JP2024053166A - Assembling toy - Google Patents

Abstract

To create a three-dimensionally shaped article by assembling only unit parts having a substantially identical structure.SOLUTION: An assembling toy T includes: a first unit piece 1 which has a tabular shape and has cuts 1x, 1y in both end parts in a width direction, and where recessed parts 42, 52, 62 or protruding parts 41, 51, 61 are provided in a position facing the cuts 1x, 1y in an in-plane direction; and a second unit piece 2 which has cuts 2x, 2y in both end parts in the width direction, and where protruding parts 41, 51, 71 or recessed parts 42, 52, 72 are provided in a position facing the cuts 2x, 2y in the in-plane direction. The unit pieces 1, 2 are rotatably assembled by fitting the recessed parts 42, 52, 62 of the unit piece 1 and the protruding parts 41, 51, 71 of the unit piece 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

The present invention relates to a building toy that allows the creation of three-dimensional objects by assembling multiple unit pieces, each of which is plate-shaped.

Today, toys have been developed that allow players to create various shapes by assembling a single type or multiple types of unit pieces together.

One known example is one in which plate-shaped unit pieces are assembled (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The one described in Patent Document 1 has a notch in the center of each side of a roughly square plate-shaped unit piece, and each unit piece has engaging protrusions at the four corners and center of one side, and engaging recesses at the four corners and center of the other side. The unit pieces are then assembled by engaging the notches of the unit pieces together and by engaging the engaging protrusions with the engaging recesses.

In the toy building block described in Patent Document 1, two unit pieces are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction, and can be connected by inserting a stopper member into each of the notches on the opposing sides. This stopper member has an axis built in, so the two unit pieces can be rotated around their boundary.

However, when assembling unit pieces to create various shapes, there is a demand for the ability to adjust the angle between the unit pieces while they are assembled without using other members. This demand cannot be met by the device described in Patent Document 1, which connects two unit pieces with a stopper member.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-187580

The present invention was developed with the above in mind, and aims to make it possible to create three-dimensional objects by assembling only unit parts that have approximately the same configuration.

The toy assembly according to the invention described in claim 1 comprises a first unit piece, each of which is plate-shaped, has a notch at both ends in the width direction, and has a concave or convex portion in the in-plane direction at a position facing the notch, and a second unit piece, each of which has a notch at both ends in the width direction, and has a convex or concave portion in the in-plane direction at a position facing the notch, and is an assembly toy that can create a three-dimensional object by assembling a plurality of unit pieces, and the concave or convex portion of one unit piece can be fitted into the convex or concave portion of the other unit piece.

The first unit piece and the second unit piece may have different shapes, or may have the same shape. The first unit piece and the second unit piece may further include a third or subsequent unit piece having a convex or concave portion in the in-plane direction.

The toy building block according to the invention described in claim 2 is the toy building block according to claim 1, in which the unit pieces are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction or height direction, and the recess of one of the adjacent unit pieces can be fitted into the protrusion of the other unit piece.

The toy building block according to the invention described in claim 3 is the toy building block according to claim 2, in which the unit pieces are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction, and the recess is provided on one of the opposing edges of the adjacent unit pieces, and the protrusion is provided on the other edge.

The building toy according to the invention described in claim 4 is the toy according to claim 1, in which the first unit piece and the second unit piece can be assembled with their faces intersecting.

The toy assembly according to the invention described in claim 5 is the toy assembly according to claim 4, in which the first unit piece has a notch in the lower half of the middle part in the width direction and has the recessed part at a position facing the notch, and the second unit piece has a notch in the upper half of the middle part in the width direction and has the protruding part at a position facing the notch.

The toy assembly of the invention described in claim 6 is a toy assembly that includes unit pieces that have a notch in the middle in the width direction, a concave or convex portion in the in-plane direction at a position facing the notch, and convex or concave portions in the in-plane direction at other positions, and that can be assembled to create a three-dimensional object by assembling multiple unit pieces, and that can be assembled so that the unit pieces can be rotated by fitting the concave or convex portion of one unit piece with the convex or concave portion of the other unit piece.

The invention of claim 7 relates to a toy assembly according to claim 1 or 6, in which the bottom sides of both unit pieces are positioned on the same plane when the concave or convex part of one unit piece is fitted into the convex or concave part of the other unit piece.

The invention of claim 8 relates to a toy assembly according to claim 1 or 6, in which the recesses and protrusions of the unit pieces are provided on the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of a cylindrical connecting portion provided on the unit pieces.

The toy building block according to the invention described in claim 9 is the toy building block according to claim 8, in which the connecting portion is provided on the upper half of one edge of the unit piece and the lower half of the other edge.

The toy assembly according to the invention described in claim 10 is the toy assembly according to claim 9, in which the connection portion is also provided in the upper half or lower half of the widthwise middle portion.

The toy building block according to the invention described in claim 11 is the toy building block according to claim 1 or 6, in which the entire unit piece is formed into a plate shape having a rigidity that makes it impossible to bend.

According to the present invention, a three-dimensional object can be created by assembling only unit parts that have approximately the same configuration.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing first and second unit pieces according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a first unit piece according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the first unit piece according to the embodiment. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a bottom view showing a first unit piece according to the embodiment. 3A and 3B are left and right side views showing a first unit piece according to the embodiment. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines AA, BB, and CC in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a front view showing a second unit piece according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a rear view showing a second unit piece according to the embodiment. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in FIG. 7 . FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the first and second unit pieces according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the first and second unit pieces according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the first and second unit pieces according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the building block toy according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the building block toy according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode of the building block toy according to the embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The building toy T of this embodiment is capable of creating a three-dimensional object by assembling multiple unit pieces 1 and 2, each of which is plate-shaped.

The toy building block T of this embodiment is plate-shaped and includes a first unit piece 1, which is one of the unit pieces and has notches 1x, 1y at both ends in the width direction and a notch 1a in the middle in the width direction, and has recesses 42, 52, 62 and protrusions 41, 51, 61 in the in-plane direction at positions facing the notches 1x, 1y, 1a, as shown in Figs. 1 to 9, and a second unit piece 2, which is the other unit piece and has notches 2x, 2y at both ends in the width direction and a notch 2a in the middle in the width direction, and has protrusions 41, 51, 71 and recesses 42, 52, 72 in the in-plane direction at positions facing the notches 2x, 2y, 2a. Each of the unit pieces 1 and 2 is made of resin having rigidity that makes it impossible to bend in its entirety.

Then, these unit pieces 1 and 2 can be rotatably assembled together by any of the following operations.
(1) The recesses 42, 52, 62 of the first unit piece 1, which is one of the unit pieces, are fitted into the protrusions 41, 51, 71 of the second unit piece 2, which is the other unit piece.
(2) The convex portions 41, 51, 61 of the first unit piece 1, which is one of the unit pieces, are fitted into the concave portions 42, 52, 72 of the second unit piece 2, which is the other unit piece.
(3) The recesses 42, 52, 62 of a first unit piece 1, which is one of the unit pieces, are fitted into the protrusions 41, 51, 61 of another first unit piece 1, which is the other unit piece.
(4) The recesses 42, 52, 72 of the second unit piece 2, which is one of the unit pieces, are fitted into the protrusions 41, 51, 71 of the other second unit piece 2, which is the other unit piece.

Specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the first unit piece 1 is made of resin in this embodiment, is a plate-like piece having a roughly rectangular shape, and has connection parts 4, 5 at both ends. More specifically, it has left and right piece bodies 31, 32 each having a rectangular plate shape arranged on one side end (left side) and the other side end (right side), a left connection part 4 arranged adjacent to the left side of the lower half of the left piece body 31, and a right connection part 5 arranged adjacent to the right side of the upper half of the right piece body 32. In addition, the upper part of the left connection part 4 is a left notch 1x, and the lower part of the right connection part 5 is a right notch 1y. Furthermore, the central connection part 6 is also provided in the center of the width direction, in other words, in the upper half between the left and right piece bodies 31, 32. In addition, the lower half of the center of the width direction, in other words, below the central connection part 6, has the above-mentioned notch 1a. The left, right, and center connection parts 4, 5, and 6 are all cylindrical, with protrusions 41, 51, and 61 protruding from the top surface, and recesses 42, 52, and 62 formed on the bottom surface. In particular, the recess 62 on the center connection part 6 is positioned to face the notch 1a.

In this embodiment, the second unit piece is also made of resin, is a plate-like piece having a roughly rectangular shape, and has connection parts 4, 5 at both ends. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, the second unit piece has left and right piece bodies 31, 32 each having a rectangular plate shape arranged at one end (left side) and the other end (right side), a left connection part 4 arranged adjacent to the left side of the lower half of the left piece body 31, and a right connection part 5 arranged adjacent to the right side of the upper half of the right piece body 32. The upper part of the left connection part 4 is a left notch 2x, and the lower part of the right connection part 5 is a right notch 2y. Furthermore, the central connection part 7 is also provided in the widthwise center, in other words, in the lower half between the left and right piece bodies 31, 32. The upper half of the widthwise center, in other words, above the central connection part 7, has the notch 2a described above. The left, right, and center connection parts 4, 5, and 7 are all cylindrical, with a convex portion 71 protruding from the top surface and a concave portion 72 formed on the bottom surface. In particular, the convex portion 71 of the center connection part 7 is positioned so that it faces the notch 2a. In other words, this second unit piece 2 has the same configuration as the first unit piece, except for the positions of the center connection part 7 and the notch 2a.

In both the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2, a part of the side of the convex portion 41, 51, 61, 71 is a flat portion 41a, 51a, 61a, 71a that is cut out in a flat shape to adjust the strength of the torque when mated with the concave portion 42, 52, 62, 72. Also, in order to adjust the strength of the torque when mated, the outer peripheral surface of the lower part of the convex portion 41, 51, 61, 71 is provided with a circumferentially extending protrusion 41b, 51b, 61b, 71b, and the concave portion 42, 52, 62, 72 is provided with a groove 42x, 52x, 62x, 72x that can engage with the protrusion 41b, 51b, 61b, 71b. It is up to the discretion of whether or not to provide these notches 41a, 51a, 61a, 71a, ridges 41b, 51b, 61b, 71b, and grooves 42x, 52x, 62x, 72x, and if provided, the dimensions and shapes are optional.

Here, the first unit pieces 1, the second unit pieces 2, and the first and second unit pieces 1, 2 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction, and can be assembled by engaging the recess 52 of the connection part (right connection part 5) provided at one end (right end in the figure) of one unit piece (first unit piece 1) with the protrusion 41 of the connection part (left connection part 4) provided at the other end (left end in the figure) of the other unit piece (second unit piece 2). At that time, the left connection part 4 of the other unit piece (second unit piece 2) is arranged in the right notch 1y of one unit piece (first unit piece 1), and the right connection part 5 of one unit piece (first unit piece 1) is arranged in the left notch 2x of the other unit piece (second unit piece 2). In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, when the recess 52 of the first unit piece 1 and the protrusion 41 of the second unit piece 4 are engaged, both unit pieces 1 and 2 can rotate around the connection parts 4 and 5, in other words, around the common axis a0 of the protrusion 41 and the recess 52. Also, as shown in FIG. 11, when the recess 52 of the first unit piece 1 and the protrusion 41 of the second unit piece are engaged, the lower sides 1s and 2s of both unit pieces 1 and 2 are located on the same plane P. Here, FIG. 10 shows a mode in which the first unit piece 1 and the second unit piece 2 are connected in the width direction, but the same applies when the first unit pieces 1 or the second unit pieces 2 are connected in the width direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the unit pieces 1 and 2 can also be connected in the height direction.

12, the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 are fitted with the notch 1a of the first unit piece 1 and the notch 2a of the second unit piece 2, in other words, the connection part 7 at the width direction center of the second unit piece 2 is arranged in the notch 1a of the first unit piece 1 and the connection part 6 at the width direction center of the first unit piece 1 is arranged in the notch 2a of the second unit piece 2, and the convex part 71 of the connection part 7 at the width direction center of the second unit piece 7 is inserted into the concave part 62 of the connection part 6 at the width direction center of the first unit piece 1, so that these unit pieces 1 and 2 can rotate around the axis of the connection parts 6 and 7 at the width direction center. In other words, the first unit piece 1 and the second unit piece 2 can be assembled with their faces intersecting. In addition, the two unit pieces 1 and 2 can be assembled in a T-shape by fitting the protrusion 41 of the left connection part 4 of the first or second unit piece into the recess 62 of the central connection part facing the notch 1a of the first unit piece 1, or by fitting the recess 52 of the right connection part 5 of the first or second unit piece into the protrusion 71 of the central connection part facing the notch 2a of the second unit piece 2.

Here is an example of the shape that can be formed by assembling unit pieces 1 and 2 together.

In FIG. 13, ten first unit pieces 1 are combined to form a star shape in plan view. By rotating the joints between these ten unit pieces 1 (connection part 5 in the figure and connection part 4 (not shown) connected below this connection part 5), it is possible to change the shape into a shape close to a circle (regular decagon) as shown in FIG. 14, for example. Note that while ten first unit pieces 1 are combined in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, a similar shape can be formed by combining ten second unit pieces 2 only, or by combining a total of ten first and second unit pieces 1 and 2.

In FIG. 15, five each of the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 are combined to form a shape of linked diamonds in plan view. A total of ten of these unit pieces 1 and 2 are combined, and the unit pieces 1 and 2 rotate relatively around the central connection points 6 and 7, and the connection point between the left connection point 4 and the right connection point 5, allowing them to expand and contract between a contracted shape as shown in FIG. 15(a) and an expanded shape as shown in FIG. 15(b). Note that, because FIG. 15 is a plan view, the central connection point 7 of the second unit piece 2 and the left connection points 4 of the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 other than the one located at the leftmost position in FIG. 15 are not shown in the figure.

Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the first unit piece 1, and FIG. 3 is a rear view of the same. FIG. 4(a) is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 4(b) is a bottom view of the same. FIG. 5(a) is a left side view of the same, and FIG. 5(b) is a right side view of the same. FIG. 6(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2, FIG. 6(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B, and FIG. 6(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C. FIG. 7 is a front view of the second unit piece 2, and FIG. 8 is a rear view of the same. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in FIG. 7. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode in which the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 are adjacent to each other in the width direction. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an assembly mode in which the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 are adjacent to each other in the height direction. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the first and second unit pieces 1, 2 assembled with their faces intersecting. FIG. 13 is a plan view of ten unit pieces 1 combined to form a star shape. FIG. 14 is a plan view of ten unit pieces 1 combined to form a regular decagon. FIG. 15 is a plan view of five each of the first and second unit pieces 1, 2 combined to form a pantograph shape.

As described above, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the unit pieces 1 and 2 can be rotatably assembled together by fitting the recesses 42, 52, 62, and 72 provided in the in-plane direction of one unit piece 1 and 2 with the protrusions 41, 51, 61, and 71 provided in the in-plane direction of the other unit piece 1 and 2. This allows various three-dimensional objects to be created by combining two types of unit pieces 1 and 2, and the three-dimensional objects can also be moved manually.

In particular, in this embodiment, when multiple unit pieces 1, 2 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction or height direction, the recesses 42, 52, 62, 72 of one of the adjacent unit pieces 1, 2 can be fitted into the protrusions 41, 51, 61, 71 of the other, so that the unit pieces 1, 2 can be connected to each other in the width direction or height direction by recess-protrusion engagement.

Furthermore, when multiple unit pieces 1, 2 are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction, a recess 42, 52 is provided on one of the opposing edges of the adjacent unit pieces 1, 2, and a protrusion 41, 51 is provided on the other, so that the two unit pieces 1, 2 can be connected in the width direction and the angle between these unit pieces can be changed.

On the other hand, since the first unit piece 1 and the second unit piece 2 can be assembled with their surfaces intersecting, it is also possible to form a portion where lines intersect when viewed in a plane. More specifically, the first unit piece 1 has a notch 1a in the lower half of the widthwise center and a recess 62 at a position facing this notch 1a, and the second unit piece 2 has a notch 2a in the upper half of the widthwise center and a protrusion 71 at a position facing this notch 2a, so that both unit pieces 1 and 2 can be connected in a rotatable state around the meshing portion between the notches 1a and 2a.

In addition, when the recess of one unit piece is fitted into the protrusion of another unit piece, the bottom edges of both unit pieces are located on the same plane P, so the appearance can be adjusted when the two unit pieces are connected.

The recesses and protrusions of the unit pieces are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the cylindrical connection parts 4, 5 provided on the unit pieces 1, 2, respectively, and the connection parts 4, 5 are provided on the upper half of the right edge and the lower half of the left edge of the unit pieces. Therefore, when the recesses 52 and protrusions 41 of the adjacent unit pieces 1, 2 are fitted together, the connection parts 4, 5 can be recognized as a single cylindrical part having the same height as the piece bodies 31, 32, and the appearance can be improved.

In addition, connecting parts 6 and 7 are provided in the upper and lower halves at the center in the width direction, so that the first and second unit pieces 1 and 2 can be connected so that their faces intersect via the central connecting parts 6 and 7.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first unit piece and the second unit piece can be assembled with their faces intersecting, but it is also possible that only the edges of the unit pieces can be connected to each other. However, if it is possible to assemble the first and second unit pieces with their faces intersecting, it is also possible to form a portion where lines intersect when viewed in a plane, as described above. On the other hand, if only the edges of the unit pieces can be connected to each other, one unit piece and the other unit piece may have the same shape, i.e., the unit pieces may be composed of only a single type of unit piece.

In the above-described embodiment, both the first and second unit pieces have connection portions at the lower half of the left edge and the upper end of the right edge, but connection portions may be provided at the lower half of both side edges of the first unit piece and the upper half of both side edges of the second unit piece. In this case, a notch may be provided in the lower half of the widthwise center of the first unit piece and the upper half of the widthwise center of the second unit piece, and a third unit piece with notches provided in the lower halves of both side edges and the upper half of the widthwise center and a fourth unit piece with notches provided in the upper halves of both side edges and the lower half of the widthwise center may be prepared, and these first to fourth unit pieces may be provided.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a notch is provided at both ends of the unit piece in the width direction as well as in the middle of the piece in the width direction, more specifically in the center. However, it is not necessary to provide a notch in the middle of the piece in the width direction. Also, the notch in the middle of the piece in the width direction may be provided in a location other than the center of the piece in the width direction.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the first and second unit pieces have a convex portion on the upper surface and a concave portion on the lower surface of the cylindrically formed connecting portion, but it is also possible to provide a concave portion on the upper surface and a convex portion on the lower surface. However, if a convex portion is provided on the upper surface and a concave portion on the lower surface of the cylindrically formed connecting portion, when two unit pieces are adjacent to each other in the width direction and connected, the lower surfaces of these unit pieces will be arranged on the same plane, so that the connected unit pieces can be stably placed on a tabletop surface, etc.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the entire unit piece is formed into a plate shape having a rigidity that makes it impossible to bend, but a unit piece formed into a plate shape from a flexible material may also be used. However, if the entire unit piece is formed into a plate shape having a rigidity that makes it impossible to bend, the unit pieces are less likely to deform when assembled together, making it easy to position the concave and convex parts when fitting them together, and easy to handle.

Various other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

T... Building toy 1... First unit piece 1x, 1y, 1a... Notch 2... Second unit piece 2x, 2y, 2a... Notch 4... (Left) connecting portion 41... Convex portion 42... Concave portion 5... (Right) connecting portion 51... Convex portion 52... Concave portion 6, 7... (Center) connecting portion 61, 71... Convex portion 62, 72... Concave portion

Claims (11)

A building toy includes a first unit piece having a plate shape, a notch at both ends in a width direction, and a concave or convex portion provided in an in-plane direction at a position facing the notch, and a second unit piece having a notch at both ends in a width direction, and a convex or concave portion provided in an in-plane direction at a position facing the notch, and a three-dimensional object can be created by assembling a plurality of unit pieces,
A building toy in which a concave or convex portion of one unit piece can be fitted into a convex or concave portion of another unit piece. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein the unit pieces are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction or height direction, and the concave portion of one of the adjacent unit pieces can be fitted into the convex portion of the other unit piece. The toy assembly according to claim 2, in which the unit pieces are arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction, and the recess is provided on one of the opposing edges of the adjacent unit pieces, and the protrusion is provided on the other edge. The building toy of claim 1, in which the first unit piece and the second unit piece can be assembled with their faces intersecting. The toy assembly according to claim 4, wherein the first unit piece has a notch in the lower half of the middle part in the width direction and has the recessed part at a position facing the notch, and the second unit piece has a notch in the upper half of the middle part in the width direction and has the protruding part at a position facing the notch. A notch is provided in the middle of the width direction, and a concave or convex portion is provided in the in-plane direction at a position facing the notch,
A unit piece having a convex portion or a concave portion provided in an in-plane direction at another position,
A building toy that can create a three-dimensional object by assembling a plurality of unit pieces,
By fitting the concave or convex portion of one unit piece with the convex or concave portion of the other unit piece,
This is a construction toy in which these unit pieces can be rotatably assembled together. The toy assembly of claim 1 or 6, in which the bottom edges of both unit pieces are positioned on the same plane when the concave or convex part of one unit piece is fitted into the convex or concave part of the other unit piece. The toy assembly according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the recesses and protrusions of the unit pieces are provided on the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of a cylindrical connecting portion provided on the unit pieces. The toy assembly of claim 8, wherein the connecting portion is provided on the upper half of one end edge of the unit piece and the lower half of the other end edge. The toy assembly of claim 9, wherein the connection portion is also provided in the upper half or lower half of the widthwise middle portion. The toy assembly of claim 1 or 6, wherein the entire unit piece is formed into a plate shape with unbendable rigidity.

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