Patent Publication Number: US-4060247-A

Title: Geometric puzzle

Description:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 shows a six ball configuration puzzle piece; 
     FIG. 2 shows a two ball configuration puzzle piece; 
     FIG. 3 shows a four ball configuration piece; 
     FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the pieces assembled to form a two dimensional rhomboid; 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the pieces assembled to form a tetrahedron; and 
     FIGS. 6A-6E show the step-by-step assembly of the tetrahedron. 
    
    
     DISCLOSURE 
     This geometric puzzle consists of twenty balls of equal diameters attached in the following manner: 
     Two pieces A 1 , A 2  in a six ball configuration (FIG. 1) 
     Two pieces B 1 , B 2  in a two ball configuration (FIG. 2) 
     One piece C in a four ball configuration (FIG. 3) 
     The purpose of this geometric puzzle is to demonstrate the closest relationship of points in both the two and three dimensional form. In other words, the five pieces of this geometric puzzle can go together either as a rhomboid (FIG. 4), or as a tetrahedron (FIG. 5 and 6). 
     In addition, I have discovered that: 
     1. The three basic configurations (FIGS. 1, 2, and 3) may be used as building blocks to construct other geometric forms, such as a square base pyramid or a cuboctrahedron. 
     2. This geometric puzzle repeats itself. Six sets (30 pieces) will combine to produce a tetrahedron with eight ball edges, 11 sets -- 10 ball edges, 28 sets -- 14 ball edges, and so on. 
     Some uses of this invention are: 
     1. To demonstrate the closest relationship of points in both a two and three coordinate system with a degree of entertainment. 
     2. To enhance ones spatial reasoning by way of building various forms with unusual shapes. 
     3. A barometer of spatial reasoning by comparing the time required to solve the puzzle with an average time. 
     4. To entertain. It is enjoyable to see how many different shapes and forms you can come up with. Also, I have devised a card game that utilizes the puzzles.