Toy Building Set with Interchangeable Design Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toy building sets lack versatility, as body elements are often designed for specific figures, limiting the freedom to build diverse designs, and they fail to resemble real body parts, reducing appeal.
Innovation Solution
A toy building set with standardized body elements and complementary coupling means allows for interchangeable design and dressing elements, enabling the creation of various bone structures and designs, with snap functions and elastic deformation for secure mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If body elements are designed for dedicated use in specific toy figures, then the figures can look like real body parts, but the freedom to build other figures is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The body elements are segmented into standardized geometric shapes (cylinders, spheres, cones) that can be combined in various ways to create different body parts for different figures, rather than creating dedicated realistic parts for each figure type
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized body elements are designed to serve multiple functions and can be used to construct various types of figures (human, animal, monster, robot) by combining them differently, making each element universally applicable across multiple figure designs
2Shape
If body elements are designed to look like real body parts, then the appeal to children is increased, but the versatility of the building set is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating monolithic realistic body parts, the design segments them into basic geometric forms that can be reconfigured to suggest different body parts through arrangement and combination
Solution Approach 2:
Realism is achieved locally through the combination and arrangement of standardized elements rather than through the shape of individual elements themselves, allowing each element to maintain its universal applicability while the overall structure achieves realism
3Adaptability or versatility
If standardized body elements are used for building bone structures, then the freedom to build different figures is increased, but the elements do not resemble real body parts
Solution Approach 1:
The design segments realistic body parts into basic geometric building blocks (cylinders for limbs, spheres for joints, cones for ears/tails) that can be assembled to create the appearance of realistic body parts while maintaining standardization
Solution Approach 2:
Standardized geometric body elements are nested and combined in hierarchical structures to build up from simple geometric forms to complex realistic-looking body parts through multiple levels of assembly
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides high freedom in building diverse figures with realistic body parts and designs, allowing children to construct and dress figures easily, using standardized body elements with snap couplings and resilient dressing elements.
Implementation Method 1
the coupling pin and the coupling hole are formed so that insertion of the coupling pin into the coupling hole requires elastic deformation of at least one of them
Implementation Method 2
the snap function comprises a ball and a socket
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
AI summary
A toy building set comprising separate building elements adapted for building a toy figure, the building elements comprising a number of body elements (1, 2, 3) that are interconnected or adapted for being interconnected by means of articulated joints, and where the toy building set also comprises a number of dressing elements (5) and means for mounting the dressing elements on the body elements. The toy building set further comprises a number of design elements (4), and the at least one design element and at the least one body element has a first type of complementary coupling means (7) adapted for releasably mounting the design element on the body element, and where at least one dressing element and the design element has a second different type of complementary coupling means (8, 9) adapted for releasably mounting a dressing element on the design element, so that it is not possible to mount the dressing element on a body element.