2D Jigsaw Puzzle with Fitting Assistance

Abstract

Two-dimensional puzzles are proposed, characterized in that the puzzle pieces are provided with letters and numbers in a defined manner on their backs, with the help of which it is possible to assign the pieces their correct positions using a coordinate system.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention is in the field of parlor games and relates to puzzles that facilitate locating the individual puzzle pieces. [Background technology]

[0002] A puzzle is a mechanical game of patience, or more precisely a tile game in which the objective is to reassemble individual puzzle pieces into a whole. The English word for this is jigsaw puzzle, as the first games were made with a jigsaw. More precisely, the first jigsaw puzzle was made in England in 1766 by the engraver and cartographer John Spilsbury (1739-1769). He made this by gluing a map of the country of Great Britain onto a small wooden board and cutting it with a saw along the boundaries of the various counties. The player then had to try to complete the map again.

[0003] Today, puzzles are one of the most popular game formats because they can be played alone, in pairs or in small groups and can be interrupted at any time. The coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns have given the toy industry a further boost: market leader Ravensburger reported that it sold more than 32 million puzzles in 2020 alone, an increase of more than 10% compared to the previous year.

[0004] The more popular and difficult a puzzle is, the more likely it is that players will abandon it because it appears difficult or impossible to fit more puzzle pieces into the existing motif. This is typically the case when the edges and perhaps some protruding parts of the motif are together, and the color of the remaining puzzle pieces or the background of the motif are so similar that each additional assignment requires a tedious process of trial and error. (Related Technology)

[0005] DE 20 2013 009963 A1 (FEHRENTZ) relates to a puzzle having a number of individual pieces (2) cut out of a carrier material (4) and which can be put together to form a picture, characterised in that the carrier material (4) has a grain (5) on at least one surface (1', 1") formed by the use of natural materials. However, the relevant content of the puzzle is only that it has a frame.

[0006] French patent application FR 2 385 420 (BOHBOT) relates, according to the claims, to an "amusement device" based on a surface carrying a pattern or image divided into interlocking pieces like a puzzle. On the other side there is another image. These pieces can be turned over so that they can be reassembled into a different pattern or image. The back of the image may be of a different color and may have markings or letters corresponding to their position. After assembly by one player, the second player creates an image from the given information, using a transparent frame divided by a numbered grid. The document is not relevant.

[0007] US 2005 0167913 (MUCCI) relates to a puzzle that has both a color code and numbers on the back. Puzzle pieces of the same color belong to the same area of ​​the puzzle, otherwise the pieces are numbered consecutively, but no coordinate system is used.

[0008] EP 12 93 236 A1 (HAUSEMANN) relates to a puzzle having several puzzle elements (2, 4), each of which is placed at a specific position in an arrangement (1), characterized in that at least some of the puzzle elements (2, 4) have markings (3, 5), the markings (3, 5) containing a code related to the position of the puzzle element (2, 4) in the arrangement (1), the code being hidden in the markings (2, 4) in such a way that it is only recognizable when a specific action is performed. No coordinate system exists.

[0009] In Patent Publication No. 6755232 (KOYO), a QR code is printed on the back of the puzzle piece. If a player wants to know where to place a particular puzzle piece, he or she must read the QR code and then receive location information, which is not described in more detail. However, this approach is very cumbersome in terms of both manufacturing and application. In addition, the puzzle does not have a coordinate division, so the alternative lacks clear positioning.

[0010] JP 09299610 relates to a puzzle in which all pieces have coordinates on the back so that each piece can be located in a coordinate system. There is no disclosure that the puzzle has edges that also contain coordinates. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] It should be noted that based on JP 09299610, the application of exactly one letter as Y coordinate and exactly one number as X coordinate as a target turns out to be very difficult in practice from the point of view of manufacturing technology, since deviations of several millimeters can occur in the horizontal and vertical directions during the printing of the front and back sides, and during the subsequent punching of the puzzle pieces. Therefore, a missing puzzle piece in a puzzle cannot be easily replaced with an "identical" puzzle piece from a puzzle of the same motif. There is a high probability that the puzzle pieces fit in terms of shape, but do not fit correctly into the overall motif. The same is true for the motif on the back side. The coordinates of the puzzle piece in question may be missing, incomplete, or even ambiguous. It is therefore impossible for all puzzle pieces in the manufacturing process to have the exact coordinates on the back side that are necessary to accurately classify the individual puzzle pieces in the coordinate system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The object of the present invention was therefore to provide a solution which makes it easier to find and allocate puzzle pieces in such laying games without reducing the enjoyment of the game, while at the same time being simple and reliable to implement in terms of production technology, thus eliminating the disadvantages of the prior art. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] A rear view of the puzzle pattern of pieces is shown. [Diagram 2] A rear view of the puzzle pattern of pieces is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The object of the present invention is a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with an allocation aid consisting of a plurality of irregularly shaped puzzle pieces, each having at least one recess and / or at least one protrusion, which can be arranged together in rows and columns to generate a predefined motif, such as a picture, a photograph or a geometric pattern; The puzzle has a coordinate division along the X and Y axes of a rectangle formed by the puzzle pieces, thereby forming rows and columns; The puzzle pieces have indicia on their backs that assign them their relative positions in a coordinate system spanned by an X-axis and a Y-axis; The X coordinate indications relate to a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle in which each occurs several times when viewed across a complete row, and the Y coordinate indications occur several times when viewed across a complete column.

[0015] The object of the game is to arrange and fit the puzzle pieces together such that a given image is created. To do this, the puzzle pieces are arranged in rows parallel to the X axis and columns parallel to the Y axis. A "complete row" refers to all puzzle pieces that have the same Y coordinate but have consecutively different X coordinates (e.g., Y1 combined with A1, A2, A3...A40). A "complete column" therefore refers to all puzzle pieces that have the same X coordinate but have consecutively different Y coordinates (e.g., X1 combined with A1, B1, C1...Y1).

[0016] In a first preferred embodiment, either the X coordinate of each complete row or the Y coordinate of each complete column is shown in a font size such that the corresponding indication is present about 10 to about 50 times on the back of each puzzle piece, thereby filling the entire available area.

[0017] In a further preferred embodiment, each complementary coordinate is represented in its own complete row or column such that the corresponding information is present about 2 to about 8 times, particularly about 3 to about 5 times, on the back of each puzzle piece, filling only a portion of the available area.

[0018] Furthermore, the font size and / or font weight of one coordinate differs from the font size and / or font weight of the other coordinate by a factor of 1.5 to 5. For example, font sizes 10 and 16 can use the same or different fonts.

[0019] Furthermore, it may be advantageous to combine two or all three of the above embodiments.

[0020] The proposed embodiment solves the problem in a simple but comprehensive way. Compared to the prior art, printing coordinates on the back of puzzle pieces is much easier than, for example, assigning a QR code, especially when it contains more than 1000 pieces. It is also possible to find the puzzle immediately without further technical assistance. The fun of playing is also not reduced, since puzzle pieces are usually pre-sorted with the motif side facing up, and the player only has to turn over an individual puzzle piece when he does not really know what to do. Moreover, the specification of the coordinate system allows the pieces to be positioned quickly and reliably. At the same time, the way in which the back is printed with letters and numbers is simpler and safer from a manufacturing point of view.

[0021] Embodiments according to the invention do not distract the player from normal play. When pre-sorted, the player unconsciously perceives the patterns filling the backs of the individual puzzle pieces. Only when the player consciously flips the puzzle pieces from motif side to back side during the game can the player immediately recognize the coordinate information when looking at this back side.

[0022] A jigsaw puzzle consists of puzzle pieces, usually of the same size but of irregular shape. They have at least one recess and / or at least one protrusion that fit together so that the puzzle pieces can be combined to form a pattern or usually a motif according to a template. Puzzles include different puzzle pieces, namely those with one or two flat edges forming an edge and those with one, two, three or four recesses and one, two, three or four protrusions, so that the sum of recesses and protrusions for the puzzle pieces that do not belong to the edge is usually four, thereby ensuring an optimal connection between the puzzle pieces.

[0023] In the proposed solution, it is essential that the puzzle has a coordinate system, since this is the only way to ensure that the puzzle pieces are reliably assigned. Various embodiments are possible here. One possibility is that the puzzle must be inserted into a predefined frame that is supplied or provided separately. This is a common variant, since it is easy and safe to discard a started puzzle and continue playing it later, without the puzzle pieces that were together before falling apart again. In this case, the coordinate system can simply be printed on the frame.

[0024] For puzzles with a larger number of pieces, the variant with a fixed frame is fairly rare: in this case, the solution may be to print the coordinates on separate strips of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal or other material, which the player can then place on the edges of the puzzle to create the coordinate system.

[0025] The solution is suitable for all two-dimensional puzzles, preferably of rectangular shape and thus allowing the specification of coordinates. Two-dimensional puzzles are puzzles in which the puzzle pieces only need to be arranged in two dimensions. This also includes puzzles in which the puzzle pieces themselves not only have a length and a width corresponding to the X and Y axes, but also have a significant height and may have a relief so that the completed puzzle itself appears three-dimensional.

[0026] Typically, puzzles have between 100 and 5,000 pieces. In principle, however, the invention can also be applied to larger puzzles with up to 48,000 pieces. The applicability of variant 1 (frame) decreases with the number of puzzle pieces, whereas the applicability of variant 2 (strips) increases with the number of puzzle pieces. In principle, this solution can also be applied to three-dimensional puzzles, but the specification in the corresponding coordinate system will naturally be much more complicated.

[0027] It has proven particularly simple and therefore advantageous to designate coordinates on the X axis by numbers and coordinates on the Y axis by letters, or vice versa. Thus, each puzzle piece has a corresponding coordinate on its back in the form of letters and numbers.

[0028] Figures 1 and 2 show the pattern of a 1000-piece puzzle, as in an X-ray, with coordinates printed on the back of the puzzle pieces. Each row of puzzle pieces is printed in several sequences with their respective letters that position these pieces along the X-axis, across the entire available area. The same applies to columns, where numbers that position the puzzle pieces along the Y-coordinate are also present multiple times on each piece. The letters for the X-coordinate and the numbers for the Y-coordinate are of different sizes and thicknesses, making it easy to distinguish between letters and numbers. Of course, the reverse is also possible.

Claims

1. A two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with an assignment aid consisting of a plurality of irregularly shaped puzzle pieces, each having at least one recess and / or at least one protrusion, which can be arranged together in rows and columns to create a predefined motif; the puzzle has a coordinate division along an X-axis and a Y-axis of the rectangle formed by the puzzle pieces, thereby forming rows and columns; said puzzle pieces having indicia on their rear faces that assign them their relative positions in a coordinate system spanned by said X-axis and Y-axis; A two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, wherein the indications of the X coordinates each occur several times when viewed across a complete row, and the indications of the Y coordinates each occur several times when viewed across a complete column.

2. 2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein either the X coordinate of each complete row or the Y coordinate of each complete column is represented in a font size such that the corresponding indicia is present about 10 to about 50 times on the back of each puzzle piece, thereby filling the entire available area.

3. 2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the complementary coordinates are represented in respective complete rows or columns such that the corresponding information is present from about 2 to about 8 times on the back of each puzzle piece, filling only a portion of the available area.

4. 2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the font size and / or font weight of one coordinate entry and the font size and / or font weight of the other coordinate entry differ by a factor of 1.5 to 5.

5. 2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein said puzzle pieces each have their associated coordinates on their backs in the form of letters and numbers.

6. 2. The puzzle of claim 1, wherein the coordinates are printed on a frame onto which the puzzle pieces must be placed.

7. The puzzle of claim 1 , wherein the coordinates are printed on separate strips disposed on a side of the puzzle to form a coordinate system.

8. 10. The puzzle of claim 1, comprising between 100 and 5000 puzzle pieces.

9. 10. The puzzle of claim 1 having a rectangular shape.

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