BUILDING SET
A building set and method of play include a base piece and building blocks. The building blocks have an end face and a longitudinal side with planar exterior walls spaced apart at a first width. A first building block has a first connector type with two parallel planar members extending from the end face. The planar members include a rib along an outward face, and are configured to have a snug fit into the first width of another block. A second building block includes a second connector type located on either the end face of the second building block or a top surface of the base. The second connector type has a circular arrangement of pressure hinges, where the other of the end face of the second building block or the top surface of the base has a protrusion configured to be detachably inserted into the pressure hinges.
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This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/859,939 filed on Jul. 30, 2013 and entitled “Building Set”, which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDToy structures that are collapsible or destructible have long been a source of entertainment for children. For example, buildings and ships have been configured to break apart when a projectile impacts the object. Some collapsible structures have been incorporated into skills games, where the method of game play and the themes or features of the game spark a child's imagination and provide continued engagement of the game to add to its play value.
One video game line made available for the IPHONE®, IPAD® and ANDROID™ mobile devices by the Finland-based developer ROVIO MOBILE LTD is entitled ANGRY BIRDS®. As a player enters a level in the ANGRY BIRDS video game, the device displays a structure appearing to be made from various materials including wood, glass or ice and stone. Various-sized and -shaped green pigs appear within the structure. The structure scrolls off-screen and a slingshot with a queue of various-sized, -shaped, and -colored birds scrolls on-screen. The birds serve as projectiles for the slingshot to be launched against one side of the structure. The player launches each bird projectile by touching the mobile device screen with a finger, dragging the finger across the screen to simulate pulling back the projectile in the slingshot pocket, and lifting the finger from the screen to launch the projectile. Additional properties particular to each projectile may be activated by tapping the screen while the bird projectile is in flight. The goal is to knock over the green pigs, either by the projectile birds directly or with portions of the collapsing structure. A bonus area with golden eggs was made available in a later chapter release of the game. Golden eggs hidden throughout the game unlock other levels and features.
In some versions of the game, images of wooden crates labeled with “TNT” are interspersed in the structure. When struck, the wooden crate explodes and destroys objects within a short radius and sends objects within a larger radius flying. In other versions of the game, a space theme is utilized in which gameplay involves planets and other galactic objects, and projectiles are affected by varying amounts of gravity. While the game play of ANGRY BIRDS is fanciful and engaging, it is limited to a single-player virtual world with simulated physics. Furthermore, the ANGRY BIRDS video game lacks the excitement and challenge of a tangible skills game apparatus and methods associated therewith.
Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
A physical game set based on the ANGRY BIRDS video game is described in Ho et al., U.S. Patent Application No. 2012/0286475, entitled “Launching Toy Game”, published Nov. 15, 2012, owned by the assignee of the present application and incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. In Ho et al., a skills game includes a game set with a deck of cards, various-shaped building blocks, a projectile launcher, projectiles, and target pieces. Players take turns selecting a card, building structures, launching projectiles, and knocking down targets. The building blocks are stackable, or may be placed or balanced upon each other without immediately falling off. In one embodiment of Ho, the building blocks have slight protrusions and slight recesses on their bodies. The protrusion on one block may loosely fit within a recess of another block to create a loose frictional fit, to aid in joining or stacking the blocks to create a structural formation.
In the present disclosure, a collapsible building set is disclosed in which building blocks are configured to allow for stable construction of a structure, yet allow the blocks to “break off” or “break apart” upon impact, such as from a projectile. For the purposes of this disclosure, the building blocks may also be referred to as bricks or connectors. The ability of the blocks to be temporarily secured, but yet be detachable upon application of an external force, enhances the play value by allowing new and creative types of building configurations to be made. The connectable blocks also may increase the difficulty of collapsing the play structure, thereby increasing amusement value for the user. The blocks may be utilized as a stand-alone play item, or may be used as part of a game set.
During play, a user attempts to launch the projectiles 160 onto the constructed formation of building blocks 120 to hit certain target pieces 130 or 140 and/or to knock down the formation of building blocks 120. Players may use a free style of play, such as to target specific components or to destruct the entire assembly as desired. In other embodiments, players may use a game method of play as described in Ho et al., in which cards may provide instructions or “missions” describing particular objects to hit within building set 100. The cards may also describe a particular formation to build with the bricks 120. Players are then awarded points for accomplishing their missions.
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The target pieces in a building set may also utilize the first connector (
While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. These and other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention.
Claims
1. A building set apparatus comprising:
- a base piece having a top surface; and
- a plurality of building blocks, wherein each of the building blocks comprises a longitudinal side and an end face at an end of the longitudinal side, wherein the longitudinal side comprises planar exterior walls spaced apart from each other at a first width;
- wherein a first building block in the plurality of building blocks further comprises a first connector type having two parallel planar members extending from the end face, wherein the planar members comprise a rib along an outward face of the planar member, and wherein the planar members are configured to have a snug fit into the first width of another block in the plurality of building blocks;
- wherein a second building block in the plurality of building blocks further comprises a second connector type, wherein the second connector type is located on either the end face of the second building block or the top surface of the base, the second connector type having a circular arrangement of pressure hinges, and wherein the other of (i) the end face of the second building block or (ii) the top surface of the base comprises a protrusion configured to be detachably inserted into the circular arrangement of the pressure hinges.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein first connector type and the second connector type are configured such that the plurality of building blocks are stably connected together using the first connector type or the second connector type, and wherein the building blocks can be detached upon impact from a projectile.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each planar member comprises an arcuate cutout at an edge opposite the end face.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the base has a non-planar surface on which the pressure hinges or the protrusion are formed.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rib extends along a line that is approximately perpendicular to the end face.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first building block comprises the first connector type on a first end face and the second connector type on a second end face opposite the first end face.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first building block comprises the first connector type on a first end face and the first connector type on a second end face opposite the first end face.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first width extends along a full length of the longitudinal side such the planar members of another block may be inserted at any location along the full length.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a target support piece, wherein the target support piece comprises at least one of the first connector type or the second connector type, and wherein the target support piece has a mounting surface configured to receive a target piece.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a target piece adapted for placement about the plurality of building blocks;
- a projectile; and
- a projectile launcher adapted to launch the projectile at the target piece.
11. A method of game play with components of a building set, the method comprising:
- selecting a card, the card including illustrations of a base piece, a plurality of building blocks and a target piece;
- constructing a structural formation from the base piece, the plurality of building blocks and the target piece; and
- launching a projectile from a projectile launcher at the target piece within the structural formation;
- wherein each of the building blocks comprises a longitudinal side and an end face at an end of the longitudinal side, wherein the longitudinal side comprises planar exterior walls spaced apart from each other at a first width;
- wherein a first building block in the plurality of building blocks comprises a first connector type having two parallel planar members extending from the end face, wherein the planar members comprise a rib along an outward face of the planar member, wherein the planar member comprises an arcuate cutout at an edge opposite the end face, and wherein the planar members are configured to have a snug fit into the first width of another brick;
- wherein a second building block in the plurality of building blocks comprises a second connector type, wherein the second connector type is located on either the end face of the second building block or a top surface of the base, the second connector type having a circular arrangement of pressure hinges, and wherein the other of (i) the end face or (ii) the top surface of the base comprises a protrusion configured to be detachably inserted into the circular arrangement of pressure hinges.
12. A building block comprising:
- a longitudinal side, wherein the longitudinal side comprises planar exterior walls spaced apart from each other at a first width;
- an end face at an end of the longitudinal side; and
- two parallel planar members extending from the end face, wherein the planar members comprise a rib along an outward face of the planar member, and wherein the planar members are configured to have a snug fit into the first width of another building block.
13. The building block of claim 12, wherein the snug fit between the planar members and the first width is configured to enable two building blocks to be stably connected together, and wherein the building blocks can be detached upon impact from a projectile.
14. The building block of claim 12, wherein each planar member comprises an arcuate cutout at an edge opposite the end face.
15. The building block of claim 12, wherein the rib extends along a line that is approximately perpendicular to the end face.
16. The building block of claim 12, wherein the first width extends along a full length of the longitudinal side such the planar members of another block may be inserted at any location along the full length.
17. A building block comprising:
- a longitudinal side, wherein the longitudinal side comprises planar exterior walls spaced apart from each other at a first width;
- an end face at an end of the longitudinal side; and
- a pressure hinge type connector located on the end face, wherein the pressure hinge type connector comprises either (i) a circular arrangement of pressure hinges or (ii) a protrusion configured to be detachably inserted into the circular arrangement of the pressure hinges.
18. The building block of claim 17 wherein the pressure hinge type connector is configured such that two building blocks are stably connected together using the pressure hinge type connector, and the building blocks can be detached upon impact from a projectile.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 8, 2013
Publication Date: Feb 5, 2015
Applicant: MATTEL, INC. (El Segundo, CA)
Inventors: Leo Shen (Guang Dong Province), Soon Y. Park (Cypress, CA), Stephen P.K. Lau (Torrance, CA), Rawn Trinidad (San Pedro, CA)
Application Number: 14/049,136
International Classification: A63H 33/08 (20060101);