Abstract:
A personalized jigsaw puzzle and a method for production of personalized puzzles are described with the personalized puzzle capable of being produced without a customized printing. The personalized jigsaw puzzle is suitable for use as an educational tool and to develop creativity. The personalized puzzle contains a picture and a customized message. Pieces making up the picture have a unique shape, while a portion of the message section pieces are identically shaped and are interchangeable. These pieces can include one or more alphanumeric characters, contain graphic art or be blank. The message section can also be customized, including having an adjustable size.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to jigsaw puzzles, and more particularly to a personalized jigsaw puzzle having a puzzle picture and a custom message. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Known jigsaw puzzles include pieces shaped to interlock with one another so as to form a picture. In typical jigsaw puzzles, each piece is shaped differently from all other pieces so that each piece may only fit in one defined position. This allows for assembling and display of a puzzle picture. In this type of puzzle, including a custom message requires reprinting the entire puzzle. 
   A personalized puzzle with a custom message is desirable as a educational tool, such as for helping children learn to spell their names. In other instances, a personalized puzzle containing a custom message is desirable to commemorate a special occasion or to provide a unique gift. However, the difficulty of reprinting a different entire puzzle for each personalized puzzle makes production of personalized puzzles expensive. There is a need for personalized puzzles and a method for producing personalized puzzles that does not require the expensive process of reprinting a different entire puzzle for each personalized puzzle. 
   If a personalized puzzle may be produced without using a custom process, the cost for each personalized puzzle can be much reduced. Furthermore, the time necessary to produce each personalized puzzle will also be much reduced. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a personalized puzzle with a custom message useful for educational and other purposes that can be produced using an easy and affordable process. 
   Different personalized puzzles may require varying amounts of room to contain a custom message. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a personalized puzzle that is adaptable to different lengths of a custom message. 
   A personalized puzzle can also help development of creativity by providing for flexibility in the assembly of the puzzle. It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a puzzle allowing for flexibility in assembly without the use of a custom process. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention therefore provides for a personalized jigsaw puzzle that can be customized without the need for a custom printing. The invention further provides a method for manufacturing a personalized puzzle. The puzzle contains a picture section and a message section. Picture section pieces have a unique shape, while at least a portion of the message section pieces have substantially identical shapes and are interchangeable. The interchangeable pieces can include one or more alphanumeric characters, contain graphic art or be blank on a top surface. 
   In other aspects of the present invention, the method includes customization of the message section. 
   In further aspects of the present invention, the method includes adjustable sizes of the message section. 
   In still further aspects of the present invention, the personalized jigsaw puzzle provides for flexibility during assembly of the puzzle. 
   These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of this invention described in connection with the drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The illustrative embodiment may best be described by reference to the accompanying drawings where: 
       FIG. 1  shows an example embodiment of the personalized jigsaw puzzle of the invention having a picture section and a message section. 
       FIG. 2  shows an example embodiment of the personalized jigsaw puzzle of the invention with the die lines shown. 
       FIG. 3  shows an example embodiment of three message pieces of the personalized jigsaw puzzle of the invention. 
   

   All figures are drawn for ease of explanation of the basic teachings of the present invention only; the extensions of the figures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of the parts to form the preferred embodiment will be explained or will be within the skill of the art after the following description has been read and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensional proportions to conform to specific specifications will likewise be within the skill of the art after the following description has been read and understood. Values provided are representative and are utilized to facilitate the description of the preferred embodiment. 
   Where used in the various figures of the drawings, the same numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms “upper,” “lower,” “side,” “end,” “bottom,” “first,” “second,” “laterally,” “longitudinally,” “row,” “column,” “array,” and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings and are utilized only to facilitate describing the illustrative embodiment. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Refer now to  FIG. 1 , which shows one example embodiment of the personalized jigsaw puzzle of the invention. The jigsaw puzzle  10  includes a picture section  12  and a personalized section  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the jigsaw puzzle  10 , when assembled, forms a sheet made up of separate puzzle pieces  16  as defined by die lines  18 . The picture section  12  is made up of picture pieces  20 . The picture pieces  20  are shaped to have extensions  22  and receptacles  24  that allow the picture pieces  20  to interlock with one another. In the preferred embodiment, each picture piece  20  has a unique shape such that the picture pieces  20  interlock together in only one conformation. This advantageously allows assembly of the picture pieces  20  to display a puzzle picture  26  on a top surface when the picture section  12  is assembled. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the personalized section  14  of the personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  of the invention is made up of message pieces  28 , such as shown in  FIG. 3 . The message pieces  28  likewise have extensions  30  and receptacles  32  that allow the message pieces  28  to interlock with one another. In the preferred embodiment, a selected portion of the personalized section  14  is made of message pieces  28  having a substantially identical shape. The identical shape allows the identically shaped message pieces  34  to be freely interchangeable with one another. Thus, there are multiple possible conformations for the personalized section  14 . Furthermore, any identically shaped message piece  34  can be substituted for any other identically shaped message piece  34 . 
   In one example embodiment, the personalized section includes corner pieces  36 , border pieces  38  and interior pieces  40 . In this preferred embodiment, all interior pieces  40  of the personalized section  14  have a substantially identical shape and may be joined with any other of the interior pieces  40 . Similarly, selected border pieces  38  can have an identical shape. For example, in this preferred embodiment, border pieces  38  forming the left border are shaped identically. Likewise, border pieces  38  forming the bottom border are shaped identically, and border pieces  38  forming the right border are shaped identically. 
   In the preferred embodiment, the picture section  12  interfaces with the personalized section  14  using pieces having extensions and receptacles that allow picture pieces  20  and message pieces  28  at the interface  42  to interlock. In this example embodiment, interface picture pieces  41  have an interface  42  that allows any of the identically shaped message pieces  34  to interlock with any of the interface picture pieces  41 . In the picture section  12 , each interface picture piece  41  has a specific position relative to the other picture pieces  20 . Conversely, in the personalized section  14 , any of the message pieces  28  can serve as any part of the interface  42 . 
   In this preferred embodiment, the interior message pieces  40  may display an alphanumeric character piece  44 , a graphic piece  46 , or may be a blank piece  48 . Alphanumeric pieces  44  can advantageously be selected to allow for composition of a custom message  50 . In one embodiment, an alphanumeric piece  44  may display a single letter or numeral. In an alternate embodiment, multiple letters may be displayed on an alphanumeric piece  44 . In yet another embodiment, the custom message  50  may combine alphanumeric pieces  44  having single letters and multiple letters. In an alternate embodiment, message pieces  28  may include a design  52  traversing multiple message pieces  28 . In this embodiment, the design  52  can be used to show the spatial relationship between adjoining message pieces  28  to assemble the custom message  50 , in addition to the aesthetic value. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other design combinations on the surface of the alphanumeric pieces  28  and graphic pieces  46  lie within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, a sequence of adjoining pieces may include letters and numbers on a banner design. 
   Such a custom message can be a name, a birth date, a birthday message, an anniversary greeting, a marriage proposal, a message to commemorate a special occasion, or any other message. Blank pieces  48  or graphic pieces  46  can be used to separate words or groupings formed by the alphanumeric pieces  44 . 
   In this preferred embodiment, alphanumeric pieces  44  are selected that allow composition of a predetermined custom message  50 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of the personalized custom puzzle lie within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, additional alphanumeric pieces  44  may be included to allow for composition of other messages as desired by an end user. 
   The invention also includes a method for producing a personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  of the invention. The method for producing a personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  provides a picture section  12 , with the picture section  12  made up of multiple picture pieces  20  interlocking with one another. In the preferred embodiment, each of the picture pieces  20  is uniquely shaped such that the picture pieces  20  interlock together in a single conformation. The top surface of the picture pieces  20  displays a complete puzzle picture when the picture pieces  20  are assembled. 
   The method for producing a personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  further includes manufacturing alphanumeric pieces  44 . In the preferred embodiment, some of the alphanumeric pieces  44  have the same shape so that they are interchangeable with one another, allowing any of the alphanumeric pieces  44  to interlock with any other of the alphanumeric pieces  44 . 
   The method for producing a personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  further includes manufacturing filler pieces  46 ,  48 . In the preferred embodiment, the filler pieces  46 ,  48  have the same shape as the alphanumeric pieces  44  so that each of the filler pieces  46 ,  48  can interlock with any of the filler pieces  46 ,  48  or any of the alphanumeric pieces  44 . Border pieces  38  are also provided to define the border of the personalized jigsaw puzzle  10 . 
   In the preferred embodiment, the picture pieces  20  of the picture section  12  are combined with alphanumeric pieces  44 . For each personalized jigsaw puzzle  10 , a custom message  50  is selected. Those alphanumeric pieces  44  allowing for assembly of the custom message  50  are selected for addition to the picture pieces  20 . Filler pieces  46 ,  48  are added, with the number of alphanumeric pieces  44  and filler pieces  46 ,  48  calculated to allow for completion of the personalized section  14 . The personalized section  14  and picture section  12  are adapted to interconnect with one another. 
   This process allows for flexible creation of personalized jigsaw puzzles  10 . Where longer messages are desired, pieces can simply be added, creating a larger puzzle having the requisite number of pieces needed to display the custom message  50 . Likewise, a shorter message can either be provided on a puzzle with fewer pieces or having more filler pieces  46 ,  48 . Thus, the method for producing a personalized jigsaw puzzle  10  further includes determining a puzzle size having sufficient pieces to display the custom message  50 . 
   As the invention disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof, some of which forms have been indicated, the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.