Toy Building Element Stiffening Wall for Less Visible Gate Marks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toy building elements have visible gate marks due to the mold gate position, which affects the aesthetic quality and stability of the construction.
Innovation Solution
The toy building element is designed with a first stiffening wall that divides the channel into two parts, allowing the mold gate to be positioned less visibly, and a cone-shaped tapered pinpoint gate is used to inject plastic material close to one of the parallel surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the mold gate is arranged to inject plastic material into the mold cavity at the connecting flanges position, then the injection molding process is simple and efficient, but the gate mark becomes visible on the outside of the toy building element affecting aesthetic quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an asymmetric stiffening wall that extends partially through the channel in a direction perpendicular to the parallel surfaces, creating a new spatial dimension for gate placement. This allows the gate mark to be positioned on the stiffening wall surface rather than on visible external surfaces like connecting flanges, effectively moving the defect to a less visible location while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
2Shape
If the mold gate is repositioned to a less visible location, then the aesthetic quality improves, but the injection molding process becomes more complex and quality stability may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening wall is designed as a segmented structure that divides the channel into first and second channel parts, with the gate positioned on a specific segment (the stiffening wall) that is intentionally made less visible. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each part's function and visibility, placing the gate on a non-critical segment while keeping other segments aesthetically important areas clear
3Shape
If the stiffening wall is positioned asymmetrically closer to one parallel surface, then the gate mark becomes less visible, but the structural symmetry is altered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately introduces asymmetry in the stiffening wall position, extending it closer to one parallel surface than the other. This controlled asymmetry is strategically used to hide the gate mark on the less visible side while maintaining sufficient structural integrity through the stiffening wall's presence in the channel, demonstrating that perfect symmetry is not always necessary for functional performance
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
AI summary
A toy building element having an integrally injection molded body comprising at least two adjacent tubular connector sockets (1, 2) and two mutually equidis- tant connecting flanges (7, 8) extending from diametrically opposite sides of one of the two adjacent tubular connector sockets (1) and to diametrically opposite sides of the other one of the two adjacent tubular connector sockets (2) so that a first channel is formed (10) between them. The first channel (10) extend be- tween the two parallel surfaces (5, 6) and a first stiffening wall (9) is arranged in the first channel (10), the first stiffening wall (9) dividing the first channel (10) into a first channel part close to one of the two parallel surfaces (5) and a second channel part close to the other of the two parallel surfaces (6), and wherein at least a section of the first stiffening wall (9) is closer to one of the two parallel surfaces (5) than it is to the other one of the two parallel surfaces (6).