CN1568213A - A toy building set - Google Patents

Abstract

A toy building set that comprises: a first type of toy building elements (1) that are configured with at least two protruding parts (4, 4') provided with aligned transversal openings (5, 5'), a second type of toy building elements (2) that are configured with at least one protruding part (7) provided with a transversal opening (8), and a pin (3). The at least one protruding part (7) on the second type of toy building elements is/are configured for being able to be positioned between the at least two protruding parts (4, 4') on the first type of toy building elements (1), whereby the transversal openings (5, 5',8) are caused to be aligned, and the pin is configured such that it can be mounted in the transversal openings (5, 5',8) for interconnection with the toy building elements (1, 2). The pin (3) is provided with at least one snap-engagement bead (11) at a distance (L) from the one end thereof, said distance corresponding essentially to the width (B) of a distally arranged, protruding part (4) on the first type of toy building elements (1).

Description

toy construction set

technical field

The present invention relates to a toy construction set comprising a large number of toy construction elements which can be interconnected to form large structures, the toy construction set comprising:

A first category of toy building elements, which are configured with at least two raised portions with aligned transverse openings;

a second type of toy building elements, which are configured with at least one raised portion with a transverse opening; and

pin;

wherein at least one raised portion on the second type of toy building element is configured to be arranged between at least two raised portions on the first type of toy building element, thereby aligning the transverse openings, and The pins are configured such that they can be fitted in the transverse openings for interconnecting the toy building elements.

Background technique

EP-A2-0294080 discloses panels that can be interconnected to form large structures, such as for play houses, toy chests, boxes and the like. The panels have transverse projections with transverse openings parallel to the sides of the panels. Two panels may be placed side by side in such a way that corresponding projections on them cooperate to align said transverse openings. A pin can then be inserted into said transverse opening and thereby join the two panels to each other as a hinged joint.

The pins disclosed in that publication fit loosely into bosses on the panel and are held in place by means of three-dimensional corner fittings that snap onto the lowermost horizontal pin. If these corner fittings were not used, the pins would very easily fall out of the protrusions on the panel during play or other handling of the structure thus constructed.

Contents of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy construction set with toy construction elements of the aforementioned type, which can be joined in a simple manner by means of a strong and stable joint and which ensure that when two toy construction elements When interconnected, the pins cannot inadvertently fall out of the protrusions on the toy building elements.

This object is achieved by configuring the aforementioned toy building set in such a way that said pin has at least one snap-in bead at a distance from one end thereof, said distance substantially corresponding to the pin on a toy building element of the first type. The width of the distally arranged protruding part.

It is achieved that the pins for interconnecting the two types of toy building elements remain fixed in their locked position since it will be possible to remove them only by exerting a certain pressure or pulling force on said pins.

In a preferred embodiment, the width of the at least one raised portion on the second type of toy building element substantially corresponds to the distance between at least two raised portions on the first type of toy building element, so that in both types When the toy building elements are interconnected, they cannot move appreciably laterally along the axis of said pin. This results in a particularly robust interconnection. However, according to a particular embodiment, a gap may be provided between the projections on the toy building element, which gap allows the toy building element to be slightly offset axially of said pin. This embodiment is especially preferred if the toy construction set is used for outdoor play, where dirt, sand and similar substances can get wedged between the toy construction elements. Providing a certain gap between the toy building elements reduces the risk of these fine particles sticking firmly thereto.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least the distal through-opening on a toy building element of the first type is provided with a counterbore for receiving a snap-in bead on said pin. Thereby, the snap-in bead has a free space into which the snap-in bead can expand after having passed through the transverse opening in the projection on the toy building element of the first type.

Preferably, said pin may have a notch in the area around the snap bead so that when it passes through a transverse opening in a raised portion on a toy building element of the first type, said pin The region is compressed (clasping).

Furthermore, the pin may be provided with a flare at the same end as the snap bead, thereby ensuring that the pin cannot be over-inserted into the transverse opening, otherwise there would be a risk of slipping out through it completely. risk.

In order to facilitate removal of the pin when the toy construction elements are separated again, it is preferred that the pin may have a grip at the same end as the expansion portion. A particularly simple embodiment of the grip could be to configure it like a spherical element mounted on the extension of the pin. Of course, other configurations of the grip are also conceivable.

In some cases, it is desirable that the pins do not extend beyond their outer contours when the toy building elements are assembled, and to accommodate this, the expansion on the pins may be configured to With a flat end face, while at least one distal transverse opening in the protrusion on the toy building element of the first type has a counterbore capable of receiving the expansion on said pin. Thereby, when the toy building elements are interconnected, the end faces of the pins will be flush with the outer contours of these toy building elements, and therefore there will be no raised parts which would otherwise prevent other elements from connecting with each other. A tight fit occurs between the interconnected toy building elements.

The projections on the toy building elements of the first type and the toy building elements of the second type may preferably have pairs of transverse openings configured to align in pairs and connected to each other by means of two pins. This pairwise interconnection allows for a strong joint, whereas interconnection with only one pin would create an articulated joint allowing relative rotation of the toy building element about said pin.

Furthermore, a flexible interconnection between several toy building elements can be obtained if at least some of the toy building elements are made of a soft, flexible material. For example, if a soft flexible toy building element is placed between two hard toy building elements, it will allow the flexible toy building element to tilt at an angle between the hard toy building elements. This is especially relevant if the toy building elements are used in play projects where they are subjected to very high loads, since the flexible toy building elements are able to receive stress without being damaged. This very high stress typically occurs where the toy construction set is used for outdoor play, which is generally rougher than indoor play.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of two toy building elements and an associated pin for a toy building set according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the toy building elements shown in Figure 1 in an interconnected state; and

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of two toy building elements and associated pins for a toy building set according to the invention.

Detailed ways

Figure 1 shows two toy building elements 1, 2 and a pin 3 for a toy building set according to the invention. The toy building elements 1, 2 are only schematically illustrated as they can each independently have additional coupling means, such as in the form of other projections with transverse openings or optionally with coupling lugs, and complementary to them skirt.

The first toy building element 1 is of a first type, configured with two bosses 4, 4' with aligned circular transverse openings 5, 5'. Counterbore holes 6 are provided on both sides of the openings 5, 5', the functions of which will be described later. The second toy building element 2 is of an alternative type, configured with a raised portion 7 also with a circular transverse opening 8 . The width of the protrusion 7 on the second toy building element 2 corresponds substantially to the distance between the two protrusions 4, 4' on the first toy building element 1, and the transverse opening 5, 5', 8 is closed. Constructed so that when the raised part 7 on the second toy building element 2 is placed between the two raised parts 4, 4' on the first toy building element 1, they are mutually in the toy building element 1, 2 align.

In the illustrated embodiment, the pin 3 has a circular cross section whose diameter substantially corresponds to or is slightly smaller than the diameter of the transverse opening 5 , 5 ′, 8 on the toy building element 1 , 2 . Thereby, the pin 3 can pass through the transverse opening 5, 5', 8 substantially without friction when the two toy building elements 1, 2 are connected to each other as described below.

The pin 3 is substantially cylindrical, however, it is rounded at one end and has a flare or flange 9 at the other end. At this same end, a spherical grip 10 is also provided. At a distance L from the flange 9 there is provided a snap bead 11 extending radially from the pin 3 . The distance L corresponds to the width B of the raised portion 4 on the first toy building element 1 . The pin 3 is generally constructed as a thick element, but in the area around the snap bead 11, with a transverse cutout 12, thereby allowing a certain degree of deformation of the pin 3 in this area.

When the toy building elements 1, 2 are interconnected, the raised portion 7 on the second toy building element 2 is placed between the raised portions 4, 4' on the first toy building element 1, so that the transverse opening 5, 5', and 8 are in a straight line. Next, the pin 3 is threaded into the transverse opening 5, 5', 8 - first into the rounded end. This operation takes place substantially without friction until the snap bead 11 abuts on the protrusion 4 on the first toy building element 1 . Further pressure on the pin 3 will cause the snap bead 11 to be squeezed together, the slots 12 to be closed together, and the pin 3 can move further while being subjected to friction until the flange 9 abuts against the first toy construction. On the raised part 4 on the element 1. In this final position, the snap bead 11 has passed through the boss 4 and the counterbore 6 in the boss 4 will allow the snap bead 11 to expand again freely, thereby allowing the pin 3 to snap into the boss 4 Together.

The interconnection between the first toy building element 1 and the second toy building element 2 is shown in sectional view in FIG. 2 , in which the protrusions 4 , 4 ′, 7 and the pin 3 are shown. It clearly shows how the pin 3 is in snap-locking engagement with the boss 4, the flange 9 abutting on one side thereof and the snap-in bead 11 abutting on the other side thereof. The rest on the pin 3 extends through the transverse openings 5' and 8 in the lugs 4' and 7 and in this way it connects the two toy building elements 1, 2 to each other forming an articulated joint.

But contrary to the prior art, the articulated joint used in this toy building set, namely the pin 3 , is fixed in a simple manner and there is essentially no friction to resist slipping.

To facilitate the extraction of the pin 3 when the two toy building elements 1 , 2 are separated again, a spherical grip 10 is provided at one end of the pin 3 . Applying a pulling force on this grip 10 will cause the snapping beads to tighten together under the action of the transverse opening 5 and the pin 3 can be pulled out, whereby the toy building elements 1 , 2 can be separated from each other.

Instead of pulling on the spherical grip 10 , it can also be detached by exerting pressure on the rounded end of the pin 3 , eg with another pin.

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a toy building element for a toy building set according to the invention. The shown first toy building element 101 and the second toy building element 102 are connected to each other by means of the same pin 103 .

The toy building element 101 is shown as a relatively massive unit with raised portions 104, 104', 104" each having a pair of transverse openings 105, 105', 105 ″, these transverse openings 105 , 105 ′, 105 ″ are provided with counterbores 106 in the same manner as in the toy building element 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . Between the raised parts 104, 104', 104", coupling strips 113 are arranged. As outlined, the toy building element 101 also has corresponding coupling means on the side not shown, and thus the toy building Element 101 may also be a component of a larger structure constructed by means of toy building elements in a toy building set.

The toy building element 102 is also configured with opposing coupling parts in the form of bosses 107, 107' with transverse openings 108, 108', respectively. The width of the protrusions 107, 107' corresponds to the distance between the protrusions 104, 104', 104" on the toy building element 101, and in addition they are configured such that the transverse openings 108, 108' in them can Aligns with the transverse openings 105, 105', 105" in the projections 104, 104', 104" on the toy building element 101. Also, the toy building element 102 is provided with pairs of projections 107, 107'.

In order to interconnect the toy building elements 101 and 102 two identical pins 103 need to be used. Similar to the pins 3 shown in Figures 1 and 2, each pin 103 is cylindrical in shape with a flared portion or flange 109 and a snap bead at a distance from the flange 109. 111 , said distance corresponds to the width of the raised portion 104 on the toy building element 101 . Also, each of these pins is provided with a transverse slot 112 allowing said pins to be pressed together in the area where the bead 111 snaps together.

During the interconnection of the first toy building element 101 and the second toy building element 102, the pair of protrusions 107, 107' on the second toy building element 102 are placed on the first toy building element 101. Between the pairs of protrusions 104, 104', 104", thereby aligning the transverse openings 105, 105', 105", 108, 108'. At this point, the pins 103 are inserted into the transverse openings 105, 105', 105", 108, 108' until the flanges 109 on them abut on the projections 104 on the first toy building element 101, and at the same time The snap bead 111 mates with opposite sides of the raised portion 104 .

When two toy building elements 101 , 102 are connected to each other, if two pins are used as shown in FIG. 3 , then there will be a complete locking between the two toy building elements 101 , 102 .

As will be seen from Figure 3, the pin 103 is not provided with any grips for pulling out the pin 103 when the toy building elements 101, 102 are separated. Instead, they each have only one flange 109, the height of which corresponds to the depth of the counterbore 106, so that the end of the pin 103 is flush with the side of the toy building element 101 when mounted in place. Thereby, on the one hand, other toy construction elements can be brought into close contact with the toy construction element 101, and on the other hand, the risk of the pin 103 being unintentionally pulled out is reduced. The pin 103 can be removed by applying pressure from the other end, for example with a corresponding pin.

The toy building elements 1, 2, 101, 102 and the pins 3, 103 are preferably made of a hard plastic. However, according to a particular embodiment, one or more toy building elements, such as toy building element 102, can be made of a soft, flexible material, such as rubber, so that structures including flexible joints can be constructed thereby. Structure. Such flexible joints can also be formed by attaching a flexible material to hard toy building elements using a casting process, whereby the modular toy building elements include both hard and soft protrusions. from the Ministry.

The use of flexible joints is of particular interest when the resulting structure is likely to be subjected to significant loads, as the flexible toy building element is able to receive such large loads and thus helps to prevent the toy building element from Their interconnections suffered damage.

The toy building elements according to the invention preferably comprise toy building elements of the first and second types in various sizes, which means that different structures can be constructed. The number of protrusions on toy building elements of the first and second type may thus vary, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 . In a corresponding manner, the toy construction set according to the invention also comprises pins of various lengths in order to adapt to the various dimensions of the toy construction elements.

The toy building elements may comprise the general building blocks shown in Figures 1 and 3, whereby various structures can be constructed. However, they can also comprise so-called functional elements, which enable the integration of various functions in the structures thus constructed. For example, one toy building element could have an electric motor, another could have a battery compartment, a third could have a control, and so on. The interconnection of these functional elements enables the construction of, for example, electric vehicles, robots and similar structures. Of course, other functional elements than those listed may also be used.

Claims (10)

1. toy building suit, comprising can be connected with each other in a large number forms the toy building element of large scale structure, and this toy building suit comprises:

First kind toy building element (1; 101), they be configured to have at least two lug bosses (4,4 '; 104,104 ', 104 "), these lug bosses (4,4 '; 104,104 ', have on 104 ") alignment transverse opening (5,5 '; 105,105 ', 105 ");

Second type toy makes up element (2; 102), they are configured to have at least one lug boss (7; 107,107 '), this lug boss (7; 107,107 ') on have a transverse opening (8; 108,108 '); And

Pin (3; 103);

Wherein second type toy makes up element (2; 102) described at least one lug boss (7 on; 107,107 ') be configured to be placed in first kind toy building element (1; At least two lug bosses 101) (4,4 '; 104,104 ', between 104 "), make thus transverse opening (5,5 '; 8; 105,105 ', 105 "; 108,108 ') in line, and pin (3; 103) be constructed such that its can be installed in transverse opening (5,5 '; 8; 105,105 ', 105 "; 108,108 ') in, be used for toy building element (1,2; 101,102) be connected with each other,

It is characterized in that: described pin (3; 103) having at least one snap-engagement bead (11 with the one end at a distance of the position of a distance (L); 111), described distance (L) corresponds essentially to first kind toy building element (1; 101) the distal projection portion (4 on; 104) width (B).

2. toy building suit according to claim 1 is characterized in that: described second type toy makes up element (2; 102) at least one lug boss (7 on; 107,107 ') width correspond essentially to first kind toy building element (1; Described at least two lug bosses 101) (4,4 '; 104,104 ', the distance between 104 ").

3. toy building suit according to claim 1 and 2 is characterized in that: described at least first kind toy building element (1; 101) far-end on run through opening (5,5 '; 105,105 ") have a counterbore (6; 106), be used to receive snap-engagement bead (11 on the described pin; 111).

4. according to the arbitrary described toy building suit of claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that: described pin (3; 103) in snap-engagement bead (11; 111) zone on every side has a grooving (12; 112).

5. according to the arbitrary described toy building suit of claim 1 to 4, it is characterized in that: described pin (3; 103) with snap-engagement bead (11; 111) identical place, end has an enlarged portion (9; 109).

6. toy building suit according to claim 5 is characterized in that: described pin (3) has a grasping part (10) at the place, end identical with enlarged portion (9).

7. toy building suit according to claim 6 is characterized in that: described grasping part (10) are a ball type device shape, are installed on the extension of pin (3).

8. toy building suit according to claim 5 is characterized in that: the enlarged portion (109) on the described pin (103) has a flat end face; And the lug boss on the first kind toy building element (101) (at least one the far-end transverse opening in 104,104 ") (105,105 ") have a counterbore (106), this counterbore (106) can receive the enlarged portion (109) on the pin (103).

9. according to the arbitrary described toy building suit of claim 1 to 8, it is characterized in that: described first kind toy building element (101) and second type toy make up lug boss on the element (102) (104,104 ', 104 "; 107,107 ') all have paired transverse opening (105,105 ', 105 "; 108,108 '), these transverse openings (105,105 ', 105 "; 108,108 ') be configured to paired aligning, and be connected with each other by means of two pins (103).

10. according to the arbitrary described toy building suit of claim 1 to 9, it is characterized in that: some toy building element (2 at least; 102) make by a kind of material of softness.

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