ES1225596U - MODULAR GAME (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Modular game consisting of a series of pieces, characterized by the fact that each piece has at least three pairs of faces arranged in different planes, each pair of faces being formed by a first face that has a projection that projects towards outside the part, and a second face symmetrically opposite the first face and that has a cavity whose shape is complementary to the shape of the projection of the first face, to allow the coupling of several parts to each other so that they are arranged aligned in at least three different axes.

Description

MODULAR GAME

DESCRIPTION

This description refers to modular games constituted by pieces that can be coupled together to compose multiple structures in space.

STATE OF THE ART

Construction sets are known consisting of multiple pieces configured to fit together in order to form various figures in two or three dimensions. This type of games develops in children various skills, as well as the coordination of body parts, the senses such as sight and touch, and especially the imagination.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

A new modular game is proposed that goes beyond the construction of figures in space, which facilitates the understanding of the vector space, as well as basic algebraic rules, to provide training for future students.

The present modular game is constituted by a series of pieces that can be coupled together. Each of the pieces of the modular game can be three-dimensionally symmetric, for example, inscribable in a sphere. Each piece has at least three pairs of faces arranged in different planes, for example, six faces in a cube-shaped configuration, although many other geometric shapes are possible. The faces of each piece of the modular game can be flat, for example, or can be curved, constituting, for example, pieces in the form of a sphere, or present another configuration. The parts of the present modular kit can be hollow or solid, or partially hollow, as desired. Other shapes and configurations are also possible as long as they are solid pieces, either totally or partially hollow.

Each pair of faces of each piece of the present modular game is formed by a first face having a projection which projects outwardly from the part, and a second face symmetrically opposite the first face, which has a cavity whose shape is complementary to the shape of the projection of the first face. This configuration of highlights and cavities allows to couple several pieces together by inserting the projection of a piece into the cavity of another piece. Once the pieces are coupled together, they are arranged aligned in at least three different axes in space. The shape of the projection and the shape of the corresponding cavity of each pair of faces can be the same or different between the pairs of faces.

The cavities formed in the faces of the game pieces may have more or less depth as desired. Thus, for example, the cavity of at least one of the faces of the piece may extend along at least part of a dimension of the piece, for example, along all or part of the width, of the height, the length, or the diameter of the piece, depending on the particular geometry of the piece. It is envisaged that a cavity of the piece can be formed by defining a slot or female track adapted for the insertion of a corresponding male boss from another face of another piece. The formation of grooves as a particular case of cavities in the pieces allows the coupling of pieces to each other making a displacement between them until the total fit of the pieces forming a compact and stable structure of various pieces in three dimensions without empty spaces, that is to say, without discontinuity In some cases, it is provided that the groove may have at least one inner projection. This inner protrusion may be suitably configured to retain in place parts temporarily coupled together, with the possibility of being released between them when desired. For this purpose, it may be advantageous if the projection has a suitable coupling surface, such as a curve, or formed by two inclined planes, for example, for easy decoupling of the parts.

According to a preferred example of the modular game that is described, the projection and the cavity of the faces of the piece have a letter shape. Many other ways are possible. In particular, it is preferred that each pair of faces in a piece have a first face with a projection and a second face with a cavity, whose projection and cavity have a complementary shape corresponding to the letter X in a first pair, to the letter And in a second pair, and the letter Z in a third pair. This configuration makes it possible to couple several pieces arranged in alignment on at least three different axes x, y, z in space, as indicated above. In any case, the faces of each pair of faces can be arranged opposite each other in the piece. Other arrangements of the faces of each pair in the piece are possible.

With the described configuration, three letters protrude from three of the sides of each piece, that is, one letter X, Y, Z for each face, and on the other three sides of the piece, either opposite or adjacent to each other, there is formed cavities with forms corresponding to said letters X, Y, Z. Each letter is repeated, therefore, twice in each piece, once projecting from it as a highlight and once entering it as a cavity or groove. In the preferred case, but not the only one, in which the letters are X, Y and Z, as indicated above, a face of a piece can be coupled to a corresponding face of another piece, thus constituting a matrix of pieces for different ludic and demonstrative applications of the directions of the vector space.

In the modular game described, faces of different pieces, whose projection and cavity have the same shape to fit one into the other and couple several pieces together aligned on at least three axes, can present the same color characteristic, or relief, or texture. That is, each face in which there is a single letter can be assigned the same color, relief, or texture, for example, although other finishes are possible to differentiate faces with different projection forms and cavities. In the previous example, you can apply a first color for the face that has the highlight with the letter X and for the face that has the cavity with the letter X, a second color for the face that has the highlight with the letter Y and for the face that has the cavity with the letter Y, and a third color for the face that has the projection with the letter Z and for the face that has the cavity with the letter Z. As it has been indicated, alternatively to the color, it can be used relief, texture, other finishes, etc.

It is also envisioned that at least one face of the piece present one or more holes for inserting other different pieces. Said holes may be formed, for example, in the center of each face of the part and, in particular, in an area of at least one of the projections, such as a central zone.

With the described configuration it is possible to create a series of games for the realization of activities of composition of parts of a model or original layout games, according to the directions corresponding to three axes x, y, z in space. This arrangement allows a numerical-numerical-algebraic visualization in three-dimensional space that advantageously facilitates the understanding of the vector space defined by the specific three-dimensional orientation in three axes x, y, z in space and a quantity determined by the number of pieces coupled between yes along the same axis.

Other objects, advantages and features of embodiments of the present modular game will be apparent to the person skilled in the art from the description, or may be derived by putting this description into practice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Next, several non-limiting examples of the present modular game will be described, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first example of a piece of the present modular game, from a point of view where three faces of the piece with respective projections are shown;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the piece of the first example of Figure 1, from another point of view where three other faces of the piece with respective complementary cavities are shown;

Figure 3 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 1, of the present modular game with several pieces of the first example of Figures 1 and 2 coupled together forming a vector structure in space;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 2, of the modular game of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second example of a piece of the present modular game, from a point of view where three sides of the piece with respective projections are shown;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the piece of Figure 5, from another point of view where faces of the piece of the second example are shown with respective complementary grooves;

Figure 7 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 5, of the present modular game with several pieces of the second example of Figures 5 and 6 coupled together forming a vector structure in space;

Figure 8 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 6, of the example of the modular game of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a third example of a piece of the present modular game, from a point of view where projections are shown;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of the piece of the third example of Figure 9, from another point of view where respective complementary cavities are shown;

Figure 11 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 9, of the present modular game with several pieces of the third example of Figures 9 and 10 coupled together forming a vector structure in space; Y

Figure 12 is a perspective view, from the point of view of Figure 10, of the modular game of Figure 11.

DETAILED EXHIBITION OF EXAMPLES

In Figures 1-12 of the drawings three non-limiting examples of the present modular game are shown. In all the examples, the part has been designated together by reference number 100. Many other examples of parts 100 of different shapes and configurations than those described below are possible.

In all the examples shown in the aforementioned figures 1-12, each piece 100 can be hollow, solid, or partially hollow. In the first and second examples shown in Figures 1-8, the piece 100 has a cubic geometry, with six flat faces 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, three of which, 110, 120, 130, they have respective projections 111, 121, 131 with different shapes, which project outwards, and the other three opposite faces 140, 150, 160, have respective slots 141, 151, 161 complementary to the shape of the projections 111, 121, 131. In this way, the projections 111, 121, 131 of a part 100 are intended to be engaged in grooves 141, 151, 161 of another part 100. Despite the position described for the projections 111, 121, 131 and the cavities 141, 151, 161 in pairs of opposite faces 110-140, 120-150, 130-160 of the piece 100, both the projections 111, 121, 131 and the cavities 141, 151, 161 can be formed on adjacent faces 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160. In the third example of Figs. 9-12, the piece 100 has a substantially spherical geometry c in projections 111, 121, 131 and respective grooves 141, 151, 161 in a complementary manner. This third example can be considered a particular case of pieces with infinite faces or defined by curved surfaces.

In the examples that are described and shown in figures 1-12, faces of different pieces, whose projection 111, 121, 131 and cavity 141, 151, 161 have the same shape to fit one into the other in order to couple several pieces 100 together may have the same characteristic of color, or relief, or texture.

Also, in the examples of Figures 1-12, each projection 111, 121, 131 and / or each recess 141, 151, 161 of the part 100 has, in a substantially central part thereof, a hole 170 for receiving the projection of other different pieces of the pieces 100. For example, if the structure to be constructed with the pieces 100 is in the form of a tree, these other types of pieces can be in the form of leaves, insects, etc.

In the first example illustrated in Figures 1-4 of the drawings, three adjacent faces 110, 120, 130 of the part 100 have respective projections 111, 121, 131 which have the form of letters X, Y, Z, respectively, such as shown in figures 1 and 3 of the drawings. The projections 111, 121, 131 project outwardly from the respective faces 110, 120, 130 a certain distance. Correspondingly, and as shown in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings, the other three opposite adjacent faces 140, 150, 160 of the piece 100 have respective cavities 141, 151, 161 in a complementary manner to the shape of the pieces. projections 111, 121, 131, respectively, formed within said respective faces 140, 150, 160 of the piece 100.

The configuration of projections 111, 121, 131 and cavities 141, 151, 161 in a complementary manner makes it possible to couple several pieces 100 together so that they are arranged aligned on at least three different axes in the space x, y, z, such as it is shown in figures 3 and 4 of the first example. In other words, in each piece or cube 100 there are six faces 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 with projections 111, 121, 131 and cavities 141, 151, 161 with corresponding shapes according to a nomenclature X, - X, Y, -Y, Z, -Z, in the first example shown in Figures 1-4 of the drawings. According to said nomenclature, X is the X-shaped projection 111 of the face 110, -X is the X-shaped cavity 141 of the face 140, and Y is the Y-shaped projection 121 of the face 120, - Y is the Y-shaped cavity 151 of the face 150, Z is the Z-shaped projection 131 of the face 130, and -Z is the Z-shaped cavity 161 of the face 160, as shown in FIGS. Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. In this way, the parts 100 of the first example can only be coupled to each other through the pairs of faces 110-140, 120-150 and 130-160 according to the aforementioned nomenclature X-X, Y-Y, Z-Z.

Therefore, the essence of the pieces 100 of the first example shown in Figures 1-4 is the arrangement of projections 111, 121, 131 in the form of three letters X, Y, Z projecting from three adjacent faces 110, 120 , 130 corresponding to the piece 100, one letter X, Y, Z for each face 110, 120, 130. These projections 111, 121, 131 in the form of letters X, Y, Z they are intended to be inserted in corresponding cavities 141, 151, 161 formed in faces 140, 150, 160 of another different piece 100. Each letter X, Y, Z is therefore repeated twice in the same piece 100, once projecting therefrom, as a projection 111, 121, 131, and once entering it, as a cavity 141, 151, 161. In this way, it is possible to couple different pieces 100 aligned with each other in three different axes x, y, z in the space forming a matrix of pieces 100 for different playful and demonstrative applications of the vector space, defined by orientations and modules.

In said first example illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, each face 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 in which there is a single letter X, Y, Z can be assigned a color. Thus, a first color can be applied for the face 110 having the projection 111 with the letter X and the same color for the face having the cavity 141 with the letter X, a second color for the face 120 having the projection 121 with the letter Y and the same color for the face 150 having the cavity 151 with the letter Y, and a third color for the face 130 having the projection 131 with the letter Z and the same color for the face 160 having the cavity 161 with the letter Z.

In a second example shown in Figures 5-8 of the drawings, the projections 111, 121, 131 are of shapes, other than letters, and have lateral notches 190 of curved shape or configured by two inclined planes, as shown in figures 5 and 6, to receive a corresponding projection 180; 180 ', which will be described later with reference to Figure 6. For its part, in this second example, the cavities are configured as slots 141, 151, 161, two of which 141, 161 are formed in respective edges of corresponding faces 140, 160 of the piece 100, and the third slot 151 is formed in a central part of the corresponding face 150, as shown in Figure 6. The shape of the slots 141, 151, 161 is such that it allows receiving respective projections 111, 121, 131 of another part 100, moving inside it until the parts 100 are coupled together. In order to releasably lock two different parts 100 at least lateral slots 141, 161 include an inner projection 180; 180 ', as indicated above and as shown in Fig. 6. In particular, and according to the example described in Fig. 6, a side groove 141 has an inner projection 180 in the form of a triangular prism with two inclined planes 181, 182, and the other side slot 161 has an inner projection 180 'in the form of a half cylinder with a curved surface 183. This configuration of the inner projections 180 and 180' is complementary to the corresponding notches 190 formed in the projections 111 , 121, 131, as indicated above with reference to figure 5. This configuration of projections 111, 121, 131 with notches 190 and side grooves 141, 161 with inner projections 180 and 180 'facilitates releasable coupling between pieces 100.

In a third example shown in Figures 9-12, the piece 100 has a substantially spherical geometry with projections 111, 121, 131 and opposite cavities 141, 151, 161 of complementary shape which have the form of letters X, Y, Z. The projections 111, 121, 131 of a piece 100 project out of the sphere a certain distance to fit within the cavities 141, 151, 161 of another piece 100, as shown in figures 11 and 12 of the drawings .

With the described configuration it is possible to create a series of games for the realization of activities of composition of pieces of a model or of original layout games, strictly according to three axes x, y, z in space, facilitating the understanding of the vector space to through the orientation determined by said axes x, y, z in space and the magnitude determined by the number of pieces 100 coupled together along same axis x, y, z.

In a game example, each player has a plurality of pieces 100 at the beginning of the game, for example, seven. The game can continue until all the players complete their rounds. The game can be played by teams if the number of players is even. If one face 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 of one piece 100 can not be coupled to another face 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 of another piece 100, the player looks to see if there is another piece 100 with one face 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160 of the same color or with a projection 111, 121, 131 or a cavity 141, 151, 161 in the same way as that of the piece 100 where it is to be connected. If there is not, the turn passes. The objective is to build a structure using all the pieces 100 avoiding being blocked or eliminated by another player, so that the first player who runs out of pieces 100 wins.

Although only a few particular examples of the invention have been described here, the person skilled in the art will understand that other alternative embodiments and / or uses are possible, as well as obvious modifications and equivalent elements. In addition, the present description covers all possible combinations of the specific examples that have been described. The scope of this description should not be limited to specific examples, but should be determined only by an appropriate reading of the appended claims.

Claims (18)

1. A modular game consisting of a series of pieces, characterized in that each piece has at least three pairs of faces arranged in different planes, each pair of faces being formed by a first face having a projection projecting towards outside the piece, and a second face symmetrically opposite the first face and having a cavity whose shape is complementary to the shape of the projection of the first face, to allow the coupling of several pieces together so that they are arranged aligned in by at least three different axes. 2. Game according to claim 1, characterized in that the shape of the projection and the corresponding cavity of each pair of faces is different between the pairs of faces. The game according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cavity of at least one of the faces extends along at least part of a dimension of the piece, defining a slot. 4. Game according to claim 3, characterized in that said groove extends along said entire dimension of the piece. A kit according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said groove has at least one suitable internal protrusion to hold in position a corresponding projection of another part inserted therein. The kit according to claim 5, characterized in that said projection protrudes from the inside of the groove according to a concave surface. 7. Set according to claim 5, characterized in that said projection protrudes from the inside of the groove according to two inclined planes. 8. Game according to any of claims 1-7, characterized in that the pieces are three-dimensionally symmetrical. 9. Kit according to any of claims 1-8, characterized in that at least some of the faces of the piece are formed by flat surfaces. 10. Game according to any of claims 1-9, characterized in that the pieces are cubic. 11. Kit according to any of claims 1-8, characterized in that at least some of the faces of the piece are formed by curved surfaces. 12. Game according to claim 11, characterized in that the parts are spherical. 13. Game according to any of claims 1-12, characterized in that the pieces are hollow. 14. Game according to any of claims 1-12, characterized in that the pieces are solid. 15. Set according to any of claims 1-14, characterized in that the projection and the cavity of the faces are letter-shaped. 16. Set according to claim 15, characterized in that each pair of faces of the piece comprises a first face with a projection and a second face with a cavity, whose projection and cavity have a complementary shape corresponding to the letter X in a first pair, to the letter Y in a second pair, and to the letter Z in a third pair, so that several pieces can be coupled together arranged in at least three different axes X, Y, Z. 17. Game according to any of claims 1-16, characterized in that faces of different pieces, whose projection and cavity have the same shape to fit one into the other and thus coupling several pieces together arranged aligned at least three axes, have the same characteristic of color, or relief, or texture. 18. Game according to any of claims 1-17, characterized in that at least one face of the piece has one or more holes for inserting other pieces.