Amusement devices: games – Puzzles – Take-aparts and put-togethers
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-03
2003-05-20
Sewell, Paul T. (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Puzzles
Take-aparts and put-togethers
C273S15300J, C040S427000, C359S463000, C430S324000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06565089
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to puzzles, and more specifically, to puzzles comprising decoding lenses and encoded images. The puzzles form assembled decoded images from combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, and optionally unencoded image portions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Jigsaw picture puzzles are well known in the entertainment, amusement and toy industry. There is always a demand for new, more challenging puzzles with enhanced aesthetic appeal to provide users with more entertainment.
Jigsaw picture puzzles generally form an assembled image from a group of puzzle pieces made from a sheet-like substrate. Each of the puzzle pieces has comprised a single image portion which appears the same no matter which angle the image portion is viewed from. By assembling the image portions in a predetermined pattern, a desired assembled image is formed.
None of the prior art puzzles have employed combination decoding lens/encoded image portions. None of the known puzzles include more than one image portion per puzzle section. Accordingly, the maximum number of image portions included in any of the known puzzles is equal to the total number of puzzle sections that comprise the puzzle. Moreover, once the pieces of a prior art puzzle have been assembled, they can only form a single 2-dimensional assembled image, i.e., an image without visual depth or motion. Thus, prior art puzzles become less entertaining to a user even after just one use.
Lenticular image products are well known. These products comprise an overlying lenticular lens that decodes an underlying lenticular image. By viewing the lenticular article in different positions, a viewer will see two or more different decoded lenticular images beneath the lenticular lens. Lenticular lenses affixed to respective substrates bearing respective lens-resolvable linear-patterned encoded images are commercially available. The lines from the patterned image must be in alignment with the lenticules of the lenticular lens in order to form a readily viewable resolved image. Known lenticular lens/patterned image-bearing substrate combinations have generally met this requirement by permanently affixing the substrate directly onto the back of the lenticular lens or by directly printing the patterned image onto the back of the lenticular lens.
Such substrates in combination with lenticular lenses are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,452 to Goggins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,313 to Steenblik et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,543,964 to Taylor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,495 to Steenblik et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,335 to Fotland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,433 to Appledorn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,565 to Alasia, U.S. Pat. No. 3,538,632 to Anderson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,195 to Braunhut, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
To date, decoding, lenses have not been incorporated into a puzzle. It would be preferred to have a puzzle that has a greater number of image portions than it has of puzzle sections thereby increasing the number of assembled images that can be formed by the puzzle without increasing the number of puzzle sections in the puzzle. By incorporating combination decoding lens/encoded image portions into a puzzle, the number of assembled images that can be formed by the puzzle is significantly increased when compared to a similar puzzle not having these portions. A puzzle of this preferred construction would have improved versatility and would provide more entertainment than known puzzles. It would also be preferred to have puzzles including pieces whose observed image portion changes upon viewing from different angles, thereby significantly increasing the level of difficulty of the puzzle and providing a means by which plural 2-dimensional, true 3-dimensional or action sequence images can be formed. There is no teaching or suggestion in the art of the invention as described and claimed herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a picture puzzle having many novel and entertaining aspects and features. One aspect of the invention provides a multi-piece picture puzzle which forms two or more assembled images when the pieces are assembled. In this embodiment, the invention provides a picture puzzle comprising:
plural puzzle pieces, at least one piece of which bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, wherein one, two or more assembled images are formed when the puzzle pieces are assembled.
Another aspect of the invention provides a multi-piece picture puzzle comprising:
plural puzzle pieces, at least one piece of which bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, wherein the combination decoding lens/encoded image portion comprises at least two source images and two or more assembled images are formed when the puzzle pieces are assembled.
While some embodiments of the invention provide an asymmetrically shaped puzzle, other embodiments provide a symmetrically shaped puzzle. Still other embodiments of the invention provide a puzzle shaped as a circle, triangle, oval, square, rectangle, pentagon, parallelogram, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, multi-sided polygon having nine or more sides, a three- to twenty-pointed star, cross or profile of a person, place or thing.
In preferred embodiments, the puzzle pieces can be assembled correctly in more than one manner to form the two or more assembled images; the puzzle further comprises retaining means which maintain the pieces of the puzzle adjacent one another; the puzzle comprises at least two puzzle pieces; each of at least a majority of the puzzle pieces bears one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions; the decoding lenses are oriented differently or the same relative to one another when the puzzle is assembled; their are two or more different types of decoding lenses; each puzzle piece has an upper and lower surface and one or more of the puzzle pieces includes one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions on each surface; one or more puzzle pieces are edible or made from comestible materials; the puzzle pieces are flexible, semi-rigid or rigid; or different assembled images can be observed by viewing the assembled puzzle from different angles.
The assembled images can include text, graphics, colored patches, buildings, people, animals, food, toys, weapons, machinery, caricatures, fanciful figures, logos, letters, spaceships, and air, land or water borne vehicles, geometric patterns, irregular shapes, 2-dimensional images, 3-dimensional images or action sequence images, i.e. any image imaginable.
Edible materials can include, for example, decoding lens that comprise a substantially transparent candy material, a flexible or rigid material containing juice syrup or residue, a carbohydrate, a sweetener, an edible polymer, or other flavored and/or nutritious material.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method of preparing a picture puzzle comprising one or more combination decoding lens/encoded image portions, the method comprising the steps of:
1) providing a sheet type substrate;
2a) placing an encoded image portion on one or more sections of the substrate and superposing each of the encoded image portions with a respective decoding lens that decodes the encoded image portion to form a puzzle master; or
2b) attaching a preformed decoding lens bearing one or more encoded image portions on one of its surfaces to the substrate such that the encoded image portions are between the substrate and the lens to form a puzzle master; and
3) cutting the puzzle master into a plurality of puzzle pieces.
The method of the invention can further comprise one or more of the following steps:
a) repeating step 1) one or more times;
b) repeating step 2a) one or more times;
c) repeating step 2b) one or more times;
d) placing one or more image portions that are not encoded on the sheet or the decoding lens;
e) providing one or more additional substrates;
f) packaging the puzzle into a container;
g) preassembling the puzzle; or
h) providin
Innovar L.L.C.
Legesse Nini F.
Matos Rick
Sewell Paul T.
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