Building block

Abstract

To provide building blocks which can be stacked both vertically and obliquely, and which are resistant to collapsing under lateral forces.SOLUTION: Building blocks comprise a side-grooved piece having a plurality of side grooves on a side surface, a plurality of cylindrical pieces that can be arranged along the side grooves of the side-grooved piece, and a both-end-grooved piece having an end-face groove on one end face which can be fitted to each of the cylindrical pieces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to building blocks that can be used for the development of children's intellectual growth and the rehabilitation of people with finger disabilities by stacking pieces (members) of various shapes.

Background Art

[0002] Although the building blocks sold as intellectual development toys so far are composed of pieces of various shapes such as cubes, rectangular parallelepipeds, triangular members, and cylindrical members, many of them are simply stacked vertically from the bottom to the upper side, and there has been a demand for building blocks that can draw out more free imagination.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses building blocks having a cube or a rectangular parallelepiped provided with a hole portion and a rod-shaped member inserted into the hole portion as constituent pieces, but the purpose is to make the concept of numbers understood, and it is a building block that only inserts the rod-shaped member into the hole portion.

[0004] Further, Patent Document 2 discloses building blocks having a first type of piece having a V-groove and a second type of piece fitted into the V-groove, and stacking them in a balanced shape by stacking them in this fitting structure. However, it is difficult to maintain balance against a force in an oblique direction, and there are significant limitations in the shape to be stacked.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a building block that can be stacked not only in the vertical direction but also in the diagonal direction and is not easily collapsed by a force from the lateral direction.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] The building block according to the present invention includes a side-grooved piece having a plurality of side groove portions on a side surface, a plurality of cylindrical pieces that can be arranged along the side groove portions of the side-grooved piece, and a both-end-grooved piece that can arrange an end groove portion provided on one end surface of the cylindrical piece, and is characterized by this.

[0008] Here, the side-grooved piece refers to a piece having a plurality of groove portions (side groove portions) on at least one side surface of a square bar such as a bar-shaped rectangular parallelepiped. The cylindrical piece refers to a bar having a circular cross-sectional shape. In the present invention, since the cylindrical pieces are combined laterally along the side groove portions of the side-grooved piece, it is preferable that the plurality of side groove portions are provided parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction along one side surface of the square bar, and a groove (recess) having a semi-circular cross-section is preferable so as to match the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical piece. The both-end-grooved piece refers to a piece having a pair of groove portions on both opposing end surfaces of a plate material having a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. Since the both-end-grooved piece is also stacked via the cylindrical piece, the shape of the groove portion preferably has a semi-circular cross-section.

[0009] The building block according to the present invention is characterized in that it combines the above three types of pieces: the side-grooved piece, the cylindrical piece, and the both-end-grooved piece. Therefore, for example, when the piece with grooves at both ends is placed with one of its end-face grooves on the side of one of the plurality of cylindrical pieces, the side of the piece with grooves at both ends is supported by the side of another cylindrical piece adjacent to the one cylindrical piece, and they are stacked in such a way that they are inclined and held at a predetermined inclination angle. Or, by using the intervals between the plurality of cylindrical pieces and the cylindrical pieces adjacent to them to hold the plurality of pieces with grooves at both ends in an inclined manner, other various pieces can be stacked between them as a basic structure, and further cylindrical pieces or other various pieces can be stacked on top of that. In this case, other cylindrical pieces or various pieces can also be stacked using the other end-face grooves of the piece with grooves at both ends.

[0010] The other various pieces used in the present invention refer to pieces other than the above three types of pieces. Examples include cubic pieces, rectangular parallelepiped pieces, cylindrical pieces, triangular pieces, polygonal pieces, wheel-shaped pieces, stepped cylindrical pieces with different diameters, square bars with a triangular cross-section, spheres, etc., pieces of various shapes.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] The building blocks according to the present invention can combine two pieces with grooves at both ends in an oblique direction, for example, in a V shape, by using the gaps (intervals) formed between the plurality of cylindrical pieces in combination with the side grooves of the pieces with side grooves. Therefore, other pieces can also be stacked obliquely using this oblique V-shaped slope. Therefore, it can be stacked in both the vertical and oblique directions, and can stimulate more free imagination. Also, when stacked obliquely, it is not easily collapsed even when receiving a force from the lateral direction. When wheels are combined on the base side, it can also be pushed by hand and played with from the lateral direction.

[0012] Since the building blocks according to the present invention have a high degree of freedom in stacking vertically and obliquely, they are not only useful for children's intellectual development, but can also be used for purposes such as training and rehabilitation of the elderly.

Brief Explanation of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] An explanation of the pieces constituting the building blocks according to the present invention and the fact that they can be stacked under free ideas will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0015] First, the gist of the basic structure of the building blocks will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. There are three types of pieces: a side-grooved piece 11 which is an angle member made of an elongated rectangular parallelepiped as a whole, and a plurality of side groove portions 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d are formed in parallel on one side surface thereof; a cylindrical piece 12 which is combined along the groove portions of the side groove portions 11a to 11d; and a both-end-grooved piece 13 which is a plate material made of a rectangular parallelepiped as a whole, and end groove portions 13a, 13b are formed on a pair of opposing end surfaces.

[0016] The example of stacking the pieces shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is to arrange two side-grooved pieces 11, 11 with their lower surface sides 11e facing downwards in parallel with an inner interval l, and place a cylindrical piece 12 so as to span between the side groove portions 11a, 11a of these two side-grooved pieces 11. The cylindrical piece 12 has a circular end face 12a and a side portion 12b formed of an outer peripheral surface with a circular cross-section. In FIG. 1, an example using two cylindrical pieces 12, 12 is shown. Basically, if two cylindrical pieces 12, 12 are used as a set, the number thereof is based on the free creation of the building blocks. Next, as shown in FIG. 1(b), one end groove portion 13b of the both-end-grooved piece 13 is inserted so as to abut against the side portion 12b of the cylindrical piece 12 between the two side-grooved pieces 11, 11. The thickness t of the both-end-grooved piece 13 made of a plate material is smaller than the interval l between the two side-grooved pieces 11, 11. Then, since the end groove portion 13b of the both-end-grooved piece 13 has a semi-circular groove shape conforming to the outer shape of the cylindrical piece, one side surface 13c of the both-end-grooved piece 13 is inclined and held so as to abut against the side portion 12b of the adjacent cylindrical piece 12. That state is shown in FIG. 1(c). When one side surface 13c of the both-end-grooved piece 13 abuts against the side portion of the cylindrical piece 12, an inclined surface is formed on the other side surface 13d of the both-end-grooved piece 13.

[0017] With the above combination as a basic configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, two both-end-grooved pieces 13, 13 can be stacked on each other in a V shape. In this way, as shown in FIG. 2(b), for example, a cubic piece 14 can be stacked in the space portion formed in a V shape. Since these two both-end-grooved pieces 13, 13 and the cubic piece 14 are in a positional relationship of abutting against each other obliquely, they are not easily collapsed even against a force in the left-right direction in FIG. 2.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship between the side-grooved piece 11, the cylindrical piece 12, and the both-end-grooved piece 13 as a front view. The side-grooved piece 11 has a flat lower surface 11e such that a plurality of side-grooved portions 11a to 11d are arranged on the upper surface. The cylindrical piece 12 preferably has a circular cross-section, and the outer diameter d1 is preferably a semi-circular (half-cut) shape that matches the groove dimension d2 of the side-grooved portions 11a to 11d. Also, it is preferable that the dimensions d3 of the end-grooved portions 13a and 13b of the end-grooved piece 13 also match the outer diameter d1 of the cylindrical piece 12. In this way, the cylindrical piece 12 fits on the inner peripheral surface of the side-grooved portions 11a to 11d and becomes stable. Also, the inclination of the end-grooved piece 13 is set to a predetermined angle θ according to the center-to-center distance W1 between the plurality of side-grooved portions and the distance W2 between the cylindrical pieces. Specifically, the width dimension W3 of the end-grooved piece is preferably about twice the distance W2 between the cylindrical pieces. Also, the center-to-center distance W1 is substantially equal to the width dimension W3 of the end-grooved piece 13. This angle θ is preferably about 90°, and a range of 60 to 120° is preferable.

[0019] The building blocks according to the present invention, by combining various pieces in addition to the above pieces, have a high degree of freedom of various changes and become building blocks that can bring out creativity. A configuration example thereof is shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7(a) shows a state of being stored in a storage box composed of a box 1 and a lid 2, and FIG. 7(b) shows a state in which various pieces are arranged. Although not limited to the configuration of FIG. 7(b), in this embodiment, it has the following pieces. A side-grooved piece 11, longer long-side-grooved pieces 111 than it, a cylindrical piece 12 and longer long-cylindrical pieces 112 than it, shorter single-cylindrical pieces 212 than it, a cylindrical piece 17, a wheel-shaped piece 15, an axle-shaped piece 16 with an outer diameter consisting of two-step dimensions, a thin rectangular parallelepiped piece 19, a triangular piece 20, a spherical piece 18, etc.

[0020] By stacking these various pieces, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a long cylindrical piece 112 can be placed on the upper end surface groove portion of the piece 13 with grooves at both ends, or various pieces can be stacked in various combinations between these pieces 13 with grooves at both ends. In this case as well, it is difficult to collapse against forces from the left and right.

[0021] FIG. 5 shows that with the side groove portion of the piece 11 with side grooves facing downward, the wheel-shaped piece 15, the axle-shaped piece 16, and the cylindrical piece 17 are combined so as to be movable in the left-right direction. Or, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of pieces 13 with grooves at both ends are set upright in the front and rear with the end surface groove portions 13a and 13b positioned vertically. When a cylindrical piece 12 is bridged over the end surface groove portion 13a and the piece 11 with side grooves is placed in an inclined manner, it can also be formed into a shape like a clasped hands structure as a whole.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0022] 11 Piece with side grooves 12 Cylindrical piece 13 Piece with grooves at both ends

Claims

1. A side-grooved piece having a plurality of side groove portions on its side, a plurality of cylindrical pieces that can be arranged along the side groove portions of the side-grooved piece, and a double-ended grooved piece that can arrange an end face groove portion on one end face of the cylindrical piece, characterized in that it is a building block.

2. When the double-ended grooved piece places one end face groove portion on the side of one of the plurality of cylindrical pieces, the side of the double-ended grooved piece is supported by the side of another cylindrical piece adjacent to the one cylindrical piece, and is inclined and held at a predetermined inclination angle. The building block according to Claim 1, characterized in that.

3. By using the intervals between the plurality of cylindrical pieces and adjacent cylindrical pieces to hold a plurality of double-ended grooved pieces in an inclined manner, various other pieces can be stacked therebetween. The building block according to Claim 2, characterized in that.

4. The building block according to Claim 2, characterized in that other cylindrical pieces or various pieces can be stacked using the other end face groove portion of the double-ended grooved piece.

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