US2738594A - Toy blocks - Google Patents

Description

D. M. swlNGLE 2,738,594

Toy BLocxs Filed Dec. 12, 1951 March 20, 1956 A IFIHU a IN VEN TOR w23/d M. Swag/e ATTORNEY United States Patent O TOY BLoCKs Donald M. Swingle, Neptune, N. J. Application December 12, 1951, semi Ne. 261,188

i 4 claims. (ci. .ss-34) This invention relates to toy blocks, and more especally to blocks having such characteristics as to absorb the interests of both children and adults.

One ofthe primary objects of this invention is to `provide a set of toy blocks having means for `facilitating the handling thereof by the inexperienced lingers of children as the blocks are employed in the building of various imaginary structures.

A further object of this invention is to present a puzzle to be solved by children or adults through the utilization of toy blocks having simple geometric congurations and a container therefor. A still further object of this invention residesy in the provision of toy blocks to illustrate, in concrete form, certain elementary arithmetical, geometrical, or mathe matical relationships.

l Other and further objects and advantages of this in-` vention will become immediately apparent from a con sideration or" the following specification when read in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a container and one embodiment of a set of toyblocks disposed therein and arranged in accordance with a given pattern in accordance with the teachings of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the container with one set of blocks removed to illustrate another set of blocksy disposed within the container and having diterent configurations.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; i

l Fig.V 4 illustrates a modified form of a set of blocks disposed within the container;

` Fig. 5 shows a further modication of a set of blocks disposed within the container shown in Fig; 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one of the'block elements illustrated in the preceding gures; and

'Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another form of the block elements shown in the above iigures.

Referring now more specifically to Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, and Figs. 6 and 7, the reference numeral 1 indicates a container having a substantially equilateral rectangular or square conliguration, and includes a base 3 from the edges of which vertically project the opposed, spaced and parallel front and rear walls and 7, respectively, land the opposed, spaced and parallel side walls 9 and 11`, respectively. The walls and base are secured together in any manner conventional in the art.

As is seen in Fig. 3, the upper and lower sets of blocks, indicated generally at 13 and 15, respectively, are disposed within the container to form a compact unit.

The upper layer of blocks 13 shown in Fig. 1 comprise, in this instance, four substantially equilateral, rectangular or square blocks 17, disposed within the container 1 Aadjacent each corner thereof, and blocks 19 of identical dimensions positioned intermediate each pair'of blocks 17 and adjacent each of the Vwalls of the container` 1. VV-A' pair of identical triangular (isosceles) blocksv 21 having their respective hypotenuse sides 21 in juxtaposed relationship are centrally positioned between the blocks 19 and are bounded thereby. To facilitate the handling of the blocks 17, 19 and 21, the blocks 17 and 19 are formed with a'central transverse opening 18 extending transversely therethrough, while each of the blocks 21 is constructed with a centrally located recess 20 which extends transversely therethrough. The upper set of blocks 13 is supported on the lower set of blocks 15 which, in turn, is supported within the container 1 on the base 3. The lower set of blocks includes, in this embodiment of the invention (Fig. 2), a substantially equilateral rectangular or square block 23 positioned within the container 1 adjacent a corner thereof with a pair of its adjacent sides juxtaposed and parallel to a pair of adjacent walls 5 and 9 of the container 1.

A pair of oblong blocks 25 are positioned within the container 1, with` one of their sides of maximum length lying adjacent, juxtaposed and parallel to one of the other pairs of adjacent sides, respectively, of the rectangular block 23. As is seen in Fig. 2, the width yof the oblong blocks 25 is less than the length of a side of the rectangular block 23 extending in the same direction.

`4ln diagonally Aopposite corners and adjacent each of the oblong blocks 25 is disposed an oblongblock 27 having a side of maximum lengthdisposed adjacent and parallel to the other side of maximum length of one of the rectangular blocks 25, and the width of each block 27 is less than the width of its adjacent block 25.

The fourth corner of the container 1 is occupied by an equilateral rectangular square block 29 whose sides have dimensions equal to the width of the oblong blocks 27. An oblong block 31 is positioned against the side wall 11, intermediate the oblong block 27 and rectangular block 29,` and the length Vof the oblong block 31 is equal to the width of the oblong block 2S while the width of the oblong block 31 is equal to the width of the oblong block 27 or a side of the rectangular corner block 29.

Adjacent the rear wall 7 and intermediate the corner blocks 27 and v29, is disposed an oblong block 33 having its side of maximum Ilength equal to the width of the oblong block 2S, and the width of the oblong block 33 is equal to the width of the oblong block 27 or a side of the rectangular corner block 29.

` It will be apparent that the blocks 27 are of equal size; that' the blocks 25 are of equal size; and that the blocks 31 and 33 are of equal size. v

yApair of identical triangular (isosceles) blocks 35 are disposed *between and are boundedby the blocks 25, 31 and 33. Each of the triangular blocks 35 is positioned with its respective hypotenuse 35 in juxtaposed relationship.

' Theupper and lower sets of blocks, 13 and 15, are removable from the container 1 and are adaptable to serve as general blocks for imaginative child play. For very young children, in most instances the form of play evidences itself in the more or less repetitions removal fromand replacement in the container 1 of one or` more of the blocks. To lend a higher degree of attractiveness to the blocks, each may be painted in color to contrast with `respect to another.

As the age of the individual increases the blocks may be used` to create imaginary structures as, for example, trains, buildings, ships and others too numerous to mention -inasmuch as the same is ,limitedonly by the ghts of fancy of the individual. i y At'some stage of development the sense of perception container tofserve as a puzzle. To this end, the sets of blocks 13 and 15 are removed from the container 1 and thoroughly mixed, one with the other. Thereafter, the child is otered the challenge of selectingvarious blocks,

' from each set-for replacement 'within the container 1 in such a manner as to completely occupy the space thereof. As a puzzle, the childs sense of proportion and familiarity with simple geometric configuration is developed.

As the individual matures, the sets of blocks may well serve to illustrate, in concrete form, certain mathematical expressions, for example:

That the surface area of the container 1 ywithin the walls 5, 7, 9 and 11 is equal to the sum total of the surface area of all of the blocks of either of the sets 13 or 15. This may be done by inspection and later proved mathematically by measuring the sides of the blocks and substituting their numerical value in the equation A=lw for each rectangular block, and

ba A? for each triangular piece, wherein b is the length of the base and a is the altitude.

In the set of blocks 13, the isosceles right triangular blocks 21 are associated to Vform a figure having a recmore frequently noted as ba 4r-2* wherein b is the length of the base and a is the height.

Thereafter, the third dimension could be introduced to illustrate the determinations of volume and capacity.

lt will be understood that the examples offered above are in no sense to be considered as an exhaustive presentation of the teachings of this invention, for the shapes, sizes and numbers of the pieces could be varied at will to illustrate other equations, propositions or theories involving two or three dimensions.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate other embodiments of this invention, and are especially designed for more advanced students to demonstrate the theory of Pythagoras which is expressed algebraically by the equation a2+b2=c3, wherein a and b represent the length of the sides of a right triangle and c equals the length of the hypotenuse.

As in the embodiments of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one or more sets of blocks may be disposed within an equilateral, rectangular container 1 constructed as described above. The set of blocks is designated generally by the reference numeral 41 and is illustrated in Fig. 4.

The set of blocks 41 comprise a centrally positioned equilateral, rectangular block 43, having a central transverse opening 44 formed therein. The sides c facean adjacent corner of the container 1, and the space between each side c and the corner of the container 1 is occupied by au identical acute righttn'angular block 45 having a transverse opening 46 formed therein. As illustrated in Fig. 4 each base of the triangular block 45 has been designated by the reference character b, the height or altitude thereof as a, and the. hypotenuse -as h; In the given construction, the Avltypotenuse h of the triangular block 45 is equal to the adjacent side c ofthe rectangular block 43.

The- blocks 43 and 45 are of such size as to occupy the entirev space betweenthefront and rear walls, 5 and 7', and the side walls, 9 and 11, and comprise the sum total of the areas of al1 of the individual blocks 43 and 45, which may be Written as nngpnan@ To illustrate the correctness of the theory, the upper set of blocks 41 is removed to expose a lower set of blocks indicated, in general, by the reference numeral 47. The blocks 47 occupy the entire space between the walls 5, 7, 9 and 11 of the container 1 and comprise au equilateral rectangular block 49 disposed in the container 1 with a pair of its adjacent sides e juxtaposed and parallel to the side walls 5 and 11 at a corner of the container 1. The block 49 is provided with a transverse opening 50 substantially adjacent the center thereof.

Two pairs of identical right triangular blocks 51 having transverse openings 52 are positioned adjacent the other two adjacent sides e respectively, of the square block 49. These triangular blocks 51 are identical to the triangular blocks 45 of Fig. 4, and from Fig. 5 it is seen that their respective altitude a' is equal to the length e of the square 49. An equilateral rectangular block 53 having a transverse opening 54 occupies the space at the corner of the container 1 diagonally opposite the equilateral rectangular block 49. As is seen in the drawing, the sides d of the block 53 have a length equal to the length b of the triangular blocks 51.

It is now manifest that the total area of the container 1 is equal to the sum of the areas of the four triangular blocks 51, plus the area of the two rectangular blocks 49 vand 53. This may be expressed algebraically as, A=e2-l-2a'b'+d2.

From inspection and from the above specication it is clear that the length h of the triangular blocks 45 in Fig. 4., is equal to the adjacent side c of the rectangular block43, and since the triangular blocks 45 and 51 are identical,` then a and b are equal to a and b', respectively.

Similarly, thev side e of the rectangle 49 is equal to the side a of the triangular block 51, which is also equal to the length a of the triangular block 45, and the side d is equal to the length of the side b' of block 51, which is equal to the length b of the triangular block 45.

Substituting these equivalents in the equation last formulated we find A=e2+2a'b-j-d2=a2|2ab+b2.

Two equations have thus been found for the area of container 1, andv setting them equal it is determined that a2+2ab+b2=2ab+c2, or a2-|b2=c2.

In addition to being a puzzle in presenting a problem to be solved, the blocks ot' Figs. 4 and 5 may also he used asv toy building blocks, and the openings formed therein will facilitate the handling thereof.

As a further example of the versality of the sets of blocks 13 and 15, let it be assumed that the length of any side of the container 1 he l and the length of any side of the square blocks 17 and 19 be s. It now becomes apparent that in order to have a proper tit of the blocks 17 and 19 along any given side three blocks must be used, and hence l=3s.

From inspection of the set of blocks 15 it is seen that each of the oblong blocks 25 and 27 have a side equal tothe length of any side of the square block 23, and that the width of the blocks 25 and 27 have different values. Hench, if a equals the length of any side of the square block 23, and b designates the width of the oblong block 25, and c represents the Width of the oblong block 27, then in order to properly fit these blocks Within the kcontainer 1 along a side thereof, l=a+b+c=3s.

Y From this development the area of the container may be tainer 1, i. e., each row and column must be blocks.

In considering the sets of blocks 41 and 47 no clear-cut rows or columns are defined, but each set satisfies the equation A=l2=a2lb2+2ab=c2+2ab in each layer.

It will be evident that a problem will be presented to a child in reassembling all of the blocks in a container so as to have them t uniformly therein.

It is also intended that one set of blocks alone may be used, if desired, without using superposed sets of Furthermore, the hand holes 18, etc., may be omitted, if desired. Any suitable geometrical pattern may be built up by properly shaping the blocks accordingly.

Having described this invention in detail, it will be understood that the embodiments therein presented are offered only by way of example and that the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. An educational device for demonstrating the theorem of Pythagoras comprising a equilateral rectangular container having a base and vertically extending side walls, a set of blocks disposed Within said container and supported on said base, said set of blocks .completely covering the area of said base and comprising an equilateral rectangular block disposed within a corner of said container, a smaller equilateral rectangular block disposed in the diametrically opposite corner of said container, and a pair of identical right triangular blocks disposed within the spaces defined by the adjacent sides of said rectangular blocks and the walls of the container adjacent the other two corners of said container, and a second set of blocks supported on and completely covering first set of blocks and comprising an identical right triangular block disposed in each corner of said container and having the same area as each of the nght triangular blocks of said first set of blocks, and an equilateral rectangular block centrally positioned within said container with the sides of said last-named block being juxtaposed with respect to the hypotenuse of each of said last-named triangular blocks.

2. An educational device for demonstrating the theorem of Pythagoras comprising block confining means including vertically extending side walls which define the sides of an equilateral rectangle, a first set of blocks disposed Within said block confining means and completely covering the area of said equilateral rectangle, and a second set of blocks disposed Within said block confining means on top of said first set of blocks and completely covering said first set, one of said sets of blocks comprising an equilateral rectangular block disposed in a corner of the rectangle formed by said side walls of said block confining means, another equilateral rectangular block disposed in the diagonally opposite corner of said rectangle, and a pair of identical right triangular blocks disposed within each of the spaces defined by the adjacent sides of said rectangular blocks and said side walls adjacent the other two corners of said rectangle, and the other of said sets of blocks comprising an identical right triangular block disposed in each corner of said rectangle and having the same facial dimensions as each of the right triangular blocks of said first set of blocks, and an equilateral rectangular block centrally positioned within said rectangle With the sides of said last-named block being juxtaposed with respect to the hypotenuse of each of said last-named triangular blocks.

3. An educational device for demonstrating the theorem of Pythagoras comprising block confining means including vertically extending side walls which define the sides of an equilateral rectangle, a first set of flat, toy building blocks each having a transverse opening therethrough to facilitate the grasping thereof disposed Within said block confining means and completely covering the area of said equilateral rectangle, and a second set of fiat, toy building blocks, each having a transverse opening therethrough to facilitate the grasping thereof, disposed within said block confining means on top of said first set of blocks and completely covering said first set, one of said sets of blocks comprising an equilateral rectangular block disposed in a corner of the rectangle formed by said side walls of said block confining means, another equilateral rectangular block disposed in the diagonally opposite corner of said rectangle, and a pair of identical right triangular blocks disposed within each of the spaces defined by the adjacent sides of said rectangular blocks and said side walls adjacent the other two corners of said rectangle, and the other of said sets of blocks comprising an identical right triangular block disposed in each corner of said rectangle and having the same facial dimensions as'each of the right triangular blocks of said first set of blocks, and an equilateral rectangular block centrally positioned within said rectangle with the sides of said last-named block being juxtaposed with respect to the hypotenuse of each of said last-named triangular blocks.

4. An educational device for demonstrating the theorem of Pythagoras comprising block confining means including vertically extending side walls which define the sides of an equilateral rectangle, a first set of colored, flat, toy building blocks each having a transverse opening therethrough to facilitate the grasping thereof disposed within said block confining means and completely covering the area of said equilateral rectangle, and a second set of colored, flat, toy building blocks each having a transverse opening therethrough to facilitate the grasping thereof disposed within said block confining means on top of said first set of blocks and completely covering `said first set, one of said sets of blocks comprising an equilateral rectangular block disposed in a corner of the rectangle formed by said side Walls of said block confining means, another equilateral rectangular block disposed in the diagonally opposite corner of said rectangle, and a pair of identical right triangular blocks disposed within each of the spaces defined by the adjacent sides of said rectangular blocks and said side Walls adjacent the other two corners of said rectangle, and the other of said sets of blocks comprising an identical right triangular block disposed in each corner of said rectangle and having the same facial dimensions as each of the right triangular blocks of said first set of blocks, and an equilateral rectangular block centrally positioned within said rectangle with the sides of said last-named block being juxtaposed with respect to the hypotenuse of each of said last-named triangular blocks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 785,665 Coe Mar. 21, 1905 907,203 Walker Dec. 22, 1908 1,017,752 Hardy Feb. 20, 1912 1,565,099 Nierodka s Dec. 8, 1925 1,642,236 Foster Sept. 13, 1927 1,935,308 Baltzley Nov. 14, 1933 1,964,007 Parks June 26, 1934 2,472,439 Rogers June 7, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,481 Great Britain 1914

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