JP7547532B2 - Building blocks - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to block toys that can be connected and disconnected to each other.

Patent Document 1, which is listed below, discloses a stacking block that has a knob on the upper side and a hole on the lower side. For example, two stacking blocks can be stacked together by fitting the knob of one block into the hole of the other block.

However, because the stacking blocks described above are primarily designed to use knobs and holes to interconnect and stack two or more stacking blocks, it is difficult to provide players with any fun or excitement beyond the interconnection and disconnection of the blocks.

Special Publication No. 10-506309

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a block toy that can provide players with fun and excitement beyond just connecting and disconnecting blocks.

The block toy according to the present invention is a block toy having a connecting part and a connected part for connecting and disconnecting the block toy to each other, and is provided with a performance output part that outputs a performance at least when the block toy is connected to each other and when the block toy is disconnected. The block toy according to the present invention is a block toy having a connecting part and a connected part for connecting and disconnecting the block toy to each other, and is provided with a displacement part that displaces when the block toy is connected to each other and when the block toy is disconnected, and an operation part that operates in response to the displacement of the displacement part when the block toy is connected to each other and that operates with at least a part of the displacement part exposed from the block toy, and the operation part is provided in a position that is visually recognizable when the block toys are connected to each other.

The block toy of the present invention can provide players with fun and excitement beyond just connecting and disconnecting the blocks.

FIG. 1(A) is a front view of a block toy according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1(B) is a plan view of the block toy, FIG. 1(C) is a bottom view of the block toy, FIG. 1(D) is a plan view of the second body part when the first body part is removed from the block toy shown in FIG. 1(A), FIG. 1(E) is a plan view of the first body part when the second body part is removed from the block toy shown in FIG. 1(A) and the first body part is rotated 180° left and right, and FIG. 1(F) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the operating part and the power transmission part in the block toy shown in FIG. 1(A). 2(A) to 2(E) are diagrams illustrating the operation of the block toy shown in FIG. Figure 3(A) is a front view of a block toy according to the second embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3(B) is a plan view of the same block toy, Figure 3(C) is a bottom view of the same block toy, Figure 3(D) is a plan view of the second body part when the first body part is removed from the block toy shown in Figure 3(A), Figure 3(E) is a plan view of the first body part when the second body part is removed from the block toy shown in Figure 3(A) and the first body part is rotated 180 degrees left and right, and Figure 3(F) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the operating unit and the power transmission unit in the block toy shown in Figure 3(A). 4(A) to 4(E) are diagrams illustrating the operation of the block toy shown in FIG. Figure 5 (A) is a front view of a block toy according to the third embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 (B) is a plan view of the same block toy, Figure 5 (C) is a bottom view of the same block toy, Figure 5 (D) is a plan view of the second body part when the first body part is removed from the block toy shown in Figure 5 (A), Figure 5 (E) is a plan view of the first body part when the second body part is removed from the block toy shown in Figure 5 (A) and the first body part is rotated 180 degrees left and right, and Figure 5 (F) is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the operating unit and the power transmission unit in the block toy shown in Figure 5 (A). 6(A) to 6(C) are diagrams illustrating the operation of the block toy shown in FIG.

First Embodiment
1 and 2 show the configuration and operation of a block toy 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, for convenience, the front side of Fig. 1(A) will be referred to as "front", the back side as "back", the left side as "right", the right side as "left", the upper side as "up" and the lower side as "down", and directions in the other figures will be represented in a similar manner.

First, the configuration of the block toy 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The block toy 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped block body 11 consisting of a combination of a first upper body part 12 and a second lower body part 13, a connecting part 12a provided on the upper surface of the block body 11, a connected part 13a provided on the lower surface opposite to the upper surface of the block body 11, a performance output part 14 arranged on the front surface of the block body 11, an operation part 15 for the performance output part 14, a part of which is arranged on the connected part 13a, and a power transmission part 16 and an elastic member 17 arranged inside the block body 11. The block toy 10 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and it is sufficient that the outer surface of the block toy 10 is composed of multiple faces, and the connecting part 12a and the connected part 13a are provided on the opposing faces of the block toy 10. For example, the shape of the block toy 10 may be a cylindrical shape or a polygonal prism shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped, in addition to a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

As shown in Figs. 1(A) to 1(C), the connecting part 12a is convex, specifically a cylindrical convex part, and the connected part 13a is concave, specifically a cylindrical concave part, into which the connecting part 12a can be detachably fitted. The center of the connecting part 12a as viewed from above and the center of the connected part 13a as viewed from below preferably coincide in the vertical direction. In addition, the diameter and vertical dimensions of the connecting part 12a are slightly smaller than the diameter and vertical dimensions of the connected part 13a, so that the connecting part 12a can be mutually connected to and disconnected from another block toy AB (see Fig. 2(A)) having similar connecting part ABb and connected part ABc.

1(D) and 1(F), the second main body 13 has a cylindrical portion 13b surrounding the connected portion 13a, and a guide hole 13c for the operation unit 15, which is cross-shaped when viewed from below, is provided at the top of the cylindrical portion 13b. In addition, a support portion 13d for the performance output unit 14, which is rectangular when viewed from the front, and a support portion 13e for the power transmission unit 16, which is rectangular when viewed from the front, are provided continuously on the left and right sides on the upper surface of the front wall of the second main body 13. The vertical dimension of the support portion 13e is larger than the vertical dimension of the support portion 13d, and a support groove (reference numeral omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the front is provided on the upper surface of each. Furthermore, a descent limiting portion 13f that limits the descent position of the operation unit 15 is provided approximately at the center of the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 13b. The guide hole 13c also extends into the lowering limiting portion 13f, and the guide hole 13c in the lowering limiting portion 13f is open on the left side. Furthermore, a shaft support portion 13g for the power transmission portion 16 is provided on the left side of the lowering limiting portion 13f on the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 13b. The shaft support portion 13g has a larger vertical dimension than the lowering limiting portion 13f, and the upper surface of the shaft support portion 13g is provided with a shaft support groove (reference number omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 1(A) to FIG. 1(D), the performance output unit 14 is made of a disk-shaped rotatable part, and at least its surface (front surface) is exposed from the front surface of the block toy 10. Since the performance output unit 14 is a rotatable part with the center of the front view as an axis, a decorative part 14a (e.g., a propeller or windmill-like part) is provided on the front surface to make its rotation easier to visually recognize. In addition, a cylindrical shaft 14b is provided at the center of the rear view of the performance output unit 14, and a gear 14c is provided at the rear of the shaft 14b. As shown in FIG. 1(D), the middle part of the shaft 14b of the performance output unit 14 is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (symbol omitted) of the shaft support part 13d, and the gear 14c is located on the rear side of the shaft support part 13d. In this way, the performance output unit 14 is a rotatable part that rotates on a rotation axis that is approximately perpendicular to the front surface of the block toy 10. In addition, operating parts that operate while exposed from the block body 11, such as rotatable parts, are provided in a direction (forward) different from the direction (up-down direction) in which the connecting part 12a and the connected part 13a are provided, so the operation of the operating parts is not hindered when the block toys 10 are connected to each other, and the visual recognition of the operation of the operating parts is not hindered when the block toys 10 are connected to each other.

1(C), 1(D) and 1(F), the operation unit 15 has a rotation restricting portion 15a having a cross shape in a bottom view, a flange portion 15b provided continuously from the upper end of the rotation restricting portion 15a, and a cylindrical lift guide portion 15c provided continuously from the upper surface of the flange portion 15b. The center of the rotation restricting portion 15a in a bottom view and the center of the lift guide portion 15c in a top view may be aligned in the vertical direction or may be slightly offset in the vertical direction. In addition, a notch (reference number omitted) is provided on the left side of the flange portion 15b so that the flange portion 15b does not interfere with the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16 when the operation unit 15 is raised and lowered. Furthermore, a rack 15a1 that can mesh with the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16 when the operation unit 15 is raised and lowered is provided on the upper left side of the rotation restricting portion 15a. As shown in FIG. 1(D), the rotation restricting portion 15a of the operating portion 15 is inserted into the guide hole 13c so that it can move up and down freely. When the block toy 10 is in an unconnected state, the flange portion 15b is in contact with the descent limiting portion 13f, the lower portion of the rotation restricting portion 15a is located in the connected portion 13a, and the rack 15a1 is not engaged with the gear 16b of the power transmission portion 16.

1(D) and 1(F), the power transmission unit 16 has a cylindrical shaft 16a, a gear 16b provided at the rear of the shaft 16a, and a gear 16c provided at the front of the shaft 16a. As shown in FIG. 1(D), the rear end of the shaft 16a of the power transmission unit 16 is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support unit 13g, and the front end of the shaft 16a is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support unit 13e. When the block toy 20 is in a disconnected state, the gear 16c meshes with the gear 14c of the performance output unit 14, and as shown in FIG. 1(F), the gear 16b does not mesh with the rack 15a1 of the operation unit 15.

As shown in Fig. 1(E) and Fig. 1(F), rectangular groove-shaped receiving portions 12b and 12c that receive the pivot support portions 13d and 13e of the second body portion 13 are provided on the lower surface of the front wall of the first body portion 12 in a continuous left-right manner. In addition, a cylindrical portion 12e is provided in the center of the inner upper surface of the first body portion 12, which has a guide hole 12d that is circular when viewed from below and receives the lift guide portion 15c of the operation portion 15 via an elastic member 17 (a compression coil spring in the figure), and a slip-out prevention portion 12f is provided that abuts against or is close to the upper surface of the pivot support portion 13g of the second body portion 13.

That is, when the first body portion 12 is combined with the second body portion 13 (see FIG. 1(D)), the receiving portions 12b and 12c of the first body portion 12 block the shaft support groove (symbol omitted) of the shaft support portion 13d of the second body portion 13 and the shaft support groove (symbol omitted) of the shaft support portion 13e, preventing the shaft 14b of the performance output portion 14 and the shaft 16a of the power transmission portion 16 from coming out of place and being displaced. Also, in this state, the shaft support groove (symbol omitted) of the shaft support portion 13g of the second body portion 13 is blocked by the fall-out prevention portion 12f of the first body portion 12, preventing the shaft 16a of the power transmission portion 16 from coming out of place and being displaced. Furthermore, in this state, the upper end of the lift guide 15c of the operating part 15 is received in the guide hole 12d via the elastic member 17, and the operating part 15 is biased downward by the elastic member 17, so that its flange 15b comes into contact with the upper surface of the lowering limiter 13f of the second main body part 13.

Although the reference numerals have been omitted, the four circles in Fig. 1(D) and the four circles in Fig. 1(E) indicate the concave-convex fitting portions (one is a convex portion and the other is a concave portion) used when combining the first body portion 12 and the second body portion 13. Of course, the first body portion 12 and the second body portion 13 may be provided with screw coupling portions (one is a screw insertion hole and the other is a screw hole) at the circled locations, and the two may be combined with screws.

Next, the operation of the block toy 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Incidentally, AB shown in FIG. 2(A) is another block toy that has the same appearance as the block toy 10 but a different internal structure, with ABa being the block body, ABb being the connecting part, and ABc being the connected part. There are no particular limitations on the block toy AB as long as it has the same connecting part ABb and connected part ABc, and it may be, for example, the same as the block toy 10, or it may be the block toy 20 (see FIG. 3) or the block toy 30 (see FIG. 5) described below.

As shown in FIG. 2(A), when interconnecting the block toy 10 with another block toy AB, an operation M11 is performed in which the interconnected portion 13a of the block toy 10 is fitted into the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB, and when disconnecting the block toy 10, an operation M12 is performed in which the interconnected portion 13a of the block toy 10 is pulled out from the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB.

As shown in Figures 2(B) and 2(C), in operation M11, the operating part 15 of the block toy 10 is pushed against the biasing force of the elastic member 17 by the connecting part ABb of the other block toy AB, and is displaced upward linearly. Incidentally, since the biasing force of the elastic member 17 is smaller than the mutual connection force between the block toy 10 and the other block toy AB, the mutual connection is not released by the upward displacement of the operating part 15. As shown in Figure 2(B), during the process of the upward displacement of the operating part 15, the rack 15a1 of the operating part 15 temporarily meshes with the gear 16b of the power transmission part 16, and the meshing is released when the operating part 15 reaches its upper limit.

That is, in operation M11, the rack 15a1 of the operating unit 15, which is displaced upward, temporarily engages with the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16, causing the power transmission unit 16 to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed from the front due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 14c of the performance output unit 14, which is engaged with the gear 16c of the power transmission unit 16, causing the performance output unit 14 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the front (see FIG. 2(C)). As described above, when the operating unit 15 reaches its upper limit, the engagement between the rack 15a1 and the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16 is released, so that the rotation of the performance output unit 14 by operation M11 continues for a while until the performance output unit 14 stops due to rotational resistance. In other words, if operation M11 is performed quickly, it is possible to continue the rotation of the performance output unit 14 for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 2(D) and 2(E), in operation M12, the operating unit 15 of the block toy 10 returns to its original position due to the biasing force of the elastic member 17 and displaces linearly downward. As shown in Figure 2(D), while the operating unit 15 is displaced downward, the rack 15a1 of the operating unit 15 temporarily meshes with the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16, and this meshing is released when the operating unit 15 reaches its lowering limit.

That is, in operation M12, the rack 15a1 of the operation unit 15, which is displaced downward, temporarily engages with the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16, causing the power transmission unit 16 to rotate counterclockwise in front view due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 14c of the performance output unit 14, which is engaged with the gear 16c of the power transmission unit 16, causing the performance output unit 14 to rotate clockwise in front view (see FIG. 2(E)). As described above, when the operation unit 15 reaches its lowering limit, the engagement between the rack 15a1 and the gear 16b of the power transmission unit 16 is released, so that the rotation of the performance output unit 14 by operation M12 continues for a while until the performance output unit 14 stops due to rotational resistance. In other words, if operation M12 is performed quickly, it is possible to continue the rotation of the performance output unit 14 for a longer period of time.

Next, we will explain the main effects and benefits obtained by the block toy 10 described above.

The block toy 10 can rotate the performance output unit 14 when interconnecting with another block toy AB, and can also rotate the performance output unit 14 when disconnecting, so that in addition to the visual effects produced by the rotation of the performance output unit 14, it can also provide the player with an auditory effect produced by the sound that accompanies the rotation. In other words, the block toy 10 can provide the player with the fun and excitement of interconnecting and disconnecting, and can also provide the player with fun and excitement other than interconnecting and disconnecting through the above effects.

In addition, since the performance is achieved by pressing the operating unit 15 arranged on the connected portion 13a of the block toy 10 with the action M11, and then releasing the pressing and returning the operating unit 15 to its original position with the action M12, there is no need to perform any special external operation to output the performance. In other words, the performance can be provided to the player in conjunction with the actions of interconnecting and disconnecting the blocks in the same manner as before.

Second Embodiment
3 and 4 show the configuration and operation of a block toy 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, for convenience, the front side of Fig. 3(A) will be referred to as "front", the back side as "back", the left side as "right", the right side as "left", the upper side as "up" and the lower side as "down", and directions in the other figures will be represented in a similar manner.

First, the configuration of the block toy 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The block toy 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped block body 21 consisting of a combination of an upper first body part 22 and a lower second body part 23, a connecting part 22a provided on the upper surface of the block body 21, a connected part 23a provided on the lower surface opposite to the upper surface of the block body 21, a performance output part 24 arranged so that a part of it is exposed on the front wall of the block body 21, an operation part 25 for the performance output part 24 arranged partly on the connected part 23a, and a power transmission part 26 and an elastic member 27 arranged inside the block body 21. The block toy 20 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and it is sufficient that the outer surface of the block toy 20 is composed of multiple faces, and the connecting part 22a and the connected part 23a are provided on the opposing faces of the block toy 20. For example, the shape of the block toy 20 may be a cylindrical shape or a polygonal prism shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped, in addition to a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

As shown in Figures 3(A) to 3(C), the connecting part 22a is convex, specifically a cylindrical convex part, and the connected part 23a is concave, specifically a cylindrical concave part, into which the connecting part 22a can be detachably fitted. The center of the connecting part 22a as viewed from above and the center of the connected part 23a as viewed from below preferably coincide in the vertical direction. In addition, the diameter and vertical dimensions of the connecting part 22a are slightly smaller than the diameter and vertical dimensions of the connected part 23a, so that the connecting part 22a can be mutually connected to and disconnected from another block toy AB (see Figure 4(A)) having similar connecting part ABb and connected part ABc.

3(D) and 3(F), the second main body 23 has a cylindrical portion 23b surrounding the connected portion 23a, and a guide hole 23c for the operation unit 25 having a cross shape in a bottom view is provided in the upper part of the cylindrical portion 23b. In addition, an exposure hole 23d for the performance output unit 24 having a rectangular shape in a front view is provided in the front wall of the second main body 23. Furthermore, on both the left and right sides of the exposure hole 23d on the upper surface of the front wall of the second main body 23, shaft support grooves 23e for the performance output unit 24 having a U-shape in a left and right view are provided, respectively, and on the upper surface of the left wall of the second main body 23, a shaft support groove 23e for the power transmission unit 26 having a U-shape in a right view is provided. Furthermore, a descent limiting portion 23f for limiting the descent position of the operation unit 25 is provided in approximately the center of the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 23b. The guide hole 23c also extends to the descent limiting portion 23f, and the guide hole 23c in the descent limiting portion 23f is open on the front side. Furthermore, a shaft support portion 23g for the power transmission portion 26 is provided on the front side of the descent limiting portion 23f on the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 23b. The shaft support portion 23g has a larger vertical dimension than the descent limiting portion 23f, and a shaft support groove (reference number omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the left side is provided on the upper surface of the shaft support portion 23g. Furthermore, on both the left and right sides of the exposure hole 23d on the front surface of the second main body portion 23, a covering portion 23h that covers the lower portions on both sides of the exposed portion of the performance output portion 24 without contact is provided, and as shown in FIG. 3(D), the left covering portion 23h has a cavity 23h1 that receives the lower portion of the gear 24c of the performance output portion 24 without contact.

As shown in Figures 3(A) to 3(D), the performance output unit 24 is made of a drum-shaped rotatable part, and a part of the outer periphery is exposed from the front of the block toy 10. Since the performance output unit 24 is a rotatable part with the center of the front surface as viewed from the left and right as an axis, a plurality of marks 24a (e.g., geometrical shapes such as stars or characters) are provided on the outer periphery to make its rotation easier to visually recognize. Note that the marks 24a are shown only in Figure 3(A) and are omitted in Figures 3(B) to 3(D). In addition, a cylindrical shaft 24b is provided at the center of the front surface as viewed from the left and right of the performance output unit 14, and a gear 24c is provided on the left part of the shaft 24b. As shown in FIG. 3D, the performance output unit 24 is disposed in the exposure hole 23d, and both ends of the shaft 24b are rotatably disposed in the two shaft support grooves 23e in the front wall of the second main body 23, respectively, and the lower part of the gear 24c is located in the cavity 23h1 of the left covering part 23h. In this way, the performance output unit 24 is a rotatable part that rotates on a rotation axis that is approximately parallel to the front surface of the block toy 20. Note that the operating parts that operate while exposed from the block main body 11, such as the rotatable parts, are provided in a direction (forward direction) different from the direction in which the connecting part 22a and the connected part 23a are provided (up and down direction), so that the operation of the operating parts is not hindered by the connection between the block toys 10, and the visual recognition of the operation of the operating parts is not hindered by the connection between the block toys 10.

3(C), 3(D) and 3(F), the operation unit 25 has a rotation restricting portion 25a having a cross shape in a bottom view, a flange portion 25b provided continuously from the upper end of the rotation restricting portion 25a, and a cylindrical lift guide portion 25c provided continuously from the upper surface of the flange portion 25b. Incidentally, the center of the rotation restricting portion 25a in a bottom view and the center of the lift guide portion 25c in a top view may coincide in the vertical direction or may be slightly offset in the vertical direction. In addition, a notch (reference number omitted) is provided in the front portion of the flange portion 25b so that the flange portion 25b does not interfere with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26 when the operation unit 25 is raised and lowered. Furthermore, a rack 25a1 that can mesh with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26 when the operation unit 25 is raised and lowered is provided in the upper front side of the rotation restricting portion 25a. As shown in FIG. 3(D), the rotation restricting portion 25a of the operating portion 25 is inserted into the guide hole 23c so that it can move up and down freely, and when the block toy 20 is in an unconnected state, the flange portion 25b is in contact with the descent limiting portion 23f, the lower portion of the rotation restricting portion 25a is located in the connected portion 23a, and the rack 25a1 is not engaged with the gear 26b of the power transmission portion 26.

3(D) and 3(F), the power transmission unit 26 has a cylindrical shaft 26a, a gear 26b provided on the right part of the shaft 26a, and a gear 26c provided on the left part of the shaft 26a. As shown in FIG. 3(D), the right end of the shaft 26a of the power transmission unit 26 is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support unit 23g, and the left end of the shaft 26a is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove 23e of the left wall of the second main body unit 23. When the block toy 20 is in a disconnected state, the gear 26c meshes with the gear 24c of the performance output unit 24, and as shown in FIG. 3(F), the gear 26b does not mesh with the rack 25a1 of the operation unit 25.

3(E) and 3(F), the front wall of the first main body 22 is provided with an exposure hole 22b for the performance output unit 24, which is rectangular in front view. In addition, on both the left and right sides of the exposure hole 22b on the lower surface of the front wall of the first main body 22, shaft support grooves 22c for the performance output unit 24, which are U-shaped in left and right views, are provided, and on the upper surface of the left wall of the first main body 22, a shaft support groove 22c for the power transmission unit 26, which is U-shaped in right view, is provided. Furthermore, in the center of the inner upper surface of the first main body 22, a cylindrical portion 22e is provided with a guide hole 22d, which is circular in bottom view and receives the lift guide portion 25c of the operation unit 25 via an elastic member 27 (a compression coil spring in the figure), and a slip-out prevention portion 22f is provided in contact with or adjacent to the upper surface of the shaft support portion 23g of the second main body 23. Furthermore, covering parts 22g that cover the upper parts of both sides of the exposed part of the performance output part 24 without contact are provided on both left and right sides of the exposure hole 22b on the front surface of the first main body part 22, and as shown in FIG. 3(E), the covering part 22g on the left side is provided with a cavity 22g1 that receives the upper part of the gear 24c of the performance output part 24 without contact.

That is, when the first body 22 is combined with the second body 23 (see FIG. 3D), the three shaft support grooves 22c of the first body 22 and the three shaft support grooves 23e of the second body 23 are vertically overlapped and blocked, preventing the shaft 24b of the performance output unit 24 and the shaft 26a of the power transmission unit 26 from coming off and being displaced. Also, in this state, the shaft support groove (reference numeral omitted) of the shaft support portion 23g of the second body 23 is blocked by the fall-out prevention portion 22f of the first body 22, preventing the shaft 26a of the power transmission unit 26 from coming off and being displaced. Furthermore, in this state, the upper end of the lift guide portion 25c of the operation unit 25 is received in the guide hole 22d via the elastic member 27, and the operation unit 25 is urged downward by the elastic member 27 so that the flange portion 25b comes into contact with the upper surface of the descent limiting portion 23f of the second body 23. Furthermore, in this state, each covering portion 22g of the first main body portion 22 and each covering portion 23f of the second main body portion 23 overlap vertically, covering both sides of the exposed portion of the performance output portion 24 without contact.

Although the reference numerals have been omitted, the four circles in Fig. 3(D) and the four circles in Fig. 3(E) indicate the concave-convex fitting portions (one is a convex portion and the other is a concave portion) used when combining the first body portion 22 and the second body portion 23. Of course, the first body portion 22 and the second body portion 23 may be provided with screw coupling portions (one is a screw insertion hole and the other is a screw hole) at the circled locations, and the two may be combined with screws.

Next, the operation of the block toy 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Incidentally, AB shown in FIG. 4(A) is another block toy that has the same appearance as the block toy 20 but a different internal structure, with ABa being the block body, ABb being the connecting part, and ABc being the connected part. There are no particular limitations on the block toy AB as long as it has the same connecting part ABb and connected part ABc, and it may be, for example, the same as the block toy 20, or it may be the block toy 10 mentioned above (see FIG. 1) or the block toy 30 described below (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 4(A), when interconnecting the block toy 20 with another block toy AB, an operation M21 is performed in which the interconnected portion 23a of the block toy 20 is fitted into the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB, and when disconnecting the block toy 20, an operation M22 is performed in which the interconnected portion 23a of the block toy 20 is pulled out from the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB.

As shown in Figures 4(B) and 4(C), in action M21, the operating unit 25 of the block toy 20 is pushed against the biasing force of the elastic member 27 by the connecting unit ABb of the other block toy AB, and is displaced upward linearly. Incidentally, since the biasing force of the elastic member 27 is smaller than the mutual connection force between the block toy 20 and the other block toy AB, the mutual connection is not released by the upward displacement of the operating unit 25. As shown in Figure 4(B), during the upward displacement of the operating unit 25, the rack 25a1 of the operating unit 25 temporarily meshes with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26, and this meshing is released when the operating unit 25 reaches its upper limit.

That is, in operation M21, the rack 25a1 of the operating unit 25, which is displaced upward, temporarily engages with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26, causing the power transmission unit 26 to rotate counterclockwise as viewed from the left side due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 24c of the performance output unit 24, which is engaged with the gear 26c of the power transmission unit 26, causing the performance output unit 24 to rotate clockwise as viewed from the left side (see FIG. 4(C)). As described above, when the operating unit 25 reaches its upper limit, the engagement between the rack 25a1 and the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26 is released, so that the rotation of the performance output unit 24 by operation M21 continues for a while until the performance output unit 24 stops due to rotational resistance. In other words, if operation M21 is performed quickly, it is possible to rotate the performance output unit 24 for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 4(D) and 4(E), in action M22, the operating unit 25 of the block toy 20 returns to its original position due to the biasing force of the elastic member 27 and displaces linearly downward. As shown in Figure 4(D), during the process of the operating unit 25 being displaced downward, the rack 25a1 of the operating unit 25 temporarily meshes with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26, and this meshing is released when the operating unit 25 reaches its lowering limit.

That is, in the operation M22, the rack 25a1 of the operation unit 25, which is displaced downward, temporarily engages with the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26, and the power transmission unit 26 rotates in a clockwise direction as viewed from the left side due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 24c of the performance output unit 24, which is engaged with the gear 26c of the power transmission unit 26, and the performance output unit 24 rotates in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the left side (see FIG. 4(E)). As described above, when the operation unit 25 reaches the lowering limit, the meshing between the rack 25a1 and the gear 26b of the power transmission unit 26 is released, so that the rotation of the performance output unit 24 by the operation M22 continues for a while until the performance output unit 24 stops due to the rotation resistance. In other words, if the operation M22 is performed quickly, it is possible to continue the rotation of the performance output unit 24 for a longer time.

Next, we will explain the main effects and benefits of the block toy 20 described above.

The block toy 20 can rotate the performance output unit 24 when interconnecting with another block toy AB, and can also rotate the performance output unit 24 when disconnecting, so that in addition to the visual effects produced by the rotation of the performance output unit 24, it can also provide the player with an auditory effect produced by the sound that accompanies the rotation. In other words, the block toy 20 can provide the player with the fun and excitement of interconnecting and disconnecting, and can also provide the player with fun and excitement other than interconnecting and disconnecting through the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, the effect is achieved by pressing the operating unit 25 arranged on the connected portion 23a of the block toy 20 with the action M21, and then releasing the pressing and returning the operating unit 25 to its original position with the action M22, so that no special external operation is required to achieve the effect. In other words, the effect can be provided to the player in conjunction with the actions of interconnecting and disconnecting the blocks in the same manner as before.

Third Embodiment
5 and 6 show the configuration and operation of a block toy 30 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, for convenience, the front side of Fig. 5(A) will be referred to as "front", the back side as "back", the left side as "right", the right side as "left", the upper side as "up" and the lower side as "down", and directions in the other figures will be represented in a similar manner.

First, the configuration of the block toy 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The block toy 30 has a rectangular parallelepiped block body 31 consisting of a combination of an upper first body part 32 and a lower second body part 33, a connecting part 32a provided on the upper surface of the block body 31, a connected part 33a provided on the lower surface opposite to the upper surface of the block body 31, a performance output part 34 arranged in the block body 31, an operation part 35 for the performance output part 34, a part of which is arranged on the connected part 33a, and a power transmission part 36, a striking part 37, and an elastic member 38 arranged in the block body 31. The block toy 30 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and it is sufficient that the outer surface of the block toy 30 is composed of multiple faces, and the connecting part 32a and the connected part 33a are provided on the opposing faces of the block toy 30. For example, the shape of the block toy 30 may be a cylindrical shape or a polygonal prism shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped, in addition to a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

As shown in Figures 5(A) to 5(C), the connecting part 32a is convex, specifically a cylindrical convex part, and the connected part 33a is concave, specifically a cylindrical concave part, into which the connecting part 32a can be detachably fitted. The center of the connecting part 32a in a top view and the center of the connected part 33a in a bottom view preferably coincide in the up-down direction. In addition, the diameter and up-down dimensions of the connecting part 32a are slightly smaller than the diameter and up-down dimensions of the connected part 33a, so that the connecting part 32a can be mutually connected to and disconnected from another block toy AB (see Figure 6(A)) having similar connecting part ABb and connected part ABc.

5(D) and 5(F), the second main body 33 has a cylindrical portion 33b surrounding the connected portion 33a, and the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 33b has a guide hole 33c for the operating portion 35 that is cross-shaped when viewed from below. In addition, a shaft support portion 33d for the striking portion 37 that is rectangular when viewed from the right side is provided on the upper surface of the right wall of the second main body 23, and a shaft support groove (reference number omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the left side is provided on the upper surface of the shaft support portion 33d. Furthermore, a descent limiting portion 33e that limits the descent position of the operating portion 35 is provided in the approximate center of the upper surface of the cylindrical portion 33b. The guide hole 33c extends to the descent limiting portion 33e, and the guide hole 33c in the descent limiting portion 33e is open on the front side. Furthermore, a pair of shaft supports 33f for the power transmission unit 36 are provided in front of the lowering limiting unit 33e on the upper surface of the cylindrical unit 33b. Each shaft support 33f has a larger vertical dimension than the lowering limiting unit 33e, and the upper surface of each shaft support 33f has a shaft support groove (reference number omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the left. Furthermore, a shaft support 33g for the striking unit 37 is provided to the right of the lowering limiting unit 33e on the upper surface of the cylindrical unit 33b. The shaft support 33g has a larger vertical dimension than the lowering limiting unit 33e, and the upper surface of the shaft support 33g has a shaft support groove (reference number omitted) that is U-shaped when viewed from the left.

As shown in Fig. 5(D) and Fig. 5(E), the performance output unit 34 is made up of a sound-producing part, such as a bell-shaped arm, that can produce a sound when struck, and as shown in Fig. 5(E), it is placed in a corner of the first main body 32 and is covered by the block toy 30. Incidentally, the performance output unit 34, shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 5(D), represents its vertical positional relationship with the striking unit 37.

5(C), 5(D) and 5(F), the operation unit 35 has a rotation restricting portion 35a having a cross shape in a bottom view, a flange portion 35b provided continuously from the upper end of the rotation restricting portion 35a, and a cylindrical lift guide portion 35c provided continuously from the upper surface of the flange portion 35b. Incidentally, the center of the rotation restricting portion 35a in a bottom view and the center of the lift guide portion 35c in a top view may coincide in the vertical direction or may be slightly offset in the vertical direction. In addition, a notch (reference number omitted) is provided in the front portion of the flange portion 35b so that the flange portion 35b does not interfere with the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36 when the operation unit 35 is raised and lowered. Furthermore, a rack 25a1 that can mesh with the gear 23b of the power transmission unit 36 when the operation unit 35 is raised and lowered is provided in the upper front side of the rotation restricting portion 35a. As shown in FIG. 5(D), the rotation restricting portion 35a of the operating portion 35 is inserted into the guide hole 33c so that it can move up and down freely, and when the block toy 30 is in an unconnected state, the flange portion 35b is in contact with the descent limiting portion 33e, the lower portion of the rotation restricting portion 35a is located in the connected portion 33a, and the rack 35a1 is not engaged with the gear 36b of the power transmission portion 36.

As shown in Figures 5(D) and 5(F), the power transmission unit 36 has a cylindrical shaft 36a, a gear 36b provided on the left part of the shaft 36a, and a gear 36c provided on the right part of the shaft 36a. As shown in Figure 5(D), both sides of the gear 36a on the shaft 36a of the power transmission unit 36 are rotatably arranged in the shaft support grooves (reference numbers omitted) of a pair of shaft supports 33f, and when the block toy 30 is in a disconnected state, as shown in Figure 5(F), the gear 36b is not engaged with the rack 35a1 of the operation unit 35.

As shown in FIG. 5(D), the striking unit 37 has a cylindrical shaft 37a, a gear 37b provided on the left side of the shaft 37a, a square pillar-shaped arm 37c provided on the right side of the shaft 37a, and an eccentric disk-shaped hammer 37d rotatably provided at the end of the arm 37c. As shown in FIG. 5(D), the left end of the shaft 37a of the striking unit 37 is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support unit 33g, and the right end of the shaft 37a is rotatably arranged in the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support unit 33d, so that the hammer 37d can strike the performance output unit 34 when the arm 37c rotates.

As shown in Fig. 5 (E) and Fig. 5 (F), the lower surface of the right wall of the first main body 32 is provided with a rectangular groove-shaped receiving portion 32b that receives the pivot support portion 33d of the second main body 33. In addition, a cylindrical portion 32d is provided in the center of the inner upper surface of the first main body 32, which has a guide hole 32c that is circular when viewed from below and receives the lift guide portion 35c of the operation portion 35 via an elastic member 38 (a compression coil spring in the figure), and a pair of slip-out prevention portions 32e are provided that abut against or are close to the upper surfaces of the pair of pivot supports 33f of the second main body 33, and a slip-out prevention portion 32f is provided that abuts against or is close to the upper surface of the pivot support portion 33g of the second main body 33.

That is, when the first body portion 32 is combined with the second body portion 33 (see FIG. 5D), the receiving portion 32b of the first body portion 32 blocks the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support portion 33d of the second body portion 33, preventing the shaft 37a of the striking portion 37 from coming off and being displaced. Also, in this state, the pair of anti-slip portions 32e of the first body portion 32 blocks the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the pair of shaft support portions 33f of the second body portion 33, preventing the shaft 36a of the power transmission portion 36 from coming off and being displaced, and the anti-slip portion 32f of the first body portion 32 blocks the shaft support groove (reference number omitted) of the shaft support portion 33g of the second body portion 33, preventing the shaft 37a of the striking portion 37 from coming off and being displaced. Furthermore, in this state, the upper end of the lift guide 35c of the operating part 35 is received in the guide hole 32c via the elastic member 38, and the operating part 35 is biased downward by the elastic member 38, so that the flange 35b comes into contact with the upper surface of the lowering limiter 33e of the second main body part 33.

Although the reference numerals have been omitted, the circles at the four corners shown in FIG. 5(D) and the circles at the four corners shown in FIG. 5(E) indicate the concave-convex fitting portions (one is a convex portion and the other is a concave portion) used when combining the first body portion 32 and the second body portion 33. Of course, the first body portion 32 and the second body portion 33 may be provided with screw coupling portions (one is a screw insertion hole and the other is a screw hole) at the circled locations, and the two may be combined with screws.

Next, the operation of the block toy 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Incidentally, AB shown in FIG. 6(A) is another block toy that has the same appearance as the block toy 30 but a different internal structure, with ABa being the block body, ABb being the connecting part, and ABc being the connected part. There are no particular limitations on the block toy AB as long as it has the same connecting part ABb and connected part ABc, and it may be, for example, the same as the block toy 30, or it may be the block toy 10 (see FIG. 1) or the block toy 20 (see FIG. 3) described above.

As shown in FIG. 6(A), when interconnecting the block toy 30 with another block toy AB, an operation M31 is performed in which the interconnected portion 33a of the block toy 30 is fitted into the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB, and when disconnecting the block toy 30, an operation M32 is performed in which the interconnected portion 33a of the block toy 30 is pulled out from the connecting portion ABb of the other block toy AB.

As shown in FIG. 6B, in action M31, the operating part 35 of the block toy 30 is pushed in by the connecting part ABb of the other block toy AB against the biasing force of the elastic member 38, and displaces linearly upward. Incidentally, since the biasing force of the elastic member 38 is smaller than the mutual connection force between the block toy 30 and the other block toy AB, the mutual connection is not released by the upward displacement of the operating part 35. During the process of the upward displacement of the operating part 35, the rack 35a1 of the operating part 35 temporarily meshes with the gear 36b of the power transmission part 36, and this meshing is released when the operating part 35 reaches its upper limit.

That is, in operation M31, the rack 35a1 of the operating unit 35, which is displaced upward, temporarily engages with the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36, and the power transmission unit 26 rotates counterclockwise as viewed from the left due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 37b of the striking unit 37, which is engaged with the gear 26c of the power transmission unit 26, and the striking unit 37 rotates clockwise as viewed from the left, and the hammer 37d strikes the performance output unit 34 every time the arm 37c of the striking unit 37 rotates about 360 degrees clockwise as viewed from the left, and the striking generates a sound from the performance output unit 34. As described above, the hammer 37d is rotatably provided at the end of the arm 37c, and since the center of rotation is eccentric, it can retreat from the performance output unit 34 after striking. As described above, when the operating unit 35 reaches its upper limit, the meshing between the rack 35a1 and the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36 is released, so the sound generated by the performance output unit 35 due to action M31 continues for a while until the striking unit 37 stops due to rotational resistance. In other words, if action M31 is performed quickly, it is possible to continue generating sound from the performance output unit 34 for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6(B), in operation M32, the operating unit 35 of the block toy 30 returns to its original position due to the biasing force of the elastic member 38, and is displaced linearly downward. During the process of the operating unit 35 being displaced downward, the rack 35a1 of the operating unit 35 temporarily meshes with the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36, and this meshing is released when the operating unit 35 reaches its lowering limit.

That is, in operation M32, the rack 35a1 of the operation unit 35, which is displaced downward, temporarily engages with the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36, causing the power transmission unit 36 to rotate in a clockwise direction as viewed from the left side due to the temporary engagement, and the rotational power is transmitted to the gear 37b of the striking unit 37, which is engaged with the gear 36c of the power transmission unit 36, causing the striking unit 37 to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the left side, and each time the arm 37c of the striking unit 37 rotates approximately 360 degrees in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from the left side, the hammer 37d strikes the performance output unit 34, and the striking generates a sound from the performance output unit 34. As described above, the hammer 37d is rotatably provided at the end of the arm 37c, and since the center of rotation is eccentric, it can retreat from the performance output unit 34 after striking. As described above, when the operating unit 35 reaches its upper limit, the meshing between the rack 35a1 and the gear 36b of the power transmission unit 36 is released, so the sound generation from the performance output unit 35 by operation M32 continues for a while until the striking unit 37 stops due to rotational resistance. In other words, if operation M32 is performed quickly, it is possible to continue the sound generation from the performance output unit 34 for a longer period of time.

Next, we will explain the main effects and benefits obtained by the block toy 30 described above.

The block toy 30 can generate a sound from the performance output unit 34 when interconnecting with another block toy AB, and can also generate a sound from the performance output unit 34 when disconnecting, so that the player can be provided with an auditory performance by the sound generated by the performance output unit 35. In other words, the block toy 30 can provide the player with the fun and excitement of interconnecting and disconnecting, and can also provide the player with fun and excitement other than interconnecting and disconnecting through the above-mentioned performance.

In addition, the effect is achieved by pressing the operating unit 35 arranged on the connected portion 33a of the block toy 30 with the action M31, and then releasing the pressing and returning the operating unit 35 to its original position with the action M32, so there is no need to perform any special external operation to achieve the effect. In other words, the effect can be provided to the player in conjunction with the actions of interconnecting and disconnecting the blocks in the same manner as before.

Other Embodiments
(1) In the above-mentioned block toys 10, 20 and 30, it has been shown that the effects are output both when the operating units 15, 25 and 35 are displaced upward (when interconnected) and when they are displaced downward (when disconnected). However, for example, by changing the gears 16b, 26b and 36b of the power transmission units 16, 26 and 36 to gears that rotate in one direction, it is also possible to output the effects only when the operating units 15, 25 and 35 are displaced upward (when interconnected) and when they are displaced downward (when disconnected).

(2) In the block toys 10, 20, and 30 described above, one connecting part 12a, 22a, and 32a is provided on the top surface of the block body 11, 21, and 31, and one connected part 13a, 23a, and 33a is provided on the bottom surface. However, it is also possible to increase the size (e.g., the left-right dimension) of the block body 11, 21, and 31 to provide two or more similar connecting parts and connected parts. In this case, an operation unit may be placed on one of the two or more connected parts so that a performance can be output from a single performance output unit, or an operation unit may be placed on each connected part so that a performance can be output from each of the same number of performance output units.

(3) In the block toys 10 and 20 described above, the performance output units 14 and 24 are shown to be composed of rotatable parts, but it is also possible to use as the performance output unit a part that allows for displacement other than rotation, for example a mechanism that uses the elevation of the operating unit 25 to cause linear displacement. In addition, in the block toy 30 described above, the performance output unit 34 is shown to be composed of sound-producing parts that generate sound when struck, but it is also possible to use as the performance output unit a part that allows for sound generation other than by striking, for example an electronic circuit that electrically generates sound when the operating unit 35 is raised and lowered. Furthermore, it is also possible to use as the performance output unit a part that allows for light generation, for example an electronic circuit that electrically generates light when the operating unit 35 is raised and lowered.

10...block toy (first embodiment), 11...block body, 12...first body part, 13...second body part, 12a...connecting part, 13a...connected part, 14...performance output part, 15...operation part, 16...power transmission part, 17...elastic member, 20...block toy (second embodiment), 21...block body, 22...first body part, 23...second body part, 22a...connecting part, 23a...connected part, 24...performance output part, 25...operation part, 26...power transmission part, 27...elastic member, 30...block toy (third embodiment), 31...block body, 32...first body part, 33...second body part, 32a...connecting part, 33a...connected part, 34...performance output part, 35...operation part, 36...power transmission part, 37...striking part, 38...elastic member.

Claims (9)

A block toy having a connecting part and a connected part for mutual connection and disconnection,
a displacement portion which is displaced when the mutual connection is performed and when the connection is released;
an operating unit that operates in response to the displacement of the displacement unit and operates with at least a part exposed from the block toy;
Equipped with
The operating unit is provided at a position that is visually recognizable when the block toys are connected to each other.
Block toy. The block toy has an outer surface formed of a plurality of surfaces including a first surface and a second surface,
The connecting portion is provided on the first surface,
The coupled portion is provided on the second surface,
The operating portion is provided on a surface different from the first surface and the second surface.
The block toy according to claim 1 . The second surface is a surface opposite to the first surface.
The block toy according to claim 2. The connecting portion is configured to have a convex shape, and the connected portion is configured to have a concave shape so that the connecting portion can be detachably fitted therein.
The block toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3. At least a portion of the displacement portion is disposed within the recess.
The block toy according to claim 4. The displacement portion is configured to be linearly displaceable in substantially the same direction as a connection direction of the block toys.
The block toy according to claim 5. The linear displacement of the displacement portion is a push-in displacement and a return displacement.
The block toy according to claim 6. The pushing displacement and the returning displacement are performed under the bias of an elastic member.
The block toy according to claim 7. The operating portion is at least partially composed of a rotatable part,
The movement of the operating part is due to the rotation of the rotatable part.
The block toy according to any one of claims 1 to 8.