GB2510588A - A jigsaw puzzle with interchangeable regions - Google Patents

Abstract

A jigsaw puzzle 1 comprises a plurality of interlocking pieces 3. Each piece has a marking on an upper surface, and the pieces are collectively arranged to interlock in a first arrangement to provide a first predetermined image (fig. 3a) of a given overall shape, e.g. rectangular. The pieces are also arranged to interlock in a second arrangement to provide a second predetermined image (fig. 3b) of the same overall shape. Preferably, the puzzle includes two or more interchangeable regions 7, 9 of pieces which occupy different locations in the first and second images. Preferably no two pieces are of identical outline shape. The images may comprise an integer number N of repeating or similar elements, with the jigsaw being formed by making a first cut (E, fig. 2c) which intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut (C, fig. 2b) between two of the N elements to divide the elements into interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts (A, B, E fig. 2b) and/or edges (D, fig. 2c), with the location of the second cut relative to the outer cuts being determined using a ratio which sums to N.

Description

Jigsaw Puzzle

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a jigsaw puzzle.

Background of the Tnvention

Jigsaw puzzles are popular toys for children and adults.

Conventional jigsaw puzzles generally comprise a single image laid onto board, which is cut into multiple pieces; the image is re-created once the pieces are reassembled and the puzzle is solved.

Jigsaw pieces usually interlock using male protrusions and female cut-outs so as to form a complete pattern when the jigsaw puzzle is completed. The manufacturer, in order to create levels of difficulty and satisfy customer demand, can vary the guantity and shapes of pieces in a puzzle.

The nature of a standard jigsaw puzzle usually restricts multiple solutions.

Jigsaw puzzles which enable multiple solutions are known. These involve either providing extra pieces, printing double-sided pieces (i.e. essentially having two images to start with, one on either side of the completed puzzle), having every piece, or a large section of pieces, all of the same shape (this allows sections of the image to be re-arranged but does not necessarily create a new image) , or using multi-level puzzles (using additional pieces to cover original pieces) It is an aim of the invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle of the type having interlocking male/female parts which has the ability to create two or more different final images when the puzzle is complete.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a jigsaw puzzle made up of plural interlocking pieces each having a marking on one side thereof, in which the pieces are arranged so that they may collectively interlock in two or more different configurations to produce different overall images of the same size and shape.

The puzzle may be arranged to comprise two or more interchangeable regions each comprising one or more pieces. One of the interchangeable regions may comprise a greater number of pieces than another. Each interchangeable region may have at least one edge that has a repeating shape.

In some embodiments, no two pieces are identical.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a jigsaw puzzle comprising a plurality of interlocking pieces, each piece having a marking on an upper surface thereof, the pieces collectively being arranged to interlock in a first arrangement to provide a first predetermined image of a given overall shape made up of the individual markings on the interlocked upper surfaces and also to interlock in a second arrangement to provide a second predetermined image of the same overall shape made up of the different arrangement of individual markings on the interlocked upper surfaces.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a jigsaw puzzle, comprising: an image on a medium, the image conprising an integer number N of repeating or similar elements, wherein the medium is cut to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including a first cut that intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut between two of the N elements to divide said elements into two interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts or edges, the location of the second cut between the outer cuts or edges being deternined using a ratio that sums to N. According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a jigsaw puzzle comprising: providing an image on a medium, the image comprising repeating or similar elements; cutting the medium to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including at least two interchangeable regions made up of one or more pieces on each of which region one or part of the repeating or similar element(s) is or are shown such that a different but coherent image results from interchanging the regions.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a jigsaw puzzle, comprising: providing an image on a medium, the image comprising an integer number N of repeating or similar elements; cutting the medium to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including making a first cut that intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut between two of the N elements to divide said elements into two interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts or edges, the location of the second cut between the outer cuts or edges being determined using a ratio that sums to N. The first cut may have a shape that repeats N times between the outer cuts or edges. The first and second cuts may be generally orthogonal to one another.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a jigsaw puzzle in accordance with the invention; Figures 2(a)-(c) are close-up partial views of the Figure 1 jigsaw; Figures 3(a) and (b) show a first example jigsaw according to the invention when completed in different respective configurations; Figures 4(a) and (b) show a second example jigsaw according to the invention when completed in different respective configurations; Figure 5 is an image to be applied to a jigsaw puzzle medium in a third example jigsaw according to the invention; Figure 6 is a plan view of a jigsaw puzzle to which the image of Figure 5 is to be applied; Figure 7 is a close-up partial view of the Figure 6 jigsaw puzzle in a first configuration; Figure 8 is a close-up partial view of the Figure 6 jigsaw puzzle in a second configuration; Figure 9 is a close-up partial view of a further example jigsaw puzzle in a first configuration; Figure 10 is a close-up partial view of the Figure 9 jigsaw puzzle in a second configuration; and Figure 11 is a plan view of the complete jigsaw puzzle shown partially in Figures 9 and 10.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Embodiments herein provide a jigsaw puzzle, which has the ability to create two or more different final images using the same number of pieces and without needing two-sided pieces to form the different images.

Typically, the completed jigsaw in the different configurations will have the same shape or footprint, e.g. a rectangle.

By changing the jigsaw puzzle's solution image by means of using a different configuration of pieces, the puzzle gains repeated play value and maintains the interest of the user.

In order to provide this, the mechanical formation of the jigsaw pieces is carefully designed, which allows the solution image to be transformed in different ways. These transformations include (but are not limited to) the number, colour, size and/or pattern of objects displayed, and/or making objects appear or disappear and/or transform completely upon multiple completions of the puzzle.

For example, referring to Figure 3, a twenty-four piece jigsaw puzzle displaying six carrots (see Figure 3 (a) ) could, without switching, turning over, adding or subtracting pieces, create a perfectly satisfying, egually valid, cleanly interlocked, second image containing five carrots (see Figure 3(b)) . The result is a fundamentally different image which a user will find fascinating and engaging, this being as a result of the mechanical design of the interlocking pieces and the sub-image on each of the pieces.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment jigsaw puzzle 1 comprising multiple pieces 3 interlocked in a first arrangement. The overall shape or footprint of the puzzle is rectangular. The first embodiment jigsaw puzzle 1 is arranged to be completed in two or more ways to provide two or more different overall images whilst keeping the same number of pieces, the same size and same shape/footprint. Although there are multiple solutions, no two pieces 3 in the Figure 1 example are exactly the same in this case; it appears to be a standard jigsaw puzzle. The outer edges 5 are straight and the inner piece edges are all curved or interlocked, again to reflect a standard jigsaw puzzle. The pieces 3 may however be the same if decided upon and the shape of puzzle and pieces are not limited to this example.

First and second regions 7, 9 are indicated in Figure 1 each comprising a group of pieces 3. Referring now to Figure 2 (a) , each of these two regions 7, 9 is shown more closely and clearly; the regions are arranged (by means of their cut shape) so that they may be swapped or interchanged within the overall puzzle to provide the above-mentioned multiple solutions. This arrangement is an example only and the size, shape and numbers of swappable sections is or are dependent on the number of changes and desired effect required.

These multiple arrangements conform to mechanical rules to allow the invention to work. This will be explained with reference to Figures 2(b) and 2(c).

The generally vertical cuts of the regions 7, 9 are shown in Figure 2 (b) and the horizontal ones in Figure 2 (c) . Referring first to Figure 2(b), the vertical perimeter cuts A, B, C of the swappable regions 7, 9 are substantially identical. The positioning and area between cut A and cut B depends on the jigsaw size and the artwork requirements and may be any shape or size. The correlation in size between regions 7 and 9 should however adhere to a strict ratio, which in turn determines the position of cut C. The ratio between regions 7 and 9 should be based on the repeating pattern of the horizontal cuts D and E (see Figure 2(c)) and/or on the jigsaw artwork which, to create a multiple image puzzle, should have some form of repeating or aligning imagery to achieve two or more coherent pictures. Thus, it is possible to define basic method steps for creating a jigsaw puzzle of the type having swappable regions to provide multiple solutions.

Transformations in the puzzle solution artwork are created by aligning and re-arranging sections of the image to combine, camouflage or separate elements. To give a basic example, a two piece image of a single length of rope can be rearranged to create an image of two shorter ropes (simply by cutting one rope in two) This however does not make a satisfying or functioning jigsaw puzzle, until combined with the technical provisions of the cut.

Even if a cut is straight (as D is in Figure 2(c)) regions 7, 9 must still follow a defined ratio based on either one of the cuts D, E or on the jigsaw artwork's repeating or aligning imagery.

For example, in Figures 1 and 2, the cut E has a repeating physical pattern comprising five waves. From this characteristic, the puzzle designer determines a ratio that should add up to five; the horizontal dimensions of regions 7 and 9 are therefore set to add up to five, e.g. 1:4, 2:3, 3:2, 4:1. In this particular case, the cut C is placed at the 4O point giving a ratio of 2:3.

As indicated previously, the repeating characteristic which determines the ratio can reside in the imagery instead of, or in addition to, the physical edge.

As another example, if a repeating pattern of cuts D and/or E or the jigsaw's aligning imagery total six, then the ratio should also egual six (1:5, 2:4, 3:3, 4:2, 5:1). The pattern and ratio correlate.

Other jigsaw puzzle embodiments can have different numbers of swappable regions in any one puzzle, either as separate pairs or combined. Regions may be aligned horizontally or vertically or completely separated within the overall puzzle. Their ratio, dependent on the perimeter cuts and/or repeating jigsaw artwork patterns is always prevalent.

Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show how the above-mentioned cutting arrangement or design works with example artwork to create a basic change to the standard type of interlocking jigsaw puzzle. As will be seen in Figure 3(a) there are shown six carrots which, when re-ordered due to the swappable-regions being swapped over, become five carrots as shown in Figure 3(b). The image uses the cutter arrangement shown in Figure 1, although upside-down because the swappable regions are at the bottom of the image.

The repeating/aligning elements shown in the artwork are designed to allow the swappable regions to correctly align with the rest of the puzzle. These repeating elements (e.g. in Figure 3(a) the five carrots which intersect regions 7 and 9) will differ dependent on the subject matter and the desired transformation, but will correspond with the ratio of the swapping sections as described previously.

Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show a different puzzle image to demonstrate how a pattern/colour can be made to change between first and second jigsaw arrangements. In this example, the number of monsters remains the same (five) but the pattern changes from three striped monsters and two spotty monsters in Figure 4(a) to four striped monsters and one spotty monster in Figure 4 (b) . The repeating elements of the aligning pattern are the number of monsters, which is five. This in turn corresponds to the pattern in one of the cuts (e.g. cut E shown in Figure 2(c)) and in turn corresponds to the ratio of the swappable sections 7, 9 which is 2:3.

A further embodiment will now be described with reference to Figures to 11 which is particularly useful for understanding the design and manufacturing process for a multi-solution jigsaw puzzle introduced above.

In overview, the method comprises: (1) providing an image on a medium, the image comprising an integer number N of repeating, related or similar elements; (2) cutting the medium to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including making a first cut that intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut between two of the N elements to divide said elements into two interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts or edges, the location of the second cut between the outer cuts or edges being determined using a ratio that sums to N. Referring to Figure 5, we choose an image comprising similar elements, in this case five magic wands. This image is printed onto a suitable medium such as cardboard.

We then design the cutter that will create the jigsaw pieces. This will create swappable areas within the medium. Referring to Figure 6, we create two swappable areas in a twenty piece jigsaw puzzle.

No two pieces need to be the same, outer edges can be straight and inner edges can be curved and interlock.

Referring to Figure 7, in designing the dimensions of the swappable areas, we count the number of similar elements which we wish to alter or affect the appearance of; in this case we choose all five wands. A first (in this case generally horizontal) cut D is made that intersects the five elements. D may be straight or have repeating shapes therein. Tf repeating shapes, e.g. waves or crests, are used, the number of repeats between the boundary cuts A and B should be N. Boundary cuts A and B are here generally orthogonal to cut D. With N being five in this case, the position of out C which divides the swappable areas has to be an integer ratio which sums to five.

In this case a ratio of 2:3 is initially selected and so cut C is made 401: of the way along cut D from cut A. This positioning of cut C ensures that the imagery on the swappable areas aligns correctly when swapped, as shown in Figure 8. Where cut D has repeating shapes, ensuring that there are N repetitions between cuts A and B also ensures correct alignment.

Referring now to Figure 9, in a further embodiment, we apply the above design and nanufacturing principles to a slightly modified image in which the wands are moved vertically although remain intersected by cut D. For more complex artwork, we can camouflage, cover or distort artwork to create a desired effect. Figure 10 shows the regions of Figure 9 when swapped. The transformation is complete and instead of two white wands, there is now just one white wand. Figure 11 shows the imagery when laid on the above-mentioned cutter design, providing a sophisticated and interesting jigsaw puzzle that has two different arrangements which provide coherent but different image solutions.

Building on these design rules, it is possible to create many complex, multiple changing jigsaw puzzles with many swapping sections and differing repeating elements that may change in multiple configurations. The examples shown herein also only show flat jigsaw puzzles, but the design and operating principles will work egually as well on raised, three-dimensional or multi-plane puzzles.

In overview, there is described a multiple-solution jigsaw puzzle.

The mechanical formation of such a jigsaw can be completed in two or more configurations so as to allow multiple different, meaningful and coherent images to be produced. An example use is in telling a story, e.g. so that the rabbit in the Figure 3 example is eating a carrot, thereby providing a two or more -framed comic. This can be presented in a what happens next?' or what happened before?' format.

There is also described a method of creating a jigsaw puzzle, that has the ability to change final solution images without the need to change, replace, add or subtract original jigsaw pieces.

No two pieces need to be identical.

The pieces can be interlocking, non-interlocking or a combination of both.

The jigsaw may be applied to all forms of jigsaw puzzle, including but not limited to physical, digital, multi-layered and three dimensional formats.

The number of pieces, number of image changes and complexity and subject matter of imagery is unlimited and in no way restricted to the basic examples or illustrations given.

The multi solution puzzle may be completely self-contained and manufactured in the same way as any standard jigsaw puzzle. No additional principles such as double-sided pieces are required and no lenticular, holographic or other such principle is required to affect the function. However, adding any of these additional principles to the invention may create even more possibilities.

The concept allows jigsaw manufacturers to offer greater variety to their customers. By offering multiple solutions to a jigsaw puzzle the customer is receiving better value, more play' time, learning through play' and an additional challenge' as they solve the puzzle again and again each time with different outcomes.

Claims (11)

1. Claims 1. A jigsaw puzzle made up of plural interlocking pieces each having a marking on one side thereof, in which the pieces are arranged so that they may collectively interlock in two or more different configurations to produce different overall images of the same size and shape.
2. 2. A jigsaw puzzle according to claim 1, wherein the puzzle is arranged to comprise two or more interchangeable regions each comprising one or more pieces.
3. 3. A jigsaw puzzle according to claim 2, wherein one of the interchangeable regions comprises a greater number of pieces than another.
4. 4. A jigsaw puzzle according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein each interchangeable region has at least one edge that has a repeating shape.
5. 5. A jigsaw puzzle according to any preceding claim, wherein no two pieces are identical.
6. 6. A jigsaw puzzle comprising a plurality of interlocking pieces, each piece having a marking on an upper surface thereof, the pieces collectively being arranged to interlock in a first arrangement to provide a first predetermined image of a given overall shape made up of the individual markings on the interlocked upper surfaces and also to interlock in a second arrangement to provide a second predetermined image of the same overall shape made up of the different arrangement of individual markings on the interlocked upper surfaces.
7. 7. A jigsaw puzzle, comprising: an image on a medium, the image comprising an integer number N of repeating or similar elements, wherein the medium is cut to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including a first cut that intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut between two of the N elements to divide said elements into two interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts or edges, the location of the second cut between the outer cuts or edges being deternined using a ratio that sums to N.
8. 8. A method of manufacturing a jigsaw puzzle comprising: providing an image on a medium, the image comprising repeating or similar elements; cutting the medium to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including at least two interchangeable regions made up of one or more pieces on each of which region one or part of the repeating or similar element(s) is or are shown such that a different but coherent image results from interchanging the regions.
9. 9. A method of manufacturing a jigsaw puzzle, comprising: providing an image on a medium, the image comprising an integer number N of repeating or similar elements; cutting the medium to provide interlocking puzzle pieces, including making a first cut that intersects each of the N elements, and a second cut between two of the N elements to divide said elements into two interchangeable regions bounded by outer cuts or edges, the location of the second cut between the outer cuts or edges being determined using a ratio that sums to N.
10. 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the first cut has a shape that repeats N times between the outer cuts or edges.
11. 11. A method according to claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the first and second cuts are generally orthogonal to one another.