Patent US 5,481,841

A set of tiles for covering a surface is composed of eight distinct shapes that are insect-like in that they are bilaterally symmetrical and have six leg-like projections. Each sort of tile will fit together with another tile of the set in an average of nine different ways. The tiles may be assembled jig-saw-puzzle fashion in an infinite number of distinct tilings. Ten different subsets of the eight insect-like or beetle-like tiles will tile the plane, some in several highly distinctive manners. The many and variable tiling patterns have considerable aesthetic appeal. They may be used as fabric prints, wall coverings, and the like, or as jewelry designs, or as highly efficient patterns for shaped cookies, etc. The tiles of the invention may also be used as teaching aids, or as puzzle pieces in an unlimited number of different puzzles of every level of simplicity or difficulty.