3D pixel art educational toy

Abstract

This three-dimensional dot picture set allows you to arbitrarily select and adjust the insertion depth of the dot stick inserted into the hole in the drawing board and maintain that insertion depth. [Solution] The device comprises a drawing board 1 on which the insertion holes 5 for the dot sticks DS are arranged in a regular pattern so that the dot sticks DS can be inserted into the insertion holes 5 of the drawing board 1 while freely selecting or adjusting the insertion depth, and the selected or adjusted insertion depth can be maintained, and a plurality of dot sticks DS to be inserted into the insertion holes 5.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an educational toy that can create a three-dimensional dot picture that can be expressed in any three-dimensional shape, for example, in a relief shape.

[0002] There have been commercially available toys that allow players to create (draw) pictures using dots (points) by placing single-color or multi-colored dot material in any pattern or shape on a drawing board on which the dot material is placed. [Background technology]

[0003] While conventional objects such as pictures formed by arranging dot materials are flat, educational toys have been proposed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, etc., in which the dot materials are formed into short columnar shapes of different lengths, and the drawing board has holes for inserting short columnar dot materials (hereinafter also referred to as dot sticks). This allows the user to create (draw) three-dimensional dot pictures. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-100695 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-232602 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1-95985 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The three-dimensional dot picture techniques shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3 consist of short columnar dot material (dot sticks) of different lengths and a drawing board with holes (dot stick insertion holes) of different depths into which the dot sticks are inserted. Therefore, the shape of the three-dimensional dot picture that can be created is determined by the depth of the holes and the length of the dot material (dot sticks), and it is not possible to arbitrarily change the height at which the dot sticks are inserted into the holes or the depth at which they are inserted.

[0006] On the other hand, in a 3D dot picture set in which the depth of the dot stick insertion holes formed in the drawing board is uniform and the height (length) of the short columnar dot material (dot sticks) placed in the holes is made of different lengths, the only thing that can be done is to change the position of the uneven 3D object on the drawing board by changing the position of the dot material of different lengths, but it lacks the elements necessary to freely create any 3D shape on the drawing board.

[0007] Therefore, the objective of this invention is to provide a three-dimensional dot picture set (educational toy) that includes a drawing board that allows the insertion depth of the dot material (dot sticks) inserted into the holes in the drawing board to be selected and adjusted as desired, and that is capable of firmly maintaining the selected and adjusted insertion depth of the dot sticks, and a three-dimensional dot picture set (educational toy) that can be inserted at any height into the stick insertion holes provided in this drawing board. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The three-dimensional dot picture set (educational toy) of this invention, which was made to solve the above problems, is characterized by the configuration of a drawing board on which dot stick insertion holes are arranged in a regular pattern so that the dot sticks can be inserted while freely selecting or adjusting the insertion depth and can maintain the selected or adjusted insertion depth, and a three-dimensional dot picture set is provided which includes a drawing board on which the dot stick insertion holes are arranged in a regular pattern so that the dot sticks can be inserted at the selected or adjusted insertion depth, and a plurality of dot sticks to be inserted into the insertion holes.

[0009] In this device, the drawing board has a three-layer structure, for example, including a base located at the bottom, a stick-holding layer made of foam plastic or the like laminated on top of the base that elastically holds the dot sticks, and a cover that fits over the stick-holding layer. The dot stick insertion holes that penetrate the three-layer structure are regularly arranged on one side of the drawing board. The layer structure of the drawing board can also be formed as a single layer, or as two layers. In this device, the layer structure can also be four or more layers, but the number of layers of the drawing board is optional.

[0010] The stick-holding layer of the drawing board, made of foamed plastic or the like, is formed from plastic containing, for example, foamed polyethylene, and the holes formed in the stick-holding layer into which the dot sticks are inserted have their inner surfaces in elastic contact with the outer surfaces of the dot sticks, thereby holding the dot sticks in place by friction. The dot stick-holding function of the stick-holding layer can also be achieved by using pressure due to spring force or by using a male-female connection with an uneven surface.

[0011] The dot stick insertion holes that penetrate the three-layer drawing plate are shaped in plan view to take into account the cross-sectional shape of the inserted dot stick. Specifically, the holes formed in the bottom layer, the base, and the top layer, the cover, are formed so that the inside size (hereinafter referred to as the inner diameter) of each hole is larger than the outside size (hereinafter referred to as the outer diameter) of the dot stick. However, the shape of the hole formed in the middle stick-holding layer, although it depends on the cross-sectional shape of the inserted dot stick, is formed to more reliably hold the inserted dot stick. This is to provide the function of holding the dot stick at the insertion depth into the stick-holding layer while streamlining the formation of this stick-holding portion in manufacturing.

[0012] Here, the dimensions of the drawing board are, for example, 260mm wide x 270mm long x 70mm high, and the number of dot stick insertion holes that penetrate the drawing board vertically is 900, 30 holes vertically and 30 holes horizontally. However, the dimensions of the drawing board and the number of insertion holes are optional in this invention.

[0013] The dot sticks used in the 3D dot picture set of the present invention have dots with polygonal or circular heads, including squares, or irregularly shaped heads such as star-shaped heads when viewed from above.

[0014] The dot stick has a thin rod-like shape (stick portion) of an appropriate length below the head, and its cross-sectional shape is, for example, a cross-section. The cross-sectional shape of the stick portion may be a shape other than a cross-section, such as a circle, a polygon, a star, or other irregular shape. Furthermore, the length of the stick portion in the 3D dot picture set of this invention can be a single-length stick or multiple lengths, for example, two lengths of dot sticks.

[0015] Furthermore, for example, if the dot sticks are available in two lengths, they are divided into two groups: a group of 470 long sticks and a group of 180 short sticks. For example, the group of long sticks may consist of 120 white sticks and 70 sticks each of the five colors: black, red, blue, green, and yellow. The group of 180 short sticks may consist of 30 sticks of each color. Given that the drawing board has 900 dot stick insertion holes, the number of dot sticks in each of the six groups can be up to 150 per color, for a total of 900 dot sticks in all six groups. The specifications of the dot sticks provided in the set in this invention, such as the type of length, total number, number of colors used, color-coding method, and number of each color, are entirely arbitrary.

[0016] The top surface of the drawing board, which has 900 holes for inserting dot sticks, is generally flat, but there are also surface shapes such as a gentle dome shape and a gentle inverted dome shape.

[0017] The structure of the stick-holding layer in the dot stick insertion hole can be a type that uses the elasticity of a foamed plastic material to frictionally hold the outer surface of the dot stick, or a type in which the outer surface of the stick portion of the dot stick is formed into an uneven outer surface with continuous uneven steps along its length, while the inner surface of the stick-holding layer is formed into an uneven inner surface that receives the uneven surface on the outer surface of the stick portion, resulting in a male-female fitting type of unevenness.The uneven surface may be formed on either the insertion hole side or the dot stick side. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] In the three-dimensional dot picture set of this invention, a stick holding layer that can hold the stick inserted to any depth is provided in the dot stick insertion hole, so that the depth of the dot stick to be inserted can be freely selected to draw a three-dimensional dot picture on the drawing board, realizing a variety of three-dimensional dot pictures that cannot be obtained with conventional dot pictures. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] A perspective view of the base that forms the bottom layer of the drawing board of the pixel art set of this invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base of FIG. 1 with a foamed polyethylene stick-holding layer laminated thereon. [Figure 3] 3 is a perspective view of the drawing board of the dot picture set of the present invention, in which a cover is placed over the stick holding layer of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] (A) is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the cross-sectional structure of one dot stick insertion hole in the drawing board of Figure 3, and (B) is a plan view showing the cross-sectional shape of the holes of the three components of the insertion hole shown in Figure 4(a) and the dot stick. [Figure 5] 1 is a cross-sectional view for schematically explaining the state in which a dot stick is inserted to an arbitrary insertion depth into the drawing board of the 3D dot picture set of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a perspective view of two types of dot sticks used in this invention. [Figure 7]10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of another example of the cross-sectional shape of a dot stick and another example of a stick holding layer into which the dot stick is inserted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 3 is an oblique view of the drawing board 1 of the 3D dot picture set (educational toy) of the present invention. This drawing board 1 consists of a base 2 which forms the base of the drawing board shown in Figure 1, a stick holding layer 3 stacked on top of this base 2, and a cover 4 which covers this stick holding layer 3 from above.

[0021] The drawing board 1 is made up of a base 2, a stick holding layer 3, and a cover 4, which are layered from the bottom up, and through which holes 2a, 3a, and 4a for inserting dot sticks DS having the cross-sectional structure shown in Figure 4(A) are formed to form an insertion hole 5. The dot stick DS used in this embodiment has a cross-shaped planar cross section.

[0022] Here, the hole 4a in the cover 4 has the same shape as the cross-section of the dot stick DS, but is formed larger than the outer shape of the dot stick DS. Therefore, if the dot stick DS has a cross-sectional shape as shown in Figure 4(B), the hole 4a will be cross-shaped. If the dot stick DS is polygonal, the hole will be polygonal, and if the dot stick DS is circular, the hole will be circular.

[0023] The holes 3a formed in the stick-holding layer 3 for holding the dot sticks are formed by cutting slits (see FIG. 4(B)) that cross when viewed from above into the foamed polyethylene that makes up the holding layer 3. Because the shape of these holes 3a is cross-shaped (cruciform) along the cross section of the dot stick DS, the outer surface of the dot stick DS inserted into the slit can be held in place by the frictional force of the cross-shaped walls. Note that if the cross section of the dot stick DS is not cross-shaped, the shape of the holes 3a may be a shape other than a cross-shaped slit.

[0024] The hole 2a of the base 2 is formed in a rectangular shape here, larger than the outer shape of the dot stick DS.

[0025] The dimensions of drawing board 1 are, for example, 270 x 260 x 70 mm (length x width x height), and on this surface are formed 30 holes (length x width) x 30 holes (a total of 900 holes) for inserting dot sticks (holes 4a in the cover, holes 3a in the stick holder, and holes 2a in the base). Among the insertion holes 5, holes 4a in cover 4 have a cross-shaped cross-section, and holes 3a in stick holder 3 are not only cross-cut holes that take into account the cross-section of the dot sticks DS, but also polygonal and circular shapes. Here, holes 2a in base 2 are square. The cross-sectional shape of each of holes 4a, 3a, and 2a can be determined based on the cross-sectional shape of the dot sticks DS, and can be any polygonal or star-shaped shape. Furthermore, the size of drawing board 1 and the number of insertion holes 5 are not limited to the above numerical values.

[0026] In this invention, the dot stick DS insertion holes 5 in the drawing board 1 are formed with a stick holding layer 3 that can hold the inserted dot stick DS at any desired depth, as shown in Figure 4. This allows dot sticks DS of the same length to be freely inserted at different depths (or heights from the board surface), as shown schematically in Figure 5.

[0027] As shown in Figure 6, the dot stick DS has a head DS1 that is rectangular in plan view, and a stick portion DS2 below it that has a cross-shaped cross section. The cross-sectional shape of the stick portion DS2 may be a cross, a polygon such as a triangle, or an irregular cross section such as a star. The dot stick DS comes in two lengths: 40 mm and 60 mm. All dot sticks DS are painted in six colors (black, white, blue, red, green, and yellow).

[0028] In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the dot sticks DS are of two lengths, 40mm and 60mm, but they may all be of the same length. The number of dot sticks DS to be prepared is a maximum of 900 for the two types of dot sticks DS, since the number of insertion holes 5 in the drawing board 1 in this embodiment is 900. However, the type and number of dot sticks DS, or the colors to be used, can be selected arbitrarily depending on the size of the set of this invention, etc.

[0029] Another example in which the dot stick DS is held at an arbitrary insertion depth by the stick holding layer 3 of the insertion hole 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0030] In Figure 7, the outer surface of the stick portion DS2 of the dot stick DS is formed into an uneven surface with hemispherical protrusions DS3 and recesses DS4 between adjacent protrusions DS3 as shown, while the vertical cross-sectional shape of the hole 3a in the stick holding layer 3 is formed into a receiving recess 31a that elastically fits with at least one of the protrusions DS3.

[0031] In this way, the dot stick DS can be held at the desired insertion depth by fitting (engaging or connecting) the convex portion DS3 located at any height of the stick portion DS2 of the dot stick DS into the receiving recess 31a of the stick holding layer 3.

[0032] Although not shown, if the stick portion DS2 of the dot stick DS in Figure 7 is split into two parts below the head DS and the split parts of the stick portion DS2 are given spring properties in the opening and closing direction, the dot stick DS can be held in pressure contact with the stick holding layer 3, while the dot stick DS can be inserted and removed more smoothly from the stick holding layer.

[0033] In this invention, the structure that can hold the dot stick in the stick holding layer at any insertion depth can be a holding structure that uses the frictional force between the inner surface of the hole in the stick holding layer and the outer surface of the stick part, a holding structure that uses a male-female connection between the inner surface of the hole and the outer surface of the stick part, or a holding structure that uses the spring force of the stick part, which is split in half lengthwise to give it spring properties, to press against the inner surface of the hole.

[0034] The 3D dot picture set (educational toy) of this invention is as described above. The dot sticks can be inserted into the holes in the drawing board to any depth, allowing for the creation of diverse and dynamic 3D dot pictures. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 drawing board 2. Foundation 3 Stick retention layer 4 Cover 2a,3a,4a hole 5 Dot stick insertion hole DS Dot Stick DS1 Dot Stick Head DS2 Dot Stick stick

Claims

1. This three-dimensional dot picture educational toy is characterized by comprising a drawing board on which dot stick insertion holes are regularly arranged and which has a stick holding layer that allows the dot sticks to be inserted while freely selecting or adjusting the insertion depth and can hold the selected or adjusted insertion depth, and a plurality of dot sticks to be inserted into the insertion holes.

2. The three-dimensional dot picture educational toy of claim 1, wherein the drawing board has a layered structure comprising a base at the bottom, a stick holding layer that holds the dot sticks stacked on top of it, and a cover that covers the stick holding layer, and has dot stick insertion holes that penetrate the layered structure and are regularly arranged on one side of the drawing board.

3. 2. The three-dimensional dot picture educational toy according to claim 1, wherein the drawing board has a layer structure of one layer including a stick-holding layer, or two or more layers including a stick-holding layer.

4. The three-dimensional dot picture educational toy of claim 1, wherein the stick holding layer is formed of an elastic material including foamed plastic, and the holes into which the dot sticks are inserted have their inner surfaces in elastic frictional contact with the outer surface of the dot sticks to hold the dot sticks.

5. 2. The three-dimensional dot picture educational toy according to claim 1, wherein the holes in the stick-holding layer for inserting the dot sticks are held by a mating of the inner surface of the holes and the outer surface of the dot sticks, which are uneven.

6. The dot stick insertion holes of claim 1 are formed in the base layer and the cover layer at a size on the inside that is larger than the size of the dot stick on the outside, and the holes formed in the intermediate stick holding layer are formed in a shape and size in plan view that conforms to the cross-sectional shape of the dot stick to be inserted, but are smaller than the dot stick, thereby giving the toy the ability to hold the dot stick inserted into the insertion hole at any desired insertion depth.

7. The dot stick has a head that is polygonal, including a square, when viewed from above, or an irregular shape such as a circle or a star, and below the head is a stick portion whose cross section when viewed from above is either cross-shaped, polygonal, or circular. This is a three-dimensional dot picture educational toy as claimed in claim 1.

8. 2. The three-dimensional dot picture educational toy according to claim 1, wherein the dot sticks are formed of members of at least two different lengths or a single length, and each dot stick is colored in at least two colors.

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