US3545123A - Cruciform male and female connectors - Google Patents
Cruciform male and female connectors Download PDFInfo
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- US3545123A US3545123A US731833A US3545123DA US3545123A US 3545123 A US3545123 A US 3545123A US 731833 A US731833 A US 731833A US 3545123D A US3545123D A US 3545123DA US 3545123 A US3545123 A US 3545123A
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- Prior art keywords
- male
- cruciform
- connectors
- female connector
- male connector
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- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 20
- 210000001331 nose Anatomy 0.000 description 6
- 230000000295 complement effect Effects 0.000 description 5
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 4
- 210000000887 face Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000000712 assembly Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001125 extrusion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000004800 polyvinyl chloride Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920000915 polyvinyl chloride Polymers 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
- F16B7/00—Connections of rods or tubes, e.g. of non-circular section, mutually, including resilient connections
- F16B7/04—Clamping or clipping connections
- F16B7/044—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being in angled relationship
- F16B7/0446—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being in angled relationship for tubes using the innerside thereof
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
- A63H33/00—Other toys
- A63H33/04—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts
- A63H33/046—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts comprising magnetic interaction means, e.g. holding together by magnetic attraction
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
- A63H33/00—Other toys
- A63H33/04—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts
- A63H33/06—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts to be assembled without the use of additional elements
- A63H33/062—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts to be assembled without the use of additional elements with clip or snap mechanisms
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
- A63H33/00—Other toys
- A63H33/04—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts
- A63H33/10—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts to be assembled by means of additional non-adhesive elements
- A63H33/105—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts to be assembled by means of additional non-adhesive elements with grooves, e.g. dovetails
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
- E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
- E04B1/38—Connections for building structures in general
- E04B1/58—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements
- E04B1/5825—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements with a closed cross-section
- E04B1/5831—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements with a closed cross-section of substantially rectangular form
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
- F16B12/00—Jointing of furniture or the like, e.g. hidden from exterior
- F16B12/44—Leg joints; Corner joints
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- F16B—DEVICES FOR FASTENING OR SECURING CONSTRUCTIONAL ELEMENTS OR MACHINE PARTS TOGETHER, e.g. NAILS, BOLTS, CIRCLIPS, CLAMPS, CLIPS OR WEDGES; JOINTS OR JOINTING
- F16B7/00—Connections of rods or tubes, e.g. of non-circular section, mutually, including resilient connections
- F16B7/04—Clamping or clipping connections
- F16B7/044—Clamping or clipping connections for rods or tubes being in angled relationship
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
- E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
- E04B1/18—Structures comprising elongated load-supporting parts, e.g. columns, girders, skeletons
- E04B1/24—Structures comprising elongated load-supporting parts, e.g. columns, girders, skeletons the supporting parts consisting of metal
- E04B1/2403—Connection details of the elongated load-supporting parts
- E04B2001/2406—Connection nodes
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E04—BUILDING
- E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
- E04B1/00—Constructions in general; Structures which are not restricted either to walls, e.g. partitions, or floors or ceilings or roofs
- E04B1/38—Connections for building structures in general
- E04B1/58—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements
- E04B1/5825—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements with a closed cross-section
- E04B2001/5856—Connections for building structures in general of bar-shaped building elements with a closed cross-section using the innerside thereof
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T403/00—Joints and connections
- Y10T403/55—Member ends joined by inserted section
- Y10T403/555—Angle section
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T403/00—Joints and connections
- Y10T403/55—Member ends joined by inserted section
- Y10T403/559—Fluted or splined section
Definitions
- a toy construction set comprising a male connector including three panels of substantially constant thickness extending from a core in three intersecting planes and forming a body with six sides, each of substantially cruciform outline, an elongated female connector of substantially cruciform cross-section including a main body portion and end means defining an internal space adapted to receive complementary portions of said male connector to form a friction joint.
- Said end means comprise a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards the main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of the female connector, thereby to avoid interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector when two such are adjacently joined to said male connector.
- Plates can be fitted between parallel male connectors and connected thereto by interengageable means on said plates and connectors.
- the present invention relates to an improved toy construction set, especially capable of being easily used by children to construct a most varied and diversified number of structures, either as products of the imagination or as small scale replicas, for instance.
- Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction set toy device which comprises several male and female building elements or connectors constructed and shaped in such a manner that a child may manipulate the connectors without any tools and without detailed instructions.
- a further object of the invention is to provide a toy device and to construct the connectors of the joint in such a way that each thereof may be reused as often as desired, that such connectors may simultaneously serve as supports for panels, walls and other types of inserts, and that each male connector may be assembled with one or more female connectors.
- Patented Dec. 8, 1970 provide a joint of the above-described features, whose parts may be mass-produced in plastic at low cost.
- Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toy construction set which consists of a minimum of different parts, but nevertheless represents a challenge to an interested child because its parts may be assembled to form a practically limitless variety of different assemblies which may be products of pure imagination or miniature replicas of buildings or the like.
- a further object of this invention is to provide a self locking connection between the male and female connectors of the improved joint.
- the inventive toy construction set comprises a male connector including three panels of substantially constant thickness extending from a core in three intersecting planes and together forming a body with six sides, each of which is of substantially cruciform outline.
- An elongated female connector of substantially cruciform cross-section which includes a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of substantially cruciform outline is adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body, so that the two connectors form a friction joint.
- the end means include a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly to- Wards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with respect to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby to avoid interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector to said male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said end means extending into the region of said core.
- the invention further contemplates the provision of plate members, each of which can be pushed onto an associated female connector. The latter may be advantageously provided with ribs at its central region behind which engage nose means provided at each associated plate member.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male connector designed according to the teachings of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a female connector with inclined end faces which may be assembled with the male connector of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a front view of a plate member provided for the inventive toy construction set.
- FIG. 4 is a top plan view of male connectors assembled with female connectors.
- FIG. 1 there is shown a male connector 1 having six sides 12 of substantially cruciform shape, whereby each such side resembles a complete Greek cross.
- This male connector 1 comprises three square panels 3, 4 and 5 intersecting each other at right angles at the center or core 6, so that each panel is subdivided into four rectangular sections 7.
- the extensions of the planes of the six cruciform sides 2 constitute the surfaces of a cube.
- the male connector 1 advantageously formed as a solid body may be assembled with a female connector 8, hereinafter conveniently referred to as a rail member or rail, which is best shown in FIG. 2.
- This rail 8 is of substantially cruciform cross section, possessing an internal space 9 which may accommodate portions of four adjoining sections 7.
- the rail 8 is hollow from one end to the other. Both end faces or end means 10 of the rail 8 are identical and inclined rearwardly towards the main body portion 12, thus enabling the male connector 1 to be simultaneously assembled with as many as six rails 8, whereby interference of the end face is avoided.
- this rail 8 is preferably of constant wall thickness and the cross-sectional area of its internal space 27 is so chosen that the rail 8 must be forced on to the male connector 1 and is then retained with some friction to provide a more or less permanent connection between the parts.
- the male connector 1 may be assembled with as many as six straight rails, whereby each rail makes an angle of 90 or 180 with any one of the other rail or rails.
- the toy construction set will be furnished with a number of male connectors and rails so that the user will be in a position to assemble a variety of constructions in imitation of buildings, cars, furniture, geometrical bodies and others.
- the angle which the rearwardly inclined end faces 10 of the rail 8 enclose with the longitudinal axis of this rail is 45 degrees.
- the adjoining rails form what is known as a miter joint.
- Each of the end faces 10 is flat and lies in a plane.
- the inclined end faces 10 serve to insure that adjoining rails 8 cannot interfere with each other when two or more rails 8 are attached to a common male connector 1. In the assembled position the inclined end faces 10 of adjoining rails 8 are touching one another along a line or have only a small gap therebetween.
- FIG. 4 there is shown a male connector 21 which constitutes a modification of the connector 1 of FIG. 1.
- the sections 7 are provided with rectangular cutouts 23 so that the remainder of the respective sections form shoulders 24.
- the wall part 25 (FIG. 2) in the assembled position is supported by the adjacent shoulder 24, so that the pointed ends 26 are not destroyed or deformed.
- Such a construction set for children offers a child a practically unlimited possibility to assemble any desired skeleton construction in imitation of full-sized constructions or to assemble buildings, frames, walls figures and other bodies which are products of his or her own imagination.
- the construction set may be stored in a small box, bag or a like receptacle, and a large number of different constructions may be assembled with a comparatively small number of male and female connectors.
- the construction set can be furnished with rails of different length.
- the thickness of a section 7 may be preferably 3 millimeters.
- a plate member 28 can be pushed onto the rails 8, which have ribs 30 in their middle part.
- the noses 31 provided at such plate member 28 can snap behind the ribs 30 and are thereby retained.
- the four sides of the plate member 28 each have the same length.
- the border means or skirt 32 of the plate member 28 is constructed to be resilient or elastic, so that it is slightly deformed before the nose 31 arrives behind the ribs 30.
- Plate member 28, border means 32 and noses 31 are preferably formed as a single piece of plastic material.
- Such plate members 28 can be pushed in the direction of arrow A and/or in the direction of arrow B on the assembled set.
- a toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of a first flat panel, a second fiat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said first panel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said second panel and also secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being of constant thickness and together forming a body with six sides corresponding to the six faces of a cube each side being of cruciform outline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section having a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectors form a friction joint, said end means comprising a p urality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoiding interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it
- a toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of a first fiat panel, a second flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said first panel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said second panel and also secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being of constant thickness and together forming a body with six sides corresponding to the six faces of a cube, each side being of cruciform outline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section having a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectors form a friction joint, said end means comprising a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoiding interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desired
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Electromagnetism (AREA)
- Civil Engineering (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Toys (AREA)
- Joining Of Building Structures In Genera (AREA)
- Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)
Description
'Dec .'8, 1970 H. E} MULLER 3,545,123
CRUCIFORM MALE AND FEMALE CONNECTORS Filed May 24, 1968 I IN VENTOR fimM/v 4? 4 4454 ATTORNEYJ,
United States Patent 10, Int. Cl. A63h 33/10 US. C]. 4629 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy construction set comprising a male connector including three panels of substantially constant thickness extending from a core in three intersecting planes and forming a body with six sides, each of substantially cruciform outline, an elongated female connector of substantially cruciform cross-section including a main body portion and end means defining an internal space adapted to receive complementary portions of said male connector to form a friction joint. Said end means comprise a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards the main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of the female connector, thereby to avoid interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector when two such are adjacently joined to said male connector. Plates can be fitted between parallel male connectors and connected thereto by interengageable means on said plates and connectors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present application is a continuation-in-part of my copending United States application, Ser. No. 391,422, filed Aug. 24, 1964, now abandoned, entitled Joint of Skeleton Constructions and the Like.
The present invention relates to an improved toy construction set, especially capable of being easily used by children to construct a most varied and diversified number of structures, either as products of the imagination or as small scale replicas, for instance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an important object of the present invention to provide a very simple, inexpensive, easy-to-handle and highly versatile and simple joint between a male connector and one or more female connectors, and to construct the connectors in such a way that each may be readily separated from the other or others in order to be reassembled in a different way.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction set toy device which comprises several male and female building elements or connectors constructed and shaped in such a manner that a child may manipulate the connectors without any tools and without detailed instructions.
A further object of the invention is to provide a toy device and to construct the connectors of the joint in such a way that each thereof may be reused as often as desired, that such connectors may simultaneously serve as supports for panels, walls and other types of inserts, and that each male connector may be assembled with one or more female connectors.
An additional object of the instant invention is to Patented Dec. 8, 1970 provide a joint of the above-described features, whose parts may be mass-produced in plastic at low cost.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a toy construction set which consists of a minimum of different parts, but nevertheless represents a challenge to an interested child because its parts may be assembled to form a practically limitless variety of different assemblies which may be products of pure imagination or miniature replicas of buildings or the like.
A further object of this invention is to provide a self locking connection between the male and female connectors of the improved joint.
Now in order to implement these and still further objects of the invention, which will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, the inventive toy construction set comprises a male connector including three panels of substantially constant thickness extending from a core in three intersecting planes and together forming a body with six sides, each of which is of substantially cruciform outline. An elongated female connector of substantially cruciform cross-section which includes a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of substantially cruciform outline is adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body, so that the two connectors form a friction joint. The end means include a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly to- Wards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with respect to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby to avoid interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector to said male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said end means extending into the region of said core. The invention further contemplates the provision of plate members, each of which can be pushed onto an associated female connector. The latter may be advantageously provided with ribs at its central region behind which engage nose means provided at each associated plate member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION -OF THE DRAWING The invention will be better understood, and objects other than those set forth above, will become apparent, when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male connector designed according to the teachings of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a female connector with inclined end faces which may be assembled with the male connector of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front view of a plate member provided for the inventive toy construction set; and
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of male connectors assembled with female connectors.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a male connector 1 having six sides 12 of substantially cruciform shape, whereby each such side resembles a complete Greek cross. This male connector 1 comprises three square panels 3, 4 and 5 intersecting each other at right angles at the center or core 6, so that each panel is subdivided into four rectangular sections 7. The extensions of the planes of the six cruciform sides 2 constitute the surfaces of a cube.
The male connector 1 advantageously formed as a solid body may be assembled with a female connector 8, hereinafter conveniently referred to as a rail member or rail, which is best shown in FIG. 2. This rail 8 is of substantially cruciform cross section, possessing an internal space 9 which may accommodate portions of four adjoining sections 7. In the exemplary embodiment, the rail 8 is hollow from one end to the other. Both end faces or end means 10 of the rail 8 are identical and inclined rearwardly towards the main body portion 12, thus enabling the male connector 1 to be simultaneously assembled with as many as six rails 8, whereby interference of the end face is avoided. Furthermore, this rail 8 is preferably of constant wall thickness and the cross-sectional area of its internal space 27 is so chosen that the rail 8 must be forced on to the male connector 1 and is then retained with some friction to provide a more or less permanent connection between the parts. This is particularly desirable if the material of the rail is slightly elastic; for example, the two parts may be manufactured of polyvinylchloride or another suitable synthetic plastic material. The male connector 1 may be assembled with as many as six straight rails, whereby each rail makes an angle of 90 or 180 with any one of the other rail or rails.
The toy construction set will be furnished with a number of male connectors and rails so that the user will be in a position to assemble a variety of constructions in imitation of buildings, cars, furniture, geometrical bodies and others. In the embodiment shown, the angle which the rearwardly inclined end faces 10 of the rail 8 enclose with the longitudinal axis of this rail is 45 degrees. Thus, when two or more such rails 8 are attached to the male connector 1, the adjoining rails form what is known as a miter joint. Each of the end faces 10 is flat and lies in a plane. The inclined end faces 10 serve to insure that adjoining rails 8 cannot interfere with each other when two or more rails 8 are attached to a common male connector 1. In the assembled position the inclined end faces 10 of adjoining rails 8 are touching one another along a line or have only a small gap therebetween.
Referring now to FIG. 4 there is shown a male connector 21 which constitutes a modification of the connector 1 of FIG. 1. The sections 7 are provided with rectangular cutouts 23 so that the remainder of the respective sections form shoulders 24. The wall part 25 (FIG. 2) in the assembled position is supported by the adjacent shoulder 24, so that the pointed ends 26 are not destroyed or deformed.
Such a construction set for children, offers a child a practically unlimited possibility to assemble any desired skeleton construction in imitation of full-sized constructions or to assemble buildings, frames, walls figures and other bodies which are products of his or her own imagination. The construction set may be stored in a small box, bag or a like receptacle, and a large number of different constructions may be assembled with a comparatively small number of male and female connectors. As a rule, the construction set can be furnished with rails of different length.
It is not necessary to use rails which are hollow from one end to the other. Hence, it is oftentimes sufiicient if only the end portions of the rails are provided with internal spaces deep enough to accommodate sections of complementary male connectors. However, it is normally preferred to use rails which are hollow from end to end because such rails may easily be mass-produced by an extrusion process and because their weight is but a fraction of a solid rail. Thus, in addition to offering savings in Weight, a hollow rail 8 will enable the producer to resort to presently known machines and to achieve substantial savings in material.
In a toy device, the thickness of a section 7 may be preferably 3 millimeters. The height of a panel 3, 4 or is then preferably 16 millimeters.
Additionally, as best recognized by referring to FIG. 3,
a plate member 28 can be pushed onto the rails 8, which have ribs 30 in their middle part. The noses 31 provided at such plate member 28 can snap behind the ribs 30 and are thereby retained. The four sides of the plate member 28 each have the same length. The border means or skirt 32 of the plate member 28 is constructed to be resilient or elastic, so that it is slightly deformed before the nose 31 arrives behind the ribs 30. Plate member 28, border means 32 and noses 31 are preferably formed as a single piece of plastic material. Such plate members 28 can be pushed in the direction of arrow A and/or in the direction of arrow B on the assembled set.
It should be apparent from the foregoing detailed description that the objects set forth at the outset to the specification have been successfully achieved. Accordingly, what is claimed is:
1. A toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of a first flat panel, a second fiat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said first panel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said second panel and also secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being of constant thickness and together forming a body with six sides corresponding to the six faces of a cube each side being of cruciform outline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section having a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectors form a friction joint, said end means comprising a p urality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoiding interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector to said male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said end means each extending into the region of the center of said male connector, said panels together forming a plurality of sections which define said six sides of the body of said male connector, each of said sections being provided with a free corner portion, each said corner portion having abutment means formed by a cutout area bounded by abutment shoulders, each said shoulder being adapted to abut a portion of a respective one of said end faces provided on the end means of said female connector upon introduction of the respective section of the male connector into such end means of said female connector.
2. A toy construction set as defined in claim 1, wherein said male and female connectors are formed of synthetic plastic material.
3. A toy construction set as defined in claim 1, wherein said panels are rectangular and of identical size.
4. A toy construction set comprising a male connector consisting of a first fiat panel, a second flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said first panel, and a third flat panel secured to and extending in opposite directions at right angles from a midportion of said second panel and also secured at right angles to said first panel, said panels being of constant thickness and together forming a body with six sides corresponding to the six faces of a cube, each side being of cruciform outline; an elongated female connector of cruciform cross-section having a main body portion and end means provided thereon and defining an internal space of cruciform outline adapted to receive and frictionally retain complementary portions of said body so that the two connectors form a friction joint, said end means comprising a plurality of end faces inclined rearwardly towards said main body portion at angles of substantially 45 with reference to the longitudinal axis of said female connector, thereby permitting substantial abutment, but avoiding interference of said end means with an end means of a similar female connector if it is desired to connect such similar female connector to said male connector adjacent said elongated female connector, said end means each extending into the region of the center of said male connector, said elongated female connector being provided with a plurality of rib means centrally located thereon and of a length substantially shorter than said female connector, adapted to be engaged by a plate member, at least one plate member mounted at said elongated female connector and engaging with said rib means therefor, said plate member being provided with nose means interengageable with said rib means.
5. A toy construction set as defined in claim 4, wherein said plate member includes depending resilient border means which carry said nose means.
References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,737,266 3/1956 Gross 287189.36X
2,799,118 7/1957 Lullo 4631X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,104,412 4/1961 Germany 4629 321,043 4/1957 Switzerland 287-18936 F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner US Cl. X.R.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CH1051963A CH412270A (en) | 1963-08-26 | 1963-08-26 | Profile rail and connecting element and use of the same as building toys |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US3545123A true US3545123A (en) | 1970-12-08 |
Family
ID=4364079
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US731833A Expired - Lifetime US3545123A (en) | 1963-08-26 | 1968-05-24 | Cruciform male and female connectors |
Country Status (9)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US3545123A (en) |
AT (1) | AT260745B (en) |
BE (1) | BE651960A (en) |
CH (1) | CH412270A (en) |
DE (1) | DE1484004A1 (en) |
DK (1) | DK109432C (en) |
ES (1) | ES303415A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB1073004A (en) |
SE (1) | SE308684B (en) |
Cited By (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3854831A (en) * | 1970-08-31 | 1974-12-17 | K Gutner | Corner connector for tubular members |
US3859767A (en) * | 1973-10-31 | 1975-01-14 | Jahabow Of Utah Inc | Corner structure improvement and method |
US3973855A (en) * | 1975-04-30 | 1976-08-10 | Edwin Florence, Limited | Connecting device for panels and tubes |
US4021127A (en) * | 1975-02-13 | 1977-05-03 | Luigi Gasparro | Jointing element for a compoundable unit structure, and a structure using said jointing element |
US4334868A (en) * | 1979-02-12 | 1982-06-15 | Levinrad Maxim D | Constructional kits |
US4754712A (en) * | 1984-05-17 | 1988-07-05 | Amco Corporation | Adjustable rack of shelves |
US4852501A (en) * | 1986-05-16 | 1989-08-01 | Amco Corporation | Adjustable rack of shelves |
US5282767A (en) * | 1993-01-11 | 1994-02-01 | Gelardi John A | Construction sets with injection molded and extruded tube beams |
WO1999039796A1 (en) * | 1998-02-09 | 1999-08-12 | Selton Daniel E | Three dimensional strategy game |
EP0976433A2 (en) * | 1998-07-30 | 2000-02-02 | Bruder Spielwaren GmbH + Co. KG | Coupling device for a toy vehicle |
WO2003022384A1 (en) * | 1999-03-04 | 2003-03-20 | Miller George R | A system and set of intercleaving dichotomized polyhedral elements and extensions |
US20040170471A1 (en) * | 2003-02-27 | 2004-09-02 | C & W Industries, Llc | Support frame kit for canopies, display racks and the like |
GB2400427A (en) * | 2003-04-09 | 2004-10-13 | Future Products Ltd | Connecting block |
US6921314B2 (en) | 1998-03-13 | 2005-07-26 | George R. Miller | Intercleaving spatially dichotomized polyhedral building blocks and extensions |
US20150260339A1 (en) * | 2012-11-08 | 2015-09-17 | Korea Advanced Institute Of Science And Technology | X-beam structure and pressure tank having x-beam structure |
US20190345709A1 (en) * | 2017-12-21 | 2019-11-14 | Tomba Enterprises Pty Ltd | Structural connector |
RU194648U1 (en) * | 2019-10-29 | 2019-12-18 | Константин Григорьевич Первухин | The children's designer |
US11278821B2 (en) * | 2017-02-16 | 2022-03-22 | Jason R. Brain | Modular toy block system |
Families Citing this family (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE2058066C2 (en) * | 1970-11-25 | 1982-05-27 | Wolfgang Feine KG, 7988 Wangen | Model constructional kit with core blocks and cladding - has plug sockets in all sides of core blocks, with specified distance raster |
AT350944B (en) * | 1975-09-10 | 1979-06-25 | Mueller Hermann | TOY CONSTRUCTION BOX |
DE2902322A1 (en) * | 1979-01-22 | 1980-07-31 | Adrian Brena Garduno | Prefabricated house structural module for single-handed assembly - has grooved connectors linking framework built up in stages both ways |
GB2119471B (en) * | 1982-02-24 | 1986-03-12 | Lionel William King | Structural couplings |
DE3442231A1 (en) * | 1984-11-19 | 1986-05-28 | Fläkt GmbH, 6308 Butzbach | ROOM CONSTRUCTION |
DK153507C (en) * | 1986-01-23 | 1988-12-19 | Kjeld Thomsen | PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTION OF CROSS-CIRCULAR CIRCUIT GRID STARS AND A MEASURE TO USE IN EXERCISING THE PROCEDURE |
DE3942122A1 (en) * | 1989-12-20 | 1991-06-27 | Kurt Gassler | Frame for demountable exhibition booth - has rectangular hollow centre with clamp fitting end connectors |
DE4307920A1 (en) * | 1993-03-12 | 1994-09-15 | Zeller Plastik Koehn Graebner | Profile system |
CN104251248B (en) * | 2014-09-10 | 2017-11-17 | 莆田市四合院文化传媒有限公司 | One kind connection building materials and combinations thereof accessory |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2737266A (en) * | 1951-02-16 | 1956-03-06 | Rohr Aircraft Corp | Structures which require hermetical sealing |
CH321043A (en) * | 1954-01-05 | 1957-04-30 | Lehni Rudolf | frame |
US2799118A (en) * | 1955-05-23 | 1957-07-16 | Richard C Lindberg | Toy building structure |
DE1104412B (en) * | 1959-12-19 | 1961-04-06 | Werner Zander | Adhesive plate for plug-in games |
-
1963
- 1963-08-26 CH CH1051963A patent/CH412270A/en unknown
-
1964
- 1964-08-10 DE DE19641484004 patent/DE1484004A1/en active Pending
- 1964-08-10 AT AT684064A patent/AT260745B/en active
- 1964-08-14 DK DK401364AA patent/DK109432C/en active
- 1964-08-17 SE SE9896/64A patent/SE308684B/xx unknown
- 1964-08-18 BE BE651960D patent/BE651960A/xx unknown
- 1964-08-25 GB GB34805/64A patent/GB1073004A/en not_active Expired
- 1964-08-25 ES ES0303415A patent/ES303415A1/en not_active Expired
-
1968
- 1968-05-24 US US731833A patent/US3545123A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2737266A (en) * | 1951-02-16 | 1956-03-06 | Rohr Aircraft Corp | Structures which require hermetical sealing |
CH321043A (en) * | 1954-01-05 | 1957-04-30 | Lehni Rudolf | frame |
US2799118A (en) * | 1955-05-23 | 1957-07-16 | Richard C Lindberg | Toy building structure |
DE1104412B (en) * | 1959-12-19 | 1961-04-06 | Werner Zander | Adhesive plate for plug-in games |
Cited By (25)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3854831A (en) * | 1970-08-31 | 1974-12-17 | K Gutner | Corner connector for tubular members |
US3859767A (en) * | 1973-10-31 | 1975-01-14 | Jahabow Of Utah Inc | Corner structure improvement and method |
US4021127A (en) * | 1975-02-13 | 1977-05-03 | Luigi Gasparro | Jointing element for a compoundable unit structure, and a structure using said jointing element |
US3973855A (en) * | 1975-04-30 | 1976-08-10 | Edwin Florence, Limited | Connecting device for panels and tubes |
US4334868A (en) * | 1979-02-12 | 1982-06-15 | Levinrad Maxim D | Constructional kits |
US4754712A (en) * | 1984-05-17 | 1988-07-05 | Amco Corporation | Adjustable rack of shelves |
US4852501A (en) * | 1986-05-16 | 1989-08-01 | Amco Corporation | Adjustable rack of shelves |
US5282767A (en) * | 1993-01-11 | 1994-02-01 | Gelardi John A | Construction sets with injection molded and extruded tube beams |
WO1999039796A1 (en) * | 1998-02-09 | 1999-08-12 | Selton Daniel E | Three dimensional strategy game |
US5941527A (en) * | 1998-02-09 | 1999-08-24 | Selton; Daniel E. | Three dimensional strategy game |
US6921314B2 (en) | 1998-03-13 | 2005-07-26 | George R. Miller | Intercleaving spatially dichotomized polyhedral building blocks and extensions |
EP0976433A2 (en) * | 1998-07-30 | 2000-02-02 | Bruder Spielwaren GmbH + Co. KG | Coupling device for a toy vehicle |
EP0976433A3 (en) * | 1998-07-30 | 2002-10-30 | Bruder Spielwaren GmbH + Co. KG | Coupling device for a toy vehicle |
WO2003022384A1 (en) * | 1999-03-04 | 2003-03-20 | Miller George R | A system and set of intercleaving dichotomized polyhedral elements and extensions |
US20040170471A1 (en) * | 2003-02-27 | 2004-09-02 | C & W Industries, Llc | Support frame kit for canopies, display racks and the like |
US6960044B2 (en) | 2003-02-27 | 2005-11-01 | C & W Industries, Llc | Support frame kit for canopies, display racks and the like |
GB2400427A (en) * | 2003-04-09 | 2004-10-13 | Future Products Ltd | Connecting block |
GB2400427B (en) * | 2003-04-09 | 2006-02-15 | Future Products Ltd | Improvements relating to the connection of beams |
US20150260339A1 (en) * | 2012-11-08 | 2015-09-17 | Korea Advanced Institute Of Science And Technology | X-beam structure and pressure tank having x-beam structure |
US9851051B2 (en) * | 2012-11-08 | 2017-12-26 | Korea Advanced Institute Of Science And Technology | X-beam structure and pressure tank having X-beam structure |
US11278821B2 (en) * | 2017-02-16 | 2022-03-22 | Jason R. Brain | Modular toy block system |
US11779855B2 (en) | 2017-02-16 | 2023-10-10 | Jason R. Brain | Modular toy block system |
US20190345709A1 (en) * | 2017-12-21 | 2019-11-14 | Tomba Enterprises Pty Ltd | Structural connector |
US11365539B2 (en) * | 2017-12-21 | 2022-06-21 | Tomba Enterprises Pty Ltd | Structural connector |
RU194648U1 (en) * | 2019-10-29 | 2019-12-18 | Константин Григорьевич Первухин | The children's designer |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
BE651960A (en) | 1964-12-16 |
GB1073004A (en) | 1967-06-21 |
CH412270A (en) | 1966-04-30 |
SE308684B (en) | 1969-02-17 |
DE1484004A1 (en) | 1968-12-12 |
AT260745B (en) | 1968-03-25 |
ES303415A1 (en) | 1965-01-01 |
DK109432C (en) | 1968-04-22 |
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