WO2022008588A1

WO2022008588A1 - A toy building system for making a structure as well as their use

Info

Publication number: WO2022008588A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/068814
Authority: WO
Inventors: Poul Kjær TORBENSEN
Original assignee: Molifaks
Priority date: 2020-07-07
Filing date: 2021-07-07
Publication date: 2022-01-13
Also published as: DK202000811A1; DK180797B1

Abstract

Toy building system (1) for providing a two or three dimensional structure. It comprises tube beads (6) with an outer diameter D1 and with a continuous cylindrical passage (8) with the diameter d. It also comprises a connecting unit (9) arranged to connect tube beads (6) in a continuous axial structure. The connecting unit (9) comprises a hollow muff tube (11) delimited by a wall (12) with a circular cross-section and an outer circumference and perpendicular to the middle of the muff tube (11) projecting and perpendicular to its longitudinal axis annular stop-disk (15) with diameter D1. The distance of the stop-disk (15) to the openings (13, 14) of the muff tube (11) is the same and in inserted state no longer than half of the axial height of the tube bead (6). The connecting units (9) are connected to each other in areas (19) on the periphery of the stop-disc (15) and thereby form a connecting module (20) which holds the tube beads (6) upright and horizontally close together. All the elements in the system (1) are dimensioned accordingly to each other and makes it possible to build structures with beads (6, 40) with different axial direction as well as beads (6, 40) with of different size. The shape and size of all elements can easily be shortened and adjusted as needed.

Description

A TOY BUILDING SYSTEM FOR MAKING A STRUCTURE AS WELL AS THEIR USE

The invention relates to a toy building system for providing a structure comprising toy building elements which can be interconnected to form the structure, which toy building elements comprise beads and a first toy building element.

The invention also relates to the use of a toy building system according to the invention for making two- or three-dimensional structures.

Tube beads have been known for many years and have been used for making two-dimensional motifs, by placing the tube beads on prefabricated square, circular or figure-shaped pegboards with small conical pegs on the upper side.

The square pegboards, for beads of the same size, can sometimes be assembled into larger units and have fixed attachment points. When the design is complete, the loose tube beads are fused together while still standing on the pegboard. This is done by using an iron and ironing paper. The beads are therefore not attached to the pegs on the pegboard, as it makes it difficult to remove the fused motif from the pegboard. The pegs job thus are only to hold the beads in a fairly fixed position on the plate. This means firstly, that there can be a very large variation in the dimensions of the beads from production to production, without having any consequence for the fused motif, and secondly, that there is a distinct problem for the users because the beads easily tip over or even fall off the pegboard, if the pegboard is being pushed during use.

Pegboards in figurative form have also been known, with pegs on both sides of the board, where the beads are fixed on the pegboard, so that the motif can be seen from both sides and has the double width of the bead, which makes it possible for the motif to stand on its own. Here, it is thus intended that the beads should remain on the pegboard and not to be built further on in the axial direction, as the pegs are cylindrical, have a larger diameter than the inner passage of the tube bead and where the length of the pegs fulfill more than 60% of the inner passage of the tube bead.

DK9300162U3 describes a similar principle, where the tube beads are pressed down over a peg, but where the pegboard here is a square pegboard made of a soft material, so that the user will be able to cut away the excess part of the pegboard, when the motif is done. Furthermore, a connecting unit has been made consisting of two groups of molded tube beads at each end and with a bendable section in the middle, which connects the pegboards, but it does not hold the pegboards directly in contact with each other. The connecting unit is here intended to hold two pegboards together, with the peg-free backs facing each other by bending the connecting unit backwards. The connecting unit can also be used to assembling pegboards with pegs on both sides. In both cases, the pegboards will only be connected by the flexible part of the connecting unit.

It has also been known to design the fused motifs in such a way, that they afterwards can interlock with each other and, for example, keep a motif upright or form a cube, a house or another 3-dimensional object.

Patent DK / EP2729226 shows in the drawing on page 9 item 11 another example of how-to assembly two items. Here, a technique has been used in which, it is the inserted workpiece that adapts to the cylindrical passage in the second workpiece. This is done by making the inserted workpiece tubular and cylindrical with an outside diameter which is smaller than the inside diameter of the passage for that piece of the pipe, which is to be inside the passage when the pipe is in place. The rest of the pipe has a diameter outside the passage which is larger than the inside diameter of the passage so that the pipe is locked in the passage. The compression of the outer part of the pipe section is obtained by making two smaller slits in the pipe section and designing the outer ring on the pipe section in such a manner, that it can be inserted in through the passage. This technique is thus suitable for situations where the inserted workpiece can be passed all the way through the passage, where the workpieces must be able to be held together even under heavy load and where the workpieces are expected to stay together permanently or for a longer period of a time.

Today tube beads are available in several sizes, but different sizes of tube beads are not used in conjunction with each other in the same structure and tube beads are not dimensioned in relation to each other.

Furthermore, tube beads have not previously been used to build on top of each other in more layers than that, which results from using a single pegboard with pegs on both sides.

The purpose of this invention is to develop a module-based toy building system with toy building elements, which makes it possible to build with tube beads both axially on top of each other and next to each other in both two- dimensional and three-dimensional structures, where the size and shape of the basic modules easily can be adapted and assembled as needed, where it also is possible within the system to use differently dimensioned tube beads as well as connecting modules with different patterns in the same structure, to process and adapt the different toy building elements and to integrate other materials and components as a part of the structure.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible:

• to be able to use and reuse the same tube bead indefinitely and in many different contexts and functions,

• to be able to adapt the shape and size of the individual connecting module to hold two or more upright tube beads next to each other,

• to be able to build with tube beads both on top of each other in several layers and within each other in the axial direction of the tube bead and next to each other and perpendicular to each other and even in all directions, both vertically, horizontally and diagonally,

• to be able to use both connecting modules and tube beads of the same as well as different sizes and structures to be part of the same structure,

• to be able to connect the connecting modules arbitrarily between two connecting units in the modules,

• to be able to add strength, flexibility and mobility to the structure by the use of the internal channels in the structure as well as the geometry of the circle and thus move substructures up to +/- 180 degrees across the axis of the channels and +/- 360 degrees around the axis of the channels,

• to be able to integrate other materials and components into the structure,

• to be able to use the product in nondomestic and dynamic environments, minimize the need for adult supervision and eliminate the need to fuse the beads to preserve a structure,

This is achieved by designing the initially mentioned toy building system in the following way:

According to the invention, there is provided a toy building system as indicated in the introduction, and wherein the beads are tube beads, which tube beads are hollow bead tubes with an outer diameter D1 and with a continuous cylindrical passage with diameter d, and that the first toy building element is at least one connecting unit, which connecting unit comprise a hollow muff tube delimited by a wall with a circular cross-section and with a first opening and an opposite second opening, as well as an outside and around the hollow muff tube projecting and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the muff tube annular stop-disk with an outer diameter corresponding to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead, which stop-disk’s distance to the first and second openings is the same and must, when inserted into the inner passage of the tube bead, not be longer than half the axial height of the tube bead. Both elements are made of a flexible material so that they can work together in the structure.

The designs of the tube bead and the connecting unit thus enable two connecting units to be inserted simultaneously in the openings of a tube bead with engagement from each side of the inner passage of the pipe bead, whereby further tube beads and connecting units now can be axially set in extension of each other in an endless structure with an internal continuous passage in the entire axial longitudinal direction of the structure, which passage is the basis for being able to add various properties and functions to the system.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the wall of the muff tube of the connecting unit is a cylindrical tube comprising two cylindrical pieces of tube extending externally from each side of the stop-disk or that the wall of the muff tube diverges from the annular stop-disk and towards the first opening and the second opening, respectively, to provide two conical tube pieces.

The diameter of the inner continuous passage of the muff tube is the same in its entire extent for both versions of the muff tube. For the cylindrical tube pieces, the outside diameter is substantially equal to the inside diameter d of the tube bead. While the conical tube pieces at the stop-disk start with an inverted outward cone stub with an inward cone stub at the top, which muff tube at the stop-disk has an outside diameter equal to the half of D1 , in the transition between the two conical structures has an outer diameter greater than the inner diameter d of the tube bead and at the top has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter d of the tube bead and greater than or equal to the diameter of the inner continuous passage of the muff tube; and with four slits in the sides throughout the longitudinal direction of the muff tube extending from the opening of the muff tube and down to the stop-disk for compressing the conical muff tube. The connecting unit is therefore made of a flexible material.

The design of the connecting unit means, that a tube bead repeatedly and easily can be put on and held on to the connecting unit until the tube bead is removed as needed and that the tube bead and the inserted muff tube can be easily rotated axially relative to each other.

If the muff tube is designed with a circular cross-section, the tube bead is held on to the connecting unit by virtue of the tube bead being pressed down over the muff tube with a light pressure. If the muff tube is designed as an inverted truncated cone with slits in the sides, the tube bead is then held on to the connecting unit by virtue of the outward pressure exerted by the muff tube on the inner passage of the tube bead, when the tube bead is placed on the connecting unit and thereby compresses the muff tube structure. This force is consisting of the frictional resistance of the workpieces, the elasticity of the materials and the design of the muff tube. Once the materials are selected, the force can be adjusted by changing the design of the muff tube in relation to the width of the slits and the maximum outside diameter of the muff tube.

The compression of the muff tube forms at the same time, the basis for being able to completely fix the tube bead on to the connecting unit, as the inner passage of the muff tube is being made correspondingly conical as the tube bead is placed on the connecting unit, whereby the diameter of the compressed opening of the muff tube becomes smaller than the inside diameter of the muff tube at the stop-disk. By now inserting a cylinder with rounded ends through the inner passage of the structure, which cylinder has a diameter, which is smaller than the original inner diameter of the muff tube and is larger than the inner diameter of the compressed opening, the cylinder will then press the side pieces of the muff tube in outward direction and thereby fix the tube bead on to the connecting unit.

Whereas the muff tube on the single connecting unit is designed to hold on to the tube bead and to form the continuous inner passage in the axial direction of the structure, the stop disk than is designed to hold the tube beads in their position relative to each other, both axially as a separation between two on each other standing tube beads and transverse horizontally, wherein two or more connecting units, interconnecting in the stop disk, are designed to hold two or more adjacent tube beads standing upright side by side in a position relative to each other and thereby forming a connecting module.

According to one embodiment, the connecting units are connected to each other in at least one assembly area on the periphery of the annular stop disk to provide linear or curved connecting modules consisting of a plurality of connected connecting units. The assembly area is based on the point, where the stop disks of two connecting units are in direct contact with each other, or for adjacent connecting units based on the midpoint between the peripheral points on the line between the center of the stop disks, to provide linear or curved connecting modules consisting of one, two or more rows of adjoining connecting units, where the connecting units in the individual row are of the same size, but that the connecting units between the rows may be of different sizes, which outline of the connecting modules all have the same repeating geometric basic profile for each of the module's external seat connecting unit in the form of the outer part of the circular arc of the stop disk between two assembly areas, which circular arc will essentially form a semicircle on the longitudinal sides of the module and for end positions, the circular arc of the stop disk may constitute most of a full circle minus the extent of the assembly area on the circular arc of the stop disk. The connecting modules are typically available in one to three basic patterns for each size of tube beads.

On one type of connecting module, the connecting units will be placed at angles of 90° to each other with a mutual center distance equal to the diameter D1 of the stop disk in one, two or more parallel rows and where the individual connecting unit can be connected to up to four other connecting units.

On another type of connecting module, the connecting units will be placed at angles of 60° to each other with a mutual center distance equal to the diameter D1 of the stop disk in the form of two or more staggered parallel rows and where the individual connecting unit in the module can be connected by up to six other connecting units.

The third type of connecting module is circular arcs with different radii built around a connecting unit as the center. The starting point for the module is thus equal to a hexagon, where the individual connecting unit on the side pieces are evenly distributed on the arch piece between two diagonal points. All connecting units on the diagonals will have the center distance D1 and will be in direct contact with each other. All other connecting units in the module will have varying center distances to each other depending on, where they are located.

Furthermore, there is a connecting module, which is composed of connecting units of different sizes, which connecting module will consist of a number of parallel rows, where the connecting units are of the same size in each row, but the connecting unit can be connected across to a connecting unit of another size. The circular shape of the stop disk and their mutual size ratio means, that some of the connecting units will only have direct contact with connecting units in the same row.

The design of the connecting modules further means, that when all the connecting units in a module are provided with tube beads on both sides of the stop disk, it will thus only be substantially the outer edge of the stop disk, which will be visible between the two horizontal and parallel rows of tube beads, as a long continuous line, while the stop disk and their assembly areas will not be visible from the axial direction of the tube bead, because the stop disk and the tube bead both have the diameter D1 and because the assembly areas only have a very limited extent, which will essentially not be visible, when the tube beads are attached.

Similarly, the circular outline of the connecting module along the stop disk on the module's outermost row of connecting units means, that all modules with connecting units of the same size on the outside of the module can be brought into direct contact with each other with one or more contact points on the circular arc of the stop disk and for one or more connecting units along the sides of the modules. The center distance between the centers of the two tube beads in the individual transition between two modules will thus be equal to D1 , as the tube beads will be completely adjacent to each other and it will thus be difficult to determine, how many modules have been used for a given structure, how the modules are designed and shaped and where the transitions between the different modules are located, because two modules, with each own pattern, can be connected with each other in such a manner, that the pattern in one module can be continued over in the first row of connecting units on the other module and vice versa or that two modules with the same pattern can be placed beside each other, so that a different pattern than the modules' own pattern arises in the transition between the two modules. This also applies to the connecting modules where adjustments have been made to the module by removing one or more of the connecting units, as the individual connecting unit easily can be removed from the module simply by cutting the assembly areas in two at the edge of the stop disk without changing the capability of the module to be connected side by side. Consequently, a single connecting unit is thus also the smallest size for a module in the system. Similarly, it is easy to adjust the connecting module with respect to whether or not to remove the vertical muff tube of the connecting unit. This is done by a simple cut.

Movable elements can be established as required in any construction consisting of connecting modules with a single row of connecting units placed staggered on top of each other, in such a way, that a local vertical pivot point is established on one side of the element and that the connecting modules are lying end to end in the other side of the movable element. In addition, the top and bottom must be released. This is done by not connecting the upper and lower rows of beads in the movable element to the rows of beads before and after the movable element.This can be done either by completely failing to insert a connecting module in the upper and lower length of the opening, or by removing the muff tube the part of the connecting module that otherwise would lock the two rows of beads to each other. Depending on the rest of the construction, the movable element can then be moved at an angle of up to +/- 120°

If the connecting modules are shortened to consist of only two connecting units, the structure will have a pivot point in all connecting units in the same way as a bicycle chain and the structure can be folded +/- 180°, when the structure consist of more than three modules in a row. By placing the connecting modules in each vertical layer with a displacement of 2 or more beads compared to the modules below, the construction will have no pivot point in the construction and can thus not be folded.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the toy building elements comprise a second toy building element - a plate lock, which plate lock is designed to connect at least two connecting units of the same size to each other, which plate lock comprising a first gripping claw and a second gripping claw facing in the opposite direction of the first gripping claw, which gripping claws comprise an annular plate with an opening, and that the outer diameter of the annular plate is smaller than the sum of D1 and the wall thickness of the bead, and that the inner diameter of the annular plate is identical to the inner diameter of the belonging tube bead.

The plate lock is similar to tube beads, connecting units and connecting modules available in different sizes. By the wall thickness of the tube bead is meant the difference between the diameters D1 and d divided by two.

The purpose of the plate-lock is to link together connecting modules consisting of one or more connecting units of the same size for making the desired motif according to the user's own wishes and needs. The connecting modules are linked together by means of plate locks placed on the backside of the connecting modules. And the bead board is now no longer a predefined unit. The connecting modules can now be adapted and assembled into any two-dimensional pattern and shape that can be made by combining the connecting modules across their shape and size, so that the mutual spacing ratios of the connecting units can be varied on the entire bead plate. The entire bead plate can thus be completely identical to the motif that is desired to be created.

If the plate-lock is applied in the version where two plate-locks are situated parallel to each other, the connecting modules will then also be connected in parallel, and the connecting units will be placed in right angles to each other in the transition between two modules. If the plate-lock is cut into more units, these units can then be placed, so that the connecting units, in the assembly between two connecting modules can displaced at an angle of +/- 60° in relation to the center of each other, and the motif will thus be able to change character.

If a single plate-lock is used as a link between two connecting modules, the modules will have free movement within the limitations that follow from the respective shape of the two modules and the choice of the respective contact points thereon. When linking connecting-modules with connecting-units in a single row, it will thus be possible to turn the linked module +/- 180 degrees in relation to each other.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the tube beads and the connecting units are dimensioned in such a manner that the axial height of the tube bead is equal to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead minus the thickness of the stop disk of the belonging connecting unit and, that the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead for the different sizes of single-tube beads has double resp. half size relative to each other in the row of different sizes of tube beads and, that the inside diameter d of the tube bead is substantially equal to but greater than half the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead. The inner diameter d of the smallest tube bead in the system does not have this requirement, which is why d in this situation can be dimensioned individually.

This dimensioning of the axial height of the tube bead means that the axial cross-section of a single tube bead placed on its stop disk forms a square with the side length D1 , whereby a flat structure consisting of tube beads of the same size and with the connecting-units in a parallel structure and with equal numbers of single tube beads in length and width will also have a squared structure, wherein the length and width of the structure will be the same and identical whether the tube beads are upright next to each other or stand in rows on top of each other in the axial direction of the tube beads, whereby it also holds, that a single-tube bead alone with one of its connecting units within a structure, will be able to make room for a transverse single tube bead with its axial direction transverse or along the original structure and partly, that two smaller single-tube beads with half the outer diameter of the outer diameter of a larger tube bead, which are coupled together with two belonging connecting units in the axial direction of the tube beads, will have the same overall height, as when the larger single-tube bead is placed on the belonging connecting unit measured from the lower edge of the lower stop disk in the structure to the top of the upper tube bead in the structure. This applies regardless of whether the thickness of the stop disk is the same or different for the different sizes of tube beads, as long as the underside of the stop disk on continuously connected connecting units of different size starts at the same level. It also follows, that tube beads in parallel axial structures, each structure with its own size of tube bead in the individual axial row of tube beads, can be level with each other at fixed intervals corresponding to the mutual size ratios of the tube beads.

While the dimensioning of the outer and inner diameters of the tube beads means that the inner diameter d in the hole on the larger tube bead fits with the outer diameter D1 on the smaller size of tube bead in the row, so that the smaller tube bead can fit into the inner passage of the larger tube bead, whereby tube beads of different sizes can also be built axially in extension of each other, cf. immediately above. Consequently, the inside diameter d of the smallest tube bead in the system does not have this requirement, which is why d here can be dimensioned individually. The tube beads in the system are typically found in one to three dimensioned sizes.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the distance from the stop disk to the opening of the socket pipe, when the pipe piece is inserted into the inner passage of the tube bead, must, for larger connecting units in the system, be equal to the axial height of the tube bead minus half the tube bead's outer diameter D1 , while for the smallest connecting unit it simply applies, that the pipe piece in inserted condition must not be longer than half of the axial height of the tube bead.

This means, that a smaller tube bead with half the outer diameter of a larger tube beads outer diameter D1 will end at the level of the larger tube bead, when both tube beads are placed on their respective connecting unit and the smaller tube bead is placed down into the inner passage of the larger tube bead, because the half diameter of the large bead is in this situation equal to the total height of the smaller bead measured from the underside of the stop disk to the top of the tube bead.

This is also the basis for the ability to use differently dimensioned tube beads in the same axial structure going from the smallest and to the largest tube bead and vice versa, regardless of what size of tube bead you want to start or finish with.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the toy building system comprises a third toy building element - a cable guide - which cable guide has the outer shape of a cylinder with a diameter slightly larger than the inner passage of the belonging tube bead, so that the cable guide can fixed inside the cylindrical passage of the belonging tube bead, and includes grooves along the side, which, when the cable guide is inserted into the inner passage of the tube bead, creates continuous passages in cooperation with the inner wall of tube bead, and are arranged to lead a cord / cable through the inner passage of the tube bead.

The grooves on the side of the cable guide are arranged in one or two sets of grooves. Each set of grooves are evenly distributed on the outside of the cable guide in 90° angles towards each other and each set of grooves are rotated in an angle of 45° relatively to each other.

The shape of the grooves can be designed as a quarter circle, leaving the cable guide with a shape like a cross. Or the grooves can be like narrow channels with the same width as the diameter of the circular end at the bottom of the channel, leaving the cable guide with a shape like a four-leaf clover.

When the cable guide is designed with two sets of grooves, the inner point of the one set of grooves will be very close to the circular periphery of the cable guide and thereby giving the greatest possible precision and stability in the construction, while the inner point of the second set of grooves will be located further towards the center of the cable guide and with a larger opening for insertion of cables with is larger diameter.

The cable guide controls the migration of the traction cables inside the tube beads so that joint constructions can be activated by means of internal cable traction. The joint function is achieved by placing the cable guide in the tube bead and simultaneously trimming the bead and the cable guide at the desired angle from the center of the pipe bead and downwards, which is why both elements are made of a flexible material. The cut in the tube bead must be perpendicular to the direction of movement of the joint and the cable guide must be turned 45° so that there is a channel on each side of the joint for fixation, as well as a channel on the inner side to close the joint and a channel on the outer side to open the joint. Four cables must thus be installed.

By inserting the cable guide and trimming the tube beads and the cable guide at a given angle, a structure can be provided with mobility, that can be controlled by means of the internal cables.

The continuous pipe construction, which occurs when tube beads are assembled by means of the connecting units, makes it possible to insert cable guides and traction cables, which can give the construction mobility in one, two or more directions or simply strengthen the load-bearing capacity of the construction.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the toy building system comprises a fourth toy building element - a slidelock - which slidelock is much like a slice of a tube bead with an outer diameter half the size of D1 for the belonging tube bead and thereby fits into the tube beads inner passage, on top the slidelock is designed with an hollow truncated cone, which truncated cone is arranged to be compressible, and which slidelock is arranged to be placed in the cylindrical inner passage of a tube bead. The height of the slidelock is less than half the length of the belonging tube bead.

The slidelock can be mounted on a stick, string or elastic that can be pulled through the inner passage of the tube beads and connecting units. The slidelock can only be moved in one direction, by virtue of its conical design on its one side, which is cut through with a vertical cross and have a small hole on top and thus opens up, when an object with a larger diameter than the diameter of the lock hole itself is inserted through the slidelock. When pulled in the rewards direction the design of the slidelock compresses and locks the structure.

The use of the slidelock makes it possible to cope with opposite loads in the longitudinal direction of the bead construction, for example by passing a string through the hole in the beads and tightening it up by means of the slidelock. The construction will then be able to withstand a load corresponding to the breaking strength of the cord or slidelock. Since the slidelock fits the inside diameter of the bead, the slidelock will thus in some situations be invisible and in other cases it will be visible on the outside of the structure.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the toy building system comprises a fifth toy building element - a double tube bead, which double tube bead can consist of two, three or four axis-parallel tube beads with the same mutual dimensions connected to each other in a joint area on the outer axis-parallel wall surfaces of the tube beads. The tube beads, which form the double tube bead, are thus connected in a joint area in the same way as the stop disk on the belonging connecting modules, which means that the center distance between tube beads in the doubled tube bead, which are in direct contact with each other, is equal to the outer diameter D1 for the tube bead itself. The patterns of the double tube beads are thus equal to the pattern of the connecting modules, where the connecting units are positioned in angles of 60° or 90⁰ in relation to each other. There are double tube beads for each of the different sizes of tube beads in the toy building system consisting of two, three or four tube beads.

The double tube bead is to strengthen the structure in the longitudinal direction of the connecting modules, as the placement of double tube beads in the transition between two connecting modules will reduce the vertical distances between contact points in the structure. If a double tube bead is used on each side of the joint, the vertical opening between two adjacent connecting modules will only be equal to the height of the stop disk. This means that the connecting modules will be more fixed in relation to each other. If no double tube beads are used, the vertical opening will be equal to the height of the stop disc plus twice the height of the beads. This can cause the construction to become loose at the top and bottom, unless starting and ending with connecting modules.

The use of the double tube bead will also strengthen the establishment of local pivot points in the construction, thereby making it possible to establish fixed support points throughout the axial longitudinal direction of the pivot point, even if only a single tube bead is included in the pivot point. In a similar way, it will be possible to work with multi-joint constructions with only one tube bead in height, similar to a bicycle chain, by placing a double tube bead consisting of two tube beads in each joint, it will be possible to have contact points on both sides of the joint structure along the entire length of the structure.

The double tube bead can furthermore be applied in the same way as the plate lock and link the connecting modules to each other to form a given shape and pattern. The double tube bead will thus in this way be able to interconnect as many connecting modules as the number of tube beads the current double tube bead consists of. Consisting of two tube beads, it will thus be possible to connect two connecting modules. With the triple tube bead, it will be possible to connect two to three modules. And with quadruple tube beads, it will be possible to connect two to four modules. And in all cases, the double bead will be able to be placed on any connecting unit on the respective modules used.

According to an exemplary embodiment, at least some of the elements of the toy building system (1 ) are made of a flexible material.

This means, that these elements can easily be processed and adapted to the desired shape, size and structure, and that the elements can engage better with each other and maintain the formation of the desired structure.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the figures, in which:

FIG. 1A shows the cross section of a first embodiment of a connecting unit according to the invention placed in a tube bead.

FIG. 1 B shows the cross section of another embodiment of a connecting unit according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of tube beads and connecting units for providing a structure in the axial direction, and where the connecting units and the corresponding tube beads comprise different dimensions and where the smaller tube beads fit into the larger tube beads and end at the level of each other.

FIG. 3 A-C show connecting units of the same size connected to each other in assembly areas for providing connecting modules in different geometric shapes.

FIG. 4 shows a linear connecting module composed of connecting units of different sizes.

FIGS. 5 A and B show a single plate lock and a double plate lock.

FIG. 6 A and B show different connecting modules with resp. same and different sizes of connecting units and partially mounted with tube beads that are assembled into a single bead plate using plate locks.

FIG. 7 shows an exploded vertical construction of a structure by means of differently dimensioned connecting modules and belonging tube beads, where an adjustment of the connecting modules has been made with respect to the number of connecting units in the module and the number of socket pipes on the module.

FIG. 8 A and B show two identical wall elements each constructed of tube beads mounted on connecting modules, which connecting modules are staggered towards each other and shown as two separate wall elements and as two assembled and angled wall elements with a pivot point around a continuous cylinder in the common inner axial passage.

FIG. 9 shows a second wall element built up of several layers of axially connected tube beads and connecting modules, where the middle tube bead and belonging connecting unit are omitted.

Fig. 10 A shows a third toy building element: a cable guide.

FIG. 10B shows a cross section of the cable guide in FIG. 10 A, which has been cut and placed in a tube bead. Fig. 10C shows an exploded drawing of the relationship between cut cable guides and tube beads. FIG. 10 D shows cut cable guides mounted with cable inserted in cut tube beads in a closed position.

FIG 11 A shows a fourth toy building element - a slidelock. Fig. 11 B shows a slidelock placed in a tube bead in extension of the inserted connecting unit and with a cylinder through the entire structure.

FIG. 12 A and 12 B show a fifth toy building element - a double tube bead consisting of two single tube beads - in cross section axis-parallel to the double tube bead and perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, respectively.

Fig. 1A shows the cross section of a toy building system (1) with a first embodiment of a connecting unit (9) according to the invention placed in a tube bead (6), while fig. 1 B shows the cross section of another embodiment of a connecting unit (9) according to the invention. The tube beads (6) are hollow bead tubes with an outer diameter D1 and with a continuous cylindrical passage (8) with diameter d. The connecting units (9) comprise a hollow muff tube (11) delimited by a wall (12) with a circular cross-section and with a first opening (13) and an opposite second opening (14). Around the hollow muff tube (11 ) projecting and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the muff tube (11) is an annular stop-disk (15) with an outer diameter corresponding to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6). This is clearly seen in Figure 1.A, where the cross section of the tube bead (6) and the connecting unit (9) are in direct extension of each other. The connecting unit (9) is seen in two different embodiments, where fig. 1A shows that the wall

(12) of the connecting unit (9) is a cylindrical tube comprising two cylindrical pieces of pipe (18 ', 18' ') extending externally from each side of the stop-disk (15), while Fig. 1 B shows a second embodiment in which the wall (12) of the connecting unit (9) diverges from the annular stop-disk (15) and towards the first (13) opening and the second (14) opening, respectively, to provide two conical pipe pieces (18 ', 18"). The distance of the stop-disk (15) to the first (13) and second (14) openings is the same and must be, when inserted connecting unit into the inner passage of the tube bead (6), no longer than half the axial height of the tube bead (6), so that two connecting units (9) can be inserted from each side in the same tube beads (6) to form a continuous structure with a continuous internal axial passage. This is clearly seen in fig. 8 and 9, where structures with resp. six and five layers in the axial direction are shown. Conveniently, four slots (17) are provided in the pipe sections (18 ', 18' ') for compressing the muff tube (11 ). The cross section in Fig. 1.B thus goes down the middle through the two of the slots, while the third slot (17) can be seen as indicated. In Figure 3.B, the four slots (17) in the muff tube (11 ) can be seen axially.

Fig. 2 shows an exploded drawing of tube beads (6) and connecting units (9) for providing a structure in the axial direction of the tube beads (10), and wherein the connecting unit (9) and the corresponding tube beads (6) comprise different dimensions and wherein each set (34,35) of the smaller tube beads (6) and their connecting units (9) fits into the respective larger sets (35,36) of tube beads (6) and their connecting units (9) and ends at the same level with each other. This is caused by, that the tube beads (6) and the connecting units (9) assume different dimensions between each other, and that the tube beads (6) and the connecting units (9) are matched to each other in such a way, that the axial height of the tube bead (6) is equal to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead minus the thickness of the stop-disk (15) of the belonging connecting unit (9), and that the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6) for the different sizes of tube beads (6) has double and half size relative to each other in the line of different sizes of tube beads (6), and that the inside diameter d of the tube bead (6) is substantially equal to but greater than half the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6). And that the distance from the stop-disk (15) to the opening (13, 14) of the muff tube (11 ), when the muff tube (11 ) is inserted in the inner passage of the tube bead (6), must, for larger connecting units in the system, be equal to the axial height of the tube bead minus half of the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6). The inside diameter d of the smallest tube bead (6) in the system does not have this requirement, so d can here be dimensioned individually, just as it, for the smallest connecting unit (9) in the system (1 ), simply applies, that the muff tube (11 ) in the inserted state must not be longer than half the axial height of the tube bead (6).

Fig. 3A and 3B show linear connecting modules (20), each consisting of two contiguous rows of connecting units (9) of the same size and in direct contact with each other and with the center distance equal to the diameter D1 . The connecting units (9) are connected to each other in assembly areas (19) on the periphery of the annular stop-disk (15) to provide the linear connecting modules (20) consisting of a plurality of connected units (9). In fig. 3A, the two rows are staggered in such a way, that every three connecting units (9) are in direct contact with each other and thereby form angles of 60 degrees relative to each other, while the connecting units (9) in connecting modules (20) in fig. 3B are arranged in two rows parallel and direct opposite to each other and thereby form angles of 90 degrees relative to each other.

Fig. 3C shows three examples of curved connecting modules (20) each consisting of two rows of connecting units (6) with different bending radii and a single circular connecting module (20). The latter is similar in structure to the module in fig.3A. and thereby sets out the starting point for the diagonals of the circular structure, where the stop-disk (15) of the connecting units (9) are in direct contact with each other throughout the diagonals and have the center distance D1 . This does not apply on any other connecting unit (6) on other curved connecting modules (20) with a diameter consisting of an unequal number of connecting units (6) larger than three, where the connecting units (6) in the circular arcs, due to the geometry only have an indirect connection to each other via the assemble area, since their center distance on the circular arc is greater than D1. It is clear from the figures, that the different connecting modules (20) all have the same geometric outline predominantly in the form of semicircles and that the connecting units (9) can easily be cut off in the assemble areas (19), without disturbing this outline so that a connecting module (20) can be formed in the desired length and shape. The smallest size for a connecting module (20) is thus a single connecting unit (9).

Fig. 4 shows a connecting module (20) containing three different sizes of connecting units (9) divided into four parallel rows of connecting units, where the connecting units (9) in each row are of the same size, and where the connecting units (9) in the two outermost rows are of the same size so, that all combinations of the sizes given here are available. The stop-disk (15) in the module have in this case the same thickness for all sizes of connecting units (9). If the stop-disks (15) are to have different thicknesses for different size of connecting unit (9), the assembling area (19) between the two stop- disks (15) must follow the dimension of the thinnest stop-disk (15), because the assembly area (19) in front of the stop-disk (15) will otherwise shade parts of the smallest tube bead (6), when the structure is seen from the side, and the lower edge of all stop-disks (15) must start at level with each other, otherwise the top of the tube beads (6) will not be able to be in level with each other, which will thereby prevent the use of differently dimensioned tube beads (6) in the same structure.

Fig. 5A and 5B show the plate locks (21) of the toy building system (1) whereby the connecting modules (20) can be connected to each other according to the users own wishes and needs by use the plate locks (21). Fig. 5A shows a single plate lock (21) arranged to connect two connecting units (9) to each other. Fig. 5B shows a double plate lock (21 ) which can connect four connecting units (9). The plate lock (21 ) comprises a first gripping claw (22) and a second (23) gripping claw facing in the opposite direction of the first gripping claw (22). The gripping claws (22,23) are made as an annular plate with an opening (25). The outer diameter of the annular plate is smaller than the sum of D1 and the wall thickness of the bead, and the inner diameter is identical to the inner diameter d of the belonging tube bead (6), whereby the plate lock (21 ) can grip around the muff tube of the connecting unit (9) and the smaller tube bead (6) which fits into the inner passage of the belonging tube bead. Thus, there are also several differently dimensioned plate locks (21 ) in the toy building system 1 according to the invention.

Fig. 6 A and B show connecting modules (20) before and after they have been assembled into a larger structure by using the plate lock (21 ). Fig. 6A shows differently shaped and sized connecting modules (20) prior to the assembling of the connecting modules (20). The three vertically directed connecting modules (20) on the left side of the drawing as well as the first connecting unit (9) in the horizontally directed modules (20) are all of the same size and are assembled by fitting directly into the handles on the plate locks (21). The same applies to the connecting units (9) assembled by the smaller plate lock (21 ) on the right in the drawing. Flere the dimension is just correspondingly smaller. The other joints in the horizontally directed part of the construction are made by building connecting modules (20) of different sizes into each other by virtue of smaller dimensions of tube beads (6) having twice as many layers of tube bead (6) in each layer relative to the larger tube dead (6). Furthermore, the module (20) on the left hand side shows how attached pipe beads cover stop-disks (15) and joint areas (19), as tube beads (6) are attached to the lower connecting units (6) of the module (20).

Fig. 6B shows the engagement of the plate locks (21 ) in the connecting modules (20) for holding them in a desired geometry. The plate locks (21 ) are mounted on the underside of the stop-disk (15) on the selected connecting units (9). By comparing the two situations, it is clear to see, how the geometry of the modules (20) fits into each other and thus makes it difficult to determine where one module (20) ends, and the other module (20) begins.

Fig. 7 is an extension of Fig. 2 and shows an exploded vertical and horizontal construction of a structure by means of differently dimensioned connecting modules (20) and belonging tube beads (6). Single connecting units (9) are also used in the construction. The construction takes place in the axial direction (10) of the tube beads (6). At two of the connecting modules (20), one or more muff tubes (11 ) are cut off. This makes room for the connecting module (20) to be laid on top of the underlying row of tube beads (6), as these muff tubes (11 ) being located above the horizontal joint of the tube beads (6) and thereby cannot fit into the underlying tube bead (6). The other descending muff tubes (11 ) can now be fastened in the tube beads (6) which are located in the inner passages (8) of the bead row.

Fig. 8A shows two identical wall elements (24) each made up of six connecting modules (20) with five connecting unit (9) in each module and mounted with belonging tube beads (6). By assembling the upper five connecting modules (20) in the wall element (24) staggered one connecting unit (9) a side, it is achieved, that two connecting units (9) protrude from one end of the wall element (24), and that at the other end of the wall element (24) a corresponding number of connecting units (9) in the same row are missing. By removing the exposed muff tube (11 ) on the connecting units (9) at the ends of the wall elements (24), the two wall elements (24) can now be brought together, as the ends fit together two by two. A cylinder (37) is placed down through the inner passage in the muff tube (11 ) of the connecting units in the area where the two wall elements (24) engage with each other as shown in fig. 8 B. and thereby forms a common pivot point for the two wall elements (24), which can be seen by the fact, that the two wall elements (24) are now at an angle to each other after assembly.

Fig. 9 shows a second wall element (24) built with tube beads (6) mounted on four layers of connecting modules (20), where the bottom layer and the two top layers are made with a single connecting module (20), with five connecting units (9) in one row, and where the middle muff tube (11 ) on the second top layer has been removed on bottom side. The last layer in the structure is made by using two connecting modules (20) with two connecting units (9). By assembling the connecting modules (20), as shown in the drawing, a square window (38) with the height and width equal to D1 is created. The window (38) thereby provides space for a transverse row of tube beads (6) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tube beads (6) in the wall element (24). This row of tube beads (6) can either be assembled by single connecting units (9) axially in the longitudinal direction of the tube beads (6) and can thereby be rotated 360° degrees around themselves. Or the row of tube beads (6) can be assembled horizontally, so that the tube beads (6) sit along a single-rowed connecting module (20) and are inserted sideways into the window (38). The row of beads will then be fixed at 90° angles. The structure also shows that the stop-disk (15) and the joint areas (19) that are visible between the different rows of tube beads (6) appear as a straight line.

Fig. 10 A shows a third toy building element - a cable guide (26). The cable guide (26) is designed with the outer shape of a cylinder, so that the cable guide (26) can be fixed into the cylindrical passage (8) of the belonging tube bead (6) and is here shown with one set of four grooves on the outside shaped as a quarter circle leaving the cable guide (26) with a shape like a cross. When the cable guide (26) is inserted into the tube bead (6) four passages (28) thereby arise between the inner walls of the tube bead (6) and the walls (27) of the cable guide (26) so that a cord / cable (39) can be passed through. The wider the cross, the smaller the grooves and the closer the inner point of the passages will be to the inner wall of the tube bead (6) and the greater the precision and stability in the construction will be.

Fig. 10B shows a cross section of the cable guide (26) in fig. 10A arranged in a tube bead (6), and wherein four cables (39) are arranged between the outer walls (27) of the cable guide (26) and the inner wall of the tube bead (6). Fig. 10 C shows the relationship between two cable guides (26) and a pair of tube beads (6). Both elements are cut off at an angle of 45 ⁰ from the top center of the tube bead (6) and the cable guides (26) respectively and downwards to the side. The cut line is visible on fig.10 B, as the horizontal line across the tube bead (6). Fig. 10 D shows the cable guides (26) and the tube beads (6) assembled in a 90⁰ angled structure by activating the cables.

Figs. 11 A and B show a fourth toy building element - a slidelock (29) - The slidelock (29) is much like a slice of a tube bead with an outer diameter half the size of D1 for the belonging tube bead (6) and thereby fits into the tube beads (6) inner passage (8), on top the slidelock is designed with an hollow truncated cone (32), which truncated cone (32) is arranged to be compressible. The height of the slidelock is less than half the length of the belonging tube bead (6), which makes the slidelock (29) invisible when mounted inside the tube bead (6).

The locking function of the slidelock (29) is based on the fact, that the truncated cone (32) can be opened and subsequently compressed around the inserted workpiece. This is due to the slits (33) which run diagonally across the walls of the truncated cone (32).

When the slidelock (29) is to be used, it is placed in the inner passage (8) of the tube bead (6) with the tip of the truncated cone (32) facing away from the connecting unit (9) on which the tube bead (6) is mounted. The workpice, on which the slidelock (29) is to lock on to, is now passed through the inner passage (8) of the structure. The slits (33) in the truncated cone (32) enables the penetrating workpiece to press the side pieces of the truncated cone (32) outwards, whereby the workpiece is held by the oppositely directed force of the sides.

If the slidelock (29) and the inserted workpiece are only in contact with each other at the top of the truncated cone, the workpiece will then be locked by virtue of the clamping effect, which may occur in the top of the truncated stub (32), when the opposite sides of the truncated cone (32) thus two by two will be pulled towards each other, when the workpiece is pulled backwards and thereby lock themselves around the workpiece.

Fig. 12 A and 12 B show a cross section of a fifth toy building element - a double tube bead (40) - respectively axis-parallel to the double tube bead (40), so that two molded tube beads (6) cut I half appear next to each other, and perpendicular to its longitudinal axis with the center distance D1 throughout axial direction, and so that it can be seen, that there are two single tube beads (6), which are molded all in one along with the joint area (41 ), with the same dimensions as the single tube bead (6).

The double tube bead (40) can consist of two, three or four axis-parallel tube beads (6) with the same mutual dimensions and connected to each other in a joint area (41 ) on the outer axis-parallel wall surfaces of the tube beads. The tube beads, which form the double tube bead (41 ), are thus connected in a joint area (41 ) in the same way as the stop-disk (15) on the belonging connecting modules (20), which means that the center distance between tube beads (6) in the doubled tube bead (40), which are in direct contact with each other, is equal to the outer diameter D1 for the tube bead (6) itself. The patterns of the double tube beads are thus equal to the pattern of the connecting modules (20), where the connecting units (9) are positioned in angles of 60° or 90 ⁰ in relation to each other. There are thus double tube beads (40) for each of the different sizes of tube beads (6) in the toy building system (1 ) consisting of two, three or four tube beads.

If the double-tube bead (40) consisting of two single tube beads (6) is to be used in the construction of Fig. 8A, it would be an advantage to the structure if it replaces the exposed tube beads (6) at the ends as well as their adjacent neighbor tube bead (6) towards the wall element (24). This will strengthen the structure without changing anything about the properties of the wall elements (24) in relation to being able to be connected together, and it will still be possible to go from Fig.8A to 8B.

If the double tube bead (40) consisting of two single tube beads is used in an assembled construction as Fig. 8B, the double tube bead (40) should now replace the two single tube beads (6) on each side of the joint between the ends of the connecting modules (20). which are in extension of each other. This means, that the two wall elements (24) can continue to be rotated about a local permanent pivot point but are now built into each other as a unified and stronger construction.

The double tube beads (40) at the ends of the structure will still need to be placed as described in relation to fig. 8A if a wall with several sections is to be stored as a flat unit.

Claims

1. A toy building system (1) for providing a structure comprising toy building elements which can be interconnected to form the structure (2), which toy building elements comprise beads and a first toy building element, wherein the beads are tube beads (6), which tube beads (6) are hollow bead tubes with an outer diameter D1 and with a continuous cylindrical passage (8) with diameter d, and that the first toy building element is at least one connecting unit (9), which connecting unit (9) is characterized in comprising a hollow muff tube (11) delimited by a wall (12) with a circular cross-section and with a first opening (13) and an opposite second opening (14), as well as an outside and around the hollow muff tube (11) projecting and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the muff tube (11) annular stop-disk (15) with an outer diameter corresponding to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6), which stop-disk’s (15) distance to the first and second openings (13,14) is the same and must, when inserted into the inner passage (8) of the tube bead (6), not be longer than half the axial height of the tube bead (6). Both elements are made of a flexible material so that they can work together in the structure.

2. Toy building system (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wall (12) of the muff tube (11) of the connecting unit (9) is a cylindrical tube comprising two cylindrical pieces of tube extending externally from each side of the stop-disk (15) or that the wall (12) of the muff tube (11) diverges from the annular stop-disk (15) and towards the first opening (13) and the second opening (14), respectively, to provide two conical tube pieces (18’, 18”).

3. Toy building system (1 ) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the connecting units (9) are connected to each other in at least one assembly area (19) on the periphery of the annular stop-disk (15) to provide linear or curved connecting modules (20) consisting of a plurality of connected connecting units (9).

4. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the system comprises a second toy building element - a plate lock (21), which is designed to connect at least two connecting units (9) of the same size to each other, which plate lock (21) comprising a first gripping claw (22) and a second gripping claw (23) facing in the opposite direction of the first gripping claw (22), which gripping claws comprise an annular plate with an opening (25), and that the outer diameter of the annular plate is smaller than the sum of D1 and the wall thickness of the tube bead (6), and that the inner diameter of the annular plate is identical to the inner diameter (8) of the belonging tube bead (6). The plate lock (21 ) is made of a flexible material, so that it can crab and hold on to cylindrical elements.

5. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the tube beads (6) and the connecting units (9) are dimensioned, so that the axial height of the tube bead (6) is equal to the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6) minus the thickness of the stop-disk (15) of the belonging connecting unit (9) and, that the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6) for the different sizes of single-tube beads has double resp. half size relative to each other in the row of different sizes of tube beads (6) and, that the inside diameter d of the tube bead (6) is substantially equal to but greater than half the outer diameter D1 of the tube bead (6). The inner diameter d of the smallest tube bead (6) in the system does not have this requirement, which is why d in this situation can be dimensioned individually.

6. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the distance from the stop-disk (15) to the opening (13,14) of the muff tube, when the pipe piece (18’, 18”) is inserted into the inner passage (8) of the tube bead (6), must, for larger connecting units (9) in the system, be equal to the axial height of the tube bead (6) minus half the tube bead's (6) outer diameter D1 , while for the smallest connecting unit (9) it simply applies, that the pipe piece (18’, 18”) in inserted condition must not be longer than half of the axial height of the tube bead (6).

7. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the system comprises a third toy building element - a cable guide (26), which has the outer shape (27) of a cylinder with a diameter slightly larger than the inner passage (8) of the belonging tube bead (6), so that the cable guide (26) can fixed inside the cylindrical passage (8) of the belonging tube bead (6), and includes grooves (28) along the side, which, when the cable guide (26) is inserted into the inner passage (8) of the tube bead (6), creates continuous passages in cooperation with the inner wall of tube bead (6), and are arranged to lead a cord / cable (39) through the inner passage (8) of the tube bead (6). Both elements are made of a flexible material so that they can work together in the structure.

8. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the system comprises a fourth toy building element - a slidelock - which slidelock is much like a slice of a tube bead (6) with an outer diameter half the size of D1 for the belonging tube bead (6) and thereby fits into the tube beads (6) inner passage (8), on the one side the slidelock is designed with an hollow truncated cone, which truncated cone is arranged to be compressible. The height of the slidelock is less than half the length of the belonging tube bead. The slidelock is made of a flexible material.

9. Toy building system (1) as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the system comprises a fifth toy building element - a double tube bead (40), which can consist of two, three or four axis-parallel single tube beads (6) with the same mutual dimensions connected to each other in a joint area on the outer axis- parallel wall surfaces of the tube beads (6). The tube beads (6), which form the double tube bead (40), are thus connected in a joint area in the same way as the stop-disk (15) on the belonging connecting modules (20), which means that the center distance between tube beads (6) in the doubled tube bead (40), which are in direct contact with each other, is equal to the outer diameter D1 for the tube bead

(6) itself.

10. Use of a toy building system (1 ) according to any one of the foregoing claims for forming a two- or three-dimensional structure.