CA1198283A - Collapsible play-therapy house - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION (ABSTRACT) This invention relates to the use of play instruments used in psycho-therapy with children to assist in;
1. The gathering of background information.
2. Assessment of emotional/social problems, and 3. treatment through the use of structured play.
Hitherto play-therapy houses have been adapted from less app-ropriate commercially available doll houses of fragile construction or from disposible materials (cartons, boxes) not specifically ident-ified as houses. Where sturdy, large and appropriate play-therapy houses are used they require large areas permanently allocated for their use.

Description

BACKCROUND OF INVENTION (AB~STRACT) This invention relates to the use oF play instruments used in psycho-therapy with children to assist in;
1. The gathering of background information.

2. Assessment of emotional/social problems, and

3. treatment through the use of structured play.
Hitherto play-therapy houses have been adapted from less app-ropriate commercially available doll houses of fragile construction or from disposible materials (cartons 9 boxes) not specifically ident-ified as houses. Where sturdy, large and appropriate play-therapy houses are used they require large areas permanently allocated for their use.
SPECIFICATIONS
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is a sturdy play-therapy house which may be perm-anently attached -to the office wall. It has a maximum of six rooms.
Walls are hinged so that the unit may be folded away making it poss-ible to have a lesser number of rooms as may be appropriate -to the individual child's home environment. The entire collapsible play-therapy house is foldable -to a flat struc-ture which stores against the office wall when not in use. The overall depth of the collapsible play-therapy house is less than two inches when folded against -the wall.
The unit is designed sothat it can be unfolded for use in less -than one minute. The roof of the collapsible play-therapy house is designed so as to allow easy access to the seconcl floor.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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In drawings which illustrate the embodiments of the inven-tion;
Figure 1 represents a frontal view of the un-folded collapsible play-therapy house.
Figure 2 represents a rear view of the rear wall and side walls of the collapsible play-therapy house.
Figure 3 represents a side view of the roof and corner supports on the front of the back wall. (also see Figure 8) Figure 4 represents a top view of the top floor.
1û Figure 5 represents a frontal view with the top and bottorn floors unfolded but with the upper walls folded.
Figure 6 represents a frontal view with bottom floor unfolded.
Figure 7 represents a frontal view of the coll-apsible play-therapy house folded.
Figure 8 represents the inside of the outside walls of the collapsible play-therapy house with the bracket to secure the roof.
DESCRIPTION OF_THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The collapsible play-therapy house is constructed of ~ incl1 no-interior void plywood and brass-plated hinges and screws. Hook eye fasteners are used for at-tachment to the office wall.
Referring to the drawings Figure 1 represen-ts the frontal view of the collapsible play-therapy house. Opened -the unit measures 37 inches long by 12~ inches wide. It is 26~ inches high.
The back of the collapsible play-therapy house (Figure 2) mea-i 3Z~3 sures 37~ inches by 20 inches.
Along the vertical edges of the fron-t of the back wall are supports for attaching the hinged side walls. These 20 inch strips are ~ inch wide by 1~ inches. These strips are mounted so that the inch side is parallel with the back wall of the collapsible play-therapy house. A rabbet approximately ~ inch by ~ inch is cut along the length of the inside front edge of these strips -to allow the side walls to fold flat when the house is collapsed. (See Figure 3) The outside walls of the collapsible play-therapy house are hinged to the end support strips. To unfold the collapsible play-therapy house it is first necessary to open the outside walls. These walls are 20 inches high by 11 inches wide. On the inside of the walls at the height of 11~ inches is a ~ inch strip which acts as a support for the upper floor. (Figure 8). This bracket both supports the rooF and acts to interlock the pieces to add stability.
The bottom and top floors of the collapsible play-therapy house are hinged so as to fold upward against the front of the back wall of the collapsible play-therapy house. (Figure 5). The downstairs wall is hinged to the bottom-of the upstairs floor. This wall acts as a support for the upstairs floor. (Figure 6).
After folding back the outside walls the bottom and top floors of the collapsible play-therapy house are exposed. (Figures 5 & 6).
The bot-tom floor is connected by hinges to the bottom of the back wall oF the collapsible play-therapy house. The bottom floor measures 36 inches long by 12 inches wide. -rO fold the floor down it is first necessary to Fold the downstairs wall -to a position per-pendicular to the back wall of the collapsible play--therapy house.
(Figure 6). The downstairs wall is 11~ inches high by 10 inches wide. It is hinged to unfold to the right. This enables the down-stairs floor to clear the notch in the lower back corner of the down-stairs wall. This wall also acts to hold the downstairs floor in place when the collapsible play-therapy house is folded. (Figure 6).
The upstairs floor measures 36 inches long by 9 5/8 inches wide.
The upstairs floor is hinged so as to fold down. It is attached to a ~ inch strip attached to the back wall of the collapsible play-therapy house. It rests!on the supports on the inside of the side walls and on the attached downstairs wall, which is perpendicular to the upstairs floor and the back wa:Ll when it is unfolded. The upstairs floor is shor-ter than the downstairs floor so as to allow access to the down-stairs rooms.
The three upstairs walls are 7~ inches high by 10 inches wide.
They are each hinged individually to the front of the back wall. The two left side walls unfold to the left. The right hand wall unfolds to the right. Any number of these walls may be engaged so as to sim-ulate the child's living environment.
The roof is comprisecl of-two 36 inch long by 9 inch wide ply-wood pieces. The back piece is hinged to the back wall of the house.
The front piece is hinged to the back roof piece so as to be able to form a peak. The front piece is cut out so as to allow easy access to the top floor. (See Figure 4).

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Holes in the Front of the front roof piece allows the insertion of pins to stably secure the roof, side walls, and floors. (Figure 8).
An op-tional chimney is included with the collapsible play-therapy ~ ., ~ '

Claims (2)

1. A collapsible play-therapy house comprising in combination an upright back wall which can be permanently affixed to the office wall to which are secured by hinges at sufficient depth to allow them to fold closed to encompass the hinges, floors, hinged interlocking roof components, and a plurality of hinged wall panels so as to fall flat against the office wall at a depth of no more than two inches.

2. The collapsible play-therapy house of claim 1 comprising in combination a number of hinged wall panels which can be selectively engaged so as to create a variable number of rooms, so as to closely simulate the child's home