DE29512467U1 - Plug-in and stringable play, teaching or teaching aids - Google Patents

Description

Teaching materials

Description

The invention relates to a play, teaching or teaching aid that can be plugged in and strung together, which has a base body with at least one connection area for receiving at least one connecting element, which can be detachably connected to at least one further base body or other assembly part and a play, teaching or teaching aid with a base body with design surfaces, e.g. in the form of a cube,

A number of games, teaching or instructional materials 15 are known which are used in schools and at home by both children and adults. For example, dice with six sides are known on which pictorial representations of eyes, numbers, letters, figures or the like are attached. Such dice are designed in such a way that a throwing motion causes the dice to rotate.

is moved and comes to rest on a base on one of the surfaces in such a way that a surface with a certain design faces upwards. The dice are designed as a closed unit and have a fixed, prefabricated design of the surfaces. Such dice have, for example, only eyes, others only numbers, letters or figures or the like in a fixed arrangement. The area of application is therefore limited according to the design of the side surfaces.

Furthermore, cuboid-shaped stones are known that have the representation of eyes, numbers, letters or figures or the like on at least one of the sides. Such stones are used, for example, in schools to form chains of letters or words.

So-called plug-in boxes or letter boxes are particularly well-known in the teaching materials sector. These have a plug-in board into which cards or flags with letters can be inserted or plugged into and strung together to form letter or word chains. Such plug-in boxes are therefore limited to dealing with letters in the learning or play area.

All known play, teaching or teaching materials have in common that they can only be used to a very limited extent due to the prefabricated or pre-designed surfaces. Another major disadvantage of play, teaching or teaching materials that can be arranged in a row is that they can only be used in two dimensions.

The object of the invention is to provide a game, teaching or teaching aid that can be used in a variety of combinations and is easy to customize, and can be manufactured inexpensively with a small number of construction parts.

The solution to the problem of the invention is achieved with a pluggable and stackable toy, teaching or teaching aid

according to the features of claim 1 or with a game, teaching or teaching aid according to the features of claim 23, wherein the subclaims comprise at least useful embodiments and further developments of the subject matter of the main claim.

The pluggable and stackable play, teaching or teaching aid according to claim 1 allows for a very wide range of uses both in the private and school sectors. A base body can thus be designed very individually by attaching interchangeable plates to it, which have any design surface. It is also advantageous that such base bodies can easily be plugged and stacked in multiple dimensions using connecting elements.

The game, teaching or instructional aid according to the invention according to claim 23 and designed, for example, as a cube also offers very versatile application possibilities. The design surfaces or plates can be individually labeled, painted or the like. Interchangeable, prefabricated plates with predetermined design surfaces can also be used.

According to a basic idea of the invention, the game, teaching or instructional material consists of a base body that has at least one connection area to which a connecting element can be connected in such a way that it forms a detachable connection with another corresponding base body or any other assembly part. Furthermore, means are provided on the base body that allow plates to be detachably attached to this base body, the plates being designed in such a way that they form a design surface. Any plates can therefore be attached to the base body, each of which has a different surface design. 35

According to a further basic idea of the invention, the plate can be attached to a connection area of the base body to form a design surface. This has the advantage that both a connecting element and a plate can be used alternately.

tively can be detachably mounted on one and the same connection area of the base body.

It is intended that the base body essentially has the shape of a polyhedron. The connection area is in this case formed on or in one of the polyhedron surfaces.

In an embodiment according to the invention, the base body can essentially have the shape of a cube, which can be used as a dice.

The base body can also have a substantially spherical shape. With such a shape, both the connection area and the corresponding plate can be flat or curved to form a design surface in accordance with the spherical shape or spherical segment. With flat plates, such a base body exhibits a cube-like behavior. With curved plates, on the other hand, the base body acts like a ball with corresponding rolling behavior.

Both from a manufacturing point of view and for reasons of weight reduction, the base body can essentially be designed as a hollow body.

The basic body, solid or hollow, can be composed of a number of sub-bodies that are manufactured separately.

According to a basic idea of the invention, the base body 0 has two partial bodies which are of the same shape. This offers the advantage that only one mold is required, e.g. for injection molding as a manufacturing process. The two partial bodies of the same shape or mirror-symmetrical are joined together after the manufacturing process and form the base body. The partial bodies can be detachably connected to one another by a corresponding pin and bush arrangement. This has the advantage that, especially if the base body is hollow, additional construction elements can be attached to the base body as required. For example, the

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targeted provision of an imbalance for a joke cube. In addition, a second body can be inserted into the base body in this way, which is also visible from the outside due to openings in the base body. The ability to dismantle the base body means that inserted structural parts that are not or no longer needed can be removed.

However, the partial bodies can be firmly connected to one another by means of adhesive, welding, clamping or the like in order to obtain a stable base body.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the connection area of the base body can have one or more locking openings for lockingly receiving the connecting element. In this case, the corresponding locking opening also serves for lockingly receiving the plate to form the design surface. For this purpose, the connecting element can comprise a correspondingly designed locking device in order to be brought into locking engagement with the base body or the locking opening of the base body as well as with any other base body or other assembly part.

In order to be able to attach the plate to the base body in a locking manner, the plate can also include a locking device to form the design surface.

Both the locking device of the connecting element and the locking device of the plate can advantageously have several protruding, elastic clamping parts, which are provided with a corresponding locking extension for engaging behind the respective locking opening of the base body. In this way, both the connecting element and the plate can be connected to the base body by simply pressing it into the corresponding locking opening of the base body. This creates a so-called snap-in connection. This engaging connection can be released relatively easily by pulling in the opposite direction, although sufficient stability is guaranteed when used as intended.

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It is clear that the connecting element can be designed in such a way that it consists of a substantially flat body which has a corresponding locking device on both end faces.
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It is also conceivable that both the connecting element and the plate for forming the design surface have elastic clamping parts arranged in a circle. This enables a twisting movement of both the connecting element and the plate relative to the base body around an axis that is aligned parallel to the clamping parts in the center of the circular arrangement.

Such a twisting movement is possible in a stable manner in particular by the fact that the corresponding locking opening is circular. However, in order to enable easier disassembly of the connecting element or the plate from the base body, the locking opening can of course also be designed in any way, in particular square. In this case, it is only necessary to ensure that stable locking in the locking opening is guaranteed.

According to an additional basic idea of the invention, the connection area has a support surface that is set back from the outer surface of the base body, i.e. a support surface is provided that is not in the same plane as that of the corresponding side surface, but rather is offset from the interior of the base body.

In an advantageous further development, the at least one locking opening can be formed directly in this support surface.

If a recessed support surface is provided, the means for releasably fastening the at least one plate for forming the design surface have one or more extensions arranged on the edge of the recessed support surface. These extensions engage behind the plate to be fastened to the base body, so that a stable snap connection is created.

A plate connected to the body in this way can be easily levered out if desired or, in the case of a hollow, perforated base body, pushed out.

The plate used to form the design surface can be made of plastic and/or paper, cardboard or similar material. In particular, if the plate has a surface made of paper, it is easy to write on or paint on it. A plastic plate can also be designed with appropriate paints or pens. Various plates with predetermined patterns and/or shapes or reliefs can also be used. The plates for forming a design surface are advantageously designed with a cover surface delimited by the edge area of the recessed support surface.

The panels can of course also be detachably attached to the base body in other ways. For example, in the form of Velcro fasteners, any snap or locking fasteners or the like.

The recessed support surface can be circular, in which case circular plates are also used. Since the corresponding locking openings for locking the connecting element or the plate provided with a locking device are also arranged on the respective recessed support surfaces, it is advantageous in the case of a circular recessed support surface to also make the body of the connecting element circular. This shape makes a pivoting movement of the connecting element or the plate possible.

Both the base body, the respective connecting element and/or the respective plate for forming a design surface can be made of biodegradable plastics based on renewable raw materials.

The game, teaching or teaching aid according to the invention is versatile and can be used in a number of possible combinations.

abilities can be individually designed and can be manufactured cost-effectively from just a few construction parts.

The invention is explained in more detail below using embodiments and with the aid of figures.

Here we show

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the pluggable and stackable play, teaching or instructional material, wherein the base bodies are plugged together by means of connecting elements and provided with plates to form a design surface;
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Fig. 2a a bottom view,

Fig. 2b a side view, and

Fig. 2c a plan view of one of the partial bodies of the

basic body;
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Fig. 3a is a sectional view of the partial body of the base body along the section line IIIA-IIIA of Fig. 2a,

Fig. 3b a sectional view of the partial body of the base body along the section line IIIB-IIIB of the

Fig. 2a, and

Fig. 3c is a sectional view of the partial body of the base body along the section line IIIC-IIIC of Fig. 2a;
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Fig. 4a is a plan view of the connecting element, and Fig. 4b is a longitudinal sectional view of the connecting element s;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the plate for forming

the design area with locking device.

With the help of Fig. 1, the basic structure and functionality of the game, teaching or instructional material will be explained in more detail.

The base body 10 shown in Fig. 1 has a locking opening 12, 14 on each of its six sides for lockingly receiving a connecting element 30. The locking openings 12, 14 are each arranged in recessed support surfaces 11, 13 (Fig. 2a-c). The support surfaces 11, 13 each have a circular border, so that, as indicated in Fig. 1, circular, recessed areas are formed in the middle of the cube sides. The locking openings 12, 14 are arranged within the recessed support surfaces 11, 13. The side edges of the locking openings 12, 14, which are square, for example, are either aligned parallel to the cutting edges of the cube surfaces, as indicated by 14, or aligned diagonally to them, as indicated by 12.

The connecting element 30 also has a circular, flat body 31 corresponding to the edge region of the recessed circular support region 11, 13.

Furthermore, it can be seen in Fig. 1 that the connecting element 3 0 has a locking device 32, 33, 34 (Fig. 4), which is described in more detail below. The connecting element 3 0 can be locked into the corresponding locking openings 12, 14 by means of the locking device, so that a tensile but rotatable connection is created between the connecting element 3 0 and the base body 10.

According to the embodiment, the base body is designed as a hollow body and the locking openings 12, 14 thus connect the inside of the hollow base body 10 with the outside. The locking engagement of the connecting element 30 therefore takes place in the inside of the cube.

Furthermore, it can be seen in Fig. 1 that three further identical base bodies, one of which is designated 20, also have connecting elements in the locked state.

Since the body 31 of each of the connecting elements 30 has a locking device 32, 33 shown in Fig. 4 on both main surfaces, it is possible to establish a tensile but rotatable connection between the individual base bodies 10, 20 by engaging a connecting element 30 between two opposing locking openings 12, 14.

On the side surfaces of the cube-shaped base body 10, which do not have a locked connecting element, circular plates 40a, 40b are also placed on the corresponding recessed support surfaces, so that an essentially flat cube side surface is created.

Furthermore, it can be seen in Fig. 1 that the hollow base body 10 can be divided into two (partial) bodies 10a and 10b along a plane parallel to a side surface that passes through the center of the cube. The dividing line between these bodies is provided with the reference number 18.

The exact description of the components and their functionality is described below using Fig. 2 to 5.

Fig. 2 generally shows the partial body 10a of the base body, with Fig. 2a showing a bottom view, Fig. 2b a side view and Fig. 2c a top view. In the bottom view of Fig. 2, the square basic shape of the partial body 10a can be clearly seen. A square locking opening 12 is arranged in the middle of the partial body 10a. The edges of the square locking openings 12 form an angle of 45° with the cutting edges of the cube surfaces. In the four corner areas of the partial body 10a, which is square in the bottom view, a peg-shaped extension 16 and a bore 17 with corresponding diameters are arranged opposite one another. 5 locking openings 14 are arranged on each of the four cube partial sides, although these are only half formed, since the dividing line designated by the reference number 18 in Fig. 1 divides them symmetrically.

The square locking opening 12 is, as only indicated in Fig. 2, arranged in a support area 11 which is set back from the cube surface. In Fig. 2a this means that the support surface 11 is offset in the direction of the viewer.

Furthermore, extensions 15 are arranged in the four corner areas of the recessed support surface 11, which serve to engage behind the plate 40a, 40b or 50 to be mounted in order to form the design surface. The exact functionality will be explained in more detail later in connection with the fastening of the plates.

In Fig. 2a and 2b it can be clearly seen that the side surfaces divided in the middle by the dividing line 18 also have recessed support surfaces 13. The symmetrically divided locking openings 14 are arranged in these support surfaces.

The support surface 11 is essentially circular, while the halved support surfaces 13 have a semicircular shape. The recessed support surface 11 has four extensions 15 in its edge area and the recessed halved support surfaces 13 each have two extensions 15, which are also rounded in accordance with the round overall shape of the recessed support surfaces 11 and 13 to make it easier to snap in the plate 40a, 40b.

For clarification purposes, Fig. 3a-c show sectional views of the partial body 10a of the base body 10 shown in Fig. 2a.

In Fig. 3a, a sectional view is shown along the section line IIIA-IIIA of Fig. 2a. It is clear that the recessed support surface 11 supports the plate 40a, 40b towards the center of the cube when it is inserted or locked into place. The extensions 15 engage behind parts of the plate 40a, 40b, whereby the plate is held in place in the normal direction to the side surfaces of the cube. The plate 40a, 40b essentially has a thickness that corresponds to the amount B by which the

Support surfaces 11, 13 are set back from the cube surface. The respective plate 40a, 40b is essentially circular and has a diameter Dl that essentially corresponds to the diameter of the set-back surfaces 11, 13. The plate 40a, 40b is made of cardboard, whereby the surface can also be left undesigned. The user can thus individually apply appropriate designs, such as eyes or letters, using colors or pens.

Fig. 3b shows a sectional view along the section line IIIB-IIIB of Fig. 2a, in which the alternating arrangement of the pins 16 and bushings 17 arranged in the corner regions of the partial body 10a of the base body 10, which has the square base area, becomes clear.

Finally, Fig. 3c shows a sectional view along the line IIIC-IIIC of Fig. 2a.

The partial body 10a described above is joined to an identical partial body 10b to form the base body 10. The pins 16 of the partial body 10a are inserted into the bushings of the partial body 10b and the pins of the partial body 10b are inserted into the bushings 17 of the partial body 10a. This ensures a stable connection against shear forces that can occur between the two partial bodies 10a and 10b. In order to also create a tensile connection, the tenoned partial bodies 10a, 10b are glued together. In this way, an extremely stable base body is created with little structural effort and low manufacturing costs.

The base body 10 can be connected to a second identical base body 20 by a connecting member 30, which is shown in Fig. 4, being able to be snapped into the locking openings 12, 14 of the base bodies 10 and 20.

The connecting link 3 0 consists of a substantially plate-shaped body 31 which is circular in shape corresponding to the recessed support surfaces 11 and 13. On both sides

of the body, i.e. on the end faces, four protruding clamping parts 32 are arranged in a circle, centrally aligned, and have recesses 33 in between. The clamping parts 32 are designed in such a way that they form a locking arrangement with an outer diameter D2 on both sides of the body 31. This diameter D2 corresponds to the edge lengths A of the square locking openings 12, 14 of the partial body 10a shown in Fig. 2.

In this way, the locking arrangement of the clamping parts 32 can be inserted tightly into the locking openings 12, 14. So that the clamping parts, which are inserted into the locking openings 12 or 14, can engage behind the recessed support surfaces 11 or 13, locking projections 34 are attached to the clamping parts 32.

These locking projections protrude beyond the outer diameter D2 of the locking arrangement of the clamping parts in such a way that, as shown in the side sectional view of Fig. 4b, a step is formed which engages behind the recessed support surfaces 11 and 13 at the edge area of the locking openings 12 and 14, respectively.

Finally, Fig. 5 shows a further embodiment of the plate 50 for forming a design surface. The plate 50 is essentially constructed in a similar way to the connecting element 30, but the locking arrangement of the clamping parts 32 engaging in the locking openings 12, 14 of the base body 10 is only located on one end face of the body 30. The other end face 51 of the body 30, however, is flat. Here, like the connecting element 30, the plate 50 is made of a plastic. The flat end face 51 is coated with cardboard or the like for labeling or painting.

It is particularly noteworthy that, from an environmental protection perspective, both the base body 10 and the connecting element 30 and partly also the plate 50 for forming the design surface are made of biodegradable plastics based on renewable raw materials.

Claims (1)

Protection claims Plug-in and stackable toy, teaching or teaching aid, comprising a base body (10) with at least one connection area (11, 12, 13, 14) for accommodating at least one connecting element (30) which can be detachably connected to at least one further base body (20) or other assembly part, characterized in that the base body (10) has means (12, 14, 15) for detachably fastening at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) to form a design surface. Play, teaching or instructional material according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) can be fastened to the at least one connection area (11, 12, 13, 14) of the base body (10) to form a design surface. 3. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base body (10) essentially has the shape of a polyhedron, wherein the at least one connection region (12, 14) is arranged on or in one of the polyhedron surfaces. 4. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 3, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially cube-shaped. 5. Play, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that corners and/or edges of the base body (10) are rounded. 6. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially spherical.
25 7. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially designed as a hollow body. 8. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the base body (10) has at least two joinable partial bodies (10a, 10b). 9. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to claim 8, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) are of identical shape and can be joined together to form the base body (10). 10. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) can be detachably connected to one another via a pin and bush arrangement (16, 17). 11. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) can be firmly connected to one another by an adhesive, welding or clamping connection or the like. 12. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the at least one connection area of the base body (10) has at least one latching opening (12, 14) for latchingly receiving the connecting element (30) and/or the plate (50) for forming the design surface. 13. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the connecting element (30) comprises a locking device (32, 33, 34) which can be brought into locking engagement with both the base body (10) and the at least one further base body (20) or the other assembly part. 14. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 1 to 12,
characterized in that the plate (50) for forming a design surface comprises a locking device (32, 33, 34) which is in locking engagement with the base body (10). 15. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 12 and claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the locking device comprises a plurality of protruding elastic clamping parts (32), each of which has at least one locking extension (34) for engaging behind the respective locking opening (12, 14) of the base body (10). 16. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 15, characterized in that the elastic clamping parts (32) are arranged in a circle. 17. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the at least one latching opening (12, 14) is circular or is square in shape.
20 18. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the at least one connection region (11, 12, 13, 14) has a support surface (11, 13) set back from the outer surface of the base body (10). 19. Play, teaching or instructional material according to claim 18, characterized in that 0 the means for releasably fastening the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) for forming the design surface have at least one extension (15) arranged on the edge of the recessed support surface (11, 13) for engaging behind the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50). 20. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that the base body (10) and/or the at least one connecting element (30) and/or the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) for forming the design surface consist of biodegradable plastics based on renewable raw materials. 21. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 20, characterized in that the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) for forming the design surface consists of paper, cardboard or similar material. 22. Play, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 1 to 21, characterized in that the at least one plate (40a, 40b, 50) for forming the design surface is designed with a cover surface 0 delimited by the edge region of the recessed support surface (11, 13). 23. A toy, teaching or instructional tool which has a base body (10) with design surfaces, characterized in that the base body (10) has means (15) for detachably and replaceably fastening at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming the design surfaces. 24. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 23, characterized in that the base body (10) has essentially the shape of a polyhedron, wherein the means (12, 14, 15) for releasably fastening the at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming a design surface are arranged on one of the polyhedron surfaces. 25. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 24, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially cube-shaped. 26. Play, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 23 to 25, characterized in that corners and/or edges of the base body (10) are rounded. 27. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 23, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially spherical in shape. 28. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 23 to 27, characterized in that the base body (10) is essentially designed as a hollow body. 29. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 23 to 28, characterized in that the base body (10) has at least two joinable partial bodies (10a, 10b). 30. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 29, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) are of the same shape and can be joined together to form the base body (10). 31. Game, teaching or instructional material according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) can be detachably connected to one another via a pin and bush arrangement (16, 17). 32. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 2 9 to 31, characterized in that the partial bodies (10a, 10b) can be firmly connected to one another by means of an adhesive, welding or clamping connection or the like. 33. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 23 to 32, characterized in that the base body (10) has at least one support surface (11, 13) set back from its outer surface. 34. Play, teaching or instructional material according to claim 38, characterized in that the means for releasably fastening the at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming the design surface comprise at least one at the edge of the recessed support surface (11, 13) arranged extension (15) for engaging behind the at least one plate (40a, 40b). 35. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 23 to 34, characterized in that the base body (10) and/or the at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming the design surface consist of biodegradable plastics based on renewable raw materials. 36. Game, teaching or instructional material according to one of claims 23 to 35, characterized in that the at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming the 5 design surface consists of paper, cardboard or similar! material. 37. Game, teaching or teaching aid according to one of claims 23 to 36, characterized in that the at least one plate (40a, 40b) for forming the design surface is designed with a cover surface delimited by the edge region of the support surface (11, 13).