Perforator with Coupling Stud Mounting for Toy Building Sets
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toy building sets find it difficult to construct lightweight structures such as windshields, banners, or sails due to the inflexibility of their building elements, and lack the ability to accurately position holes in sheet materials like paper or fabric for secure mounting.
Innovation Solution
A perforator with a plane surface and complementary indentations for mounting on building elements, equipped with punching tools that allow precise hole punching in sheet materials, enabling users to create custom holes for mounting sheet elements on structures, functioning as a template for accurate positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional hard and inflexible building blocks are used, then structures can be built with good stability and strength, but it becomes difficult to construct lightweight structures such as windshields, banners, or sails
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces sheet elements with varying degrees of flexibility by changing material parameters. The set includes both rigid building blocks and flexible sheet elements (fabric, foil, paper) that can be mounted on the structure, allowing construction of both massive and lightweight structures like windshields and banners using the same coupling system
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines different material types - rigid plastic building blocks with flexible sheet materials (fabric, foil, paper) - into a unified construction system. The sheet elements are mounted on the rigid structure through coupling studs, creating composite constructions that achieve both strength and lightweight properties
2Ease of manufacture
If sheet elements are pre-punched by the manufacturer, then mounting is simplified, but the degree of freedom for adapting and designing sheet material elements according to user wishes is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables users to punch holes in sheet elements themselves using a perforator tool with coupling stud attachment. This self-service approach allows users to create custom hole patterns according to their specific design needs while maintaining ease of mounting through the standardized coupling stud system
Solution Approach 2:
The perforator tool is designed with pre-positioned coupling means that guide the punching process. The tool is mounted on building elements and provides predetermined hole positions and spacing, ensuring accuracy while allowing user flexibility in design
3Adaptability or versatility
If holes are punched manually without a template, then design freedom is maximized, but positioning accuracy of holes on sheet materials deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The perforator tool acts as an intermediary between the user's design intent and the actual hole punching. It incorporates coupling means that attach to building elements and provide a stable reference framework, ensuring accurate and consistent hole positioning while maintaining design freedom through selectable hole patterns
4Device complexity
If a perforator without mounting capability is used, then the device can be simple, but it cannot be securely positioned on building elements for accurate hole punching
Solution Approach 1:
The perforator is designed with coupling means that allow it to be mounted on building elements with coupling studs. This universal mounting capability enables the perforator to be positioned accurately on any structure built with the toy blocks, ensuring precise hole punching while maintaining relatively simple device structure
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A toy building set comprising at least one building element (16) having a surface on which a number of coupling studs (8) are provided that extend from the surface, and wherein those coupling studs are configured in a pattern by which there is a mutually fixed distance between adjacent coupling studs, and wherein the toy building set further comprises a perforator (1), said perforator comprising a housing in which at least one punching tool is configured for punching material from a sheet element configured from a thin material such as a sheet of eg paper, plastics or fabric, in such a manner that the perforator is capable of punching a hole in the sheet, which hole has such expanse that one or more coupling studs can be introduced into the punched hole. In that the housing comprises an essentially plane surface in which a number of indentations (9) are provided that form a number of coupling means that are complementary relative to the coupling studs and are configured with the same mutually fixed distance as the distance between the coupling studs on the building element, it is thus accomplished that the housing can be mounted on a building element.