Amusement devices: toys – Construction toy
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-17
2003-09-09
Ackun, Jacob K. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: toys
Construction toy
C446S121000, C446S127000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06616499
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally pertains to assembly toys and is particularly directed to an improved building element for a set of toy building elements.
Examples of prior art toy building elements are described in European Patent No. 0,766,585 in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,132,757; 3,195,266; 3,374,917; 3,745,736; 5,527,201; 5,653,621; 5,795,210 and 5,826,395 in International Application Publication No. WO 98/35735 and in Deutsches Offenlegungsschrift 2,105,568.
WO 98/35735 describes a building element for a set of toy building elements that are capable of being interconnected in a releasable engagement, comprising a top, a bottom and side walls; wherein a first pair of oppositely disposed side walls each includes a receptacle having an entry opening of a given predominant width and a base region of a greater width; wherein another pair of oppositely disposed side walls each includes a peg having an indented portion and a distal portion, with the distal portion having a predominant width that is greater than the width of the indented portion and greater than the given predominant width of the receptacle entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said receptacle in a side wall of another said building element with the distal portion of the peg residing in the base region of the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,201 describes a toy building element having tongues and grooves formed on the side walls of the building element; wherein the grooves each have an entry opening of a given predominant width and a base region of a greater width; wherein the tongues each have an indented portion and a distal portion, with the distal portion having a predominant width that is greater than the width of the indented portion and greater than the given predominant width of the groove entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said groove in a side wall of another said building element with the distal portion of the tongue residing in the base region of the groove; and wherein each tongue is flexible and split longitudinally into two parallel sections so that the tongue can be compressed laterally in order to effect said restraining engagement by frontally pressing the tongue into a said groove in another said building element.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention provides a building element for a set of toy building elements that are capable of being interconnected in a releasable engagement, comprising a top, a bottom and side walls; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one groove having an entry opening of a given predominant width and a base region of a greater width; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one tongue having an indented portion and a distal portion, with the distal portion having a predominant width that is greater than the width of the indented portion and greater than the given predominant width of the groove entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said groove in a side wall of another said building element with the distal portion of the tongue residing in the base region of the groove; and wherein the tongue is flexible and split longitudinally into two parallel sections, each of which includes part of the indented portion and part of the distal portion of the tongue so that the distal portion of the tongue can be compressed laterally in order to effect said restraining engagement by frontally pressing the tongue into a said groove in another said building element; wherein the uncompressed width of one of said portions of the tongue is greater than the predominant width of the portion of the groove that is adjacent said one portion of the tongue when the distal portion of the tongue resides in the base region of the groove so that said one portion of the tongue is then compressed between and thereby frictionally engages the portions of the side wall that define said adjacent portion of the groove.
Preferably, the degree of said frictional engagement provided by said compression of the tongue when the distal portion of the tongue resides in the base region of the groove is such as to enable a stationary relative disposition of a pair of so engaged building elements to be varied precisely by smoothly sliding the tongue of one of the pair of engaged building elements within the groove of the other of the pair of engaged building elements, and also is such as to provide enough resistance to said sliding as to maintain said stationary relative disposition when one of said pair of engaged building elements has the top of its engaged side wall disposed at a greater height than the top of the engaged side wall of the other of said pair of building elements.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a building element for a set of toy building elements that are capable of being interconnected in a releasable engagement, comprising a top, a bottom and side walls; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one groove having an entry opening of a given predominant width and a base region of a greater width; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one tongue having an indented portion and a distal portion, with the distal portion having a predominant width that is greater than the width of the indented portion and greater than the given predominant width of the groove entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said groove in a side wall of another said building element with the distal portion of the tongue residing in the base region of the groove; wherein the tongue is flexible and split longitudinally into two parallel sections, each of which includes part of the indented portion and part of the distal portion of the tongue so that the distal portion of the tongue can be compressed laterally in order to effect said restraining engagement by frontally pressing the tongue into the said groove in the other said building element and in order to disengage the tongue from the said groove in the other said building element by frontally pulling the building element from the other said building element; and wherein adjacent the entry opening the groove is defined by a first portion of the at least one side wall that is inclined outward at an entry angle and a second portion of the at least one side wall that is inclined inward at a restraining angle that is less than the entry angle in relation to a virtual broad surface of the at least one side wall.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a building element for a set of toy building elements that are capable of being interconnected in a releasable engagement, comprising a top, a bottom and side walls; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one groove having an entry opening of a given predominant width and a base region of a greater width; wherein at least one of the side walls includes at least one tongue having an indented portion and a distal portion, with the distal portion having a predominant width that is greater than the width of the indented portion and greater than the given predominant width of the groove entry opening for interconnecting in a releasable restraining engagement with a said groove in a side wall of another said building element with the distal portion of the tongue residing in the base region of the groove; wherein the tongue is flexible and split longitudinally into two parallel sections, each of which includes part of the indented portion and part of the distal portion of the tongue so that the distal portion of the tongue can be compressed laterally in order to effect said restraining engagement by frontally pressing the tongue into the said groove in the other said building element and in order to disengage the tongue from the said groove in the other said building element by frontally pulling the building element from the other said building element; wherein adjacent the entry opening the groove is defined by a po
Ackun Jacob K.
Callan Edward W.
LandOfFree
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