Patent Application
20250025802
In general, the present invention relates to the structure of toy blocks that are designed to interconnect so that various constructs can be created. More particularly, the present invention relates to the structure of the toy blocks and the materials used in the manufacture of the toy blocks.
There are many types of toy blocks that are designed to interconnect. One of the most popular toy block sets are sold under the LEGO® trademark and were originally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,282 to Kirk. Although such toy blocks are very popular, they do have certain problems that are inherent in the structure of the toy. Most interconnecting toy blocks are made from hard plastic. This gives the toy blocks the ability to “snap” together and remain firmly interconnected until manually pulled apart. However, making the interconnecting toy blocks from hard plastic presents certain problems with product safety. Toy blocks made from hard plastic have hard edges and corners that make the toy blocks painful to step upon with bare feet. As a result, people can injure their feet or even fall when they step on such a product. Additionally, hard plastic blocks can lodge in the throat and/or intestines of a child if the toy blocks are inadvertently swallowed. Furthermore, the hard plastic blocks, and larger constructs made from such blocks, can snap and break if stepped upon, dropped, or otherwise impacted.
In addition to problems in product safety, hard plastic toy blocks have male and female features that interconnect with slight interference fits. This requires that very tight tolerances be applied to the manufacturing of such toy blocks and the raw material used in the molding of such toy blocks. If the tolerances or materials vary, the toy blocks can become difficult to interconnect and/or to pull apart. This complicates the manufacture and supply chain processes, therein making the manufacture of such products both difficult and expensive.
In the prior art, toy blocks have been made from materials that are softer than hard plastic. With such products, the blocks are typically made from an open cell or closed-cell foam. The blocks are made too large to ingest and too hard to bite into. In this manner, if the blocks, or a construct made from blocks, is dropped, thrown, or bitten by a child, no injuries will occur.
In U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019/0381417 to Coppel, a toy construction block is shown that is made from a molded polymer foam. The polymer foam makes the construction blocks soft and compressible to a limited degree. The primary problem of polymer foam is that although it can be elastically compressed, the polymer foam has a low tensile strength and an even lower shear strength. As a result, such foam materials can only be used on large blocks where the mass of the foam provides strength. If such foam material were used on small blocks, the male protrusions formed onto the blocks would readily break off the blocks as the blocks were interconnected and manipulated.
Given the state of the prior art, a need exists for an improved toy construction block that enables the blocks to be made from soft material, yet also enables the blocks to interconnect well and resist breakage, even when made small. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a set of toy construction blocks and the structure of at least some of the blocks in the set. All the toy construction blocks in the set are molded from a thermoplastic elastomer. This enables each of the blocks to elastically stretch in any direction by at least ten percent without damage. Each toy construction block has a main body with a top surface and a bottom surface. One or more male connector protrusions extend from the top surface. Likewise, one or more female connector receptacles extend into the bottom surface of the main body. In a set, blocks can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. In some of the blocks, the main body is molded with empty reliefs. In some other blocks, at least one internal chamber is molded. The internal chamber is separate and distinct from the female connector receptacles. However, the internal chamber or chambers do extend into the male connector protrusions.
Each internal chamber can be empty or can be filled with a fill material that does not inhibit the pliability of the main body. The fill material is selected from a group consisting of liquid, gel and lubricated particles and is preferably visible through the molded thermoplastic elastomer.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Although the present invention construction toy can be embodied in many ways, only a few exemplary embodiments are illustrated. The exemplary embodiments are being shown for the purposes of explanation and description. The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered as limitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims.
Referring to
Each toy construction block 12 is made in whole, or in part, from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) material 22. The TPE material 22 can be prepared by being mixed with a plasticizing oil, such as mineral oil, to make the TPE material 22 softer and more elastic if necessary. The selected TPE material 22, either virgin or mixed with a plasticizing oil, has the ability to elastically elongate in all directions by at least ten (10%) without damage. In this manner, the dimensions of each toy construction block 12 can increase by at least 10 percent if stretched. Likewise, the toy construction blocks 12 can be elastically twisted without damage.
Referring to
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The toy construction blocks 12 are molded from the TPE material 22. The toy construction blocks 12 can be molded solid. However, to reduce weight and the amount of material used, at least some of the larger toy construction blocks 12 in the set 10 can be made hollow. In the larger toy construction blocks 12, an internal chamber 30 can be molded into the main body 26. The internal chamber 30 is disposed within the toy construction block 12 between the top surface 14, the bottom surface 16, and the side walls 32. The presence of the internal chamber 30 makes the toy construction block 12 easier to compress, should the toy construction block 12 be stepped upon or manually manipulated. The internal chamber 30 can be filled with air or an inert gas. Other fill materials can also be used. The internal chamber 30 can also partially extend into the male connector protrusions 18. In this manner, the pliability of the male connector protrusions 18 is increased but the pneumatic pressure maintained within the internal chamber 30 prevents the male connector protrusions 18 from inverting when compressed.
Referring to
Some toy construction blocks are large enough to include an internal chamber. However, small or thin toy construction blocks can also be included in the construction block set. Referring to
It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. For instance, the toy construction blocks can be altered in shape and size to meet the needs of a particular toy construction block set that is intended to build a specific construct. Furthermore, toy construction blocks of different described types, such as air filled, gel filled and recessed can be packaged together in sets. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
