GB2342868A - Random number selectors - Google Patents

Abstract

Devices in the form of polyhedric shaped objects with numbered facets may be used to provide random numbers, singly or in groups, for scientific, industrial, commercial or gaming purposes. In a first example, Fig 1 (not shown) an icosahedron with facets numbered in a random sequence from 1 to 20 is rolled and the uppermost numbered facet noted when the object comes to rest; in an alternative process, the numbers on four adjacent facets are also noted for selection. In a second example, Fig 2, a sphere is provided with fifty planar facets numbered in sequence so that this can only be used for randomising a single number at a time by taking the uppermost facet at rest.

Description

RANDOMNUMBER SELECTORS This invention relates to devices with which random numbers may be selected.

For many scientific, industrial, commercial and gaming purposes it is necessary to select random numbers.

Such random sequences may be obtained from mathematical tables or by using a computerised random number facility.

The lay person however does not have ready access to such methods and when faced with the need for a random number choice will often adopt numbers familiar to them such as birthdates, or telephone numbers.

It is known to use a dice to select numbers between one and six but dice do not meet the needs of persons wishing to choose more than six disparate numbers or where one or several numbers have to be chosen from groups of seven or more numbers.

According to the present invention there are provided regular polyhedric shaped objects such that each facet is identified by a disparate number.

The multi faceted shapes required may be either polyhedra or polyhedric shaped objects derived by developing regularly spaced facets on the surface of spheres.

For the purpose of this invention the facets on these objects may be in the form of plane surfaces, depressions, or holes. Each facet bears a disparate number.

In the subsequent text these objects are referred to as selectors.

A selector is operated by rolling it on a plane or shaped surface and allowing it to come to rest.

When the selector is at rest on one surface other numbers are visible on the other facets.

From these numbers may be selected those which appear in or around a predetermined position.

For simplicity the uppermost facet is usually chosen as the predetermined position and will be referred to, in this script, as the datum position.

The manner in which the facets are numbered is not critical since the number appearing on the datum facet will depend on the chance of it being in that position when the selector comes to rest.

However in the preferred form of the invention an additional randomnisation step is used.

Specific embodiments of the invention which do not delimit the invention will now be described by way of examples and by reference to the accompanying drawings Example 1 Figure 1 shews a selector in the form of an icosahedron 10 moulded from unplasticised polyvinyl chloride pigmente white with titanium dioxide.

The twenty facets of the polyhedron were then numbered in the following manner.

First a sequence of numbers from one to twenty were randomised using a computing programme.

The selector was then rolled and allowed to come to rest on a plane surface.

The first number in the randomised sequence was then applied to the facet in the datum position 11.

The rolling, resting and numbering of facets appearing in the datum position was continued until all facets were numbered and the random series exhausted. If during this numbering procedure a previously numbered facet arrived in the datum position the result was ignored and the selector rolled again.

When complete this selector was used in either of two ways to produce a sequence of five random numbers.

In the first the selector was rolled five times and each time the number on the facet appearing in the datum position was noted.

In the second the selector was rolled once and the numbers on the datum facet noted together with the numbers on four of the adjacent facets.

Example 2.

Figure 2 shews a quinquagintahedron 12 formed by marking on the surface of a sphere fifty eqidistant points and then removing the original surface of the sphere to form fifty plane facets centred on the each of the fifty marked points.

The facets were numbered in a sequential fashion starting with an arbitrarily selected face and marking it'one'and then allocating the number'two'to one of the adjacent faces. This numbering procedure was repeated proceeding in a substantially clockwise direction until all the fifty faces were numbered.

This selector was used to choose fifteen random numbers from the fifty numbers printed on the selector faces.

Since the numbers on adjacent facets were sequential it was not possible with this type of numbered selector to choose the group of fifteen numbers adjacent to the datum selector. Instead the selector was rolled fifteen times and each time the selector came to rest the number in the datum position was noted.

Claims (4)

1. CLAIM 1 Polyhedric shaped objects of any colour or material on the surface of which facets being planes, recesses, depressions or holes of various shapes and extent have been developed in a regular or irregular fashion and numbered with disparate numbers in a regular or random fashion and which can be used as an aid in selecting substantially random numbers.
2. CLAIM 2 Polyhedric shaped objects 10 as in CLAIM 1 in which the facets 11 are numbered in the random manner as described in EXAMPLE 1.
3. CLAIM 3.

   Polyhedric shaped objects 10 as in CLAIM 1 in which the facets 11 are numbered in the sequential manner as described in EXAMPLE 2 CLAIM
4. 4.

   The use of polyhedric shaped objects as in CLAIMS 1,2, & 3 to produce random numbers, or groups of random numbers.