CA1301456C - Children's building blocks - Google Patents

Abstract

CHILDREN'S BUILDING BLOCKS
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
In a set of children's building blocks, the blocks are sized and shaped to be assembled without interlocking in a pre-determined order to provide the outline shape of an article such as a tree, a barn, a sail boat, a house or an automobile. When the blocks are assembled in the pre-determined order, line markings along selected edge portions of selected blocks cooperate to provide a peripheral outline of the article which they represent. Sequential indicia, for example numbers or letters, marked on the front faces of the blocks repre-sent the sequence in which the blocks are to be assembled to produce the desired article.

Description

~14S6 CHILDREN'S BUILDING BLOCKS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to building blocks and more particularly children's building blocks with an educational purpose.
BACKGROUND
Children have been using building blocks for many years for constructing fanciful play buildings and the like. Some attempts have been made to couple an educational purpose with the conventional cubic building blocks, by marking letters and numbers on their faces.
The objective of the present invention is to provide novel sets of children's building blocks that are educationally stimulating to a child.
SUMMARY
According to the present invention there is provided a set of children's building blocks without interlocking components, capable of being stacked without interlocking in a pre-determined array to provide the outline shape of a selected article, sequential indicia marked on the front faces of the blocks and representing the sequence in which the blocks appear in said pre-determined array, and line markings along selected edges of selected blocks such that when the blocks are assembled in the pre-determined array, the article is outlined by the markings.

130~456 The article represented by the correctly assembled blocks will usually be a familiar article, for example a coniferous tree, a barn, a house, a sail boat or an automobile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention:
Figure 1 illustrates a front elevation of ten blocks forming a set;
Figure 2 illustrates the ten blocks of Figure 1 assembled to represent a coniferous tree;
Figure 3 illustrates a further set of blocks assembled to produce a barn;
Figure 4 illustrates a further set of blocks assembled to produce a sail boat;
Figure 5 illuctrates yet another set of blocks assembled to produce a house; and Figure 6 illustrates a simple set of blocks assembled to produce an automobile.

'` - ~ ;' 13~14S6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a set of blocks of varying shapes and sizes. These include a base block 1 of rectangular configuration, a trapezoidal block 2, two half trape-zoidal blocks 3 and 4 that are mere images of one another, a trapezoidal block 5, two half trapezoidal blocks 6 and 7, trapezoidal blocks 8 and 9 and a trian-gular block 10. These blocks are stacked from the bottom up in the numbered order to produce a coniferous tree as illustrated in Figure 2.
The periphery of the front face of the assembled blocks as illustrated in Figure 2 is outlined by a line marking 42. As illustrated in Figure 1, this ls produced by producing llne markings along selected edge portions of the blocks. Each block is also labelled with lts number in the se~uence in which the tree is assembled.
Referring to Figure 3, there is illustrated a similar set of blocks, this time with twenty-six blocks that are assembled to produce the outline of a barn with the usual mansard roof. The barn is outlined by line markings along the selected edge portions of the outer most blocks. Not all of the blocks in this embodiment have marked edges, as some are surrounded by other blocks and do not extend to the edges of the completed article.
The front faces of the blocks in this embodiment are labelled with the letters of the alphabet, A through Z to designate the sequence in which the blocks are to be set down to produce the barn.
Figure 4 illustrates a set of blocks con-structed to be assembled into a sail boat. The sail boat is again outlined along its periphery and the blocks bear numbers on their front faces to indicate the sequence in which they are to be assembled.
Figure 5 illustrates a set of blocks represent-lng the elevation of a simple house in which the blocks are labelled with numbers to indicate their sequence of assembly and the house is again outlined around its periphery.
Figure 6 of the drawings illustrates a simple set of five blocks that may be assembled to produce a representation of an automobile. Blocks 11 and 12 are cylindrical blocks with one side flattened so that the blocks will rest upright on a flat surface, such as a table or floor. The bQdy of the car is block 13, while the top of the automobile, including the windows and roof are provided by two blocks 14 and 15. The blocks 13, 14 s~

and 15 have been outlined as before to provide a complete outline around the main part of the vehicle. The wheels are also outlined around the periphery on the front face.
It is to be understood from the foregoing that numerous embodiments of the present invention are pos-sible and that the invention is not limited to the fore-going embodiments. The invention is to be construed as limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A set of children's building blocks without interlocking components, capable of being stacked without interlocking in a pre-determined array to provide the outline shape of a selected article, sequential indicia marked on the front faces of the blocks and representing the sequence in which the blocks appear in said pre-determined array, and line markings along selected edges of selected blocks such that when the blocks are assembled in the pre-determined array, the article is outlined by the markings.

2. A set of blocks according to Claim 1 wherein said sequential indicia are numbers.

3. A set of blocks according to Claim 1 wherein said sequential indicia are letters of the alphabet.

4. A set of blocks according to Claim 3 wherein said set of blocks comprises 26 blocks.

5. A set of blocks according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said article is a coniferous tree.

6. A set of blocks according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said article is a barn.

7. A set of blocks according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said article is a house.

8. A set of blocks according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said article is a sail boat.

9. A set of blocks according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 wherein said article is an automobile.