Construction toys, involving numerous individual component parts that can be joined in various ways to form structures, are popular toys with young children. One such construction toy is the K'NEX construction toy product, manufactured and marketed by K'NEX Industries, Inc., Hatfield, Pa. The K'NEX construction toy set, for example, comprises numerous plastic rods of various lengths and a wide variety of connector elements that can be joined in various ways with the rods by a lateral snap-in action. Typically, such construction sets also come with special components such as wheels, gears, motors, etc.
Construction toys are designed to enable various devices and structures to be assembled and later disassembled for building of other devices, etc. to provide continuing enjoyment over a period of time. Accordingly, it is common to provide such construction toy sets with suitably rugged containers, in which the individual component parts may be conveniently stored between play sessions using the toy. One advantageous form of such container is configured in the nature of a small suitcase or briefcase, with a convenient carrying handle at the top. Access to the container is provided through a large hinged panel, forming part of a front wall of the container, which can be opened when the container is placed in a horizontal orientation, supported by its back wall.
The present invention relates to an improvement in the above described style of container for construction toys, in which the container and its access cover are modified in a unique and advantageous manner such that, when the access cover is open, it not only provides the usual access to the contents of the container, but also provides a convenient utility for simplifying and expediting the picking up of parts after a play session is over. In this respect, the open access cover is configured somewhat in the nature of a dust pan, which extends from the bottom of the horizontally oriented open container. Loose component parts can be easily swept by hand onto the surface of the open cover and collected. When the cover is full, the parts can be discharged into the container by pivoting the cover upwardly. In addition, the horizontally oriented container may be gripped by the handle and moved in a manner to facilitate the gathering of loose components.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the container is configured in a novel manner, such that the access cover is comprised of a substantial portion of the front wall of the container, and also a substantial portion of the bottom wall, extending approximately half-way across the bottom wall, to form an access cover having a generally L-shaped cross sectional configuration. The access cover is pivoted to the container at approximately the mid point of the bottom wall. The geometry of the bottom wall is such that, when the access cover is opened, it can be pivoted through 180 degrees to lie flat on the floor or other support surface on which the container is placed. Retaining walls preferably are provided along opposite side edges of the access cover, such that the open cover forms a tray or receptacle which is open along the free edge of the open cover. Loose parts can thus easily be gathered by hand and swept up into the open sided receptacle at the end of a play session. The parts can then be discharged into the container by pivoting the cover upwardly over the access opening.
For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, and to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 designates generally a container for holding individual components of a toy construction set, such as the K'NEX construction toy. Such a construction set consists of a large number of relatively small parts, in the form of rods of various graduated lengths, small connectors engageable with the rods to form assemblies, and other miscellaneous parts such as wheels, gears, panels, etc. The container 10 is designed to contain the relevant parts during the initial shipments and customer sales, and thereafter to provide containment for loose parts between play sessions with the construction set. The size of the container 10 is, of course, a function of the number of parts supplied and will therefore vary with the cost and complexity of the construction set.
The illustrated container comprises a front wall 11 opposite side walls 12, 13, a bottom wall structure 14, a back wall 15 and a top structure 16 including a carrying handle 17. The entire container is preferably formed of a suitable plastic material and is formed with a hollow interior 18 of appropriate internal volume for the parts to be contained.
To advantage, the container 10 has a configuration similar to a thin suitcase or a briefcase, for example, for easy storage and carrying. The container is designed and intended to have two primary orientations, a vertical orientation as shown in
In usage during a play session, it may be desired to simply dump the entire contents of the container 10 on to a floor, table or other support surface. In other cases, it may be preferred to leave some or all of the loose components in the container and extract them one at a time during the building process. Thus, known containers for this purpose provide an access cover, in the form of a large panel, forming a relatively large portion of the front wall of the container, and which is appropriately hinged to the front wall. Opening of this access cover provides a large opening for accessing the inside of the container for removal or return of parts.
In accordance with the present invention, a new and improved access cover arrangement is provided in which the access cover, designated generally by the reference numeral 19, is comprised of a first panel 20, constituting a large portion of the front wall 11, and a second panel 21 (
Preferably, a narrow flange 24 is provided around the side and top edges of the access opening 23 to support peripheral edges of the access cover 19. Small detent elements 25 may be provided at the side edges of the access cover panel 19, to engage detent recesses 26 (
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, when the access cover 19 is pivoted to an open position, shown in
As will be understood, during a cleanup operation, a person may grip the container handle 17 with one hand and use the other hand to sweep parts into the open access cover, moving the entire container unit as necessary or convenient. When a sufficient number of parts have been swept on to the surface 30 of the tray, the cover 19 is pivoted upward, as reflected in
In order to enable the access cover 19 to be pivoted a full 180 degrees to the position shown in
In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the bottom structure 14 includes support portions 35 at each end which extend flush with the bottom surface extremities of the support lugs 33 and the cover panel 21, providing additional support for the container 10 in its upright orientation.
The new container of the invention retains all of the desirable and advantageous features of conventional containers for the same purpose, while adding significantly to the functionality of the container by providing an efficient cleanup facility. By configuring the access cover of the container to include not only a major portion of the front wall, but also a substantial portion of the bottom wall, the access cover opens to form a dust pan-like collection tray into which loose parts may be efficiently gathered by a sweeping motion of the hand. The handle of the container, which is opposite from the tray, allows the entire container and tray to be manipulated, to facilitate pickup of loose parts at the end of a play session. The parts are conveniently discharged into the container simply by an upward pivoting movement of the access cover, which causes all of the parts on the tray to slide into the open interior of the container.
Using of a portion of the bottom structure of the container to form the pickup tray makes for a highly efficient arrangement, allowing the tray to be easily moved from place to place and oriented toward the loose parts by manipulating the container handle 17. The container body may be tipped up slightly during this operation, if desired. The tray formed by the access cover 19 will remain flat on the support surface for convenient reception of loose parts.
It should be understood, of course, that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.
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WO 91042924 | Apr 1991 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20050164594 A1 | Jul 2005 | US |