Abstract:
A conjurer&#39;s kit is disclosed that comprises a box comprising a plurality of walls enclosing an interior wherein one of the front walls of the box has a display opening. The walls have black inside surfaces. The box defines a hiding space between a rear wall and a partitioning wall. The partitioning wall has a height smaller than the interior height of the box. The box has a bottom cover that covers the bottom of the hiding space and is made of a soft material such as foam or sponge or carpet. The box has at least one partly black outer surface such as a hollow cone with a black outer surface or an object having one black half or a playing card having a black back.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates in general to a conjurer&#39;s kit, especially for children. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For children, it is fun to play to be a magician or conjurer. Thus, several kits have been developed for use by children with which they can play the same (or similar) tricks as performed by professional magicians or conjurers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One specific trick is a trick involving disappearing objects, or objects changing from one shape to another shape. It is a specific objective of the present invention to provide a relatively simple and easy-to-use kit with which children can perform such trick. Such kit provided by the invention has the features of claim  1 . 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  schematically shows a perspective view of a box for use in a conjurer&#39;s kit according to the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  2 C schematically show a front view, a top view in cross section, and a side view in cross section, respectively, of the box of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are views comparable to  FIG. 2C , schematically illustrating a first trick; 
         FIGS. 3C ,  3 D,  3 E,  3 F are similar views, schematically illustrating a variation of the first trick; 
         FIGS. 4A and 4B  are views comparable to  FIG. 2C , schematically illustrating a second trick; 
         FIG. 5A  schematically illustrates playing cards according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5B  schematically shows a stack of two of these playing cards for performing a third trick; 
         FIGS. 5C and 5D  are views comparable to  FIG. 2C , schematically illustrating the third trick; 
         FIG. 5E  schematically shows a stack of three of these playing cards for performing a variation of the third trick. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a box  100  for use in a conjurer&#39;s kit  1  according to the present invention.  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B,  2 C schematically show a front view, a top view in cross section, and a side view in cross section, respectively, of the box  100 . The box  100  as shown has a general block shape, with a planar bottom  101 , a top wall  102 , a rear wall  103 , side walls  104 ,  105 , and a front wall  106 . In the preferred embodiment shown, said walls are mutually perpendicular to each other, but different angles are within the scope of the present invention. For sake of simplicity, the top wall  102 , rear wall  103 , and side walls  104 ,  105  are planar, and are perpendicular to each other, but this is not essential in all embodiments. 
     Preferably, the box  100  is foldable. In a preferred embodiment, the box  100  comprises a bottom part  110 , a cover part  120 , and a wall part  130 . The bottom part  110  consists of the bottom  101  and an upstanding rim  111  of a few centimeters high, which rim  111  in use will be directed upwards from the bottom  101 . Likewise, the cover part  120  consists of the top wall  102  and an upstanding rim  121  of a few centimeters high, which rim  121  in use will be directed downwards from the top wall  102 . The cover part  120  and the bottom part  110  may be mutually identical, but it is also preferred that one is somewhat smaller than the other such as to be nestable within each other. Particularly, the cover part  120  may be somewhat larger than the bottom part  110 , so that these two parts together may form a storage box with the cover part  120  as lid. The wall part  130  consists of the rear wall  103 , the two side walls  104 ,  105  foldably attached to the rear wall  103  at opposite edges, and two strips  134  and  135  foldably attached to the side walls  104 ,  105 , respectively at the free edges thereof opposite the central rear wall  103 . This assembly can be folded such as to fit in the above-mentioned storage box. In unfolded condition, the wall part  130  can be placed upright within the bottom part  110 , and the cover part  120  can be placed over the wall part  130 , such as to form the box  100 . From  FIG. 1  it can be seen that the front wall  106  has a large opening  107  surrounded by relatively small wall portions defined by portions of rims  111  and  121  and by said two strips  134  and  135 , which together form a window  108  around said opening. Through the opening  107 , which will hereinafter also be indicated as display opening, the interior  109  of the box  100  can be seen. The box  100 , in this condition, can be used as a magical theatre for performing conjurer&#39;s tricks, as will be explained later. 
     The dimensions of the box  100  are not critical, but for practical use the box  100  may have depth, width and height in the order of 40-100 cm. 
     The outside surfaces of the box  100  may be provided with colorful decorations, as desired, and may even be provided with illumination. The inside surfaces of the walls of the box, including the top wall and the bottom, are of a very dark colour, preferably black. 
     The interior  109  may be entirely empty, but the preferred embodiment is not. In the preferred embodiment, the box  100  comprises a partitioning wall  140  standing upright on the bottom  101 , having a height smaller than the interior height; a suitable height is in the order of about 10 cm. The partitioning wall  140  extends from the one side wall  104  to the opposite side wall  105 , at a distance from the rear wall  103 , which distance is suitably about one-third of the depth of the box, although this distance is not critical; a suitable distance d is in the order of about 15 cm. The partitioning wall  140  may be a planar wall parallel to the rear wall  103 , but it may also be curved, as shown. 
     The space between the partitioning wall  140  and the rear wall  103  will be indicated as hiding space  141 . The bottom of the hiding space  141  is covered with a bottom cover  142  of a soft material, such as foam, sponge, carpet, or the like. The floor of the interior  109  between the partitioning wall  140  and the opening  107  will be indicated as stage  143 ; this stage may be a part of the bottom  101 , or may be raised by an insert having a black top surface, as shown in  FIG. 2C . 
     The kit  1  further comprises at least one attribute having an at last partly black outer surface. The key aspect of this feature is that such surface, when held before the opening  107  and especially when placed inside the box  100 , is virtually invisible to spectators located in front of the box  100 . In the following, some examples of such attributes will be described, including the tricks the player/conjurer can perform. 
     In a first example, illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , an attribute  300  has the general shape of an inversed cup. In top view, the profile may be round or angular. In side view, the cross section may be Λ or Π, and actually the top may be open or closed. The attribute  300  of  FIGS. 3A and 3B  has a cone-shape. The outer surface of this attribute  300  is entirely black. The trick is played with a secondary attribute  302  fitting in the interior  301  of the attribute  300 . The secondary attribute  302  is bright enough such as to be normally visible. The shape of the secondary attribute  302  is basically immaterial, but for increased suspense the shape may for instance be an animal. When the secondary attribute  302  is placed on the stage  143  with the attribute  300  placed over it, the secondary attribute  302  is invisible to the spectators ( FIG. 3A ). When the conjurer lifts the attribute  300  (which as such can not be seen by the audience), while pronouncing a magical formula, the secondary attribute  302  magically appears ( FIG. 3B ). To have his hands free, the conjurer may place the attribute  300  on the stage  143  or in the hiding space  141 . When the conjurer places the “invisible” attribute  300  over the secondary attribute  302 , while pronouncing a different magical formula, this secondary attribute  302  magically disappears ( FIG. 3A ). 
     In a variation illustrated in  FIGS. 3C-3F , an attribute  310  consists of two separate components  311  and  312  as well as a secondary attribute  313 , which in the example shown is a ball having a bright colour such as to be clearly visible. The two separate components  311  and  312  are each similar to the attribute  300  discussed in the above, namely inverse-cupshaped; in the example shown, each of said components  311  and  312  has the shape of a truncated cone. The two cones  311  and  312  are of soft and a flexible material, for instance plastic or rubber, and are of slightly different size so that they can be nested in each other. The smaller cone  312  has a completely black outer surface, while the larger cone  311  has a bright colour such as to be clearly visible. The ball  313  fits in the smaller cone  312 .  FIG. 3C  shows the ball  313  placed on the stage  143  with the smaller cone  312  placed over the ball  313  and with the larger cone  311  placed over the smaller cone  312 . The audience only sees the outer cone  311 . Now the conjurer may pick up the outer cone  311  so that the inner cone remains standing over the ball  313  ( FIG. 3D ): the black inner cone  312  makes the ball  313  invisible to the audience. Alternatively, the conjurer may pick up the outer cone  311  while squeezing the outer cone  311  somewhat so that it will clamp the inner cone  312  and the inner cone  312  is lifted as well ( FIG. 3E ): now the clearly visible ball has magically appeared on the stage  143 . Alternatively, the conjurer may pick up the outer cone  311  while squeezing even harder, so that both the inner cone  312  and the ball  313  are lifted ( FIG. 3F ): now the stage  143  is empty. 
     In a second example, illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , an attribute  400  has two opposite surfaces  401  and  402 . One surface  401  is entirely black, the opposite surface  402  is bright enough such as to be normally visible. The shape of the attribute  400  is basically immaterial, but for increased suspense the shape may for instance be an animal. The trick is played by placing the attribute  400  on the stage  143 . When the second surface  402  is directed towards the opening  107 , the attribute  400  is visible to the audience ( FIG. 4B ). When the conjurer, pronouncing a magical formula, turns the attribute  400  around so that the first surface  401  is directed towards the opening  107 , the attribute  400  has magically disappeared ( FIG. 4A ). When the conjurer, pronouncing a different magical formula, turns the attribute  400  around again so that the second surface  402  is directed towards the opening  107 , the attribute  400  has magically reappeared ( FIG. 4B ). 
     It is to be noted that the magical formula to be pronounced for making the secondary attribute  302  disappear is preferably identical to the magical formula to be pronounced for making the attribute  400  disappear. The same applies for the formulas to be pronounced for making the secondary attribute  302  or the attribute  400  appear. 
     In a third example, illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a trick is played with a set of at least two, but preferably three cards  510 ,  520 ,  530 . Each card has a front side  511 ,  521 ,  531  and a back side  512 ,  522 ,  532 , respectively. Each front side  511 ,  521 ,  531  shows the same playing card (or other figure). Each back side  512 ,  522 ,  532  is at least partly black. A back side may be entirely black, but a back side may also comprise the face of the same playing card as the front side but at a smaller size.  FIG. 5A  shows a first playing card  510  having nine of hearts at its front side  511 , while its back side  512  comprises a portion  513  containing the face of nine of hearts at a smaller size while the remainder portion  514  of the back side  512  is black. A second playing card  520  also has nine of hearts at its front side  521 , while its back side  522  comprises a portion  523  containing the face of nine of hearts at a smaller size while the remainder portion  524  of the back side  522  is black. The size of second playing card  520  is substantially the same as the size of card portion  513  of the first card&#39;s back side  512 . A third playing card  530  also has nine of hearts at its front side  531 , while its back side  532  is completely black. The size of third playing card  530  is substantially the same as the size of card portion  523  of the second card&#39;s back side  522 . 
     The different cards have mutually different sizes; the size ratio may for instance be about 1:1.5:2. 
     One trick is played with only one card having the same card figure at both sides yet with different sizes, such as card  510 . By turning the card around, it seems as if the conjurer is magically capable of making a playing card increase or decrease in size. It is noted that the same type of trick would be possible with the attribute  400  of  FIG. 4 . 
     Another trick is played with two cards  510 ,  520  of different size, held back to back, as shown in  FIG. 5B . In this trick, the cards back sides are entirely black. In a first step, the front side  511  of the larger card  510  is shown to the audience; the smaller card  520  is out of sight. In a second step, the conjurer holds the stack of cards  510 ,  520  inside the box  100 , and turns the stack around so that the front side  521  of the smaller card  520  is facing the audience ( FIG. 5C ). The portion of the back side  512  of the larger card  510  not covered by the smaller card  520  is invisible because of its being black. In a third step, the conjurer drops the larger card  510  into the hiding space  141  behind the partitioning wall  140  so that this card is out of sight ( FIG. 5D ). The soft bottom cover  142  of the hiding space  141  prevents the audience from hearing the card drop. The conjurer can now take the smaller card  520  out of the box and show it to the audience. In a variation, the conjurer may use a stack containing the third card  530  in between the first and second cards  510 ,  520  and placed back to back with the second card  520  ( FIG. 5E ), so that the same trick can be repeated to magically “shrink” the card once more. 
     It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims. For instance, other objects may be used, partially black, to be placed in the magical theatre such as to be partially invisible.