Claims
- 1. A variable maze device for use as a crib toy, comprising a container means having a variable maze through which a human infant can move an object, said maze being programmable to varying degrees of difficulty and said container means provided with a rear panel, an opposing front panel, and an interior therebetween, said front and rear panels having a plurality of substantially oppositely disposed access ports through which access to said interior of said container means may be had through each of said front and rear panels, wherein said device includes a means for instructing the infant as to the location of the correct path through the maze, said instructing means comprising a means for manipulating said object within said device through said rear panel, infant access to said object being through said front panel.
- 2. The variable maze device of claim 1, wherein said container means is attachable to a crib wall environment.
- 3. The device of claim 2, wherein said variable maze comprises a plurality of movable connecting stops adapted to fit between said front and rear panels adjacent said access ports, whereby a continuous and variable pathway is provided within said container means.
- 4. The device of claim 3, wherein said object is larger than said access ports, so that removal of said object from said container means through said access ports is prevented.
- 5. The device of claim 4, wherein said front panel of said container means is provided with an exit port larger than said object, thereby allowing removal of said object from said container means through said exit port.
- 6. The device of claim 1, wherein said object is a token used by the infant to achieve an additional reward.
- 7. The device of claim 1, wherein said container means is structured so as to be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled, facilitating replacement of said object within said container means and modification of said continuous pathway.
- 8. The device of claim 7, wherein said access ports within said front panel are structured so that an infant in said crib may manipulate said object within said container means through said continuous pathway and remove said object through said exit port of said container means.
- 9. In a method for confining a human infant in a contained space, the improvement comprising placing in said contained space a variable maze device comprising a container means having a variable maze through which a human infant can move an object, said maze being programmable to varying degrees of difficulty and said container means provided with a rear panel, an opposing front panel, and an interior therebetween, said front and rear panels having a plurality of substantially oppositely disposed access ports through which access to said interior of said container means may be had through each of said front and rear panels, wherein said device includes a means for instructing the infant as to the location of the correct path through the maze, said instructing means comprising a means for manipulating said object within said device through said rear panel, infant access to said object being through said front panel.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 06/878,999, filed June 26, 1986 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,825, issued Mar. 1, 1988.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4727825 |
Houghton |
Mar 1988 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
878999 |
Jun 1986 |
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