Amusement devices: toys – Construction toy – Interfitting elements
Patent
1999-06-03
2000-08-15
Rimell, Sam
Amusement devices: toys
Construction toy
Interfitting elements
446124, A63H 3308
Patent
active
061027669
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a toy building set or building system with interconnectable building elements, and more specifically such building elements which are provided on the one side with coupling studs and on another with pairs of parallel coupling walls which define cavities with coupling means for receiving coupling studs on another building element in a releasable engagement.
Such toy building systems are known i.a. from U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,282, and they feature coupling studs arranged in rows in main directions perpendicular to each other whereby the studs form a square pattern. Building elements with pairs of parallel coupling walls are arranged with the coupling walls, which are most frequently the outer delimiting walls of the building elements, disposed in spaces between rows of coupling studs. In such a square pattern, the coupling studs will also form diagonal directions between the main directions, and in building sets marketed under the trade marks LEGO.RTM. or DUPLO.RTM., a space is provided between diagonal rows with a width wider than zero.
DE 2,414,246 teaches a building element with studs substantially perpendicular to each other. In each main row, large and small studs alternate in such a pattern that they also form diagonal rows. The diameters of the large studs and the diameters of the small studs as well as the relative distances of the studs are so adapted that a building block with walls that define a cavity in the underside of the building block may optionally be so arranged that two parallel walls on the building block either spans large studs in main rows or small studs in diagonal rows.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,973 illustrates toy building blocks with outer walls that are perpendicular to each other and define a cavity in the underside of the building block. In this cavity there are diagonally extending walls. However, the building blocks can only be interconnected with their outer walls in the main directions of the studs.
A toy building set according to the invention further provides building elements with coupling walls which are arranged to be situated in diagonal directions in spaces between diagonal rows of coupling studs. Hereby novel building options become available.
The invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 is a schematical, sectional view of a prior art toy building element with coupling studs arranged in directions perpendicular to each other,
FIG. 2 is a schematical view of assembled building elements from a known toy building set,
FIG. 3 is a schematical view of a toy building set according to the invention,
FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of a known toy building element seen from the top and from below, respectively,
FIG. 6 is a perspective top view of a further known toy building element,
FIG. 7 is a partial, perspective view of a novel toy building element seen from below for use in the toy building set according to the invention,
FIG. 8 is a direct bottom view of the toy building element illustrated in FIG. 7,
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an alternative novel toy building element for use in toy building sets according to the invention, seen from the top and the bottom, respectively.
FIG. 11 is a schematical view of the building element illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, in connection with a toy building element with coupling studs of the same type as illustrated in FIG. 1,
FIG. 12 is a schematical view of a building set according to the invention with the building elements shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 7 and 8 in combination with other known building elements, and
FIG. 13 is a schematical view of the building set illustrated in FIG. 10 with two building elements like in FIGS. 7 and 8.
FIG. 1 shows a known arrangement of cylindrical coupling studs 10 arranged in four by five rows in main directions perpendicular to each other on an outer surface of a not shown building element, such as a building plate. The building set shown in FIG. 1 is a DUPLO.RTM. building set. Identical spaces are provided between the coupli
REFERENCES:
patent: 3005282 (1961-10-01), Christiansen
patent: 3162973 (1964-12-01), Christiansen
patent: 4694833 (1987-09-01), Suzuki
patent: 5661941 (1997-09-01), Vataker
patent: 5795210 (1998-08-01), Kushner et al.
Jensen Arne Egholm
Leadbetter Paul
INTERLEGO AG
Rimell Sam
LandOfFree
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