Color-change puzzle game

• US 6,186,504 B1
• Filed: 07/09/1999
• Issued: 02/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John Maxim
• Original Assignee: John Maxim
• Inventors: Maxim, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Pierce, William M.
• Application Number:
  US09/350,822
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 463/9, 463/14, 434/98, 434/103, 434/104, 273/156, 273/157.A, 273/153.S
• US Class Current: 273/153.00S
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0638 Polaroid filters
• 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

Abstract

A puzzle apparatus for providing a user with a challenging puzzle to solve. The apparatus includes a housing having at least one opening therein, a matrix of shaped color-producing media disposed within the housing, and a plurality of generally interengaged, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, the tiles being proximate the opening of the housing. A light source radiates light through respective ones of the shaped color-producing media of the matrix, then through respective ones of the color-producing media of the slidable tiles, and then to the eye of the user such that at least some of the light seen by the user has passed through both a color-producing medium in the matrix and a color-producing medium in one of the tiles. The respective color-producing media interact to produce a light color other than that which would have been produced if the light had passed through only one of the color-producing media. The slidable tiles are relatively arrangeable to produce a solution to the puzzle. The solution includes a predetermined pattern of colors as viewable by the user when looking generally toward the opening of the housing.

Claims

1. A puzzle apparatus for providing a user with a challenging puzzle to solve, said apparatus comprising:

a housing having at least one opening therein;

a matrix of shaped color-producing media disposed within said housing; and

a plurality of generally interengaged, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, said tiles being proximate said opening of said housing;

a light source oriented to direct light to said shaped color-producing media;

wherein said light source radiates light through respective media of said shaped color-producing media of said matrix, then through respective ones of said color-producing media of said slidable tiles, and then to the eye of the user such that at least some of said light seen by the user has passed through both a color-producing medium in said matrix and a color-producing medium in one of said tiles, said respective color-producing media interacting to produce a light color other than that which would have been produced if the light had passed through only one of said color-producing media; and

wherein said slidable tiles are relatively arrangeable to produce a solution to said puzzle, said solution comprising a predetermined pattern of colors as viewable by the user when looking generally toward said opening of said housing.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said light source includes a light bulb disposed within said housing.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said apparatus further includes a reflector disposed in said housing for generally directing light emitted from said light source toward said opening of said housing.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said apparatus further includes a battery disposed within said housing for providing power to said light source.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles include polarizing laminates having respective alignment axes, and wherein at least one of said color-producing media includes a refracting laminate having an alignment axis, said refracting laminate disposed between said respective polarizing laminates, such that when light passes through both polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate therebetween, the resultant color of said light is determined by the relative angular orientation of said alignment axes of said polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said refracting laminate is in adherence with said polarizing laminate of one of said slidable tiles.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles each include both a polarizing laminate and a refracting laminate such that the respective refracting laminates are disposed between the respective polarizing laminates.

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles are individually colored laminates, such that each laminate filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either laminate.

9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles are individually colored gel-filled cells, such that each gel-filled cell filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either gel-filled cell.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said slidable tiles have sides and are generally interlocking and wherein the shapes of said plurality of slidable tiles are generally squares and said tiles slide in directions generally parallel to and perpendicular to the sides of said squares.

11. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein said plurality of tiles cumulatively form a generally rectangular pattern.

12. An apparatus in accordance with claim 11 wherein said plurality of tiles cumulatively form a generally square pattern.

13. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein said plurality of tiles cumulatively form a generally triangular pattern.

14. An apparatus in accordance with claim 10 wherein said plurality of tiles cumulatively form a generally disc-shaped pattern.

15. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said housing has a plurality of openings therein and said apparatus further includes a plurality of generally interlocking, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media proximate each of said openings of said housing.

16. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15 wherein said housing is generally in the shape of a cube.

17. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15 wherein said housing is generally in the shape of a pyramid.

18. A puzzle apparatus for providing a user with a challenging puzzle to solve, said apparatus comprising:

a generally spherical housing having at least one generally circumferential opening therein;

a generally circular matrix of shaped color-producing media disposed within said housing; and

a plurality of generally interengaged, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, said tiles being proximate said opening of said housing;

a light source oriented to direct light to said shaped color-producing media;

wherein said light source radiates light from proximate the center of said generally spherical housing through respective media of said shaped color-producing media of generally circular matrix, then through respective media of said color-producing media of said slidable tiles, and then to the eye of the user such that at least some of said light seen by the user has passed through both a color-producing medium in said circular matrix and a color-producing medium in one of said tiles, said respective color-producing media interacting to produce a light color other than that which would have been produced if the light had passed through only one of said color-producing media; and

wherein said slidable tiles are relatively arrangeable to produce a solution to said puzzle, said solution comprising a predetermined pattern of colors as viewable by the user when looking generally toward said opening of said housing.

19. A puzzle apparatus in accordance with claim 18 wherein said housing includes a plurality of intersecting, generally circumferential openings therein and said apparatus further includes a plurality of circular matrices of shaped color-producing media in radial correspondence with said plurality of intersecting circumferential openings.

20. An art set for facilitating the creation of artistic patterns of colored light, said art set apparatus comprising:

a housing having at least one opening therein;

a matrix of shaped color-producing media disposed within said housing; and

a plurality of generally interengaged, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, said tiles being proximate said opening of said housing;

a light source oriented to direct light to said shaped color-producing media;

wherein said light source radiates light through respective media of said shaped color-producing media of said matrix, then through respective media of said color-producing media of said slidable tiles, and then to the eye of the user such that at least some of said light seen by the user has passed through both a color-producing medium in said matrix and a color-producing medium in one of said tiles, said respective color-producing media interacting to produce a light color other than that which would have been produced if the light had passed through only one of said color-producing media.

21. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein said light source includes a light bulb disposed within said housing.

22. An apparatus in accordance with claim 21 wherein said apparatus further includes a reflector disposed in said housing for generally directing light emitted from said light source toward said opening of said housing.

23. An apparatus in accordance with claim 21 wherein said apparatus further includes a battery disposed within said housing for providing power to said light source.

24. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles include polarizing laminates having respective alignment axes, and wherein at least one of said color-producing media includes a refracting laminate having an alignment axis, said refracting laminate disposed between said respective polarizing laminates, such that when light passes through both polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate therebetween, the resultant color of said light is determined by the relative angular orientation of said alignment axes of said polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate.

25. An apparatus in accordance with claim 24 wherein said refracting laminate is in adherence with said polarizing laminate of one of said slidable tiles.

26. An apparatus in accordance with claim 24 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles each include both a polarizing laminate and a refracting laminate such that the respective refracting laminates are disposed between the respective polarizing laminates.

27. An apparatus in accordance with claim 24 further including a refractive element generally aligned with said matrix of color-producing media and said housing opening.

28. An apparatus in accordance with claim 27 wherein said refractive element includes an array of distinct refractive media in general positional correspondence to said polarizing laminates and said shaped color-producing media of said matrix.

29. An apparatus in accordance with claim 27 wherein at least one of said matrix of shaped color-producing media and said refractive medium is translatable within its plane to alter the correspondence between respective ones of said shaped color-producing media, said refractive media, and said tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, and to alter the resultant pattern of colored light emitted from said apparatus.

30. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles are individually colored laminates, such that each laminate filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either laminate.

31. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein said color-producing media of said matrix and said color-producing media of said slidable tiles are individually colored gel-filled cells, such that each gel-filled cell filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either gel-filled cell.

32. An apparatus in accordance with claim 20 wherein the shapes of said plurality of generally interlocking, slidable tiles are generally squares and said tiles slide in directions generally parallel to and perpendicular to the sides of said squares.

33. An apparatus in accordance with claim 32 wherein said plurality of tiles cumulatively form a generally rectangular pattern.

34. A method for a user to solve a puzzle presented by a puzzle apparatus wherein said apparatus includes a housing having at least one opening therein, a matrix of shaped color-producing media disposed within said housing, and a plurality of generally interengaged, slidable tiles carrying color-producing media thereon, said tiles being proximate said opening of said housing, wherein a light source radiates light through respective ones of said shaped color-producing media of said matrix, then through respective ones of said color-producing media of said slidable tiles, and then to the eye of said user such that at least some of said light seen by said user has passed through both a color-producing medium in said matrix and a color-producing medium in one of said tiles, said respective color-producing media interacting to produce a light color other than what which would have been produced if the light had passed through only one of said color-producing media, said method comprising the following steps:

(a) sliding an individual tile relatively to others of said tiles within said generally interlocking configuration such that said tile is brought into a different aligned correspondence from one color-producing medium of said matrix to another color-producing medium of said matrix; and

(b) repeating step (a) until said interlocking tiles are arranged to produce a solution to said puzzle, said solution comprising a predetermined pattern of colors as viewable by said user when looking generally toward said opening of said housing.

35. A puzzle apparatus for providing a user with a challenging puzzle to solve, said apparatus comprising:

a housing having at least one opening therein; and

a plurality of generally parallel plates having windows containing color-producing media therein, said plates being disposed in said housing and being individually rotatable about a common axis to align windows from individual said plates;

a light source oriented to direct light to said shaped color-producing media;

wherein said light source radiates light through respective color-producing media of said aligned windows, and then to the eye of the user such that at least some of said light seen by the user has passed through color-producing media in windows of at least two of said plurality of plates, said color-producing media interacting to produce a light color other than that which would have been produced if the light had not passed through one of said color-producing media; and

wherein said plates are individually rotatable to produce a solution to said puzzle, said solution comprising a predetermined pattern of colors as viewable by the user when looking generally toward said opening of said housing.

36. An apparatus in accordance with claim 35 wherein said color-producing media of said plates include polarizing laminates having respective alignment axes, and wherein at least one of said color-producing media includes a refracting laminate having an alignment axis, said refracting laminate disposed between said respective polarizing laminates, such that when light passes through both polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate therebetween, the resultant color of said light is determined by the relative angular orientation of said alignment axes of said polarizing laminates and said refracting laminate.

37. An apparatus in accordance with claim 36 wherein said refracting laminate is in adherence with said polarizing laminate of one of said plates.

38. An apparatus in accordance with claim 35 wherein said color-producing media of said plates are individually colored laminates, such that each laminate filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either laminate.

39. An apparatus in accordance with claim 35 wherein said color-producing media of said plates are individually colored gel-filled cells, such that each gel-filled cell filters certain wavelength ranges within the visible color spectrum and the resultant color of light is determined by the visible ranges not filtered by either gel-filled cell.