US3787996A - Toy blocks having panelled construction - Google Patents

Toy blocks having panelled construction Download PDF

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Publication number
US3787996A
US3787996A US00280835A US3787996DA US3787996A US 3787996 A US3787996 A US 3787996A US 00280835 A US00280835 A US 00280835A US 3787996D A US3787996D A US 3787996DA US 3787996 A US3787996 A US 3787996A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
block
shell
blocks
building block
notches
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US00280835A
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English (en)
Inventor
J Smith
S Miller
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
CBS Broadcasting Inc
Hasbro Inc
Original Assignee
Columbia Broadcasting System Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Columbia Broadcasting System Inc filed Critical Columbia Broadcasting System Inc
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Publication of US3787996A publication Critical patent/US3787996A/en
Assigned to HASBRO, INC. reassignment HASBRO, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST. Assignors: CBS INC.,
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • 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
    • 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
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S52/00—Static structures, e.g. buildings
    • Y10S52/10—Polyhedron

Definitions

  • triangular panels extend from the side edges of the shell and intersect at the center thereof, the exposed edges of the panels being oriented and dimensioned to lie in the planes defining the crossed 'V-shaped notches at both ends of the block.
  • four elongated rectangular panels extend from the neck portions of the hourglass-shaped side surfaces of the shell and intersect the center of the shell. The invention particularly lends itself to being injection molded in a single-cavity mold.
  • the blocks currently being marketed are formed from a solid block of wood, initially of cubical shape, having in two opposite end surfaces a pair of crossed V-shaped notches of right angular shape cut therein and extending across the block. The two ends having the notches have the appearance of a four-pointed star, the other four side surfaces having identical hourglass shapes.
  • the surfaces of the notches in the mating blocks serve to lock them together whereby a set of the blocks can be arranged in a variety of constructions, including topheavy constructions, such as inverted triangles or the structure illustrated in FIG. 2. Such constructions are not generally possible with conventional cubical building blocks.
  • blocks of this type have wide appealand have been generally accepted, the fact that they are formed of wood makes them relatively expensive which, in turn, somewhat limits their market. Wood of high quality must be used to preclude warping and cracking with changes in humidity, and cutting of the V-shaped notches with the required precision is timeconsuming and thus costly. Moreover, in order to offer the possibility of a variety of designs as to color in a structural arrangement of the blocks, it is necessary to paint them individually. Also, since the blocks are intended for use by small children, care must be used in selecting paints which are non-toxic. These operations involve significant material and labor expense which contributes to a relatively high cost of manufacture.
  • the desired external shape of the piece is such that to mold a block of appropriate size as a solid block would require a two-cavity mold which presents serious shortcomings.
  • a seam-line would generally appear on the visible surfaces and detract from the appearance as well as the stackability of the blocks.
  • the amount of plastic required for a solid block, and the time required for cooling of relatively heavy sections would preclude molding of blocks at a practical price.
  • the building block according to the invention has an outer shell of generally cubical shape with each of the end opposing surfaces thereof having a pair of crossed V-shaped notches of essential right angular shape.
  • the notches extend completely across the block so that the side surfaces of the shell are hourglassshaped.
  • Four generally triangular panels extend from the side edges of the shell and intersect at the center thereof, the exposed edges of the panels being oriented and dimensioned to lie in the planes defining the cross V-shaped notches at both ends of the block.
  • four elongated rectangular panels extend from the neck portions of the hourglass-shaped side surfaces of the shell and intersect at the center thereof.
  • the preferred embodiment particularly lends itself to being molded in a single-cavity mold, the structural intersecting panels being formed by coring out the material between them.
  • one notched end of the preferred embodiment has a skeletal appearance, whereas the other walled end of the block appears solid andclosely resembles the prior art star block formed of wood.
  • the blocks may be injection molded from high-impact plastic in a variety of colors. A single molding operation which requires no after-finishing is sufficient for fabrication. Since the skeletal end of the block has four distinctly defined planes (as does the walled end), it can be used in constructional play with the same build ing options as blocks having all enclosed surfaces.
  • FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art wooden Star Block
  • FIG. 2 is an elevational view illustrating a typical building construction that can be made with the blocks
  • FIG. 3 is an elevational perspective bottom end view of a block in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 4 is an elevational perspective top end view of the block of FIG. 3;
  • FIG. 5 is a' perspective cross-sectional view of th block of FIG. 3 as taken through a section defined by arrows 55;
  • FIG. 6 is an end perspective view of a block in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.
  • the block 10 is preferably formed of a rigid plastic in a manner that will become clearer from subsequent description.
  • the block consists of an outer plastic shell that can be conveniently thought of as having originally been a hollow cube.
  • the shell 11 has a shape that would result from taking crossed V-shaped notches of right angular shape out of each of opposite ends of an originally cubical shell. This would leave the shell with four hourglass-shaped sides labeled in the drawings by the reference numerals 12, l3, l4 and 15.
  • FIGS. 3 and S show one end of the block, designated as the bottom end, as revealing four triangular shaped panels labeled 16, l7, l8 and 19.
  • the panels are seen to extend from the side edges of the shell to intersect and join at a center post 20.
  • the exposed edges of the four panels are oriented and dimensioned to lie in the planes defining the crossed V-shaped notches in the shell 1 1.
  • the panels, being symmetrical, also define the corresponding planes at the other (top) end of the block. This is clear from FIG. 4 wherein the planes are more easily discernable since eight triangular members form walls on the notched surfaces. Portions of these surfaces are also visable in FIG. 5.
  • the walls 21 and 22 are seen to be in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of walls 23 and 24, and these two planes constitute a single V-shaped notch.
  • the walls 25 and 26 are in a plane which is perpendicular to another plane that includes walls 27 and 28.
  • the planes at the bottom end of the block are defined by the edges of the triangular panels rather than by actual surfaces.
  • the blocks are preferably further provided with structural support in the form of four elongated rectangular panels 29, 30, 31 and 32. These rectangular panels extend from the narrowest or neck portions of the hourglass-shaped side surfaces of the shell 11 and also join at the post 20. At each end of the block, the edges of the rectangular panels are seen to define the intersections of the planes called out above.
  • the block of the invention particularly lends itself to be molded in a single-cavity mold.
  • the top and side surfaces of the block would be formed against the mold cavity and the mold core would form the inner surfaces and panels.
  • An aperture 40 in the post is provided to allow thepost to cool evenly, since this portion of the block would normally be thicker than other parts of the block.
  • the post 20 exists only as the joining reference for the recited panels and has no other distinct purpose.
  • the eight protruding points of the block are formed in a truncated manner in the mold for ultimate safety during play.
  • the resultant small flattened areas also allow certain stacking configurations that are not possible with sharp corners.
  • FIG. 6 there is shown another embodiment of the invention.
  • This embodiment is the same as that illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 except that the eight triangular members forming walls ,on the notched surfaces of the top end of the block are absent.
  • the block can still, however, be used to make desired configurations that were possible with the prior embodiment since, as previously described, the panel edges define the planes of Vshaped notches that allow stacked configurations such as that shown in FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 5 has been described as having eight members forming walls at one end of the block If desired, some of these walls may be omitted from the construction, although such construction is not preferred from a fabrication standpoint.
  • a toy building block which is suitable as a member of a set of substantially identical blocks for constructional play, comprising:
  • the building block as defined by claim 1 further comprising four elongated rectangular panels extending from the neck portions of the hourglass-shaped side surfaces of said shell and intersecting at the center thereof.
  • the building block as defined by claim 1 further comprising eight generally triangular members forming walls on the notched surfaces at only one end of said shell.
  • the building block as defined by claim 2 further comprising eight generally triangular members forming walls on the notched surfaces at only one end of said shell.
  • a set of toy building blocks comprising a plurality of blocks as defined in accordance with claim 1.
  • a set of toy building blocks which comprises a plurality of blocks as defined in accordance with claim 4.
  • a set of building blocks which comprises a plurality of blocks as defined in accordance with claim 8.

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  • Toys (AREA)
  • Finishing Walls (AREA)
US00280835A 1972-08-15 1972-08-15 Toy blocks having panelled construction Expired - Lifetime US3787996A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US28083572A 1972-08-15 1972-08-15

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3787996A true US3787996A (en) 1974-01-29

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ID=23074837

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US00280835A Expired - Lifetime US3787996A (en) 1972-08-15 1972-08-15 Toy blocks having panelled construction

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US3787996A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JPS4944837A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CA (1) CA974767A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2341155A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2196590A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1379877A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4008932A (en) * 1973-10-02 1977-02-22 Stamicarbon B.V. Structural element
USD267068S (en) 1979-12-21 1982-11-30 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
USD268388S (en) 1979-12-21 1983-03-29 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
USD271167S (en) 1979-12-21 1983-11-01 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
WO1991013663A1 (en) * 1990-03-09 1991-09-19 Ole Friis Petersen Aps A system of structural form bodies
US6568143B2 (en) * 2000-06-23 2003-05-27 Withrow Block, L.L.C. Interlocking construction components
WO2008086956A1 (de) * 2007-01-15 2008-07-24 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. Selbstverzahnender baustein
USD586143S1 (en) * 2007-12-14 2009-02-10 Juan Blas Doberti Two-part chair
USD597755S1 (en) * 2008-08-04 2009-08-11 Juan Ortiz Star chair
USD638501S1 (en) 2010-09-03 2011-05-24 Emily Fishman Play block
US20130115848A1 (en) * 2011-09-02 2013-05-09 Kids Ii, Inc. Activity toy
USD721141S1 (en) 2011-05-17 2015-01-13 Emily Fishman Play block
USD807962S1 (en) 2012-08-31 2018-01-16 Kids Ii, Inc. Activity toy
US11291926B2 (en) * 2017-05-29 2022-04-05 Hanayama International Trading Ltd Polyhedral toy
US11638884B1 (en) * 2021-10-28 2023-05-02 Zhejiang Benlai Household Technology Co., Ltd. Basic connecting block and connecting block group
USD1014648S1 (en) * 2020-02-19 2024-02-13 Margaret Yates Stackable building block

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3550310A (en) * 1967-01-02 1970-12-29 Wolfgang Bock Greissau Body of variable form composed of a plurality of hingedly connected orthogonal prisms no less than six
US3708910A (en) * 1970-11-05 1973-01-09 J Skillman Method of stacking nesting articles of diminishing size

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3550310A (en) * 1967-01-02 1970-12-29 Wolfgang Bock Greissau Body of variable form composed of a plurality of hingedly connected orthogonal prisms no less than six
US3708910A (en) * 1970-11-05 1973-01-09 J Skillman Method of stacking nesting articles of diminishing size

Cited By (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4008932A (en) * 1973-10-02 1977-02-22 Stamicarbon B.V. Structural element
USD267068S (en) 1979-12-21 1982-11-30 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
USD268388S (en) 1979-12-21 1983-03-29 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
USD271167S (en) 1979-12-21 1983-11-01 Caulkett Lawrence F Table base
WO1991013663A1 (en) * 1990-03-09 1991-09-19 Ole Friis Petersen Aps A system of structural form bodies
US5169352A (en) * 1990-03-09 1992-12-08 Ole Friis Petersen Aps System of structural form bodies
US6568143B2 (en) * 2000-06-23 2003-05-27 Withrow Block, L.L.C. Interlocking construction components
WO2008086956A1 (de) * 2007-01-15 2008-07-24 Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. Selbstverzahnender baustein
USD586143S1 (en) * 2007-12-14 2009-02-10 Juan Blas Doberti Two-part chair
USD597755S1 (en) * 2008-08-04 2009-08-11 Juan Ortiz Star chair
USD638501S1 (en) 2010-09-03 2011-05-24 Emily Fishman Play block
USD649201S1 (en) 2010-09-03 2011-11-22 Emily Fishman Play block
USD721141S1 (en) 2011-05-17 2015-01-13 Emily Fishman Play block
US20130115848A1 (en) * 2011-09-02 2013-05-09 Kids Ii, Inc. Activity toy
USD807962S1 (en) 2012-08-31 2018-01-16 Kids Ii, Inc. Activity toy
US11291926B2 (en) * 2017-05-29 2022-04-05 Hanayama International Trading Ltd Polyhedral toy
USD1014648S1 (en) * 2020-02-19 2024-02-13 Margaret Yates Stackable building block
US11638884B1 (en) * 2021-10-28 2023-05-02 Zhejiang Benlai Household Technology Co., Ltd. Basic connecting block and connecting block group
US20230133745A1 (en) * 2021-10-28 2023-05-04 Hangzhou Teague Technology Co., Ltd. Basic connecting block and connecting block group

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2341155A1 (de) 1974-02-28
JPS4944837A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-04-27
FR2196590A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-03-15
CA974767A (en) 1975-09-23
GB1379877A (en) 1975-01-08

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AS Assignment

Owner name: HASBRO, INC., 1027 NEWPORT AVE., PAWTUCKET, TI. 02

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:CBS INC.,;REEL/FRAME:004682/0688

Effective date: 19860211