Patent Application
20220233969
Manipulative construction sets which can be assembled into three-dimensional geometric structures have been popular for many years. Mechanical interlocking structures have been employed to connect individual construction tiles together, but there are generally restrictions on assembly geometries or critical alignment requirements, excessive connection forces and angles, or cost issues driven by dimensional fabrication precision requirements. In response to these issues, magnets have been used to provide an easier assembly of plastic construction tiles. Conventionally, these magnets are embedded at an edge of the plastic construction tile to facilitate connecting edges of the construction tiles and to prevent removal of the magnet from the construction tile. However, embedding the entire magnet in the construction tile results in weaker bonds between the construction tiles because of the plastic barrier between the connected magnets. Moreover, because the magnet is embedded in the plastic construction tile, the polarity of the magnet is fixed resulting in limited orientations for connection of the construction tiles.
The following is a brief summary of subject matter that is described in greater detail herein. This summary is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the claims.
Disclosed herein are various technologies pertaining to a manipulative construction set configured for assembly into a three-dimensional geometric structure. According to an example, the manipulative construction set can comprise a plurality of tiles. Each of the tiles can comprise a side forming a tile perimeter, wherein the side comprises an inward extending pocket formed therein. Each of the tiles can further comprise a magnet rotatably retained within the pocket, wherein a portion of the magnet retained in the pocket is exposed. The exposed portion of the magnet can rotate about between a first polarity and a second polarity such that a magnet of a first tile in the plurality of tiles and a magnet of a second tile in the plurality of tiles are capable of attracting the side of the first tile to the side of the second tile by rotating to result in attracting polarities between the magnet of the first tile and the magnet of the second tile.
Because the magnets can rotate to form the attracting polarities between construction tiles, the construction tiles are not limited to particular connection orientations and can maintain their connection at different orientations. Moreover, because a portion of the magnet is exposed, the magnetic bond between construction tiles is maintained while stress is applied to the connected construction tiles. Further, due to the exposed rotating magnets in the construction tiles, a set of construction tiles can be configured to self-organize into a three-dimensional geometric structure when the set of construction tiles is placed in a container and shaking forces are applied to the container.
The above summary presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of such systems and/or methods. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Various technologies pertaining to manipulative construction sets are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details.
In reference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as, top, bottom, left, right, up, down, upper, lower, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may be used. Such directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the features described herein in any manner. It is to be understood that embodiments presented herein are by way of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of the following detailed description, although discussing exemplary embodiments, is to be construed to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalents of the embodiments as may fall within the spirit and scope of the features described herein.
Moreover, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from the context, the phrase “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, the phrase “X employs A or B” is satisfied by any of the following instances: X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from the context to be directed to a singular form. Additionally, as used herein, the term “exemplary” is intended to mean serving as an illustration or example of something and is not intended to indicate a preference.
Disclosed is a magnetic manipulative construction set that comprises a plurality of construction tiles that are removably attachable to one another. Each construction tile includes a side with an exposed, rotatable magnet held therein. The magnets can rotate their polarities (as necessary) such that the magnets attract one another connecting the construction tiles together.
Turning to
Any suitable type of magnet 106 may be included in the construction tile 100. The magnet 106 can take any suitable shape and/or size with any suitable magnet strength; thus, the magnet 106 as well as a similar magnet of another construction tile can allow the constructions tile 100 and the other construction tile to attach and detach from each other as desired. In the illustrated embodiment, the magnet 106 comprises a spherical magnet. In another embodiment, the magnet 106 may comprise a cylindrical magnet, a bar magnet, and/or the like.
The side 102 of the construction tile 100 may include any suitable number of magnets. In the illustrated embodiment, the construction tile 100 includes a single magnet 106 along the side 102. In another embodiment, the construction tile 100 may include a plurality of magnets (and a corresponding plurality of magnet retaining structures) along the side 102, the plurality of magnets may be similar or may vary. For instance, where the plurality of magnets comprises two magnets, in one embodiment both magnets may be spherical magnets, while in another embodiment one magnet is a spherical magnet while the other magnet is a cylindrical magnet.
The strength of the magnetic attraction between adjacent construction tiles may depend on the strength of the magnet in each construction tile (e.g., the strength of the magnet 106 and the strength of the magnet in an adjacent construction tile). For instance, where one or both magnets has a high strength, it may be difficult to separate the construction tile 100 from the adjacent construction tile, while conversely weaker strength magnets may result in the set being unable to maintain connection between the construction tiles. Accordingly, the magnet 106 may have any suitable strength for maintaining connection between construction tiles to assemble a three-dimensional geometric structure, as will be described in detail below.
Moreover, the strength of the magnet may be a function of the size and/or weight of the construction tile it is located in. This relationship can be exemplified by a ratio of magnet power to construction tile weight. For instance, a magnet power to tile weight ratio may be at least 40× (e.g., the magnet power may be at least 40 times the tile weight). According to an example, the magnet power to tile weight ratio may be in a range from 40× to 100×; however, other ratios of the magnet power to the tile weight are contemplated.
The magnet 106 may comprise any suitable material for attaching construction tiles together. For instance, the magnet 106 may be a rare-earth magnet made from rare-earth elements. By way of another example, the magnet 106 may comprise a neodymium magnet and/or a samarium-cobalt magnet.
The magnet 106 may further comprise portions that have different polarities (e.g., a north pole and a south pole). For instance, in the case of the magnet 106 being or including a spherical magnet, the spherical magnet may have a first hemisphere that is a north pole and a second hemisphere that is a south pole. In another example, in the case of the magnet 106 being or including a cylindrical magnet, a first portion of curved surface extending along the length of the cylindrical magnet can be a north pole and a second portion of curved surface extending along the length of the cylindrical magnet can be a south pole.
The magnet retaining structure 104 is configured to permit the magnet 106 to rotate between these polarities, as will be described below. For example, because the magnet 106 can rotate between polarities, when a magnetic material (e.g., a magnet in another construction tile) approaches the magnet 106, the magnet 106 may rotate (as necessary) to result in an attractive force between the magnet 106 and the magnetic material.
In order to connect sides of adjacent construction tiles via the attractive force between their magnets, the magnet 106 is retained at a side of the construction tile 100 via the magnet retaining structure 104. The magnet retaining structure 104 is configured to rotatably retain the magnet 106 at the side 102 of the construction tile 100 while leaving a portion of the magnet 106 exposed to the external environment. This exposed portion of the magnet 106 helps to establish a stronger connection between adjacent construction tiles.
The magnet retaining structure 104 can take any suitable shape and/or include any suitable components to rotatably retain the magnet 106 therein and may depend on the magnet 106 employed. For instance, in
In the illustrated embodiment, the pocket 108 has a U-shaped cross-section that is embedded in the construction tile 102. The pocket 108 may take any suitable shape and size for retaining the magnet 106 therein. For instance, the U-shaped cross-section may be sized to permit movement (e.g., horizontally, vertically, rotationally, etc.) of the magnet 106 within the pocket 108 while retaining a portion of magnet 106 outside the pocket 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the pocket 108 is sized to permit lateral movement of the magnet 106 within the pocket 108, i.e. the magnet 106 can move further in and out of the pocket 108 relative to the side 102.
The opening 110 in the side 102 can take any suitable shape for retaining the magnet in the pocket 108 while exposing a portion of the magnet 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the opening 110 has a cross-section that is smaller than the cross-section of the pocket 108 such that a portion of the magnet 106 can stick out of the opening (as seen in
The pocket 108 and the opening 110 may be sized to permit the magnet 106 to rotate between polarities. As discussed above, the magnet 106 may rotate (as necessary) to generate attracting forces between the magnet 106 in the construction tile 100 and another magnet in an adjacent construction tile. More particularly, the pocket 108 and the opening 110 may be configured to permit the exposed portion of the magnet 106 to change polarities (as necessary).
The opening 110 may be further configured to prevent the magnet 106 from extending beyond the side 102 of the construction tile 100. When adjacent construction tiles are connected by the attractive forces between their magnets, their respective sides abut one another. The opening 110 may be configured to generally retain the magnet 106 within the construction tile 100 while allowing the portion of the magnet 106 to be exposed without the magnet 106 extending beyond the side 102. The abutment between adjacent construction tiles can be seen in at least
The side acts as a perimeter of the construction tile and defines a cross-sectional shape of the construction tile. The construction tile can take any suitable cross-sectional shape while maintaining the features described above. In one embodiment, illustrated in at least
As briefly noted above, because of the attracting forces between the magnets in the construction tiles, a set of construction tiles can be attached to one another to form a three-dimensional connected structure. Different connected structures can be formed by assembling different sets of construction tiles (e.g., a first set of construction tiles can be assembled to form a first connected structure while a second set of construction tiles can be assembled to form a second connected structure). Moreover, different connected structures may be formed by a set of construction tiles by assembling the construction tiles in varying configurations.
The construction tiles in a particular set may be similar and/or may vary. In one embodiment, the construction tiles in the set have similar shape, size, magnet strength, magnet type, and/or the like. For instance, in the illustrated embodiments, the construction tiles in the set comprise a similar pentagonal shape and size. In another embodiment, the construction tiles in the set vary in shape, size, magnet strength, magnet type, and/or the like.
In order to facilitate assembling a connected structure, the construction tiles may be configured to align at a particular angle when attached together. For instance, a side of a first construction tile may be sloped to cause a second construction tile attached at that side to extend from the first construction tile at an angle. This angled attachment between connected construction tiles is illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the first construction tile 300 comprises opposing planar surfaces 304 and 306 and a side 308 extending therebetween. As illustrated, the side 308 slopes outwardly from the first planar surface 304 and the second planar surface 306 toward a rounded end. Similar to the first construction tile 300, the second construction tile 302 may comprise opposing planar surfaces 310 and 312 with a sloping side 314 therebetween. The sloping side 314 of the second construction tile 302 may be similar to the sloping side 308 of the first construction tile 300 or they may vary.
Description will now be made with reference to the side 308 in the first construction tile 300, however the proceeding description may also apply to the side 314 of the second construction tile 302. The side 308 can slope at any suitable angle from the first planar surface 304 and/or the second planar surface 306. In the illustrated embodiment, the side 308 has a similar angle from the first planar surface 304 as from the second planar surface 306. The use of similar angles for the slope of the side 308 from the first planar surface 304 and from the second planar surface 306 results in the second construction tile 302 forming the same angle θ with the second construction tile 302 regardless of orientation of the first construction tile 300. In another embodiment, the side 308 may have a first angle with respect to the first planar surface 304 and a different second angle with respect to the second planar surface 306. Moreover, the angle each portion of the side 308 makes with the planar surface (e.g., the first planar surface 304) can be similar and/or can vary. The side 308 may have any suitable angle with the planar surface (e.g., the first planar surface 304) for forming the dihedral angle θ between the first construction tile 300 and the second construction tile 302. Accordingly, the angle with the planar surface(s) may be a function of the interior angle of the three-dimensional geometric structure formed with the manipulative construction set.
As described above, the construction tiles may include a plurality of sides which each have a corresponding magnet retained therein. Because of the plurality of magnets in each construction tile, multiple construction tiles may be interconnected while generating the connected structure. For instance, a first magnet in a first construction tile can be attached to a first magnet in a second construction tile, while a second magnet in the first construction tile is attached to a first magnet in a third construction tile. The second construction tile and the third construction tile may also include multiple sides with multiple magnets permitting the second construction tile and the third construction tile to be attached together via another magnet in each of those tiles.
This interconnection of multiple construction tiles can be seen in at least
Turning now to
Turning now to
The connected structure, whether the embodiment illustrated in
In another embodiment, the construction tiles may attract to one another and self-organize into the connected structure when forces are applied to a container retaining the construction tiles. More particularly, because of the features of the construction tiles described above, when sufficient force is applied to the container holding the construction tiles, the construction tiles attract one another because of the rotating magnets and because of the sloped sides the construction tiles align at a particular angle when connecting to form the connected structure.
The container may take any suitable shape that causes the construction tiles to self-organize into the connected structure when the forces are applied to the container. For instance, the container may comprise a cylindrical container, a spherical container, a non-circular container (e.g., rectangular, polygonal, triangular, etc.) and/or the like. The container may be further configured to selectively hold objects within the container such that a user can add and remove objects from the container as desired. For instance, the container may comprise a lid movable between an open position permitting a user to insert construction tiles into an interior of the container and/or to remove a connected structure and a closed position to retain the connection tiles within the container while the forces are applied to the container.
The container may be subjected to any suitable forces that cause the construction tiles held therein to self-organize into the connected structure. For instance, the container may be shaken by subjecting the container to a plurality of linear and rotational forces.
Turning now to
In a yet further embodiment, as illustrated in
The construction tile can be formed via any suitable manufacturing technique. For example, a construction tile may be formed of a plurality of parts that are then assembled together to form the construction tile illustrated in the preceding embodiments.
Each of the halves can include corresponding indentations to retain a magnet therein. As the halves are secured together via the screw 802, the indentations can align and retain the magnet within the construction tile 800. More particularly, the construction tile 800 can be assembled by placing a magnet (e.g., a spherical magnet) in an indentation of a first half of the body of the construction tile 800. A second half of the body is aligned with and secured to the first half via the screw 802. As the first half and the second half are secured together, the indentation in the first half and an indentation in the second half align to form a magnet retaining structure to retain the magnet in the assembled construction tile 800.
What has been described above includes examples of one or more embodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable modification and alteration of the above devices or methodologies for purposes of describing the aforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further modifications and permutations of various aspects are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
