Toy building blocks

Abstract

The invention relates to toy building blocks which are provided with male and female engagement means to allow the same to be engaged together by mutual engagement of the same. At least one of the toy building blocks includes a movable portion which is movable from a retracted to an extended position when two of the toy building blocks are brought into engagement.

Description

The invention to which this application relates is to an improvement to toy articles in the form of building blocks.

Toy building blocks are typically items which are provided with, at least on one face, male location means and on another face matching female location means such that two of the said building blocks can be brought together by engagement of the respective male and female location means. The building blocks can be used in combination to form larger items such as for example houses, cars or abstract articles.

The use of building blocks is well known and, over time, various attempts have been made to further increase, the attractiveness of the same to a child. For example, the external faces of the blocks may be patterned or coloured in a distinctive way; mechanical and/or electrical assemblies may be provided to be used in conjunction with the building blocks to provide an article which is formed with some degree of functionality such as, for example, lights, or movement. The building blocks may be provided in different scales of size such that, for example, larger building blocks are provided to be used by the younger child and smaller building blocks are provided to be used by an older child to provide a greater degree of complexity and detail and hence provide a greater challenge to the older child.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improvement to the building block which improves the attractiveness of the same by providing added functionality and also a movement component which provides a surprising effect when the building blocks are used together.

In a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a toy building block, said block having a first face with female location, means and another face with male location means wherein said building block includes a moveable portion, said portion movable from a first, substantially retracted position to a second, extended position when the building block is brought into location with another building block or base block.

In one embodiment the location is achieved by engagement of the male or female location means of a first building block with the other of the female or male location means of a second building block.

In one embodiment the movable portion forms the male location means of the building block when it is moved to the extended position.

Typically, the movable portion is mounted so as to be slidably movable with respect to the building block body.

Typically, the movable portion is movable along an axis which is parallel with or the same as the axis between the male and female location means.

In one embodiment, the movable portion is movable through an aperture formed in the building block body.

Preferably said aperture is formed in the building block body on a face which opposes that in which the female location means are formed. Typically, the aperture is provided on the same face as that in which the male location means are formed.

In a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a plurality of toy building blocks, said building blocks provided with location means to allow the blocks to be located together and wherein at least one of the building blocks is formed with a movable portion such that movement of said building block with respect to another building block to bring the same into a located position, causes movement of the movable portion of said at least one building blocks to an extended position.

Typically the direction of movement of the said movable portion to the extended position is along the same axis as the direction of movement of the respective building blocks to bring the same into location.

In one embodiment, the movable portion includes decorative effects on the external face of the same, at least part of which are only viewable when the movable portion has been moved to an extended position.

In one embodiment, the plurality of building blocks includes at least one base building block, said base building block having a fixed protrusion which is provided to engage with the movable portion of a building block placed thereon so as to provide movement of the first movable portion of the first building block to an extended position and thereafter, the movable portion which has been moved to an extended position acts as the means to contact with the movable portion of the next building block placed thereon to move that building blocks movable portion to an extended position, and so on, with the fixed protrusion of the base block acting to maintain the respective movable portions in the extended positions.

Typically, guide means are provided on the interior of the substantially hollow building block body, said guide means acting to guide the movement of the movable portion between extended and retractable positions. Typically the movable portion moves back to the retracted position when the building block is removed from the other building block with which it was located.

Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein;

FIG. 1 illustrates a building block in accordance with one embodiment of the invention in elevation;

FIG. 2 illustrates a building block of FIG. 1 in plan;

FIG. 3 illustrates a building block of FIGS. 1 and 2 in sectional elevation along line AA;

FIG. 4 illustrates a base building block in conjunction with the building block of FIGS. 1-3 in a disengaged position;

FIG. 5 illustrates the building blocks of FIG. 4 in an engaged position; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a plurality of building blocks provided in accordance with the invention in location positions.

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1-3, there is illustrated a building block 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The building block comprises a body 4 which has side faces 6, substantially open face 8 and a top face 10. The aperture 14 in the open face 8, act as female location means with the edge of the same acting to engage on male location means 12 formed on the top face. The top face also includes an aperture 16 in order to allow movement of a movable portion 18 between a retracted position as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and an extended position as shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 with the movement being in the direction of arrow 20 and along the axis 22 which joins the top face with the bottom face. This axis and direction of movement is the same as the direction of movement which is required to bring two of the building blocks into location.

The movable portion 18 is supported in the building block 2 and the movement of the same is guided by guide means 26 provided on the interior of the building block body such that repeated movement between retracted and extended positions can be reliably achieved. Thus, it will be appreciated that at least a portion of the movable portion is only viewable when the portion is in the extended position and this therefore provides an element of surprise to a child when that portion becomes viewable.

In order to allow the said portion to become viewable in a surprising manner, then the movable portion 18 is moved as a result of location of the building block 2 with a further building block of the same type or alternatively with a base building block 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a base building block 24 and a building block 2 of the type described in FIGS. 1-3. The base building block 4 is of a conventional form which has a body 30 with a protrusion 32 which is in a fixed position and typically, said protrusion can be of dimension and size so as to engage in the opening 14 of the building block 2. As the protrusion 32 is fixed, so when the building block 2 is placed on top of the same, as indicated by arrow 38, the protrusion 32 contacts with the underside 34 of the movable portion 18 of the block 2 and causes the movable portion 18 to be moved as indicated by the arrow 36, to the extended position, as shown in FIG. 5, automatically. Thus, to the child, the location of the building block 2 on the base building block 24, in addition to securing the same together, also has the surprising effect of causing the movable portion 18 of the building block 2 to be moved to the extended position without the child having directly caused the same to occur.

Thus, the subsequent action of moving another building block 2′ onto the building block 2 as shown in FIG. 6, means that the movable portion 18 of the building block 2, as it is already held in the extended position 18′, acts to contact the movable portion of the building block 2′—and move that to the extended position as the blocks are brought together, and so on with repeated blocks.

FIG. 6 illustrates a plurality of building blocks in accordance with the invention and comprises a base building block 24 with a plurality of fixed protrusions 32 thereon. In the case, shown one of these fixed protrusions 32′ is available for building blocks to be placed thereon, with the remainder already having building blocks 2, 2′, 2″ placed. This has caused the movable portions 18, 18′, 18″ of those building blocks to be moved to an extended position as shown. Furthermore, a tower of building blocks 2, 2′ has been formed on one of the fixed protrusions with the movable portion 18″ of the top block 2″ exposed in the extended position.

It will therefore be appreciated that the current invention provides an improvement to the conventional building blocks and provide a surprising effect to the child whilst, at the same time, maintaining the use of the building blocks to build larger structures of articles.

Claims

1. A toy building block, comprising: a first face with female location means and another face with male location means wherein said building block includes a moveable portion, said portion movable from a first, substantially retracted position to a second, extended positin when the building block is brought into location with another building block or base block.

2. A toy building block as set forth in claim 1, wherein the said location is achieved by engagement of the male or female location means of a first building block with the other of the female or male location means of a second building block or base block.

3. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein the movable portion forms the male location means of the building block once it is moved to the extended position.

4. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein the movable portion is mounted so as to be slidably movable with respect to the building block body.

5. A toy building block according to claim 4 wherein the movable portion is movable along an axis which is parallel with or the same as the axis along which the respective building blocks are moved to bring the same into engagement.

6. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein the movable portion is movable through an aperture formed in the building block body.

7. A toy building block according to claim 6 wherein the said aperture is formed in the building block body on a face which opposes that in which the female location means are formed.

8. A toy building block according to claim 6 wherein the aperture is provided on the same face as that in which the male location means are formed.

9. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein the movable portion includes decorative effects on the external face of the same, at least part of which are only viewable when the movable portion has been moved to an extended position.

10. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein guide means are provided on the interior of the substantially hollow building block body, said guide means acting to guide the movement of the movable portion between extended and retractable positions.

11. A toy building block according to claim 1 wherein the movable portion moves back to a retracted position when the building block is removed from the other building block with which it was located.

12. A plurality of toy building blocks, comprising: location means to allow the blocks to be located together and wherein at least one of the building blocks is formed with a movable portion such that movement of said building block with respect to another building block to bring the same into a located position, causes movement of the movable portion of said at least one building blocks to an extended position.

13. A plurality of toy building blocks according to claim 12 wherein the direction of movement of the said movable portion to the extended position is along the same axis as the direction of movement of the respective building blocks to bring the same into location.

14. A plurality of toy building blocks according to claim 12 wherein the plurality of building blocks includes at least one base building block, said base building block having a fixed protrusion which is provided to engage with the movable portion of a building block placed thereon so as to provide movement of the first movable portion of the first building block to an extended position.

15. A plurality of toy building blocks according to claim 14 wherein the movable portion which has been moved to an extended position acts as the means to contact with the movable portion of the next building block placed thereon to move that building block's movable portion to an extended position and the fixed protrusion of the base block acts to maintain the respective movable portions in the extended positions.