an overall even, neutral tone;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron when spun on a planar surface continually and randomly varying its axis of spin so that said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron spins successively upon a multiplicity of the infinite plurality of non-neutral axes interspersed with the occasional spin on one of said finite number of neutral axes.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the number of areas equals six, three of said areas being coloured by the subtractive primary colours cyan, magenta and yellow respectively, the three remaining areas being coloured by the additive primary colours blue/violet, red and green respectively, and the spectrally opposite ones of said primary colours being located on radially opposed areas.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said areas number twelve and comprise two groups of six colours being a first group having a polar center of yellow hue surrounded by green, lime-green, red, orange and blue-green and a second group having a polar center of blue-violet surrounded by blue-red, ultra-marine, cyan, purple and magenta with the cyan colour of the first group adjoining the green colour of the second group.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the hues are selected from the group consisting of saturated maximum hues and pastel hues.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the hues are selected from more than one member of the group consisting of saturated maximum hues or any tint or shade thereof.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein a white border surrounds each said equal area.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein a black border surrounds each said equal area.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein a grey border surrounds each said equal area.

22. A method of producing variable axis colour mixing by providing a sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

randomly spinning said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron on a planar surface, said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron being capable of spinning freely and randomly upon many axes of spin;

the whole exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron being divided into a plurality of generally equal sized and generally equally shaped coloured areas;

said axes including both neutral and nonneutral axes, a neutral axis being an axis passing through the center of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron and through a point on the surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron which is a junction point of a triadic colour combination, a triadic colour combination being a set of three of said coloured areas having colours picked from points located at equal spacings around a 2D colour wheel;

said coloured areas being coloured according to a 2D to 3D colour mapping scheme wherein no two adjacent ones of said coloured areas are of the same colour and the colour of each one of said coloured areas is selected such that any two of said coloured areas which are respectively coloured with colours which are at a maximum distance from each other on the 2D colour wheel with respect to any other colour on the 2D colour wheel are also at a maximum distance, measured across the exterior surface of said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron, from each other with respect to any other of said coloured areas on said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

said mapping scheme providing an inherent infinite plurality of non-neutral and an inherent finite plurality of neutral axes of spin or said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron;

randomly spinning said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron on any one of said infinite plurality of non-neutral axes presenting to an observer a clean mix or colours near the poles and a strobing effect of colours at the equator, the detailed colour composition of which varies as the axis of spin varies;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron when randomly spun on one of said finite number of neutral axes presenting to an observer an overall even, neutral tone;

said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron when spun on a planar surface continually and randomly varying its axis of spin so that said sphere, spheroid or polyhedron spins successively upon a multiplicity of the infinite plurality of non-neutral axes interspersed with the occasional spin on ones of said finite number of neutral axes.