JPS5815154B2 - block toy - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is equipped with blocks having gears, and the blocks can be combined in various ways, making it possible to assemble any structure using various blocks.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a block toy that allows the assembled structure to travel and to transmit power using the gears of the geared block.

Conventionally, as a block using a hollow columnar body, a B-shaped block body was formed by joining two hollow semicylindrical members with their side walls, and a cylindrical part was provided protruding from the top surface of each semicylindrical member. There was a block (see Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 48-80699 (hereinafter referred to as the first publication)), and there was also a block with a side cursor shape based on the semicylindrical member mentioned above (Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 48-58895). (Refer to Publication No. 2 (hereinafter referred to as Publication No. 2)).

Furthermore, as a block with gears etc. arranged, a fitting hole and a shaft hole are formed in the block body having a circular or cylindrical projection on the top surface, a gear is fitted into the fitting hole, and a shaft is inserted into the shaft hole. There was one in which a gear and a shaft were engaged, and pulleys were attached to both ends of the shaft (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-32836 (hereinafter referred to as the third publication)).

On the other hand, the present inventor has already discovered a hexagonal cross-sectional shape in which the upper half is the upper half of a regular octagon, the lower half is the lower half of a square, and the height is a hexagonal shape having the above-mentioned cross-sectional outline. length l of the base of
A first method in which the side walls of a hollow hexagonal column equal to
block (see Fig. 1), and a second block (see Fig. 2) which is made by joining and integrating another hollow hexagonal column to the back wall of the first block. By doing so, he devised a block toy that could be used to assemble geometrically beautiful structures imitating arbitrary shapes such as airplanes and tanks, and filed an application for
121 - Utility Model Application Publication No. 152699/1983).

As a result of intensive research to develop such block toys and provide a completely new and very interesting block toy, the inventor of the present invention simply added the blocks described in the first and second publications to those described in the third publication. Instead of arranging large gears, we used a block like the block of the earlier application mentioned above, which regulates the vertical, horizontal, and height dimensions so that any shape can be compactly formed with a small number of blocks. By arranging gears on both sides of such a block, a structure assembled using the blocks can be run using the gears as wheels, and when the structure is running, the gears meshing with the gears that become the wheels can be moved one after another. It is very interesting to be able to rotate the blocks, and it is also possible to mesh the gears in various connected states of the blocks, which makes the child think of various ways to mesh the blocks, which is very interesting for the child. This is the invention of an educational block toy and the application is hereby filed.

That is, in the present invention, the maximum height and width of the cross-sectional outline is l.
, the minimum value of the wall thickness between the cross-sectional external shape and the cross-sectional internal shape is t, the cross-sectional internal shape is a shape that can be fitted with a cylinder with a diameter of 1-2 t, and the side wall is two hollow columns with a height l. a plurality of first blocks in which a cylindrical part having a diameter of 13-2t and whose height is smaller than the length l is integrally protruded from the upper surface of each of the hollow pillars; In addition to a plurality of second blocks which are integrated by joining other hollow columns to the back wall of each hollow column of the block, x(0 <x<l/2) by inserting a shaft through the hollow columnar body and attaching gears to both ends of the shaft to provide a gear block. It is possible to assemble the gears so that they mesh with each other through the second link, and the assembled structure can be run using the gears as wheels, and furthermore, the gears can be used to transmit power. educational and
And it provides a very interesting block toy.

The two inventions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first block (hereinafter also referred to as a standard block) which is a component of a block toy according to an embodiment of the second invention of the present application, and FIG.
FIG. 3 shows the third block (hereinafter also referred to as the terminating block), and FIG. 4 shows the fourth block (hereinafter also referred to as the connecting block).

Moreover, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a fitted state between the hollow hexagonal column and the cylindrical portion of the first block.

In these figures, 1 is a first block formed by compression molding or injection molding of resin or the like, and this first block 1 is made by joining the side walls 2a of two hollow hexagonal columns 2 to form an integral body. Molded.

The cross-sectional outline of this hollow hexagonal column 2 is the upper half 2e when the upper half is cut from a regular octagon with a distance l between two opposing sides along a center line 2g passing through the midpoint of the two opposing sides. It has a hexagonal shape, and its lower half is the lower half 2f when a square with one side length l is cut along a center line 2g passing through the midpoint of two opposing sides.

Therefore, the maximum value of the height of this cross-sectional outline is l, and the maximum value of the width is also l.

In addition, the internal cross-sectional shape of this hollow hexagonal column 2 is a hexagonal shape similar to the above-mentioned cross-sectional external shape, which is smaller by the wall thickness t, and the height of this hollow hexagonal column 2 is the base of the hexagon, that is, the above-mentioned square. It is equal to the length l of one side of .

A columnar portion 3 is integrally provided on the upper surface 2b of each hollow hexagonal column 2 so as to protrude therefrom.

The outer diameter of this cylindrical portion 3 is 1-2t, which fits into the inner surface of the hollow hexagonal column 2, and the height h of this cylindrical portion 3 is greater than the height l of the hollow hexagonal column 2. It's getting smaller.

The second block 4 is formed by integrally molding the back wall 2c of the two hollow hexagonal columns 2 of the first block 1 with other hollow hexagonal columns 5, and has a side profile. The upper half of the other hollow hexagonal pillar 5, that is, the regular octagonal part, is directed toward the cylindrical part 3 of the first block 1.

Note that this may be joined in the opposite direction to the columnar part 3.

Furthermore, the third block 6 is provided with a cylindrical part 7 integrally protruding from the lower surface 2d of each hollow hexagonal pillar 2 of the first block 1, and the outer diameter and height of this cylindrical part 7 are It has the same dimensions 1-2t and height h as the cylindrical portion 3 of the first block 1 described above.

Furthermore, the connecting block 21 has two hollow hexagonal columns 2.2.
A substantially triangular flat plate-shaped joint 22 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the side walls of the two blocks 2 and 2, as shown in FIG.
1 joints 22 can be connected by pins 23.

When both blocks 21 are connected as shown in the figure, the distance in the lateral direction occupied by both joints 22 is l.

FIG. 6 shows a large gear block 12 which is an important component of the block toy of the present invention.
Insert the shaft 13 into the position where 0<x<l/2), and
A large gear 14 with a radius R (>l) is attached to both ends of the gear.

FIG. 1 also shows a small gear block 15, which has small gears 17 with a radius r (<7) attached to both ends of a shaft 16 inserted at the same position as the large gear block 12.

Next, a method for assembling the block of the present invention will be explained.

Figure 8 shows an example of a train model assembled using this block toy.From the right, large gear block 12° L-shaped block 4
, a small gear block 15 is connected to the upper part of the curved block 4, a connecting block 21 is connected to the left side, and furthermore, the connecting block 21, the terminal block 6, the standard block 1, the large gear block 12, the standard block 1, and the L It is connected to a mold block 4, a large gear block 12, an L-shaped block 4, and a small gear block 15.

On the right side of the figure, the large gear 14 of the large gear block 12 and the small gear 17 of the small gear flock 15 mesh, and on the left side of the figure, the large gear 14 of the large gear block 12 on the floor and the large gear 17 of the large gear block 12 mesh with each other. The gear 14 further includes the large gear 14 of the thick gear block 12 and the small gear 1 of the small gear block 15.
7 meshes with each other.

The radius R of the large gear 14 of the large gear block 12 is such that the large gear blocks 12 mesh with each other, and the radius r of the small gear 1γ of the small gear block 15 is such that the large gear block 12 and the small gear block 15 The two are designed to mesh together.

9 to 11 show other examples of block assembly, and these figures also show the large gear block 12.
The positional relationships for the meshing of the large gear block 12 and the small gear flock 15 are all the same as in the case of FIG. 8 above.

In this example, the dimensions of each part of each block are 11 = 25mvt x = 7mm R = 31.7tm r
=14.6mm (1), which is the above (
If the value of X is determined from equations I) and (n), (I
) The value of R is determined from the equation (n), and the value of r is determined from the equation (n), so the value of X can be any value in the range 0<x<l)/2.

However, if the value of X is too small, standard block 1
There is a problem that the shaft 13.16 cannot be passed through the standard block 1 due to the relationship between the thickness of the shaft 13.16 and the thickness of the shaft 13.16.
A problem arises in that the columnar part 3 of another block cannot be fully inserted into the hollow hexagonal column 2 of the gear block due to the obstruction, and the value of x is 5 mm -
A suitable value is 9 mm, more preferably 6 to 8 mm, and the values of the radii R and r are as shown in FIG.
5.4.12 has a terminal block 6 in the hollow hexagonal column.
can be inserted to close the opening of the hollow hexagonal column, and from the point of view of aesthetics, it is preferable to do this.

Moreover, this third block 6 is not only used for the end, but also for both ends when the openings of a hollow hexagonal column such as a standard block are facing each other, as shown in the middle of Fig. 8. Can be used to connect blocks.

On the other hand, the block 21 of Option 4 is used when, on the contrary, the cylindrical parts of standard blocks or the like are facing each other and both blocks are connected.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, when a model such as a train is constructed using the blocks of this embodiment, the large gear 14 of the large gear block 12 or the small gear 17 of the small gear block 15 in contact with the floor can be used as a wheel. You can run a train,
At this time, the large gear 14 or small gear 17 that becomes this wheel serves as a driving source and the large gear 14 meshes with these gears.
Or the small gear 17 rotates, which is very interesting.

It is also possible to use the L-shaped block 4 to expand the block in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper and arrange the gears in the horizontal plane.In this case, the belt can be placed between the gears in the vertical plane and the gears in the horizontal plane. By applying this, it is possible to drive gears that are in a horizontal plane.

It is also possible to attach a propeller, windmill, merry-go-round, etc. in place of the gear on the opposite side of the gear used for driving or driven gear of each gear block, and rotate these. By attaching a manual handle instead and turning it, you can run structures such as trains or rotate other gears.

Furthermore, a belt may be placed between a gear that is not in contact with the floor and a gear that is in the same plane and does not mesh with this gear to drive the gear. There are many ways to play with it.

Furthermore, in the block toy of the present invention, the large gear 14 or the small gear 17 is attached to both ends of the shaft 13 or 16 inserted into the same position of the standard block 1, so the shaft can be inserted through the hole in the standard block 1. Only one type is required, and two types of gear blocks can be constructed by simply changing the gears attached to this shaft, making manufacturing very easy.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the radius R of the large gear 14 and the small gear 17 is
Since yr is uniquely determined once 1 and X are determined, no error occurs in the meshing of the gears, and a reliable meshing state can be obtained.

Furthermore, large gear block 12 comrades and large gear block 1
2 and the small gear block 15 is unique and is very easy for children, so even young children can play with it easily and happily.

Furthermore, the block toy of this embodiment has the following effects in addition to these effects.

That is, in the first to fourth blocks and the two types of gear blocks, the vertical, horizontal, and height dimensions of each hollow hexagonal column are all equal, so that the blocks can be assembled very compactly.

Moreover, when the blocks are assembled in this way, the side or back surfaces of each hollow hexagonal column are continuous with each other to form a wide plane, and the ridgelines of the hollow hexagonal columns are also continuous, so that the entire assembled The shape is geometrically beautiful, including these continuous planes and ridge lines, strongly attracting children's interest, and can also cultivate children's aesthetic sense.

Furthermore, each block is connected to each other by fitting the cylindrical part 3 into the hollow hexagonal pillar 2, so that the outer surface of the cylindrical part 3 and the inner surface of the hollow hexagonal pillar 2 are as shown in FIG. Since there is no surface contact unlike in the case of circular-to-circular fitting, it can be easily inserted and removed, and it is less likely to wear out even after long-term use.

Furthermore, unlike contact at only four points as in the case of fitting a circle and a square, it is possible to maintain a strong fitted state for a long time.

In the above embodiment, the cross-sectional inner and outer shapes are hexagonal in which the upper half is the upper half of a regular octagon and the lower half is the lower half of a square, and the height is the same as the base of the hexagon with the above-mentioned cross-sectional outline. We have explained the case where a large gear block and a small gear block are constructed using a hollow hexagonal column with a length l, but in this case, the upper half of the cross-sectional inner and outer shapes is not a regular octagon, but a circular upper half. A hollow column having a half portion or an upper half portion of a regular n-gon (n is an even number of 4 or more) may also be used.

Furthermore, the internal and external cross-sectional shapes do not have to be composed of a circular shape or a regular n-gon; generally, the maximum height and width of the cross-sectional external shape is l, and the wall thickness between the cross-sectional external shape and the internal cross-sectional shape is The minimum value is t, the cross-sectional inner shape is a shape that can fit into a cylinder with a diameter of 1-2 t, and the height is 1. It can be constructed using any hollow column.

Further, in the above description, a case has been described in which a large gear block and a small gear block are provided in addition to the first and second blocks, but this does not necessarily have to include both gear blocks. The invention includes a plurality of large gear blocks in addition to the first and second blocks, and the second invention further includes a plurality of small gear blocks in addition to the block of the first invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the shaft passes through the standard block at the position By attaching gears to both ends and providing gear blocks so that these gear blocks can mesh with each other via standard blocks or L-shaped blocks, any structure can be assembled, and the gears can be attached to wheels. The structure can be made to run as a wheel, and each gear can be rotated by the driving force of the gear that serves as a wheel.In addition, it can be played with in a variety of ways, making it a very interesting block toy. There is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 4 show a first (standard) block, a second (L-shaped) block, and a third (terminal block) which are the components of a block toy according to an embodiment of the second invention of the present application. ) block and the fourth (connecting) block, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the fitted state of the hollow hexagonal column and the cylindrical part of the standard block, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are the above-mentioned implementations. Diagrams showing a large gear block and a small gear block, which are the constituent elements of the block toy of the example, and Figures 8 to 11 respectively are side views of a structure assembled to imitate a train using the block toy of the above example. 12 are tables showing calculation results of the radii R and r when the value of X of the gear block is changed. 1...First block, 2...Hollow hexagonal column, 3...Cylindrical portion, 4...Second block, 5... ...Other hollow hexagonal prisms, 6...
...Third block, 21...Fourth block, 9...Square side, 9b...Top side, 9c...Left side, 12 ......Large gear block, 13...Shaft, 14...Large gear, 15...Small gear block, 16...
Shaft, 17... Small gear.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The maximum height and width of the cross-sectional outer shape is l, the minimum wall thickness between the cross-sectional outer shape and the inner cross-sectional shape is t, and the inner cross-sectional shape has a diameter of 1.
- Two hollow columns with a height of 1 that fit into a 2t cylinder are joined by joining their side walls to form an inner column with a diameter of 1-2t and whose height is smaller than the above length l. A plurality of first blocks integrally protruding from the upper surface of each hollow columnar body, and another hollow columnar body joined to the back wall of each hollow columnar body of the first block to be integrated. A plurality of second blocks and an axis extending through the hollow columnar body at a position x (0<x<l/2) from the upper side and side edge of the side square of the hollow columnar body of the first block. A block toy comprising: a plurality of large gear blocks having a radius R (>l) inserted through the shaft and fitted with large gears having a radius R (>l) at both ends of the shaft. 2. The block toy according to claim 1, wherein the value of R is . 3 The maximum height and width of the cross-sectional outside shape is l, the minimum wall thickness between the cross-sectional outside shape and the cross-sectional inside shape is t, and the cross-sectional inside shape has a diameter of 1.
- Two hollow cylinders with a height of 1 and having a shape that can fit into a 2t cylinder are joined together by their side walls, and a cylinder part with a diameter of 1-2t and a height smaller than the above length l is formed as above. A plurality of first blocks integrally protruding from the upper surface of each hollow columnar body, and a plurality of other hollow columnar bodies joined and integrated to the back wall of each hollow columnar body of the first block. and a shaft passing through the hollow column at a position x (0<x<A'/2) from the upper and side sides of the side square of the hollow column of the first block. Insert the radius R (>A) to both ends of this shaft.
It is equipped with a plurality of large gear blocks equipped with large gears of Features block toys. 4. The block toy according to claim 3, wherein the values of R and r are as follows.