Conjuring tool

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a box-like conjuring tool which can give a viewer not only a wonder that the conjuring tool moves and rises of itself on the hand of an operator but also a wonder that a drawer of the conjuring tool opens of itself for the viewer to find that some article exists in the drawer that was empty before.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there have existed conjuring tricks that a matchbox moves and rises of itself on the hand by being manipulated with a thread.

When a conjuring trick of this type is performed, firstly, as shown in FIG. 14(a), for example, an end of a thread is attached to an end portion of an outer box of a matchbox, and thereafter, a drawer is inserted in the outer box in this state together with the thread in a direction as indicated by an arrow in the drawing. Thus, the drawer is inserted into the outer box in such a manner that the thread ties around the drawing in a longitudinal direction, whereby a conjuring tool is assembled completely.

Then, the thread is passed between the middle finger and the ring finger and the other end of the thread is fixed to a belt on a pair of trousers or a coat. As this occurs, as shown in FIG. 14(b), the thread extends towards the operator so as to pass through the interior of the outer box, is exposed vertically on part of the drawer facing the operator and then, extends away from the operator so as to pass through the interior of the outer box again in an opposite direction, whereby the thread is allowed to tie around the drawer in a longitudinal direction, the matchbox being then placed on the hand in this state.

In a state in which the matchbox is set on the hand as has been described above, when the operator moves slowly the handforwards, since the matchbox is drawn forwards by the thread, the matchbox moves forwards on the hand. Then, when the matchbox moves near to a root position between the middle finger and the ring finger, the matchbox which is being drawn by the thread is caused to rise then on the hand, when continuing to be so drawn by the thread, the matchbox falls down on the hand, and when further continuing to be drawn by the thread, the drawer appears out of the outer box.

Thus, a viewer can be given the wonder that the matchbox moves, rises and opens of itself.

Note that the conventional conjuring tool that has been described above is disclosed in the following related-art document.

Page 351 of “Encyclopedia of Impromputu Magic” written by Martin Gardner and published by Magic Inc. in 1978.

However, when the matchbox is used in the conventional manner, since the thread passing between the middle finger and the ring finger is caused to exist on the viewer's side as shown in FIG. 14(b), there is caused an inconvenience that the thread is seen by the viewer.

In addition, in the conventional conjuring trick using a matchbox, the matchbox only moves and opens, and no more wonder can be given to the viewer, and hence the conventional trick lacks the entertaining properties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Then, an object of the present invention is to provide a box-like conjuring tool which can give a viewer not only a wonder that the conjuring tool moves and rises of itself on the hand of an operator but also awonder that a drawer of the conjuring tool opens of itself for the viewer to find that some article exists in the drawer that was empty before, which can obviate a risk that a thread that is set accordingly is recognized by the viewer and which is simple in construction and operation.

With a view to attaining the object, according to the present invention, there is provided a conjuring tool comprising a case main body having a single opening where a drawer is accommodated and a thread fixed at one end thereof to a single location either on the drawer or on the case main body, wherein the thread is set so as to emerge from the inside of the case main body to the outside thereof. According to this construction, since the opening where the thread is exposed in the conventional case is in a shielded state, the existence of the thread cannot be visualized by the viewer.

In addition, in the conjuring tool constructed as described above, a rear wall of the drawer is constructed to slide upwardly, so that a gap is produced at a lower end of the rear wall by causing the rear wall to deviate upwardly, whereby one end of the thread may be fixedly held between the rear wall and a bottom surface of the drawer by lowering the rear wall that has so deviated upwardly with the one end of the thread being placed in the gap.

Furthermore, in the conjuring tool constructed as described above, the drawer has a double drawer structure comprising an inner accommodating case for accommodating an article in advance and an outer drawer case for accommodating the inner accommodating case, so that the inner accommodating case can be slid to be drawn out from a rear of the outer drawer case, whereby when trying to draw the drawer case from the case main body, either an operation in which only the outer drawer case is drawn out of the case main body or an operation in which the outer drawer case is drawn out of the case main body together with the inner accommodating case which is being accommodated in the outer drawer case may be performed by an operation from a location outside the case main body.

Moreover, in the conjuring tool constructed as described above, a rear wall of the drawer is constructed to slide upwardly, so that a gap is produced at a lower end of the rear wall by causing the rear wall to deviate upwardly, whereby one end of the thread may be fixedly held between the rear wall and a bottom surface of the drawer by lowering the rear wall that has so deviated upwardly with the one end of the thread being placed in the gap.

According to the conjuring tool of the present invention, a viewer can be given not only a wonder that the matchbox moves and rises of itself on the hand of the operator but also a wonder the drawer opens of itself to show that some article is contained in the drawer that should have been empty.

In addition, since the thread can be removed from the conjuring tool easily, the operator can allow the viewer to verify the conjuring tool after the thread has been removed from the conjuring tool so as to let the viewer have an impression that there has been set no trick on the conjuring tool, thereby making it possible to give the viewer a wonder more. Moreover, since there is no risk at all that the set thread is looked at by the viewer and the construction and operation of the conjuring tool is simple, there can be provided an advantage that even a child who has no skilled technique can perfomr a conjuring trick easily using the conjuring tool according to the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the construction of a conjuring tool according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the construction of a drawer of the conjuring tool of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the construction of the drawer of the conjuring, tool of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 illustrates the construction of the drawer of the conjuring tool of the present invention, in which FIG. 4(a) is a bottom view of the drawer, FIG. 4(b) is a side view of the drawer, and FIG. 4(c) is a side view of the drawer showing a state where an inner accommodating case is being drawn out of an outer drawer case,

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the construction of a case main body of the conjuring tool of the present invention,

FIG. 6 illustrates how t open the drawer of the conjuring tool of the present invention, in which FIG. 6(a) is a view illustrating a state where only the outer drawer case is being drawn out of the case main body, and FIG. 6(b) is a view illustrating a state the outer drawer case is being drawn out of the case main body with the inner accommodating case being accommodated therein,

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating how to fix a thread to the conjuring tool of the present invention,

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a state of the conjuring tool in which the thread is fixed thereto,

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating how the conjuring tool shown in FIG. 8 is held by an operator, in which FIG. 9(a) is a view that shows the operator who holds the conjuring tool, and FIG. 9(b) is a view that shows the state of the conjuring tool shown in FIG. 9(a),

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state where the operator allows a viewer to verify the inside of the drawer when performing a conjuring trick using the conjuring tool according to the present invention,

FIG. 11 is a view showing a state where the case main body rise of itself when performing a conjuring trick using the conjuring tool according to the present invention, in which FIG. 11(a) is a view showing how to place the conjuring tool, and FIG. 11(b) is a view showing a state where the case main body is rising of itself,

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state where the drawer opens of itself when performing a conjuring trick using the conjuring tool according to the present invention, in which FIG. 12(a) is a view showing how to place the conjuring tool, and FIG. 12(b) is a view showing a state where the drawer is opening of itself,

FIG. 13 is a view showing a state where the drawer has been drawn completely out of the case main body when performing a conjuring trick using the conjuring tool according to the present invention, and

FIG. 14 illustrates a conventional conjuring trick using a matchbox.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, a conjuring tool according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described by reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Construction of Conjuring Tool]

Firstly, the construction of a conjuring tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described by reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. A conjuring tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a case main body 20 having a single opening where a drawer 10 is accommodated and a thread 30 (in this embodiment, the thread is taken up around a thread take-up device 31). Note that in this embodiment, a side of the conjuring tool 1 where the drawer 10 opens (a side of the case main body where the opening is provided) is defined as a “front” and a side of the conjuring tool 1 where the drawer 10 abuts when accommodated in the case main body 20 (an opposite side of the case main body) is defined as a “rear”.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drawer 10 is constructed so as to have a double drawer structure including a inner accommodating case 11 and an outer drawer case 12 which accommodates the inner accommodating case 11, whereby the inner accommodating case 11 is slid to be drawn from a rear of the outer drawer case 12. In addition, a rear wall 13 of the inner accommodating case 11 is constructed so as to slide upwardly as shown in FIG. 3 to thereby produce an opening there below. Furthermore, a bottom opening 14 is provided in a bottom surface of the outer drawer case 12 at a rear end thereof for allowing a projection 21 on the case main body 20 to be inserted there into as will be described later on, and furthermore, a stepped wall portion 15 is provided at a lower portion of the inner accommodating case 11 at a rear end thereof for engagement with the projection 21 on the case main body 20 as shown in FIG. 4. Note that this stepped wall portion 15 is set to a size which avoids a protrusion from a lower surface of the outer drawer case 12 when the inner accommodating case 11 is accommodated in the outer drawer case 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, the case main body 20 is constructed so as to be press deflected at a rear end on the bottom side thereof inwardly of the case main body 20 when a force is applied thereto in a direction indicated by an arrow in the drawing. In addition, the projection 21 is provided on an inner surface of the bottom side at the rear end of the case main body 20 so as to be inserted into the bottom opening 14 on the drawer 10 when the operator pushes upwardly the rear end of the bottom side of the case main body 20.

According to the construction that has been described heretofore, when the operator opens the drawer 10 while pushing upwardly the rear end of the bottom side of the case main body 20, since the projection 21 enters the bottom opening 14 on the drawer 10 so as to be brought into engagement with the stepped wall portion 15, the inner accommodating case 11 is allowed to remain within the case main body 20 as shown in FIG. 6(a), and only the outer drawer case 12 can be drawn out of the case main body 20. On the other hand, when the operator opens the drawer 10 without pushing upwardly the rear end of the bottom side of the case main body 20, the outer drawer case 12 is allowed to be drawn out of the case main body 20 while accommodating therein the inner accommodating case 11 as shown in FIG. 6(b).

In addition, while the color of the case main body 20 and the color of the thread 30 of the thread take-up device 31 need to be the same in order to make it difficult for the viewer to visualize the existence of the thread 30, by determining to use black as the colors thereof, the existence of the thread 30 can be made difficult to be visualized by the viewer.

[Procedure for Operating Conjuring Tool]

Next, referring to FIGS. 7 to 13, an example of a procedure for performing a conjuring trick using the conjuring tool 1 that is constructed as has been described above.

Firstly, before starting to perform a conjuring trick, as shown in FIG. 7, the operator causes the rear wall 13 of the inner accommodating case 11 of the drawer 10 to deviate upwardly to produce a gap at a lower end of the rear wall 13, place a distal end of the thread 30 on the thread take-up device 31 and lowers the rear wall 13 so as to hold the thread 30 in the gap. In addition, as this occurs, an article (an accommodated article) such as a piece of paper on which a message is written or a bank note is accommodated in the inner accommodating case 11 in advance. Then, the inner accommodating case 11 which is holding the thread 30 and accommodating the article therein is accommodated in the outer drawer case 12, and thereafter, the outer drawer case 12 is accommodated in the case main body 20 as is shown in FIG. 8. Thus, the thread 30 fixed at one end thereof to the rear wall 13 of the drawer 10 passes under the drawer 10 and emerges from the interior of the case main body 20.

Following this, as is shown in FIG. 9(a), the operator fixes the other end of the thread 30 by placing the thread take-up device 31 in the pair of trousers and the like and rests the case main body 20 on the hand in such a manner that the thread 30 extends, as shown in FIG. 9(b), from the back to the palm of the hand by passing between the middle finger and the ring finger. As this occurs, since the thread 30 passes on the back of the hand and the arm, there is no case where the thread 30 is visualized by the viewer.

From the state described above, the operator firstly opens the drawer 10 as shown in FIG. 10 while pushing upwardly the rear end of the bottom side of the case main body 20 with the finger of the hand through which the thread 30 passes and allows the viewer to verify the interior of the drawer 10. As this occurs, according to the principle illustrated in FIG. 6(a)., the inner accommodating case 11 in which an article has been placed in advance remains within the case main body 20, and only the outer drawer case 12 is drawn out of the case main body 20, whereby the viewer recognizes that the drawer 10 is empty.

Next, the operator closes the drawer 10 (in reality, the outer drawer case 12) and pulls the thread 30 by extending the arm forward or moving the waist backward in a state where the case main body 20 is being placed on the hand as shown in FIG. 9(b). Then, the case main body 20 starts to move forward on the hand by virtue of the tension of the thread 30, whereby the viewer feels a wonder that the case main body 20 has started to move of itself.

Following this, as shown in FIG. 11(a), when the operator puts the case main body 20 at a more forward portion of the hand and pulls the thread 30 in a similar manner to that described above, the case main body 20 slowly rises on the hand as shown in FIG. 11(b) by virtue of the tension of the thread 30, whereby the viewer feels a wonder that the case main body rises of itself.

Furthermore, when the operator puts the case main body 20 on the hand in such a manner that the case main body 20 falls down towards the operator on the hand as shown in FIG. 12(a) and then pulls the thread 30 in the similar manner to that described above, the drawer 10 is opened by virtue of the tension of the thread 30 as shown in FIG. 12(b). As this occurs, since there is no force applied to the rear end of the bottom side of the case main body 20 which attempts to push upwardly the relevant location of the case main body 20, due to the principle illustrated in FIG. 6(b), the outer drawer case 12 is drawn out of the case main body 20 in a state where the inner accommodating case 11 in which the article has already been placed is accommodated in the outer drawer case 12, whereby the viewer feels at the same time not only a wonder that the drawer 10 opens of itself but also a wonder that the article appears all of sudden in the drawer 10 that has been confirmed empty before.

Lastly, as shown in FIG. 13, the operator draws the drawer 10 from the case main body 20 completely, and asks the viewer to verify the case main body 20 and the drawer 10. As this occurs, the end of the thread 30 is removed from the rear wall 13 of the drawer 10 by strongly pulling the thread 30, and the thread 30 so separated from the trousers is allowed to be suspended in front of the trousers, whereby the viewer comes to recognize that any trick like one using a set thread is provided neither on the case main body 20 nor on the drawer 10. Thus, the viewer cannot understand what type of trick is set on the matchbox and hence comes to feel more wonder.

Note that while in the embodiment, only the outer drawer case 12 is drawn out of the case main body 20 or the outer drawer case 12 which is accommodating therein the inner accommodating case 11 is drawn out of the case main body 20 due to the principles illustrated in FIG. 6, any construction may be applied to the conjuring tool 1 of the present invention as long as the construction allows only the outer drawer case 12 to be drawn out of the case main body 20 or the outer drawer case 12 which is accommodating therein the inner accommodating case 11 to be drawn out of the case main body 20, so that the wonder can be given to the viewer that an article appears all of sudden in the drawer 10 that has been confirmed empty before.

Note that the thread may be fixed at one end thereof to a location below the rear wall of the drawer, passed under the drawer in the same manner as that described above and allowed to emerge from the interior of the case main body without using the double drawer structure. In this case, by performing the aforesaid operations, the wonder can be given to the viewer that the case main body moves and rises of itself on the hand and furthermore the drawer opens of itself on the hand without the viewer recognizing the existence of the thread.

In addition, without using the double drawer structure but using the construction in which the rear wall of the drawer is allowed to slide upwardly, the thread may be fixedly held by the lower end of the rear wall of the drawer at one end thereof as has been described above, passed under the drawer as has been described above, and eventually caused to emerge from the inside of the case main body. In this case, by strongly pulling the thread so as to draw the drawer completely out of the case main body, the viewer can be made to recognize strongly that any trick such as one using a thread is set neither on the case main body nor on the drawer, thereby making it possible to make the viewer feel the wonder more.

Note that the present invention is identical to what is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-313832.