GB1027982A - Portable instructional kits comprising elements that interfit to form arbitrarily shaped unit assemblies - Google Patents

Abstract

1,027,982. Educational appliances &c. H. R. KLEIN. Feb. 18, 1964, No. 6627/64. Heading G5G. An educational appliance for teaching arithmetic, reading or writing of the kind in which a plurality of interfitting constructional elements, which may bear characters, numerals, symbols or pictorial representations, can be assembled to form selected shapes includes a plurality of sets of identical elements, e.g. square plates 3, Fig. 1, or triangular plates 31, Fig. 8, each element being provided with edge grooves 4, 5 and edge tongues 6, 7 so as to be arrangeable in a common plane to mate in edge-to-edge contact and interfit by means of said grooves or tongues with one or more of the other elements. The plates are further provided with abutments 2 or 13 which permit assembling of the plates in planes at right angles to each other and with holes 1 engageable by boxes 9 of additional elements 8, Fig. 3, such that they will secure together two plates superimposed one upon the other with apertures coaxially aligned (Fig. 5, not shown). The elements 8 may be provided with a short stem 11 to facilitate removal or a disc 17, Fig. 9, which carries an alphabetical character or is formed with a surface for writing on. For teaching arithmetic the elements 8 are used to indicate the additive integers and sum in colour code. By the provision of elements 8 representing traffic signs and motor vehicles traffic situations may be portrayed. The appliance is provided with a rectangular container (not shown) having a perforated floor so that when the container is turned upside-down the floor may be used for assembly purposes. All the elements may be provided in colour codes.