DK167380B1

DK167380B1 - CLUTCH MECHANISM TO A TOY BUILDING SITE

Info

Publication number: DK167380B1
Application number: DK287590A
Authority: DK
Inventors: Ole Vestergaard Poulsen; Joergen Thoegersen
Original assignee: Lego As
Priority date: 1990-12-04
Filing date: 1990-12-04
Publication date: 1993-10-25
Also published as: HK1005431A1; DE69111825T3; EP0560851B2; DK287590A; EP0560851B1; DK287590D0; DK0560851T4; DK0560851T3; JPH06503240A; WO1992010262A1; JP2672400B2; EP0560851A1; DE69111825D1; DE69111825T2

Description

- i - DK 167380 B1- i - DK 167380 B1

Opfindelsen angår en koblingsmekanisme med et stangfor-met emne og et koblingshoved, hvor koblingsmekanismen er indrettet til at kunne anvendes i et legetøjsbyggesæt indeholdende forskellige byggeelementer med andre typer c koblingsorganer, fx bøsninger og kuglehoveder.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to a coupling mechanism having a rod-shaped member and a coupling head, the coupling mechanism being adapted to be used in a toy building set containing various building elements with other types of c coupling means, for example bushings and ball heads.

Som følge af teknikkens udvikling inden for legetøjsbyggesæt, hvor det til stadighed bliver muligt at bygge mere og mere komplekse konstruktioner, er der opstået et 10 behov for enkle byggeelementer, der er indrettet til at kunne overføre tryk-/trækkræfter, dels til afstivning af statiske konstruktioner, dels til at kunne bevæge konstruktionernes dele indbyrdes. Denne indbyrdes bevægelse er hidtil blevet varetaget af en kombination af aksler 15 og tandhjul, mens den statiske afstivning er sket med legetøjsbyggesættets kendte komponenter, hvilket har medført konstruktioner, der er mere kompakte end ofte ønskeligt.Due to the development of the technique in toy building kits, where it becomes possible to build ever more complex structures, there has arisen a need for simple building elements designed to be able to transmit compressive / tensile forces and partly to stiffen static constructions, partly to be able to move the parts of the constructions between themselves. This movement has hitherto been handled by a combination of shafts 15 and gears, while the static bracing has occurred with the known components of the toy building set, which has resulted in structures that are more compact than often desirable.

2020

Til kraftoverføring inden for den mekaniske verden anvendes der ofte ganske tynde, flexible kabler, fx Bow-den-kabler, der fx finder anvendelse i gear- og bremse-kabler på cykler, hvor snoede stålwirer er indrettet til at kunne bevæges inden i en kabelstrømpe. Inderkablets 25 vandring i forhold til kabelstrømpen kan sa udnyttes til at styre positionen af bevægelige dele. Egerne i et cykelhjul er et eksempel på anvendelse af sådanne tynde, kabellignende legemer til mekanisk afstivning.For power transmission within the mechanical world, quite thin, flexible cables are often used, eg Bow-den cables, which are used, for example, in gear and brake cables on bicycles, where twisted steel cables are arranged to move within a cable stocking . The migration of the inner cable 25 relative to the cable stock can then be utilized to control the position of moving parts. The spokes in a bicycle wheel are an example of using such thin, cable-like bodies for mechanical stiffening.

Konstruktioner af denne art vil imidlertid ikke være hensigtsmæssige til anvendelse i legetøjsbyggesæt, da der ved udformning af kablerne, samt ved indretningen af de midler, der anvendes til at fixere kablerne til den øvrige konstruktion, er taget hensyn til de i praksis 35 - 2 - DK 167380 B1 forekommende kræfter, mens monteringen ofte er vanskelig og kræver en fagmands erfaring.However, structures of this kind will not be suitable for use in toy building kits, since in the design of the cables, as well as in the arrangement of the means used to fix the cables for the other structure, the practical 35 - 2 - DK 167380 B1 forces occur, while mounting is often difficult and requires the skill of a professional.

5 Opfindelsen har derfor til formål at angive en koblingsmekanisme, der skal kunne anvendes i et eksisterende legetø jsbyggesæt til at overføre kræfter mellem forskellige elementer i konstruktionerne bygget med legetøjsbyggesættet, fx til overføring af tryk, træk og rotation 10 mellem de enkelte konstruktionselementer eller fx til stabilisering af en med legetøjsbyggesættet bygget statisk konstruktion, hvor en sådan koblingsmekanisme selvfølgelig skal være let at montere og kunne sammenbygges med forskellige byggeelementer i legetøjsbyggesættet.The invention therefore aims to provide a coupling mechanism that can be used in an existing toy building set to transfer forces between different elements of the structures built with the toy building set, for example for transfer of pressure, tension and rotation 10 between the individual structural elements or e.g. stabilization of a static structure built with the toy building kit, where such a coupling mechanism must of course be easy to assemble and be able to be combined with different building elements in the toy building set.

1515

Dette formål opnås, ved at det stangformede emne har mindst én terminaldel, der er indrettet til at kunne bringes i udløseligt indgreb med koblingshovedet, hvor terminaldelen er indrettet til at kunne optages mellem 20 to fjedrende vægge på koblingshovedet, og at koblingshovedet har sekundære koblingsorganer til sammenkobling med andre til legetøjsbyggesættet hørende dele. Herved opstår der en form for snapvirkning mellem det stangformede emne og koblingshovedet, hvorved disse to dele let 25 kan bringes i indgreb med hinanden og let kan adskilles igen.This object is achieved by the rod-shaped blank having at least one terminal part arranged to be releasably engaged with the coupling head, the terminal part being arranged to be accommodated between two two resilient walls of the coupling head and the coupling head having secondary coupling means for coupling with other parts of the toy building set. This creates a kind of snap action between the rod-shaped workpiece and the coupling head, whereby these two parts can be easily engaged and easily separated again.

Koblingshovedets sekundære koblingsorganer kan fx omfatte et cylinder formet øje, der er indrettet til at kunne 30 optage en cylinderformet bøsning, eller som indvendig i øjet har to i aksial afstand beliggende stoporganer, så at et kuglehoved kan optages drejeligt. Det stangformede emne vil i den foretrukne udførelsesform have et cirkulært tværsnit og en i afstand fra enden beliggende ind-35 snævring til dannelse af terminaldelen. Mindst den ene - 3 - DK 167380 B1 af koblingshovedets fjedrende vægge vil have en krave på tværs af det stangformede emnes aksiale retning. Denne krave vil ved sammenkobling af koblingsmekanismens to 5 dele modvirke aksial bevægelse af det stangformede emne i forhold til koblingshovedet. For at afstive koblingshovedet, vil de to fjedrende vægge normalt være forbundet af et materialeparti, der forløber i det stangformede emnes aksiale retning. Det stangformede emne vil ved 10 sammenkobling med koblingshovedet kunne bringes til at ligge an mod dette materialeparti.The secondary coupling means of the coupling head may comprise, for example, a cylindrical eye which is adapted to receive a cylindrical sleeve, or which has two stop means located at the axial distance within the eye, so that a ball head can be swiveled upwards. The rod-shaped workpiece will, in the preferred embodiment, have a circular cross-section and a narrow distance from the end to form the terminal portion. At least one of the spring walls of the coupling head will have a collar across the axial direction of the rod-shaped workpiece. This collar, when interconnecting the two parts of the coupling mechanism, will counteract axial movement of the rod-shaped workpiece relative to the coupling head. To stiffen the coupling head, the two resilient walls will normally be joined by a material portion extending in the axial direction of the rod-shaped member. The rod-shaped workpiece may, upon coupling with the coupling head, be brought into contact with this material portion.

Det stangformede emne kan være indrettet til at kunne føres igennem en rørformet strømpe med en lysning, som 15 modsvarer emnets diameter. Dette lader sig gøre, når det stangformede emne er udformet med en terminaldel, hvis diameter er mindre end eller lig med diameteren af den øvrige del af det stangformede emne. Det stangformede emne vil således kunne anvendes som et slags Bowden-ka-20 bel, hvor kablets vandring i forhold til strømpens ende punkt kan anvendes til at forskyde dele i en konstruktion bygget med legetøjsbyggesættet. Kabelstrømpen kan med fordel fastgøres i en bøsning, hvis ydre diameter modsvarer andre i legetøjsbyggesættet indgående dele, 25 således at kabelstrømpen kan fixeres i eksisterende byggeelementer. Idet koblingshovedet let kan frigøres fra det stangformede emne, vil det være kabelstrømpens diameter, der er begrænsende for, hvilke komponenter kablet kan føres igennem. Det stangformede emne vil fortrinsvis 30 have en terminaldel i hver ende, således at der kan monteres et koblingshoved i hver ende. I nogle tilfælde vil det dog være hensigtsmæssigt, at lade det stangformede emnes ene ende være en integreret part af en i legetøjsbyggesættet indgående komponent. Den kan således direkte 35 være forbundet til stempelstangen i en tryk/trækcylin- DK 167380 B1 m Q m der.The rod-shaped blank may be arranged to pass through a tubular stocking with a groove corresponding to the diameter of the blank. This is possible when the rod-shaped workpiece is formed with a terminal part whose diameter is less than or equal to the diameter of the other part of the rod-shaped workpiece. Thus, the rod-shaped workpiece can be used as a kind of Bowden cable, where the cable migration relative to the end point of the sock can be used to displace parts in a structure built with the toy building set. The cable sock can advantageously be secured in a bushing whose outer diameter corresponds to other parts included in the toy building set, so that the cable sock can be fixed in existing building elements. Since the coupling head can be easily disengaged from the rod-shaped workpiece, it will be the diameter of the cable stocking which limits the components which the cable can pass through. The rod-shaped workpiece will preferably have a terminal part at each end so that a coupling head can be mounted at each end. In some cases, however, it will be appropriate to allow one end of the bar-shaped workpiece to be an integral part of a component included in the toy building set. It can thus be directly connected to the piston rod in a pressure / tensile cylinder.

Det stangformede emne kan imidlertid også være tilvirket 5 med en terminaldel med fx et firkantet tværsnit, hvorved koblingsmekanismen vil kunne være i stand til at overføre torsion eller rotation mellem to konstruktionsdele.However, the rod-shaped workpiece may also be made with a terminal part, for example a square cross-section, whereby the coupling mechanism will be able to transfer torsion or rotation between two structural parts.

Hvis blot det stangformede emne skal anvendes til statisk afstivning, dvs. uden kabelstrømpe, kan det stang-10 formede emnes terminaldel være tilvirket med en diameter, der er større end den øvrige del af emnet, da der således ikke er behov for at føre emnet gennem en snæver strømpe.If only the rod-shaped workpiece is to be used for static bracing, ie. without cable stocking, the terminal portion of the rod-shaped workpiece may be made with a diameter greater than the other part of the workpiece, since there is thus no need to pass the workpiece through a narrow stocking.

15 Opfindelsen skal forklares i det følgende under henvis ning til tegningen, hvor: fig. 1 viser en foretrukken udførelsesform for en kabelende med en terminaldel ifølge opfindelsen; 20 fig. 2 viser en udførelsesform for et koblingshoved ifølge opfindelsen; fig. 3 viser en anden udførelsesform for et koblingsho-25 ved ifølge opfindelsen; fig. 4 viser det i fig. 3 viste koblingshoved set fra siden; 30 fig- 5 viser det i fig. 3 og 4 viste koblingshoved set fra enden; fig. 6 viser et anvendelseseksempel for koblingsmekanismen ifølge opfindelsen; 35 DK 167380 Bl - 5 - fig. 7 viser et andet anvendelseseksempel for en koblingsmekanisme ifølge opfindelsen; 5 fig. 8 viser et tredie anvendelseseksempel for en koblingsmekanisme ifølge opfindelsen; fig. 9 skematisk viser et fjerde anvendelseseksempel for en koblingsmekanisme ifølge opfindelsen; 10 fig. 10 viser en alternativ udformning af et stangformet emne ifølge opfindelsen; og fig. 11 viser et yderligere alternativ for et stangfor-15 met emne ifølge opfindelsen.The invention will be explained in the following with reference to the drawing, in which: fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a cable end with a terminal part according to the invention; 20 FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a coupling head according to the invention; FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a coupling head according to the invention; FIG. 4 shows that in FIG. 3 is a side view of the coupling head; 30 FIG. 5 shows that in FIG. 3 and 4 are shown from the end; FIG. 6 shows an application example for the coupling mechanism according to the invention; FIG. 16 FIG. 7 shows another use example of a coupling mechanism according to the invention; 5 FIG. 8 shows a third use example for a coupling mechanism according to the invention; FIG. 9 schematically shows a fourth use example for a coupling mechanism according to the invention; 10 FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a rod-shaped blank according to the invention; and FIG. 11 shows a further alternative for a rod-shaped blank according to the invention.

På fig. 1 ses en foretrukken udførelsesform for et stangformet emne 10 til en koblingsmekanisme ifølge opfindelsen. Det stangformede emne 10 har en terminaldel, 20 der består af en indsnævring 15, der udgør en integreret del af det stangformede emne 10. Indsnævringen 15 er gennem to keglestubformede afsnit 13, 14 forbundet til henholdsvis det stangformede emne 10's ende 12 og hovedlegeme. Ved en foretrukken udførelsesform vil det stang-25 formede emne 10 have en maximaldiameter svarende til diameteren af hovedlegemet.In FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a rod-shaped blank 10 for a coupling mechanism according to the invention. The rod-shaped blank 10 has a terminal portion 20 which consists of a constriction 15 which forms an integral part of the rod-shaped blank 10. The constriction 15 is connected through two cone-shaped sections 13, 14 to the end 12 and main body of the rod-shaped blank 10, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the rod-shaped blank 10 will have a maximum diameter corresponding to the diameter of the main body.

, På fig. 2 ses et koblingshoved 20 for koblingsmekanismen, hvor koblingshovedet 20 har to fjedrende vægge 27, 30 som er indrettet til udløseligt at kunne optage og fast holde det stangformede emne 10's terminaldel. Koblingshovedet 20 er et fladt, ovalt legeme med et gennemgående, cylindrisk øje 21 i den ene ende, der er indrettet til drejeligt at kunne optage og fastholde en cylindrisk 35 bøsning på et andet i legetøjsbyggesættet indgående byg- DK 167380 B1 - 6 - geelement. Mellem de to fjedrende vægge 27 findes der en i koblingshovedet 20’s længderetning beliggende cirkulær kanal 23, hvori det stangformede 10's terminaldel kan 5 optages. Mellem de fjedrende vægge 27 på koblingshovedet 20, er der dannet et hulrum, der opdeles i en indre del 24 og en ydre del 22, hvorimellem findes en krave 28, der forløber mellem hulrummene 22, 24 på tværs af koblingshovedet 20's længderetning. Koblingshovedet 20 vil 10 typisk blive fremstillet ved sprøjtestøbning med et plastmateriale, hvorfor koblingshovedet 20 i visse områder vil være tilvirket med udsparinger 25 for at reducere vægtykkelsen og dermed opnå det bedst mulige produkt.In FIG. 2, a coupling head 20 is shown for the coupling mechanism, the coupling head 20 having two resilient walls 27, 30 arranged for releasably accommodating and holding the terminal part of the rod-shaped blank 10. The coupling head 20 is a flat, oval body with a continuous cylindrical eye 21 at one end adapted to pivotally receive and hold a cylindrical bush on another building element included in the toy building set. Between the two resilient walls 27 there is a circular channel 23 located in the longitudinal direction of the coupling head 20, in which the terminal part 5 of the rod-shaped 10 can be accommodated. Between the resilient walls 27 of the coupling head 20, a cavity is formed which divides into an inner part 24 and an outer part 22, between which is a collar 28 extending between the cavities 22, 24 across the longitudinal direction of the coupling head 20. The coupling head 20 will typically be manufactured by injection molding with a plastic material, so the coupling head 20 will in certain areas be made with recesses 25 to reduce the wall thickness and thus obtain the best possible product.

15 Fig. 3 viser et koblingshoved 30, der i hovedsagen svarer til det i fig. 2 viste, hvor et cylinder formet øje er indrettet til drejeligt at kunne optage et kuglehoved, hvorfor øjet har to i aksial afstand beliggende stoporganer 36, der fx kan bestå af to i afstand anbrag-20 te ringe eller som her dele af to sådanne ringe. To fjedrende vægge 37 danner et ydre og et indre hulrum 32, 34, der adskilles af en krave 38. Et stangformet emne 10 kan under sideværts forskydning optages i en i hovedsagen cirkulær kanal 33, der danner bagvæggen for de af de 25 fjedrende vægge 37 dannede hulrum 32, 34. Også her vil der af hensyn til vægtykkelsen være tilvirket nogle tykkelsesreducerende udsparinger 35.FIG. 3 shows a coupling head 30 which substantially corresponds to that of FIG. 2 where a cylindrical eye is arranged to pivotally receive a ball head, whereby the eye has two axially spaced stop means 36, which may consist, for example, of two spaced rings or as parts of two such rings. . Two resilient walls 37 form an outer and inner cavity 32, 34 which are separated by a collar 38. A rod-shaped blank 10 can be accommodated during lateral displacement in a generally circular channel 33 forming the back wall of the 25 resilient walls 37 formed voids 32, 34. Here again, for the thickness of the wall, some thickness reducing recesses 35 will be made.

Fig. 4 og 5 viser det i fig. 3 viste koblingshoved 30 30 henholdsvis fra siden og fra enden. På fig. 4 ses, hvorledes den indre del 34 af det mellem de fjedrende vægge 37 dannede hulrum har form som enden 12 på det stangformede emne 10. Bredden af hulrummet 34, dvs. afstanden mellem de to fjedrende vægge 37 i denne del er konstant 35 i hele hulrummets dybde. Enden 12 på det stangformede - 7 - DK 167380 B1 emne 10 vil således ikke støde på modstand, før den når bagvæggen af den indre del 34 af hulrummet. På fig. 5 ses, hvorledes den ydre del 32 af hulrummet er tragtfor-5 met, således at koblingshovedet 30's fjedrende vægge 37 i dette område tvinges fra hinanden ved anbringelse af det stangformede emne 10. Når først det stangformede emne 10 er anbragt i den cylindriske kanal 33, kræves der en kraftig sideværts påvirkning for at bringe det stang-10 formede emne 10 ud af indgreb. Kraven 38, der adskiller hulrummets indre og ydre dele 34, 32, er tilvirket med skrå vægge, der modsvarer det stangformede emnes kegle-stubformede del 13, hvorved kraven 38 på de fjedrende vægge 37 vil give sig, når trækket i det stangformede 15 emne 10 i aksial retning overstiger en vis værdi, hvorfor det stangformede emne 10 ikke vil blive ødelagt ved en eventuel overbelastning.FIG. 4 and 5 show that in FIG. 3 shown from the side and from the end 30 respectively. In FIG. 4 shows how the inner part 34 of the cavity formed between the resilient walls 37 is shaped like the end 12 of the rod-shaped blank 10. The width of the cavity 34, ie. the distance between the two resilient walls 37 in this portion is constant 35 throughout the depth of the cavity. Thus, the end 12 of the rod-shaped part 10 will not encounter resistance until it reaches the back wall of the inner portion 34 of the cavity. In FIG. 5 shows how the outer portion 32 of the cavity is funnel-shaped so that the resilient walls 37 of the coupling head 30 in this region are forced apart by the placement of the rod-shaped blank 10. Once the rod-shaped blank 10 is arranged in the cylindrical channel 33 , a strong lateral action is required to disengage the rod-10 shaped member 10. The collar 38, which separates the inner and outer portions 34, 32 of the cavity, is made with inclined walls corresponding to the cone-stub portion 13 of the rod-shaped member, whereby the collar 38 on the resilient walls 37 will form as the pull of the rod-shaped member 10 in the axial direction exceeds a certain value, so the rod-shaped workpiece 10 will not be destroyed in the event of an overload.

Som det ses af fig. 2 og 3, er koblingshovedet 20 til 20 optagelse af en bøsning ovalt, mens koblingshovedet 30 til fastholdelse af et kuglehoved er U-formet. Derved kan en bruger umiddelbart se forskel på de to typer koblingshoveder 20, 30.As seen in FIG. 2 and 3, the coupling head 20 to 20 accommodates a bushing oval, while the coupling head 30 for holding a ball head is U-shaped. Thereby, a user can immediately see the difference between the two types of coupling heads 20, 30.

25 Fig. 6 viser et anvendelseseksempel for en koblingsmekanisme ifølge opfindelsen, hvor et koblingshoved 30 er monteret i den ene ende af et flexibelt kabel 10. Den anden ende af kablet 10 er fastgjort til et stempel 61 i en tryk/trækcylinder 60, hvor kablet 10 føres igennem en 30 åbning i cylinderen 60's endeplade 62. Cylinderen drives af en pumpeindretning 63. To ens elementer 40 og 42 er sammen med træk/trykcylinderen 60 fixeret til en med legetø j sbyggesættet opbygget konstruktion. Disse to byggeelementer 40, 42 har en cirkulær åbning til optagelse af 35 en bøsning henholdsvis 41 og 43. Disse to bøsninger 41, - 8 - DK 167380 B1 43 fastholder hver sin ende af en rørformet strømpe 50 i forhold til de to byggeelementer 40, 42. Strømpen 50 vil fortrinsvis være flexibel og udformet med en lysning, 5 der modsvarer diameteren af det stangformede emne eller kablet 10. Da kablet 10 let kan adskilles fra koblingshovedet 30, vil dette let kunne føres igennem den rørformede strømpe 50. Kablet 10 føres igennem strømpen 50, efter at denne er fastgjort til byggeelementerne 40, 42 10 ved hjælp af bøsningerne 41, 43. Stemplet 61's vandring i træk/trykcylinderen vil således blive overført gennem kablet 10, så at koblingshovedet vil beskrive en tilsvarende vandring i forhold til byggeelementet 40. Denne vandring vil kunne anvendes til bevægelse af andre ikke-15 viste dele af konstruktionen.FIG. 6 shows an application example for a coupling mechanism according to the invention, in which a coupling head 30 is mounted at one end of a flexible cable 10. The other end of the cable 10 is attached to a piston 61 in a pressure / pull cylinder 60 through which the cable 10 is passed through. an opening in the end plate 62 of the cylinder 60. The cylinder is driven by a pump device 63. Two similar elements 40 and 42 are fixed together with the pull / pressure cylinder 60 to a structure built with the toy kit. These two building elements 40, 42 have a circular opening for receiving 35 a bushing 41 and 43, respectively. These two bushings 41 each hold one end of a tubular stocking 50 relative to the two building elements 40, 42. The sock 50 will preferably be flexible and formed with a groove 5 corresponding to the diameter of the rod-shaped workpiece or cable 10. Since the cable 10 can be easily separated from the coupling head 30, this can be easily passed through the tubular sock 50. The cable 10 is passed through the sock 50 after it is attached to the building elements 40, 42 10 by means of the bushings 41, 43. The piston 61's travel in the pull / pressure cylinder will thus be transmitted through the cable 10 so that the coupling head will describe a corresponding travel with respect to the building element. 40. This walk may be used to move other parts of the structure not shown.

Fig. 7 viser et eksempel på en anvendelse af en sådan kabelkonstruktion. Den viste konstruktion kan fx anvendes til at regulere hældningen af en legetøjshelikopter-20 rotor. En spændingsforsyning og -regulering 104 styrer forsyningsspændingen til en elektromotor 100. Elektromotoren 100 har en drivaksel, der gennem en konnektor 105 er forbundet til helikopterens rotoraksel. Akslen føres igennem et fladt byggeelement 120 med huller til opta-25 gelse af aksler og bøsninger. Akslen 110 fastholdes i lodret retning i forhold til det flade byggeelement 120 ved hjælp af positioneringsringe 122, der er anbragt på hver side af det flade byggeelement. Akslen 110 er fastgjort til en ikke vist kardankugle, der er i indgreb med 30 medbringertappe på en indvendig cylinderflade på et krydsformet element 130, hvorved dettes rotation tilvejebringes med akslen 110. Det krydsformede element 130 har fire radialt udragende arme med koblingstappe 132, med hvilke der kan monteres helikoptervinger. En styre-35 ring 140 er drejeligt lejret omkring det krydsformede - 9 - DK 167380 B1 element 130's rørformede del, således at styreringen 140 kan anvendes til at regulere elementet 130's hældning i forhold til vandret. Styreringen 140 har fire radiært 5 udragende arme med kuglehoveder 145. Et koblingshoved 150 af den anden type (30) er fastgjort til det ene af disse kuglehoveder 145. Dette koblingshoved 150 er, som tidligere nævnt, forbundet til et flexibelt kabel 160 og føres ind i en bøsning 180, der strækker sig igennem det 10 flade byggeelement 120, samt et yderligere element 121, hvorved bøsningen er i stand til at fastholde en flexi-bel strømpe 170, hvis anden ende er fastgjort med en bøsning 181 til et byggeelement 185. Kablet 160 er i sin anden ende fastgjort til et koblingshoved 155 af den 15 første type (20), der via en bøsning 190 er fastgjort til en vægtarm eller svingarm 192, der kan drejes omkring en stationær omdrejningsaksel 195. Akslen 195, byggeelementet 185, byggeelementerne 120 og 121 og elektromotoren 100 er fastgjort til stationære konstruk-20 tionsdele, der er udeladt af hensyn til overskuelighe den. Når svingarmen 192 drejes omkring akslen 195, vil kablet 160 forskydes i strømpen 170, og rotationen omkring akslen 195 vil medføre en lineær forskydning af koblingshovedet 150 og dermed ændre hældningen af det 25 krydsformede element 130. Ved at forbinde endnu et af styreringen 140's kuglehoveder 145 til en styreindretning vil man kunne regulere hældningen af det plan, der .udspændes af det krydsformede element. Alternativt kan et af kuglehovederne fixeres i forhold til det flade 30 byggeelement 120, hvorved elementet 130 kun kan vippes omkring en akse.FIG. 7 shows an example of an application of such a cable construction. For example, the construction shown can be used to control the inclination of a toy helicopter rotor. A voltage supply and control 104 controls the supply voltage of an electric motor 100. The electric motor 100 has a drive shaft connected through a connector 105 to the rotor shaft of the helicopter. The shaft is passed through a flat building element 120 with holes for receiving shafts and bushings. The shaft 110 is held in a vertical direction relative to the flat building member 120 by positioning rings 122 disposed on each side of the flat building member. The shaft 110 is secured to a non-illustrated ball bearing which engages 30 driver pins on an inner cylinder surface of a cross-shaped member 130, thereby providing its rotation with the shaft 110. The cross-shaped member 130 has four radially projecting arms with coupling pins 132, with which helicopter wings can be fitted. A guide ring 140 is pivotally mounted around the tubular portion of the cross-shaped member 130 so that the guide ring 140 can be used to control the inclination of member 130 relative to the horizontal. The guide ring 140 has four radially 5 projecting arms with ball heads 145. A coupling head 150 of the second type (30) is attached to one of these ball heads 145. This coupling head 150 is, as previously mentioned, connected to a flexible cable 160 and inserted in a bushing 180 extending through the flat building member 120, and an additional member 121 whereby the bushing is capable of holding a flexible stocking 170, the other end of which is secured by a bushing 181 to a building member 185. The cable 160 is attached at its other end to a coupling head 155 of the first type (20), which is secured via a bushing 190 to a wall arm or pivot arm 192 which can be rotated about a stationary rotary shaft 195. Shaft 195, building element 185, the building elements 120 and 121 and the electric motor 100 are attached to stationary structural parts which are omitted for the sake of clarity. As the pivot arm 192 is rotated about shaft 195, the cable 160 will be displaced in the stocking 170 and the rotation around the shaft 195 will cause a linear displacement of the coupling head 150, thereby changing the inclination of the 25 cross-shaped member 130. By connecting another of the ball heads 145 of the guide 140 for a control device it will be possible to control the inclination of the plane stretched by the cross-shaped element. Alternatively, one of the ball heads may be fixed relative to the flat 30 building element 120, whereby the element 130 can be tilted only about one axis.

Fig. 8 viser, at koblingsmekanismen ifølge opfindelsen kan anvendes til at afstive stationære konstruktioner, 35 hvilket er eksemplificeret ved et haleparti til en heli- - 10 - DK 167380 B1 kopter bygget med legetøjsbyggesættets elementer. Halepartiet er konstrueret af lange byggeelementer med gennemgående åbninger til optagelse af aksler. Konstruktio-5 nen består af fem bjælker 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, der er sammenkoblet med aksler og bøsninger, hvorved der dannes et i hovedsagen trapezformet legeme, der udgør helikopterens hale. Da de enkelte bjælker er forbundet drejeligt med hinanden, vil halepartiet ikke umiddelbart 10 være stabilt, hvorfor to afstivningselementer 260, 270 er forbundet mellem de to i hovedsagen parallelle bjælker 210 og 240. Disse afstivningselementer 260, 270 består af et kabel 10, der i hver ende er forsynet med et koblingshoved 20, som er fastgjort til respektive bjæl-15 ker 210, 240 ved hjælp af bøsninger eller aksler gående igennem bjælkens åbninger.FIG. 8 shows that the coupling mechanism according to the invention can be used to stiffen stationary structures, which is exemplified by a tail portion of a helicopter built with the toy building set elements. The tail section is constructed of long building elements with through openings for receiving shafts. The structure consists of five beams 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 which are coupled to shafts and bushings, thereby forming a generally trapezoidal body constituting the helicopter's tail. Since the individual beams are pivotally connected to each other, the tail portion will not immediately be stable, so that two bracing members 260, 270 are connected between the two generally parallel beams 210 and 240. These bracing members 260, 270 consist of a cable 10 which each end is provided with a coupling head 20 which is attached to respective beams 210, 240 by means of bushings or shafts passing through the openings of the beam.

Fig. 9 viser skematisk, hvorledes en kabelkonstruktion af den i fig. 6 angivne art kan anvendes til at styre 20 formen på en i øvrigt semistatisk konstruktion. Konstruktionen udgøres af fire bjælker 300, 301, 302 og 303, der er drejeligt fastgjort til hinanden gennem aksler 380, 381, 382 og 383. Bjælkerne 300-303 danner således et trapez, hvis form kan varieres ved at regulere 25 vinklen mellem to af de i trapezet indgående bjælker 300 og 303. Et Bowden-kabel omfatter en strømpe 350, der er fastgjort til bjælken 300 og et inderkabel 310, der gennem et koblingshoved 320 er fastgjort til bjælken 303 ved hjælp af en bøsning. Inderkablet 310's vandring i 30 strømpen 350 vil således være i stand til at regulere vinklen mellem bjælken 300 og bjælken 303.FIG. 9 shows schematically how a cable construction of the one shown in FIG. 6 can be used to control the shape of an otherwise semi-static structure. The structure is formed by four beams 300, 301, 302 and 303 pivotally attached to each other through shafts 380, 381, 382 and 383. The beams 300-303 thus form a trapezoid whose shape can be varied by adjusting the angle between two of the the beams 300 and 303 included in the trapezius. A Bowden cable comprises a stocking 350 attached to the beam 300 and an inner cable 310 which, through a coupling head 320, is attached to the beam 303 by means of a bushing. Thus, the migration of the inner cable 310 into the stocking 350 will be able to regulate the angle between the beam 300 and the beam 303.

Fig. 10 viser en alternativ udførelsesform for et stangformet legeme 10 ifølge opfindelsen med en terminaldel i 35 form af en kugle 12. Dette stangformede legeme vil væreFIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment of a rod-shaped body 10 according to the invention with a terminal part in the form of a ball 12. This rod-shaped body will be

Claims

FIG. 11 shows an alternative embodiment of the rod-shaped body, the terminal part being made here with an end portion 12 of square cross-section. In addition, the rod-shaped body 10 here corresponds to that of FIG. 1, but due to the flat parts 12a of the end portion, if the coupling head is made with corresponding complementary planar surfaces, it will be capable of transmitting rotational movements or torsion.

20 Claims: 1 Coupling mechanism with a rod-shaped workpiece (10) and a coupling head (20, 30) and adapted to be used in a toy building set containing various building elements with other types of coupling means, e.g. bushes or ball heads, which coupling head (20, 30) has secondary coupling means (21, 31) for interconnection with other parts of the toy building set, characterized in that the rod-shaped workpiece (10) has at least one terminal part (12-15) arranged for insertion into the releasable engagement with the coupling head (20, 30), wherein the terminal portion (12-15) is arranged to be accommodated between two resilient walls (27, 37) of the coupling head (20, 30). - 12 - DK 167380 B1

Coupling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the secondary coupling means of the coupling head (20) comprise a cylindrical eye (21) adapted for rotatably accommodating a cylindrical bush.

Coupling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the secondary coupling means of the coupling head (30) comprise a cylindrical eye (31) and the coupling head inside the eye has two axially spaced stop means (36) so that a ball head when placed in the eye (31) is rotatably held by said stop means (36). 15

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-3, characterized in that the rod-shaped member has a circular cross-section and a distance (15) spaced from the end to form the terminal part, and at least one of the coupling head's resilient walls (27). , 37. has a collar (28, 38) transverse to the axial direction of the rod-shaped member, which collar (28, 38), when interconnecting the two parts (10, 20; 10, 30.) of the coupling mechanism, prevents axial movement of the rod-shaped member 25 (10) relative to the coupling head (20, 30).

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-4, characterized in that the two resilient walls (27, 37.) of the coupling head are joined by a material portion extending in the axial direction of the rod-shaped member. 1 Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-5, characterized in that the rod-shaped blank is arranged to be accommodated in a tubular stocking (50) having a brightness corresponding to the diameter of the rod-shaped blank DK 167380 B1 - 13 - (10) and its terminal portion (12-15).

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-6, characterized in that the rod-shaped part (10) at the end facing away from the terminal part (12-15) is integrated with another component (60-62) included in the toy building set.

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-7, characterized in that the rod-shaped part (10) has terminal parts (12-15) at respective ends.

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-8, characterized in that the terminal part (12-15) of the rod-shaped workpiece has a plurality of flat faces (12a) extending in the axial direction of the workpiece, which are arranged to be engaged with corresponding complementary surfaces. between the resilient walls of the coupling head (27, 37).

Coupling mechanism according to claims 1-8, characterized in that the terminal part of the rod-shaped workpiece is spherical and has a larger diameter than the other part of the workpiece (10). 25 30 35