Toy System
A toy system includes at least one piece having a first shape defined by a central body and three sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, and at least one piece having a second shape defined by a central body and four sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, the pieces respectively defined by at least one flat surface and at least one flat sidewall, the sets of the two protrusions defining a respective cavity having a width substantially equivalent to the width of one of the protrusions, at least some of the protrusions respectively having at least one end that is rounded at a geometry that minimizes any potential harm if the protrusion came into contact with a human body.
This specification relates to a toy system including pieces having interlocking shapes.
Toy pieces having interlocking pieces can be used to assemble a variety of structures. Both children and adults enjoy using interlocking pieces to quickly and easily make things that satisfy their desire for creativity. However, not all interlocking shapes are suitable for use as pieces in a toy system. For example, if the toy system is intended for use by children, especially young children, the shapes must be designed to comply with safety concerns.
SUMMARYA toy system includes at least one piece having a first shape defined by a central body and three sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, and at least one piece having a second shape defined by a central body and four sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body. The pieces are respectively defined by at least one flat surface and at least one flat sidewall. The sets of the two protrusions define respective cavities having a width substantially equivalent to the width of one of the protrusions.
The protrusions respectively have at least one end that is rounded at a geometry (e.g., a semi-circle) that minimizes any potential harm if the protrusion came into contact with a human body. Further, the pieces can be manufactured of a soft material for safety reasons.
The thickness of the pieces can be substantially the same as the width of the cavities. In this way, two pieces can be aligned in a perpendicular fashion and the cavity of one piece can be mated to the central body of the other piece.
The pieces can be assembled into a variety of shapes, ranging from simple two-dimensional shapes to complex three-dimensional shapes such as sphere-like shapes and honeycombs. An assembled shape can be augmented with additional pieces in a manner limited only by the number of pieces available at a given time.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims.
The second piece 204 has a second shape 240 having four sets 242, 244, 246, 248 of two protrusions 252, 254 each. The four sets 242, 244, 246, 248 of protrusions are arranged to define narrow curves 272, 274 and wide curves 276, 278 between them. The first narrow curve 272 is defined by two of the sets 242, 244 and the second narrow curve 274 is defined by the other two sets 246, 248. The narrow curves 272, 274 have substantially equivalent geometry. The first wide curve 276 is defined by two of the sets 242, 246 and the second wide curve 278 is defined by the other two sets 244, 248. The wide curves 276, 278 have substantially equivalent geometry. In some implementations, the wide curves 276, 278 have substantially equivalent geometry to the curves 256, 258, 260 of the first shape 220. In some implementations, the wide curves 276, 278 have different geometry than the curves 256, 258, 260 of the first shape 220.
The protrusions 232, 234 have a shape that minimizes safety risk when the pieces 202, 204 are used, for example, by young children. In some implementations, the ends 282, 284 of the protrusions are curved at a geometry that minimizes any potential harm if a protrusion comes into contact with the human body. For example, the ends 282, 284 shown here have a geometry defined by a semicircle, e.g., an arc of approximately one-hundred eighty degrees. If the ends had a geometry defining a portion of a semicircle, e.g., an arc of substantially less than one-hundred eighty degrees, then the ends would have a “pointy” geometry that could pose a safety risk to the human body.
Each piece 202, 204 respectively has a flat dorsal surface 286, 288 and a flat ventral surface (not shown). Each piece 202, 204 also respectively has a flat sidewall surface 290, 292. The flat surfaces are unlikely to cause harm if they come into contact with the human body. In some implementations, the pieces 202, 204 can be formed of a soft material such as foam. Because the pieces 202, 204 have a substantially flat shape, the pieces 202, 204 could be formed from flat materials having a uniform thickness such as plywood, pieces of insulation, or other materials having a uniform thickness. In some implementations, the material could be cross-linked polyethylene. In some implementations, the pieces 202, 204 can be inflatable.
In this configuration 300, the flat dorsal surfaces 286, 288 of the two pieces 202, 204 are substantially parallel to each other. In this way, the configuration 300 represents a planar structure, e.g., one aligned to a single plane. This configuration 300 is of the kind that may be used to build structures that represent two-dimensional shapes, e.g., a substantially circular two-dimensional shape.
In this configuration 400, the flat dorsal surface 286 of the first piece 202 is substantially perpendicular to the flat dorsal surface 288 of the second piece 204. This configuration 400 is of the kind that may be used to build structures that take full advantage of the three-dimensional possibilities of the toy system 100.
Either of the interlocking configurations 300, 400 shown in
In the particular example shown in
The dimensions of the pieces 202, 204 can range from very small or very large relative to a human being. For example, the pieces 202, 204 could be sized to be only a few centimeters in length and width, or even smaller. As another example, the pieces 202, 204 could be sized to be a meter or more in length or width. In some implementations, the pieces 202, 204 are sized to be large enough to minimize the health risk to a child, e.g., such that the pieces 202, 204 cannot be placed in the mouth and/or swallowed.
The foregoing description is intended to illustrate some embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A toy system comprising:
- a first piece comprising a first shape defined by a central body and three sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, the first piece comprising at least one flat surface and at least one flat sidewall; and
- a second piece comprising a second shape defined by a central body and four sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, the second piece comprising at least one flat surface and at least one flat sidewall;
- the sets of the two protrusions each defining a cavity having a width substantially equivalent to the width of one of the protrusions;
- at least some of the protrusions respectively having an end that is rounded at a geometry that minimizes any potential harm if the protrusion came into contact with a human body;
- wherein the first piece has three curves defined by its sets of protrusions, the three curves having substantially equivalent geometry, and the second piece has four curves defined by its sets of protrusions, the four curves having substantially equivalent geometry, wherein two of the four curves are wider than the other two of the four curves.
2. (canceled)
3. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the first piece has a length defined by a diameter of a first circle that encompasses the first piece, and the second piece has a length defined by a diameter of a second circle that encompasses the second piece, wherein the diameter of the first circle and the diameter of the second circle are substantially the same.
4. The toy system of claim 3, wherein the diameter is approximately 10.567 inches (268.40 millimeters) and the width is approximately 1 inch (25.40 millimeters).
5. The toy system of claim 3, wherein the diameter is approximately 7.925 inches (201.30 millimeters) and the width is approximately 0.75 inches (19.05 millimeters).
6. The toy system of claim 3, wherein the diameter is approximately 5.284 inches (134.20 millimeters) and the width is approximately 0.5 inches (12.70 millimeters).
7. The toy system of claim 1, wherein any of the sets of protrusions is configured to mate with any of the other sets of protrusions in either of a horizontal interlocking configuration or a vertical interlocking configuration.
8. The toy system of claim 1, wherein the first piece corresponds to a shape of the letter Y, and the second piece corresponds to a shape of the letter X.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 24, 2015
Publication Date: Dec 28, 2017
Inventor: Katarzyna Balug (Cambridge, MA)
Application Number: 15/539,058