Claims
- 1. A puzzle comprising:
- a frame comprising opposed first and second major sides and opposed first and second minor sides extending between and connected to the major sides so as to define a generally rectangular opening in said frame, said rectangular opening having a major dimension measured parallel to said major sides and substantially equal to four times a selected unit of measurement, and a minor dimension measured parallel to said minor sides and being substantially equal to three times the selected unit of measurement such that a line connecting the midpoints of said major sides defines first and second halves of said opening adjacent the first and second minor sides respectively;
- four substantially identical square puzzle pieces having side edges equal in length to the selected unit of measurement, said square puzzle pieces being movable within the rectangular opening of said frame and being initially disposed in the first half of the rectangular opening; and
- three substantially identical rectangular puzzle pieces, each said rectangular puzzle piece having a minor side dimension substantially equal to the selected unit of measurement and a major side dimension substantially equal to twice the selected unit of measurement, said rectangular puzzle pieces being movably disposed within said rectangular frame, two of said rectangular puzzle pieces having their major sides parallel to the minor sides of the frame and being initially disposed entirely within the second half of the opening therein, the remaining rectangular puzzle piece having its major side parallel to and adjacent one of said major sides of said frame, at least selected ones of said square and rectangular puzzle pieces having indicia thereon, whereby said square and rectangular puzzle pieces can be moved relative to said frame to achieve a selected distribution of said square and rectangular puzzle pieces such that said square puzzle pieces are entirely within the second half of said opening and the parallel rectangular puzzle pieces are entirely within the first half of the opening.
- 2. A puzzle as in claim 1 wherein the indicia is disposed on each of said square puzzle pieces and on the two rectangular puzzle pieces having their major sides parallel to the minor sides of the frame.
- 3. A puzzle as in claim 2 wherein the indicia on each of the square puzzle pieces comprises a generally straight line extending from a corner of each said square puzzle piece to the midpoint of one said side of said respective square puzzle piece.
- 4. A puzzle as in claim 3 wherein the indicia on one of said rectangular puzzle pieces having its major side parallel to the minor sides of the frame comprises a pair of generally straight lines extending from the midpoint of one said major side of said piece to the quarter-points of the opposed major side thereof, and wherein the indicia on the other rectangular puzzle pieces having its major sides parallel to the minor sides of the frame comprises a pair of generally straight lines extending from the corners on one major side thereof to the quarter-points along the other major side thereof.
- 5. A puzzle as in claim 1 wherein the indicia is defined by a groove formed in said puzzle pieces.
- 6. A puzzle as in claim 1 wherein the frame is of unitary construction.
- 7. A puzzle as in claim 1 further comprising a generally planar support secured to said major and minor sides of said frame and substantially covering said rectangular opening therein.
- 8. A puzzle as in claim 7 wherein the planar support and the frame are of unitary construction.
- 9. A puzzle comprising:
- a frame comprising opposed first and second major sides and opposed first and second minor sides extending between and connected to the major sides so as to define a generally rectangular opening in said frame, said rectangular opening having a major dimension measured parallel to said major sides and substantially equal to four times a selected unit of measurement, and a minor dimension measured parallel to said minor sides and being substantially equal to three times the selected unit of measurement;
- four substantially identical square puzzle pieces having side edges equal in length to the selected unit of measurement and each having indicia thereon extending from one corner of said respective square puzzle piece to the midpoint on an opposite edge thereof, said square puzzle pieces being movable within the rectangular opening of said frame; and
- three substantially identical rectangular puzzle pieces, each said rectangular puzzle piece having a minor side dimension substantially equal to the selected unit of measurement and a major side dimension substantially equal to twice the selected unit of measurement, said rectangular puzzle pieces being movably disposed within said rectangular frame, two of said rectangular puzzle pieces having their major sides parallel to each other and to the minor sides of the frame and the remaining rectangular puzzle piece having its major side parallel to said major sides of said frame, one of the two parallel rectangular puzzle pieces having a pattern of indicia extending from a midpoint of one major side thereof and diverging to the quarter-points of the opposed side, the other of the parallel rectangular puzzle pieces having a pattern of indicia extending from the corners on one major side thereof to the quarter-points on the opposite side thereof, whereby said square and rectangular puzzle pieces can be moved relative to said frame to achieve a selected pattern of indicia on said square and rectangular puzzle pieces.
- 10. A puzzle as in claim 9 wherein the indicia on said puzzle pieces comprises generally straight lines.
- 11. A puzzle as in claim 10 wherein the indicia is defined by grooves extending into said puzzle pieces.
- 12. A puzzle comprising:
- a frame comprising opposed first and second major sides and opposed first and second minor sides extending between and connected to the major sides so as to define a generally rectangular opening in said frame, said rectangular opening having a major dimension measured parallel to said major sides and substantially equal to four times a selected unit of measurement, and a minor dimension measured parallel to said minor sides and being substantially equal to three times the selected unit of measurement;
- four substantially identical square puzzle pieces having side edges equal in length to the selected unit of measurement and each of said square puzzle pieces being movable within the rectangular opening of said frame; and
- three substantially identical rectangular puzzle pieces, each said rectangular puzzle piece having a minor side dimension substantially equal to the selected unit of measurement and a major side dimension substantially equal to twice the selected unit of measurement, said rectangular puzzle pieces being movably disposed within said rectangular frame, two of said rectangular puzzle pieces having their major sides parallel to each other and to the minor sides of the frame and the remaining rectangular puzzle piece having its major side parallel to said major sides of said frame, a plurality of said square and rectangular puzzle pieces each having indicia thereon, whereby said square and rectangular puzzle pieces can be moved relative to said frame to achieve a selected pattern of indicia on said square and rectangular puzzle pieces.
- 13. A puzzle as in claim 12 wherein said indicia is disposed to define a generally X-shaped pattern in a first distribution of said puzzle pieces and to define a second pattern in a second distribution of said puzzle pieces.
- 14. A puzzle as in claim 13 wherein said second pattern is generally diamond-shaped.
- 15. A puzzle as in claim 12 wherein said indicia is defined by at least one line extending across a plurality of said square puzzle pieces and a plurality of said rectangular puzzle pieces and angularly aligned to the edges thereof.
- 16. A puzzle as in claim 15 wherein the indicia on said square puzzle pieces defines a line extending from a corner of said square puzzle piece to the midpoint of an opposite side of said square puzzle piece.
- 17. A puzzle as in claim 16 wherein indicia on one of said parallel rectangular puzzle pieces comprises a pair of lines intersecting at the midpoint of one major side thereof and diverging to intersect the opposed major side of said piece at the quarter-points thereof, and wherein indicia on the other of said parallel rectangular puzzle pieces comprises a pair of lines extending from the corners on one major side thereof and converging to intersect the quarter-points on the opposed sides thereof.
- 18. A puzzle as in claim 15 wherein indicia on at least one of the parallel rectangular puzzle pieces comprises a pair of lines intersecting at the midpoint of one major side thereof and diverging to intersect the opposed major side of said piece at the quarter-points thereof.
- 19. A puzzle as in claim 15 wherein the indicia on at least one of the parallel rectangular puzzle pieces comprises a pair of lines extending from the corners on one major side thereof and converging to intersect the opposed major side of the piece at the quarter-points thereof.
- 20. A puzzle as in claim 12 wherein said indicia is disposed to define a generally diamond-shaped pattern in a first distribution of said puzzle pieces and to define a second pattern in a second distribution of said puzzle pieces.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 926,964 filed Nov. 4, 1986 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,388.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
110186 |
Oct 1917 |
GBX |
417143 |
Sep 1934 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Scientific American, Feb. 1964, pp. 122,124,126. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
926964 |
Nov 1986 |
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