JPH0410874Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] a Field to which the invention pertains This invention relates to a model toy consisting of bendably connected units, and in particular, the two sides of a tetrahedral unit that are twisted relative to each other are connected to other tetrahedral units. Rotatably connected to one side of the
This invention relates to a shaped toy formed by a plurality of tetrahedral units forming a reversible annular body.

b. Purpose of the invention The purpose of this invention was to devise a structure that does not impair the movement of the units in such figurative toys, which are said to need to satisfy strict geometric relationships, and to create new and interesting structures that have never existed before. The purpose is to provide something that shows changes in shape.

Furthermore, the purpose of this invention is to allow children to experience complex continuous changes in the geometrical shape of the toy when it performs movements such as twisting and flipping, thereby activating children's imagination while having fun. The aim is to cultivate students' abilities to understand, creativity, and spatial structure.

In addition, the shaped toy of this invention can be used as a novel ornamental ornament that can satisfy both the aesthetic and intellectual interests of adults.

c. Prior art and problems Two sides of a tetrahedral unit as shown in Fig. 1, which are at mutually twisted positions, are connected rotatably to one side of another tetrahedral unit, and the two sides are reversed by a plurality of tetrahedral units. The feature of the modeling toy that forms a possible annular body is that it has a mechanism that allows each unit 1 to move and make seemingly impossible changes such as inversion. To make a ring with units, for example, make each face of the unit an isosceles triangle with an appropriate apex angle, and place a pair of sides consisting of the bases of these isosceles triangles in mutually perpendicular twisted positions. Geometrical conditions were required such that the unit had to be designed in such a way that the shape of the unit could not be freely selected and various variations could not be devised. of course,
In principle, if you create something by connecting a large number of units like a rosary, there will be fewer restrictions on the shape of each unit, but the fun of this type of modeling toy is that it looks like it can move at first glance. It consists in a series of small numbers of units closely associated with each other that move past each other, and therefore the method of seeking variation by increasing their numbers has never been successful. Ta.

For this reason, improvements have traditionally been made by drawing or coloring each side of the unit.
Most of them are based on the so-called obi karakuri style idea, in which different shapes and colors appear one after another as the toy changes, and attempts are made to actively add ingenuity to the shape of the unit. I couldn't see anything to do.

For example, the invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,321 provides a means for folding a sheet of paper to create an annular shaped toy consisting of substantially interconnected tetrahedral hollow units. However, this invention does not aim to change the shape of the toy, but rather by inverting the toy, it reveals new surfaces one after another without changing the shape, and changes the pattern drawn on the surface of the toy. It had these characteristics.

Based on a similar idea, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-10879 proposes a puzzle in which the player can play by combining figures appearing on the surfaces of eight connected tetrahedrons.

In addition, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-6396 describes an assembly toy using tetrahedrons connected in a ring, but the interest of this invention is to skillfully combine a plurality of connected tetrahedrons to create a structure. The purpose of this product is to provide a block toy for assembling polyhedrons, in which the unit, the tetrahedron itself, is divided into several subunits, and the subunits are temporarily assembled into the shape of a tetrahedral unit in order to allow specific movements. No technical idea related to the invention of the present application is suggested. In other words, the idea is that just as a polygon can be divided into a collection of triangles,
It was created based on the knowledge that a polyhedron can be broken down into triangular pyramids, that is, a collection of tetrahedra, and although in its examples an embodiment in which tetrahedra are connected in a ring is found, the basic unit is a tetrahedron. Assuming that the unit itself is indivisible, there is no consideration given to further dividing it into arbitrary planes.

d. Structure of the device From the above point of view, the inventor of the present invention constructed a plurality of tetrahedral units by rotatably connecting two sides of a tetrahedral unit, which is a type of modeled toy, which are in mutually twisted positions with one side of another tetrahedral unit. As a result of research into the possibility of changes in the shape of a plastic toy in which a reversible annular body is formed by four tetrahedral units, we found that in a state of motion, each unit is a tetrahedron or equivalent to a tetrahedron. Although it is necessary to have a three-dimensional shape with specific properties, the inventors discovered that in other conditions, it is allowed to take a more free shape, leading to the invention of the present invention.

In other words, in a modeled toy like the one shown in Figure 1, when a group of units is rotated as shown by the arrow, it is said that the units must be in the shape of a specified tetrahedron, but it is not possible to simply bend the ring halfway. We discovered that the shape of the unit does not necessarily have to be a tetrahedron to allow the movement.
The inventor of the present invention has discovered that it is possible to give this modeling toy new expandability by making the unit a tetrahedron only when it rotates, and taking a different shape at other times. As a result of various studies in order to realize such properties in the unit, we created a tetrahedral unit by connecting several subunits, usually move the subunits separately, and only when necessary, we created a tetrahedral unit. He came up with the idea of making it possible to perform rotational motion by combining the two.

Therefore, the present invention is as described in the claims for utility model registration, and involves cutting a tetrahedral unit and dividing it into a plurality of subunits including at least one non-tetrahedral subunit, and The modeling toy is characterized in that each subunit is rotatably connected to at least one other subunit so that they form the original tetrahedral unit in a folded state. have.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tetrahedral unit 1 may be cut along a plane 2, or may be cut along a plane 4 that intersects the connecting side 3 between adjacent units 1'. After cutting, each subunit 51, 52, 53
are mutually movably connected by their sides 31 and 32. Sides 31 and 32, which are connected sides shown in thick lines in the figure, are an example of connection, and connection is also possible using other sides. FIG. 3 shows an example of a configuration in which the subunits 51, 52, 53 are moved along this connecting side.

Incidentally, the cutting need not necessarily be carried out on a plane, but may be carried out on a curved or bent surface as long as mutual movement of the subunits is possible, as shown in other embodiments. In this case, it is necessary to form at least one straight edge for connecting the subunits. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the tetrahedral unit 1 is cut by a curved surface 6 and a refracting surface 7. The thick line in the figure shows an example of a connecting side.

Further, as in still another embodiment shown in FIG. 5, if the convex part 8 and the concave part 9 which fit into each other by the cut surfaces are formed in a mold shape, more different shapes can be obtained. be able to. Further developing this, as shown in Fig. 6, the unit is cut by two planes 21 and 22 that intersect the surface of the tetrahedral unit 1 with a common closed curve 33, which is not necessarily necessary for assembling the unit. Surfaces 21, 22
The subunit 54 surrounded by the subunit 54 may be removed to form a cavity. The same goes for the recesses mentioned above; if you make them large enough without creating any gaps on the surface of the tetrahedral unit 1, and leave a cavity inside when assembled, it will be easier to work when forming a convex part with a complex shape. becomes.

If too many cuts are made, it will become difficult to operate the toy, so it is desirable to cut one unit into several subunits, that is, about 2 to 6 subunits. The purpose of cutting units is to give more variation and surprise to the form of this modeled toy, so attention should be paid to how to divide the units rather than increasing the number.

The units and subunits used in this invention can be fabricated by known methods such as assembling from plate-shaped materials such as paper, cutting wood, etc., or molding plastic stick or its foam.
The joining of the connecting sides can also be achieved by gluing flexible materials such as paper, leather, cloth, plastic film, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a shaped toy in which tetrahedral units are connected in a ring shape by bendable sides. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the modeled toy according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the modeled toy shown in FIG. 2 in a state of movement.
FIG. 4 shows a tetrahedral unit in another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows a tetrahedral unit in yet another embodiment of the present invention. 6th
Figure a shows a tetrahedral unit in yet another embodiment of the present invention, and Figure b shows the subunits contained inside the separated tetrahedron in this embodiment. In the figure, 1...tetrahedral unit, 2, 4...
...Plane, 51, 52, 53, 54...Subunit, 3, 31, 32...Connecting edge, 6...Curved surface, 7
... refractive surface, 10 ... surface, 10' surface, 8 ... convex part,
9...Concave portion, 33...Closed curve, 21, 22...A common closed curve that intersects with the surface of the tetrahedral unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a modeled toy in which two sides of a tetrahedral unit that are in mutually twisted positions are rotatably connected to one side of another tetrahedral unit, and a plurality of tetrahedral units form a reversible annular body,
The tetrahedral unit is divided into a plurality of subunits including at least one non-tetrahedral-shaped subunit, and each subunit is rotatably connected to at least one other subunit so that the tetrahedral unit in the folded state An annular shaped toy characterized by forming a body unit.