WO1998040143A1

WO1998040143A1 - Flexible toy construction kit and methods for assembling toy structures

Info

Publication number: WO1998040143A1
Application number: PCT/CA1998/000206
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andre Kroecher
Original assignee: Kroecher Designs Inc.
Priority date: 1997-03-10
Filing date: 1998-03-09
Publication date: 1998-09-17
Also published as: AU6605998A

Abstract

A toy is made from flexible construction pieces of hook-and-loop material having hook formation engageable by hook-and-loop interengagement with loop formations for releasably securing the pieces to one another. The pieces each have a hook formation on one face thereof and a loop formation on an opposite face thereof. The hook and loop formations extend to the edges of the pieces. The pieces may be bent and attached to one another to form structural components such as tubes and curved panels which are quite rigid despite the flexibility of the construction pieces themselves. The pieces may be assembled to form toys which appeal to children of either sex. The toys so made are rigid and are yet soft enough so that they are not damaged, and do not do damage, if they are dropped during play.

Description

FT-FXTBT.F TOY CONSTRUCTION KTT AND METHODS FOR ASSFMT.T TNO TOY STRTTCTTTRFS

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Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a construction kit for making toy structures which includes interengaging construction pieces, methods of making objects, for example toys, from construction pieces faced with hook-and-loop fastener material, and to toys made by such methods.

Dftsfiriprinn of the Related Art

Various construction kits are commercially available for use by children in constructing toys. For example, one such kit comprises a plurality of hard plastic interlocking blocks which can be assembled to form model buildings and numerous other objects. The blocks are small and susceptible to being eaten by small children. Children can also hurt themselves and each other by stepping on or throwing the hard blocks. Furthermore, the blocks wear out and do not stick well together after they have been used extensively. Another well-known construction kit comprises perforated metal strips which can be connected to one another by nuts and bolts. Such prior art construction kits have the disadvantage that they are made of hard objects having jagged corners and edges and include many small parts. These objects could injure children when thrown, stepped on, eaten or otherwise misused.

Another commercially available construction kit comprises lengths of foam fitted with a wire inside which can be bent to shape the foam length and, flat, two- dimensional shapes with pre-punched holes. This type of kit, however, is limited with respect to the variety of objects or models that can be made with it.

There have been various attempts to use hook and loop fastener material as a coupler in construction toys. For example, Brooks U.S. patent No. 5,458,522 shows blocks having areas of hook and loop fastener material in the middles of their faces. Such construction toys suffer from the disadvantages that they do not permit the fabrication of a wide range of structures and they may include hard objects that could hurt a child if thrown, stepped on or ingested. Other examples of patents describing construction toys which use hook and loop fastener material to join construction pieces are Bifulco, U.S. patent No. 4,969,385; Manger, U.S. patent No. 4,979,924; Roh et al. U.S. patent No. 5,330,379; Deahr, U.S. patent No. 5,498, 188; French patent No. 1,300,206; U.K. application publication No. GB 2,082,925 A; U.K. application publication No. GB 2,267,228 A; German patent application publication No. DE 3726-618-A; and, European application no. EP-356-626-A.

Dodge, U.S. patent No. 4,978,301 shows a construction set which includes a number of flat semi-rigid construction pieces. Each of the construction pieces has a hook-type fastener on one major side and a loop type fastener on its other major side. The construction pieces have margins around their edges which are free of fastener material to ease separation of the construction pieces. The Dodge construction set has the disadvantage that it does not permit the construction of as wide a variety of 3- dimensional structures as would be desirable.

There is a need for a construction kit that is entertaining to play with, allows the construction of a very wide range of 3-dimensional structures and is safe.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a novel method of forming a toy which enables a very large variety of different toys to be made from soft flexible components. Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention provides a method for making a self-supporting toy structure. The method comprises the steps of: employing a flexible construction piece comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces, the sheet having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the faces each substantially entirely covered with hook-and-loop fastener formations; bending the construction piece about a bend axis into a curved configuration wherein the first and second faces thereof are curved and the construction piece resists bending in a direction perpendicular to the bend axis; and, holding the construction piece in the curved configuration by attaching the construction piece to one or more additional construction pieces by interengagement between the fastener formation on one or both faces of the construction piece and mating fastener formations on the second construction pieces. A second aspect of the invention provides a construction kit. The construction kit comprises a plurality of construction pieces, each of the construction pieces comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the first face substantially entirely covered with a hook formation, the second face substantially entirely covered with a loop formation capable of releasable hook-and-loop interengagement with the hook formation. Such a construction kit enables the construction of a wide variety of toy structures. Preferably the hook formation and the loop formation extend to the peripheral edges of the first and second faces respectively. This permits the one construction piece to adhere to another construction piece with its edge against a face of the other construction piece. The kit preferably comprises a plurality of small construction pieces, the small construction pieces having no dimension exceeding 15 times the sum of the depths of the hook formation and the loop formation on the faces of that small construction piece. Flexible rope like members may be made by stacking the small construction pieces together.

Yet another aspect of the invention provides a method for assembling a toy. The method employs a plurality of flexible construction pieces, at least one of the construction pieces comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces, the sheet having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the first face substantially entirely covered with a first hook-and-loop fastener formation, the second face substantially entirely covered with a second hook-and-loop fastener formation. The method includes the step of forming a tubular component by steps including bending one of the construction pieces into a curved configuration to form a wall portion of the tubular component and retaining the one construction piece in the curved configuration by interengaging the fastener formations in peripheral longitudinal edge portions of the one construction piece with each other or with fastener formations on another construction piece. In one embodiment the step of forming a tubular component comprises pressing first and second longitudinal peripheral edge of the one construction piece into one face of a second construction piece to detachably adhere the fastener formation in first and second peripheral edge portions of the first construction piece with the fastener formation on the one face of the second construction piece. In another embodiment the step of forming a tubular component comprises pressing a first longitudinal peripheral edge portion on the first face of the one construction piece against a second opposed longitudinal edge portion on the second face of the one construction piece thereby interengaging the first fastener formation in the first longitudinal edge portion with the second fastener formation in the second longitudinal edge portion. In another embodiment the step of forming a tubular component comprises interengaging the fastener formation in opposite longitudinal edge portions of one face thereof with the fastener formation on a face of a second construction piece disposed so as to overlap the opposite longitudinal edge portions. In still another embodiment the step of forming a tubular component comprises interengaging the fastener formation in a first longitudinal edge portion of one face of the one construction piece with a fastener formation on a first face of a sheet of material and interengaging the fastener formation on a second opposed longitudinal edge portion of the one face with a fastener formation on a second face of the sheet of material. The use of construction pieces made from hook-and-loop fastener material for assembling a toy has a number of advantages as compared to the use of prior-art rigid components. For example, the hook-and-loop fastener material is soft and flexible, so that objects made therefrom are not dangerous to children when thrown. Strips of fastener material can easily be folded, bent, curled and even cut into a very large number of different shapes, and an object made from such strips will not break or cause damage if it is accidentally dropped or thrown. Objects made from such fastener material can be made to readily releasably adhere to furniture upholstery and drapery fabrics, thus adding to the versatility of the toys made from such material. Also, a pair of toys made according to the present method can be made to interact with one another, by temporarily interengaging with one another. For example, one such toy can be formed as a helicopter, having a thin strip of the hook-and-loop fastener material depending from it, the strip being employed to engage and lift another toy.

Furthermore, hook and loop fastener material can be used to make toys which are suitable for and attractive to girls as well as boys, in contrast to prior-art construction kits, which although sometimes used by girls are intended primarily to be marketed for use by boys. RRTFF DRSCRTPTTON OF THE DRAWINGS Further features, advantages and objects of this invention will be more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof when read together with the accompanying drawings which should not be so construed as to limit the scope of the invention and in which:

Figure 1 shows an end-view of a construction piece comprising a flexible strip of double-sided hook-and-loop fastener material;

Figure 2 shows a view of the construction piece of Figure 1 rolled in a spiral manner;

Figure 3A shows a curved component formed from two construction pieces of hook- and loop fastener material juxtaposed in face-to-face;

Figure 3B shows a beam formed from two construction pieces;

Figure 3C shows a tubular member formed from two construction pieces and shaped somewhat like an aerofoil;

Figure 3D shows a pair of construction pieces bent and interengaged to form a tubular assembly;

Figure 3E shows a pair of construction pieces folded and interengaged to form a flattened rigid member;

Figure 4 shows a toy assembled from a plurality of construction pieces according to the invention; Figure 5 shows a small construction kit comprising a plurality of construction pieces for use in making a toy such as that shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 shows an end view of a construction piece comprising a double-sided fastener material strip having a hook formation on opposite faces thereof;

Figure 7 shows an end view of a construction piece comprising a double-sided fastener material strip having loop formations on opposite faces thereof;

Figure 8 shows a rope-like structure formed from a stack of small construction pieces;

Figure 9 shows an end view of an assembly comprising a pair of construction pieces juxtaposed in co-planar, end-to-end relationship and connected together by an overlying and overlapping third construction piece; Figure 10 shows a rotary coupler for use in the invention; and,

Figure 11 shows a bearing for a toy axle according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Figure 1 shows an end view of a construction piece indicated generally by reference numeral 10. Construction piece 10 is in the form of a transversely flexible sheet 11 of material. When sheet 11 is lying flat a portion of sheet 11 can easily be folded out of the plane in which the rest of sheet 11 is lying. Sheet 11 is somewhat laterally stiff. Sheet 11 resists being stretched or compressed in the plane in which sheet 11 is lying.

Sheet 11 may have a rectangular shape defined by peripheral edges 18, 19 as shown, or may have a different shape. Construction piece 10 has a first face 14 covered with a fastener formation such as a hook formation 15 of hook-and-loop fastener material and a second face 16 opposite to face 14 covered with a mating fastener formation such as a loop formation 17. The hook formation 15 and the loop formation 17 are manufactured by techniques which are well known in the fastener art and are therefore not described herein. Construction piece 10 may be fabricated, for example, by adhesively bonding together a sheet of hook-type COSMOLON™ or VELCRO™ material and a sheet of mating loop type COSMOLON™ or VELCRO™ material in back-to-back relationship with a compatible high-strength adhesive. It is preferred that hook formation 15 and loop formation 17 both extend fully to peripheral edges 18, 19 of construction piece 10. The hook and loop material is preferably high quality and has a high peel strength. For example, it has been found that mating hook and loop material sold by YKK U.S.A. Inc. of Lyndhurst, New Jersey under the model name COSMOLON may be laminated together to make a construction piece 10 according to the invention. In the alternative, construction piece 10 may comprise a single sheet of material having hook- type formations formed on one face and loop-type formations formed on the other face during manufacture. Other types of non-sticky fastener formations which releasably and mechanically adhere to one another when pressed together could be used to practice this invention as an alternative to the hook-and-loop fastener material described above.

Construction piece 10 is double-sided. In this application the expression "double-sided" describes any construction pieces having a fastener formation on each of its major faces. The faces may have fastener formations of different types or the same type. Construction pieces 10 as shown in Figure 1 , having a hook formation on one side thereof and a loop formation on the opposite side thereof are double-sided. The construction pieces described below with respect to Figures 6 and 7 are also "double-sided". A single construction piece 10 is of limited utility and is not very fun to play with. Because it is flexible and is double-sided (i.e. it has a hook formation 15 on face 14 and loop formation 17 on face 16) construction piece 10 may be bent into a curved shape and can then be releasably secured in this curved shape by interengagement of the hook formation 15 and the loop formation 17. This is illustrated, by way of example, in Figure 2, in which construction piece

10 is shown rolled up in a spiral manner with its hook formation 15 on its outwardly facing or convexly curved face 14. In Figure 2, the loop formation 17 is on the inwardly directed concavely curved face 16. A larger construction piece 10 may be rolled in a similar manner to form an elongated tube. Construction piece 10 becomes much more useful and entertaining when it is combined with other construction pieces 10. The flexibility and double-sided nature of construction pieces 10 allows construction pieces 10 to be combined to form 3- dimensional structures of virtually endless variety. Of course, two construction pieces 10 may be attached to each other by affixing the loop formation 17 of one construction piece 10 to the hook formation 15 of another construction piece 10. Many structures may be made using this joining method alone.

The characteristics of construction pieces 10 allow the use of certain construction techniques which are not available with prior art construction sets. Because construction pieces 10 are transversely flexible, they may be used to make structures which have curved surfaces. Further, when a construction piece 10 is bent about a bend axis 32, as shown for example in Figure 3B, the construction piece acquires some rigidity and resists bending about axes perpendicular to the bend axis. This property can be exploited to make many kinds of self-supporting toy structures. Such structures may be made by bending one construction piece around a bend line and then holding the construction piece in its rigidified curved configuration by attaching the construction piece either to itself or to one or more additional construction pieces by hook-and- loop interengagement of fastener formations on the construction piece. Various examples of this general method are described below.

It has been found that two construction pieces faced with hook-and-loop fastener material, for example the strips indicated by reference numerals 22 and 24 in Figure 3A, may be combined to form a component 26 in a way that holds a curved or angled configuration despite the fact that strips 22 and 24 are each individually flexible and would not hold a curved or angled configuration. This may be done by bending one of the strips, for example strip 22, and then pressing a face of the other strip 24 covered with a formation of a first type of fastener material (e.g. loop type fastener material) against a face of strip 22 covered with a formation of a second mating type of fastener material (e.g. hook type fastener material) so as to interengage the hook-and-loop formations of these faces and thereby attach the two strips together in face-to-face relationship while holding the strips bent. After this has been done the strips form a component 26 which retains its curved or angled configuration. This method may be used to make components 26 which include sharp V-bends, as indicated at 28 or gentle curves, as indicated at 29. The component may have a three-dimensional compound curvature resulting from several curves having the same or different radii of curvature and having bend axes oriented in different directions.

This method of forming curved components is of significant utility. It enables one to easily form curved panels which may be used, for example, as curved body panels for a toy vehicle. As can be seen from Figure 3 A, assembly 26 formed by interconnected strips 22 and 24 has a hook formation 15 exposed at its underside and a loop formation 17 exposed at its top side. Consequently, further pieces bearing hook- and-loop fastener formations can be readily secured to the underside or the top side of assembly 26. Larger construction pieces may be used in place of narrow strips 22, 24 to make extended trough-shaped assemblies which can be used to support a structure. The trough shaped assemblies may even be used to guide small objects such as rolling marbles along a course.

Forming a curved assembly 26 has the added benefit that a curved assembly 26 is significantly more rigid in a direction transverse to the bend lines 32 than are strips 22 and 24 whether taken individually or affixed together in a planar configuration. Thus, structures, such as toys, which are unexpectedly rigid may be fabricated from flexible construction pieces 10.

One type of curved assembly which is particularly useful for fabricating self- supporting toy structures is a tube formed from one or more construction pieces. One type of tubular member which can be made according to the invention is described above with reference to Figure 2. Several other ways to make tubular curved assemblies with construction pieces 10 according to the invention are described below. One way to make a tubular component relies on having formations of fastener material which extend completely to the peripheral edges of construction pieces 10. For example, as shown in Figure 3B, a construction piece 30 may be bent along a bend line 32. The edges 31 of piece 30 may then be pressed edge-on against a face 35 of another construction piece 34. The formations of fastener material on one of the faces of construction piece 30 will be of the correct type to interengage with the formation of fastener material on face 35 of construction piece 34. Construction piece 30 will therefore adhere edge-on to face 35 of construction piece 34 to form a tubular beam structure 33 which is highly resistant to bending. Such beam structures may be combined to produce larger structures which have a surprising degree of rigidity despite being made from basic components (construction pieces 10) which are themselves quite flexible. For example, the inventor has made self-supporting structures several feet high from construction pieces 10 no larger than a few inches on a side.

Providing formations of fastener material which extend completely to the edges of construction pieces 10 also permits the construction of structures in which one construction piece is hingedly attached at its edge to another piece. This may be accomplished by interengaging a formation of fastener material extending to one edge of a construction piece with the fastener material on the face of a second construction piece. This feature may be exploited, for example, in making toy vehicles having doors which can be opened and closed.

Figure 3C shows another way to make a rigidified tubular beam structure using construction pieces according to the invention. The beam, indicated generally by 36 is aerofoil shaped. Beam 36 is formed by folding a construction piece 37 and interengaging the formation on the inner face 38 of construction piece 37 with the formations on either face of a thinner construction piece 39. Beam 36 is generally teardrop-shaped in cross section. Unlike construction piece 10, which is described above, construction piece 39 has the same type of fastener formation on each of its faces. In Figure 3C, the inner face of construction piece 37 is covered with a loop formation 17 while both faces of construction piece 39 are covered with a hook formation 15.

Figure 3D shows a tubular assembly of two double-sided construction pieces 40 and 41 which each have a loop formation on one side thereof and a hook formation on the other side thereof, like the construction piece 10 of Figure 1. The pieces 40 and 41 of Figure 3D are curved transversely of their lengths and interengaged with one another so as to form a relatively rigid tubular assembly, which can be employed as a main component of a self-supporting toy structure, for example as the fuselage of a toy aircraft or the tank of a toy train. Figure 3E shows a rigid beam member 44 in the form of a flattened tube. Beam member 44 is formed from two construction pieces 45 and 46 which are each bent about a bend axis 47, interfitted and attached to one another. Construction piece 45 is held in its bent configuration by hook and loop interengagement between fastening formations on its faces and fastening formations on the faces of construction piece 46 and vice versa. Member 44 is essentially a flattened tubular member.

Figure 4 shows, by way of example, a toy in the form of an airplane indicated generally by reference numeral 50, which is formed of various construction pieces according to the invention. Toy 50 illustrates a number of techniques which can be employed, in the method according to the present invention, for forming a large variety of self-supporting toy structures or other rigidified soft toys.

The airplane 50 of Figure 4 has a fuselage in the form of a tube, which is made by rolling a double-sided construction piece 52 transversely of its length so as to overlap and interengage mating formations on the longitudinal edge portions of construction piece 52. This interengagement retains construction piece 52 in its tubular shape and, thereby, serves to form a relatively rigid tubular curved component from the construction piece 52 which in its initial, flat condition is transversely flexible and incapable of holding a curved shape.

The airplane 50 of Figure 4 also has a pair of wings formed by construction pieces 54 and 55. The wings are formed from a flattened tubular structure of the type illustrated in Figure 3C. The wings are fastened to fuselage construction piece 52 with an underlying construction piece 56 which overlaps in hook-and-loop interengagement with the tubular wing structure formed by construction pieces 54 and 55. Construction piece 56 is a double-sided fastener material piece, and is in hook-and-loop interengagement, at its underside, with fuselage construction piece 52. Airplane 50 also has a tailplane formed by a double-sided fastener material piece 58 and a rudder formed by a double- sided fastener material piece 59. To secure the pieces 58 and 59 in their angularly disposed relationship relative to one another, a pair of double-sided fastener pieces 57 are each bent into a curved shape, with one of their hook-and-loop formations on a convexly curved side thereof, and the convexly curved sides are then engaged, by hook-and-loop interengagement, with the angularly disposed sides of the pieces 58 and 59.

It is also apparent from Figure 4 that the present invention is not restricted to the use of rectangular construction pieces. Airplane 50 has for example wheels formed of disc-shaped pieces 51 and a nose which is also formed of a disc-shaped piece of fastener material 53.

It can be appreciated that toy 50 according to the invention is sufficiently rigid to be played with but retains an overall softness that prevents it from being damaged if it is dropped and also prevents it from doing significant damage to objects or people that it may hit during the course of play. Construction pieces according to the invention are conveniently provided in the form of a kit which includes sufficient construction pieces to enable a user to make various structures. Figure 5 shows, by way of example, pieces of various shapes of fastener material which may be provided in a construction kit according to the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, these shapes include rectangular pieces 60 through 63, a disc 64, a square 65, a semi-circle 66 (which may be rolled to form a cone). Any other shape may be provided. It has been found that a kit containing a plurality of rectangular pieces including several rectangular pieces having each of the dimensions given in the following table is particularly flexible. The addition of circular, semicircular and triangular construction pieces having the dimensions set out in the following table further enhances a construction kit according to the invention.

The units are conveniently on the order of .8 millimetres to 1.3 millimetres. For example, a construction piece 5 units X 20 units would have dimensions of 4.5 cm by 18 cm if each unit was 0.9 millimeters. If, during the construction of any particular project, it is found that the required shape of construction piece is not available, then this required shape can normally readily be produced by cutting it from a larger construction piece with, for example, a pair of scissors. Of course, kits having construction pieces of different shapes and dimensions also come within the invention. The kits may include instructions and drawings describing and illustrating how to assemble construction pieces 10 to form various structures.

Figure 6 shows a construction piece, indicated generally by reference numeral 67, which has hook formations 15 on opposite faces thereof, whereas Figure 7 shows an end view of a construction piece indicated generally by reference numeral 68, which has loop formations 17 on opposite faces thereof.

The double-sided construction pieces 67 and 68 shown in Figures 6 and 7 are useful, in particular, for connecting to each other two or more partial objects, made from hook and loop fastener material as described above but having the same type of fastener formations exposed. If, for example, a pair of partial objects have been made and each of the partial objects only has a hook formation exposed on its outer surface then the partial objects can be attached to each other by inserting a construction piece 68 having loop formations on both of its faces between the partial objects and interengaging the loop formations on construction piece 68 with portions of the hook formations exposed on the outer surfaces of each of the partial objects.

Another feature of a preferred embodiment of the invention is that small construction pieces may be stacked together to provide an unexpectedly flexible rope- like structure which resists twisting. Figure 8 shows a rope-like structure 69 formed from a large number of small square construction pieces 70. The inventor has determined that structure 69 has good flexibility where the hook and loop formations on construction pieces 70 are such that the length and width dimensions of the small pieces are not greater than about 15 times the sums of the depths of the hook and loop formations on the small construction pieces. With this construction, for example, construction pieces 70 might be squares having sides 1 centimetre long and adjacent construction pieces 70 might be separated by a distance D of about 3 millimeters. A structure 70 may be used, for example, as a support rope for a swing, a tow rope for a vehicle or the like. The ends of structure 69 may be easily attached by hook and loop interengagement to other construction pieces.

Figure 9 shows a pair of double-sided construction pieces indicated generally by reference numerals 73 and 74, which are juxtaposed in co-planar end-to-end relationship and which are connected together by interengagement with an overlying, overlapping double-sided construction piece indicated generally by reference numeral 75. It will, of course, be apparent that instead of being thus connected together in end- to-end relationships, the pieces 73 and 74 could be connected together in other configurations, for example in a L or T configuration, or could be connected to other pieces so as to form, for example a rectangular or polygonal frame.

A construction kit according to the invention may include a rotary coupler 78 as shown in Figure 10. Rotary coupler 78 comprises thin members 80 and 82 which are pivotally coupled together for relative rotation about a pivot axis 84. Each of members 80 and 82 has an exposed face 85, 86 covered with a formation of hook-and- loop fastener. Rotary coupler 78 may be used to couple two partial objects by interengaging the fastener formation on face 85 with the fastener formation on an exterior surface of a first partial object and interengaging the fastener formation on face 86 with the fastener formation on an exterior surface of a second partial object. Most preferably members 80 and 82 are detachably connected to each other by way of a snap-fastener 88 entered on pivot axis 84. The snap fastener comprises a male part 89 on member 80 and a female part 90 on member 82 and allows two partial objects to be separated without damaging rotary coupler 78 or removing members 80, 82 from their respective partial objects.

The construction pieces of the invention may be combined with other materials to make toys. For example, it has been found that a construction piece rolled into a tube 94, as shown in Figure 11 makes a good low friction bearing for an axle 96. A suitable axle may be made from a round-shafted pencil or the like. A tube 94 may be readily affixed under the body of a model truck or the like (not shown) made of construction pieces 10 by interengaging the formation on the outer face of tube 94 with a formation on the underside of the model truck body. Various other modifications may be effected within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for making a self-supporting toy structure, the method comprising the steps of: a) employing a flexible construction piece comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces, the sheet having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the faces each substantially entirely covered with hook-and- loop fastener formations; b) bending the construction piece about a bend axis into a curved configuration wherein the first and second faces thereof are curved and the construction piece resists bending about axes perpendicular to the bend axis; and, c) holding the construction piece in the curved configuration by attaching the construction piece to one or more additional construction pieces by hook-and- loop interengagement between the fastener formation on one or both faces of the construction piece and mating fastener formations on the second construction pieces.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of attaching the construction piece to one or more additional construction pieces comprises detachably affixing the second face of an additional construction piece to the first face of the first construction piece to yield a curved component.

3. A method for assembling a toy, the method comprising the steps of: a) employing a plurality of flexible construction pieces, at least one of the construction pieces comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces, the sheet having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the first face substantially entirely covered with a first hook-and- loop fastener formation, the second face substantially entirely covered with a second hook-and-loop fastener formation; b) forming a tubular component by steps including bending one of the construction pieces into a curved configuration to form a wall portion of the tubular component and retaining the one construction piece in the curved configuration by interengaging the fastener formations in peripheral longitudinal edge portions of the one construction piece with each other or with fastener formations on another construction piece.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of forming a tubular component comprises pressing first and second longitudinal peripheral edge of the one construction piece into one face of a second construction piece to detachably adhere the fastener formation in first and second peripheral edge portions of the first construction piece with the fastener formation on the one face of the second construction piece.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of forming a tubular component comprises pressing a first longitudinal peripheral edge portion on the first face of the one construction piece against a second opposed longitudinal edge portion on the second face of the one construction piece thereby interengaging the first fastener formation in the first longitudinal edge portion with the second fastener formation in the second longitudinal edge portion.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of forming a tubular component comprises interengaging the fastener formation in opposite longitudinal edge portions of one face thereof with the fastener formation on a face of a second construction piece disposed so as to overlap the opposite longitudinal edge portions.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of forming a tubular component comprises interengaging the fastener formation in a first longitudinal edge portion of one face of the one construction piece with a fastener formation on a first face of a sheet of material and interengaging the fastener formation on a second opposed longitudinal edge portion of the one face with a fastener formation on a second face of the sheet of material.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of forming and affixing to the toy structure a rope-like member, the step of forming the rope-like member comprising stacking a plurality of small construction pieces and interengaging fastener formations on each face of each small construction piece with mating fastener formations on adjoining faces of adjacent ones of the small construction pieces so that corresponding parts on the adjacent ones of the small construction pieces are spaced apart by a spacing distance, wherein each of the small construction pieces has a length and a width no more than 15 times longer than the spacing distance.

9. A self-supporting toy structure comprising a plurality of construction pieces, the construction pieces each consisting essentially of a flexible double-sided sheet of material having a first face substantially covered with a hook-type fastener formation and a second face covered with a loop-type fastener formation, the loop-type fastener formation capable of detachable interengagement with the hook-type fastener formation, the construction pieces detachably affixed to one another by hook-and-loop interengagement of the fastener formations, the structure comprising at least one structural component comprising one or more construction pieces bent into a curved configuration and retained in the curved configuration by detachable hook-and-loop interengagement with other ones of the construction pieces.

10. The toy structure of claim 9 wherein the tubular component comprises a construction piece rolled into a tubular configuration and having its first face overlapping with its second face along opposed overlapping peripheral edge portions thereof such that the hook-type fastener formation engages the loop type fastener formation in the overlapping peripheral edge portions.

11. The toy structure of claim 9 wherein the tubular component comprises a first construction piece bent into a generally U-shaped configuration wherein the first construction piece has a pair of opposed straight peripheral edges extending generally parallel to one another, the peripheral edges detachably affixed to a face of a second construction piece by hook-and-loop interengagement between fastener formations at the peripheral edges of the first construction piece and a fastener formation on the face of the second construction piece.

12. The toy structure of claim 9 wherein the tubular component comprises a first construction piece curved transversely thereof so as to overlap and interengage the fastener formation in opposite longitudinal edge portions of one face thereof with the fastener formation on a face of a second construction piece.

13. The toy structure of claim 9 wherein the tubular component comprises a first construction piece having the fastener formation in a first longitudinal edge portion of one face interengaged with a fastener formation on a first face of a sheet of material and the fastener formation on a second opposed longitudinal edge portion of the one face interengaged with a fastener formation on a second face of the sheet of material.

14. A construction kit comprising a plurality of construction pieces, each of the construction pieces comprising a flexible sheet of material having first and second major faces having a shape defined by peripheral edges, the first face substantially entirely covered with a hook formation, the second face substantially entirely covered with a loop formation capable of releasable hook-and- loop interengagement with the hook formation.

15. The construction kit of claim 14 wherein the hook formation and the loop formation extend to the peripheral edges of the first and second faces respectively.

16. The construction kit of claim 14 wherein the plurality of construction pieces includes a plurality of small construction pieces, each of the small construction pieces having no dimension exceeding 15 times a sum of depths of the hook formation and the loop formation of the small construction piece.

17. The construction kit of claim 14 comprising at least one rotary coupler, the rotary coupler comprising a first thin member coupled to a second thin member for rotation about an axis of rotation, a first face on the first piece covered with a first formation of hook and loop fastener material and lying generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation, a second face on the second piece covered with a second formation of hook and loop fastener material and lying generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the rotary coupling detachably connectible by hook and loop interengagement with the plurality of construction pieces.

18. The construction kit of claim 17 wherein the first and second members are detachably coupled to one another by a rotary coupling.

19. The construction kit of claim 18 wherein the rotary coupling comprises a male snap fastener entered on the axis of rotation on the first member and detachably affixed to a mating female snap fastener centred on the axis of rotation on the second member.

20. The construction kit of claim 14 wherein each of the construction pieces comprises a sheet of hook type hook and loop material adhesively bonded back- to-back with a sheet of loop type hook and loop material.

21. The construction kit of claim 20 wherein the plurality of construction pieces includes a plurality of rectangular construction pieces, the rectangular construction pieces comprising one or more construction pieces having dimensions of 1X1 units, 1X2 units, 1X3 units, 1X5 units, 1X10 units, 1X20 units, 2X2 units, 2X3 units, 2X5 units, 2X10 units, 2X20 units, 3X3 units, 3X5 units, 3X10 units, 3X20 units, 5X5 units, 5X10 units, and 5X20 units.

22. The construction kit of claim 21 wherein each unit is a length in the range of 0.8 centimetres to 1.3 centimetres.