US20170007940A1

US20170007940A1 - Building block with separation arrangement

Info

Publication number: US20170007940A1
Application number: US15/201,891
Authority: US
Inventors: Boaz Almog; Amir Saraf
Original assignee: Brixo Smart Toys Ltd
Current assignee: Brixo Smart Toys Ltd
Priority date: 2015-07-06
Filing date: 2016-07-05
Publication date: 2017-01-12

Abstract

The present invention relates to a building block with a separation arrangement, comprising a building block body provided with one or more recessed portions, wherein each recessed portion having at least one slanted surface that forms a shape suitable to receive a corresponding portion of another object, in particular a corner portion of a second building block, thereby enabling to dissemble two connected building blocks that wherein at least one of them is a building block having such recessed portion(s), by using said another object as a lifting/separating tool while being partially inserted into one of said recessed portions.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Israeli Application No. 239816, filed on Jul. 6, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of modular elements. More particularly, the invention relates to releasably interconnecting toy building elements (hereinafter referred to as “blocks”) provided with separation arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Connectable blocks, such as the building elements provided by LEGO® that are capable of interlock with bosses on the upper surface of the blocks, allow one to build three dimensional structures and provide a unique educational experience. Playing with such blocks develops skills such as 3D vision, creativity, engineering, role-playing and more. The common toy blocks have been supplemented with dedicated building elements with either a specific appearance or a mechanical or electrical function to enhance the play value. Building blocks capable of interlock with bosses on the upper surface of the blocks are well known, such as the popular plastic bricks by LEGO®. Unfortunately, sometimes tightly assembled blocks are difficult to be separated, in particular by a small child.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a building brick having an arrangement that makes it easier to disassemble connected blocks.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a building block with a separation arrangement, comprising a building block body provided with one or more recessed portions, wherein each recessed portion having at least one slanted surface that forms a shape suitable to receive a corresponding portion of another object, in particular a corner portion of a second building block, thereby enabling to dissemble two connected building blocks that wherein at least one of them is a building block having such recessed portion(s), by using said another object as a lifting/separating tool while being partially inserted into one of said recessed portions.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the two connected building blocks can be a building block with the separation arrangement and a flat baseplate surface such as the 32×32-stud baseplate by LEGO®, two building blocks each provided with the separation arrangement, or one regular building block with no separation arrangement and one building block with the separation arrangement.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the another object can be a second building block or other instrument capable of producing pressure on the building block while the corner portion of the second building block is housed within one of the recessed portion of the building block. For example, the lifting tool can be a regular building block with no recessed portion.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a modular building blocks set, comprising a plurality of building block and/or building elements, wherein one or more of said building blocks are provided with separation arrangement in form of one or more recessed portion(s), wherein each recessed portion having at least one slanted surface that forms a shape suitable to receive a corresponding portion of another object.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a perspective view showing the upper surface of a block provided with a separation arrangement, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates a perspective view showing the bottom surface of the block of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C schematically illustrates a top view of the block of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1D schematically illustrates a side view of the block of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1E schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of the block of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an initial separation stage of the block of FIG. 1A from a baseplate; according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the initial separation stage of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a novel releasably interconnectable toy block that provides easily disassembling capabilities. A child user building a structure with the blocks will acquire the satisfaction of being able to easily separate two connected blocks electrically caused actions such as a case where one block is being interlocked with bosses on the upper surface of another block.
Reference will now be made to several embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. Wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the present invention for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.
The following description relates to a rectilinear block, but it will be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to a block of any other size or shape.
FIGS. 1A-1E schematically illustrate a building block provided with a separation arrangement, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Block 10 comprises a body configured with male engagement elements 3 protruding upwardly from its upper square surface 4 and with female engagement elements 8 configured at its bottom surface 9, and one or more recessed portions provided along its length such as indicated by niche 2 to facilitate separation of assembled bricks. The male and female engagement elements may be of any type well known to those skilled in the art, and some or all of the illustrated male engagement elements may be replaced with female engagement elements, or some or all of the illustrated female engagement elements may be replaced with male engagement elements.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, niche 2 has a form adapted to receive a corresponding portion of other block from a set of toy building blocks, thereby enabling to use existing blocks as a block separator tool. For example, the form of niche 2 may correspond to a corner section of some of the blocks at such set as demonstrated by block 11 in FIGS. 2 and 3. As a result of this novel structure, a simple solution may be provided to facilitate separation of assembled blocks while using an existing block.
An existing block (e.g., as indicated by block 11 in FIGS. 2 and 3) can be applied over the sides of block 10, in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Two assembled blocks (or a block connected on top of a baseplate 12 surface) can be separated by inserting the corner portion of one end of block 11 into niche 2 of block 10, as shown in FIG. 3, and then applying pressure on the other end of block 11, typically using the thumb and forefinger. When the inserted corner portion is forced inwardly and upwardly/downwardly, the blocks are forced to separate, as shown in FIG. 6. The slanted or inclined surfaces of the niche 2 provide significant mechanical advantage, such that tightly assembled bricks can be easily separated by a small child.
The body of block 10 can manufactured from a non-conductive plastic material, e.g. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). According to some embodiments of the invention, the body of block 10 may be converted, at least partially, into an electrically conductive member by the manner disclosed by the present Applicants in corresponding International Publication No. WO 2015/033340. That is, they may be made from a base plastic material and coated with one or more metallic conductive layers having excellent electrical conductivity, for example three separate copper, nickel and chrome layers, such as by electroplating techniques, lithography techniques for masking portions of the terminal members, etching techniques, or by adhesive or mechanically attachment. The total thickness of the coating may range from 1-50 microns, be resistant to erosion and have a metallic shine.
In a typical embodiment, an initial separating displacement of two blocks greatly reduces the forces required to complete the job by manually gripping the two blocks.
It is contemplated that blocks according to the configuration of the invention may be assembled together with conventional blocks having flat sides extending completely to the edges without and recessed portions.
As will be appreciated by the skilled person the arrangement described in the figures results in a building block having disassembling capabilities for a pair of blocks or for a block connected to other building element, such as a baseplate.
While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried out with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without exceeding the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A building block with separation arrangement, comprising a body provided with one or more recessed portion(s), wherein each recessed portion having at least one slanted surface that forms a shape suitable to receive a corresponding portion of another object, thereby enabling to dissemble two connected building blocks wherein at least one of them is a building block having such recessed portion(s), by using said another object as a lifting/separating tool while being partially inserted into one of said recessed portions.

2. The building block according to claim 1, in which the other object is another building block.

3. The building block according to claim 2, in which the second building block is adapted to produce pressure on the building block while the corner portion of said second building block housed within the recessed portion.

4. A modular building blocks set, comprising a plurality of building blocks and/or building elements, wherein one or more of said building blocks are provided with separation arrangement in form of one or more recessed portion(s), wherein each recessed portion having at least one slanted surface that forms a shape suitable to receive a corresponding portion of another object.