US20070266911A1

US20070266911A1 - Puzzle Platform Apparatus And Method

Info

Publication number: US20070266911A1
Application number: US11/419,104
Authority: US
Inventors: Laura Lee
Original assignee: JO-ANN STORES SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Inc
Current assignee: JO-ANN STORES Inc
Priority date: 2006-05-18
Filing date: 2006-05-18
Publication date: 2007-11-22

Abstract

A puzzle building platform and method of supporting a puzzle are disclosed. The puzzle building platform can include a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface and at least one bar-like member cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation with respect to the first surface piece to at least one of: (i) establish a boundary approximate to the dimensions of a puzzle to be assembled on the first surface; or (ii) temporarily hold puzzle pieces in convenient view to be assembled in a puzzle on the first surface.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to jigsaw puzzles, and more particularly, a puzzle-building platform for assembling a jigsaw puzzle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Jigsaw puzzles typically are assembled on flat surfaces such as tables. While simple puzzles only may take a short time to assemble, it may take days or even weeks to complete more complex puzzles. As a result, the puzzle may occupy a table or other surface for an extended period of time, during which the surface cannot be used for any other purpose.
A person building a puzzle may spread the puzzle pieces out on the table or other surface for viewing and to facilitate their placement in the puzzle. When assembling larger puzzles, the spread of the puzzle pieces may consume a substantial amount of space on the table top. The spread of the puzzle pieces also makes it difficult for a puzzle builder to view and select puzzle pieces to assemble in the puzzle, and the builder may too easily lose concentration or focus on which piece is sought to be placed. Sometimes, a puzzle builder is forced inconveniently to lean or stretch across the table top to see or pick-up a puzzle piece.
Another problem associated with puzzle building is that the puzzle builder initially does not have an outline of the exact puzzle dimensions and, therefore, must approximate where the edge and corner pieces of the puzzle should be placed. The puzzle builder may have to wait until all of the edge pieces are assembled before determining the puzzle's dimensions, which may slow construction.
A person also may desire to mount and frame a puzzle after completion, for example by using a sealant or glue to hold the puzzle pieces together permanently so that the completed puzzle may be framed and hung on a wall for display. Depending on where the builder has assembled the puzzle, it may be difficult or impossible to apply glue or sealant to the puzzle without damaging the table or other surface on which the puzzle is built. The puzzle builder may undesirably be forced to move the puzzle to a different work surface or location by sliding or lifting the puzzle, which may cause the puzzle pieces to fall apart. Thus, the puzzle builder seeking to mount and frame the finished puzzle may have to move and/or rebuild portions of the puzzle or risk damaging the puzzle building surface when applying sealant or glue.

SUMMARY

The invention relates to a puzzle building platform including a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface, at least one bar-like member cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation with respect to the first surface piece to at least one of: (i) establish a boundary approximate to the dimensions of a puzzle to be assembled on the first surface, or (ii) temporarily hold puzzle pieces in convenient view to be assembled in a puzzle on the first surface.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a puzzle building platform including a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface, a bar-like member cooperative with and mountable to the first surface piece to establish a boundary on the flat top surface at which pieces of a puzzle may be assembled.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a puzzle building platform including a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface and a number of bar-like members cooperative with and mountable in relatively fixed locations on the first surface to support in convenient view puzzle pieces to be assembled in a puzzle on the flat top surface.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method of supporting a puzzle including establishing a puzzle boundary on a substantially flat surface of a puzzle building support by mounting a bar-like member in a relatively fixed location on such substantially flat surface, and
assembling a puzzle on the substantially flat surface.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention. These embodiments, however, are merely indicative of a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
Although the invention is shown and described with respect to one or more preferred embodiments, it is obvious that equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. The present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications, and is limited only by the scope of the claims.
In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may be described below with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, which are not drawn to scale:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a puzzle building apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a puzzle building apparatus with multiple bar-like members.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bar-like member.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an assembly of multiple puzzle building surface pieces.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of three assembled puzzle building surface pieces.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view of two puzzle building surface pieces separated apart on a connecting support.

FIG. 5C is an exploded perspective view of an assembly of three puzzle building surface pieces.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of four puzzle building pieces arranged in a 2×2 array.

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of six puzzle building pieces arranged in a 3×2 array.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers designate like parts in the several Figures, and initially to FIG. 1, a puzzle building platform 10 includes a first surface piece 12, which has a substantially flat top surface 13 and at least one bar-like member 14. The first surface piece 12 is rectangular, e.g., approximately the shape of a square, or it may be another shape, e.g., triangular, pentagonal, or even a curved. The first surface piece 12 may be constructed from any lightweight solid material such as, for example, plastic, wood, metal, or composite, e.g. pressed board, resin, etc. The first surface piece 12 may be solid or hollow.
The first surface piece 12 has at least one bar-like member 14 that establishes a boundary for assembling a puzzle on the top surface 13 and/or also supports puzzle pieces 15 in convenient view of the puzzle builder to be assembled in a puzzle on the puzzle building platform 10. The bar-like member 14, further described below, is cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation on the substantially flat top surface 13. The bar-like member 14 is placed above the plane formed by the substantially flat top surface 13. The bar-like member 14 establishes an edge or stop surface above the plane of the substantially flat top surface beyond which the puzzle pieces are prevented from extending beyond once placed.
Using multiple bar-like members 14, the puzzle builder can pre-establish, define, or bound one or more outside edges or dimensions of a selected puzzle intended to be assembled on the puzzle building platform 10. In other words, the puzzle builder can arrange the bar-like member(s) 14 to establish a boundary or bound an area on the substantially flat top surface that resembles the actual puzzle dimensions.
A drawer 16 provides an easy and convenient place for storing the puzzle pieces 18. The drawer 16 may be slid in or out of the first surface piece 12 by any conventional drawer mounting apparatus such as, for example, a track, slide, etc., and also may have a handle 20, knob or another manipulating device. Puzzle pieces 18 may be stored easily and conveniently within the drawer 16. The puzzle pieces 18 may be temporarily stored, such as when the puzzle builder is in the process of building a puzzle, or stored for an extended period of time, such as when the puzzle building platform is not in use.
In one embodiment, the surface piece may be a twelve-inch square hollow box having a two-inch height. A one-inch deep drawer may slide in and out of the hollow area created by the hollow box. It will be appreciated, however, that the surface piece and drawer may have different dimensions to accommodate different size puzzles or to meet the puzzle builder's needs.
The substantially flat top surface 13 may have a plurality of evenly spaced peg holes 24, which may be preformed in the surface, e.g. pegboard, or formed in another manner, such as, for example, with a drill. In one embodiment, the peg holes 24 are spaced to correspond to the spaces between the peg-like members on the bottom surface of the bar-like member 14, as described below. The substantially flat top surface 13 may be constructed from the same material as the first surface piece or may be constructed by or coated with a relatively non-slip material, such as, for example rubber, such that the puzzle pieces are not slid easily on the top surface. Such a surface or coating may be useful if the puzzle building platform is used in an bumpy or rough environment, such as, for example, when traveling in a car, boat or airplane, etc.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the puzzle building platform 10 may have multiple bar-like members 14 that are cooperative with and mountable in relatively fixed orientation on the substantially flat top surface 13. The bar-like members 14 may be arranged such that they bound in several directions an area 26 on the substantially flat top surface 13 that resembles or duplicates the actual dimensions of the puzzle to be built, which may facilitate the puzzle building process.
FIG. 2B depicts an alternative embodiment of the puzzle building platform 10 with multiple bar like members 14. Similar to FIG. 2A, the bar-like members 14 may be arranged to bound in several directions an area 26 on the substantially flat top surface 13 within which a puzzle may be assembled. It will be appreciated that several bar-like members, which may be the same or different sizes, can be arranged to establish the boundary of a puzzle with any dimensions.
A bar-like member 14 is depicted in greater detail in FIG. 3. The bar-like member 14 has a face portion 30 and a ridge 32. The face portion 30 may have a curve, slant, or other shape to facilitate the support and display of the puzzle pieces 15. The ridge 32, extends lengthwise along the bottom of the bar-like member 14 and is cooperative with the face portion 30 to support a puzzle piece 15 or multiple puzzle pieces for temporary display in convenient view of the puzzle builder.
Once the puzzle pieces 15 are displayed on the bar-like member 14, the puzzle builder may select a puzzle piece 15 for assembly into the puzzle or may remove some or all of the displayed puzzle pieces and replace them with different puzzle pieces as desired, for example, if one or more of the displayed puzzle pieces cannot yet be placed within the puzzle or to provide a greater variety of puzzle pieces for display.
The bottom surface of the bar-like member 14 has at least one peg or peg-like member 36 that is insertable into at least one peg hole 24 in the substantially flat top surface 13. In one embodiment, multiple peg-like members 36 are spaced evenly along the bottom surface of the bar-like member 14 in a manner that corresponds to the spacing of the peg holes 24 in the substantially flat top surface 13. The multiple peg-like members 36 cooperate with, i.e., are insertable into, the peg holes 24 in the substantially flat top surface 13 so that the bar-like member can be mounted in a relatively fixed orientation. Once the peg-like members 36 are inserted into the peg holes 24, the bar-like member 14 can be placed to establish a boundary for building a jigsaw puzzle, and multiple bar-like members can be arranged to bound in several directions an area for assembling a puzzle.
In one embodiment the bar-like member 14 is twelve-inches in length and one-inch in depth, however, it will be appreciated that the length of the bar-like member 14 may be varied to display more or less puzzle pieces, large or small puzzle pieces, or to establish the boundary of a larger or smaller jigsaw puzzle, etc. It will also be appreciated that the bottom surface of the bar-like member may be slightly sloped such that the border pieces of the puzzle may be wedged between the space created by the sloped bottom surface and the substantially flat top surface thereby holding the puzzle pieces in a relatively fixed position.
Another embodiment of the puzzle building platform is depicted in FIG. 4. An elongate surface 40 is formed from a first surface piece 42 and second surface 44, which may be substantially identical to the first surface piece 12 described above, including a substantially flat top surface, drawer, etc. The first and second surface pieces 42, 44 cooperatively interact with one another along a line of contact 46, and may cooperatively interact with one another via any conventional mechanism, such as, for example, pins, notches, hooks, slots, etc., or any combination thereof.
A bar-like member 14 may be mounted on the elongate surface 40 in a relatively fixed orientation. A plurality of bar-like members 14 may be mounted to and cooperatively engaged to the elongate surface 40 to bound in several directions an area at which the pieces of a puzzle may be assembled, as described with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B. The bar like member 14 also may support puzzle pieces in convenient view of puzzle builder for selection and assembly into a puzzle to be assembled on the elongate surface 40.
As shown in FIG. 5A, a first and second surface piece 52, 54 may cooperatively interact with a third surface piece 56 along lines of contact 66, 67 to form an elongate surface 50. The surface pieces may be cooperatively engaged to each other by any conventional mechanism, such as, for example, pins, notches, hooks, slots, etc., or any combination thereof. The elongate surface 50 also may have a bar-like member 14 to establish a boundary at which a puzzle may be assembled or multiple bar-like members 14 may bound in several directions an area at which pieces of a puzzle may be assembled. As described above, the bar-like member(s) 14 may support puzzle pieces 15 for display in convenient view of the puzzle builder for assembly into a puzzle on the elongate surface 50.
The elongate surface 50 also may be constructed as shown in FIG. 5B. A first surface piece 52 and a second surface piece 54, which are substantially identical to the surface piece 12 described above with respect to FIG. 1, are engaged to one another via a connecting support 58, such as a slide track or other sliding mechanism, such as, for example, a slidable bar, a slide track, a ball bearing mechanism, etc. As shown in FIG. 5A, a third surface piece 56, which includes a substantially flat top surface, etc., is insertable between the first surface piece 52 and the second surface piece 54. The cooperative interaction between the first 52, second 54 and third 56 surface pieces forms the elongate surface 50.
The elongate surface 50 also may be constructed from three surface pieces 52, 54, 56, as depicted in FIG. 5C. As illustrated, the surface pieces each have pins and/or notches for engaging one another. The pins 59 of the first surface piece 52 may be inserted into notches 60 of the third surface piece 56. The pins 62 of the third surface piece 56 may be inserted into the notches 60 of the second surface piece 54. When combined, the three surface pieces 52, 54, 56 form an elongate surface 50, similar to that depicted in FIG. 5A.
It will be appreciated that the pins 59 of the first surface piece 52 may be inserted into the notches 60 in the second surface piece 54 to form an elongate surface similar to the elongate surface 40 depicted in FIG. 4, thereby easily allowing the puzzle builder to increase or decrease the surface area of the puzzle building platform. It also will be appreciated that the notches and pins may be formed in any arrangement such that they interact with one another to form an elongate surface. Further, it will be appreciated that cooperative engaging mechanisms or systems other than those described herein may be used to engage the three surface pieces to one another.
FIGS. 6A and 6B depict several surface pieces arranged in an array to form large composite surface for building a jigsaw puzzle. Referring to FIG. 6A, a large composite surface 70 is formed from first, second, third and fourth surface pieces, each of which are substantially identical to one another and depicted generally by reference numeral 10. The four surface pieces 10 are arranged in a 2×2 array to form the large composite surface 70. The surface pieces 10 are attached to one another along lines of attachment 72, 74 and may be attached by any conventional attaching mechanism, such as, for example, pins, notches, hooks, slots, etc., or any combination thereof. It will be appreciated that two elongate surfaces 40, as described in FIG. 4, or a slidable system without the third surface piece 56 as described with respect to FIG. 5A, also may be attached to one another in a similar manner to achieve the same 2×2 array.
One or more bar-like members 14 may be disposed on the top of the large composite surface 70 to establish a boundary or bound in several directions an area 76 which a jigsaw puzzle may be built. Although the bar-like members 14 depicted in FIG. 6A are along the outer edge of the large composite surface 70, it will be appreciated that the bar-like members 14 may be placed in any desired orientation to approximate the dimensions of and/or accommodate puzzles of different shapes and sizes as described with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
FIG. 6B depicts a large composite surface 78 formed from by a 3×2 array of surface pieces. The 3×2 array may be formed from six individual surface pieces 10, as described with respect to FIG. 6A, or by combining three elongate surface pieces 40, as described with respect to FIG. 4, or by combining two elongate surface pieces 50 as described with respect to FIG. 5A. The surface pieces or elongate surfaces may be attached to each other as described with respect to the 2×2 array of FIG. 6A. Similarly, a bar-like member or multiple bar-like members 14 may be placed in a relatively fixed orientation on the large composite surface 78 to establish a boundary or bound in several directions an area for assembling a jigsaw puzzle. It will be appreciated that the bar-like members 14 may be placed in any desired orientation to approximate the dimensions of and/or accommodate puzzles of different shapes and sizes as described with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B.

It will be appreciated that multiple surfaces pieces or elongate surfaces may be attached to one another in a similar manner to create a large composite surface of any desired size, such as, for example, a 2×4 array, a 3×4 array, a 4×6 array, etc.

It also will be appreciated that the elongate or composite surface pieces may have one or more drawers. The drawers may on the any of the sides of the surface pieces, including those hidden from view in the figures. It also is possible that some or all of the surface pieces may not have a drawer, for example so that the surface piece can accommodate the connecting support described above with respect to FIG. 5B, or for some other purpose.
The surfaces pieces described above may be any number of different sizes or shapes, including, for example, a circle, rectangle, square, triangle etc., to accommodate any of a number of different sized and shaped puzzles.
In using the puzzle building platform described herein, a puzzle builder may assemble a puzzle on a substantially flat surface of a puzzle building support, such as, for example, the puzzle building support described with respect to FIG. 1. The puzzle builder may mount a bar-like member at a relatively fixed location on the substantially flat top surface of the puzzle building support to establish a boundary for a puzzle. The puzzle builder also may mount multiple bar-like members at relatively fixed locations on the substantially flat surface to bound in multiple directions an area at which a puzzle may be assembled. The bar-like members can be arranged to outline or simulate the dimensions of the puzzle to be assembled by mounting the bar-like members at different locations on the substantially flat surface.
The puzzle builder also may use the bar-like member to temporarily display puzzle pieces such that the puzzle builder can select pieces for assembly into the puzzle. The puzzle builder also may use the bar-like member as a tray to support or display puzzle pieces temporarily and in convenient view for selection and assembly into the puzzle. The puzzle builder may support the puzzle pieces with the bar-like member by placing the pieces so that one edge of the puzzle piece is supported by a ridge located at the bottom of the bar-like member and the back of the puzzle piece is supported by a slanted or sloped face of the bar-like member. The puzzle builder may rotate or exchange the puzzle pieces displayed on the bar-like member after assembling a piece into the puzzle or if the builder wants to view additional or different puzzle pieces.
The puzzle builder also may use a drawer, which is positionable within the puzzle building support, to store puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces can be stored temporarily, such as form when the puzzle building support is being used to support a puzzle, or more permanently, such as when the puzzle building support is not being used.
In order to accommodate larger puzzles, the puzzle builder may combine multiple puzzle building supports to create an elongate surface or a large composite surface on which a puzzle may be assembled. The puzzle builder may cooperatively engage an additional puzzle building support to the first puzzle building support to form an elongate surface on which a puzzle may be assembled. The additional puzzle building support may be substantially identical to the first puzzle building support and may be cooperatively engaged to the first puzzle building support by an conventional mechanism, such as, for example, hooks, slots, notches, pins, and the like, or any combination thereof.
The puzzle builder also may cooperatively engage several individual puzzle building supports to one another to form a large composite surface. Alternatively, the puzzle builder may cooperatively engage an additional or several additional elongate surfaces to create the composite surface. It will also be appreciated that the puzzle builder may cooperatively engage several surface pieces or elongate surfaces to form large composite surfaces of varying sizes, such as, for example, 2×2, 3×3, or 2×3 arrays, etc., upon which larger jigsaw puzzles. Further it will be appreciated that the individual puzzle building supports or elongate puzzle surfaces can be cooperatively engaged or attached to one another as described above to create the large composite surface.
Once the puzzle is assembled, the builder can spread glue, sealant, or any other conventional adhesive across the top surface of the puzzle to fix the puzzled pieces in a relatively permanent manner. The puzzle builder then may mount and/or framing the puzzle for display. The puzzle building platform, as described herein, may provide a surface for the user to apply glue or sealant to the assembled puzzle and also may reduce the risk that glue or sealant will permanently damage any other surfaces, for example, a table or other surface on which a puzzle may be assembled or upon which the puzzle building platform may be supported. Any overspray or splashing from the adhesive or sealant likely will land on the surface pieces rather than a table or other surface, thereby preventing the table or other surface from being damaged.
Alternatively, the puzzle builder may desire to move the puzzle to a different location to apply the adhesive or to mount and frame the assembled puzzle, such as, for example, to a work room or workshop, or the builder may wish to lift the puzzle to place paper or some other protective material underneath the puzzle to protect the table or other surface from being damaged by the adhesive or sealant. The builder may easily and conveniently lift and/or move the assembled puzzle by lifting the puzzle building platform or the surface pieces on which the puzzle is fully or partially assembled. The builder may then transport the puzzle building platform or surface pieces to a new location, or place a protective material beneath the puzzle building platform or surface pieces while keeping the assembled puzzle in tact. The puzzle building platform therefore allows the builder to lift or move the assembled or partially assembled puzzle without sliding or grabbing the assembled puzzle pieces, which reduces the chance that the builder will have to rebuild portions of the puzzle in order to move the puzzle.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope, but includes all changes, modifications and equivalents coming within the spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto.

Claims

1. A puzzle building platform comprising:

a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface;

at least one bar-like member cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation with respect to the first surface piece to at least one of:

i establish a boundary approximate to the dimensions of a puzzle to be assembled on the first surface; or

ii temporarily hold puzzle pieces in convenient view to be assembled in a puzzle on the first surface.

2. The puzzle building apparatus of claim 1 wherein the substantially flat top surface has a plurality of spaced holes and the bar-like member has at least one peg-like member insertable into at least one hole on the substantially flat top surface.

3. The puzzle building apparatus of claim 2 wherein the substantially flat top surface is a pegboard.

4. The puzzle building apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first surface piece further comprises a hollow box with a drawer positionable inside the hollow box.

5. The puzzle building apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second surface piece with a substantially flat top surface;

wherein said first and second surface pieces cooperatively interact with each other to form an elongate surface for building a puzzle.

6. The puzzle building platform of claim 5 wherein the bar-like member is cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation with respect to the elongate surface.

7. The puzzle building platform of claim 5 wherein the bar-like member supports puzzle pieces in a convenient view to be assembled in a puzzle on the elongate surface.

8. The puzzle building platform of claim 5 wherein the second surface piece further comprises a hollow box with a drawer positionable inside the hollow box.

9. The puzzle building platform of claim 5 further comprising at least one additional elongate surface formed by a pair of third and fourth surface pieces that are substantially identical to the first and second surface pieces of claim 5, wherein the elongate surface and the at least one additional elongate surface attach to one another to form a large composite surface.

10. The puzzle building platform of claim 5 further comprising a third surface piece with a substantially flat top surface wherein the third surface piece cooperatively interacts between the first and second surface pieces to form the elongate surface for building a puzzle.

11. The puzzle building platform of claim 10 wherein the bar-like member is cooperative with and mountable in a relatively fixed orientation with respect to the elongate surface.

12. The puzzle building platform of claim 10 wherein the second and third surface pieces further comprise hollow boxes with drawers positionable inside the hollow area formed by the hollow box.

13. The puzzle building platform of claim 10 further comprising at least one additional elongate surface formed by three surface pieces that are substantially identical to respective first, second and third surface pieces of claim 10, wherein the elongate surface and the at least one additional elongate surface attach to one another to form a large composite surface.

14. The puzzle building platform of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of bar-like members cooperative with and mountable in relatively fixed locations on the elongate surface to bound in several directions an area at which pieces of a puzzle may be assembled.

15. A puzzle building platform comprising:

a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface;

a bar-like member cooperative with and mountable to the first surface piece to establish a boundary on the flat top surface at which pieces of a puzzle may be assembled.

16. The puzzle building platform of claim 15 further comprising a number of bar-like members to bound in several directions an area at which pieces of a puzzle may be assembled.

17. The puzzle building platform of claim 15 wherein the substantially flat top surface has a plurality of peg holes and the bar-like member has a bottom surface and at least one peg-like member attached to said bottom surface and mountable to at least one peg hole at a relatively fixed location on the first surface piece.

18. A puzzle building platform comprising:

a first surface piece with a substantially flat top surface; and

a number of bar-like members cooperative with and mountable in relatively fixed locations on the first surface to support in convenient view puzzle pieces to be assembled in a puzzle on the flat top surface.

19. A method of supporting a puzzle comprising:

establishing a puzzle boundary on a substantially flat surface of a first puzzle building support by mounting a bar-like member in a relatively fixed location on such substantially flat surface; and

assembling a puzzle on the substantially flat surface.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising mounting multiple bar-like members in relatively fixed locations to bound such area in multiple directions on the substantially flat surface.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of temporarily placing puzzle pieces for display on the bar-like member.

22. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of using the bar-like member as a tray to support and display puzzle pieces for assembly into the puzzle.

23. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of storing puzzle pieces in a drawer that is positionable within in the first puzzle building support.

24. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of cooperatively engaging at least one additional puzzle building support piece to the first puzzle building support to form an elongate surface.