U.S. patent application number 12/911126 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-21 for construction toy.
Invention is credited to Rabah Aggar, Smail Aggar.
Application Number | 20110092129 12/911126 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39637072 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110092129 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Aggar; Rabah ; et
al. |
April 21, 2011 |
CONSTRUCTION TOY
Abstract
A construction toy set comprising a plurality of first rod or
block elements having a torus at one or both ends, a plurality of
second rod elements having a C-shaped gripping clip at both ends
and a plurality of third rod or block elements having a torus
connecting element at one end and a c-shaped gripping clip at the
other end. These rod and brick elements are assembled in a
combination of different ways to create two and three dimensional
structures.
Inventors: |
Aggar; Rabah; (Chingford,
GB) ; Aggar; Smail; (Chingford, GB) |
Family ID: |
39637072 |
Appl. No.: |
12/911126 |
Filed: |
October 25, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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PCT/GB2008/001456 |
Apr 24, 2008 |
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12911126 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
446/85 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 33/062 20130101;
A63H 33/101 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/85 |
International
Class: |
A63H 33/04 20060101
A63H033/04 |
Claims
1. A construction toy set, comprising: at least one of a first type
of construction element and at least one of a second type of
construction element, wherein the first type of construction
element has a central body portion with a torus portion at one or
both ends of the body portion, and the second type of construction
element has a central body portion with a C-shaped gripping clip at
both ends of the body portion, wherein the C-shaped gripping clip
is configured to detachably grip a torus portion of a construction
element of the first type.
2. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein the body
portion of at least one of the first or second type of construction
element comprises a block portion formed with a top surface,
peripheral side walls and a bottom base.
3. A construction toy set according to claim 1, further comprising
at least one of a third type of construction element having a
central body portion with a torus portion at one end of the body
portion and a C-shaped gripping clip at the other end of the body
portion, the C-shaped gripping clip being configured to detachably
grip a torus portion of a construction element of the first or
third type, and wherein the C-shaped gripping clip of the second
type of construction element is configured to detachably grip a
torus portion of a construction element of the first type and the
third type.
4. A construction toy set according to claim 2, wherein the at
least one bottom base is formed hollow and with one or more
cylindrical tubes extending from the inner face of said hollow
bottom base.
5. A construction toy set according to claim 2, wherein the at
least one top surface is formed with one or more rows of one or
more cylindrical studs projecting upwardly from the top
surface.
6. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein at least
one of any said construction elements includes at least one torus
element and/or at least one U-shaped gripping socket between its
ends.
7. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein the body
portion of at least one construction element is formed in two
sections, one section having a stem formed with external screw
threads, the other section being formed with internal screw threads
to accommodate the said external screw threads so that the length
of said construction element can be adjusted.
8. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein the body
portion of at least one of said construction elements is formed in
two sections, one section having a generally cylindrical stem, the
other section being formed with a bore in which the said stem is
received and removably retained by friction, thereby creating a
composite construction element of variable length.
9. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein the body
portion of at least one said construction elements has a cross
section approximately equal to the internal diameter of the said
C-shaped gripping clip so that a C-shaped gripping clip of one
construction element can be connected and be detachably retained by
the body of another construction element.
10. A construction toy set according to claim 1, wherein two sets
of said second type of construction elements are provided, the
first set having a first length and the second set having a second
length.
11. A construction toy set according to claim 10, wherein said
second length equals the diagonal of a square formed of four first
construction elements of the first length as sides, coupled with
each other in correspondence of the corners of the square by four
torus elements.
12. A construction toy set according to claim 10, wherein said
second length equals half of the diagonal of a square formed of
four first rod elements of the set length as sides, coupled with
each other in correspondence of the corners of the square by four
torus elements, minus the external radius of the torus element.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates to a construction toy set for
building two and three dimensional structures.
[0002] These construction sets are known which are formed of a
plurality of rod or block elements having a C-shaped clip attached
at both ends and a plurality of torus connecting elements, which
are combined together to form structures.
[0003] These existing construction toy sets have shortcomings as
they require a large number of parts to build structures.
[0004] The device of the present invention, while being known
includes advantageous features which greatly enhance its
performance and reduce significantly the number of parts used to
build basic and complex structures. The construction toy set of the
present invention comprise a plurality of first type of rod or
block elements having a torus element attached at one or both ends;
a plurality of second type of rod elements having a C-shaped
gripping clip attached at both ends and a plurality of third type
of rod or block elements having a torus attached at one end and a
C-shaped gripping clip attached at the other end. Still according
to the present invention, at least one of any said rod element
include one or more torus connecting element between its ends.
Still according to the present invention, at least one of any said
rod element include one or more U-shaped gripping sockets between
its ends so that two or more such rod elements can be connected by
snap fit connection to form cruciform or grid composite
structures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] Other objects and advantageous features of this present
invention will be more apparent on the description carried out in
accordance to the drawings included, in which;
[0006] FIGS. 1 to 3 show a front view of rod elements having a
C-shaped gripping clip at each end.
[0007] FIG. 4 is a top view, at an enlarged scale, of a part of a
rod of FIGS. 1 to 3.
[0008] FIGS. 5, 7 and 9 illustrates rod elements having a torus
element at each end.
[0009] FIG. 6 shows another rod element having a C-shaped gripping
clip at one end and a torus connecting element at the other
end.
[0010] FIGS. 8 and 10 show torus segments that may be used in this
present invention.
[0011] FIG. 11 shows another rod element according to the present
invention.
[0012] FIG. 12 shows a body of an elongated rod element, in cross
section, having a plurality of torus connecting elements between
its ends.
[0013] FIG. 13 shows a body of an elongated rod element, in cross
section, having one or more U-shaped gripping sockets between its
ends.
[0014] FIG. 14 shows a cruciform composite structure formed with
rods of FIG. 13.
[0015] FIG. 15 shows a grid composite structure formed with rod
elements of FIG. 13.
[0016] FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate a body of a rod element, in cross
section, formed in two parts.
[0017] FIGS. 18 and 19 illustrate plate panel that may be used in
this present invention.
[0018] FIGS. 20 and 21 show composite structures built with
elements of this invention.
[0019] FIGS. 22-32 illustrate connecting blocks according to this
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] Referring to the drawings; FIG. 1 illustrates a rod element
10 formed with a body portion 11. The distal ends of the rod
element are formed with a tapered portion 15 in which a C-shaped
gripping clip 13 is integrally connected so that to snap and
detachably connect into the torus connecting elements 31 of the rod
elements of FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8.
[0021] The C-shaped gripping clip 13 is formed with two
symmetrically opposed gripping jaws 14 which extend parallel to the
longitudinal axis of the rod element 10 as shown in FIG. 1. The
internal diameter R of the C-shaped gripping clips 13, as shown in
FIG. 1, is slightly smaller than the cross section of the torus
elements 31 of the rod elements so that the jaws 14 can slightly
extend to snap and firmly hold the torus elements 31 and its
disassembly is made in the reverse order.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows the embodiment of a second rod element 20,
similar to the one of FIG. 1. Here the jaws 14 of the C-shaped
gripping clip extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of
the rod element 20 to allow a lateral snap fit connection between
the rod elements, so that the center to center distance of a pair
of torus of rod elements does not have to be distorted and enlarged
in order to receive a C-shaped clip of another rod element.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a rod element 30 which is another
alternative to the rod elements of FIGS. 1 and 2. Here the rod
element 30 is formed with one C-shaped gripping clip similar to the
one of rod element of FIG. 1 and the other similar to the one of
rod element of FIG. 2. The first end A of the rod element 30 can be
assembled from any angular position, then the other end B is
swiveled for a radial connection and its disassembly is made in the
reverse order.
[0024] As shown from FIG. 4, at an enlarged scale, each jaw 14 of
the rod elements is symmetrically tapered reducing the width W of
the jaw towards its distal end to make a generally smaller pointed
end 19. The jaws 14 could be formed as not tapered.
[0025] FIG. 5 shows another rod element 50 according to the present
invention which has a torus connecting element 31 attached at both
ends.
[0026] FIG. 6 shows another rod element 60 according to the present
invention having a torus connecting element 31 at one end and a
C-shaped gripping clip 13 at the other end. The jaws 14 of the
C-shaped clip could extend similarly to the ones of the rod element
of FIG. 1 or be similarly to the ones of FIG. 2.
[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates another rod element 70 similar to the rod
element 50 of FIG. 5.
[0028] Here the torus connecting elements 31 are provided with
diametrically opposed transverse holes 71. The holes 71 are made to
receive and retain torus segments 80 of FIG. 8 by friction fit,
thereby creating a rod element of FIG. 11 having a sphere like
connecting element at one or both ends. The torus segment 80 of
FIG. 8 has a shape of half a torus formed with a stem 81 at each
end to frictionally fit into the holes 71 of the rod elements of
FIG. 7.
[0029] FIG. 9 illustrates another rod element 90 similar to the one
of FIG. 5. Here as well the torus connecting elements 31 of the rod
element 90 are provided with one through hole 91 at the tapered end
of the rod element to receive and retain the torus segment 100 of
FIG. 10 by friction fit, thereby creating the rod element shown in
FIG. 11.
[0030] FIG. 11 shows a rod element having each end formed with a
sphere-like connecting element. Each sphere-like element is formed
with a main torus connecting element 31 into which a torus
connecting segment 100 is connected.
[0031] The rod element of FIG. 11 is used to create complex
structures, as it allows more rod elements to be connected
therein.
[0032] The torus element 31 of the rod element of FIG. 6 may be
provided with holes 71 or 81 similar to the ones of respectively
FIGS. 7 and 8 for the same purpose.
[0033] The rod elements of the present invention can be formed
elongated and having one or more torus connecting elements 31
between their ends, as shown in FIG. 12. The torus elements 31
between the ends of rod element of FIG. 12 may be formed with holes
71 or 91 similar to the ones of respectively FIGS. 7 and 9 for the
same purpose.
[0034] The rod elements of the present invention may be elongated
and having one or more U-shaped gripping sockets 21 between their
ends as shown from FIG. 13 to receive and retain such rod elements
by snap fit connection, thereby creating cruciform or grid
composite structures as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. Each U-shaped
socket 21 is formed with gripping lips 22 to receive and retain
such U-shaped socket 21. The elongated rod elements of FIGS. 12 and
13 can be formed in rigid, flexible or semi flexible but tough
plastic material. The rods of FIG. 12 may be formed with both torus
elements 31 and U-shaped sockets 21.
[0035] In FIG. 16, a generally cylindrical or polygonal body of the
rod elements of the present invention is illustrated having
adjustable length. Here the rod element is formed in two sections
one having a stem 12 formed with an external screw thread 16, the
other being formed with an internal screw thread 18 to accommodate
the external screw thread.
[0036] In FIG. 17, a generally cylindrical or polygonal body of the
rod elements of the present invention is illustrated having
adjustable length. Here as well the body of the rod element is
formed in two sections one having a generally cylindrical or
polygonal stem 12, the other being formed with a bore 17 in which
the stem 12 is received and removably retained by friction, thereby
creating a composite rod element of variable length.
[0037] FIG. 18 shows a top perspective view of a planar plate panel
180, made from resilient plastic material, having two or more
flanges 61 extending on the edges of the panel. The panel is used
to fit into the body of the rod elements of built structures by
snap fit connection. The panel is shown square but can be made from
any polygonal shape.
[0038] FIG. 19 shows a bottom perspective view of another panel 190
similar to the one of FIG. 18 having an opening 62 on its surface
63. The opening 62 can be made from any geometrical or decorative
shape. The surface 63 of the panels 180 and 190 may be molded with
architectural designs so that built structures are made to resemble
to prototypes of buildings, monuments and towers at a reduced
scale. The panels can also be made for decorative and aesthetic
purposes.
[0039] The rod elements having C-shaped clips at both ends may be
provided in first rods having first length and second rods having
second length. The first length of second rods is chosen equal to
the diagonal of a square formed of four first rod elements as
sides, coupled each other in correspondence of the corners of the
square by four torus elements as shown in FIG. 20.
[0040] Still according to the present invention, the second length
of second rods is equal to half of the diagonal of a square formed
of four first rod elements as sides, coupled each other in
correspondence of the corners of the square by four torus elements,
minus the external radius of the torus element as shown in FIG. 21.
The cross section of the body 11 of the rod elements of the present
invention may be formed approximately equal to the cross section of
the torus connecting elements 31 so that a C-shaped gripping clip
13 of one rod element can be connected to the body 11 of a second
rod element.
[0041] Basic torus connecting elements may be added the
construction set of the present invention to enhance its
versatility and its performance. The rod elements of the present
invention may be provided with curved shapes so that circular and
curved structures can be built. The rod elements of this present
invention are made from a suitable plastic material and may include
different lengths and the rod elements can be made in different
size scales so that to be suitable for all different ages.
[0042] This construction set may also be used in outdoor playground
equipment, where the rod elements are made in large sizes which are
blow molded for weight 25 purposes. The construction set of the
present invention is provided with elements having a plurality of
interconnections which allow a wide range of angular orientations
between the rod elements and it may include wheels so that dynamic
structure, such as vehicles, can be built.
[0043] The different rod elements of the present invention can be
combined in different ways to form a combination of different
construction toy sets as it is not necessary to use all of the
different rod elements, at the same time, in order to create a
construction toy set. A simple set of rod elements of FIG. 3 and
FIG. 5 can be combined to form a construction set.
[0044] Also, it is contemplated that the present invention can be a
platform for other toys which resemble to real life objects such as
animals, humans, plants, or robots or action figures where the body
11 of the rod elements is shaped to resemble to arms, legs, wings,
bodies, robot parts or other structures.
[0045] Although this invention is preferably designed for use as a
construction toy set but it can be used as an education set for
demonstrating and explaining education principles or can be used
for architectural or engineering purposes.
[0046] The body 11 of the rod element 50 of FIG. 5 may be formed in
a shape of square or rectangular blocks 41 and 42 as shown from
FIGS. 22 and 23. The blocks are formed with a top surface 43,
peripheral side walls 44 and bottom base 45. The bottom base 45 of
at least some of the blocks 41 and 42 are formed hollow and the
base of least some of the hollow bases are formed with clamping
means 46 as shown in FIG. 24.
[0047] Here in FIG. 24, the clamping means 46 are shown having a
shape of cylindrical tubes but they may be formed in any other
shape and any other configuration. The top surface 43 of the blocks
41 and 42 may be formed with one or more rows studs 47 protruding
therefrom as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27. Here as well, in FIGS. 26
and 27, the studs are shown cylindrical but they may be formed in
any other shape or any other configuration. The rows of the studs
47 may be formed with one or any other number of studs 47. The
torus 31 of the blocks of FIGS. 25 and 27 may be formed in the
longest peripheral side walls 44 of the blocks. The blocks 41 and
42 of FIGS. 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 may be formed with through holes
48 as shown from the block illustrated in FIG. 27. The blocks 41
and 42 may be formed in cylindrical, oval or any other shape which
are formed with a hollow base and having one or more stud 47 on
their top surface.
[0048] The cylindrical tubes 46 of the hollow bases of the blocks
are formed to have a clamping effect on the cylindrical studs 47 of
the top surface 43 of the blocks. The blocks of this present
invention may also be formed with a plurality of connecting torus
elements 31 at their peripheral side walls 44 as shown in
[0049] FIGS. 31 and 32. Here as well the plurality of the torus
elements 31 can be formed in only one side wall 44 and the top
surface 43 of the blocks may be formed with more than one row of
studs 47 and the top surface 43 of the blocks 41 may also be formed
with one or more through holes 48 similar to the one of FIG. 27.
The bottom base of the blocks of FIGS. 31 and 32 are also formed
hollow with cylindrical tubes 46 similar to the ones of FIG. 24 for
the same purpose. The connecting torus elements 31 of the blocks of
FIGS. 22 to 32 may be formed with holes 71 similar to the ones of
FIG. 7 for the same purpose.
[0050] In a particular embodiment the blocks are formed to
interface to Lego.RTM. bricks.
[0051] The present invention has been disclosed for illustrative
but not limitative purposes, it will be obvious that modifications
and changes may be introduced.
* * * * *