Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6558065
-
Patent Number
6,558,065
-
Date Filed
Monday, July 9, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 6, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 403 176
- 403 180
- 403 279
- 403 282
- 403 326
- 446 107
- 446 108
- 446 124
- 446 126
- 446 128
- 052 646
- 052 814
- 052 DIG 10
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A geometric construction system includes at least a coupling lever and at least two substantially flat frames of equilateral polygonal shape, each of which defines a frame space therein and each of which includes equilateral side portions that confine the frame space, and pivotal parts that are disposed within the frame space and that are connected to the side portions. The coupling lever has two opposite pivotal ends respectively pivoted to a selected one of the pivotal parts of one of the frames and a selected one of the pivotal parts of the other one of the frames so as to permit the frames to be turnable relative to the coupling lever.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a geometric construction system, more particularly to a geometric construction system including a plurality of flat frames of polygonal shape and a plurality of coupling levers for coupling the frames.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional geometric construction systems normally include a plurality of panels of polygonal shape, which can be coupled together to form two- and three-dimensional arrays. However, the thus-formed arrays are normally fixed in shape and cannot be instantly transformed from one shape to another without re-assembly of the panels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a geometric construction system that is capable of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks.
Accordingly, a geometric construction system of this invention comprises: at least two substantially flat frames of equilateral polygonal shape, each of which defines a frame space therein and each of which includes equilateral side portions that confine the frame space, and equilaterally spaced apart pivotal parts that are disposed within the frame space and that are connected to the side portions; and at least a coupling lever that has two opposite pivotal ends respectively pivoted to a selected one of the pivotal parts of one of the frames and a selected one of the pivotal parts of the other one of the frames so as to permit the frames to be turnable relative to the coupling lever.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention,
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a geometric construction system embodying this invention, which includes a flat frame and a coupling lever;
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional side view to illustrate how the flat frame engages the coupling lever of
FIG. 1
;
FIGS. 3
to
5
are perspective views to illustrate how the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can be constructed into different configurations of three-dimensional arrays;
FIG. 6
is a perspective view to illustrate that the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can further include a connecting rod;
FIGS. 7 and 8
are perspective views to illustrate how a three-dimensional array of the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can be instantly transformed from one shape to another;
FIGS. 9 and 10
are perspective views to illustrate how the geometric construction system of this invention can be further constructed into different complex configurations;
FIG. 11
is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of a geometric construction system of this invention, with a triangular flat frame modified from that shown in
FIG. 1
; and
FIG. 12
is a perspective view of a third preferred embodiment of a geometric construction system of this invention, with the flat frame being square in shape.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIGS. 1
to
5
illustrate a preferred embodiment of a geometric construction system of this invention. The geometric construction system includes: a plurality of substantially flat frames
10
of equilateral polygonal shape, each of which defines a frame space
12
therein and each of which includes equilateral side portions
11
that confine the frame space
12
, and equilaterally spaced apart pivotal parts
13
that are disposed within the frame space
12
and that are connected to the side portions
11
; and a plurality of coupling levers
20
, each having two opposite pivotal ends
21
respectively pivoted to a selected one of the pivotal parts
13
of one of the frames
10
and a selected one of the pivotal parts
13
of another one of the frames
10
so as to permit the frames
10
to be turnable relative to the coupling lever
20
. The frames
10
are triangular in shape in this preferred embodiment. However, the frames
10
can also be in the form of other shapes, such as square or hexagonal, etc.
The pivotal parts
13
of each frame
10
are preferably in the form of a rod that interconnects two adjacent ones of the side portions
11
of the frame
10
. Each of the pivotal ends
21
of each coupling lever
20
has a C-shaped protrusion that is sleeved fittingly and rotatably on a respective one of the pivotal parts
13
.
FIGS. 3
to
5
illustrate how the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can be constructed into different configurations of three-dimensional arrays.
Referring to
FIGS. 6
to
10
, by incorporating a plurality of connecting rods
30
, the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can be further constructed into various configurations of complex three-dimensional arrays. As best shown in
FIG. 6
, each side portion
11
of each frame
10
is formed with a recess
14
defined by a recess face that has two opposite end faces formed with protrusions
141
. Each connecting rod
30
has a generally elliptical cross-section, and two interconnected connecting portions
33
, each of which is complementary to and is received in the recess
14
in a selected one of the side portions
11
of a respective frame
10
and each of which has two opposite ends provided with grooves
31
that respectively receive the protrusions
141
on the respective side portion
11
of the respective frame
10
so as to permit the frames
10
to be freely turnable relative to the respective connecting rods
30
. A pair of slits
15
are formed in each side portion
11
of each frame
10
and are disposed respectively adjacent to the end faces of the recess face of a respective recess
14
so as to facilitate insertion of the connecting rod
30
into the respective recess
14
.
As an example,
FIGS. 7 and 8
simply demonstrate that the three-dimensional arrays of the geometric construction system of
FIG. 1
can be instantly transformed from one shape to another without re-assembly of the frames
10
and the coupling levers
20
.
FIGS. 11 and 12
respectively illustrate second and third preferred embodiments of the geometric construction system modified from that shown in FIG.
1
. In
FIG. 11
, the side portions
11
′ of each frame
10
′ are not formed with the recesses
14
. In
FIG. 12
, each frame
10
″ is square in shape, and the side portions
11
″ of each frame
10
″ are not formed with the recesses
14
. Moreover, the pivotal parts
13
″ are provided with stoppers
131
″ for preventing axial movement of the coupling lever
20
along the length of the respective pivotal part
13
″.
With the pivotal parts
13
(
13
″), the coupling levers
20
and the connecting rods
30
, the geometric construction system of this invention can be constructed into various configurations of three-dimensional arrays, and can be instantly transformed from one shape to another without the need to re-assemble the frames
10
and the coupling levers
20
.
With the invention thus explained, it is apparent that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be limited only as recited in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A geometric construction system comprising:a plurality of substantially flat frames of equilateral polygonal shape, each of which defines a frame space therein and each of which includes equilateral side portions that confine said frame space, and equilaterally spaced apart pivotal parts that are disposed within said frame space and that are connected to said side portions, each of said side portions of each of said frames being formed with a recess that is defined by a recess face which has two opposite end faces that are formed with protrusions; a plurality of coupling levers, each of which is associated with two adjacent ones of said frames and each of which has two opposite pivotal ends respectively pivoted to a selected one of said pivotal parts of one of said two adjacent ones of said frames and a selected one of said pivotal parts of the other one of said two adjacent ones of said frames so as to permit said frames to be turnable relative to said coupling lever; and a plurality of connecting rods, each having two interconnected connecting portions, each of which is complementary to and is received in said recess in a selected one of said side portions of a respective one of said frames and each of which has two opposite ends formed with grooves that respectively receive said protrusions on the selected one of said side portions of the respective one of said frames.
US Referenced Citations (12)