Patent Application
20180339237
The present invention relates to an assembly toy set, and more particularly to a connector that may be assembled and connected in various directions and an assembly toy set including the same.
Lego and assembly toy sets of K'NEX are widely known. Among existing assembly toys, Lego allows a desired shape to be formed by assembling hexagonal blocks. For example, each of Lego blocks has a protrusion and a recess such that the Lego blocks are coupled to each other, and the Lego blocks may be assembled in various shapes by using the protrusions and recesses. However, because Lego extends or is built longitudinally as the protrusions and the recesses of the individual Lego blocks are coupled to each other, there is a limit in extending the Lego laterally. Accordingly, it is relatively difficult to assemble the shape that extends or is built laterally and there are many restrictions in manufacturing a desired shape by the user.
Further, the assembly set of K'NEX includes elements that may be relatively freely connected to each other laterally to supplement the above-mentioned disadvantages of Lego. However, because different connectors are applied according to connection directions in the assembly toy set, the number of components is large and manufacturing costs are high.
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a connector that may be connected through joint coupling.
The present invention provides a connector that may be connected to another connector.
The present invention provides an assembly toy set that includes an improved connector.
The present invention provides an assembly toy set that may be easily understood and used by the user by minimizing the number of elements for connection such as the connector, and may lower manufacturing costs.
The present invention provides a connector included in an assembly toy set, and the connector includes: a body having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a plurality of side surfaces; a first coupling part disposed on at least one of the plurality of side surfaces; and a second coupling part disposed on the upper surface, the lower surface, or the side surfaces, except for the surface on which the first coupling part is disposed, and the first coupling part has a column shape that protrudes from the surface on which the first coupling part is disposed and has a joint ball for joint coupling at an end thereof.
The first coupling part may include: a base portion connected to the surface of the body, on which the first coupling part is disposed; and a middle portion connecting the base portion and the joint ball.
The base portion of the first coupling part may have a cylindrical shape.
The second coupling part may include one or more coupling protrusions.
Flat sections of the one or more coupling protrusions may have fan shapes.
In a first example of the connector, the body may have eight side surfaces.
The second coupling part may be disposed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the body.
Then, the second coupling part may include: the one or more coupling protrusions; and one or more coupling recesses having a shape that is the same as or similar to those of the one or more coupling protrusions and formed beside the coupling protrusions in the body.
The one or more coupling protrusions may be disposed such that flat sections of a pair of fan-shaped individual coupling protrusions form a butterfly shape, and flat sections of the one or more coupling recesses may form a butterfly shape to correspond to the flat sections of the one or more coupling protrusions.
A friction boss is formed on each of inner walls of the one or more coupling recesses.
As a second example of the connector, the body may have a shape, of which an outer shape of the upper surface or the lower surface is a ladder shape. In this case, the second coupling part may be disposed on the widest side surface.
As a third example of the connector, the body may have a shape that is bent in an L-shape when viewed from the top. In this case, the second coupling part may be disposed on one side surface of the bent inside of the body. Further, the second coupling part may be disposed such that the flat sections of a pair of the fan-shaped individual coupling protrusions form a butterfly shape, and each of the coupling protrusions may have one or more stop bosses and one or more stop recesses on one side surface thereof.
Further, the present invention provides an assembly toy set, and the assembly toy set includes: the connector; and a bridge that is joint-coupled to the joint ball of the connector.
The bridge may have a bar shape including two coupling slits extending lengthwise from opposite ends thereof, and each of the coupling slits may be formed such that the first coupling part of the connector is inserted into and coupled to the coupling slit.
The joint ball of the first coupling part of the connector may be inserted into an inner surface of each of the coupling slit for joint coupling.
Each of the coupling slits may be opened in opposite directions such that the first coupling part is rotated in the opened directions in a state in which the joint ball of the first coupling part is coupled to any one of pairs of the joint recesses.
Further, the assembly toy set may further include a plate member having one or more pin holes, into which an anchor pin for coupling another element is inserted.
According to the present invention, provided are a connector that may be connected in a relatively free posture through joint coupling and an assembly toy set including the same. Because the first to third connectors of the present invention are coupled to other elements, such as bridges, through joint coupling, various connection postures may be taken and accordingly, the user may easily assemble various desired models. Accordingly, models that have restrictions or complex shapes may be easily built by everybody. Further, a new assembly toy set that may realize various models, which cannot be realized by the existing assembly tool sets, may be provided.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, a detailed description of related known functions or configurations will be omitted when it may make the essence of the present invention unnecessarily obscure. The present invention relates to first to third connectors, and an assembly tool set including the same.
As illustrated in
The body 11 of the first connector 1 has an upper surface, a lower surface, and side surfaces, and has a polyhedral shape that have many side surfaces. The body 11 of the first connector 1 of the present invention illustrated in
A first coupling part 12 is disposed on at least one of the side surfaces of the first connector 1. In the illustrated example, the first coupling parts 12 are disposed in all the eight surfaces. The first coupling parts 12 have column shapes that protrude from the corresponding surfaces. Moreover, each of the first coupling parts 12 has a joint ball 122 at an end thereof. The joint ball 122 may be joint-coupled to the bridge 4, which will be described below, at various angles, and may be rotated in a coupled state.
The first part 12 of the first connector 1 may include a base portion 121 connected to the body 11, and a middle portion having a diameter that is smaller than that of the base portion 121 and connecting the base portion 121 and the joint ball 122. Preferably, the base portion 121 may have a cylindrical shape. As will be described below, the cylindrical structure allows the base portion 121 to be easily inserted into a coupling slit 41 of the bridge 4 and does not restrict a change of the posture of the first connector 1 in a coupled state (see
As described above, when the middle portion 123 has a diameter that is smaller than that of the base portion 121, the movement of the first part 12 may be less restricted in a state in which the first part 12 is coupled to the bridge 14. However, the diameters of the base portion 121 and the middle portion 123 may be the same.
The second coupling part 13 of the first connector 1 may be disposed on an upper surface, a lower surface, or side surfaces of the body 11, except for the surface on which the first coupling part 12 is disposed. In the illustrated example, the second coupling parts 13 are disposed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the body 11, and the second coupling part 13 disposed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the body 11 have the same shape.
The second coupling part 13 includes one or more coupling protrusions 131, and the flat sections of the one or more coupling protrusions 131 may have fan shapes. As in the illustrated example, a pair of fan-shaped coupling protrusions 131 may be disposed such that the flat sections of the coupling protrusions 131 form a butterfly shape.
Moreover, each of the second coupling parts 13 of the first connector 1 may include one or more coupling recesses 132 having the same or similar shape and formed beside the coupling protrusions 131 of the body 11 in addition to the one or more coupling protrusions 131. The coupling recesses 132 are viewed well in
In the illustrated example, when the flat sections of the pair of coupling protrusions 131 form a butterfly shape, the flat sections of the pair of coupling recesses 132 also form a butterfly shape.
Preferably, a friction boss 1321 may be formed on an inner wall of each of the one or more coupling recesses 132 of the second coupling part 13. The friction bosses 1321 prevent the first connectors 1 from being easily separated after the first connectors 1 are coupled to each other by using the second coupling parts 13 or the first connector 1 is coupled to a coupling part of another connector, which is similar to or the same as the second coupling part 13. Although cannot be viewed well, the friction boss 1321 may have a length in a lengthwise (depth) direction, and accordingly, the frictional force may increase further.
As can be seen in the drawings, the body 11 of the first connector 1 of the present invention has an octagonal column shape, and the remaining portion of the body 11 except for a central portion at which the first coupling part 12 is disposed and peripheral portions for forming the side surfaces may be a empty space. Accordingly, as in the illustrated example, eight ladder shapes 14 may be formed at a circumference of the central portion.
Referring to
For example, as in the plan view of
The first coupling parts 22 and the second coupling part 23 of the second connector 2 have shapes that are the same as or similar to those of the first connectors 1, which have been described above.
That is, the first coupling part 22 of the second connector 2 includes a base portion 221 having a joint ball 222 at an end thereof and a middle portion 223 connecting the base portion 221 and the joint ball 222.
The second coupling part 23 of the second connector 2 includes one or more coupling protrusions 231, and the flat sections of the one or more coupling protrusions 231 may have fan shapes. As in the illustrated example, a pair of fan-shaped coupling protrusions 231 may be disposed such that the flat sections of the coupling protrusions 231 form a butterfly shape.
For reference, a portion 24 indicated by a dotted circle in
As can be seen from
In this way, the body 31 of the third connector 3 having a shape that is bent in an L shape includes a second coupling part 33 on the inside thereof. The second coupling part may be disposed on one surface on the bent inside. The second coupling part 33 of the third connector 3 has a coupling protrusion 331 that extends to the left in the plan view. One 331a of the coupling protrusions 331 may have a shape in which it is coupled to a bottom surface and a side surface of the body 31. The second coupling protrusion 331 of the third connector 3 is also shaped such that the flat sections of the individual coupling protrusions have fan-shapes and the flat sections of the pair of coupling protrusions form a butterfly shape.
Preferably, the coupling protrusions 331 and 331a of the second coupling part 33 of the third connector 3 may have one or more stop bosses 3311 and one or more stop recesses 3312 on one surface thereof. When the third connectors 3 are coupled to each other, a stop boss 3311 of one coupling protrusion 331 is inserted into a stop recess 3312 of another coupling protrusion 331 not to be easily separated from the stop recess 3312 in a coupled state.
When the coupling protrusions 131, 231, and 331 of the second coupling parts 13, 23, and 33 form butterfly-shaped flat sections, portions of the above-described first to third connectors 1 to 3, to which the coupling protrusions 131, 231, and 331 are close, have curved recesses to form circular recesses. The circular recesses may be used for coupling with other elements.
The connector according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has three examples, and the connector may be coupled to other connectors or other elements in various postures. In particular, because the connectors 1, 2, and 3 of the present invention may joint-coupled to another element such as the bridge 4, they may be coupled to each other in various postures to build various models. This will be described below in detail.
Hereinafter, a bridge, an anchor pin, and a plate member included in the assembly toy set according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The bridge 4 may be connected to the above-described first to third connectors 1 to 3 through joint coupling.
The bridge 4 employed in the assembly toy set of the present invention has a bar shape including two coupling slits 41 extending lengthwise from opposite ends thereof. As illustrated in the drawings, the shape of the bridge 4 may be similar to a nipper. The first coupling parts 12, 22, and 32 of the first to third connectors 1, 2, and 3 are inserted into the coupling slits 41 and the joint balls 122, 222, and 322 are inserted into the joint recesses 42 in the coupling slits 41 for joint coupling. Hereinafter, an example of coupling the first connector 1 and the bridge 4 will be described for convenience of understanding.
The coupling slits 41 of the bridge 4 are formed between opposite supports 43, and the coupling slits 41 are opened in opposite directions. Further, as described above, one or more joint recesses 42 are formed on an inner surface of the coupling slit 41. The inner surface of the coupling slit 41 may be an inner wall surface of the support 43, and a pair of joint recesses 42 may be formed on the inner wall surfaces of the supports 43. The joint balls 122 of the first coupling parts 12 are inserted into the pair of recesses for joint coupling. Further, one or more pairs of recesses 42 may be formed in the depth direction of the coupling slit 41, and accordingly, a coupling location of the first coupling part 12 of the connector may be changed.
Further, according to the locations of the above-described one or more joint recesses, the movements of the first coupling parts 12 of the first connector may be different in a state in which the joint recesses are coupled to the first coupling parts 12. For example, when the joint ball 122 of the first coupling part 12 is coupled to the joint recesses 42 at a deepest location, for example, the joint ball 122 may be inserted into the coupling slit 41 of the bridge 4 to the base portion 121 of the first coupling part 12, and the base portion 121 is inserted into a guide groove 4 such that the motion or rotation of the base portion 121 is restricted. In the restricted state, a fixed state may be maintained unless the user applies a force of a limit or more to rotate the first connector. Further, when the joint ball 122 is coupled to the coupling recess 132 at a low location, that is, an entrance side of the coupling slit 41, the joint ball 122 may be rotated in an opened direction of the coupling slit 41 and may be coupled to the unopened direction that crosses the opened direction as well. Although only two coupling recesses are illustrated in the illustrated example, two or more coupling recesses 132 may be employed.
Further, as the coupling slit 41 is opened in opposite directions as described above, the joint ball 122 of the first coupling part 12 of the connector may be rotated relatively freely in an opened direction of the coupling slit 41 in a state in which the joint ball 122 is coupled to any one of the pairs of the joint recesses 42.
Preferably, a curved guide groove 44 corresponding to the joint ball 122 may be disposed on an inner surface (an inner wall surface of the support) of the coupling slit 41 such that the joint ball 122 or the base portion 121 of the first coupling part 12 may not be impeded when it is inserted or separated.
For reference, corner portions of the elements, such as the above-described first to third connectors and the bridges, may have curved shapes or chamfered shapes.
The anchor pins 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65 may be used to couple elements to a member such as a plate member 7, which will be described below.
For example, the anchor pins 61 to 65 employed in the present invention have structures and shapes by which the anchor pins 61 to 65 may be coupled to the first to third connectors 1 to 3, the tube 5 that will be described below, or other members.
The anchor pin 61 of
The anchor pins 62, 63, and 64 of
The anchor pin 65 of
The anchor pins 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65 have a stop element such as a head or flange shape to be easily coupled and separated.
Hereinafter, an example of coupling connectors and a connector and a bridge will be described with reference to the drawings.
It is apparent that the bridge 4 may be coupled even to the first coupling parts of the second and third connectors in the same manner, in addition to the examples of
The plate member 7 is an element that may be used as a wall body, such as a bottom, side walls, an inner wall, or an outer wall, of the formed model and a base structure. The plate member 7 may include one or more pin holes 71, and the pin holes 71 fix other elements, into which the above-described anchor pins 61, 62, 63, and 64 are inserted.
For example, as in
As can be seen from
Further, as illustrated in
Although a detailed embodiment has been described in the detailed description of the present invention, it may be easily understood by those skilled in the part that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2015-0162854 | Nov 2015 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2016/005754 | 5/31/2016 | WO | 00 |
