Building Components
A toy building block includes a main body, one or more posts, and one or more receptacles. Preferably, the posts on a block extend from a top side of the main body and the receptacles are included in a bottom side of the main body. The posts and receptacles may have multiple configurations and may be flexible. Additionally, the surfaces or portions of the posts and receptacles that engage each other may be tapered.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/865,922, filed Aug. 14, 2013, entitled “Building Components,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to building components. More specifically, the present invention relates to building components with new coupling portions that facilitate and improve the manufacturing of the building components as well as permit the use of conventional tools for the manufacture of the building components instead of higher costs “precision” tools.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONBuilding blocks and, in particular, building blocks with coupling portions are well known and widely popular among children. Some conventional blocks have a body that includes an upper portion and several walls that extend downwardly from the upper portion. The downwardly extending walls define a cavity or aperture therebetween. Typically, one or more studs extend from the upper portion of the block. The cavity or aperture defined by the walls is sized to receive the studs of another block so that a user may stack or build multiple blocks on top of each other. Generally, the studs of a first block are inserted into an aperture or cavity of a second block in order to stack or build the first and second blocks or otherwise couple them together.
Conventional blocks that are coupled to each other are retained in a coupled arrangement by the friction between the outer surfaces of the stud or studs of one block and the walls and other surfaces of another block with which the studs are in contact. The outer side surface or surfaces of a stud are perpendicular to the upper portion of the block from which they extend. Similarly, the walls or surfaces of a block that are engaged by a stud are perpendicular to the upper portion of that block.
The perpendicular orientations of the surfaces of the studs and the walls allow the studs to be inserted into the cavity or aperture, with the contact surfaces sliding along each other. However, to ensure the coupling of such blocks, the manufacturing of such blocks require very high tolerances of the surfaces of the studs and walls because if either of the walls or surfaces varies from the perpendicular orientation, the friction between them will be insufficient to retain the blocks together. Thus, expensive tooling is required to ensure that the surfaces are molded or processed exactly as needed.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new design for a building component that is easy to manufacture and does not require expensive tooling. In addition, there is a need for a new design for a building component that can be manufactured with low tolerances for some of its features, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the manufacturing costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a building component includes a main body including a top end and a bottom end, at least one projecting portion or post extending from the top end of the main body, and at least one aperture or receptacle defined in the bottom. Each post includes a top end and bottom end and its outer surface or side is tapered inwardly from the top end of the post to the bottom end of the post. In addition, each receptacle includes a top end and a bottom end and the wall/surface or walls/surfaces defining the receptacle is or are similarly tapered from the top end of the receptacle to the bottom end of the receptacle, such that the interior of the receptacle has the same dimensions and configuration as the exterior of a post.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a set of building components includes a first building component and a second building component. The first building component includes a main body with a top end and a bottom end and one or more posts extending from the top of the main body. The second building component includes a main body with a top end and a bottom end, and one or more receptacles formed or defined in the bottom end of the main body of the second building component.
Like reference numerals have been used to identify like elements throughout this disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONGenerally referring to the figures, several exemplary embodiments of building components are shown. As discussed below in further detail, a building component according to the present invention includes one or more projecting portions or posts and one or more receptacles or receiving areas that are configured to receive a post included on another building component. A projecting portion or post may be referred to alternatively as a coupler or coupling member.
Still generally referring to the figures, the figures of the present application depict various embodiments of building components according to the present invention. In various embodiments, the quantity of posts on a building component can vary, depending on the shape and size of the building component. It is to be understood that any desirable arrangement of posts may be included on a building component. The posts may be arranged in one or more rows, depending on the width of the building component. For example, the posts may be in a 1 by 6 grid. Alternatively, the posts may be in a 2 by 3 grid or a 6 by 6 grid, depending on the shape.
Similarly, any desirable arrangement or shape of a receptacle or receptacles may also be included on a building component. Preferably, the arrangement and quantity of receptacles on a particular building component mirrors or matches the arrangement of posts on that building component.
The term “building component” is used herein to refer to any article or item with one or more posts and/or one or more receptacles formed therein. The quantity of posts and receptacles of building components can vary from component to component. In addition, the shape and configuration of the building components can vary as well. The term “building component” is not limited to articles or items which are block-shaped. For example, while one embodiment of a building component according to the present invention is a rectangular parallelepiped, other embodiments of the building component may be flat and/or arcuate. A flat building component may be referred to alternatively as a plate.
Referring to
Building component 310 includes a body 312 with one or more male posts 314 extending therefrom and one or more female receptacles or receiving areas 318 formed therein or coupled thereto. Each of the receptacles or receiving areas 318 is configured to receive a post from another building component to couple the building components with the post and the receptacle together.
In various embodiments, the body 312 of the building component 310 may have any type of shape, size, or configuration. For example, a building component 310 may have a generally flat configuration. Alternatively, a building component 310 may have a configuration that generally resembles a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped. Also, in some embodiments, a building component 310 may have a configuration that is not a standard geometric shape. For example, a building component 310 may be a portion of a building (such as a toy window, door, door frame, etc.) or a toy vehicle (an axle supporting structure, car window, a hood, a trunk, etc.) or other product.
Referring back to
In
In this embodiment, each post 314 of building component 310 has one or more tapered outer sides or surfaces 316 and each receptacle or receiving area 318 has one or more wall portions that have one or more tapered sides 320. Similarly, each post 334 of building component 330 has one or more tapered outer sides or surfaces 336 and each receptacle or receiving area 338 has one or more wall portions that have one or more tapered sides 340.
In one embodiment, the tapering of the side or sides defining one of the receptacles 318 or 338 is complementary to the tapering of the side or sides defining the outer sides or surfaces 316 or 336 of the posts 314 or 334. As described in greater detail below, the tapered configurations of the sides of the posts 314 and 334 and the sides or surfaces defining the receptacles 318 and 338 facilitate the engagement and coupling of a post of one building component with a receptacle of another building component even though the tapered configurations of the posts and receptacles may vary slightly from building component to building component.
Now turning to
Referring to
In one exemplary embodiment, the outer diameter D1 of the upper end 38 is 4.92 mm and the outer diameter D2 of the lower end 40 is 4.86 mm The ratio of D2 to D1 is 98.8%. In that embodiment, the length D3 of the post 30 from the upper end 38 to the lower end 40 is 1.8 mm In different embodiments according to the invention, the ratio of the outer diameters D1 and D2 can vary. For example, in one implementation, the ratio of D2 to D1 is preferably in the range of 95% to 99.9%. In another implementation, the ratio of D2 to D1 can be in the range of 90% to 99.9%. In another implementation, the ratio can be in the range of 80% to 99.9%. In yet other implementations, the ratio can be lower than 80%, but the amount of friction between a post and a wall defining a receptacle into which the post is inserted is lowered as the ratio of D2 to D1 becomes smaller. The ranges of ratios set forth above are exemplary and not intended to be limiting.
As shown in
Each of the walls 16 and 50 includes a first portion 52 that defines an upper receptacle portion 54 that has a constant inner diameter along its length from the main body 12 to a transition point 60. The walls defining receptacle portion 54 are straight and are perpendicular to the main body portion 12.
Below the transition point 60 is a second portion 56 that has a tapered inner surface that defines a lower receptacle portion 58 with a tapered inner diameter as shown in
A post 30 that is inserted into receptacle 51 is retained therein provided that the outer diameter D1 of the upper end 38 of the post 30 is greater than the inner diameter of the smallest point of receptacle portion 58. The angled or tapered surfaces of the post 30 and the walls 16 and 50 allow for some variation in the manufacturing of building component. In addition, the intended flexibility of the receptacle where it engages with the post (see
As mentioned above, in conventional blocks, when the surfaces of blocks that engage each other (the posts of one block and the walls of another block) are perpendicular to the main body of the block, those surfaces must be extremely accurate and manufactured with very high tolerances between different molded blocks. There cannot be any variance in diameters of corresponding surfaces of blocks to be coupled together. An exemplary high tolerance is in the range of +/−0.001 inches or 0.000254 mm. The high tolerances for variations between the blocks require consistency and accuracy between the blocks, thereby necessitating expensive precision tooling.
However, in the present invention, expensive precision tooling is not needed. The heightened accuracy of the surfaces is not needed because of the tapered shape of the posts and the portions of the receptacles engaged by the posts. Building components manufactured according to the present invention may have low tolerances (such as +/−0.005 inches or 0.00127 mm) relative to conventional blocks. Thus, lower cost tooling can be used to manufacture the building components of the present invention, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing. Any variation in dimensions, whether the outer diameter of a post or the inner diameter of a receptacle receiving a post, provides the ability for play or some movement of building components coupled to each other relative to each other. In other words, one building component can be pulled away from another building component to which it is coupled, but still remain connected thereto.
Referring to
In this embodiment, a toy building component 100 is shown from top and bottom perspective views in
Each post 112 is a generally cylindrical structure that encircles or defines an opening or void 114. The void 114 is formed during the molding process and facilitates the removal of the building component 100 from a mold due to the undercut configuration of the post 112. Void 114 is similar to void 36. The inverted taper of the outer surface of the posts is atypical for molded parts and forms an “undercut” configuration. The void in a post facilitates the removal of a building component from a mold, and in particular, a post from a mold because the walls of the posts can flex inwardly due to the void.
The building component 100 includes several pairs of walls 124, each of which has an end 125 that is spaced apart from the end 125 of the other wall 124 in its pair. The ends 125 define a gap 126 therebetween, as shown in
Turning now to
Still referring to
Regardless of the difference in size between dimensions D1 and D2, the posts 112 are sized to fit securely within the receptacles 122 because posts 112 have top and bottom exterior diameters (i.e. D1 and D2, respectively) which are substantially identical to the top and bottom interior diameters of the receptacles 122 (i.e. D1 and D2, respectively), respectively. However, since diameter D1 of a post 112 is slightly larger than the bottom interior diameter D2 of a receptacle 122, at least one portion of building component 100 must be movable or deformable in order to effectuate insertion. In this particular embodiment, both the receptacles 122 and the posts 112 are formed from a molded plastic material, and it is their shapes that provide the ability for building components to be coupled together. In particular, the walls 124 in a pair that define a receptacle 122 are spaced apart to form a gap 126, as discussed above. The fact that the walls 124 are not coupled to each other and have the gap 126 therebetween facilitate the movement or flexing of the walls 124 away from each other as a post 112 is inserted into a receptacle 122. Thus, the walls 124 defining a receptacle 122 are each at least slightly deformable and/or movable. However, in other embodiments, any combination of flex, stretch or movement may be utilized to facilitate insertion of posts 112 into receptacles 122.
In this particular embodiment, and as shown in
In configuration C2, the bottom end 132 of the walls 124 are configured to receive the top 114 of the post 112, as shown by their movement to positions for walls 124′ (dashed lines) and the post 112′ (dashed lines) of building component 100′ (dashed lines). Then, as the post 112 is moved further into the receptacle 122, the walls 124 return their original configuration C1, securing the post 112 within the receptacle 122 in the process. In other words, two building components 100 may be coupled together when the walls 124 defining a receptacle 122 flex outwards and a post 112 is inserted therein.
Now turning to
Referring to
In
Referring to
A bottom view of an alternative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
The building component 400 includes a central area 450 that is located between the ends of each set of the walls 430 and 432. This central area 450 is wider or larger than the diameter of a post of another building component 400, and thus, will not retain a post that is usually engageable with receptacle 440.
Referring to
Referring to
It is to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “upper,” “lower,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points or portions of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration. Further, the term “exemplary” is used herein to describe an example or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as exemplary is not to be construed as a preferred or advantageous embodiment, but rather as one example or illustration of a possible embodiment of the invention.
Although the disclosed inventions are illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the inventions and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. In addition, various features from one of the embodiments may be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1-3. (canceled)
4. A toy building component, comprising:
- a main body including a top and a bottom;
- a flexible post extending from the top of the main body including: a top end and a bottom end, wherein the flexible post is tapered from its top end to its bottom end, such that the top end of the flexible post is wider than the bottom end of the flexible post; and an annular wall surrounding a void, wherein the void is accessible from the top end of the flexible post and the flexible post is configured to flex into the void; and
- at least one wall coupled to the main body and extending beyond the bottom of the body, the at least one wall defining a receptacle including a top end and a bottom end, the receptacle being tapered from its top end to its bottom end.
5. The toy building component of claim 4, wherein an interior configuration of the receptacle matches an exterior configuration of the flexible post.
6. (canceled)
7. The toy building component of claim 4, wherein the void is a central void and the annular wall includes an inner surface adjacent to and completely surrounding the void and an outer surface opposite the inner surface, the outer surface being tapered.
8. The toy building component of claim 4, wherein the top end of the flexible post has a first width, the bottom end of the post has a second width and the ratio of the second width to the first width is in the range of 95% to 99.9%.
9. The toy building component of claim 4, wherein the building components may be manufactured with tolerances up to approximately 0.005 inches.
10. A set of building components comprising:
- at least two building components of claim 4,
- wherein the flexible post of a first building component is configured to flex to allow the flexible post to be inserted and removably secured within the receptacle of a second building component in order to couple a first building component to a second building component.
11. The set of building components of claim 10, wherein the flexible post of the first building component is configured to be secured to the second building component at any point along the length of the receptacle of the second building component.
12. The set of building components of claim 10, wherein the dimensions of at least one of the outer widths of the flexible posts and the inner widths of the receptacles included on the plurality of building components may vary within a range of approximately ±0.01 inches.
13. A toy building component, comprising:
- a main body including a top and a bottom;
- a post extending from the top of the main body; and
- at least one wall coupled to the main body, the at least one wall defining a receptacle including a top end and a bottom end, the receptacle including: a transition point between the top end and the bottom end; a first receptacle portion with a first width being formed between the top end and the transition point; a second receptacle portion with a tapered width being formed between the bottom end and the transition point, wherein the tapered width narrows from the transition point to the bottom end, the first width is narrower than the tapered width adjacent the transition point, the first receptacle portion is configured to fixedly secure a post of another toy building component therein, and the second receptacle portion is configured to movably secure the post of the another toy building component therein; and a notch provided adjacent the transition point, wherein the notch laterally offsets portions of the at least one wall defining the first receptacle portion from portions of the at least one wall defining the second receptacle portion.
14. (canceled)
15. (canceled)
16. The toy building component of claim 13, wherein the portions of the at least one wall defining the first receptacle portion are straight and the portions of the at least one wall defining the second receptacle portion are tapered towards the transition point.
17. (canceled)
18. The toy building component of claim 13, wherein the post is flexible
19. (canceled)
20. A toy building component, comprising:
- a main body including a top and a bottom;
- a post extending from the top of the main body;
- at least one sidewall extending from the bottom of the main body; and
- a plurality of flexible walls, each of the flexible walls being coupled to at least one of the at least one sidewall and extending beyond the bottom of the main body, the plurality of flexible walls defining at least one receptacle and a central opening; wherein each receptacle includes a gap disposed adjacent the central opening, the gap being configured to allow the flexible walls to flex with respect to at least one of the bottom of the main body and the at least one sidewall and each flexible wall includes: a wall extension extending towards the central opening, the wall extension including an end with a first section and a second section, wherein the first sections of the ends of the wall extensions collectively define a first central receptacle portion having a width and the second sections of the ends of the wall extensions collectively define a second central receptacle portion that is tapered from a top end of the second central receptacle portion to a bottom end of the second central receptacle portion.
21. The toy building component of claim 20, wherein the first central receptacle portion and second central receptacle portion collectively define a central receptacle configured to receive a post from another building component, wherein the first receptacle portion and the second receptacle portion are both configured to secure the post from another building component therein.
22. (canceled)
23. (canceled)
24. The toy building component of claim 21, wherein the width of the first central receptacle portion is a first width and the bottom end of the second central receptacle portion has a second width equal to the first width.
25. The toy building component of claim 21, wherein each of the wall extensions further comprises:
- a notch laterally offsetting the first section of the wall extension from the second section of the wall extension.
26. The toy building component of claim 25, wherein the first central receptacle portion extends from the bottom of the main body to the notch and the second central receptacle portion extends from the notch to a bottom edge of the wall extensions.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 13, 2014
Publication Date: Sep 29, 2016
Applicant: Mattel, Inc. (El Segundo, CA)
Inventor: Edmund (Kin Fai) CHANG (Kowloon)
Application Number: 14/458,929