Patent Application
20230390664
This application claims priority to South African provisional patent application number 2020/05732, filed on 16 Sep. 2020, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a construction kit. The invention also relates to a connector hub and a link for use in the construction kit.
There are a variety of so-called “hub-and-strut” construction kits, also known as “rod-and-hub” construction kits, available in the market. These kits allow a user to build a structure by connecting elongate struts or rods to each other using hub components that are designed to receive the ends of a number of the struts/rods. For ease of reference, these struts or rods are referred to as “connectors” throughout this specification and the hubs are referred to as “connector hubs”, or simply “hubs”.
Construction kits of the type identified above typically include a plurality of hubs and connectors, with ends of the connectors being removably connectable to the hubs, e.g. by way of friction fit or snap-fit connections. The hubs are often utilised as corner pieces in a structure, but they can be utilised virtually anywhere in the structure to secure connectors to each other. Kits of this nature are used recreationally and for more formal purposes, such as structural modelling. In the context of this specification, the term “construction kit” should be interpreted broadly and is not limited 30 to a specific application, e.g., its application is not limited to toys.
A number of known construction kits include hubs with numerous connection points, allowing connectors to be connected to a hub at various angles. Some of the kits also include linking components, referred to in this specification as “links”. A link may form part of a hub or it may be removably connectable thereto. A link is typically configured to provide additional connection points and/or connection angles when connected to the hub. A connector may thus be attached to a hub via a link, e.g., to allow the connector to extend at a certain angle relative to the link, which angle would not have been possible by means of a simple (direct) connection of the connector to the hub.
One example of a known construction kit is described in United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0034839, which cites R. M. Murphy as the inventor. This application discloses a connector hub with two or more subparts. Each subpart has a receiving element with a connector-receiving socket emanating therefrom. The subparts may be rotatable with respect to one another along a common axis. The subparts thus function as adjustable links allowing a user to adjust the angle of a connector extending from the hub.
The Inventor has found that there are a number of drawbacks associated with the construction kit of US 2012/0034839. In particular, while the connector hub provides a number of adjustable connection points, these are provided along a single axis. This is inherently limiting and makes the construction of large or intricate structures relatively complex and/or cumbersome. Furthermore, the subparts/links may lack the required directional stability and strength as they may be designed to rotate freely about the axis and rely on thin sections that will provide limited mechanical strength.
Another example of a known construction kit is described in United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2014/0045403 (also citing R. M. Murphy as the inventor). This application discloses a connector hub with one or more subparts having zero, one or more connector-receiving sockets emanating from each of the subparts. In some embodiments, the subparts are rotatable with respect to one another along multiple common axes. The application describes sub-elements (which may be in the shape of a torus) to which connectors can be attached in such a manner that they are able to revolve or bend about a common axis.
While the kit disclosed in US 2014/0045403 allows for the creation of diverse and selectable angles, thus permitting the creation of more shapes and configurations than, for instance, US 2012/0034839, the Inventor has also identified a number of drawbacks associated with this construction kit. In particular, the Inventor has found that the design provides a maximum of two axes for connection points, which the Inventor has found to be restrictive. In addition, this construction kit may not provide sufficient angular stability. This can be attributed at least partially to the configuration which allows links to revolve or bend with freedom about the hub. Furthermore, the Inventor has found that this kit is relatively complex, making it difficult or cumbersome to construct large or intricate structures.
Another construction kit of which the Inventor is aware is the toy product range offered by Engino™. Certain features utilised in this product range are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,651,914, citing C. Sisamos as the inventor. The Engino™ design makes use of snap-fit links that are connected to hubs in order to create various angles for connecting connectors to a hub. Some of these links are adjustable about a pivot point and may be referred to as flexible links. The Engino™ system is advantageous in that it allows the user to create virtually any angle at a corner or hub.
However, the Inventor has identified drawbacks associated with the Engino™ construction system. Firstly, when a flexible link is used, the distance (referred to in this specification as the “linking distance”) between the point or plane where the connector engages with an outer face of the link (referred to in this specification as the “link face”) and the vertex defined by the point where the primary axes of the hub meet, may change as the angle is adjusted, and this linking distance may be different for different types of links. Secondly, the new axis defined by the link, which may be referred to as a new “vector”, does not always intersect the abovementioned vertex. As a result, the Engino™ design cannot effectively make use of a fixed set of standard connector lengths. Instead, extendable connectors are required. This is undesirable as extendable connectors may be difficult to use, more expensive to manufacture and/or require complex instructions to users. A further issue with the design is that because the angle of the links is flexible around two axes, extensive bracing is needed to construct strong structures.
In light of the above, a need has been identified for an improved hub-and-strut type construction kit.
Embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a construction kit and components thereof that are capable of addressing some of the issues identified above, at least to some extent.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a construction kit comprising:
All of the links in the kit may have a substantially equal linking distance.
A connector connected to a link may be connected co-axially to the linking axis of the link and the linking axis may extend at an angle relative to the axis of the connector hub along which the male connecting element is connected, in use.
The links may include angled links, wherein for each angled link, the angle relative to the axis of the connector hub along which the male connecting element is connected is greater than zero.
The links may include straight links, wherein for each straight link, the angle relative to the axis of the connector hub along which the male connecting element is connected is zero.
Each link may define both the linking axis and a connecting axis, wherein the connecting axis is configured so as to be co-axial with axis of the connector hub along which the male connecting element is connected, in use.
Preferably, at least some of the angled links provide different angles between the connecting axis and the linking axis.
Preferably, the linking axis and the connecting axis extend through the vertex of the connector hub to which the link is connected, in use.
For each straight link, the linking axis and the connecting axis is the same axis.
The links may be rotatably but rigidly connected to the hubs.
The connecting formations in each pair of connecting formations of a particular connector hub are located at opposite sides or surfaces of the connector hub.
Each connector is substantially cylindrical in shape, e.g., they may be in the form of rods.
In some embodiments, the connecting formations of the connector hubs and the connector attachment formations of the links are female parts, and the end formations of the connectors are male parts.
In some embodiments, the links are configured to be connected to the connector hubs by way of snap-fit or friction fit connections and the connectors are configured to be connected to the links by way of snap-fit or friction fit connections.
The kit may further includes at least one coupling which is configured to allow two connectors to be removably connected to each other through connection of the connectors to respective ends of the coupling.
The kit may further includes at least one integrated hub-and-link component, the integrated hub-and-link component having a hub section to which links can be removably connected and a link section to which at least one of the connectors can be removably connected.
The kit may further include at least one integrated connector-and-link component, the integrated connector-and-link component being configured to allow two connector hubs to be removably connected to each other through connection of the connector hubs to respective ends of the integrated connector-and-link component.
At least some of the connectors may have different lengths and the different lengths may be based on a specific length sequence.
In one example the lengths of the connectors may conform to the following length sequence: each connector has a connector length of bx, as measured between the vertices of the two connector hubs to which it connects, in use, calculated using a selected base length b0 and the following formula for additional lengths: b1=b0*√2, b2=b1*√2, b3=b2*√2, etc.
In another example the lengths of the connectors may conform to the following length sequence: each connector has a connector length of cx, as measured between the vertices of the two connector hubs to which it connects, in use, calculated using the formula cx=bx*√3/√2, wherein bx is calculated according the above example.
In some embodiments the connector hub can accommodate two adjacent links as long as the angular gap is at least 30 degrees.
In some embodiments, the at least one additional connecting formation may be a third pair of connecting formations defining the third axis. Alternatively, the third axis may include only one connecting formation. The connector hub may thus include, for instance, 5 or 6 connecting formations.
The construction kit is designed such that one or more links may be attached to the connector hub in order to form additional angles, i.e., to permit the connection of connectors at desired angles relative to the first axis, the second axis and/or the third axis of the connector hub. This is referred to in parts of this specification as the creation of additional “vectors”. Embodiments of the invention provide for the linking distance to remain the same for all newly created vectors associated with a particular 30 connector hub. This equal linking distance also applies to integrated hub-and-link components.
In some embodiments, all except one of the links in the construction kit will be angled links, i.e. angled relative to the relevant axis of the connecting hub. Each angled link may define a linking axis configured such that, in use, a connector connected to the link is co-axial to the linking axis and the linking axis extends at an angle relative to the axis of the connector hub associated with the angled link, e.g. the axis of the hub associated with the connecting formation to which the link is connected (which is one of the first axis, the second axis and the third axis).
Embodiments of the invention provide for the linking axis to intersect the vertex of the connector hub to which the link is connected, in use. An integrated hub-and-link component may also have a linking axis to which this principle applies, i.e. its linking axis also intersects the vertex of the hub section which is integrally formed with the link section. The linking distance may be taken from the point where the plane defined by the link face intersects the linking axis up to the point defining the vertex.
Each link has both a linking axis and a connecting axis, as further defined below. For angled links, the linking axis is angled relative to the connecting axis. For other links, namely straight links, the linking axis and the connecting axis are the same axis. Embodiments of the invention provide for the linking axis and the connecting axis of each link to extend through the vertex of the connector hub to which it is connected or with which it is integrally formed (in the case of an integrated hub-and-link component).
The link may define the connecting axis at or near the hub attachment formation which, when the link is connected to the connector hub at a particular connecting formation or integrally formed with the connector hub, is co-axial to the axis of the connector hub associated with that connecting formation.
At least one of the links may be configured to be rigidly but rotatably connected/connectable to the connector hub such that, when the link is connected to the connector hub at a particular connecting formation, it is rotatable about the axis of the connector hub associated with that connecting formation while maintaining an angle rigidly relative to that axis. In use, the link may be rotated while the linking axis remains oriented so as to intersect the vertex.
The connector hub may have a spherical or sphere-like shape and has a substantially hollow central zone.
The typical dimensions of a spherical hub will be a diameter of less than 16 mm but more than 5 mm. However, dimensions may vary and these are examples only. For instance, in some embodiments one or more links may be integrated into the hub to form the integrated hub-and-link components, which would increase the dimensions.
The typical dimensions of a connector is a round cross-section of diameter 5 mm to mm, with varying lengths from a minimum of 5 mm to a maximum of 300 mm. However, dimensions may vary and these are examples only.
The typical dimensions of a link is a round cross section of diameter or side length of 5 mm to 10 mm, while the lengths of the links will vary from 10 mm to 25 mm. However, dimensions may vary and these are examples only.
It will be appreciated that various types of connections may be used to removably connect links to connector hubs, connectors hubs to connectors and/or links to connectors.
In one embodiment, the connecting formations of the connector hub are female parts, e.g. slots or openings/holes, and the hub attachment formations of the links and the end formations of the connectors include male parts, e.g. male connectors configured to mate with the slots or openings by way of a snap-fit or friction fit. In such a case, the connector attachment formations of the links may also be female parts, to allow a connector (which has male snap-fit or friction fit formations at both ends) to be removably connected to the link.
Alternatively, the connector hubs, connectors and links may be provided with suitable screw-threaded formations. In one embodiment, the connecting formations of the connector hub are screw-threaded (female) slots, and the link's hub attachment formations and connector's end formations are screw-threaded (male) spigots or projections. In such a case, the link's connector attachment formations may be similar female parts, to allow the male connector to be removably connected to the link. The link may have a body and a separate male screw-threaded component which is configured to permit the body to be screwed into the connector hub.
In addition to the components already mentioned above, one or more of the following elements may be included in a construction kit:
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a connector hub for use in a construction kit substantially as described above, the connector hub comprising:
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention there is provided link for use in a construction kit substantially as described above with a connector hub substantially as described above, the link comprising:
The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention, is illustrative of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. It will be understood that changes can be made to the embodiment/s described, while still attaining beneficial results of the present invention. Furthermore, it will be understood that some benefits of the present invention can be attained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilising other features. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will recognise that modifications and adaptations to the present invention are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances, and are a part of the present invention.
An embodiment of a construction kit is illustrated in the drawings. The construction kit includes the following primary components: connector hubs 10 (hereinafter referred to as “hubs”), links 30 and connectors 60. The kit includes different types of links 30 of various angles (see
The kit also includes additional components: hubs with integrated links known as “integrated hub-and-link components” 86, 88 (see
Turning to the “hub” in
The holes 20 define three axes which resemble the X-Y-Z axes of the Cartesian coordinate system. A first pair of the holes 20 is located in opposite surfaces/ends of the hub 20 and they define a first axis 22 of the connector hub 10. A second pair of the holes 20 is located in opposite surfaces/ends of the hub 20 and they define a second axis 24 of the connector hub 10. A third pair of the holes 20 is located in opposite surfaces/ends of the hub 20 and they define a third axis 26 of the connector hub 10.
The axes 22, 24, 26 are all orthogonal to each other and the three axes 22, 24, 26 intersect at a centre point of the hub 10, which is referred to herein as the vertex 28 of the hub 10. This can be equated to the (0,0,0) coordinate in the Cartesian coordinate system (with the vertex 28 being the (0,0,0) point). Each axis 22, 24, 26 runs through the central points of the two holes 20 it is associated with and they intersect at the vertex 28.
Each hole 20 is shaped and dimensioned to function as a female snap-fit connection point. These holes 20 can mate with both the links 30 as will be more fully described below.
Turning to
To illustrate the structure and certain design principles of the links 30, the link 38, which is a 45° angled link, is used as an example below. Unless otherwise indicated or readily apparent from the drawings, the principles also apply to the other links 30.
The link 38 is shown connected to the hub 10 in
As is best shown in
When the link 38 is connected to the hub 10, it is rotatable about the axis 26 of the hub 10 associated with the hole 20 in which the formation 45 is inserted.
The connector attachment formation 46 at the other end of the link 38 is a female snap-fit formation configured to mate with ends of the connectors 60 which have complementary male parts.
This allows connectors 60 to be connected to hubs 10 via links 30 to create additional angles, or vectors. In this embodiment of the construction kit, each link 30 has a link face 48 which is defined at an outer surface of the end of the link 30 where the connector attachment formation 46 is located, and this link face 48 is perpendicular to the linking axis described below.
The link 38 (and all of the other angled links 34, 36, 40, 42) defines a linking axis 50 (best shown in
The links 30 are connectable to the hubs 10 such that they are fairly rigidly attached thereto, but are rotatable about the axis of the hub 10 associated with the hole 20 to which the link 30 is connected. This enhances the functionality of the construction kit without compromising structural integrity which is facilitated by the flange 47. In use, irrespective of the angular position of the link 30 relative to the hub 10, the linking axis will always intersect the vertex 28 when the link 30 is connected in the hole 20. As mentioned above, linking axis 50 is perpendicular to the link face 48 (as an example, see the indication of the 90° angle marked “51” in
It will be appreciated that the straight link 32 technically also has a linking axis, but this linking axis is at an angle of zero relative to the axis associated with the hole 20 associated with the link 32 in use. In other words, the linking axis of the straight link 32 is co-axial with the relevant axis of the hub 10.
In addition to the linking axis 50, the angled links also each define a connecting axis which is co-axial to the axis of the connector hub 10 associated with the relevant hole 20. The connecting axis is thus the axis along which the link 30 “connects” to the hub 10 while the linking axis is the axis along which the connector 60 “links” to the link 30 and the hub 10. In
It will be appreciated that in straight links such as the link 32, the linking axis and the connecting axis is the same axis and, when the straight link is connected to the hub in a particular hole 20, this axis is co-axial to the axis (22/24/26) of the hub 10 associated with that particular hole 20.
It will be clear from
This is not intended to provide an exhaustive indication of the possible links that may be included in a construction kit in accordance with the invention. Furthermore, in some embodiments the kit may include “flexible links” which have adjustable angles/linking axes.
The links 30 have all been designed such that a linking distance of each link 30, which is defined as the distance between the link face 48 of the link 30 and the vertex 28 of the hub 10 to which it is connected in use, remains constant irrespective of the angular position of the link 30 relative to the hub 10 and such that the linking distances applicable to all of the links 30 in the kit are equal. The linking distance may specifically be taken from the point where the linking axis of the link 30 intersects the link face 48 (or where it intersects the plane defined by the link face 48) up to the vertex 28. This point “P” and the linking distance “D” are illustrated in
A further feature of the kit, in this embodiment of the invention, is that the hubs and links are shaped and dimensions such that when two links 30 are to be connected to the same hub 10 (“shared hub”), the shared hub 10 will always accommodate the attachment of the two links 30 to adjacent (neighbouring) connection points/connecting formations of the shared hub 30 as long as there is at least a 30 degree or greater angular gap between their respective vectors, i.e. the respective linking axes of the links 30. This is illustrated in
As mentioned above, the kit can also include additional components. One such additional component is an integrated hub-and-link component.
The construction kit may also include one or more couplings (or couplers) such as the coupling 90 shown in
Another additional part that may form part of the construction kit is an integrated connector-and-link component. Three examples of an integrated connector-and-link component 122, 124, 126 are shown in
The integrated connector-and-link component 126 has a body 128 and two ends 130, 132. In this example (i.e. the component 126 shown at the bottom of
Referring to
Then, as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
As a further example,
It will be appreciated that to construct the structure 140, integrated hub-and-link components such as the component 86 and/or 88 can be used either instead of the hubs 10 or in addition to the hubs 10.
The structure 80 and the structure 140 are illustrated merely as examples of the relative ease with which fairly complex structures may be formed using the construction kit.
It should be understood that the connector attachment formation 46 is shaped and dimensioned to receive the male snap-fit part of the connector 60.
As described above, the removable connections between hubs 10, links 30 and connectors 60 in the construction kit, as well as the connections used in the other components 86, 88, 90, 122, 124, 126, are achieved by way of snap-fit arrangements. However, other connections may be employed in alternative embodiments.
Furthermore, the hubs 10 need not be spherical and other shapes and designs may be employed.
It will be apparent from the descriptions above that the Inventor has developed a simple, but highly useful, effective and versatile construction kit.
The construction kit as described herein may be used to construct complex structures which have high angular and directional stability and require little bracing. Furthermore, only one type of hub and a limited number of links may be required, while all connectors may also be identical except for length. This can facilitate the reduction of manufacturing costs.
Merely by way of non-limiting examples, the table below includes an indication of the components that may be included in typical kits:
As mentioned above the design of the kit allows the use of standard length sequences in the connectors 60. Two exemplary length sequences are explained below. They have both been designed so that users can build several right angled triangles accurately and at various scales.
A first example, sequence #1, has connector lengths of bx, as measured between the two centres (vertices) of the two hubs to which it connects, calculated using a base length b0 which can be any length, but as an example 48/√2=33.94 mm may be used. To calculate the rest of the lengths in the sequence, the following formula is employed:
b1=b0*√2
b2=b1*√2
b3=b2*√2, etc.
This sequence, i.e. sequence #1, allows a user to build 45° degree right angled triangles at various scales.
A second example, sequence #2, has connector lengths of cx, where cx=bx*√3/√2. This sequence, in conjunction with sequence #1, allows a user to build additional right angled triangles, such as a 30°/60° and a 35.26°/54.74 right angled triangle. In addition, the two sequences in combination with the coupling component as described above allows many different lengths (and triangles) to be created, which gives users a more flexible system. In fact, with 9 lengths (5 from sequence #1 and 4 from sequence #2) and one coupling, the system can create 55 unique different lengths.
The Inventor has found that the combination of the hubs and links described herein provide highly simple yet effective and multi-functional structural components, which may be used as (but are not limited to) corner parts for larger structures.
As mentioned above, in at least some embodiments of the invention, the linking distance is substantially the same for all new vectors formed and irrespective of the angle employed between a connector hub and its connected link. These new vectors also intersect the vertex of the hub at all times. This may allow the kit to employ a fixed and fairly small set of standard connector lengths and may thus obviate the need for extendable connectors. These improved design principles may further reduce the overall cost to manufacture and supply the construction kit. Any suitable manufacturing technique may be used to manufacture the components of the kit, e.g. injection moulding or additive manufacturing using a suitable plastic/polymeric material.
Known hub-and-strut kits are often complex and require complicated instructions to users, whereas the Inventor's systems may typically associate a set of fixed angles with a set of fixed lengths which can easily be mastered by users.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/05732 | Sep 2020 | ZA | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2021/058256 | 9/10/2021 | WO |
