Amusement devices: toys – Construction toy – Having parts assembled for relative movement
Patent
1994-05-05
1997-07-08
Yu, Mickey
Amusement devices: toys
Construction toy
Having parts assembled for relative movement
446123, 446128, A63H 3312
Patent
active
056454635
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a toy building set comprising a plurality of interconnectible building elements of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 1.
A plurality of toy building sets are known, consisting of box-shaped building elements with coupling studs on the upper side and complementary coupling means on the under-side. Toy building sets of this type have been marketed for a number of years under the name DUPLO.RTM. and are described cribed in the Danish Patent Specification 120 627. With building elements of this type it is possible to build compact and relatively simple structures, and these building elements therefore appeal to small children in particular.
As the children develop, they try to meet their needs with toy building sets making it possible to build more complex structures. A plurality of examples of toy building sets of this type are known, an example being the toy building set described in the European Patent Application EP-A-460 081 This toy building set consists of a plurality of elements which can be fixed mutually in a variable angle. A toy building set of this type will be suitable for building large and flexible structures which contain moving parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide a toy building set which consists of a plurality of interconnectible building elements, making it possible to combine the advantages possessed by the box-shaped building elements having coupling studs with the flexibility possessed by the toy building set with rotatably interconnectible building elements.
This object is achieved in that the toy building set additionally comprises a third type of building element as stated in the characterizing portion of claim 1. An unpresidented flexibility of a toy building set is achieved hereby, it being possible to combine the compact structures that can be built with the first type of building elements with the flexible and movable structures that can be built with the second type of building elements. The toy building set comprises elements belonging to the primary as well as the tertiary type of building elements, and elements belonging to the secondary as well as the tertiary type of building elements.
In a preferred embodiment the third type of building element will be box-shaped, i.e. have a main body which corresponds to the main body of the first type of building element. The second type of coupling means form rotatable connections, where the axis of rotation of these connections is positioned outside the main body of the third type of building element. A particularly great movability between the elements can be achieved hereby, since they can e.g. rotate up to 270.degree. with respect to each other.
Since very large and flexible structures can be obtained by interconnecting these two existing types of building elements, the third type of building element includes elements which, in addition to the coupling studs, are also formed with a screw by which the element of the third type can be fixed to another element having a complementary threaded hole. This screw is a supplement to the interconnection by means of coupling studs and complementary coupling means.
The invention provides various embodiments of the third type of building element, and these are described in the other subclaims.
The invention is unique in the shown embodiments in that the modular measures known from the first type of building elements are maintained in the interconnection in certain positions with the elements of the second and the third types. This applies both to the interconnection of the elements in elongation of each other and to the building of structures in the stacking direction.
The invention provides a toy building set by means of which it is possible to construct both small, compact and large, flexible structures.
The invention moreover concerns a building element for a toy building set, said building element being of the type defined in the introductory portion of claim 25. The building eleme
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patent: 4992069 (1991-02-01), Bolli et al.
patent: 5259803 (1993-11-01), Lyman
INTERLEGO AG
Yu Mickey
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