Abstract:
The present invention provides the illusion that an elastic apparatus is hooked from within a base unit, wherein actually hooking the elastic apparatus is virtually impossible. An opposite end of a rod is inserted at least partway into a hole of a base unit using the handle end of the rod. The base unit gives the appearance that the elastic device is attached to and extending within the hole thereof. The inserted opposite end of the rod is then pulled partially out of the base unit. But before the opposite end of the rod is exposed in viewable sight, two of a user&#39;s fingers are pressed together on substantially opposing sides of the handle end in order to forcibly snap the rod back into the base unit giving the illusion that the rod slipped from the user&#39;s fingers due to an opposing force from the elastic apparatus.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   N/A 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. The Field of the Invention 
   The present invention is generally related to puzzles, brain teasers, mind bogglers or benders, magic tricks, or the like. In particular, the present invention provides a device configured to give the illusion that a rubber band or other elastic apparatus is hooked or otherwise captured within a housing device, wherein the operation of hooking or catching the rubber band is virtually and/or conceptually impossible. 
   2. Background and Related Art 
   While the invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it is especially suited for use as a puzzle, brainteaser, mind boggler or bender, magic trick, or the like, and will be particularly described in these contexts. In the area of entertainment, there is always a need for new devices that the public might find intriguing. For example, magicians are always looking to find new tricks to add to their repertoire and/or people are continually entertained with new puzzles or mind boggling devices. For such novelty items, simple use and inexpensive manufacturing costs are always a concern. 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an illusion device that is simple to use. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide an illusion device that is inexpensive to manufacture. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In order to meet the above-identified objectives, the present invention provides a method and device that give the illusion that a rubber band or other elastic apparatus is hooked from within a base unit using a rod, wherein actually hooking the elastic apparatus within the base unit is virtually and/or conceptually impossible. 
   For example, in a first example embodiment an opposite end of the rod is inserted at least partway into the hole of a base unit using the handle end of the rod. The base unit gives the appearance that the elastic device is attached to and extending within the hole thereof. The inserted opposite end of the rod is then pulled partially out of the base unit using a handle end of the rod. Next, before the opposite end of the rod is exposed in viewable sight, at least two of a user&#39;s fingers are pressed together on substantially opposing sides of the handle end of the rod in order to forcibly snap the rod back into the base unit giving the illusion that the rod slipped from the user&#39;s fingers due to an opposing force from the elastic apparatus pulling on the opposite end of the rod from within the base unit. 
   In another exemplary embodiment, a device for use in creating the illusion as if a rod has hooked an elastic apparatus from within a hole of a base unit is provided, wherein the actual hooking of the elastic apparatus within the base unit is virtually impossible. The device comprises an elongated base unit with a hole therein running substantially parallel to its length. Further, an elastic apparatus having the appearance that it extends at least partway into the hole of the base unit and is attached thereto is provided. Moreover, the device comprises a rod with a handle end and an opposite end. The handle end is used to insert the opposite end at least partway into the hole of the base unit and also used to partially extract the opposite end from the hole, wherein the handle end of the base unit is formed such that when a user&#39;s fingers apply pressure on substantially opposite ends thereof, the rod slips from the user&#39;s fingers and forcibly snaps into the base unit giving the illusion that the rod slipped from the user&#39;s fingers due to an opposing force from the elastic apparatus pulling on the opposite end of the rod from within the base unit. 
   Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example illusory snap puzzle or device that can be used in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
       FIGS. 2A-2D  illustrate a method of using the illusory snap puzzle or device in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 3  illustrates another example illusory snap puzzle or device in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention extends to methods and/or devices for creating the illusion as if a rod has hooked an elastic apparatus within the hole of a base unit, even though the hooking of the elastic apparatus is virtually and/or conceptually impossible.  FIG. 1  illustrates an example of a puzzle or device  100  that may used to perform the above described illusion in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The puzzle or device  100  includes a base unit  125  that has an elongated hole  120  running substantially parallel to the base unit&#39;s length. It should be noted, that although the present invention describes the base unit  125  as elongated and the relationship of the hole  120  in accordance therewith, the present invention is not restricted to any shape and/or relative size of the base unit  125  with relationship to the hole  120 . For example, the base  125 , rather than a rectangular block as shown in  FIG. 1 , may be a square cube with the hole  120  running substantially parallel along on of the sides. Accordingly, any specific shape and/or relative size of the base unit  125  in relationship to the hole  120  therein is used for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit or otherwise narrow the scope of the present invention unless explicitly claimed. 
   Regardless of the shape and/or relative size of the base unit  125  and the relationship of the hole  120  thereto, an elastic apparatus  130  is also provided that extends at least partway into the hole  120  of the base unit  125 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . In this example, the material used to make the base unit is a nontransparent material such as wood, metal, ceramic, stone, fiberglass, or other similar nontransparent material. Accordingly, a portion of the elastic apparatus, e.g., a rubber band, should extending from the hole  120  outside of the base unit  125  in order to give the illusion that the elastic apparatus  130  extends within the hole  120  of base unit  125 . Because in this example embodiment the inside of the hole  120  in the base unit  125  for nontransparent materials cannot be viewed by the naked eye, whether or not the elastic apparatus  130  actually extends fully within the hole  120  of the base unit  125  is not of critical concern. Accordingly, in this embodiment, it is sufficient to give the illusion as if the elastic apparatus  130  extends fully within the hole  120 . In any event, as will be described in greater detail below, if the elastic apparatus  130  actually extends fully within the hole  120  of the base unit  125 , the device  100  should be configured such that the elastic apparatus  130  cannot be hooked using the rod  105  of the puzzle or device  100  described below. 
   The rod  105  has a handle end  110  and an opposite or insertion end  115 . The handle end  110  is used to insert the rod  105  (and in particular the opposite or insertion end  115 ) into hole  120  of the base unit  125 . The opposing or insertion end  115  of the rod  105  will typically be formed in the shape of a hook. This enhances the illusion that the rod  105  is actually capable of hooking the elastic apparatus  130  within the base unit  125 . Note, however, that the present invention is not limited to any specific shape or form of the opposite or insertion end  115 . For example, the insertion end may be flat, for boggling or intriguing the mind even more as to how such a device could actually hook a rubber band or elastic apparatus  130 . Accordingly, any specific shape of the opposite or insertion end  115  as described herein is used for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit or otherwise narrow the scope of the present invention unless explicitly claimed. 
   It should be noted that typically the diameter of the hole  120  will be just slightly larger than the diameter of the rod  105 . The present invention, however, is not limited to any specific hole  120  diameter relative to shaft  107  and/or opposite end  115  of the rod  105  diameter. Further, the present invention is not limited in the shape of shaft  107  and/or hole  120  (e.g., the shape of the shaft  107  and/or hole  120  may be triangular); however, the shaft  107 , opposite or insertion end  115 , and/or hole  120  should be of such shape and/or relative sizes such that the shaft  107  of the rod  105  can be sufficiently inserted into the hole  120  of the base unit. An important aspect to note, however, is that regardless of the shape and/or sizes of the shaft  107 , opposite or insertion end  115 , and/or hole  120 , any portion of the elastic apparatus  130  that extends within the base unit hole  120  should be virtually impossible to hook with the rod  105 ; otherwise the illusion described below no longer exists. 
   For example, if the elastic apparatus  130  fully extends into the hole  120  and the shaft  107  of the rod  105  is long enough such that the opposite or insertion end  115  of the rod  105  can come into actual contact with the elastic apparatus  130 , the opposite or insertion end  115  of rod  105  should be large enough in diameter such that when inserted within the hole  120  of the base unit  125  the insertion end  115  pushes the elastic unit  130  down into the base unit  125 . In other words, the diameter of the opposite or insertion end  115  should be sufficiently larger to ensure that the opposite or insertion end  115  is not actually capable of hooking the elastic unit  130 , for this would frustrate the overall illusion. 
   Alternatively, if only a small or unsubstantial portion of the elastic apparatus  130  extends within the hole  120  of the base unit  125 —and/or if the length of the shaft  107  is short in length—such that the opposite or insertion end  115  never comes into actual contact with the elastic apparatus  130 —then the size of the opposite or insertion end  115  of the rod  105  and/or shaft  107  relative to the hole  120  should not make a significant difference in performing the illusion of the present invention. Accordingly, as one would recognize, there are a wide variety of shapes and/or sizes for the hole  120 , the shaft  107  of the rod  105 , the opposite or insertion end  115  of the rod  105 , relative to each other. 
   Furthermore, the placement of the hole  120  and shaft  107  of the rod  105  relative to base unit  125  and handle  110 , respectively, may also vary. In accordance with one embodiment, and as shown in  FIG. 1 , the hole  120  and shaft  107  of the rod  105  are off center of the base unit  125  and handle end  110 , respectively. Accordingly, this has the added benefit of giving the illusion that a particular way of twisting the handle end  110 , as described in greater detail below with regard to  FIGS. 2A-2D , relative to the base unit  125  actually causes the elastic apparatus  130  rubber band to be hooked. Note, however, that any particular placement of the hole  120  and/or shaft  107  relative to the base unit  125  and/or handle  110 , respectively, are used herein for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to limit or otherwise narrow the scope of the present invention unless explicitly claimed. 
   Regardless of the shapes, sizes, and/or offsets or positions of the handle, shaft  105 , opposite or insertion end,  115 , and/or hole  120 , the handle end  110  should be formed (e.g., the pyramid shape shown in  FIG. 1 ) such that when a user&#39;s fingers apply pressure on opposing or substantially opposing sides of the handle  110 , the handle  110  slips from the fingers forcing the rod  105  into the hole  120  of the base unit  125 . Note, however, that the present invention is not limited to any specific shape for the handle  110 . For example, rather than the pyramid shape shown in  FIG. 1 , the handle end  110  of the rod  105  may be in the form of many shapes such as spherical, conical (e.g., circular cone, frustum circular cone, general cone, etc.), wedge shaped, substantially square, cylindrical, etc. It should be noted, however, for best results the handle should be formed such that (as described in greater detail below) the rod easily slips from the fingers of a user when pressure is applied to opposing ends of the handle. 
     FIGS. 2A-2D  illustrate a method of giving the illusion that an elastic apparatus is hooked using a rod inserted into a base unit as described above. As shown in  FIG. 2A , the base unit  225  is retangular in shape and has a hole (not shown) that extends substantially parallel to its length within the base unit  225 . An elastic apparatus (for example, a rubber band) has the appearance of extending within the hole of the base unit  225  (or may actually extend within the hole of the base unit  225  as previously described). The left (or right) hand of a user  225  firmly grips the base unit  225 . The rod  205  has an opposite or insertion end  215  and a handle end  210 . In this example, the handle end is the shape of a pyramid for ease in slipping from the fingers, as described below. A user&#39;s right (or left) hand  240  grips the handle end  210  using at least two fingers (shown here as the index and thumb fingers) the user then inserts the rod  205  into the base unit as shown by arrow  235 . 
   Once the user has inserted the rod  205  at least partway into the hole of the base unit  225 , the user may then make motions with the hands such as a rotation and/or slight up and down movement of the rod  205  or handle end  210  relative to the base unit  225 . This has the added effect of giving the illusion that some manipulation of the rod  205  can be performed to actually hook the elastic apparatus  230 . As previously mentioned, this feature may be enhanced when the hole in the base unit  225  and the shaft of the rod  205  are slightly off center of the base unit  225  and handle end  210 , respectively. 
   Regardless of whether the above manipulation operation is performed, after inserting the rod  235  at least partway into the base unit  225  using the handle end  210 , the user then begins to extract the rod  205  from the base unit  255  as shown by arrow  255  in  FIG. 2B . For optimum illusory results, this extraction motion  255  should slow down the further the rod is extracted from the base unit  225 . Before the opposite or insertion end  215  can be visibly seen, the user then applies pressure, as shown in  FIG. 2C , on opposing ends or substantially opposing ends of the handle end  210  of the rod  205 , as indicated by the arrows  250 . The force of the pressure should be sufficient such that, as shown in  FIG. 2D , the handle end  210  slips from the fingers forcing the rod into the base unit  225 —as indicated by arrow  265 —snapping  260  the handle end  210  against the base unit  225 . Accordingly, this gives the illusion as if it was the elastic apparatus  230  was hooked to the opposite or insertion end  215  of the rod and the opposing force of the elastic apparatus  230  caused the handle end  110  of the rod  205  to slip from the user&#39;s fingers  240  and force the rod  205  into the base unit  225 . 
     FIG. 3  illustrates an alternative embodiment wherein at least the base unit  325  of illusory snap device  300  is made from a translucent or partially transparent material such as glass, plastic, or other similar transparent or partially transparent material. In this embodiment, the elastic apparatus  330  does not necessarily need to extend beyond the end of the base unit  325 . Instead, because the elastic apparatus  330  can clearly or partially be seen within the hole  320  of the base unit  325 , it is not necessary for the end thereof to extend beyond the base unit  325 . It may be important, however, to give the appearance that the elastic apparatus  330  is securely fastened within the base unit  325 . For example, a portion  335  of the elastic apparatus  330  may be formed beyond the base  340  of the hole  320 , such that the end  335  of the elastic apparatus  330  is formed and secured by the base unit  325 . 
   Of course, other means for securing the elastic unit within the transparent base unit are also available to the present invention. For example, the hole  320  may be extended all the way through the base unit  325 , as was shown with regards to  FIG. 1 . In such instance, a plug or other device may be used to secure the rubber band to the base unit  325 , and a portion of the elastic apparatus  330  may extend beyond the base unit  325 . Accordingly, any method or means for giving the appearance that elastic apparatus  330  is secured to the base unit  325  is used herein for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit or otherwise narrow the scope of the present invention unless explicitly claimed. 
   In this embodiment, as in other embodiments, the handle end  310 , shaft  307 , and/or opposite or insertion end  315  of the rod  305  may or may not be made of a similar transparent or semi translucent material as the base unit  325 . It should be noted, however, that when such transparent or semi translucent base unit  325  is used, that in order for the illusion to appropriately be applied, the user should take special care in covering that portion of the base unit  325  that the rod  305  is inserted into during the above illusion performance. For example, the user may use her/his hand to cover up that portion of the base unit  325  that the opposite or insertion end  315  is inserted into. Alternatively, the user may cover the base unit  325  with a nontransparent sleeve (not shown) or other device to cover the view of the opposite or insertion end  315  such that one cannot see that the elastic apparatus  330  is not actually hooked by the rod  305  as previously described. 
   The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.