WO1998042423A1 - Construction kits with shaped and flat elements - Google Patents

Abstract

Familiar wooden construction kits have served their purpose once children are past the age of 4. So far there has been no construction kit to succeed these kits which has matched them for quality in terms of entertainment and skill development. The following are provided as the basic units of the follow-up construction kits: a) flat elements - thin wooden strips, 25 mm wide, ranging from 8 cm to 18 cm in length; b) shaped elements - flat elements or especially thin plywood tiles stuck together to form L-, T- and I-shapes; c) special shapes made up of a) and b), for example elements with a base for standing or a spacing link, or placing corners and placing walls. The invention can be used to build large, simple to multiform toy constructions and is suitable for developing skill in schoolchildren and adults.

Description

 Kits with profile and flat bars

The tried-and-tested wooden construction sets with the well-known geometrical basic bodies have practically worn out for children over four years. They feel underwhelmed and are pushing for larger-scale, adventure-oriented toys. So far, there has been no universal successor kit with the same quality of play and practice.

For connection kits, basic building blocks of a previously unusual shape and type are provided:

a - Flat bars b - Profile bars c - Special shapes of a and b

In this context, flat bars 7 mm to 9 mm thin wooden strips approximately 25 mm wide in a length range from 8 cm to 18 cm (FIG. 1).

Their rectangular stand and cross-sectional area is therefore less than 2.3 cm.

The adjustability and tilting tendency of the slender bars must be balanced by skillful installation. This brings a supportive incentive to the construction and gaming activities, which can however only take effect gradually.

In order to prevent permanent discouragement, much more stable building blocks are needed for a promising design and construction. The profile bars and special shapes are provided for this.

Profile bars for the above purpose can be designed as adhesive connections of the aforementioned flat bars. Mostly

ATZBLÄΓT RULE 26) but it is adhesive bonds of particularly thin strips or plates made of plywood or veneer wood.

Profiles in L or T shape (FIG. 3) are preferred, since these in turn can form complex shapes by placing them together, which correspond to an I, Z, X or hollow profile. This is indicated in Figure 5.

Used as pillars, such compilations are on a par with the massive building blocks. Their stability improves under load up to the stiffness.

Special forms are:

- Flat bars with pedestal (Fig. 2)

- double rods with spacer (Fig.)

- 3-bar profiles and angles with long legs (Fig. 6) - Adhesive bonds with wooden boards to adjustable corners and walls, which can also be used as roof surfaces (Fig. 7 and 11)

Advantageously, only a selection of these designs is included in a kit.

All dimensions are then largely coordinated within a kit.

The following are given as preferred dimensions: (in mm)

Length (L) 100 0 125 150

Width (B) 25 Thickness / Material (D) Flat bars 7 8 9

Profile bars 4 5 6

Special shapes 4 5 With the aforementioned components, the children's play areas can be expanded inexpensively. Existing construction and play equipment can be easily included.

Experience has shown that initially only tower-like layers are erected, so that they can soon collapse under rumble.

However, the exercise character of such an easily and readily repeatable activity is remarkable.

In the transition period, flat bars are preferably laid out in terms of area, e.g. as a street or taxiway for model cars or as a roof surface for simple buildings.

Fig. 9, 10 and 12 provide suggestions for further construction. In the skeleton construction Fig. 10 and in the tower construction

Intermediate layers Fig. 12 different types of positioning of the flat bars and combinations of profiles and flat bars are shown.

Even a few profile bars noticeably improve the stability of a bandage.

Depending on the age or the level of skill developed by the user, various special forms can be dispensed with in a kit.

Below is an example of a dismantled wooden construction kit and its equipment.

Base part and box cover in the size of a DIN A5 format represent a kind of wooden tray made of 4 mm plywood. The lid is placed overlapping and can be combined with the bottom tray using a tape or clip. All parts of the box can be used as components.

Figure 13 shows the modular system and the equipment in the floor plan with dimensions in mm:

Dimensions

Reference number designation L 1; 2 D remark

1 1 Bottom part A5 4 tray with handle 2 4 corner 4 stiffened at angles 3 4 boards 4 as gap filler 4 12 flat bars 150 8 arranged horizontally 5 12 flat bars 125 8 horizontally arranged 6 42 flat bars 100 8 standing arranged 7 10 L-profile 100 5 standing arranged

4 T-profile 100 5 arranged vertically

The pack volume of the 80 basic building blocks is 2.2 liters. The performance range is characterized as follows:

maximum laying length of all blocks: 9, 0 maximum area coverage: 0.25 qm achievable heights:

- in a 2-pack (Fig. 8) 1.0 m

- With intermediate layers (Fig. 12) 2.2 m to 2.5 m

With regard to the achievable building volume, multiplication occurs.

With minimal use of materials, building blocks of this type offer universal possibilities in designing, playing and thinking. They have a remarkable educational value.

Claims

claims 1. kit with profile and surface bars characterized in that the flat bars are 7 mm to 9 mm thin strips of 25 mm +/- 2 mm width, the length of which is in the range of 80 mm to 180 mm. Preferred lengths are 100, 125 and 150 mm 2. kits with profile and flat bars, characterized in that the profiles in L, T and I shape are formed by adhesive connections of flat bars according to claim 1 or consist of adhesive connections of 4 mm to 6 mm thin plywood plates. 3. kits with profile and flat bars according to claims 1 and / or 2, characterized in that they additionally contain the following special shapes: - flat bars with a base - Double bars with spacer - Wall, roof or corner elements that are glued with angle or flat bars for adjustability. 4. Demountable kit, consisting of an identical base and cover part in the form of a rectangular wooden tray, in the corner elements according to claim 3 are inserted to form a frame. 5. Play kits with smooth profile bars of the same cross-section in lengths from 80 mm to 180 mm, characterized in that profiles formed from plastic material can be understood as an assembly of two or more smooth bars or plates with a rectangular cross-section.