DICE

Abstract

Dice which have the exterior form of regular polyhedrons, but are not solid polyhedrons. Instead, the dice, when viewed externally, are in the form of skeletal polyhedrons with floating faces. The dice also include a solid core surrounding their center which can serve to improve tumbling behavior.

Claims

1. A die comprising: an outer frame formed as a skeletal polyhedron having edges and vertices, said skeletal polyhedron also defining a number of open sides; a core encompassing a center of said polyhedron, said core suspended from said outer frame by supports extending from said core to said vertices; and a series of faces, each of said faces connected to said core by a mount so that each of said faces appears suspended in one of said open sides and does not directly connect to any of said edges or said vertices.

2. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is a tetrahedron.

3. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is a cube.

4. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is an octahedron.

5. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is a decahedron.

6. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is a dodecahedron.

7. The die of claim 1 wherein said polyhedron is an icosahedron.

8. The die of claim 1 wherein said core is generally spherical.

9. The die of claim 1 wherein said core includes a includes at least 15% of the total mass of said die.

10. The die of claim 1 wherein at least one of said faces includes an indicia.

11. The die of claim 10 wherein said indicia is placed on said face.

12. The die of claim 10 wherein said indicia is recessed into said face.

13. The die of claim 1 wherein said frame comprises hard plastic.

14. The die of claim 1 wherein said frame comprises metal.

15. The die of claim 1 wherein said supports are generally cylindrical.

16. The die of claim 1 wherein each of said faces is generally circular.

17. The die of claim 1 wherein each of said faces is of generally similar shape to said open space said face is within.

18. The die of claim 1 wherein said mounts are generally cylindrical.

19. The die of claim 1 wherein each of said mounts are generally in the form of an inverted pyramidal frustum.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 4-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 1A provides a top view, FIG. 1B provides a perspective view, FIG. 1C provides a side view, and FIG. 1D provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 1C.

[0037] FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 6-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 2A provides a top view, FIG. 2B provides a perspective view, FIG. 2C provides a side view, and FIG. 2D provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 2C.

[0038] FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C provide for various views of an embodiment of a 8-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 3A provides a perspective view, FIG. 3B provides a side view, and FIG. 3C provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 3B.

[0039] FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 10-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 4A provides a top view, FIG. 4B provides a perspective view, FIG. 4C provides a side view, and FIG. 4D provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 4C.

[0040] FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 12-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 5A provides a top view, FIG. 5B provides a perspective view, FIG. 5C provides a side view, and FIG. 5D provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 5C.

[0041] FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 20-sided die in accordance with this disclosure. FIG. 6A provides a top view, FIG. 6B provides a perspective view, FIG. 6C provides a side view, and FIG. 6D provides a sectional view along the line A-A in FIG. 6C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0042] This disclosure is generally directed to dice and methods for making dice. In particular, this disclosure is directed to dice which have the exterior form of regular polyhedrons, but are not solid polyhedrons. Instead, the dice, when viewed externally, are in the form of skeletal polyhedrons with floating faces. The dice also include a solid core surrounding their center which can serve to improve tumbling behavior as well as supporting the faces allowing them to be disconnected from any of the edges or vertices of the polyhedron's sides. It should be recognized that dice can have virtually any number of faces and markings on those faces and, thus, the fact that this disclosure primarily discusses and depicts dice which are 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided, 12-sided, and 20-sided in no way is intended to limit the sizes or shapes of dice which can be made using the structures contemplated herein.

[0043] Further, it should be recognized that the terms faces and sides are often used interchangeably when referring to the flat generally planar surfaces of a solid polyhedral die. For this reason, the two terms may be used interchangeably herein. However, because of the specific nature of the structure of the present dice which have a generally skeletal form, the term side will generally be used to refer to the plane of the die which would be solid should the die be a solid polyhedron while the term face will generally be used to refer to the actual generally planar surface which holds the die indicator associated with that side.

[0044] Finally, it should also be recognized that the term randomness when applied to the rolling of dice is slightly different than with regards to other random behavior. Specifically, every die actually generates rolls (if it tumbles sufficiently and has sufficient surface interactions) which orientate each of its faces (and associated indicator thereon) to a chosen position (e.g. up) a number of times which is perfectly accurate statistically to the odds of such orientation occurring. The goal of a random die is not to alter this mathematically immutable rule of die rolling, but to make each side of the die as close to equally likely as possible.

[0045] For example, a perfectly random 6-side die would actually have the odds of rolling each of its six sides be exactly equal to the others and exactly 1/6. A loaded or crooked die on the other hand attempts to provide a die which looks like it should have equal probability of rolling each side while it actually does not due to modification. For example, a cubical die could be weighted in such a way (loaded) or formed in such as way (crooked) as to make it slightly more likely that a 6 would be rolled than any other number. In tumbling behavior within normal gravitational fields of the earth, a heavier or larger side should be more likely to end up down because it takes more energy to shift the die from this positon than from any other.

[0046] While a die with perfectly equal likelihood of any side coming up is readily obtainable in mathematical modeling and theory, such perfect randomness is not attainable in the real world. Specifically, the nature of matter does not allow for perfectly distributed mass in any real space. However, careful manufacturing can get asymptotically closer to such theoretical modeling. Further, as contemplated in the background of this disclosure, much of the randomness of die rolling is actually obtained through more accurate human rolling behavior, rolling surfaces, and resultant die tumbling.

[0047] If one could measure the values of all variables representing every interaction with a die at the instant it was rolled and had its initial position, one could calculate the rolled side with perfect accuracy. However, practical mathematics (and chaos theory) have recognized that such calculations are practically impossible. Further, controlling rolling behavior of a human, and the structure of the surface the die is rolled on, are outside the designs of a die. Therefore, designs of dice which increase the number of interactive variables are typically more random than other designs and variables are typically increased by increasing randomness within a die's tumbling behavior when thrown. Thus, designs of dice herein are generally intended to improve tumbling behavior of the dice, even when thrown in less than ideal conditions.

[0048] FIGS. 1A-6D show various images of dice that have a generally skeletal polyhedral form with floating faces and a heavy central core in accordance with the present disclosure. FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 4-sided die, FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 6-sided die, FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C provide for various views of an embodiment of a 8-sided die, FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 10-sided die, FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 12-sided die, and FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D provide for various views of an embodiment of a 20-sided die. As the structure of each die is generally similar, the various different polyhedrons will be discussed together and common labels are used across each figure except to the extent that a particular label and/or discussion is only of particular relevance to a particular sub-group of FIGS.

[0049] The dice of the FIGS. are all generally constructed to have regular polyhedral forms which, if solid, would comprise regular platonic polyhedral solids. In FIGS. 1A-1D, this is a tetrahedron; in FIG. 2A-2D, this is a cube; in FIGS. 3A-3C, this is a octahedron; in FIGS. 4A-4D this is a decahedron; in FIGS. 5A-5D this is a dodecahedron, and in FIG. 6A-6D this is an icosahedron. Instead of being platonic polyhedral solids, however, as can be seen in the FIGS., the polyhedral shape has been reduced by the general elimination of some of the structure of the sides (103) to create a skeletal frame (101) which serves to use the edges (105) to define open gaps (305) in the sides (103). This results in the edges (105) having a generally narrow structure interconnecting adjacent vertices (107) making the overall frame (101) be of the form of a skeletal polyhedron. The amount of the reduction can be anything, but will typically result in edges (105) which are quite narrow and will often be as thin as possible while still providing the die (100) with sufficient strength to not collapse under normal use. Thus, the edges (105) may be thinner, for example, if the die is constructed of metals versus if it is constructed of plastics. The dice (100) may be constructed of any sufficiently rigid material and these two options are merely exemplary. In a metal die, an edge (105) preferably extends only a small distance into that side (103) leaving the vast majority of the side open (305).

[0050] Further, in the depicted embodiments, each of the edges (105) is not a sharp line but has been flattened to provide the edge (105) with either a slightly planar surface (as depicted in FIG. 1B or 3A, for example) or, with a convex arcuate rounded surface (as depicted in FIG. 6B, for example). The rounding or cutting off of the edge (105) serves to both save material in construction and also makes the dice (100) smoother to the touch and without sharp edges. Similarly, the vertices (107) may also be flattened from sharp points to have either small generally planar surfaces (as can be seen in FIG. 1C or 3B) so simply to be rounded (as can be seen in in FIG. 6C). This, again, saves material and produces a smoother feel by eliminating sharp points.

[0051] As is also visible in the FIGS, the space internal to the edges (105) (between the edges (105) and the core (201)) is typically also removed in the course of making the skeletal shape. Thus, the edges (105) are akin to thin bones connecting adjacent vertices (107) and which do not directly contact any other portion of the die (100) except where they meet at adjacent vertices (107). The edges (105), thus, define the edges of the regular polygons that form the sides of each die (100).

[0052] In order to improve the rolling of the dice, each die (100) will typically include a generally solid core (201). The core (201) will typically be positioned surrounding the center point of the polyhedron of the outer frame (101) making it internal to the skeleton of the outer frame (101) and within the polyhedron of the die (100). As can be seen in the depicted embodiments, the core (201) will be generally spherical so as to evenly distribute mass about the center of the polyhedron and to provide the greatest mass toward the center of the polyhedron. It should be recognized that in alternative designs, the core (201) could be of shapes other than generally spherical. For example, the shape may be cubical or may be a solid or skeletal polyhedron corresponding in shape to the skeletal polyhedron of the frame (101).

[0053] Regardless of shape, however, the core (201) will preferably have it's mass distributed generally evenly around the center of the polyhedron shape of the die (100). The core (201) will typically comprise at least 15% of the total mass of the die. Depending on the embodiment, this may comprise at least 15%, at least, 20%, at least 25%, at least 30%, at least 35%, or at least 40% of the total mass. Regardless of the percentage of the total mass of the die (100) in the core (201), that mass will typically be as focused to toward the center of the polyhedron as commercially possible. Further, it will often be the case that as the number of sides (103) increase the percentage of the total mass in the core (201) will decrease, but this is by no means required.

[0054] In an embodiment of the 4-sided die of FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D the core (201) may be about 40% of the total mass of the die. In an embodiment of the 6-sided die of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D the core (201) may be about 25% of the total mass of the die. In an embodiment of the 8-sided die of FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C the core (201) may be about 30% of the total mass of the die. In an embodiment of the 10-sided die of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D the core (201) may be about 35% of the total mass of the die. In an embodiment of the 12-sided die of FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D the core (201) may be about 15% of the total mass of the die. In an embodiment of the 20-sided die of FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D the core (201) may also be about 15% of the total mass of the die.

[0055] The core (201) will generally be of solid material. Typically, it will be constructed of the same material as the frame (101) but that is by no means required and in an alternative embodiment the core (201) material may be purposefully chosen so as to be of a heavier and denser material (or a lighter material) than the frame (101) which may provide for additional lever action during rolling as contemplated later in this disclosure. Regardless of the specific construction of the core (201), the core (201) is typically suspended from the frame (101) using a series of supports (203). Each support (203) will typically be generally cylindrical in the depicted embodiment and one support (203) will generally extend from the core (201) to each of the vertices (107) of the frame (101). The supports (203) will typically have a dimeter no larger than the width of the edges (105) but that is not required. In this way, the core (201) is effectively suspended in the center of the polyhedron forming the die (100) by a small number of connections (supports (203)).

[0056] Further, as the supports (203) will typically be thin, they can serve to provide strength to the frame (101) and maintain the location of the core (201) therein without imparting large amounts of weight toward the outer frame (101). Further, by interconnecting one support (203) to each vertex (107) of the frame (101), the mass imparted by the supports (203) is generally evenly distributed throughout the polyhedron of the die (100) which avoids any side having increased mass over the other sides. Specifically, the mass of the supports (203) is actually positioned between the sides (105) in many respects and also, because of the polyhedral shape of the die (100), each support (203) has another positioned with its major axis on common line through the core (201) and through the center of the frame (101).

[0057] In order to provide markings on the die (100), each side (103) defined by the frame (101) includes a face (301). The face will include marking indicia (303) appropriate to the face (301) and the purpose of the die (100). In the embodiments of the present figures, these are in the form of Arabic numerals. However, it would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that any form of indicia (303) may be used. Further, the method for providing the indicia (303) on each face (301) may be in any manner known to one of ordinary skill. For example, as in the depicted embodiments, the indicia (303) may comprise recessed figures (which may or may not be filled with a contrasting material to be more easily visible), may be painted or inked onto the surface of the face (301), or may be formed by other techniques such as the application of adhesive decals. In a still further embodiment, the indicia (303) and face (301) may be combined in a fashion where the face (301) is formed into a shape indicative of the indicia (303). For example, the face (301) may be in the form of a polygon having a number of sides corresponding to the number of that face (301) or may be formed into a representation of a numeral or letter.

[0058] As can be seen from the FIGS., the faces (301) will generally be planar and may be of any shape including, but not limited to, circular (as shown in FIG. 2A or 5A, for example) or a shape corresponding the shape of the side (as shown in FIGS. 1C and 4B, for example) and will generally be arranged so as to have a planar outer surface which to be generally co-planar with the plane formed from the outer surfaces of the edges (105) that surround the face (301). This effectively forms a planar side (103) of the polyhedron but including gaps which are the remains of the open sides (305) not filled by the face (301) as shown in the FIGS. Each face (301) does not extend to contact, and is not connected to, the neighboring edges (105) or vertices (107) and has no support interconnection to any edges (105) or vertices (107). This gives a completely open moat surrounding the face (301) with the remaining portion of the open gap (305) and serves to visibly separate the face (301) from the edges (105) and vertices (107). This makes each face (301) appear to float in the middle of the open gap (305) of the polyhedral die (100) while still also giving the side (103) a generally planar outer surface for rolling. This can increase the friction and contact between the structure of any side of the polyhedron and any surface the die (100) is tumbling on.

[0059] The faces (301) will typically be supported by a mount (205). The mount (205) may be of any shape but will generally be cylindrical as shown in FIG. 1D, may be in the shape of an inverted conical frustum as shown in FIG. 2D, or may be in the shape of an inverted pyramidal frustum having a base of any polygon or other shape such as is shown in FIG. 4D. Typically, the mount (205) will either be cylindrical to save on material while still providing sufficient support to keep the face (301) from moving, or will be a frustum corresponding to the related face (301) shape. The frustum form in particular allows for the mount (205) to generally not be readily visible from the side of the face (301) that it supports since the diameter shrinks as it approaches the core (201), which further improves the floating illusion of the face (301), while still resulting in a face (301) that can resist deformation at its edges toward the center of the polyhedron by increasing the thickness of the material at those edges.

[0060] The dice (100) of the FIGS. provide for a completely new appearance with the floating appearance of the face (301) and generally skeletal frame (100) structure being solely supported by the core (201) and vice-versa. These dice (100) are also believed to provide for improved randomness over other skeletal form dice and be more akin to solid perfect dice. In particular, by having a lot of mass, ideally at least 15% of the total mass, of the total mass of the die at a suspended and solid central core (201), this can increase the precision of the amount of mass placed (and its location) as well as more equally distributing the mass about the center of the polyhedron via precise manufacturing methods.

[0061] It should be recognized that the unique geometry of the dice of the FIGS. does not lend itself to traditional manufacturing techniques such as molding or machining.

[0062] For this reason, the dice of the FIGS. will commonly be constructed using additive manufacturing techniques (3D printing) although that is by no means required. Further, such resultant prints may then be plated, painted, or otherwise have a coating applied thereto to alter the resultant appearance.

[0063] Having the mass of the core (201) suspended about the center is also believed to assist the die (100) in acting as a 3.sup.rd class lever when thrown. In particular, the core (301) acts as the load against the fulcrum of the face (301), edge (105), and/or vertex (107) which is contacting the rolling surface at any instant. As the skeletal structure provides relatively little mass compared to the core (201), this improves efficiency of the lever and is believed to improve tumbling behavior of the die (100). The outer frame (101) above the suspended core (201) and fulcrum point also serves to impart increased angular momentum from the suspended center of mass as it attempts to continue motion past the fulcrum which has become a friction point thus resulting in an increased chance or rolling forward over the fulcrum and imparting another function to increase the randomness of the roll. Further, the surfaces of the faces (301) combined with the corresponding surfaces of the edges (105) creating a generally planar side of the polyhedron can increase surface friction of any side (103) when contacting a rolling surface which can also increase tumbling behavior than if the face (301) was extended from or recessed into the side where only the skeletal from (101) or face (301) would contact the surface.

[0064] While the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a description of certain embodiments, including those that are currently believed to be useful embodiments, the detailed description is intended to be illustrative and should not be understood to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, embodiments other than those described in detail herein are encompassed by the present invention. Modifications and variations of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0065] It will further be understood that any of the ranges, values, properties, or characteristics given for any single component of the present disclosure can be used interchangeably with any ranges, values, properties, or characteristics given for any of the other components of the disclosure, where compatible, to form an embodiment having defined values for each of the components, as given herein throughout. Further, ranges provided for a genus or a category can also be applied to species within the genus or members of the category unless otherwise noted.

[0066] The qualifier generally, and similar qualifiers as used in the present case, would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to accommodate recognizable attempts to conform a device to the qualified term, which may nevertheless fall short of doing so. This is because terms such as spherical or planar or any of the polyhedral forms contemplated herein are purely geometric constructs and no real-world component or relationship is truly such a shape in the geometric sense. Variations from geometric and mathematical descriptions are unavoidable due to, among other things, manufacturing tolerances resulting in shape variations, defects and imperfections, non-uniform thermal expansion, and natural wear. Moreover, there exists for every object a level of magnification at which geometric and mathematical descriptors fail due to the nature of matter. One of ordinary skill would thus understand the term generally and relationships contemplated herein regardless of the inclusion of such qualifiers on any such mathematical term to include a range of variations from the literal geometric meaning of the term in view of these and other considerations.