WO2010134828A9 - Three-dimensional logical puzzle and the method of determining shape of its pieces - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a three-dimensional puzzle whose outer layer is divided into a series of elements some of which are movable. The movable elements of at least two different shapes are arranged in n = 6 or 4 mutually intersecting circular rings encircling the puzzle. The rings run according to great circles determined on a sphere by its intersections with planes that are parallel to faces of a regular dodecahedron or octahedron circumscribed around the sphere. In the spaces between the rings there are additional single filling elements of at most two different types (3 _n ) and (7 _n ). They are immovable and constitute the outermost elements of the central base body. The movable ring pieces (4 _n ) and (5 _n ) are interlocked with them and with each other with the help of extensions (8 _n ), (9 _n ) placed on their back invisible sides. A principle of the puzzle operation consists in sliding relocation of the movable elements through sequential rotations of the rings around the puzzle centre through an angle of 360/(n-1) degrees. In particular, the invention concerns the puzzle resembling a standard football, that is a solid consisting of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons as well as some other polyhedral solids and their spherical equivalents. In a version representing the typical football the hexagons are created from the movable triangle elements (4₆) and from halves of the movable rhomboidal elements (5₆). The ring movement consists in simultaneous relocation of the rhomboidal (5₆) and triangular (4₆) elements alternating in the ring. The invention also relates to a method of determining the geometrical shape of the puzzle pieces.