Devices for holding books are well known in the art. For example, devices have been patented for providing a bookrack which is detachable from a chair in Baker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,474. Other book racks have been developed for providing tall displays of books, such as in Kelly et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,242. Book racks have also been disclosed which are portable and/or adjustable. See for example, Petryszak, U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,420 and McKearin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,624. Gold discloses bookracks formed from standard interlocking pieces in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,595,105 and 4,759,449.
There have also been disclosures in which books have employed puzzles in association with the book. See for example, McQueeny, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,112 and Koehn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,471.
However, none of the prior art references teach or suggest that a book rack could be formed from puzzle pieces. A bookrack which is formed from puzzle pieces would have significant advantages over those of the prior art. Specifically, a book rack made from puzzle pieces would be a useful educational tool for children learning spatial relationships of objects. Additionally, the puzzle pieces would add fun to the construction of a bookrack. Further, the puzzle pieces could be made of varying complexity to add to the challenge of puzzle construction, or the pieces could be made interchangeable to assist in fostering imaginative skills, or the pieces could also be designed to form a floor puzzle when not in a book rack configuration.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds