U.S. patent application number 14/524241 was filed with the patent office on 2015-11-26 for connecting building block.
The applicant listed for this patent is Taan-Kuan CHIN. Invention is credited to Taan-Kuan CHIN.
Application Number | 20150336018 14/524241 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52580397 |
Filed Date | 2015-11-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150336018 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHIN; Taan-Kuan |
November 26, 2015 |
CONNECTING BUILDING BLOCK
Abstract
The present invention relates to a connecting building block and
has a body, at least one engaging element, and at least one
connection area. The body is a hollow structure and has an opening
formed through the body. Each one of the at least one engaging
element is mounted on an external wall of the body around the
opening. Each one of the at least one connection area is formed on
a top wall opposite to the opening and through another one of the
external walls near to the engaging element. When combining
multiple connecting building blocks, the engaging element of a
connecting building block is connected pivotally to the connection
area of another connecting building block. The connecting building
blocks can be rotated to change the connecting direction, so the
connecting variations of the building block can be expanded.
Inventors: |
CHIN; Taan-Kuan; (TAIPEI,
TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CHIN; Taan-Kuan |
TAIPEI |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
52580397 |
Appl. No.: |
14/524241 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/124 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 33/08 20130101;
E04C 1/00 20130101; F16B 5/07 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63H 33/08 20060101
A63H033/08; E04C 1/00 20060101 E04C001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 23, 2014 |
TW |
103118184 |
Claims
1. A connecting building block comprising: a body being a hollow
structure and having an opening formed through a bottom of the
body; and multiple external walls formed around the opening of the
body; at least one engaging element mounted on one of the external
walls of the body, and each engaging element having an extending
bar being circular and formed on and extending perpendicularly from
one of the external walls of the body; a holding block being
circular and formed on an extending end of the extending bar, and
an outer diameter of the holding block being larger than an outer
diameter of the extending bar; and at least one connection area
formed on an edge of a top wall of the body opposite to the opening
and through the external wall of the body, and each connection area
having an inner groove formed in the edge of the top wall of the
body that is opposite to the opening, a bottom side of the inner
groove being curved; and a rotation groove formed through one of
the external walls of the body and communicating with the inner
groove, a bottom side of the rotation groove being curved, and the
rotation groove having a width and a depth respectively smaller
than a width and a depth of the inner groove; wherein a diameter of
the extending bar is equal to the width of the rotation groove, a
diameter of the holding block is equal to the width of the inner
groove, and an area of the holding block is bigger than an area of
the extending bar.
2. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting building block has multiple engaging elements formed on
and protruding from the body.
3. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting building block has multiple connection areas formed on
the body and through the external walls of the body.
4. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
connecting building block has multiple connection areas formed on
the body and through the external walls of the body.
5. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
body is a hollow square structure.
6. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
body is a hollow square structure.
7. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
connecting building block has at least one fastening block
extending perpendicularly on the top wall of the body.
8. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
connecting building block has at least one fastening block
extending perpendicularly on the top wall of the body.
9. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 4, wherein the
connecting building block has at least one fastening block
extending perpendicularly on the top wall of the body.
10. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 8, wherein
the body is a hollow rectangular structure; and the connecting
building block has multiple fastening blocks formed perpendicularly
on and protruding from the top wall of the body.
11. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 9, wherein
the body is a hollow rectangular structure; and the connecting
building block has multiple fastening blocks formed perpendicularly
on and protruding from the top wall of the body.
12. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein
the body is a triangular structure, and the at least one engaging
element and the at least one connection area are respectively
formed on two adjacent external walls of the body.
13. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 2, wherein
the body is a triangular structure, and the at least one engaging
element and the at least one connection area are respectively
formed on two adjacent external walls of the body.
14. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 3, wherein
the body is a triangular structure, and the at least one engaging
element and the at least one connection area are respectively
formed on two adjacent external walls of the body.
15. The connecting building block as claimed in claim 4, wherein
the body is a triangular structure, and the at least one engaging
element and the at least one connection area are respectively
formed on two adjacent external walls of the body.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a building block,
especially a connecting building block that has multiple connecting
directions.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Arts
[0004] Conventional connecting building blocks are toys and can be
stacked and aligned with each other to make models of a real
object. The conventional connecting building blocks have various
shapes, so a user can make a complex model of a real object by
combinations of the various connecting building blocks. Each one of
the conventional connecting building blocks has a connecting
portion and a fastening portion. The connecting portion is
protrusive and is formed on and protrudes from a top surface of the
conventional building block. The fastening portion is a recess and
is formed in a bottom side of the conventional building block. When
combining the conventional connecting building blocks, the
connecting portion of one conventional connecting building block is
mounted in the recess of another conventional connecting building
block.
[0005] However, the conventional connecting building blocks are
connected to each other by connecting the connecting portion of one
conventional connecting building block to the fastening portion of
another conventional connecting building block. That is, the
conventional connecting building block is stacked over another
conventional connecting building block, such that the combination
of the conventional connecting building blocks is restricted to a
single plane. The combining variation of the conventional
connecting building blocks is limited.
[0006] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides
a connecting building block to mitigate or obviate the
aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The main objective of the present invention is to provide a
connecting building block that has multiple connecting
directions.
[0008] The connecting building block has a body, at least one
engaging element, and at least one connection area. The body is a
hollow structure and has an opening formed through a bottom of the
body. Each one of the at least one engaging element is mounted on
an external wall around the opening of the body. The at least one
connection area is formed on an edge of a top wall of the body that
is opposite to the opening of the body, and the connection area is
formed through the external wall of the body.
[0009] When combining multiple connecting building blocks, the
engaging element of a connecting building block is connected
pivotally to the connection area of another connecting building
block, thereby expanding the connecting variations through the
rotation of the connecting building blocks.
[0010] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a
connecting building block in accordance with the present
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a top view of the connecting building block in
FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the connecting
building block in FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of two connecting
building blocks in FIG. 1, shown connected;
[0015] FIG. 5 is an operational perspective view of the two
connecting building blocks in FIG. 4;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a top view of a second embodiment of a connecting
building block in accordance with the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is another operational perspective view of two
connecting building blocks in FIG. 6, shown connected;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a top view of a third embodiment of a connecting
building block in accordance with the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a
connecting building block in accordance with the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 10 is a top view of the connecting building block in
FIG. 9; and
[0021] FIG. 11 is an operational perspective view of the connecting
building block in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a first embodiment of a
connecting building block in accordance with the present invention
comprises a body 10, multiple engaging elements 20, multiple
connection areas 30, and at least one fastening block 40.
[0023] The body 10 is a hollow square structure and has an opening
11 formed through a bottom of the body 10.
[0024] The engaging elements 20 are formed on and protrude from the
body 10. Each one of the engaging elements 20 has an extending bar
21 and a holding block 22. The extending bar 21 is formed on and
extends perpendicularly from one of four external walls of the body
10 around the opening 11. The holding block 22 is circular, is
formed on an extending end of the extending bar 21, and the outer
diameter of the holding block 22 is bigger than the outer diameter
of the extending bar 21. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, two
extending bars 21 of the engaging elements 20 are respectively
formed on and protrude from two adjacent external walls of the body
10, and with reference to FIG. 6, in a second embodiment of the
present invention, two extending bars 21 of the engaging elements
20 are respectively formed on and protrude from two opposite
external walls of the body 10.
[0025] The connection areas 30 are formed in the body 10 and
through the external walls of the body 10. Each connection area 30
has an inner groove 31 and a rotation groove 32. The inner groove
31 is formed in an edge of a top wall of the body 10 that is
opposite to the opening 11. A bottom side of the inner groove 31 is
curved. The rotation groove 32 is formed through one of the
external walls of the body 10 and communicates with the inner
groove 31, and a bottom side of the rotation groove 32 is curved. A
width and a depth of the rotation groove 32 are respectively
smaller than a width and a depth of the inner groove 31. As a
preferred embodiment, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the
connection areas 30 are formed oppositely or adjacently on the
external walls of the body 10.
[0026] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, the at least one fastening
block 40 is formed perpendicularly on the top wall of the body 10
and is opposite to the opening 11. An outer contour of the at least
one fastening block 40 matches an inner contour of the opening
11.
[0027] With reference to FIGS. 4 to 5, when combining the
connecting building blocks, one of the engaging elements 20 of one
connecting building block is connected to one of the connection
areas 30 of another connecting building block. The holding block 22
of the corresponding engaging element 20 is mounted in the inner
groove 31 of the corresponding connection area 30, and the
extending bar 21 of the corresponding engaging element 20 is
mounted in the rotation groove 32 of the corresponding area 30.
Then, the corresponding engaging element 20 can be connected
pivotally in the corresponding connection area 30 due to the curved
structures of the inner groove 31 and the rotation groove 32 of the
corresponding connection area 30.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 8, a third embodiment of a connecting
building block in accordance with the present invention comprises a
body 10A and multiple fastening blocks 40. The body 10A is a
rectangular structure. Each fastening block 40 is formed
perpendicularly on and protrudes from the top wall of the body
10A.
[0029] With reference to FIGS. 9 to 10, a fourth embodiment of a
connecting building block in accordance with the present invention
comprises a body 10B, at least one engaging element 20, and at
least one connection area 30. The body 10B is a triangular
structure. The at least one engaging element 20 and the at least
one connection area 30 are formed adjacently on the external walls
of the body 10B. With reference to FIG. 11, multiple triangular
connecting building blocks are combined to form a unique model by
connecting the engaging elements 20 and connection areas 30 of the
connecting building blocks.
[0030] The present invention has the advantage of various
connecting ways. With reference to FIG. 7, the opening 11 of one of
the connecting building blocks is securely mounted on the fastening
block 40 of another one of the connecting building blocks. With
reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, one of the engaging elements 20 of a
connecting building block is connected to one of the connection
areas 30 of another connecting building block, and the engaging
element 20 is connected pivotally to the connection area 30. So the
connecting direction of the connecting building blocks can be
changed by rotation of the engaging elements 20 and the connecting
variations are increased.
[0031] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and features of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made
in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *