Toy building set

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6280282
  • Patent Number
    6,280,282
  • Date Filed
    Friday, November 19, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, August 28, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Ackun, Jr.; Jacob K.
    • Francis; Faye
    Agents
    • Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP
Abstract
A toy building set includes a plurality of building members each including at least one coupling mechanism for coupling with similar coupling mechanisms in other building members. The coupling mechanism including a proximal portion and a distal portion connected to the proximal portion. The distal portion includes at least one flexible locking element configured to be releasably locked with a plurality of similar flexible locking elements in the distal portions of other similar coupling mechanisms when the distal portion of the coupling mechanism is pushed toward the proximal portions of the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements from an undeformed state to a deformed state to produce locking forces in a locked position. The coupling mechanism is detachable from the other coupling mechanisms by applying a sufficient force pulling the coupling mechanism apart from the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements to overcome the locking forces produced by the flexible locking elements in the deformed state and return the flexible locking elements to the undeformed state in the unlocked position.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to toy building sets and, more particularly, to coupling mechanisms for releasably coupling toy building members together for forming buildings, vehicles, action figures, and the like.




Toy building sets including modular toy building members are known. An example is the Lego™ system having building blocks that are coupled together by a mating connection involving the insertion of a protruded portion of one building block into a slot of another block. Other types of coupling mechanisms employing snap-in connection, cables, or the like have been proposed to provide improved flexibility of construction and allow more complex structures to be formed. Some of the coupling mechanisms tend to be complicated and expensive to manufacture.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention is directed to toy building sets having toy building members with versatile coupling mechanisms. Specific embodiments of the invention include toy coupling mechanisms that are simple and easy to use, provide reliable connections, and are inexpensive to manufacture.




An aspect of the present invention is directed to a toy building set of the type which includes a plurality of building members each including at least one coupling mechanism for coupling with similar coupling mechanisms in other building members. The improvement comprises a coupling mechanism including a proximal portion and a distal portion connected to the proximal portion. The distal portion includes at least one flexible locking element configured to be releasably locked with a plurality of similar flexible locking elements in the distal portions of other similar coupling mechanisms when the distal portion of the coupling mechanism is pushed toward the proximal portions of the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements from an undeformed state to a deformed state to produce locking forces in a locked position. The coupling mechanism is detachable from the other coupling mechanisms by applying a sufficient force pulling the coupling mechanism apart from the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements to overcome the locking forces produced by the flexible locking elements in the deformed state and return the flexible locking elements to the undeformed state in the unlocked position.




In some embodiments, the distal portion includes a longitudinal trunk, and a plurality of flexible locking elements distributed around and along the longitudinal trunk and extending outwardly from the longitudinal trunk. The plurality of flexible locking elements may include slender branches. At least some of the slender branches may be generally straight and angled generally toward the proximal portion.




In specific embodiments, the distal portion includes an enlarged member near the distal end. The enlarged member may be generally spherical. The proximal portion may include at least one locking recess for releasably capturing enlarged members of other similar coupling mechanisms of other similar building members in the locked position.




In some embodiments, the distal portion includes a longitudinal trunk oriented in a longitudinal direction. The proximal portion includes a resilient member resiliently biasing the longitudinal trunk in the longitudinal direction. The resilient member is deformable to permit movement of the longitudinal trunk generally along the longitudinal direction between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position. The resilient member may resiliently bias the longitudinal trunk toward the fully retracted position in some embodiments, and toward the fully extended position in other embodiments. The resilient member may include a spring.




In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a toy building member includes a core, and a plurality of connecting members having proximal ends coupled with the core. Each connecting member extends from the proximal end to a distal end away from the core. Each connecting member includes a plurality of flexible locking elements disposed between the distal end and the proximal end and extending outwardly.




In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a toy building member includes a core, and a plurality of connecting members including proximal portions having proximal ends coupled with the core. Each connecting member extends from the proximal end to a distal portion having a distal end away from the core. Each connecting member includes an enlarged member near the distal end.




In some embodiments, the proximal portion of each connecting member includes a resilient member which is deformable to permit movement of the distal end toward and away from the proximal end. In other embodiments, a resilient member is disposed between the core and the plurality of connecting members. The resilient member is deformable to permit movement of the connecting members toward and away from the core.




The core may include a plurality of sectors which are displaceable relative to each other. In specific embodiments, the plurality of sectors are resiliently biased toward a plurality of engagement positions relative to each other, and are movable between the plurality of engagement positions.




In a specific embodiment, the core includes a magnetic material having a first charge, and the enlarged member of each connecting member includes a magnetic material having a second charge opposite from the first charge.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a sectional view of a toy building member illustrating an embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 1A

shows a coupling mechanism of the toy building member of

FIG. 1

in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 2

shows a toy building member according to another embodiment of the invention being coupled with the toy building member of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3A

is an elevational view of a coupling mechanism in a rest position in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 3B

is an elevational view of the coupling mechanism of

FIG. 3A

in a deformed position;





FIG. 4

is an elevational view of a plurality of coupling mechanisms of

FIG. 3A

illustrating interlocking of the coupling mechanisms;





FIG. 5A

is an elevational view of a coupling mechanism in a rest position in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 5B

is an elevational view of the coupling mechanism of

FIG. 5A

in a deformed position;





FIG. 6

is a sectional view of a toy building member in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 7

is a sectional view of the core of a toy building member according to an embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 8

is a sectional view of the core of a toy building member according to another embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 9

is a sectional view of building members connected together with linking members according to another embodiment of the invention; and





FIG. 10

is a sectional view of a building member according to another embodiment of the present invention.











DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS





FIG. 1

shows a toy building member


10


having a core


12


and a plurality of connecting members


14


. Each connecting member


14


includes a proximal end


16


coupled with the core


12


, and extends generally outwardly from the core


12


toward a distal end


18


. In this embodiment, the connecting member


14


includes a trunk that is generally longitudinal and straight, but it may have other shapes in alternate embodiments. The connecting members


14


may have the same length or different lengths. The trunk may be substantially rigid, but is typically flexible so as to bend upon application of a force.




The connecting member


14


includes a plurality of locking elements


20


distributed around and along the trunk between the proximal end and the distal end. The locking element


20


may cover a portion of the trunk or may be distributed substantially over the entire trunk. The locking elements


20


extend outwardly from the trunk. In

FIG. 1

, the locking elements


20


are slender branches that may be generally straight. The locking elements


20


are desirably flexible and resilient so as to deform to produce locking forces when the locking elements


20


of different building members


10


are pushed together, as discussed in more detail later. The locking elements


20


may be oriented in various directions. In the specific embodiment shown, the locking elements


20


are oriented generally toward the proximal end


16


. It is understood that locking elements having other configurations can be used. By way of example,

FIG. 1A

shows alternate locking elements


20


A that are nonlinear.




The building member


10


of

FIG. 1

has a spherical core


12


with a plurality of connecting members


14


generally covering the exterior of the spherical core


12


. Other embodiments may include differently shaped cores and different number and arrangement of connecting members. For example,

FIG. 2

shows a building member


30


in the form of an arrow. The arrow


30


includes one connecting member


32


which is coupled with the connecting members


14


of the building member


10


of

FIG. 1

when they are pushed toward each other. The connecting member


32


includes a plurality of flexible locking elements


34


that are configured to be releasably locked with the locking elements


20


of the connecting members


14


of the building member


10


.




When the distal portion of the arrow


30


is pushed toward the proximal ends


16


of the connecting members


14


of the building member


10


, the flexible locking elements


14


,


32


of the building member


10


and the arrow


30


are deformed. The resilient locking elements


14


,


32


have the tendency to return to the undeformed state, producing locking forces in a locked position. As shown in

FIG. 2

, the locking forces result from the deformation and interference among the resilient locking elements


14


,


32


to keep the building member


10


and the arrow


30


joined together until a sufficiently large force is applied to overcome the locking forces and pull them apart. When the arrow


30


is separated from the building member


10


, the connecting members


14


,


32


and the locking elements


20


,


34


provided thereon resiliently return to the undeformed state. It is appreciated that the building member


10


can serve as a target and the arrow


30


can be thrown at the building member


10


as a game.





FIGS. 3A and 3B

show a connecting member


40


having a proximal portion


42


and a distal portion


44


. The distal portion


44


includes a longitudinal trunk


46


with an enlarged member


48


at or near the distal end. The enlarged member


48


shown is generally spherical, but it may have other shapes as well. The trunk


46


may be substantially rigid or flexible.




The distal portion


44


is coupled with the proximal portion


42


in a manner so as to be movable relative to the proximal portion


42


generally in the longitudinal direction. A resilient mechanism is desirably used. In the embodiment shown, the resilient mechanism for providing the movement is a spring


50


coupled between the distal portion


44


and the proximal portion


42


. The proximal portion


42


includes a housing


52


which encloses the spring


50


. The trunk


46


extends partially into the housing


52


. The distal end of the spring


50


is connected to the distal portion


44


, while the proximal end of the spring


50


is connected to the housing


52


.

FIG. 3A

shows the spring


50


in a rest position, and

FIG. 3B

shows the spring


50


in a compressed position. In

FIG. 3A

, the spring


50


biases the distal portion


44


toward the fully extended position. When the spring


50


is compressed as shown in

FIG. 3B

, a part of the trunk


46


of the distal portion


44


is retracted further into the housing


52


.





FIG. 4

shows several connecting members


40


coupled together in a locked position. When two building members are pushed toward one another by a force, the springs


50


of the connecting members


40


compress to allow the enlarged members


48


of one building member to approach the core of the other building member. Upon release of the force, the resilient forces of the springs


50


reposition the connecting members


40


of the two building members so that they interlock at various locations. In

FIG. 4

, the enlarged member


48


at the distal end of one connecting member


40


of one building member is interlocked with proximal portions of connecting members


40


of another building member. In the embodiment shown, the proximal portions


42


include locking recesses


56


for releasably capturing the enlarged member


48


in a more secured manner. The locking recesses


56


may generally match the shape of the enlarged member


48


. Typically, each building member will have one or more enlarged members


48


releasably captured by locking recesses


56


of the other building member in the locked position. Other enlarged members


48


of each building member will be interlocked with other parts (either the proximal portion or the distal portion) of the other building member.





FIGS. 5A and 5B

show another connecting member


60


which is generally the same as the connecting member


40


of

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, and includes a proximal portion


62


and a distal portion


64


. Instead of the locking recess


56


, the connecting member


60


has an enlarged ring


66


. The proximal side of the enlarge ring


66


serves as a locking recess for releasably capturing the enlarged member


68


of another connecting member. There may be several enlarged rings


66


along the proximal portion


62


as shown in

FIGS. 5A and 5B

.




The spring


70


is disposed in the housing


72


of the proximal portion


62


. In this embodiment, however, the distal end of the spring


70


is connected to the housing


72


, while the proximal end of the spring


70


is connected to the trunk


74


of the distal portion


64


. As shown in

FIG. 5A

, the spring


70


in the rest position biases the trunk


74


toward the fully retracted position instead of the fully extended position for the spring


50


in FIG.


3


A. When the spring


70


is compressed as shown in

FIG. 5B

, the trunk


74


of the distal portion


64


is pushed outwardly from the housing


72


to an extended position.




Unlike the connecting member


40


of

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, the spring


70


of the connecting member


60


is compressed not when the building members are pushed together by a force, but upon release of the force. At that point, the enlarged members


68


are captured by or interlocked with other portions of the building members. The release of the force allows some of the connecting members


60


of one building member to pull away from the other building member. For the connecting members


60


with enlarged members


68


that are captured or interlocked, the pulling draws the trunks


74


out from the housings


72


, compressing the springs


70


. The resilient forces of the springs


70


contribute to the interlocking of the connecting members


60


. The locking mechanism of the connecting member


60


of

FIGS. 5A and 5B

is slightly different from that of the connecting member


40


of

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, but the interlocking between the enlarged members at the distal ends of the connecting members is similar.





FIG. 6

shows another building member


80


having a core


82


and a plurality of connecting members


84


coupled with the core


82


. Each connecting member


84


has an enlarged member


86


at or near the distal end. Instead of having an individual spring or resilient member for each connecting member


84


, the building member


80


includes a resilient layer


88


generally wrapped around the core


82


and connected with the proximal ends of the connecting members


84


. The resilient layer


88


allows the connecting members


84


to move toward and away from the core


82


. This facilitates movement of the connecting members


84


when the building members


80


are pushed toward each other so as to allow the enlarged members


86


at the distal ends to interlock together. The resilient layer


88


may include a sponge or a spongelike material.





FIG. 7

shows a core


100


that includes two sectors


102


,


104


which are displaceable relative to each other to provide additional versatility to the building member. The two sectors


102


,


104


are resiliently biased toward the center and coupled together, for instance, by a resilient link


106


, which allows the two sectors


102


,


104


to be rotatable with respect to the resilient link


106


. The sectors


102


,


104


may include contact surfaces


108


,


110


, respectively, that are corrugated or otherwise configured in a manner to define a plurality of engagement or locking positions. The sectors


102


,


104


may be rotated to move the contact surfaces from one engagement position to another engagement position.





FIG. 8

shows a core


120


having four rotatable sectors


122


,


124


,


126


,


128


, which are resiliently biased toward the center portion


130


and rotatable relative to resilient links


132


,


134


,


136


,


138


, respectively. Of course, the configuration and number of sectors and resilient links may be changed.




Another way of connecting the building members of the present invention is illustrated in FIG.


9


. In this example, the building members


80


of

FIG. 6

are connected together by linking members


140


having locking elements at both ends. The locking elements in this embodiment are enlarged members


142


that are configured to interlock with the enlarged members


86


of the building members


80


. The linking members


140


may be generally rigid or flexible. It is appreciated that the building members


80


and linking members


140


as shown in

FIG. 9

can be used to illustrate molecules for educational purposes as well as to build toys.





FIG. 10

shows yet another building member


150


having a core


152


and a plurality of connecting members


154


. Each connecting member


154


has a distal member, desirably an enlarged member


156


, at the distal end. The core


152


has a magnetic material having a negative charge, while the distal members


156


have magnet materials having a positive charge. The attractive forces between the negative core


152


of one building member


150


and the positive distal members


156


of another building member


150


contribute to the interlocking of the two building members when the are pushed together.




The building members may be made of a variety of materials, including plastics and the like. The flexible and resilient components are typically made of an elastomeric material such as rubber. The substantially rigid components may be made of materials such as hard plastics and metals. The springs may be made of plastics, metals, or the like.




It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. By way of example, the shapes of the locking elements such as the branches and the enlarged members may be varied. Further, a connecting member may include both the locking element


20


of FIG.


1


and the arrangement including the enlarged member


48


and spring


50


of

FIGS. 3A and 3B

. The locking elements


20


of the connecting members


14


in the embodiment of

FIG. 1

may include magnetic materials. Some of the magnetic materials in the connecting members


14


may be positive, while others may be negative. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.



Claims
  • 1. In a toy building set of the type which includes a plurality of building members each including at least one coupling mechanism for coupling with similar coupling mechanisms in other building members, the improvement comprising a coupling mechanism including:a proximal portion; and a distal portion connected to the proximal portion, the distal portion including at least one flexible locking element configured to be releasably locked with a plurality of similar flexible locking elements in the distal portions of other similar coupling mechanisms when the distal portion of the coupling mechanism is pushed toward the proximal portions of the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements from an undeformed state to a deformed state to produce locking forces in a locked position, the coupling mechanism being detachable from the other coupling mechanisms by applying a sufficient force pulling the coupling mechanism apart from the other coupling mechanisms to deform the flexible locking elements to overcome the locking forces produced by the flexible locking elements in the deformed state and return the flexible locking elements to the undeformed state in the unlocked position, wherein the distal portion includes a longitudinal trunk oriented in a longitudinal direction, and wherein the proximal portion includes a resilient member resiliently biasing the longitudinal trunk in the longitudinal direction, the resilient member being deformable to permit movement of the longitudinal trunk generally along the longitudinal direction between a fully retracted position and a fully extended position.
  • 2. The coupling mechanism of claim 1 wherein the distal portion includes a plurality of flexible locking elements distributed around and along the longitudinal trunk and extending outwardly from the longitudinal trunk.
  • 3. The coupling mechanism of claim 2 wherein the plurality of flexible locking elements include slender branches.
  • 4. The coupling mechanism of claim 3 wherein at least some of the slender branches are generally straight.
  • 5. The coupling mechanism of claim 4 wherein at least some of the slender branches are angled generally toward the proximal portion.
  • 6. The coupling mechanism of claim 1 wherein the distal portion includes a flexible longitudinal trunk.
  • 7. The coupling mechanism of claim 6 wherein the distal portion includes an enlarged member near the distal end.
  • 8. The coupling mechanism of claim 7 wherein the enlarged member is generally spherical.
  • 9. The coupling mechanism of claim 7 wherein the proximal portion includes at least one locking recess for releasably capturing enlarged members of other similar coupling mechanisms of other similar building members in the locked position.
  • 10. The coupling mechanism of claim 1 wherein the resilient member resiliently biases the longitudinal trunk toward the fully retracted position.
  • 11. The coupling mechanism of claim 1 wherein the resilient member resiliently biases the longitudinal trunk toward the fully extended position.
  • 12. The coupling mechanism of claim 1 wherein the resilient member comprises a spring.
  • 13. A toy building member comprising:a core; a plurality of connecting members including proximal portions having proximal ends coupled with the core, each connecting member extending from the proximal end to a distal portion having a distal end away from the core, each connecting member including an enlarged member near the distal end; and a resilient member disposed between the core and the plurality of connecting members, the resilient member being deformable to permit movement of the connecting members toward and away from the core.
  • 14. A toy building member comprising:a core; and a plurality of connecting members including proximal portions having proximal ends coupled with the core, each connecting member extending from the proximal end to a distal portion having a distal end away from the core, each connecting member including an enlarged member near the distal end, wherein the core includes a plurality of sectors which are displaceable relative to each other.
  • 15. The toy building member of claim 14 wherein the plurality of sectors are resiliently biased toward a plurality of engagement positions relative to each other, and are movable between the plurality of engagement positions.
  • 16. A toy building member comprising:a core; and a plurality of connecting members including proximal portions having proximal ends coupled with the core, each connecting member extending from the proximal end to a distal portion having a distal end away from the core, each connecting member including an enlarged member near the distal end, wherein the core includes a magnetic material having a first charge, and the enlarged member of each connecting member includes a magnetic material having a second charge opposite from the first charge.
  • 17. A toy building member comprising:a core; and a plurality of connecting members including proximal portions having proximal ends coupled with the core, each connecting member extending from the proximal end to a distal portion having a distal end away from the core, each connecting member including an enlarged member near the distal end, wherein the enlarged members of the connecting members include magnetic materials.
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Number Date Country
2082925 Mar 1982 GB