Puzzle or Toy.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 21st Sept., 1892-Accepted, 12th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Puzzle or Toy.
1, GEORGE MOORE, Printer, 21, Mytholmes Terrace, Haworth, near Keighley,
in the County of York do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of my invention, which I call a Switchback Puzzle is to produce a toy
consisting of two, three or any suitable number of balls or pellets enclosed within a
suitable envelope somewhat similar in form to a switchback railway the tops of the
curved or inclined portions having slight depressions, which I call nests, formed on
them so that one of the balls or pellets may be retained in this depression if
sufficient skill be exercised in moving the envelope as to cause the ball to climb the
curve or incline with sufficient velocity to carry it to the top, but not sufficient to
cause it to pass over the aforesaid slight depression.
The envelope may be made of glass in the form of a tube having a series of
bends and the small secondary depressions or nests are formed on the tops of these
bends.
When two or more balls are used a corresponding number of nests are provided
and the puzzle is not completely solved until each ball has been placed in a nest.
The difficulty of the puzzle can thus be increased by increasing the number of balls
and nests. The difficulty can be still further increased by having the balls of
different colours and the nests differently coloured to correspond with the balls. In
this case the puzzle will not be completely solved until each ball is in its own nest.
Dated this 6th day of February 1892.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Puzzle or Toy.
I, GEORGE MOORE, of 21, Mytholmes Terrace, Haworth near Keighley, in the
County of York, Printer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of my invention, which I call a Switchback Puzzle is to produce a
toy consisting of two, three or any suitable number of balls or pellets enclosed
within a suitable envelope somewhat similar in form to a switchback railway the
tops of the curved or inclined portions having slight depressions, which I call nests,
formed on them so that one of the balls or pellets may be retained in this depression
if sufficient skill be exercised in moving the envelope as to cause the ball to climb
the curve or incline with sufficient velocity to carry it to the top, but not sufficient
to cause it to pass over the aforesaid slight depression.
The envelope may be made of glass in the form of a tube having a series of
bends and the small secondary depressions or nests are formed on the tops of these
bends.
When two or more balls are used a corresponding number of nests are provided
and the puzzle is not completely solved until each ball has been placed in a nest.
The difficulty of the puzzle can thus be increased by increasing the number of balls
and nests. The difficulty can be still further increased by having the balls of
different colours and the nests differently coloured to correspond with the balls. In
this case the puzzle will not be completely solved until each ball is in its own nest.

page_text: The nature of my invention will be better understood on reference to the
accompanying drawing which represents one form of my Switchback Puzzle Toy, tis
a glass tube of tubular section sealed at both ends and having a series of bends all
in one plane as shown. In this tube are three small balls b, b, b, of such a size that
they will move freely inside the tube. n₁ n n are small depressions in the tube
forming nests for the balls b₁ b₂ b3.
The puzzle consists in the difficulty experienced in attempting to place the
balls b₁ b b in their respective nests n₁ n, n, if sufficient skill be exercised this may
be accomplished by moving the tube as hereinbefore explained, it may, however, be
accomplished much more easily by holding the tube one end in each hand so that its
ends are approximately in the same horizontal plane and the plane of the bent tube
is vertical with nests n₁ n₂ n, uppermost, the tube is then shaken in such a manner
as to cause the balls to move into the depressions a₁ a, a, as indicated by the dotted
circles, when this has been accomplished each ball is vertically under a nest and in
order to place the balls in their respective nests it is only necessary to rotate the
tube quickly through 180° keeping the ends still in the same horizontal plane.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
A puzzle or toy consisting of three or any suitable number of balls or pellets
enclosed within a bent glass tube or other suitable envelope in which are a
coresponding number of nests in the form and for the purposes substantially as
herein described and illustrated.
Dated this 20th day of September 1892.
GEORGE MOORE.