DK171783B1

DK171783B1 - Overload-proof building element for structural building kits

Info

Publication number: DK171783B1
Application number: DK129994A
Authority: DK
Inventors: Niels Schmidt Christensen
Original assignee: Lego As
Priority date: 1994-11-14
Filing date: 1994-11-14
Publication date: 1997-05-26
Also published as: AU3867495A; CN1163580A; DE69503067T2; JP3679125B2; WO1996014911A1; CA2203509A1; EP0792181A1; DE69503067D1; AU689337B2; JPH10510171A; CN1112951C; DK129994A; EP0792181B1; CA2203509C

Description

i DK 171783 B1in DK 171783 B1

Opfindelsen angår et legetøjsbyggesæt af den i krav l's indledning angivne art. Opfindelsen vedrører desuden en skrue og et byggeelement af den i henholdsvis krav 3's og krav 8's indledning angivne art.The invention relates to a toy building set of the kind set forth in claim 1. The invention further relates to a screw and a building element of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 3 and claim 8 respectively.

55

Legetøjsbyggesæt med byggeelementer af den art kendes og markedsføres eksempelvis under varemærket DUPLO TOOLO®.Toy building kits with building elements of this kind are known and marketed, for example, under the trademark DUPLO TOOLO®.

De pågældende elementer er fremstillet af plast, f.eks.The elements in question are made of plastic, e.g.

ABS, og det tilstræbes at sikre dem mod ødelæggelse som 10 følge af mekanisk overbelastning. Ansøgeren har således tidligere indleveret en patentansøgning DK 564/94 i Danmark på en momentbegrænsende kobling anvendt i en skrue eller møtrik.ABS, and it strives to protect them from destruction as a result of mechanical overload. Thus, the applicant has previously filed a patent application DK 564/94 in Denmark on a torque limiting coupling used in a screw or nut.

15 Opfindelsen har til formål at anvise et legetøjsbyggesæt omfattende en skrue med udvendigt gevind og et byggeelement med en bøsning med indvendigt gevind, hvor delene er sikret mod ødelæggelse, selv om der påføres de sammenskruede dele et stort moment.The invention has for its object to provide a toy building kit comprising an external threaded screw and a building element with an internal threaded sleeve, the parts being secured against destruction, although a large amount of torque is applied to the screwed-in parts.

2020

Dette formål opnås ved, at enten skrueskaftet eller bøsningen er udformet i plast med langsgående slidser, som anvist i krav l's kendetegnende del.This object is achieved by the fact that either the screw shaft or the bushing is formed of plastic with longitudinal slots as described in the characterizing part of claim 1.

25 Herved sikres det, enten at skrueskaftet kan komprimeres eller bøsningen ekspanderes, hvis delene udsættes for et moment over en vis størrelse. Det bemærkes, at delene vil frigøres fra hinanden, hvis skruen i afstand fra gevindet udsættes for et moment i tværretningen. Det vil desuden 30 tillades, at gevinddelene kan kamme over, hvis skruen spændes ud over fuld tilspænding. Herved etableres der en momentbegrænsende kobling mod overbelastning hidrørende fra torsion.25 This ensures that either the screw shaft can be compressed or the bushing expanded if the parts are subjected to a torque over a certain size. It is noted that the parts will be released from each other if the screw spaced from the thread is subjected to a torque in the transverse direction. In addition, it will be allowed 30 that the threaded parts can comb over if the screw is tightened beyond full tightening. This establishes a torque limiting clutch against torsional overload.

Som anvist i krav 2, vil der fortrinsvis være flere slid-35 ser, der segmentvis opdeler gevinddelen i flere fjedrende bjælker.Preferably, as set forth in claim 2, there will be several slits which segmentally divide the threaded member into several resilient beams.

DK 171783 B1 2DK 171783 B1 2

Hvis det er skruen, der er udformet med slidser, vil disse med fordel kunne være sammenhængende via en diagonalt eller radialt forgrenet slids i skruens normalt stumpe 5 gevindende.If the screw is formed with slots, these may advantageously be connected via a diagonally or radially branched slit in the screw's normally blunt 5 thread.

Hvis slidserne er udformet i et byggeelements bøsning, vil bøsningen hensigtsmæssigt være anbragt, så at den strækker sig ved en ret vinkel ind i byggeelementet fra 10 en af dettes plane flader.If the slots are formed in the bushing of a building member, the bushing will conveniently be arranged so that it extends at a right angle into the building member from one of its planar surfaces.

Bøsningen vil sædvanligvis være fæstnet til byggeelementets plane flade gennem en for brugeren uadskillelig snapforbindelse. Det vil her være den bort fra den plane 15 flade vendende ende af bøsningen, der er udformet med slidser til fleksibel udbøjning. Alternativt kan begge bøsningens ender være sammenhængende i periferiretningen, hvor det så alene er bøsningens midterparti med gevind, der er opslidset for at sikre en fleksibel udbøjning.The sleeve will usually be attached to the flat surface of the building element through a snap-in connection inseparable to the user. Here it will be the away from the planar 15 flat end of the sleeve formed with flexible bending slots. Alternatively, both ends of the bushing may be coherent in the circumferential direction, whereby it is only the middle portion of the bushing with threads that is slotted to ensure flexible bending.

2020

Opfindelsen vedrører desuden en skrue, der har et hult skaft af plast med et udvendigt gevindafsnit. Skruen er indrettet til optagelse i et hul med et modsvarende gevindafsnit på andet element indgående i legetøjsbyggesæt-25 tet. Dette hul vil normalt have form som en sprøjtestøbt bøsning af plast, der er anbragt som indsats i byggeelementet. Skruen er langs en del af skrueskaftets længde udformet med en slids, der strækker sig langs gevindafsnittet mod skaftets ende.The invention further relates to a screw having a hollow plastic handle with an external thread section. The screw is adapted to receive into a hole with a corresponding thread section on the second element included in the toy building set. This hole will normally take the form of an injection molded plastic bushing which is placed as an insert in the building element. The screw is formed along a portion of the length of the screw shaft with a slot extending along the threaded section towards the end of the shaft.

3030

Hvis skruen belastes ved træk i sin længderetning, hidrørende fra vridning eller kraftpåvirkninger i tværretningen, vil dens opslidsede skaft virke som fjedrende bjælker, der vil bøje indad, når kraften når en vis størrel-35 se, hvorved de samvirkende gevindafsnit bringes ud af DK 171783 B1 3 indgreb med hinanden, og skruen frigøres derfor fra byggeelementet uden at tage varig skade.If the screw is loaded by tension in its longitudinal direction, resulting from torsion or force effects in the transverse direction, its slotted shaft will act as resilient beams which will bend inward as the force reaches a certain size, thereby bringing out the cooperating thread sections from DK 171783 B1 3 interacts with each other and the screw is therefore released from the building element without taking permanent damage.

Skruen vil ved en foretrukken udførelsesform have to dia-5 metralt over for hinanden beliggende slidser. Ved en særligt hensigtsmæssig udførelse er skruen udformet med tre langsgående slidser, der opdeler skaftets gevindafsnit i tre lige store segmenter. De derved dannede fjedrende bjælker sikrer, at skruen frigøres ved samme kraftpåvirk-10 ning uanset dennes angrebsretning.In a preferred embodiment, the screw will have two diametrically opposite slots. In a particularly convenient embodiment, the screw is formed with three longitudinal slots which divide the threaded sections of the shaft into three equal segments. The resilient beams thus formed ensure that the screw is released at the same force of action regardless of its direction of attack.

Herudover angår opfindelsen et byggeelement til et legetøj sbyggesæt . Byggeelementet omfatter en cylinderformet plastbøsning med et indvendigt gevind til optagelse af et 15 skaft på en skrue med et modsvarende gevindafsnit. Bøsningen er udformet med mindst én slids, der strækker sig langs gevindafsnittet.In addition, the invention relates to a building element for a toy building set. The construction member comprises a cylindrical plastic sleeve with an internal thread for receiving a shaft on a screw with a corresponding thread section. The sleeve is designed with at least one slot extending along the threaded section.

Hvis skruen påføres en belastning af en vis størrelse, 20 vil den opslidsede del af bøsningen bøje udad, hvorved skruen frigøres fra bøsningen med skruehul. Bøsningen vil ofte være fremstillet af plast ved sprøjtestøbning, og efterfølgende være samlet med byggeelementets hovedlegeme. Hvis slidserne er orienteret i samme retning som stø-25 beformens kerneudtræk, kan bøsningen ofte med fordel være en integreret part af hovedlegemet.If the screw is applied to a certain size load, the slotted portion of the sleeve will bend outwards, releasing the screw from the sleeve with screw hole. The bushing will often be made of plastic by injection molding and subsequently assembled with the main body of the building element. If the slots are oriented in the same direction as the core extrusion of the mold, the sleeve can often advantageously be an integral part of the main body.

Byggeelementets bøsning vil ofte have flere langsgående slidser, der har samme aksiale udstrækning, og som seg-30 mentvis opdeler bøsningen i fjedrende partier. Det er generelt nemmere at dimensionere bøsningen, så at de tilstræbte fjedrende egenskaber opnås, hvis der dannes flere fjedrende bjælker. Det samme gør sig gældende for skruen, når den er udformet med slidser. Hvis slidserne er an-35 bragt ækvidistant om periferien, vil det være nemmest at DK 171783 B1 4 opnå en retningsuafhængig sammenpresning, henholdsvis ekspansion, på skrue, henholdsvis bøsning.The bushing of the building element will often have several longitudinal slots having the same axial extent and which segmentally divide the bushing into resilient portions. It is generally easier to size the bushing so that the desired resilient properties are achieved if more resilient beams are formed. The same applies to the screw when it is designed with slots. If the slots are arranged equidistant about the periphery, it will be easiest for DK 171783 B1 4 to achieve a direction-independent compression or expansion, respectively, on screw or bushing.

Opfindelsen skal i det følgende beskrives i forbindelse 5 med foretrukne udførelsesformer og under henvisning til tegningen, hvor: fig. 1 skematisk, som sidebillede, viser to byggeelementer med en skrue og en bøsning ifølge opfindelsen; 10 fig. 2 i større målestok viser den på fig. 1 viste skrue med slids set fra siden; fig. 3 i længdesnit viser den i fig. 2 viste skrue; 15 fig. 4 i delvist snit viser en alternativ udførelsesform for en skrue ifølge opfindelsen og byggeelement i samlet stilling; 20 fig. 5 i snit viser den i fig. 4 viste samling langs linien V-V; fig. 6 i snit viser en foretrukken udførelsesform for en bøsning i et byggeelement ifølge opfindelsen, hvilken 25 bøsning er vist i en samling svarende til fig. 5; fig. 7 i snit viser en alternativ udførelsesform for en bøsning i et byggeelement ifølge opfindelsen, hvilken bøsning er vist i en samling svarende til fig. 5; og 30 fig. 8 i snit viser en yderligere udførelsesform for en bøsning ifølge opfindelse med aksialt afsluttede slidser.The invention will now be described in connection with preferred embodiments and with reference to the drawing, in which: FIG. 1 schematically shows, as a side view, two building elements with a screw and a bushing according to the invention; 10 FIG. 2 on a larger scale, the one shown in FIG. 1 is a side view screw; FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating that of FIG. 2 screw; FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of a screw according to the invention and an assembled building element; 20 FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the one shown in FIG. 4 shown along the line V-V; FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a bush in a building element according to the invention, which bush is shown in a joint similar to FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an alternative embodiment of a sleeve in a building element according to the invention, which is shown in a joint similar to FIG. 5; and FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a further embodiment of a sleeve according to the invention with axially closed slots.

På fig. 1 ses to byggeelementer 10 og 11, der markedsfø-35 res under varemærket DUPLO T00L0®. Legemulighederne ved elementerne er beskrevet i EP-A-0 612 262, hvoraf det og- DK 171783 Bl 5 så fremgår, at byggeelementet 10 har en drejeligt lejret indsats i form af en skrue 12 af plast. Skruen 12 er forskydeligt lejret, så den kan udføre en aksial bevægelse mellem to stop. Ved iskruning af skruen med et til formå-5 let egnet værktøj, der i øvrigt følger med byggesættet, forstærkes den kobling, der opnås ved samling af byggeelementerne ved hjælp af deres koblingstappe påoversiden og de dermed komplementære koblingsorganer eller recesser på undersiden.In FIG. 1 shows two building elements 10 and 11 which are marketed under the trademark DUPLO T00L0®. The play possibilities of the elements are described in EP-A-0 612 262, from which it can also be seen that the building element 10 has a rotatably mounted insert in the form of a screw 12 of plastic. The screw 12 is slidably mounted so that it can perform an axial movement between two stops. By screwing the screw with an appropriately suitable tool, which also accompanies the kit, the coupling obtained by joining the building elements is reinforced by their coupling pins on the upper side and the complementary coupling means or recesses on the underside.

1010

Selve skruen 12 er vist alene på fig. 2 og 3, dvs. den er taget ud af det på fig. 1 viste byggeelement 10. Skruen 12 er fremstillet som et hult legeme af plast og har en korpusdel 13 med to rundtgående fremspring 18 og 19, der 15 tjener som stop ved førnævnte aksiale forskydning af skruen. En skaftdel 14 er integreret med korpusdelen 13, og den har et udvendigt gevind 16. Skruen er ved en fore-trukken udførelsesform for opfindelsen særegen ved, at den har en i aksial retning forløbende slids 17.The screw 12 itself is shown in FIG. 2 and 3, i.e. it is taken out of that of FIG. 1, the screw 12 is made as a hollow body of plastic and has a corpus member 13 with two circumferential projections 18 and 19 serving as a stop in the aforementioned axial displacement of the screw. A shaft portion 14 is integral with the body portion 13 and has an external thread 16. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the screw is peculiar in that it has an axially extending slot 17.

2020

Ved den viste udførelsesform er der faktisk tale om to slidser 17, der forløber i skruens aksiale retning og mødes i skruelegemets stumpe bundende 20. Det er vigtigt for opfindelsen, at slidsen i radial retning strækker sig 25 langs hele den del af gevindet, der er i indgreb med et modsvarende gevindafsnit på en bøsning eller et med gevind forsynet hul.In the embodiment shown, there are in fact two slots 17 which extend in the axial direction of the screw and meet in the bottom of the screw body 20. It is important for the invention that the slot in the radial direction extends 25 along the whole part of the thread that is in engagement with a corresponding thread section on a bushing or a threaded hole.

Det ses af fig. 3, at korpusdelen 13 er udformet med et 30 hulrum 15, der er åbent i skruens ende, og som er indrettet til at kunne optage og fastholde spidsen på førnævnte værktøj, så at skruen følger værktøjets drejning.It can be seen from FIG. 3, the body part 13 is formed with a cavity 15 which is open at the end of the screw and which is adapted to be able to receive and hold the tip of the aforementioned tool so that the screw follows the rotation of the tool.

Fig. 4 viser skaftet af den i fig. 2 og 3 viste skrue, 35 skruet ind i en bøsning 20 i oversiden på det i fig. 1 viste byggeelement 11. Bøsningen 20 har et indvendigt ge- DK 171783 B1 6 vind 21, der samvirker med skaftets gevind 16. Opfindelsen har vist sig særdeles hensigtsmæssig, når de samvirkende gevindafsnit besidder en forholdsvis stor gevindstigning og har få snoninger. Ved en særligt hensigtsmæs-5 sig udførelsesform for opfindelsen har skruen godt og vel en snoning, mens bøsningen har knapt en snoning. Herved skal gevindsnoningen på skruen blot forcere en tilsvarende gevindsnoning på bøsningen, når bjælkerne dannet ved opslidsningen af skaftet 13 bøjes eller flexer indad.FIG. 4 shows the shaft of the device shown in FIG. 2 and 3, screwed into a sleeve 20 in the upper side of the one shown in FIG. 1, the bush 20 has an internal thread 21 which cooperates with the shaft thread 16. The invention has proved particularly useful when the cooperating thread sections have a relatively large pitch and have few turns. In a particularly convenient embodiment of the invention, the screw has a good twist, while the sleeve has barely a twist. In this way, the threaded snap on the screw only has to force a corresponding threaded snare on the bushing when the beams formed at the slit of the shaft 13 bend or flex inward.

1010

Det skal samtidig bemærkes, gevindsnoningerne med fordel kan være afrundede set i tværsnit, da der ellers vil kunne opstå et synligt slid på gevindet, hvis adskillelse gentages mange gange. Opfindelsen vil imidlertid fungere 15 udmærket, selv om gevindsnoningerne har et trekantet tværsnit, og selv om der er flere snoninger, når blot gevindafsnittet er lejret med den fornødne fjedring.At the same time, it should be noted that the threaded sheaves can advantageously be rounded in cross-section as otherwise a visible wear of the thread may occur if the separation is repeated many times. However, the invention will work well even though the threaded sheaths have a triangular cross-section and although there are more twists when the threaded section is mounted with the required suspension.

Ved at skruen påføres en kraft i retningen A, som vist i 20 fig. 4, vil der opstå et kæntrepunkt 22, der vil medføre, at skruens skaft virker som en indsvingende bjælke, hvilket er vist med pilen a. Hermed vil gevindsnoningerne 16, 21 kunne passere hinanden i et område 23.By applying a screw in the direction A, as shown in FIG. 4, a turning point 22 will arise which will cause the shaft of the screw to act as a swinging beam, as shown by arrow a. Thus, the threaded shells 16, 21 will be able to pass each other in an area 23.

25 På fig. 5 ses en alternativ udformning for en skrue ifølge opfindelsen, hvor denne fig. viser et tværsnit svarende til et snit taget langs linien V-V i fig. 4. Skruen adskiller sig herfra ved, at den dens skaft 13 har tre slidser 17 fordelt ækvidistant langs periferien. Herved 30 dannes tre i det væsentlige ens bjælker, hvorpå gevindafsnittet 16 er anbragt. Bøsningen 11 med det indvendige gevindafsnit 21 svarer til den på fig. 4 viste bøsning.25 In FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of a screw according to the invention, in which this FIG. shows a cross section corresponding to a section taken along the line V-V in fig. 4. The screw differs from this in that its shaft 13 has three slots 17 distributed equidistantly along the periphery. Hereby, three substantially equal beams are formed, on which the thread section 16 is arranged. The bushing 11 with the internal thread section 21 is similar to that of FIG. 4.

Fig. 6 viser et tværsnitsbillede af en yderligere udfø-35 relsesform for opfindelsen, idet det her er bøsningen 11, der er udformet med to langsgående slidser 24, der sik- DK 171783 B1 7 rer, at de dele af bøsningen 11, hvorpå gevindafsnittet 21 er dannet, kan bøjes eller flexes udad, hvorved skruen kan frigøres på samme måde som forklaret i forbindelse med fig. 4.FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a further embodiment of the invention, in which here the sleeve 11 is formed with two longitudinal slots 24 which ensure that the parts of the sleeve 11 on which the thread section 21 is formed, can be bent or flexed outwards, thereby releasing the screw in the same manner as explained in connection with FIG. 4th

55

Fig. 7 viser i lighed med fig. 6 en samling, hvor det er bøsningen, der forsynet med slidser 24, idet der ved denne udførelsesform findes tre slidser 24 anbragt ækvidistant. Det ses af fig. 8, der viser bøsningen 11 i læng-10 desnit, at slidserne 24 ikke nødvendigvis er gennemgående, men kan afsluttes i broer 25, der alligevel tillader den fornødne fleksibilitet.FIG. 7, similar to FIG. 6 shows a joint in which the sleeve is provided with slots 24, in which embodiment three slots 24 are arranged equidistantly. It can be seen from FIG. 8, showing the sleeve 11 in longitudinal section that the slots 24 are not necessarily continuous, but can be terminated in bridges 25 which nevertheless allow the necessary flexibility.

Det moment, der kræves for at bringe gevindafsnittene ud 15 af indgreb, bestemmes bl.a. af gevindenes overlapning, dvs. den forskydning, der er nødvendig, for at gevindsnoningerne kan passere hinanden, og af antallet af gevindsnoninger. Den lethed, hvormed forskydningerne kan finde sted, afhænger af de fjedrende egenskaber for de i skaf-20 tet eller bøsningen dannede bjælker. Disse egenskaber afhænger bl.a. af godstykkelse, materialevalg, bredde i periferiretningen, slidsernes længde og beliggenhed i forhold til gevindafsnittet, samt om slidserne forløber ak-sialt eller snoer sig. Der er således intet til hinder 25 for, at slidser kan forløbe i længderetningen, men f.eks. med en modsat stigning i forhold til gevindsnoningerne.The torque required to bring the thread sections 15 out of engagement is determined, among other things. of the thread overlap, i.e. the displacement needed for the threaded shifts to pass each other, and the number of threaded shifts. The ease with which the displacements can occur depends on the resilient properties of the beams formed in the shaft or bush. These properties depend, inter alia, on of thickness, material selection, width in circumferential direction, length of slots and position relative to thread section, and whether slots extend axially or twist. Thus, there is nothing to prevent slits from extending longitudinally, but e.g. with an opposite increase in relation to the thread shifts.

I det foregående er opfindelsen forklaret i forbindelse med en bøsning; men så længe det er skruen, der er forsy-30 net med slidser, vil den kunne anvendes inden for opfindelsens rammer i et massivt legeme med et hul, der er forsynet med gevind, idet det blot er lysningen med gevind, der kræves.In the foregoing, the invention is explained in connection with a bushing; but as long as the screw is provided with slots, it can be used within the scope of the invention in a solid body with a threaded hole, merely the illumination of threads required.

35 Når gevinddelen har to diametralt beliggende langsgående slidser, kan det i nogle tilfælde være fordelagtigt at DK 171783 B1 8 bryde eller fjerne gevindsnoningerne i områder forskudt ca. en kvart omgang i forhold til slidserne. Såvel skruer som bøsninger vil fortrinsvis være fremstillet i et plastmateriale såsom ABS, HI-POM eller et materiale med 5 tilsvarende egenskaber.35 When the threaded member has two diametrically located longitudinal slots, it may in some cases be advantageous to break or remove the thread sheaths in areas displaced approx. a quarter turn compared to the slots. Both screws and bushings will preferably be made of a plastic material such as ABS, HI-POM or a material having similar properties.

Claims

A toy building kit comprising a screw with a hollow shaft 5 of plastic, on the outside of which a threaded section is formed, and a building element with a plastic bushing having a corresponding internal threaded section, characterized in that either the bushing or the screw shaft along part of its length is formed with at least one 10 slot extending along the threaded section.

Toy building set according to claim 1, characterized in that in the sleeve and / or screw shaft several longitudinal slots having the same axial extension are formed and which segmentally divide the screw shaft and / or bush into resilient portions.

A screw for a toy building set, comprising a hollow plastic handle, on the outside of which is formed a thread section for accommodating a hole with a corresponding thread section on another element included in the toy building set, characterized in that the screw shaft along a part of its length is formed with at least one slot extending through the threaded section. 25

Screw according to claim 3, characterized in that the screw shaft is formed with a plurality of longitudinal slits having the same axial extension and which segmentally divides the screw shaft into resilient portions. 30

Screw according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the shaft has two slots, the resilient portions being semi-cylindrical. DK 171783 B1 10

Screw according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the shaft has three equidistant slots in the circumferential direction.

Building element for a toy building set, comprising a cylindrical plastic sleeve with an internal thread section for receiving a shaft on a screw with a corresponding thread section, characterized in that the sleeve is formed along a portion of its length with at least one slot extending go through the thread section.

Building element according to claim 7, characterized in that the bushing is formed with several longitudinal slots having the same axial extension and which segmentally divides the bushing into resilient portions.

Building element according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the sleeve has two slots, the resilient portions being semi-cylindrical. 20

Building element according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the sleeve has three equidistantly located slots in the circumferential direction.