CA2059106A1 - Toy building blocks - Google Patents

Abstract

A B S T R A C T

The invention is a toy building block in which some of the sides are covered by hook material and some of the sides are covered by loop material, both of a matching hook and loop fastener, so that the blocks may be assembled, fastened together and disassembled.

Description

,J ~
This invention relates to toy building blocks.
In particular, it relates to improved building blocks with surfaces which are capable of releasably fastening to one another to form a more rigid structure.
Toy building blocks, usually in the form of cubes, sometimes with letters or numbers and other indicia thereon, have been used for many years as a source of amusement and learning for small children. Cubic or ~ectangular blocks can be built up to form a wall or an enclosure or some rudimentary semblance of a house or other structureO
One of the problems with traditional blocks is that they are easily knocked over by the uncoordinated hands of small children. In addition, because the blocks have no interlocking means, they do not form a very sturdy structure and the size and shape of the st:ructures which can be created are very limited.
It is the purpose of this invention ~o provide a toy building block which has sides which will adhere together so that they can be stacked into a composite s~ructure with some rigidity so as to avoid the frustration associated with traditional blocks.
This object and other advantages may be achieved by the present invention which comprises a toy building block of polygonal configuration having at least one side covered by hook material and a second side covered by loop material, the hook and loop material being adapted to fasten to one another. Ideally, the polygonal configuration is rectangular with three sides covered with hook and three sides with loop material.

In one embodlment, one side plus two adjacent sides which are opposite to each other are covered with hook material and a second side with two adjacent sides which are opposite to each other are covered with loop material.
The block may be cubic or rectangular in which each side is equal or a multiple of the area of the smallest side.
The invention may be better understood by the following description of one embodiment thereof with reference to the drawings in which;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a block in accordance with the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a small stack of the blocks assembled and fastened together.
Figure 3 shows an alternative configuration of the blocks of the present invention.
Figure i illustrates a single toy-building block of cubic shape and dimensions. The block is covered by hook and loop fastener material. This material, which commonly goes by the name Velcro (Trade Mark), provides adhesion between mating surfaces. One surface of the material has a series of loops and the other surface has a series of hooks which engage the loops to fasten two mating portions of the fastener material together.
In the block illustrated in Figure 1, sides 2 and 4 are covered with loop material and side 6 is covered with hook material. On the sides not visible, the side 8, which is opposite side 2, is also loop material, and the sides opposite 4 and the side opposite 6 are hook material.

2 ~ 6 In this illustrated embodiment, three sides of a six sided cube are covered with hook material and the othe~
three sides with loop material.
Thus, as illustrated in Figure 2, the blocks may be assembled with mating sides in juxtaposition to form a wall or other structure which has some cohesion and rigidity.
Nevertheless, the structure may be dismantled by pulling apart the adhering surfaces.
In Figure 3, similar blocks 10 and 12 are shown assembled with a third block 14 which is not of the same size and shape but is a multiple of the smaller blocks so as to provide a greater span but still conform to the modular pattern of the smaller blocks.
Thus, by means of building blocks having hook and loop fastener material on various sides of each block, a child may make a variety of structures without the frustration of having them fall down or con~,tantly being knocked over and may therefore construct larger, more elaborate structures with greater satisfactionO A greater variety of structures may be built with greater xigidity but may still be dismantled and rearranged in a different way.
It will~ of course, be realized that modifications and variations of the illustrated embodiment may be employed without departing from the inventive concept herein.

Claims (6)

1. A toy building block of polygonal configuration having at least one side covered with hook fastener material.

2. A toy building block as claimed in Claim 1 having at least a second side covered with loop fastener material.

3. A toy building block as claimed in Claims 1 and 2 in which said block has three sides covered with hook fastener material and three sides covered by loop fastener material.

4. A toy building block as claimed in Claim 3 in which one side and two sides adjacent thereto and opposite to each other are covered with hook material and a second side and two sides adjacent thereto and opposite to each other are covered with loop material.

5. A toy building block as claimed in Claims 1,2, 3 or 4 in which said block is a cube.

6. A toy building block as claimed in Claims 1,2,3 or 4 in which said block is rectangular with each dimension a multiple of the smallest dimension.