PUZZLE

Abstract

A puzzle includes a first piece and a second piece, the first and second pieces evidencing matching and selectively engageable profiles. A communication element is provided to the first and second pieces, the communication element enabling communication between the first and the second pieces, and an integrated power supply and load, when the first and second pieces are engaged with one another along the matching profiles.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates, in general, to a jigsaw puzzle, and deals more particularly with a jigsaw puzzle in which pieces of the puzzle are in communication with one another, and are therefore capable of providing an interactive feedback when the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle, is assembled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Known jigsaw puzzle pieces are planar in nature, having irregular profiles and a nominal thickness. Each piece typically represents, on at least one planar side, one portion of an overall picture, design or other fanciful representation, and that when joined with the rest of the jigsaw puzzle pieces, creates an overall ‘portrait’.

The act of finding the proper sequence of pieces, and appraising the resulting overall portrait created by assembling the various jigsaw puzzle pieces, constitutes the bulk of the activity enjoyed by aficionados of jigsaw puzzles.

Thus, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle with greater functionality by inscribing the sides of the jigsaw puzzle pieces themselves with either stand-alone text, or more preferably, portions of a larger text. Moreover, it is another general object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle piece with increased functionality by inscribing, embedding, embossing or otherwise providing each piece of the jigsaw puzzle with a portion of an electrical circuit, or appropriate electrical sensors, which may operate independently or collectively with each other to precipitate an interactive feedback when the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle, has been assembled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel jigsaw puzzle having expanded functionality and stimulative properties.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle where the act of assembling the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle, enables electrical communication between two or more pieces in the puzzle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle that utilizes communication means associated with the puzzle pieces to determine when the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle, has been assembled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle with the capability to provide feedback when the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle, is assembled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle which will play an audible recording upon the assembly of the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle which will issue a visual display upon the assembly of the puzzle, or a portion of the puzzle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a jigsaw puzzle whereby the edges of the individual puzzle pieces can be adorned with fanciful decorations or wording.

These and other objectives of the present invention, and their preferred embodiments, shall become clear by consideration of the specification, claims and drawings taken as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a puzzle piece of the puzzle shown in FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle piece according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the puzzle piece of the puzzle shown in FIG. 3, showing an associated electrical conductor.

FIG. 5 is plan view of a puzzle piece showing an associated power source and load, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle having a puzzle circuit associated with each piece of the puzzle, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a puzzle piece showing a manually actuated power source and load, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle having multiple puzzle circuits associated with differing portions of the puzzle, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle 5, with representative piece 10, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The piece 10 typically has an irregular profile 12, with some portion of an overall design present upon planar portion P.

It will of course be readily appreciated that the present invention is in no way limited by the irregular profile 12 shown in FIG. 1. Indeed, the profile 12 could be of any configuration without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view A-A of the piece 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the sidewalls of the puzzle piece are inscribed with text T. The text T could be either ‘stand-alone’ text, or as is principally envisioned, a portion of some greater overall text, which when all pieces of the jigsaw puzzle are assembled, essentially represents the greater overall text.

The text T may be inscribed, burned, stamped, overlayed or in any other manner applied to the sidewalls of the piece 10. Most preferably, the text T would be present on the outer, or exposed, edges of the piece 10. As utilized herein, the ‘exposed’ edge of any piece of the jigsaw puzzle is that edge which would form the outer periphery of the jigsaw puzzle, when the jigsaw puzzle was fully assembled. However, in the alternative, the text could be inscribed, burned, stamped, overlayed or in any other manner applied to some, or all, sidewalls of the piece 10, as desired.

It will therefore be readily appreciated that the present invention provides a method of utilizing the sidewalls of a jigsaw puzzle to functionally present text to the assembler. Moreover, this text can be stand-alone, or part of a greater overall text. Thus, for example, a jigsaw puzzle representing a portrait of the U.S. Capitol, could have portions of the actual Declaration of Independence applied to the desired sidewalls of one or more of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

It is therefore possible to link the graphic depiction on the face of the assembled puzzle, to the text and/or designs imprinted on the sidewalls of the puzzle, so as to provide a synergy between the text and the graphic image of the puzzle.

Of course, while it may be necessary or desirable to make the thickness, t, or depth, of the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, greater, in order to accommodate a particular method of applying text to the sidewalls, the present invention is, however, equally applicable to puzzle pieces of all thicknesses.

FIG. 3 illustrates a jigsaw puzzle piece 100, according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, an electrical conductor 130 has been inscribed, layered, embedded or otherwise provided to or associated with the piece 100.

The electrical conductor 103 is a preferred communication means between the pieces of the puzzle 5, and may be of any type, and its application to the piece 100 may be accomplished in any preferred manner without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention. Indeed, as will be discussed hereafter in more detail, an important aspect of the present invention is that regardless of the nature of the conductor, or the method of its association with one or more pieces of a particular puzzle, the conductor is a communication means by which one or more puzzle pieces may sense the presence of the other when properly assembled, thus facilitating the completion of a puzzle circuit and precipitating a predetermined result.

Turning now to FIG. 4, showing an elevational view B-B of the jigsaw puzzle piece 100, the sidewall 116 and the sidewall 122 of the piece 100 each illustrate a terminal end 134 of the embedded electrical conductor 130.

In one preferred embodiment, every piece of the jigsaw puzzle 5 would include at least some portion of the electrical conductor 130, such that when fully assembly, a complete electrical puzzle circuit is completed. In the alternative, only a predetermined number of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle may actually include portions of the conductor 130, thereby electrically connecting only a portion of the jigsaw puzzle 5 when such pieces are properly assembled.

Still further, another embodiment of the present invention envisions multiple, yet independent, portions of the overall puzzle 5, each such portion of the puzzle 5 involving two or more puzzle pieces and having their own self-contained and dedicated puzzle circuits, which may or may not each be connected to, and powered by, a common power source, or independent power sources, as desired and appropriate, and as discussed below.

FIG. 5 illustrates a planar view of a corner ‘power’ piece 200 according to the present embodiment. It will be readily appreciated that the power piece 200 need not be a corner piece of the jigsaw puzzle 5, and may alternatively be any piece of a jigsaw puzzle, without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the corner power piece 200 includes an embedded battery/power source 202. This power source 202 is connected to and in electrical communication with the conductor 130.

As will be appreciated, when the jigsaw puzzle is properly assembled, the terminal ends 134 of all the embedded conductors 130 will touch one another, thus completing a puzzle circuit, and thereby permitting the power source 202 to energize the load 204.

It is therefore an important aspect of the present invention that by embedding an electrical conductor within at least a predetermined number of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, that a load may be energized when the jigsaw puzzle is properly assembled. Preferably, the power source 202 is envisioned to be a lithium ion ‘watch’ battery, however any type or configuration of battery can be utilized, including rechargeable batteries or film batteries without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

As will also be appreciated, the load 204 may be any number of appropriate devices capable of various operations, such as but not limited to a microprocessor attached to a speaker, for playing a recorded, or recordable, message (such as the spoken words printed on the puzzle pieces, as discussed in the preceding embodiment), or a light emitting element or display device such as, but not limited to, a LED or LCD element. The load 204 may, in the alternative, be located in another puzzle piece, apart from the piece containing the power source 202, without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

In those cases where the load is either a speaker element or a light emitting element, preferably under the control of the embedded microprocessor unit, apertures are machined or otherwise formed within the planar face of the puzzle piece having the load embedded therein, so as to permit the audible or visual effects of the load to be realized by the assembler.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5, an important aspect of the present invention lies in the ability of a predetermined number of puzzle pieces to communicate with each other, at least to the extent that the predetermined puzzle pieces can determine whether they have been assembled properly, or not, and thereafter provide a visual or audible feedback to an assembler when the predetermined number of puzzle pieces are so assembled.

FIG. 6 illustrates one possible configuration of the puzzle circuit, showing conductor 130 as imbedded or otherwise attached to each piece of the puzzle 5, and powered by power source 202. When all pieces of the puzzle 5 in FIG. 6 are assembled, the puzzle circuit will be complete and the power source 202 will energize load 203.

It will readily be appreciated that the puzzle 5 shown in FIG. 6 will have an almost unlimited number of applications. For example, if the picture depicted upon the puzzle 5 was of former US President Abraham Lincoln, it would be possible for the load 203 to play a prerecorded and audible version of his famous Gettysburg Address. That is, an assembler of puzzle 5 will assemble the jigsaw puzzle in a completely traditional fashion: discovering pieces that may fit together, and proceeding until the entire puzzle 5 is completed. In the present case, however, when the assembler has completed putting the last piece of the puzzle 5 together (regardless of which particular piece was lastly placed in its proper position) the puzzle circuit will be completed as well, and the load will perform as intended, issuing a visual or audible (or both) feedback to the assembler.

FIG. 7 illustrates a side elevational view of an individual puzzle piece, or element, E or overall puzzle 5. As shown in FIG. 7, piece E contains the power source 202 as well as a sliding actuator 250. The sliding actuator 250 slides within a suitable slide avenue 252 and is in electrical communication with the power source 202 such that moving the sliding actuator to the ‘on’ position of the slide avenue 252 causes the power source to selectively energize the puzzle circuit. FIG. 7 also shows a record button 254, which is in electrical communication with the load 203. When activated, the record button 254 will preferably access the microprocessor and memory components of the load 203, and permit the recording of a personalized message, to be played upon the completion of the puzzle circuit, as discussed previously. In the preferred embodiment, the record button 254 will record a message when pushed, and continue to record until it is again actuated.

While a sliding actuator and record button have been described with respect to FIG. 7, it will be readily appreciated that any alternative arrangement of elements, push buttons, levers or switches could be substituted therefore without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

As discussed above, the load 203 may itself contain a microprocessor unit and internal digital memory, such that an assembler could record their own message for playback when the puzzle 5 is completed. Thus, it would be possible for a person to personalize the recording that would play when the puzzle 5 is completed—the possible applications of which are almost too numerous to individually recite herein.

Turning now to FIG. 8, the puzzle 5 evidences multiple puzzle circuits, each of which can be individually energized when that particular portion of the puzzle is assembled, even if the pother portions have yet to be assembled. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, a puzzle circuit 150 may be formed in only a predetermined number of puzzle pieces, and in electrical communication with the power source 202 and the load 203. Thus, when the four puzzle pieces having puzzle circuit 150 associated therewith are assembled, the load 203 will be powered by the power source 202 and will behave as programmed, preferably under the control of an associated microprocessor to control such things such as, but not limited to, the duration or repetition of any visual or audible feedback.

Also shown in FIG. 8 is a second puzzle circuit 152, which is associated with four different pieces of the puzzle 5, and which are themselves in electrical communication with a power source 202a and a load 203a. Thus, when the four puzzle pieces having puzzle circuit 152 associated therewith are assembled, the load 203a will be powered by the power source 202a and will behave as programmed. Thus, another embodiment of the present invention lies in a puzzle having multiple, independent puzzle circuits, each with its own power source and associated microprocessors, to operate independently of one another as their individual puzzle circuits are assembled and completed.

FIG. 8 also illustrates yet another alternative embodiment of the present invention where separate puzzle circuits 150 and 152 are in fact in electrical communication with a common power source and load. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the puzzle circuits 150 and 152 could be in electrical communication with common power source 202 and common load 203 via conductor 154, without the need for additional power source 202a and load 203a.

As reflected in FIG. 8, it is therefore possible to have differing portions of an overall puzzle ‘come alive’ when their constituent puzzle pieces are assembled, either individually or as a whole, and as controlled by one or more microprocessors in the load(s) 203/203a, as desired.

The methods for providing a predetermined number of puzzle pieces with the conductor 130 include, but are not limited to: embedding a conductor into the substrate of the puzzle prior to, or after, the pattern of puzzle pieces are cut into the substrate; or, overlaying or layering a flexible or rigid printed circuit board or foil onto or into the substrate of the puzzle prior to, or after, the pattern of puzzle pieces are cut into the substrate. Similarly, the cavities for both the power source 202 and the load 204 may be separate or in a common space, and are preferably formed in the body of puzzle piece 200, by any suitable inscribing or cavity-forming/selective-layering means, without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

While FIG. 4 shows the terminal end 134 of conductor 130 embedded into the puzzle piece, it will be readily appreciated that instead of being embedded, the conductor 130 (and terminal end 134a) could be arranged within a channel 170 formed in the bottom of each puzzle piece. These channels 170 can thereafter be sealed by a suitable agent or epoxy that preferably hardens upon curing. Moreover, the terminal ends 134 of the connector 130 could be modified, expanded or otherwise configured to provide a better electrical connection to it's matching terminal end located in another adjoining piece, without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention.

Still yet another embodiment of the present invention involves inserting, embedding, affixing or otherwise applying or associating an alternative communication means, such as a sensor that may be but is not limited to an electronic surveillance tag (commonly known as a RFID tag/chip), to each piece (or to a predetermined number of pieces) of a jigsaw puzzle 5. The power source 202 will generate an interrogation signal whereby the load 204 is activated if certain parameters are met, such as if all of the pieces of the puzzle respond to the interrogation signal via their embedded electronic surveillance tag and confirm their presence and/or their correct arrangement with respect to one another.

Regardless of the technology utilized, and regardless of the particular conductor employed or the manner in which the terminal ends of the conductor are fashioned and located, it is the primary objective of the present invention that the pieces of a puzzle are capable of communicating with one another such that the completion of the entire puzzle, or alternatively, the completion of just a portion of the puzzle, will produce an audible or visual feedback to the assembler. The nature and content of the load can be matched to the pictorial depiction of the puzzle as a whole, or to a particular portion of the puzzle, as desired.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various obvious changes may be made, and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the essential scope of the present invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A puzzle, said puzzle comprising: a first puzzle piece;a second puzzle piece, said first and second puzzle pieces being releasably assembled to one another along matching contours;a communication means provided to said first and second puzzle pieces, said communication means enabling communication between said first and said second puzzle pieces when said first and second puzzle pieces are assembled along said matching contours.

2. The puzzle according to claim 1, wherein: said communication means is an electrical communication means.

3. The puzzle according to claim 1, wherein: said communication means is an electrical conductor.

4. The puzzle according to claim 1, wherein: said communication means is a sensor assembly.

5. The puzzle according to claim 1, wherein: said first and said second puzzle pieces include walls, said walls defining at least in part said matching contours, wherein a portion of said walls supports text thereon.

6. The puzzle according to claim 1, further comprising: a power source; anda load in selective communication with said power source.

7. The puzzle according to claim 6, wherein: said load is placed in electrical communication with said power source when said first and second pieces are assembled along said matching contours.

8. The puzzle according to claim 6, wherein: said load is one of an audible and a visual display.

9. The puzzle according to claim 6, wherein: said load is a sound recording having an association with a depiction defined on said puzzle.

10. A puzzle, said puzzle comprising: a first piece;a second piece, said first and said second pieces sharing a matching profile for selective engagement therebetween;a communication means associated with said first and second pieces;a power source;a load; andwherein said power source, said load and said communication means are placed in electrical communication with one another when said first piece is assembled with said second piece along said matching profile.

11. A puzzle, said puzzle comprising: a first group of puzzle pieces, each of said first group of puzzle pieces defining first perimeter profiles for releasably engaging said first group of puzzle pieces to one another;a second group of puzzle pieces, each of said second group of puzzle pieces defining second perimeter profiles for releasably engaging said second group of puzzle pieces to one another;a first load associated with said first group of puzzle pieces and a second load associated with said second group of puzzle pieces;a power supply in communication with said first and said second loads;a first communication means associated with said first group of puzzle pieces, and a second communication means associated with said second group of puzzle pieces; andwherein said first communication means links said power supply with said first load when said first group of puzzle pieces are engaged with one another along said first perimeter profiles, and said second communication means links said power supply with said second load when said second group of puzzle pieces are engaged with one another along said second perimeter profiles.

12. The puzzle according to claim 11, wherein: said power supply is a common power source for both said first load and said second load.

13. The puzzle according to claim 11, wherein: said first and said second loads are audible in nature.

14. The puzzle according to claim 11, wherein: said first and said second loads are a sound recordings having an association with a depiction defined on said puzzle.

15. The puzzle according to claim 8, wherein: said first and said second loads are visible in nature.

16. The puzzle according to claim 8, wherein: said first communication means is a first electrical conductor, each of said first puzzle pieces having a portion of said first electrical conductor associated therewith, wherein said portion of said first electrical conductor in each of said first puzzle pieces are electrically linked when said first puzzles pieces are engaged to one another along said first perimeter profiles; andsaid second communication means is a second electrical conductor, each of said second puzzle pieces having a portion of said second electrical conductor associated therewith, wherein said portion of said second electrical conductor in each of said second puzzle pieces are electrically linked when said second puzzles pieces are engaged to one another along said second perimeter profiles.

17. The puzzle according to claim 8, wherein: said first communication means is a first sensor array, each of said first puzzle pieces having a component of said first sensor array associated therewith, wherein said first sensor array communicates with said power supply when said first puzzles pieces are engaged to one another along said first perimeter profiles; andsaid second communication means is a second sensor array, each of said second puzzle pieces having a component of said second sensor array associated therewith, wherein said second sensor array communicates with said power supply when said second puzzles pieces are engaged to one another along said second perimeter profiles.