US20140349544A1

US20140349544A1 - Illuminable Building block

Info

Publication number: US20140349544A1
Application number: US13/902,898
Authority: US
Inventors: Ta-Yi Chien; Chien-Hsun Kao; Shih-Han Tseng; Hai-Yin Hsu; Kuan-Yu Chen; Fen-Ling Hu; Wei-Yu Lee; Kun-Yi Lee; Yen-Juei Lin; Chien-Chun CHEN; Min-Han Lin; Chia-Yu Guo; Chun-Han Chou; Shang-Ching Lin; Chin-Yu Chang; Han-Shun Liang
Original assignee: Foshan Lattice Energy Technology Corp; Lattice Energy Technology Corp
Current assignee: Foshan Lattice Energy Technology Corp; Lattice Energy Technology Corp
Priority date: 2013-05-27
Filing date: 2013-05-27
Publication date: 2014-11-27

Abstract

An illuminable building block is disclosed. The illuminable building block has a cell body, at least one circuit board, at least one illuminating device, at least one photo sensing device, at least one circuit control module, and at least one assembly portion. The cell body has an accommodating space, and the circuit board is located therein. The at least one illuminating device is disposed at the inner surface of the circuit board, and each photo sensing device corresponds to at least one illuminating device. The at least one circuit control module is used for illuminating the illuminating device.

Description

FIELD

The present invention relates to an illuminable building block, especially to an illuminable building block having a photo sensing device.

BACKGROUND

Common objects which can be assembled, such as building blocks, can only be assembled to construct different three-dimensional forms, and building blocks have no other additional functions, such as illuminating or sound-making; thus, the building block has less entertaining function. After a user becomes familiar with the assembling of the building blocks or all the forms that can be constructed or changed by assembling the building blocks, the building blocks will lose their attraction to the user.
In order to increase the entertaining function of the building block, the prior arts have already disclosed a technique of adding an illuminating device into a building block. However, the illuminating state of the illuminating device can be controlled only by turning on/off the power switch, and the illuminating states of the individual blocks cannot be controlled individually. Therefore, some improvements could increase the entertaining effect of the building block.
Therefore, a new building block needs to be provided to solve the problem that the illuminating devices in the building blocks cannot be controlled individually, and the entertaining function of the building blocks can thus be improved at the same time.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present invention to provide an illuminable building block having a photo sensing device.
To achieve the above object, an illuminable building block of the present invention is disclosed, the illuminable building block comprising a cell body, at least one circuit board, at least one illuminating device, at least one photo sensing device, at least one circuit control module, and at least one assembly portion. The cell body has an accommodating space and includes a first surface and a second surface. The at least one illuminating device and the at least one photo sensing device are disposed on the at least one circuit board in the accommodating space. The at least one illuminating device is disposed on an internal surface of the circuit board. The at least one photo sensing device is disposed on an external surface of the circuit board, and each photo sensing device is corresponding to the at least one illuminating device. The at least one circuit control module is disposed on the circuit board and electrically connected with the at least one illuminating device and the at least one photo sensing device. The at least one circuit control module controls the illuminating device corresponding to each photo sensing device to illuminate the illuminating device according to each photo sensing device. The assembly portion is disposed on the surface of the cell body, and it can be used to combine the pluralities of illuminable building blocks.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the assembly portion has a polarity and electrically connects to the circuit board, and a region other than the assembly portion has a reverse polarity relative to the polarity of the assembly portion and electrically connects to the circuit board.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a state that any one of the photo sensing devices receives light or receives no light, the at least one circuit control module turns on or turns off the illuminating device corresponding to the photo sensing device.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, the cell body can be made of a transparent material.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the present invention could comprise a screen board disposed in an accommodating space and close to the second surface.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention could further comprise a power portion electrically connected to the circuit board.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various embodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments, but are for explanation and understanding only.

FIG. 1 is a front side schematic diagram of a first embodiment according to an illuminable building block of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom side schematic diagram of the first embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section schematic diagram of the first embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the first embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention after combining the pluralities of the illuminable building block.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of combining the pluralities of the illuminable building blocks of the first and a second embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front side schematic diagram of a third embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment in which a circuit control module controls a single illuminating device and a photo sensing device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions of the accompanying drawings, which disclose several embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the drawings are to be used for purposes of illustration only, and not as a definition of the invention.
Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 at the same time, which illustrate a first embodiment of an illuminable building block of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front side schematic diagram of a first embodiment according to an illuminable building block of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom side schematic diagram of the first embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-section schematic diagram of the first embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the illuminable building block 1 of the present invention comprises a cell body 10, at least one circuit board 30, at least one illuminating device 40, at least one photo sensing device 50, at least one circuit control module 60, and at least one assembly portion 20.
As shown in FIG. 1, an accommodating space 15 is formed in the cell body 10, and the cell body 10 includes a first surface 11 and a second surface 12. The first surface 11 and the second surface 12 are two surfaces facing toward each other in a vertical direction. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cell body 10 could be made of a transparent material such as polyacrylate, glass, or PDMS, thereby allowing the light emitted by the illuminating device 40 to be visible to the user. Furthermore, the cell body 10 could be made of polymer or organic-silicon, and some marks or words could be printed on the cell body 10 to improve the entertaining function of the present invention, thereby raising the user's motivation to play.
As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the assembly portion 20 is disposed on the first surface 11 and the second surface 12 of the cell body 10, and the first surface 11 and the second surface 12 are corresponding to each other. The assembly portion 20 could be a tenon, a Velcro fastener, a magnetic device electrically connected to the circuit board 30, a device having a reverse polarity relative to the polarity of the magnetic device, or a conducting material that could be attracted by the polarity of the magnetic device.
In the present embodiment, the assembly portion 20 includes at least one first magnetic device 21 and at least one second magnetic device 22, wherein the number of the first magnetic devices 21 is four, and the first magnetic devices 21 are disposed over the circuit board 30.
The at least one second magnetic device 22 is disposed on the second surface 12 of the cell body 10, and the second surface 12 is electrically connected to the circuit board 30. In the present embodiment, the number of the second magnetic devices 22 is four, and the second magnetic devices 22 are disposed under the screen board 90. It is noted that the first magnetic device 21 and the second magnetic device 22 are corresponding to each other, and the magnetic properties of the first magnetic device 21 and the second magnetic device 22 are opposite. When the first magnetic device 21 is N-pole, then the second magnetic device 22 is S-pole, and vice versa.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the circuit board 30 is disposed in the accommodating space 15 and close to the first surface 11. The circuit board 30 includes an external surface 31 and an internal surface 32, and the circuit board 30 is disposed in the accommodating space 15. The external surface 31 is closer to the first surface 11 than the internal surface 32. The illuminating device 40 is disposed on the internal surface 32 of the circuit board 30. The photo sensing device 50 is disposed on the external surface 31 of the circuit board 30, wherein each photo sensing device 50 is corresponding to at least one illuminating device 40. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the number of the illuminating devices 40 is four, and these four illuminating devices 40 are LEDs, and these four illuminating devices 40 are respectively disposed on the internal surface 32 of the circuit board 30. The photo sensing devices 50 are respectively corresponding to the illuminating devices 40; thus, the number of the photo sensing devices 50 is also four. These four photo sensing devices 50 are disposed on the external surface 31 of the circuit board 30. These four photo sensing devices 50 are photoresistors, and each photoresistor corresponds to one LED.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the at least one circuit control module 60 is disposed on the circuit board 30 and electrically connected with the illuminating devices 40 and the photo sensing devices 50. The at least one circuit control module 60 controls the illuminating devices 40 corresponding to the photo sensing devices 50 to emit light or not according to whether each of the photo sensing devices 50 receives light or not. In the present embodiment, the circuit control module 60 is a circuit breaker, and each circuit control module 60 can control one illuminating device 40 and one photo sensing device 50, but the present invention is not limited to this arrangement. The circuit control module 60 could also be other appropriate arrangements to control the on/off of the illuminating device 40, such as a real switch button.
In addition, the single circuit control module 60 can also control one or several photo sensing devices 50 corresponding to the illuminating device 40. When any one of the photo sensing devices 50 is in a state of receiving no light, the circuit control module 60 will turn on the illuminating device 40 corresponding to the photo sensing device 50 which receives no light. In contrast, when any one of the photo sensing devices 50 is in a state of receiving light, the at least one circuit control module 60 will turn off the illuminating device 40 corresponding to the photo sensing devices 50, and thus the illuminating device 40 will not illuminate.
As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the illuminable building block 1 can further comprise a first electric-conductive region 71, a second electric-conductive region 72, and a third electric-conductive region 73. The first electric-conductive region 71 is disposed on the first surface 11, the second electric-conductive region 72 is disposed on the second surface 12, the first electric-conductive region 71 and the second electric-conductive region 72 are electrically connected to the circuit board 30, and the first electric-conductive region 71 and the second electric-conductive region 72 have a first electric-polarity. As further shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the first surface 11 of the illuminable building block 1 in accordance with the present invention further includes a first external surface 111, and the second surface 12 of the illuminable building block 1 in accordance with the present invention further includes a second external surface 121. Thus, the first electric-conductive region 71 will be disposed on the first external surface 111, and the second electric-conductive region 72 will be disposed on the second external surface 121.
It is noted that, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the first electric-polarity is a negative electric-polarity. The first electric-conductive region 71 is disposed at the periphery of the first external surface 111, and the second electric-conductive region 72 is disposed at the periphery of the second external surface 112. The electrode can be arranged by printing, and the electrical connection between the first electric-conductive region 71, the second electric-conductive region 72, and the circuit board 30 can be achieved through an electric-conductive material such as an electric-conductive film, a metal wire, a conductive paste, copper, or aluminum foil.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the third electric-conductive region 73 is disposed between four first magnetic devices 21 and four second magnetic devices 22. The third electric-conductive region 73 has a second electric-polarity which is different with the first electric-polarity. If the first electric-polarity is negative, then the second electric-polarity will be positive, and vice versa. In the present embodiment, the first electric-polarity has been set to negative, and thus the second electric-polarity of the present embodiment will be positive. Two third electric-conductive regions 73 can connect to each other through an electric-conductive material such as an electric-conductive film, a metal wire, a conductive paste, copper, or aluminum foil, and the electrode could be disposed by printing.
As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the illuminable building block 1 of the present invention further comprises a screen board 90 disposed in the accommodating space 15 and close to the second surface 12. In the present embodiment, the screen board 90 is disposed over the second magnetic device 22.
Next, please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, and refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 at the same time, so as to understand the state of combining several illuminable building blocks 1 with each other in accordance with the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the user assembles several illuminable building blocks 1 of the present invention, due to the identical magnetic properties, the first surface 11 of the illuminable building block 1 will not be able to contact the first surface 11 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a or 1 b. Therefore, the only way to combine the illuminable building block 1 and the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b and form the state shown in FIG. 4 will be for the first surface 11 of the illuminable building block 1 and the second surface 12 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b to be in contact due to the different magnetic properties.
In the present embodiment, the illuminable building blocks 1, 1 a and 1 b are assembled to form a shape like a podium in the way shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the uppermost screen board 90 of the illuminable building block 1 will screen the underlying photo sensing devices 50 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b from light, and thus the screened photo sensing devices 50 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b will be in a state of receiving no light. When the screened photo sensing devices 50 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b are in a state of receiving no light, the circuit control modules 60 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b will turn on the illuminating devices 40 corresponding to the screened photo sensing devices 50 (as shown in FIG. 4). On the other hand, the illuminating device 40 of the uppermost illuminable building block 1 and the illuminating devices 40 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b corresponding to the photo sensing devices 50 that are not screened by the illuminable building block 1 are kept in an off state; i.e., the illuminating devices 40 corresponding to the photo sensing devices 50 which are not screened by the screen board 90 will not emit light.
As shown in FIG. 4, in order to provide the power to the circuit control module 60, the photo sensing device 50, and the illuminating device 40 for operating, the illuminable building block 1 further comprises a power portion 80 connected electrically to the circuit board 30. It is noted that the power portion 80 needs to be disposed only on one illuminable building block 1, and there is no need to dispose the power portion 80 on every illuminable building block 1.
When the illuminable building block 1 contacts the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b, the second surface 12 of the illuminable building block 1 will respectively contact the first surfaces 11 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b. At this time, the first electric-conductive region 71 disposed at the periphery of the first external surface 111 will electrically communicate with the second electric-conductive regions 72 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b. At the same time, the third electric-conductive regions 73 of the first magnetic devices 21 of the illuminable building blocks 1 a and 1 b will electrically communicate with the third electric-conductive regions 73 of the second magnetic devices 22 of the uppermost illuminable building block 1. By this way, a parallel circuit is formed between the illuminable building blocks 1, 1 a and 1 b. Therefore, only one power portion 80 is needed to provide power. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the power portion 80 is disposed only in the illuminable building block 1 b. In addition, the operation power for the illuminable building blocks 1 and 1 a are obtained from the power portion 80 of the illuminable building block 1 b through the parallel circuit.
Next, please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of combining the pluralities of the illuminable building blocks of the first and a second embodiment according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 5, an external power supply 100 (such as an external power portion or a socket) can provide power to the illuminable building block 1 c of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the power supply 100 is electrically connected to the circuit board 30 via a power line 101, thereby providing power to the illuminable building block 1 c of the present invention.
Next, please refer to FIG. 6, which is a front side schematic diagram of a third embodiment according to the illuminable building block of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the second surface 12 of the cell body 10 a of the illuminable building block 1 d in accordance with the present invention is made of an opaque material, thereby replacing the screen board 90 disclosed in the aforementioned embodiments. The second surface 12 of the illuminable building blocks 1, 1 a, 1 b, 1 c or 1 d is used to screen the photo sensing device 50 of the illuminable building blocks 11, 1 a, 1 b or 1 c when assembled.
It is noted that the number of the circuit control modules 60 could be more than one and the number of the circuit control modules 60 will be the same as the number of the illuminating devices 40 or the photo sensing devices 50. For convenient description, please now refer to FIG. 7, a circuit diagram of an embodiment in which a circuit control module controls a single illuminating device and photo sensing device according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the present embodiment, one circuit control module 60 controls one illuminating device 40 and one photo sensing device 50. When the photo sensing device 50 is screened, due to the circuit property of a bipolar transistor Q, the illuminating device 40 can be turned on and thus the illuminating device 40 emits light. The circuit property of a bipolar transistor Q is common knowledge to those skilled in the art, so it will not be described here in detail. However, the circuit switch such as the bipolar transistor Q is just an example for description, and any control device which can be used to control the illuminating device 40 is suitable for the present invention.
It is noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are only for illustration. It is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An illuminable building block comprising:

a cell body, having an accommodating space, and including a first surface and a second surface;

at least one circuit board, disposed in the accommodating space and close to the first surface, the circuit board including an internal surface and an external surface, the external surface being closer to the first surface than to the internal surface;

at least one illuminating device, disposed on the internal surface of the circuit board;

at least one photo sensing device, disposed on the external surface of the circuit board, the at least one photo sensing device corresponding to the at least one illuminating device;

at least one circuit control module, disposed on the circuit board and electrically connected with the at least one illuminating device and the at least one photo sensing device, for controlling the on/off status of the illuminating device corresponding to each photo sensing device; and

at least one assembly portion, disposed on the surface of the cell body.

2. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assembly portion has a polarity and electrically connects to the circuit board, and a region other than the assembly portion has a reverse polarity relative to the polarity of the assembly portion and electrically connects to the circuit board.

3. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assembly portion is a magnetic device electrically connected to the circuit board, or a device having a reverse polarity relative to the polarity of the magnetic device, or a conducting material which can be attracted by the polarity of the magnetic device.

4. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 3, wherein the assembly portion includes at least one first magnetic device and at least one second magnetic device, and the at least one first magnetic device is disposed on the first surface and is electrically connected to the circuit board; the at least one second magnetic device is disposed on the second surface and is electrically connected to the circuit board, and the at least one first magnetic device has a reverse magnetic property relative to the at least one second magnetic device.

5. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein in a state that any one of the photo sensing device receives light or receives no light, the at least one circuit control module turns on or turns off the illuminating device corresponding to the photo sensing device.

6. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell body is a transparent material, such as polyacrylate, glass, or PDMS.

7. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cell body can be made of polymer or organic-silicon.

8. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a screen board disposed in the accommodating space and close to the second surface.

9. The illuminable building block as claimed in claim 1, wherein the assembly portion can combine the pluralities of illuminable building blocks, and any one of the illuminable building blocks can include a power portion connected to the circuit board for providing power to the plurality of combined illuminable building blocks, thereby making the illuminable building blocks illuminate.