CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit and priority of US provisional application U.S. 63/321,689, filed Mar. 19, 1922

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to puzzle game apparatus. More specifically the present invention relates to a puzzle game comprising a removable lid for holding the puzzle pieces against the board body between uses.

BACKGROUND

Puzzle games are a popular educational pastime for children. They usually consist of a main board and a plurality of puzzle pieces. Those designed specifically as a learning tool for children of early ages often have indents of certain shapes (alphabet letters, numbers, animals, shapes, etc.) built into the main board, into which only certain puzzle pieces of corresponding shape can be inserted and thus requiring the child to learn how to match the shapes. The objective is to put these pieces into the correct slots in the puzzle board, where they fit loosely.

Most of the wooden or thick cardboard puzzles are sold shrink-wrapped, with no storage mechanism. Once opened, there is no built-in way to keep the puzzle pieces and board together, increasing the risk of losing the pieces, which as mentioned are designed to only fit loosely into the slots. This issue becomes a problem for the storage and transportation of the puzzle board and puzzle pieces when not in use. The puzzle and its pieces are limited to being able stored flat on a surface, otherwise the pieces will fall off the board. As currently constructed, the puzzle set cannot be stored vertically (like books on a shelf) on its side which would save space. The puzzle also cannot be easily transported as currently constructed as the pieces will fall out.

Some attempts to solve this problem have been made. For example, US publication 2020023267A1 describes a container to store a reinforced puzzle therein, the container including a top surface, a plurality of walls extending perpendicularly away from the top surface, an inner surface formed by the plurality of walls, such that the inner surface is a surface on a side of the container opposite from the top surface, and a lip disposed around an edge of the plurality of walls to extend perpendicularly therefrom and inwardly toward a center of the container.

The container of US2020023267A1 has a lip that wraps around the back of the reinforced puzzle, which means the container must be deformed in order to insert the puzzle, which could jostle the puzzle and cause the pieces to fall out before they are held in place by the container inner surface. Furthermore, there is no way of easily removing the reinforced puzzle from the container, and the container is not provided as an integrated set with a puzzle board for which it is specifically designed. This last point may cause additional inconvenience to the end user, since puzzles are not provided in standard sizes. A user would have to either go through the hassle of measuring to see if the container is of suitable size to accommodate their puzzle, or estimate the sizes and potentially have purchased a container which cannot fit their puzzle.

It is within this context that the present invention is provided.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a puzzle apparatus which is a combination of a main board having shaped indents, a plurality of corresponding puzzle pieces, and a deformable and detachable cover with a grip tab. The puzzle pieces can be held in place against the main board by placing the cover over, regardless of whether they are inserted in the indents or not due to the length of the cover piece side walls, allowing for easy storage and transportation without risking the pieces falling out. When a user wishes to use the puzzle the cover can be quickly and ergonomically removed via the grip tab. As the cover piece and main board are provided as a set, any number of puzzle board profiles and puzzle shapes can be achieved.

Thus, according to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a puzzle apparatus, comprising: a main board formed of a rigid flat base having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a first height, the top surface having formed therein a plurality of shaped indents of a first depth for receiving puzzle pieces; a plurality of puzzle pieces equal to the number of shaped indents of the main board, each puzzle piece having a shape corresponding to an indent, each puzzle piece having a first thickness equal to or greater than the first depth.

The apparatus further comprises a detachable cover piece, the cover piece being formed of a flexible material and having a planar surface shaped to match a profile of the top surface and bottom surface of the main board, with side walls extending from the planar surface to wrap around the main board, the side walls having a second height at least as great as the sum of the first height and the first thickness, the detachable cover piece has formed on an outer surface of the side walls a grip tab.

In some embodiments, the main board and cover piece may be rectangular in shape, and the grip tab may be formed on a corner of the cover piece side walls.

In some embodiments, the puzzle pieces are formed of a wooden material. In other embodiments, the puzzle pieces are formed of a card-based material.

In some embodiments, the cover piece is formed of silicone, plastic, or rubber.

In some embodiments, the puzzle pieces and indents are shaped into alphanumeric symbols, common geometric shapes, or arrows of varying length, thickness, and profile.

In some embodiments, the cover piece is transparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top-down view of an example configuration of a puzzle game apparatus according to the present disclosure, with a plurality of puzzle pieces inserted in respective indents of the main board, and being held in place by a transparent cover piece.

FIG. 2 illustrates a first perspective view of the example configuration.

FIG. 3 illustrates a second perspective view of the example configuration.

FIG. 4 illustrates a third perspective view of the example configuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the example configuration.

FIG. 6 illustrates a rear view of the example configuration.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures and the detailed description to indicate like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above figures are examples and that other architectures, modes of operation, orders of operation, and elements/functions can be provided and implemented without departing from the characteristics and features of the invention, as set forth in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments to illustrate the principles of the invention. The embodiments are provided to illustrate aspects of the invention, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalent; it is limited only by the claims.

Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 6, various perspective views of an example puzzle apparatus 100 are shown.

FIGS. 1-4 show different perspective views of the front of the apparatus 100, with a main board 102 having a plurality of puzzle pieces 104, which in the present example are in the form of alphanumeric shapes, inserted into indents 108, and held in place against the main board by a cover piece 106. The cover piece 106 of the present example is transparent, allowing a user to view the contents of the puzzle apparatus 100 when covered.

The cover piece 106 spans the entire front surface of the main board 102, which in the present example takes on a rectangular shaped profile with rounded edges, but which could equally well be a square, a circle, a triangle, etc. The cover piece also has side walls 112, which extend perpendicularly from the main planar part. The cover is made form a durable but flexible material such as silicone, rubber, or plastic, and the side walls 112 thus conform to and grip the outer edges of the main board 102, holding it in place without need for a lip.

The side walls 112 may be proportioned so as to be of greater depth than the main board, for example they may have a depth equal to the sum of the main board 102 thickness and the thickness of the puzzle pieces 104 themselves, thus allowing the cover piece to be placed over the main board whether the puzzle pieces have been placed in their corresponding indents 108 or not.

The cover piece is further provided with a grip tab 110, disposed on the outer surface of the side walls 112. In the present example the grip tab is placed on a corner of the cover piece to make it easy for a user to peel the cover from the main board 102, but it could equally well be placed at any portion around the sides of the board.

As with many educational puzzle games, the puzzle pieces each have a corresponding indent on the main board, and only corresponding pieces can be placed in given indents. The fit of the pieces to the indents is loose though, so the puzzle pieces will fall out unless the cover is on. The ability to quickly and easily apply a cover to hold the pieces with the main board, and the fact that the cover is provided alongside the main board and is thus specifically tailored to its shape and thickness is an advantage over the prior art.

The puzzle pieces 104 are illustrated only as alphanumeric character shapes, but they could equally well be geometric shapes, arrows, animal shapes, or any other suitable shape. Their thickness is generally greater than the depth of the indents of the main board to allow them to be easily picked out after placement.

Referring to FIG. 5, a side view of the puzzle apparatus 100 is shown, and FIG. 6 shows the same example configuration from the rear. As can be seen from these two figures, the length of the side walls 112 of the cover piece 106 allows them to extend all the way over the sides of the main board 102, completely encapsulating it about the sides.

For example, a set of suitable dimensions would have the main board being 1 cm thick, each puzzle piece being 1 cm thick, the indents for each puzzle piece being 0.5 cm deep in the board, and the cover piece being 2 cm in height. With such dimensions, if the pieces are in the assigned slot, the total height would be 1.5 cm and the cover would extend 0.5 cm past the board. On the other hand, if the puzzle pieces were loose on the top surface of the main board, the total height would be 2 cm, which the cover piece can still accommodate.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The disclosed embodiments are illustrative, not restrictive. While specific configurations of the puzzle apparatus have been described in a specific manner referring to the illustrated embodiments, it is understood that the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of solutions which fit within the scope and spirit of the claims. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.