Slice Puzzle - Labelled or Grouped Jigsaw Puzzle Segments

Abstract

The invention is a labelling system on the reverse or “plain” side of the puzzle card stock, which is pre-printed before die cutting, and uses numbers, letters, colors, shapes or a combination of these to create slices, sections or groups for ease in assembling the puzzle, because it is assembled in phases.Pieces in each slice, section or group are labelled the same on the reverse side so that the user separates the jigsaw puzzle pieces into those slices, sections or groups before assembly. The user chooses which groups, sections or slices to assemble first, and can choose to use more than one group, section or slice per stage of assembly of the puzzle. The purpose is to allow the user to decide the ease or difficulty in assembling the puzzle, and the process reduces the number of pieces that must be used or viewed at the same time.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention pertains generally to a method of production and labelling of jigsaw puzzle segments. More specifically, the invention came about from a need to cut down the numbers of pieces used at one time, and the tedious nature of assembling a puzzle that had too many pieces of the same color or pattern. At that time, and once this particular puzzle was finally made, it was decided to disassemble it by removing one complete group, section, slice or border at a time and put the pieces of each group, section, slice or border into separate bags, labelling the bags by which group, section, slice or border they came from (and belong to).

[0002] The invention was then advanced to make it more easy to produce, package and manage, without error or omission in production or packaging, while saving on materials and manpower needed, by labelling the reverse or “plain” cardboard side of a physical version of the puzzle by group, section, slice or border, and using some type of coding (letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc.) before die cutting the pieces. The same principle can be applied to online puzzles, where small screens would benefit from breaking down the assembly process into stages.

[0003] A practical example would be that each border “slice”, which is one complete round of the puzzle layer, is labelled alphabetically on the reverse jigsaw puzzle pieces, so that they can be separated into groups or “slices” before assembly, but the idea is not limited to borders or slices. It could be grouped by section or in any way that facilitates the choice of ease or complexity for the user, while not supplying the exact location for pieces. This method also allows a smaller space for assembling puzzles since not all pieces need to be displayed at the same time on the assembly surface.DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

[0004] U.S. Patent Number 20,210,146,234 to Wheeler, Tad L. and Smith, Judith J., dated May 20, 2021, describes an assembly mat which is labelled with numbers in consecutive order so that every puzzle piece in the coordinating kit has indication of the specific placement of every puzzle piece, and although not described as such, it is assumed that every actual puzzle piece is also numbered.

[0005] It is apparent from the foregoing that the prior art fails to allow the user to decide the ease or complexity of the assembly of the jigsaw puzzle, nor does it leave any doubt as to the location of the pieces, which we feel adds to the enjoyment of assembling a puzzle. For this reason, our invention does not specify exactly where each piece belongs in the puzzle. The prior art of Wheeler & Smith also does not group the pieces into sections or “slices”, an integral feature that our invention allows the user to decide how complex the assembly shall be.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention pertains to labelling the reverse side of jigsaw puzzles for the physical version of printed material on card stock by creating groups, sections, borders or slices to enable the user to decide the complexity or ease of assembly of the puzzle, or by grouping online puzzle pieces so that the numbers of pieces needed to assemble are reduced into batches, groups, sections, borders or slices. For online creation of puzzles, the same concept applies. Our invention allows online creators to batch puzzle pieces by segment, section, sub-unit or group, in any number of ways.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] FIG. 1 is a sample plan view of the segmentation of a puzzle

[0008] FIG. 2 is a sample plan view of the segmentation of a puzzle

[0009] FIG. 3 is a sample plan view of the segmentation of a puzzle

[0010] FIG. 4 is a sample plan view of the segmentation of a puzzleDESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0011] FIG. 1 depicts use of alphabet lettering to divide the puzzle into sections.

[0012] FIG. 2 depicts use of numbers to divide the puzzle into sections.

[0013] FIG. 3 depicts use of colors to divide the puzzle into sections.

[0014] FIG. 4 depicts use of symbols to divide the puzzle into sections.The Embodiments of the Invention in which an Exclusive Property or Privilege is Claimed are Defined as Follows

[0015] The invention claims are as follows:

[0016] segmentation of groups of puzzle pieces by subsection or slice;

[0017] labelling or printing on physical copies of a puzzle for the purpose of grouping pieces by subsection or slice for the purpose of assembly in stages;

[0018] grouping or sorting online puzzle pieces into subsets for the purpose of assembly in stages.DRAWINGSFIG. 1

[0020] FIG. 2

[0021] FIG. 3

[0022] FIG. 4FIG. 1

[0023] FIG. 1 is a sample plan view of the labelling on the reverse side of a printed puzzle, and a plan view of grouping pieces of an online puzzle, using letters of the alphabet in bordered edge strips or bands around the perimeter of the puzzle.FIG. 2

[0024] FIG. 2 is a sample plan view of the labelling on the reverse side of a printed puzzle, and a plan view of grouping pieces of an online puzzle, using numbers to divide the puzzle into segmented rows.FIG. 3

[0025] FIG. 3 is a sample plan view of the labelling on the reverse side of a printed puzzle, and a plan view of grouping pieces of an online puzzle, using colors to divide the puzzle into segmented columns.FIG. 4

[0026] FIG. 4 is a sample plan view of the labelling on the reverse side of a printed puzzle, and a plan view of grouping pieces of an online puzzle, using shapes or other indicia to divide the puzzle into subsections.

Claims

1. Labelling or printing on the reverse side of the physical card stock of a jigsaw puzzle to indicate subsection or slice, without identifying exact location of pieces of the puzzle2. Segmentation or grouping of jigsaw puzzle pieces by subsection or slice to allow the user to decide ease or difficulty in assembling the puzzle

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