Three-Dimensional Jigsaw Puzzle

Abstract

A three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle consisting of one or more two-dimensional puzzle parts, each consisting of two or more jigsaw puzzle pieces. The puzzle parts can interconnect using leg and hole connectors to form the three-dimensional object. Each puzzle part is fixed using fixing sheets which are precut to match the format of its corresponding puzzle part. Each puzzle part can have puzzle pieces which can be bent to create corners. The bending is achieved by applying a reinforced tape along the bending line on the inner side, and by having a straight cut on the outer side of the corner penetrating the cut through the puzzle piece, but without cutting the tape. The puzzle pieces are laminated with paper that can bear an image on both sides. The puzzle parts can have a reinforcement bar glued on the non-visible side so that they retain the desired planar shape.

Description

Three-dimensional puzzles in general and three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles in particular have existed for many years, and they are now offered in a wide range of different formats and using different construction methods. However, none of the currently available three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles are manufactured from the same materials and with the same connecting principles as a traditional jigsaw puzzle, which results in none of them providing the same user experience as that of assembling a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle. User experience refers to the overall experience of a person using a product. This includes what the person can feel and observe when using said product, which is a combination of the feeling to the touch of the object's materials when manipulating the puzzle pieces, the sound they make when they are moved, the way they smell, the way they look, whether the pieces are thick or thin, hard or soft, heavy or light, the shape design of the puzzle pieces-whether they include shapes that are recognized as typically used in traditional jigsaw puzzles or whether they consist of new shape designs which would introduce different ways in which the puzzle pieces connect—the presence or absence of an image-bearing face, and all aspects of the object which relate to the experience which the person undergoes while interacting with it.

It should be noted that a traditional jigsaw puzzle's construction materials consist of a rigid cardboard typically between one and three millimeters thick, and a sheet of paper bearing an image which is laminated on the cardboard using liquid glue. The lamination process is also referred to in the industry as a gluing or mounting process, to describe a sheet of paper which is fixedly (glued) placed on the surface of another material.

A prior three-dimensional puzzle structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,900, where the puzzle pieces connect using a dove-tail latching system, and in which they are designed to be manufactured from foam. This system, disclosed by Paul Gallant, works very well indeed. However, due to its design principles, this system cannot be manufactured from traditional jigsaw puzzle cardboard material, as the dove-tail connections between the parts would not be possible due to the rigidity and the thinner thickness of the cardboard, compared to the softer and thicker foam material which is used. This is why this construction system needs to be manufactured from foam material as opposed to cardboard.

As an alternative system to form three-dimensional objects, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,530 proposes connecting the puzzle pieces by inserting leg-shaped connectors into their corresponding hole in the piece to which they are connecting with. In this concept, each puzzle piece lies on its own plane and if two pieces were needed to connect on the same plane, a third connecting piece at a 90° angle would be needed to connect them. Although this can be referred to as a puzzle, it is certainly not a jigsaw puzzle, as the piece shapes and connection designs are substantially different from those of a traditional jigsaw puzzle. In the latter, the multiple pieces connect to each other on the same plane. The reason for listing Yu Zheng's design as prior art is because in the present invention, a similar connecting system will be introduced, but it will work in tandem within a planar two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,650 disclosed by Gavin Scobbie and Thomas McQueeny, utilises a different approach from the aforementioned, and proposes a three-dimensional puzzle which delivers a user experience that is closer to that of a traditional jigsaw puzzle. This is due to each plane having puzzle pieces which are cut in a jigsaw puzzle style, wherein the puzzle pieces interlock in the same plane, in a similar way to that of a traditional jigsaw puzzle. This patent also discloses puzzle pieces that can be bent by carving a groove on the inside of the bending line. However, this invention uses polyethylene foam, which is a similar puzzle piece construction as the one used in U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,900. The problem with the foam material is that the puzzle pieces are considerably thicker, softer, and lighter in weight, when compared to those of a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle piece, which results in a different user experience. In the above two cases, the puzzle pieces would be impossible to be manufactured from rigid cardboard material.

Pat. No. U.S. Pat. No. 8,628,089 B2 presents a jigsaw puzzle having one or more puzzle pieces which can be bent. This design is based on the same principle as U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,650, in which the bending of the puzzle piece is achieved by carving a groove on the inside of the bending line. However, Florian Knell and Joerg Bauer propose to include protrusions on the inside of that groove so that the piece is locked in place once it is bent, which differs from the previous one in the materials used in manufacturing. Although it is not claimed, it is described to be preferably manufactured from injected plastic. The use of plastic in the puzzle pieces offer a user experience which is not comparable to assembling a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle. Moulded injected plastic also represents a higher level of complexity and elevated manufacturing costs, which make this system financially not viable. It does mention in the description that other materials could be used, however, it is impossible to effectively manufacture this puzzle piece design from rigid cardboard, as the board would break apart when cutting such small protrusions inside the bending groove.

Pub. No. US 2010/0320686 A1 discloses a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle which comprises two layers of two-dimensional jigsaw puzzles depicting geographical regions, which includes single-pieced three-dimensional structures inserted into the base puzzle layers to create a three-dimensional representation of a geographical region. In this case, the jigsaw puzzle itself is two-dimensional, planar, and can be made of cardboard, providing a user experience similar to putting together a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle. However, the three-dimensional shapes are not made with jigsaw puzzle pieces. The jigsaw puzzle parts remain horizontal and act as a base to then insert the three-dimensional structures.

Pub. No. US 2020/0048503 A1 discloses a fiber-reinforced adhesive tape consisting of a substrate layer, a carrier layer and an adhesive layer, including a plurality of functional fibers that are stitch-bonded to the carrier or the adhesive layer. Said fibers provide additional strength to the adhesive tape, making it more resistant to being torn or cut. A tape of this type will be used as a component in the construction of the present invention, and will be referred to as fiber-reinforced adhesive tape.

Pub. No. US 2008/0157468 A1 discloses a puzzle kit including one or more pieces of a flexible material with a coating of adhesive on one side, wherein said adhesive side is protected by a film or backing sheet so that the adhesive is not exposed and does not accidentally glue to unwanted surfaces. At the time of its application, the backing sheet or film is removed to expose the adhesive-coated side of the flexible material so it can be applied on the back side of a jigsaw puzzle, such that the jigsaw puzzle pieces of the said jigsaw puzzle remain fixed once assembled. Paul Dedrik refers to fixing sheets of standard formats, which can be used in a variety of jigsaw puzzle formats. In the present invention, a similar type of adhesive sheet will be used. However, the adhesive sheets disclosed in my invention will be of a particular format meant to match the very specific shapes of the corresponding puzzle part where it is to be placed, as is disclosed below in the summary description of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Assembling a traditional two-dimensional cardboard jigsaw puzzle is an activity which has been popular throughout the world for over 100 years. The size, shape, weight, texture, and thickness of the jigsaw puzzle pieces, the feel of the paper and cardboard materials, the smell of the materials, even the sound the puzzle pieces make while being manipulated, are all product characteristics which contribute to generate a unique user experience which has remained a popular activity for more than a century. It was thought that modern technology and the arrival of electronic entertainment products such as smart phones, game consoles, smart TVs, tablets, and others, would replace traditional game activities such as jigsaw puzzles. However, to the contrary, the past two decades have seen an increase in the popularity of traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzles.

In this context, there have been several attempts to introduce the third dimension to this otherwise traditionally two-dimensional game. There are several inventions that propose solutions for creating three-dimensional puzzles, some of which were mentioned in the previous section. Many of these three-dimensional puzzle inventions produce similar puzzle-like assembly games that work very well. However, none of the previous inventions can produce an object based on the same cardboard-based construction as a traditional jigsaw puzzle, resulting in a different user experience. The use of non-cardboard materials and/or shapes for the construction of the puzzle pieces results in these previous inventions unable to provide a similar user experience as that provided by a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle.

The object of this invention is to provide a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle that can be manufactured from the same print and cardboard materials as those used for manufacturing traditional two-dimensional cardboard jigsaw puzzles. The goal of this invention is to create a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle which will provide the same user experience as that of assembling a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle. To achieve this, the present invention discloses the details of an article of manufacture, giving specifics about its components and how they are produced and cut in a specific manner, with the final result being a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle game that can be manufactured from the same materials as a traditional jigsaw puzzle, namely, cardboard, printed paper and glue. In addition to these main materials, this invention will disclose other additional elements that will be included in this article of manufacture which are not used in the manufacturing of traditional jigsaw puzzles, namely fiber-reinforced adhesive tape, flexible adhesive fixing sheets and reinforcing bar, and will also disclose how these materials interact with the three traditional jigsaw puzzle components.

This three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle consists of a set of one or more two-dimensional puzzle parts, wherein each two-dimensional puzzle part consists of two or more jigsaw puzzle pieces. The said jigsaw puzzle pieces can include jigsaw puzzle pieces of traditional jigsaw puzzle shapes, jigsaw puzzle pieces that can be bent to form corners, and/or can also include jigsaw puzzle pieces with connection legs and holes. Once each of these two-dimensional puzzle parts is assembled, it can be fixed using a flexible adhesive fixing sheet in order to remain assembled and maintain its planar shape, so that these can be manipulated and used as parts which will connect to one another to assemble the three-dimensional object.

Each individual two-dimensional puzzle part consists of four components. Its core component is ideally manufactured from rigid cardboard, which is the same material as the one used to manufacture traditional jigsaw puzzles, with the same standard thicknesses, which can vary between one millimeter and three millimeters. However, this invention is not confined to jigsaw puzzle pieces made of the above-mentioned material and thicknesses. In some cases, jigsaw puzzle pieces may also be manufactured from plastic, foam, or multilayer composites, as long as their functioning principles are the same as described in this text. The second and third components are paper and glue, which will allow the cardboard to be laminated with a printed paper bearing an image on the visible side, and also laminated on the non-visible side with either a blank paper or a printed paper which can either bear an image or not. Each two-dimensional puzzle part is, in essence, a traditional cardboard jigsaw puzzle. Each two-dimensional puzzle part, once assembled, can be of different contour shapes and can also contain different amounts of jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Each individual two-dimensional puzzle part can have one or more jigsaw puzzle pieces that can be bent on a bending line to create corners. Here is where the fourth component is introduced, namely, fiber-reinforced adhesive tape, wherein the said tape is applied on the inner side of the bending line. The said tape is applied all along the bending line, and it is also applied before the cardboard is laminated with the paper. Once the cardboard is laminated with the paper, this laminating paper will glue over the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape, which allows the laminating paper to also contribute to reinforcing the bending line. To allow the rigid cardboard to bend, a straight cut is made on the outer side of the bending corner. The said cut penetrates through the thickness of the cardboard but will not cut through the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape. The fiber-reinforced adhesive tape will then act as an articulation for the bending corner, while keeping the two sides of the bending corner attached.

Each two-dimensional puzzle part can be fixed once assembled so that it can maintain its planar shape when being manipulated, bent and/or connected to one another to form the three-dimensional object. For this purpose, there is a fifth component which consists of flexible adhesive fixing sheets, which are manufactured from paper or another thin material such as PVC sheets, with an adhesive coating on one side, wherein said flexible adhesive fixing sheets have the same contour shapes as each of the two-dimensional puzzle parts. The said flexible adhesive fixing sheets, unlike the previously mentioned components, are not glued onto the other components during the manufacturing process, but are arranged to be placed on the non-visible side of each assembled two-dimensional puzzle part by the end user once the assembly of all the jigsaw puzzle pieces of said two-dimensional puzzle part is completed.

Each two-dimensional puzzle part can include a sixth component, namely, a support rigid bar manufactured from plastic or cardboard which glues to the back of said puzzle part, when/if structural support is needed to make the two-dimensional puzzle part retain its shape when forming the three-dimensional object.

Some jigsaw puzzle pieces can have leg and hole connectors to connect the different two-dimensional puzzle parts to form the three-dimensional object. These leg and hole connectors can be of different shapes, depending on what type of joint is needed. Each individual two-dimensional puzzle part can connect to another by transversely inserting the leg connector from one part through the corresponding hole connector in another part. L-shaped leg connectors can be made in a 90-degree angle to insert into the receiving hole connector and then slide down to remain locked in position. Straight leg connectors can be used for inserting directly into the corresponding hole connector. Depending on what is desired in each connection, these leg and hole connectors can have different lengths and overall sizes and shapes.

The three-dimensional object can have a seventh component, namely, additional plastic accessories which can attach to it. These plastic parts can latch onto the cardboard parts by inserting straight and L-shaped legs into a hole connector in the cardboard, in the same way that the cardboard parts interconnect to one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single jigsaw puzzle piece which cannot be bent.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of a single jigsaw puzzle piece which cannot be bent.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of a single jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an extended jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent.

FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of an extended jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of various jigsaw puzzle pieces containing a hole connection.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of various jigsaw puzzle pieces containing an L-Shaped leg connector.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of various jigsaw puzzle pieces containing a straight leg connector.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a two-dimensional puzzle part with pieces which cannot be bent showing said puzzle part before and after it is completely assembled.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the flexible adhesive fixing sheet used to fix the said puzzle part shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing how the said flexible adhesive fixing sheet shown in FIG. 11 is applied to the back of the puzzle part shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a two-dimensional puzzle part with pieces which can be bent showing the said puzzle part before and after it is completely assembled.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing how the respective flexible adhesive fixing sheets are applied on the said puzzle part shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing how the support rigid bar is applied to the back of the said puzzle part shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the said two-dimensional puzzle part shown in FIG. 13 showing how it is bent to form the shape that will be used to assemble the three-dimensional object.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the said two-dimensional puzzle part shown in FIG. 10 connecting with the said two-dimensional puzzle part shown in FIG. 13. In this drawing, A refers to the first step and B refers to the second step of said connection.

FIG. 18 depicts various perspective views showing various connecting puzzle parts. In each drawing sequence depicted, A refers to the first step, B refers to the second step and C refers to the third step of said connections.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a partially assembled three-dimensional object showing how the different two-dimensional puzzle parts connect to one another to form the three-dimensional object.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a fully assembled three-dimensional object.

REFERENCE NUMBERS THROUGHOUT THE 20 FIGURES

• • 1 Visible face (paper)
  • 2 Cardboard
  • 3 Non-visible face (paper)
  • 4 Fiber-reinforced adhesive tape
  • 5 Inwards jigsaw puzzle connection
  • 6 Jigsaw puzzle piece peripheral edge cut
  • 7 Outwards jigsaw puzzle connection
  • 8 Bending rotation axis
  • 9 Bending direction
  • 10 Bending line cut
  • 11 Hole connection
  • 12 L-shape leg connection
  • 13 Straight leg connection
  • 14 Complex hole connection
  • 15 Flexible adhesive fixing sheet
  • 16 Adhesive-coated side
  • 17 Non-adhesive side
  • 18 Backing layer or liner
  • 19 Flexible adhesive fixing sheet matching holes
  • 20 Reinforcement bar
  • 21 Two-dimensional puzzle part with pieces which cannot be bent
  • 22 Two-dimensional puzzle part with pieces which can be bent
  • 23 Jigsaw puzzle piece which cannot be bent
  • 24 Single jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent
  • 25 Extended jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent
  • 26 Three-dimensional object

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The three-dimensional object 26 comprises one or more two-dimensional puzzle parts which are bent if/where applicable as shown on FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, and connected to one another as shown on FIG. 17, FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. Each two-dimensional puzzle part consists of two or more jigsaw puzzle pieces which are fixed using the flexible adhesive fixing sheets 15 once the said puzzle part is assembled.

Represented in FIG. 1 through FIG. 9 are embodiments of different types of jigsaw puzzle pieces. There are two main types of jigsaw puzzle pieces 23/24/25. The one pictured in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 which is a jigsaw puzzle piece that cannot be bent 23, consists of a main middle layer of cardboard 2 of between one and three millimeters of thickness laminated with a paper bearing an image on the visible face 1 and laminated also on the non-visible face 3 with a paper that could bear an image. The second type of jigsaw puzzle pieces are the ones that can be bent 24/25, which have two subtypes: one is the single jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent 24, as pictured in FIGS. 3 and FIG. 4, and the other one is the extended jigsaw puzzle piece which can be bent 25, as pictured in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. All subtypes of jigsaw puzzle pieces which can be bent 24/25 consist of the same main middle layer of cardboard 2 as that of the jigsaw puzzle pieces that cannot be bent, with an application of a fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 which is applied on the inner side of the bending corner. The said fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 is applied all along the bending axis line 8, at which the said jigsaw puzzle piece bends to create a corner. Said fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 is applied directly on the cardboard 2 and before the paper 1/3 is laminated on the said cardboard 2. Once the said cardboard 2 is laminated on both sides 1/3, then the jigsaw puzzle pieces are cut. There are two types of cuts: one is a full-through cut that will separate all types and subtypes of jigsaw puzzle pieces 23/24/25 by perforating through the whole width of the jigsaw puzzle piece including the cardboard 2, the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 (in the case of the jigsaw puzzle pieces that can be bent 24/25), and the laminating papers on both sides 1 and 3. This cut will produce the separation of all the jigsaw puzzle pieces 23/24/25 by cutting along all the contour lines 6. The second type of cut 10 is used only on jigsaw puzzle pieces that can be bent 24/25 and its purpose is to debilitate the rigid cardboard 2 so that the jigsaw puzzle piece can be bent. The cross-sections in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 depict both an overall and an expanded detailed view of how the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 is applied along the inner side of the bending corner and it also shows with precision how the cut 10 perforates through the cardboard 2 of the jigsaw puzzle piece 24/25 but does not cut through the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 nor the laminating paper 1 or 3 that is glued over the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4. With this construction, the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape 4 acts as a hinge throughout the entire bending axis line 8, so that the jigsaw puzzle piece 24/25 can bend towards the opposite side of the cut 10, as illustrated by the rotation direction 9 in FIG. 3, FIG. 5, FIG. 15 and FIG. 16. Although the drawings illustrating the rotation direction 9 resemble a ninety-degree angle, the corner bending rotation 9 can be of any angle measure between zero and one hundred and eighty degrees.

In FIG. 3 to 6, both faces of the jigsaw puzzle piece 24/25 are noted as 1 or 3, which means that the visible face 1 and the non-visible face 3 could be either on the inside or on the outside of the bending corner, depending what shape is required to form the three-dimensional object 26.

In order to assemble each two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22, all types and subtypes of jigsaw puzzle pieces connect to one another by matching each outwards connection 7 of a given jigsaw puzzle piece to its corresponding inwards 5 connection of the jigsaw puzzle piece which connects to it, with the help of the image that is printed on the visible face 1, which continues from one jigsaw puzzle piece to the next. Every jigsaw puzzle piece has at least one connector 5/7, so that it can be connected to other jigsaw puzzle pieces to form a two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22. FIG. 10 and FIG. 13 illustrate how multiple jigsaw puzzle pieces interconnect to one another to form said two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22.

In addition to the inwards 5 and outwards 7 connectors, which are used to interconnect the jigsaw puzzle pieces to form a two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22, all types and subtypes of jigsaw puzzle piece can have hole connectors 11 as depicted in FIG. 7, and/or L-shaped leg connectors 12 as depicted in FIG. 8, and/or straight leg connectors 13 as depicted in FIG. 9. These hole 11, L-shaped leg 12 and straight leg 13 connectors are used to connect the two-dimensional puzzle parts 21/22 to one another, once each two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22 is assembled and fixed, so that they can form the three-dimensional object 29.

In order for the two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22 to remain assembled, with all the jigsaw puzzle pieces that it comprises interconnected to one another, it needs to be fixed. FIG. 11 illustrates a thin flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15, which is coated with adhesive on one side 16 and it is not coated on the opposite side 17. This flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 can bear a printed image on the non-adhesive side 17. In order to protect the adherent face 16 and prevent the adhesive to stick to non-desired surfaces, the adhesive-coated side 16 is covered with a removable backing sheet or liner 18. Each flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 is trimmed to match the shape of a corresponding two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle part 21/22. If its corresponding two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22 has hole connectors 11, then the matching flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 will have trimmed the same holes in the same matching positions 19, so that the flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 does not cover the hole connectors 11 of the two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22.

As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 14, the two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22 has to be placed on a flat surface with the non-visible face 3 facing up, then the flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 can be removed from the backing sheet or liner 18 and glued onto the non-visible face 3 of the corresponding two-dimensional puzzle part 21/22.

Some two-dimensional puzzle parts 22 may need extra strength in order to maintain their planar shape while being manipulated to form the three-dimensional object 26. For this purpose, as depicted in FIG. 15, a supporting bar 20 manufactured from cardboard or plastic, between 1.5 and 3.0 millimeters of thickness, with one side coated with adhesive, is glued on top of the flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15 of that said two-dimensional puzzle part 22.

The two-dimensional puzzle parts with jigsaw puzzle pieces which cannot be bent 21, once they have been fixed using the flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15, are ready to be used to assemble the three-dimensional object 26. As shown in FIG. 16, those two-dimensional puzzle parts with jigsaw puzzle pieces which can be bent 22, once they have been fixed using the flexible adhesive fixing sheet 15, will need to be bent into position before they can be used to assemble the three-dimensional object 26.

FIG. 17 depicts the connection between two-dimensional puzzle part 22 and 21. In step A, part 22 is aligned with the straight leg connectors 13 facing the corresponding hole connectors 11 from part 21. Once aligned, as shown in step B, the straight connectors 13 from part 22 are inserted into the corresponding hole connectors 11 from part 21. This is one of various types of two-dimensional puzzle part connections. In some cases, more than one leg-to-hole connection Nov. 12, 2013 may connect right next to another let-to-hole connection Nov. 12, 2013, which can lead to complex hole connection shapes 14. These complex hole shapes allow one hole connector 11 to 395 receive more than one leg connectors 12/13, which can connect in different angles.

FIG. 18 depicts five different connection samples between two-dimensional puzzle parts. In FIG. 18.1., the straight connectors 13 are long and as step A shows, they have to align horizontally to be inserted as shown in step B. In FIG. 18.II., it is the side of a two-dimensional puzzle part that inserts into a hole connector 11 in the corner of the connecting part, this without a connecting leg. In this case, as the arrows show in step A, the inserting panel has to be aligned with the angle of the corresponding hole connector 11 so that it can get inserted as shown in step B. FIG. 18.III. depicts a double L-shape leg connector 12, which gets lined up in step A, inserted in the corresponding hole connectors 11 in step B, and then in step C, the inserting puzzle part slides in the direction of the tip of the L-shaped leg connectors 12 so that the two connecting parts remain locked in position. FIG. 18.IV. shows an L-shaped leg connector 12 in a vertical orientation. In this case, in step A the L-shaped leg connectors 12 are aligned with the corresponding hole connectors 11, in step B they are inserted, and in step C the inserting two-dimensional puzzle part slides down to lock into position. FIG. 18.V. shows two puzzle parts that connect using a combination of straight leg connectors 13 and L-shaped leg connectors 12. Wherein the said straight leg connectors 13 are longer and can be partially inserted into their corresponding hole connectors 11, so that, while part of the said straight leg connectors 13 remains inserted in their corresponding hole connectors 11, the L-shaped connectors 12 can be inserted and slide down for locking into position.

Claims

11. A jigsaw puzzle game for assembly of a three-dimensional object comprising: one or more two-dimensional puzzle parts which connect to one another to form said three-dimensional object; each said two-dimensional puzzle part comprising two or more jigsaw puzzle pieces;each said jigsaw puzzle piece comprising a core of cardboard and a laminated printed paper bearing an image applied to a visible side of the cardboard;at least one of the jigsaw puzzle pieces comprising a bending line to permit bending to form a bending corner;wherein the bending line is achieved by providing a fiber-reinforced adhesive tape applied directly to the cardboard core on an inner side of the bending corner and along the bending line and laminating the puzzle piece by gluing the printed paper over both the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape and the cardboard and making a straight line cut on an outer side of the bending corner, wherein the straight line cut penetrates through the cardboard but not through the said fiber-reinforced adhesive tape so that once the jigsaw puzzle piece is bent, the fiber-reinforced adhesive tape holds together the two sides of the bent jigsaw puzzle.

12. The jigsaw puzzle game for assembly of claim 11, wherein at least one of the said jigsaw puzzle pieces having connecting shapes consisting of straight or L-shaped protrusions wherein the connecting shapes extend beyond the contour shape of the said two-dimensional puzzle parts of claim 1 to connect to a hole of another two-dimensional puzzle part to form the three-dimensional object;

13. The jigsaw puzzle game for assembly of claim 11, wherein the said jigsaw puzzle pieces that form the said two-dimensional puzzle parts are fixed with flexible adhesive fixing sheets; each said flexible adhesive fixing sheet comprising a thin flexible sheet manufactured from paper or plastic materials and is coated with adhesive on one side and has a protective backing layer to cover the adhesive, and that said backing layer is removable, to allow the flexible adhesive fixing sheet to be fixedly placed on the said two-dimensional puzzle parts from claim 1 in order for the said jigsaw puzzle pieces of the said two-dimensional puzzle parts to remain assembled;

14. The jigsaw puzzle game for assembly of claim 11, wherein the said two-dimensional puzzle parts of claim 11 have at least one reinforcement bar to help the said two-dimensional puzzle parts to maintain a desired planar shape; each said reinforcement bar comprising a strip of rigid material such as plastic or cardboard with self-adhesive applied on one side so that the said bars can be fixed to the said two-dimensional puzzle parts.