| Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces -> Monitor Keywords |
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Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped piecesPuzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060170156, Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of my prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/265,054, entitled "Decorative Objects and Method for Making Same" (now U.S. Pat. No. ______) and claims priority from my prior provisional application 60/327,883, entitled "Decorative Pictures Using Textile as Abstract Liquid Paint." Each said application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] Textiles are used for a number of decorative and utilitarian purposes, including screens, drapes, furniture covers, and wall hangings. They may be formed of one or more pieces of cloth, with designs woven into the fabric or printed or tie-dyed. Non-woven fabrics, plastic films, and other flexible sheet-like materials may be substituted for traditional woven textiles in many of these applications. [0003] Quilts are decorative objects typically assembled from individual pieces of flexible materials such as multiple scraps of patterned cloth which are sewn together to create a large design which may be geometrical, abstract, or even representational. The resultant two dimensional assembly can then be used s material from which jackets and other clothing may be fabricated, or can be used as an ornamental hanging or covering. Other decorative two-dimensional objects such as walls, windows, floors, and table tops have traditionally been assembled from rigid shaped pieces of stone, ceramic, glass, and/or wood, each individual piece being provided with a distinctive color, texture, and/or pattern. [0004] A so-called "jig saw" puzzle comprises a number of irregularly shaped pieces that are to be fitted together to form a picture. The individual pieces have distinctive shapes that are typically unique and are covered with a corresponding piece of the overall picture such that they can be assembled in only one configuration which when assembled reveals the overall design. The player is able to use both complementary shapes and overlapping design elements as clues as to how the pieces should be assembled. Frequently the puzzle pieces are accompanied with an additional clue in the form of a reduced size print of the overall design. Such puzzles not only are entertainment but also can provide intellectually stimulating and rewarding education and therapy. BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION [0005] The present invention is generally concerned with decorative objects, puzzles, and the like, in which a larger picture is assembled from individual pieces each having a distinctive visual design element (such as geometric patterns, abstract designs, cartoons, and/or photographic images, possibly with variations in color, texture, orientation, and/or proportion). [0006] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a "mat" board is provided with a line drawing of the completed picture partitioned into individual design segments, onto which the player places correspondingly shaped individual "pieces". In some embodiments the picture on the mat board is camouflaged with additional lines or other design elements which have no relationship with the individual pieces, while in other embodiments both the segments and the corresponding pieces are provided with additional "clues" to identify which piece of the puzzle is to be placed on which design segment on the mat board. [0007] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, individual pieces may be constructed of various types of materials, which may include not only a relatively flexible material which covers a relatively rigid backing piece, but also less flexible wrappings, more flexible backings, as well as rigid pieces constructed from a single layer of a rigid material, flexible pieces constructed only from flexible materials, and pieces having a three-dimensional shape which complements the surface configuration of the mat board and/or which provides an additional spatial dimension to the completed picture. In other embodiments, the pieces are assembled without underlying any mat board or without the assistance of any drawing of the completed picture. [0008] In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the design depicted on the mat board only approximates the size and shape of the individual pieces, the individual pieces do not fit together in a precise fashion, and the mat board is provided with a border region into which the assembled pieces may extend, thereby giving greater freedom to the manner in which the individual pieces may be constructed and/or more possibilities to the manner in which the pieces may be assembled, not all of which are necessarily correct or desirable. [0009] In accordance with other aspects of the invention, various means are provided to define the shapes of the individual pieces and to retain each piece to the mat board. [0010] In still another aspect of the invention, computer graphics technology is used to determine the overall configuration of the completed picture, as well as to section the picture into individual design segments, and to provide each design segment with distinctive patterns, textures, colors, orientations, and/or other design elements, preferably in the form of computer generated objects in a virtual display. Once the desired selections have been made and adjusted to the user's satisfaction, the computer may then be used to print a completed ornamental design on a single sheet of paper or fabric (or equivalently, the complete design is decomposed into cells each a previously defined standard size and shape and the design cells are then printed on individual tiles having that size and shape). Alternatively the computer can specify and/or fabricate the individual distinctively shaped components from which such a design may subsequently be constructed. In any such computerized embodiment, the individual elements may exist as separate elements only as numbers in a computer memory or as graphics displayed on a computer screen; any desired reconfiguration of the individual elements and any required assembly of the elements into a completed design is performed only in a virtual reality. Alternatively, even if the various shapes and patterns are printed in a computer controlled process as a completed design on the same sheet of paper or fabric, the individual sections of the design may subsequently be manually cut into individual puzzle pieces for subsequent re-assembly. [0011] The invention is defined in the appended claims, some of which may be directed to some or all of the broader aspects of the invention set forth above, while other claims may be directed to specific novel and advantageous features and combinations of features that will be apparent from the Detailed Description of certain exemplary embodiments that follows. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0012] FIG. 1 shows a mat board on which an exemplary design has been drawn or printed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0013] FIG. 2 shows a pattern board on which an outline for the individual backing pieces required to form the design of FIG. 1 has been die-cut or otherwise specified. [0014] FIG. 3 (comprising FIG. 3A through FIG. 3D) shows steps in covering a shaped backing piece with a corresponding piece of fabric, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the pattern board of FIG. 2 after it has been cut or separated into individual backing pieces with each piece decorated with an appropriate piece of fabric and about to be mounted onto the mat board of FIG. 1. [0016] FIG. 5 shows the individual decorated pieces of FIG. 4 mounted to the board of FIG. 1. [0017] FIG. 6 shows how a single object may be divided into components, and how each component may be further divided to emphasize the physical characteristics of that component, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 7 shows how a printed design on the mat board of FIG. 1 may be camouflaged to provide a more challenging puzzle, in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 8 shows how individual segments of the design of FIG. 7 may be specially marked for easier identification. [0020] FIG. 9 (comprising FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B) shows how the individual decorated pieces used to complete the puzzle of FIG. 7 may be marked for convenient correlation with the marked segments of FIG. 8. [0021] FIG. 10 (comprising views FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B, FIG. 10C, and FIG. 10D) shows how an exemplary decorated piece (shown in orthogonal views FIG. 1A, FIG. 10B, and FIG. 10C) may be guided into its proper postion on a mat (exploded view FIG. 10C and FIG. 10D) by means of matching projections and openings. Continue reading about Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces... Full patent description for Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Puzzles and other two dimensional visual designs made from distinctively shaped pieces patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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