1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The subject of the invention is an entertainment device, and in particular to a ball-in-labyrinth game.

2. Description of Related Art

The well-known ball-in-labyrinth games can be divided into two main types. In the first type of these games the ball principally moves in a planar labyrinth, under the force of gravitation or other forces controlled by a player, the task being to move the ball to various points or exits of the labyrinth. An example of this type of game is a pinball-type game which has a playboard slightly sloping upwards, and is fitted with a spring-loaded ball ejection mechanism.

In the second type of ball-in-labyrinth games, a ball moves in a three-dimensional labyrinth, which is made up of a chain or system of transparent wall compartments or chambers, interconnected by apertures. Such games are, for example, disclosed in the British patent No. 2 029

242, USA patent Nos. 3,785,651, 2,261,804 and 3,787,054 as well as PCT publication document No. WO 84/00307.

It is a common characteristic of the above-listed second type of ball-in-labyrinth game that the inner space of an enclosed substantially transparent external shell - preferably a cube, prism or cylinder - is divided into several levels by parallel plates. On each of these levels there are various sizes and shapes of chambers, and these chambers are connected, like a labyrinth, by apertures disposed within and between the levels. The task to be performed in this type of game is the following: the ball is dropped through one or more inlet apertures formed on the external shell and must be guided

along the labyrinth to an outlet aperture. To make the task more difficult, the labyrinth is made as complicated as possible, including branches and dead-ends. This type of game has two main disadvantages: i) although these games are made of substantially transparent material, because of the many layers making up the various levels, the chamber walls and the associated corner joints, it is difficult to see the interior chambers of the game; and ii) because the interior chambers of these games are difficult to see, the player must perform the task by trial and error, on the basis of luck, instead of by playful logic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an amusement device which overcomes the above-described disadvantages of the prior art ball-in-labyrinth games. In accordance with the present invention, what is disclosed is an amusement device comprising a first and second box, each box having a base plate and side walls. Disposed on an inside surface of each base plate are parallel ribs, the end of the ribs abutting a pair of the side walls, and the space between the ribs defining channels. A middle plate is sandwiched between the open sides of the two boxes. The first and second boxes are aligned so that the channels of the first box are in a direction approximately 90° from the direction of the channels of the second box. The channels of the first box and the channels of the second box are linked by apertures disposed at preselected points on the middle plate. A ball or balls of a size capable of passing along the channels of the first and second boxes, and capable of passing through the apertures in the middle plate, is contained within the amusement device.

The above structure has the advantage over the prior art ball-in-labyrinth games in that because the game consists of only two levels the location of the ball or balls, channels, and apertures contained within the game are easily seen. Because these elements are easily seen, the task of passing the ball or balls to a designated position over a designated route may be easily observed. Because the designated route is easily observed, operation of the game is based on logic and skill, and a player need not rely entirely on luck.

By carefully selecting the position of the apertures in the middle plate, several variations of the above- described game may be achieved. For instance, all of the channels of both boxes may be linked to form a single labyrinth. Conversely, the device may be divided into two or more sub-labyrinths.

With the above-described structure, a ball or balls may only proceed from one channel of one box to a desired channel in the same box by passing through an aperture to a cross-wise channel of the other box, then passing through another aperture into the desired channel in the first box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ^'

The present invention will be described in greater detail by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of the invention.

Figs. 2 and 3 are front and top views of a second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a top view showing ball paths for the second embodiment shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to Fig. 1, the game embodied by the invention is made partly or fully of transparent or semi- transparent material and basically consists of four parts: the upper (or first) box 1, the middle plate 5, the lower (or second) box 7, and ball or balls 10. The expressions "upper" and "lower" only refer to the arrangement in the figure, for facilitating identification.

Upper box 1 basically consists of upper (or first) base plate 3 and a series of (first) side walls 4 disposed on an outside edge of, and perpendicular to, upper base plate 3. A series of (first) ribs 2, disposed perpendicular to the plane of the upper base plate 3, are attached in parallel fashion to the upper base plate 3 and spaced apart by an equal distance from one another. Ball- guiding (first) channels are defined by and situated between ribs 2. The ends of the ball guiding channels are preferably closed by the side walls 4.

Lower (second) box 7 similarly consists of lower (or second) base plate 12 and a series of (second) side walls 9 disposed on an outside and of, and perpendicular to, lower base plate 12. A series of second ribs 8, disposed perpendicular to the plane of the lower base plate 12, are attached in parallel fashion to the lower base plate 12 and spaced apart by an equal distance from one another. Ball guiding (second) channels are defined by and situated between ribs 8. The ends of the ball guiding (second) channels are preferably closed by the side walls 9.

Middle plate 5 is a flat plate having an outside edge defined by the shape of upper box 1 and lower box 7.

Middle plate 5 defines a plurality of apertures or holes 6 which pass -completely through middle plate 5. The holes 6 are preferably all the same size. The location of the holes 6 on the middle plate 5 define the configuration and difficulty of the game, as will be described below.

A ball or balls 10 are of a size that can roll in the first or second channels of upper box l and lower box 7. In addition, the balls 10 are of a size that can pass through the holes 6 in the middle plate 5. The game is assembled such that the side of the upper box 1 opposite the upper base plate 3 is brought into contact with the side of the lower box 7 opposite the lower base plate 12, such that the middle plate 5 is sandwiched between the upper box 1 and the lower box 7. When assembled, the direction defined by the length of the first ribs 2 is approximately 90° different from the direction defined by the length of the second ribs 8. Therefore, the first channels of the upper box 1 guide the ball 10 to roll in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second channels of the lower box 7.

The task of the game is to roll the ball or balls 10 along one of the channels in the upper box 1 or lower box 7, passing the balls 10 through the holes 6 to a channel in the other box, by moving, turning and shaking the whole system. A simple version of the game is described in detail below and in association with Fig. 1.

In the configuration shown in Fig. 1, the game consists of an eight-channel upper box 1 and an eight crosswise channel lower box 7, as well as middle plate 5 that includes two holes 6 adjacent each channel of each box, and one ball 10. Because each channel of each box can be accessed by two holes 6 from two channels in the adjacent box, the ball may roll along the labyrinth, starting from any point, and pass through each hole 6 only once, finally returning to the starting point. This configuration can be easily understood if the following example is considered: Let ball 10 start from the point shown in Fig. 1, i.e., from the extreme left channel of lower box 7. By tilting the game with lower box 7 disposed above the upper box 1, the ball rolls along the

channel in lower box 7 and drops through a hole 6 into the cross channel of upper box 1 disposed on the opposite side of the hole 6. By turning the game upside down again, and tilting the game so the ball rolls along the channel in upper box 1, the ball is dropped back to a second channel of lower box 7. Continuing in this manner, the ball can be moved along the entire labyrinth from hole to hole, with the ball 10 finally returning to the point depicted in Fig. 1. The task to be solved for the configuration of Fig. 1 could be different. There could be two balls 10 of different colors, located side by side in the same channel. The task could be for the player to exchange the positions of the balls 10. Since the labyrinth is a closed loop, the only way to do this is to keep a first ball relatively still in its place (rolling the first ball a short distance and returning it to its starting position) while the second ball is maneuvered along the labyrinth until it finally comes to the other side of the first ball.

A different configuration of the game is shown in Figs. 2 through 4.

According to Figs. 2 and 3, upper box 1 has nine channels denominated I to IX. Of channels I to IX, channels I to III and VII to IX are closed in the middle by barrier 11, as shown in Fig. 2B. Lower box 7 has 12 channels, denominated by the letters b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, 1, and . The game of this configuration is played with three balls denominated 10•, 10• • , and 10' ' ' . Holes 6 are arranged such that there are three non- interconnected networks (sub-labyrinths) . The first network is made up of channels I, IV and VII and by crosswise channels b, e, h and k, while the second network consists of channels II, V, VIII and the crosswise channels c, f, i, 1, and the third network includes

PC-YUS9-/00070

- 7 - channels III, VI, IX and the crosswise channels d, g, j and m. Ball 10" is associated with the first network, 10' ' with the second network and 10' '* with the third network. Because the three networks are non- interconnected, balls 10', 10' ' and 10' * ' are contained in separate networks, and may not meet in the same channel.

The task of this configuration is to guide the three balls into a position into which they are side by side in one of the bastions (16) indicated by dots in Fig. 2, and then to transfer all the three balls from one bastion to another. In Fig. 4, in the upper left bastion, the balls 10', 10'', lO''' are shown side by side at positions al, all and alii. In order to transfer the balls to the upper right bastion (that is, to position nl, nil, and nlll) , the balls must pass along certain routes. The route (13) of ball 10' from the upper left bastion to the upper right bastion is as follows: II - el - eVII - bVII - blV - hIV - hVII - kVII - kl - nl. Route (14) of ball 10" is: all - ell - cV - IV - ill - nil. Route (15) of ball 10• • • is: alii - dill - dIX - glX - gVI - mVI - mIX - jIX - jIII - nlll. The difficulty of the task stems from the fact that while one ball is moved towards its destination by turning the game, the other two balls are, at the same time, rolling in their associated channels, so the movements of the three balls must be coordinated, requiring skill and patience. The task is made easier if the balls (10' 10' ' and 10' ' *) of the separate networks have different colors and if the edges of the holes (6) disposed in the channels of the routes (13, 14 and 15) are colored the same color as the ball contained in the associated network and passing along the associated route.