JPH0282995A - Assembled toy - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable a number of shapes including a number of regular three dimensional geographic forms to be composed, by equipping a flat main body with the surface constituted of not fewer than four substantially equal edge parts, integrally forming connectors to perform hinge action between members connected by axes parallel to the connected surfaces, and equipping plural outer protruding parts between members. CONSTITUTION: A series of outer protruding parts integrally formed with almost square or rectangular sectioned fingers 12 is protruded from four side edge parts of a flat main body part. The edge part surface of a member including fingers 12 is formed by a downward extending skirt part 19 and mutually acting dent 13 and protrusion 14 are provided on the edge surface of the finger 12. An integrated hinge constituted of a groove 16 is extended across between facing corners on a member 10. The groove 16 is formed on the bottom face of the member 10 and forms an extremely thin wall part 17 on the plane of the member to form the hinge 15. It is also preferable to extend an additional enhancing part 29 to cross the member 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to assembly toys, and more particularly, polygonal assembly members (con-5tr) that can be connected together at edges.
production element).

Problems to be Solved by Prior Art and Inventions Various types of assembly toys and sets thereof are known, an example of which is the Zimmerman (Z
immerman). In this patent,
An edge connector system is disclosed that is generally similar to the present invention. The purpose of Zimmermann's design was that the basic units should be flat, simple geometric shapes, such as squares or equilateral triangles, and that these units would be joined together to form three-dimensional shapes. Our goal is to provide assembly toys that are perfect for children. In particular, this patent states that the basic unit has identical edges adapted to interlock to form a hinge, and is capable of assembling a large number of shapes, including a large number of regular three-dimensional geometric shapes. There are four people involved in assembly toys.

A new type of assembly set with modular elements was released in March 1988! Ziegler U.S. Patent No. 4,74, granted on
1.0/1! has been disclosed. This design utilizes a combination of hinged edge connectors and surface-projecting connector hubs, which allows for many unique combinations of connections between these components. can.

Another toy assembly concept was introduced in U.S. Patent 3 by Lemkin et al., issued June 20, 1972.
, 670,449. In this patent,
Among other things, the assembly of small box structures with flat assembly members joined at the edges by hinges is disclosed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a polygonal assembly member that can be assembled into a wider variety of structural shapes than was possible with conventional systems.

According to the present invention, four or more edge surfaces having substantially equal length;
A substantially flat body having an upper surface and a lower surface. The surface of each of the edges is provided with other construction members so that they can be connected from the lateral direction by fitting.
an integrated connector which is adapted to be connected to a connector on a corresponding protrusion on the surface of the edge of the element and capable of a hinge action between the members connected by an axis parallel to the surface of the connected edge; The present invention includes a polygonal toy assembly member having a plurality of outer protrusions formed between the members. The novel assembly member of the present invention comprises at least l-stripe thinned portions extending from the vertices of the polygon across the body of the member and through the center of the body of the member. at least one living hinge dividing the body into at least two equal triangular sections joined by at least one living hinge, said three sides of each said triangular section forming at least one living hinge; It is characterized by a hinge and at least one edge surface.

According to a preferred embodiment, the edge connector comprises a plurality of external protrusions integrally formed with fingers and gaps therebetween, the fingers and the gaps extending along the edge surface of the member. and the fingers and gaps are positioned along the edge of each said side of the member so that the fingers and gaps are arranged to inversely engage corresponding fingers and gaps on the edge surface of another member. a side edge of at least one of the fingers has a convex portion, at least one of the fingers has a concave portion, and the convex portion and the concave portion are
Adjacent members can be connected by a lateral fit and arranged so that a hinge can be formed between the two members about an axis parallel to the surface of the edge.

The assembly members of the present invention can take many different polygonal shapes with four or more sides. For example, they can be square, pentagonal, hexagonal, hexagonal, etc. Preferably, each edge of each polygon is of the same length so that the surfaces of all edges can be interconnected. They can be formed from a wide variety of plastic materials with the requisite elasticity to withstand bending in many directions along a thin strip.

One of the important benefits of the assembly of the present invention is that it provides the hinge for additional movement and shape without the need for irregular edge lengths. For example, a square member with a hinge according to the present invention can be two equilateral triangles. If a separated equilateral triangle is produced, then two edges of equal length and! It will have two edges of unequal length. A hinge extending between the vertices of a polygon allows for a large increase in the variety of structures while utilizing only one constituent edge length.

The invention is further illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of non-limiting example, the types and some structures of the assembly members of the invention.

1-5, a basic polygonal assembly member 10 having a square and generally flat body portion 11 is shown. A series of external projections integrally formed with fingers 12 of generally square or rectangular cross section project from the four side edges of this flat body. The edge surface of the member including the finger 12 is formed by a downwardly extending skirt 19, the edge surface of the finger 12 having recesses 13 and ridges disposed and interacting as shown. 14. It is not absolutely necessary to provide these recesses and protrusions for each finger.

A living hinge 15 consisting of a groove 16 extends across the opposite corners of the member 10. The groove 16 is formed in the bottom surface of the member 10 to form a very thin wall portion 17 adjacent to the plane of the member, this thin strip 17 forming the hinge 15. Preferably, a reinforcing strip 18 is provided adjacent to said groove 16, and additional reinforcement 29 may extend across said element IO.

FIG. 6 shows a diamond-shaped member 30 whose angle can be varied. The member 30 has four edge surfaces 31.32, 33.34 with normally projecting fingers 12 and single hinges 35, 36 extending across opposite corners of the member 30. .

These hinges 35,36 divide the rhombic structure into identical triangles.

A regular pentagon 40 has five identical sides 41.42, 43, 44.45 with projecting fingers 12 and is shown in FIG. This member is divided into five equilateral triangular sections by five hinges 46 extending between the corners of the pentagon and the center of the pentagon.

In some cases it may be preferable to provide a hole through the member at a point where several hinges converge. One such hole is shown in the center of the pentagon in FIG. 7, and a similar hole could be used, for example, in the center of the member in FIG. This hole at the point where the hinge is concentrated allows easy bending in multiple directions at the point.

Each hinge can be folded in either the front or back direction to create a major reversal in the design of the structure. One simple design that utilizes bidirectional bending at the hinge is shown in FIG. This structure is constructed by folding a square according to the present invention, with a corner portion 15° where the hinge is bent on the outside and a corner portion 15° where the hinge is bent on the inside.

A small animal such as a character made of the above-described hinge of the present invention is shown in FIG. This is a bendable rectangular member according to the present invention! 0 and has a triangular piece having an eyepiece 61 and connected to the member 10 as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,041. Furthermore, a triangular piece 62 with a hole 63 is connected to said triangular piece 60 at the edge. The rest of the above character is the above folded member! The folded member 10 formed by two further triangular members 64 connected to each other forms the mouth of the character.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, modifications and variations thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and it is therefore intended that the following claims cover such modifications and equivalents. should be interpreted to include

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a top perspective view of one of the basic members of the invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of said member of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a partial edge view showing the hinge portion; 4 is a bottom view of the member shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a side view of the member shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the diamond-shaped member, and FIG. 7 is a pentagonal member. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one (114) structure using the above members of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of still another structure using the above members of the present invention. 10... - Assembly member, 11... Main body, !2... Finger, 13... Concave portion, 14... Convex portion, 15...
・Hinge, 16... Groove, 17... Thin strip,
18... Reinforcement strip, 19... Skirt portion, 2
9... Additional reinforcing material, 30... Assembly member, 31,3
2,33.34... Edge surface, 35.3 G...
Hinge, 40...Regular pentagon, 41.42.43,44
．． 45...side part, 46...hinge. Patent applicant Novasion Design Limited Agent Patent attorney Aoyama Aoyama and 2 othersFIG, 1 FIG, 2 FIG, 8 FIG, 5

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A substantially flat main body having four or more edge surfaces of substantially equal length, an upper surface, and a lower surface, and each of the edge surfaces has a surface from the lateral direction. adapted to connect to a connector on a corresponding protrusion on the edge surface of another assembly member for a mating connection; and
A polygonal toy assembly member having a plurality of outer protrusions integrally forming a connector that can perform a hinge action between the members connected by an axis parallel to the surfaces of the connected edges. , the assembly member has at least one thin-walled portion extending from the apex of the polygon across the body of the member and through the center of the body of the member; , forming at least one hinge dividing into at least two equal triangular sections joined by at least one hinge, said three sides of each said triangular section having at least one hinge and at least one edge surface. A toy assembly member comprising: (2) The edge connector includes a plurality of outer protrusions integrally formed with fingers and gaps therebetween, and the fingers and the gaps are arranged along the edge surface of the member. and are positioned along the edge of each side so as to be disposed to inversely engage corresponding fingers and gaps on the edge surface of another member;
a lateral edge of at least one of the fingers has a convex portion, and at least one of the fingers has a concave portion;
The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said convex portion and said recessed portion are arranged so as to be connected by a lateral fit between adjacent members and to provide a hinge action between said both members about an axis parallel to the surface of the edge. Element. 3. The toy assembly member according to claim 1, wherein the toy assembly member is a square having a hinge extending diagonally across opposite corners. (4) Claim 1 consisting of a regular pentagon and having five hinges extending between the five corners and the center of the pentagon.
or the toy assembly member according to any one of 2. (5) The toy assembly member according to claim 1 or 2, which has a hexagonal shape. (6) Claim 1 consisting of a rhombus that can be bent into an equilateral triangle
or the toy assembly member according to any one of 2.