Jigsaw Puzzle

Abstract

There is provided a jigsaw puzzle comprising pieces which are formed based on a quadrilateral which resembles approximately a square having four sides which are each approximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising a combination of a large number of basic pieces 11 in which four sides of each piece are formed into curved sides which are curved slightly and in which a pair of confronting sides of the four sides have individually a projecting portion 21 and the other pair of confronting sides have individually a recess portion 23, several tens of side pieces in which a side is formed into a straight side while the remaining three sides are formed into curved sides and the curved side which confronts the straight side has a projecting portion or a recess portion, while the remaining two sides have individually a recess portion or a projecting portion, and four corner pieces in which two adjacent sides are individually formed into a straight side, while the remaining two sides are individually formed into a curved side, and one of the remaining two curved sides has a projecting portion, while the other has a recess portion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a jigsaw puzzle.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] In these days, many jigsaw puzzles are used in which many pieces having recesses and projections on their own peripheries are assembled.

[0005] In these jigsaw puzzles, the joining of those pieces is limited by recessed and projecting shapes formed on the peripheries of the pieces. In addition, since a predetermined picture is shown when all the pieces are assembled correctly, the assemblage of the pieces is determined by drawings drawn on the individual pieces or colors of the pieces.

[0006] In addition, these jigsaw puzzles are provided in various sizes, including the poster size and A4 size, which are realized when all the pieces are joined and assembled correctly to solve the puzzles. The number of pieces varies in accordance with sizes of puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles consisting of several hundreds to on the order of a thousand pieces are provided for adults, while jigsaw puzzles consisting of several tens to on the order of a hundred pieces are provided for children or beginners. Thus, various jigsaw puzzles are prepared which are different in the number of pieces and size realized when pieces are assembled together correctly.

[0007] Jigsaw puzzles are not limited to those which consist of an intricate and fine picture which is printed on, for example, large cardboard and cut into many various pieces that have to be fitted together for fun, and there are other types of jigsaw puzzles. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-224839 proposes a jigsaw puzzle which can be used as a postcard or letter-card. In addition, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-104136 proposes a small jigsaw puzzle which can be used as a coaster.

[0008] In the conventional jigsaw puzzles which are as small as a letter-card when pieces are assembled together, however, there are only a relatively small number of pieces like just more than ten to several tens, and therefore, since the assemblage of pieces is relatively easy, the pieces can be assembled together in a short period of time. Thus, when played with as a puzzle, it has often been a case with the small jigsaw puzzles that players get tired of them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention was made with a view to eliminating the drawback which is inherent in the conventional small jigsaw puzzles, and an object thereof is to provide a jigsaw puzzle which can be made up of several hundreds of pieces even though it is in the letter-card size, which can continue to be played with for fun by assembling pieces due to there being such a large number of pieces involved, which is small as a whole when the pieces are assembled, which is easy to be carried and displayed, and which can represent a lovely decorative picture.

[0010] According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a jigsaw puzzle comprising pieces which are formed based on a quadrilateral which resembles approximately a square having four sides which are each approximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising a combination of a large number of basic pieces in which four sides of each piece are formed into curved sides which are curved slightly and in which a pair of confronting sides of the four sides have individually a projecting portion and the other pair of confronting sides have individually a recess portion, several tens of side pieces in which a side is formed into a straight side, a curved side which confronts the straight side has a projecting portion or a recess portion, and two sides lying at ends of the straight side have individually a recess portion or a projecting portion in such a way as to be in contrast to the confronting curved side, and four corner pieces in which two adjacent sides are individually formed into a straight side, while the remaining two sides are individually formed into a curved side, and one of the remaining two curved sides has a projecting portion, while the other has a recess portion, wherein when all the pieces are assembled, a picture is shown as a whole on surfaces of the pieces so assembled.

[0011] In addition, the projecting portions are made to project approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with proximal portions of the projecting portions being made thinner than intermediate portions of the projecting portions and are formed into a plurality of different projecting shapes whose configurations and sizes vary depending upon the types of pieces, and the recess portions are made to be recessed approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with entrance portions of the recess portions being made narrower than intermediate portions of the recess portions and are formed into a plurality of different recessed shapes whose configurations and sizes vary depending upon the types of pieces.

[0012] Further, a pair of tweezers having a length of several centimeters is combined with the jigsaw puzzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a drawing which shows a basic piece of a jigsaw puzzle according to the invention,

[0014] FIG. 2 is a drawing which shows individual types of pieces of the jigsaw puzzle according to the invention, and

[0015] FIG. 3 is a drawing which shows the entirety of the jigsaw puzzle according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] A jigsaw puzzle according to the invention consists of pieces which are formed based on a piece which has, as is shown in FIG. 1, a shape which resembles substantially a square in which lengths L1 and L2 defined between adjacent corner portions of the square which configure four corners thereof are each about 8 mm or a shape which resembles substantially a quadrilateral in which a pair of confronting sides are made slightly longer than the other pair of confronting sides of the quadrilateral, and four sides of the square of quadrilateral are individually formed into a curved side which is slightly curved.

[0017] In addition, a projecting portion 21 is formed on each of the pair of confronting curved sides of the piece and a recess portion 23 is formed on each of the other pair of confronting curved sides of the piece, and the piece having the projecting portions 21 and the recess portions 23 is made into a basic piece 11. The jigsaw puzzle of the invention consists of just more than 200 pieces as a whole which include a hundred and several tens of such basic pieces 11, four corner pieces 13 which resemble the basic piece 11 and several tens of side pieces 15, 16, and parts of a picture are drawn individually on surfaces of the constituent pieces in such a manner that the picture is shown as a whole on the surfaces of the pieces when all the pieces are assembled correctly.

[0018] As is shown in FIG. 2A, the corner piece 13, which has the shape which resembles substantially the basic piece 11, is formed, as with the basic piece 11, into a shape which resembles substantially a square in which lengths defined between adjacent corner portions of the square which configure four corners thereof are each referred to as being on the order of about 8 mm or a shape which resembles substantially a quadrilateral in which a pair of confronting sides are made slightly longer than the other pair of confronting sides of the quadrilateral, and adjacent sides of the square of quadrilateral are each formed into a straight side, while the other two sides are each formed into a curved side which is curved slightly. In addition, a projecting portion 21 is provided on one of the curved sides, and a recess portion 23 is provided on the other curved side, and thus, the corner piece 13 is formed into the piece having the projecting portion 21 on the one curved side and the recess portion 23 on the other curved portion.

[0019] In addition, as is shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the side pieces 15, 16 are each formed into a shape which resembles substantially a square in which lengths defined between adjacent corner portions of the square which configure four corners thereof are each referred to as being around about 8 mm or a shape which resembles substantially a quadrilateral in which a pair of confronting sides are made slightly longer than the other pair of confronting sides of the quadrilateral, and one of four sides of the square or quadrilateral is formed into a straight side, while the other three sides are each formed into a curved side which is curved slightly.

[0020] In addition, the side pieces are classified into the side pieces 15 (refer to FIG. 2B) in which the curved side which diametrically confronts the straight side has a projecting portion 21 and the curved sides which lie at ends of the straight side individually have a recessed portion 23 and the side pieces 16 (refer to FIG. 2C) in which the curved side which diametrically confronts the straight side has a recess portion 23 and the curved sides which lie at end of the straight side individually have a projecting portion 21.

[0021] Further, in these side pieces 15, 16, several tens of side pieces in which the side confronting the straight side has the projecting portion and several tens of side pieces in which the side confronting the straight side has the recess portion are formed in the same number.

[0022] In this way, since the jigsaw puzzle of the invention employs the square or quadrilateral pieces of which each of the four sides has the length of the order of about 8 mm, even though approximately 20 rows of more than 10 pieces are arranged vertically to provide a hundred and several tens to approximately two hundred pieces for assemblage, the jigsaw puzzle can only be in a size which is approximately 10 cm long and approximately 10 cm wide.

[0023] In addition, a projecting amount L3 of the projecting portion 21 and a depth L4 of the recess portion 23 which are provided on the basic piece 11, the corner piece 13 and the side pieces 15, 16 are referred to as being approximately 2 mm to 3 mm. Additionally, as is shown in FIG. 1 or the like, the projecting portion 21 is shaped in such a manner that a proximal portion of the projecting portion 21 is thinner than an intermediate portion of the projecting portion 21, and the recess portion 23 is also shaped in such a manner that an entrance portion of the recess portion 23 is narrower in width than an intermediate portion of the recess portion 23.

[0024] In addition, the respective projecting portions 21 of the basic piece 11, the corner piece 13 and the side pieces 15, 16 are formed into a plurality of shapes which differ slightly in position, shape and size, and the respective recess portions 23 of those pieces are also formed into a plurality of shapes which differ slightly in position, shape and size.

[0025] Additionally, to prepare those pieces, as is shown in FIG. 3, a piece of cardboard is used which has a size which is substantially equal to (or slightly smaller than) a letter-card (10 cm.times.14.8 cm) and a thickness of the order of 2 mm, and the piece of cardboard is cut vertically and horizontally along curved cutting lines which run vertically and horizontally at intervals of substantially 8 mm as has been described above. In these cutting lines, projecting portions are formed along the vertical cutting lines in such a manner as to project alternately leftwards and rightwards of the vertical cutting lines every time they intersect the horizontal cutting lines, and projecting portions are formed along the horizontal cutting lines in such a manner as to project alternately upwards and downwards of the horizontal cutting lines every time they intersect the vertical cutting lines.

[0026] In this way, when the piece of cardboard having the approximate size to the letter-card is cut vertically and horizontally to form 18 pieces in the vertical direction and 12 pieces in the horizontal direction or to form 18 rows of 12 pieces, pieces can be formed which include four corner pieces, 26 side pieces in which projecting portions are provided on both sides which lie at ends of a straight side and 26 side pieces in which recess portions are provided on both sides which lie at ends of a straight side, and 160 basic pieces. Thus, 216 pieces can be provided even by the piece of cardboard having the size of the letter-card.

[0027] In addition, in the event that the vertical and horizontal cutting lines are arranged at intervals of the order of 9 mm, that is, in the event that a quadrilateral which is on the order of 9 mm both in length and width is used as a basic piece, the letter-card-sized piece of cardboard can be cut into 16 pieces in the vertical direction and 11 pieces in the horizontal direction or into 16 rows of 11 pieces to provide 176 pieces, or 176 can be assembled to form a size approximate to the letter-card. Additionally, in the event that a quadrilateral which is on the order of 7 mm both in length and width is used as a base for a basic piece, the letter-card-sized piece of cardboard can be cut into 20 pieces in the vertical direction and 14 pieces in the horizontal direction or into 20 rows of 14 pieces to provide 280 pieces, or 280 pieces can be assembled to form a size approximate to the letter-card.

[0028] In addition, since various parts of a picture are drawn on front surfaces of the constituent pieces of the jigsaw puzzle in such a manner that the picture is shown as a whole on the front surfaces of the pieces when they are assembled correctly, when the constituent pieces are assembled, the pieces are assembled into the size approximate to the letter-card. Thus, the jigsaw puzzle so completed or solved becomes easy to be displayed on a desk, for example, by the use of a card stand or a picture stand, while the jigsaw puzzle, which is in the size approximate to the letter-card, can consist of several hundreds of pieces to be assembled for fun. Thus, the jigsaw puzzle of the invention can provide both a lovely and beautiful decorative card and a puzzle which can be played with for fun.

[0029] In addition, when a piece of cardboard for making a jigsaw puzzle which is larger in area than a letter-card size is cut into quadrilateral pieces of which each of the four sides is in a range from 7 mm to 9 mm, a number of pieces is extremely large, and thus a level of difficulty for assembling the puzzle becomes higher and players can enjoy the puzzle with more fun.

[0030] In addition, with the jigsaw puzzle of the invention, since the pieces have the thickness which falls within a thickness range of 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm or around 2 mm, the player can feel a click sensation at the tip of the finger when a piece is fitted between pieces. Thus, the player can enjoy feeling the comfortable fitting sensation.

[0031] Further, with the jigsaw puzzle of the invention, since each side of the constituent pieces is referred to as being less than 1 cm, so that the pieces can be formed small in length and width, the assemblage of pieces by the finger tips becomes difficult, and therefore, a pair of tweezers, which is approximately 5 cm to 6 cm long, is preferably combined with the jigsaw puzzle.

[0032] In this way, in the event that the jigsaw puzzle is combined with the pair of tweezers which is several centimeters, that is, approximately 5 cm to 6 cm long, the pieces, which are approximately 2 mm thick, can be pinched with the tweezers so that the projecting portions of the pieces are fitted into or removed from the corresponding recess portions of the pieces at all times, whereby the assembling work of the pieces can be facilitated, while the player can enjoy feeling a sensation which is a resisting sensation produced when the pieces are assembled or disassembled at the tips of the fingers which grip the tweezers.

[0033] Thus, as has been described heretofore, with the jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces based on the quadrilateral of which each of the four sides is in the range from 7 mm to 9 mm are assembled, the length of each of the sides of the constituent pieces is small, and hence, even when all the constituent pieces are assembled together, the size approximate to the letter-card can only be realized. Additionally, even with such a small size, several hundreds of pieces can be provided so as to make the assemblage of the pieces complex to such an extent that the player can play the puzzle while enjoying the assemblage of the pieces. Further, since the picture is shown on the surface of the letter-card-sized jigsaw puzzle when the pieces are assembled together, the jigsaw puzzle can easily be displayed on a desk or a table, increasing thereby the degree of freedom in handling the jigsaw puzzle as a decoration.

Claims

1. A jigsaw puzzle set comprising pieces which are formed based on a quadrilateral which resembles approximately a square having four sides which are each approximately 7 mm to 9 mm long, the pieces comprising a combination of a large number of basic pieces in which four sides of each piece are formed into curved sides which are curved slightly and in which a pair of confronting sides of the four sides have individually a projecting portion and the other pair of confronting sides have individually a recess portion, several tens of side pieces in which a side is formed into a straight side, a curved side which confronts the straight side has a projecting portion or a recess portion, and two sides lying at ends of the straight side have individually a recess portion or a projecting portion in such a way as to be in contrast to the confronting curved side, and four corner pieces in which two adjacent sides are individually formed into a straight side, while the remaining two sides are individually formed into a curved side, and one of the remaining two curved sides has a projecting portion, while the other has a recess portion, wherein when all the pieces are assembled, a picture is shown as a whole on surfaces of the pieces so assembled.

2. A jigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 1, wherein the projecting portions are made to project approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with proximal portions of the projecting portions being made thinner than intermediate portions of the projecting portions and are formed into a plurality of different projecting shapes whose configurations and sizes vary depending upon the types of pieces, and wherein the recess portions are made to be recessed approximately 2 mm to 3 mm with entrance portions of the recess portions being made narrower than intermediate portions of the recess portions and are formed into a plurality of different recessed shapes whose configurations and sizes vary depending upon the types of pieces.

3. A jigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the pieces is made to range from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

4. A jigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 2, wherein the thickness of the pieces is made to range from 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm.

5. A jigsaw puzzle set as set forth in claim 1, wherein a pair of tweezers which is several centimeters long is combined with the jigsaw puzzle.