EP1022968A1

EP1022968A1 - Structural assembly

Info

Publication number: EP1022968A1
Application number: EP98951119A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christian Huyghe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1997-10-17
Filing date: 1998-10-19
Publication date: 2000-08-02
Also published as: AU9730498A; WO1999020153A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a structural assembly comprising rectangular panels (2) including chipped off corners and, along at least three edges, a longitudinal dovetailed profile, and vertical members (5) including at least two longitudinal grooves (6) with dovetailed profiles matching the profile of said panels. The dimensions of said panels, chipped off corners, dovetailed profiles, and vertical members being selected so as to assemble by sliding the vertical members and the panels to form a three-dimensional rigid and dismountable structure. The assembly can constitute a game or piece of furniture that can be mounted or dismounted without any other fixing means.

Description

Building set

The present invention relates to a construction assembly consisting of elements to be assembled in a variable or predetermined manner to obtain three-dimensional modular constructions from a limited number of types of identical elements.

Such a construction set can, among other things, constitute a game allowing the creative spirit of children to be developed. It can be useful for developing the concepts of space, volumes and arrangements. This game can be used as a family, in nurseries, schools, various workshops for children, during psycho-motor skills, speech therapy, etc.

The possible applications are not however limited to toys, other practical purposes, e.g. the construction of storage furniture, which can be advantageously achieved as will be understood on reading the description which follows.

The invention relates more particularly to a system for assembling panels and uprights for the manufacture of three-dimensional constructions such as toys, furniture, etc. In the form of toys, the construction set is an original application of the dovetail assembly. The elements can be made of wood, in particular for small production runs, or of plastic. The system proposed by the invention makes it possible to assemble wooden or wood fiber panels together using wooden uprights, this being rigid and solid, to form open three-dimensional structures (eg under shelves or boxes) or closed (in the form of boxes), and indefinitely expandable.

The proposed construction assembly makes it possible to obtain structures, in particular closed structures, based on straight parallelepipeds of which all the adjacent elements are capable of sliding relative to one another.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a construction assembly is proposed comprising on the one hand rigid rectangular or square panels comprising on the four edges a longitudinal dovetail profile and on the other hand uprights of square sections comprising on each longitudinal face a groove profiled in dovetail complementary to the profile of said panels.

The panels and the uprights are made integral by translation of the uprights along the panels to be joined, that is to say by sliding.

The panels can be identical or not. Preferably, for reasons of compatibility and interchangeability, if they are not identical, their dimensions will be a multiple (2, 3 ..) or a fraction (1/2 ..) each compared to each other. They will however preferably be of the same thickness. The method of constructing a predetermined assembly incorporates a relative sliding operation of several panels to an upright and in practice comprises a mental effort combined with a trial and error algorithm which is particularly stimulating for the user.

Advantageously, if the dimensions of the uprights correspond to precise characteristics, the result obtained may be an open or closed parallelepiped assembly, for example a box constituting the storage box for the remaining elements of the game.

For a construction given for practical purposes (furniture), certain dovetail profiles will not be necessary, the corresponding uprights and panels can therefore be deprived of these profiles. Alternatively, these can be hidden by adapting one or more linear male or female sliding parts complementary to the profile (s).

Other elements can be incorporated in particular if the construction assembly according to the invention is intended to be a game. For example, one can provide wheel elements comprising a short male dovetail profile capable of sliding in a complementary slots of one of the uprights.

The wheels are particularly useful because they allow, once installed at the base of the construction, easier handling of this construction which can be relatively heavy, especially since it can serve as a storage box. According to one embodiment, the wheels, which can also be made of wood but will preferably be made of plastic, are mounted using a screw and possibly a pin, on a wooden part. The latter can be an upright with an ungrooved face or a piece sliding in a groove of an upright.

It will be obvious that other elements can be incorporated into the toy according to the invention, by mounting in a similar manner to the wheels, pulleys or cranks allowing, with string or one or more ropes, to manufacture crane or traction systems. .

The transport of a constructed assembly, in particular applied as a toy, can also be facilitated by adapting a handle comprising one or, preferably two elements having a dovetail profile adapting to the grooves of the uprights. The handle itself can be secured to parallel uprights using one or two ropes secured on the one hand to said handle and on the other hand to two profiled slats in dovetail sliding in upper lateral grooves.

Preferably, in the context of a construction toy, the absolute dimensions of the elements are medium, intermediate between those found in the toy trade and those available for applications in classic carpentry, eg from 10 to 50 cm in length. The elements formed are thus of a dimension and a solidity allowing their use as stepladders, seat, storage box, coffee table, shelf, bookcase etc. The use of wood fiber panels, and more particularly MDF or HDF allows precise profiling of the male dovetails of the edges. The assembly can then be done from all sides. The corners of the panels are removed in order to allow the assembly of the uprights in all directions, in particular perpendicular to their planes.

The panels and uprights according to the invention can be obtained by methods and using conventional tools in carpentry. The female dovetail profiles can thus be obtained in a first step by a straight grooving in the edges with a router followed by a dovetail milling pe with a suitable router thus producing the widening operation of the base. Any acute angle can be eliminated simultaneously or after the milling operation.

The invention will be better understood on examining the drawings provided in the appendix presented by way of example only. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that most of the characteristics mentioned below by commenting on the figures are generalizable or adaptable to other embodiments, mentioned or not in the present description.

Fig. 1 illustrates a small square panel on side 1.

Figs. 2a and 2b constitute a plan view and a side view of a large rectangular panel. Figs. 3a to 3d represent different views of uprights.

Fig. 4 illustrates a box of which all the components are capable of sliding relative to their adjacent elements.

Figs. 5 to 8 illustrate different types of constructions according to the invention

Fig. 9 illustrates a particular embodiment of the invention, consisting of a shelf

Fig. 10 schematically illustrates in plan some dimensional characteristics of an example of a shelf.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate in plan boards adapted to the construction of the shelf according to FIGS. 9 and 10.

Fig. 13 is a top view of a door for a shelf.

Figs. 1 to 8 illustrate different elements of the invention, more particularly applied to a construction toy. Many identical characteristics are found, however, for obtaining furniture, which constitutes another important aspect of the invention.

According to a particular construction set, panels of two different sizes are provided. The large panels 1 are rectangular of length L and width 1 (fig. 2). The panels of small sizes 2, of identical thickness, are square and of side 1 (fig. 1). Each panel (1,2) is profiled in the shape of a dovetail 3 on the four edges

(4a, b, c, d). The profile is identical for each panel and depth x.

In this example, the width of the base of the dovetail profile corresponds to the thickness of the panel e, or slightly less than e.

The corresponding uprights 5 are of square cross section with sides of length y.

The length is much greater than 2x and the thickness of the panels. In the present example, these uprights are of three different lengths: A, C, D (5, 5 ′, 5 "). The four sides of these uprights can be grooves (fig. 3a, perspective view 3d) in length, in the middle, to form a dovetail groove 6 with a depth slightly greater than x, eg x + 2/10 mm, to allow easy sliding For certain applications, in particular for predetermined parallelepiped constructions, certain amounts may only have two or three grooves (see fig. 3).

In these female grooves of the uprights, the sides of the abovementioned panels or any other element having a complementary male dovetail profile can be inserted by sliding. Preferably the uprights have a cross section with rounded corners to avoid any edges that could injure a child.

The different dimensions meet the following equations:

L = 21 + y -2x A = 1 - 2x D = L - 2x

C = 1 + 2y - 2x

We can also consider amounts of dimension B where B = D - A (or even l + y-2x). It goes without saying that for more complicated assemblies, parts whose dimensions are multiples of those mentioned above can be provided.

As a more specific example, a simple building game will include:

4 square panels

6 rectangular panels;

8 D-pillars 5 C-pillars

5 A-pillars; 2 wheels

The aforementioned dimensions allow for example the assembly of closed parallelepiped boxes which can only be opened by sliding two opposite horizontal uprights and perpendicular sliding of the associated panel adjacent to these uprights. Figure 4 very schematically illustrates a construction obtained with this game composed of the aforementioned elements namely the panels 1 and 2 and 3 types of uprights 5 of length A, D, C (5A, 5D, 5C). The last square panel is removed, and two adjacent uprights of the upper face of the parallelepiped obtained are removed.

Figures 5 to 8 illustrate other possibilities.

In fig. 5 illustrates an assembly similar to that of FIG. 4, closed, with two pairs of wheels. In the upper grooves of the upper longitudinal uprights, support slats 52, 53 of a handle 51 have been slid. FIG. 7 illustrates a child seat and FIG. 8 a vehicle, namely a truck. The wheels are supported on uprights 5B not grooved on one side. The scale of the elements of the game and the solidity of these therefore allow the useful overall construction, the chair can indeed serve as such, the truck can roll and support the weight of an adult. The sets of figs. 5 to 8 can be obtained (wheels and handles excepted) from the types of elements already indicated, namely four lengths (5A, 5B, 5C, 5D) of uprights and two types of panel.

Fig. 8 illustrates a first example of a shelf. In this case, the side panels 81 may have only three dovetail profiles. If there are four, two front vertical uprights (not shown) can be provided. A horizontal median panel 82 forms a board of the shelf. Note that the horizontal panels cannot slide forward, being blocked in the groove of the adjacent rear upright. The two rear uprights (83) may have only two dovetail grooves perpendicular to each other. The other uprights are horizontal uprights, separating the side and rear panels which will have been slid and having at least three grooves perpendicular to each other. Four grooves are however present for these uprights of FIG. 8.

According to a variant of the invention, the specific construction of a storage unit, a case, a bookcase or an equivalent unit, which can be dismantled and which is particularly rigid, is proposed.

Indeed, according to another embodiment shown in FIG. 9 particularly preferred, a multi-storey shelf model is proposed without a horizontal "upright". In this model the basic shape will be closed on three sides (bottom, left side, right side) thanks to panels of thickness at least equal to the greatest width of the dovetail. The shelf is assembled without nails, screws, glue or other means of fixing. The shelf is made up of 4 vertical uprights, a number of horizontal boards and vertical panels connecting the dovetails together by dovetail. The horizontal boards rest on the vertical panels. Provision is also made for horizontal crosspieces at the base, and possibly at the top, of the assembly. According to one example (fig. 9, 10), four vertical uprights 10 of square or rectangular section with sides Y or Y and Z respectively are proposed. The edges of the uprights are preferably rounded along a radius r. The length of the uprights is equal to the height of the shelf.

Each upright is milled in a dovetail on the two adjacent faces which will be inside the piece of furniture. So when the 4 uprights are arranged vertically so that they define a rectangular parallelepiped, the grooves look at each other (see fig. 10). The dovetail grooves are of length W - V for the 4 uprights. V = distance chosen between the ground and the first crossbar of the shelf. The groove is preferably located at the center of the faces of dimensions X and Y but they can also be offset from these centers. The depth of the dovetail is x, the smallest width (head) is a and the largest width is b.

The shelf is closed on both sides and on the bottom thanks to profiled panels in dovetail complementary to the countersunk grooves in the uprights, on the 2 edges which will constitute the height between 2 horizontal boards 11. In order to rest the first bottom board of the shelf, a panel 12 playing the role of cross is slid between the two uprights on the left; this operation is carried out from top to bottom by introducing the dovetail profiles of the crosspiece into the 2 corresponding female dovetails. The cross is a panel profiled on 2 vertical edges and whose height is low (eg 7 cm). The cross-member will rest by gravity on the lower end of the dovetail of a vertical upright, at distance V from the ground. It will be understood that this distance V can also be obtained when the grooving on the uprights is complete from one end to the other. In this case, it suffices to slide an additional element of length V filling a section of the groove at the lower ends of the uprights.

The above-mentioned operation is repeated for the right side, with a panel 12 playing the role of cross-member identical to the first. Then slide a bottom crossmember (not shown), of the same height, between the two uprights which will constitute the rear of the shelf. The operation is repeated for the uprights 19 which will be at the front of the shelf with the aid of an identical cross member 13 to that used for the bottom. At this stage of assembly, a structure is obtained consisting of 4 vertical uprights joined together by 4 horizontal crosspieces.

a board 11 of thickness R (for example 18 mm), of length S and of width T. is placed on the four cross-pieces. The four corners of this board are removed (see figs. 11 and 12). The length 101 = e + i '; length 102 = e + j '. The cut can be rounded along a radius r 'identical to the radius r used to round the edges of the uprights.

After installing the board, a panel is slid on each side (2 panels of identical height) and a bottom panel (height identical to the 2 side panels). A second board can then be laid and so on. Preferably between two boards, the height of the panel, that is to say the distance separating the two boards, is the same. To finish the shelf, at the top, after installing the last horizontal board, the uprights must protrude from the latter by the height of the 4 crosspieces (12 ", 12 ''',13",13''') which will finish the shelf (in our example 7 cm). These crosspieces can be of the same height as the base crosspieces. This last operation allows the two front uprights to be held directly together.

The edges 14 of the horizontal boards are visible on the rear, left and right sides of the shelf; the dimensions will in fact be chosen so that these edges are in the same plane as the vertical panels (flush with them).

Thus, for the depth of the shelf P the width M width of a side panel P - 2Z + 2x length of a bottom panel M - 2Y + 2x M = S + 2i P = T + 2j

The aforementioned basic model may vary:

- Thus it is possible to omit the placement of some or all of the bottom panels, which will not prevent an adjacent horizontal board from being held by the side panels. The shelf is then partially or completely open on two sides.

- the horizontal planks can extend beyond the side panels, thus providing lateral storage surfaces in the form of cantilevered wings by relation to the parallelepipedic assembly. These wings can be profiled according to a particular design, oval, rounded, etc.

- it is possible to double, triple etc. the width of the base shelf for example by adding two amounts of different section and whose formula is for example Zx2 (i '+ e). These two additional uprights are dovetail grooves on 3 faces in order to form central uprights allowing the connection of the two parts, the outer face of each central upright remaining blank or in any case not requiring grooving.

- These shelves can be dressed door 15 and become real closed storage furniture or, in the absence of intermediate boards 11, wardrobes. Doors can be installed by any known means, e.g. using simple pivots 16 such as those used in the manufacture of old furniture. The horizontal boards 11 'between which the doors are installed and which receive the pivots, are provided wider than the other horizontal boards, of a dimension corresponding to the thickness of the doors plus, for example, 2 mm. The corners removed on the front part of these boards will have a length (see fig. 12) 102 (j + e) + door thickness f + 2 mm

The pivots 16 'female parts are installed in the front corners of the lower and upper horizontal boards 11' 11 "which frame and hold the doors. The male parts of the pivots 16 are embedded in the respective lower and upper edges of the doors 15 (fig. 12). The free grooves of the front uprights, grooves facing each other and used for mounting the sleepers can also serve as a guide for a conventional slatted shutter closing the shelf to its lower end, with or without a lock.

It will be understood that multiple other variations of constructions are possible. For example, we can consider the construction of a library comprising at its base a closed box that can serve as a hiding place, accessible only by full disassembly from the top of the library.

It will be understood that the invention may vary in its elements and its general design.

Wooden parts can be added to the construction assembly to fill part or all of the grooves not used in the uprights or to block certain elements, eg certain panels, wheels, or handles, at determined positions. These parts, e.g. in the form of a slat, have a male dovetail profile corresponding to the female dovetail profile of the uprights.

It is understood that, in the present description, the dovetail profile can be replaced by an equivalent profile, ie a fixing profile allowing only the translation in one direction of two elements, one relative to the other. In addition, for certain applications, the cross section of the uprights comprising at least two grooves profiled in dovetail can also be of non-rectangular shape, for example circular or ellipsoidal.

The invention relates more generally to any new element, taken separately or in combination, disclosed in the present description.

Claims

claims

1. Construction assembly comprising on the one hand rectangular and / or square panels comprising on at least two edges a profile in longitudinal dovetail, and on the other of the uprights comprising at least two longitudinal grooves profiled in tail dovetail complementary to the profile of said panels; the dimensions of said panels, of the possibly removed corners, of dovetail profiling, and of the uprights being chosen so as to be able to assemble by sliding the uprights and the panels to form a rigid and removable three-dimensional construction.

2. Construction assembly according to claim 1 in which the panels comprise at least three edges in longitudinal dovetail profile.

3. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims in which the corners of said panels are removed and said panels have more than two dovetail edges.

4. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the longitudinal grooves of the uprights are oriented perpendicular to one another.

5. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the uprights are of rectangular section.

6. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the uprights are of square section.

7. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the uprights comprise on the four faces a profiled groove in dovetail.

8. Building assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the panels are rectangular with dimensions L × 1 and squares W × L.

9. Construction assembly according to any of the preceding claim, in which there are three types of uprights corresponding to different lengths (A, C, D), the dimensions corresponding to the following formulas

L = 21 + y - 2x 0 A = 1 - 2x D = L - 2x C = 1 + 2y - 2x

in which x is the depth of the dovetail profile and y is the length of one side of the square section of the uprights, with possibly rounded corners.

10. Construction assembly according to the preceding claim characterized in that there is also a 0 fourth type of amounts corresponding to the length B = 1 + y - 2x.

11. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which wheel elements are provided comprising a male profile in dovetail complementary to the profile of the uprights.

12. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a handle is provided comprising at least one element having a male profile in dovetail complementary to the profile of the uprights.

13. Construction assembly according to the claim applied to the construction of a library.

14. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the uprights and / or the panels are made of wood.

15. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the uprights and / or the panels are made of fibers or wood particles.

16. Construction assembly according to the preceding claim wherein the panels are in DF ("medium density fibers") or HDF ("high density fibers").

17. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that no fixing element (nails, screws, board support, glue) is used.

18. Construction assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises - four vertical uprights secured inter alia by four horizontal perpendicular sliding crosspieces

- at least two side panels on either side, and possibly one or more rear panels, said sliding panels each between two of said vertical uprights

- At least one horizontal board enclosed by said panels.