Abstract:
A modular doll house has interconnectable walls, floors and roofs that are held together by a variety of connectors. The connectors of the modular doll house include tabs which slidably engage the interconnectable walls, floors and roofs and can be easily manipulated by children to assemble and disassemble the modular doll house. Specifically, the modular doll house includes a first structural member having a first surface and a first groove disposed in the first surface and a second structural member having a second surface and a second groove disposed in the second surface. Additionally, the modular doll house has a rigid connector including a first tab adapted to slidably engage the first groove and a second tab adapted to slidably engage the second groove to connect the first structural member to the second structural member.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to doll houses, and more particularly, to connector systems used to construct modular doll houses having interconnectable walls, floors and roofs. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     It is common in the marketplace to find pre-assembled, permanently constructed doll houses. However, such doll houses are difficult to ship and store. Additionally, pre-assembled doll houses are often expensive and, thus, not affordable because of the manufacturer&#39;s high labor costs, which drive up the overall cost of the doll houses. 
     To avoid some of the problems associated with the pre-assembled, permanently constructed doll houses, manufacturers have created modular doll houses having interconnectable walls, floors and roofs that require self-assembly. Because modular doll houses can be constructed and/or taken apart, the interconnectable doll house parts have eliminated several problems associated with shipping, storage and cost. Despite such improvements, these known modular doll houses still have disadvantages. For example, most modular doll houses are made of specially designed walls, floors, roofs and other structural accessories such as fireplaces, stairs and railings which, when constructed, form a specific doll house configuration having a single, predetermined floor plan. This prefabricated configuration stifles a child&#39;s imagination and creativity. Additionally, modular doll houses are often difficult to assemble and usually require special building materials and tools. Furthermore, the walls of these modular doll houses are usually pre-cut to a certain size, which is often proportional to the size of a traditional doll house figure standing approximately 3-4 inches in height. Thus, children having these specially configured modular doll houses cannot use them with larger dolls such as Barbie® dolls, because these modular doll houses are too small. 
     Other modular doll houses require special connectors including pegs or pins to hold the panels together. For example, panels are held together by inserting pegs into holes in the panels. Because these special connectors include many small parts, they are difficult for young children to assemble. Moreover, the connectors used in typical modular doll houses lack strength and durability and, therefore, these modular doll houses lack the stability needed to withstand every day wear and tear. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,181 to Hunts discloses a method of creating a doll house using rigid sheet-like panels and panel connectors which operate to join the panels together. In operation, the connectors accept specifically configured edges of the sheet-like panels to form a locking, yet releasable snap-fit connection. The components of this system enable panels to be joined together in different arrangements to form building structures, like doll houses, with a variety of rooms, levels and floor plans. 
     A shortcoming of the connector system disclosed in the Hunts patent is that the panels must be cut to a predetermined dimension to create the specially configured panel edges. Such pre-cut panels hamper the creativity of the child and limit the various arrangements of panels for the doll house. Furthermore, specially configured connectors complicate manufacturing, as well as assembly. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,906,659 to Walmer, 4,306,371 to Walmer et al. and 4,219,960 to Walmer et al. (hereinafter “the Walmer patents”) disclose collapsible doll houses that are constructed of a small number of individual panels making up the walls, floors and roofs of the doll houses. The panels are provided with grooves and slots so that all the panels slide together and support one another. Likewise, a number of different connector elements may be used to interconnect the edges of the walls, floors and roofs of these doll houses. 
     Although the Walmer patents provide an improved method for self assembly of doll houses, they disadvantageously restrict the doll houses to a pre-arranged, specified number of rooms that are limited in size. Also, the doll houses disclosed in these patents stifle the creativity of a child and preclude the child from playing with dolls of different sizes, especially dolls which are larger than traditional dolls. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The modular doll house according to the present invention has interconnectable structural members such as walls, floors and roofs that are held together by a variety of connectors. The connectors include tabs which slidably engage grooves cut into the structural members and, thus, join the structural members together. The walls, floors and roofs are interconnectable, in any number of configurations and thus, the modular doll house can be assembled in many different ways to stimulate a child&#39;s creativity. Additionally, the interconnectable structural members may be purchased pre-cut or may be purchased in large sheet-like panels which may be cut to a size desirable by the user. Hence, the modular doll house may be used with traditional doll house figures or non-traditional figures such as Barbie® dolls. The modular doll house can also be easily manipulated by children to thereby ease the assembly and the disassembly of the modular doll house. 
     In one embodiment, the modular doll house includes a first structural member having a first surface and a first groove disposed in the first surface, a second structural member having a second surface and a second groove disposed in the second surface. Additionally, the doll house has a rigid connector including a first tab adapted to slidably engage the first groove and a second tab adapted to slidably engage the second groove to connect the first structural member to the second structural member. 
     In some embodiments the connector has a planar strip having first and second flat sides. A first tab may extend from the first side of the planar strip and a second tab may also extend from the first side of the planar strip and may be disposed either substantially perpendicular to or substantially parallel to the first tab. In yet another embodiment, the connector includes an L-shaped strip having first and second arms. A first tab may extend substantially perpendicularly from the first arm and may be disposed substantially parallel to the second arm of the L-shaped strip. A second tab may extend substantially perpendicularly from the second arm and may be disposed substantially perpendicularly or parallel to the first arm. 
     In some embodiments, the connector includes an L-shaped strip having first and second arms, a joint at the connection of the first and second arms, a planar strip and a third tab. Here, a first tab extends substantially perpendicularly from the first arm and is disposed substantially parallel to the second arm of the L-shaped strip. A second tab may extend substantially perpendicularly from the second arm and is disposed either substantially perpendicularly or parallel to the first arm. The planar strip extends substantially perpendicularly from the second arm and is fixedly attached to the second arm between the second tab and the joint for supporting a third structural member. The third tab may extend substantially perpendicularly from the planar strip and may be disposed either substantially parallel to or perpendicular to the second arm. In still another embodiment, the connector has a planar strip with two ends. 
     Additionally, a trough-shaped guide may be coupled to a groove in a surface of a structural member of the modular doll house, wherein the trough-shaped guide receives and slidably engages the tabs of the connector. 
     The modular doll house may be purchased as a kit including the structural members having surfaces adapted to receive grooves and the connectors which may have tabs to be placed in the grooves of walls, floors, ceilings, etc. to join the structural members. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following drawings and detailed description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a multi-level modular doll house; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of a portion of the modular doll house of FIG. 1 having a plurality of connectors therein; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded, perspective view of another portion of the modular doll house of FIG. 1 having a plurality of connectors therein; 
     FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of a roof member, a support member, and a wall member of a doll house, illustrated prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the plurality of connectors used within the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connector guide used with one or more of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connectors of FIGS. 5 and 6 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a second one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connector of FIG. 8 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the members of FIG. 9 illustrated in assembled form; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a third one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connector of FIG. 11 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 13 is a fragmentary, perspective view of the members of FIG. 12 illustrated in assembled form; 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a fourth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 15 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connector of FIG. 14 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 16 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connector of FIG. 14 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a fifth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 18 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of two structural members and the connector of FIG. 17 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a sixth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 20 is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of three structural members and the connector of FIG. 19 prior to assembly; 
     FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the portions of FIG. 20 illustrated in assembled form; 
     FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a seventh one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 23 is a perspective view of an eighth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a ninth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a tenth one of the plurality of connectors associated with the modular doll house of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring first to FIG. 1, a fully assembled modular doll house  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The modular doll house  10  has a variety of structural members including a plurality of wall members  12 , a plurality of floor members  14 , a plurality of roof members  16 , and a plurality of support members  18 . Of course, other structural members may be used as well. A variety of connectors, which are not shown in FIG. 1, are used to hold the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  of the modular doll house  10  together. The structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are, preferably, sheet-like panels made of a solid, light-weight, durable, polymer composition that is capable of being easily cut. In a preferred embodiment, the material used to make the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  is an extruded polystyrene insulation sheet, such as that available commercially from Owens Corning of Toledo, Ohio under the trade name FOAMULAR® insulation. Such insulation sheets are available in varying thicknesses such as ¼ inch (0.635 centimeter), ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) and ¾ inch (1.905 centimeters). These various thicknesses allow the user to construct a modular doll house which is scaled proportionally to the dolls used in connection with the modular doll house. For example, if the user wishes to build a doll house scaled proportionally to Barbie® dolls, the structural members should have a thickness of approximately ½ inch (1.27 centimeters). Additionally, the insulation sheets are available in a variety of colors. A preferred color for the insulation sheet used to make the structural members is pink. Further, the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  may be sold pre-cut to form a predetermined doll house configuration, or the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  may be sold as large sheets or panels that may be sectioned or cut into structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  of varying shapes and sizes to accommodate the needs of the user. In other embodiments, the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  could be made of any other material having similar characteristics including, for example, plastic. 
     Grooves, which are not shown in FIG. 1, can be cut into the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  to receive the connectors for interconnecting the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  of the modular doll house  10 . The connectors used with the modular doll house  10  have tabs, not shown in FIG. 1, to slidably engage the grooves cut into the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 . The connectors do not require additional pins or fasteners for connection and, therefore, are simple and easy for children to use. Because the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are interconnectable and interchangeable, the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  can be arranged in many different ways thereby creating a multitude of doll house configurations. Additionally, unlike typical pre-assembled doll houses, rooms of the modular doll house  10  may be arranged to be accessible from the front of the house, either side of the house or the rear of the house. Furthermore, windows, doors, and other structural home accessories such as fireplaces, mantels, staircases, etc. may be attached to or connected to the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  to customize the modular doll house  10 . 
     FIGS. 2,  3  and  4  depict the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , a plurality of connectors, a plurality of connector guides  20  and a plurality of grooves  21  before the assembly of the modular doll house  10 . As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, most of the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  are solid parallelepipeds wherein each parallelpiped has six faces. For example, in FIG. 3, one of the plurality of wall members  12  has two broad, substantially flat faces  12   a-b  and four narrow, substantially flat faces  12   c-f . Each of the wall faces  12   a-f  is capable of having grooves  21  cut into the surface thereof to receive one of the connectors and/or a connector guide  20 . Although not illustrated, each of the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16  has two broad faces and four narrow faces. In contrast, the roof support member  18  has a different configuration than the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 . As is best illustrated in FIG. 4, each of the support members  18  has a pyramid-like configuration including five faces  18   a-e . Each support member  18  has two broad, substantially flat faces  18   a-b  and three narrow, substantially flat faces  18   c-e , wherein each face is adapted to have grooves  21  cut into its surface to receive one of the connectors and/or a connector guide  20 . Although not illustrated, each support member  18  has two broad faces and three narrow faces. 
     Preferably, the connectors used to construct the modular doll house  10  are made of a light, rigid, durable and sheet-like plastic. However, in an alternate form, the connectors could be made of any material exhibiting similar characteristics. Each of the connectors is, preferably, no greater in width than the depth of the structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and has round edges to make the doll house safer during assembly or disassembly. Additionally, each of the connectors preferably has first and second tabs, but may have more tabs. Each of a number of connectors and the functions thereof will be more thoroughly described in conjunction with FIGS. 5-25 below. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4,  5 ,  6  and  7 , a connector  30  and a connector guide  20   a  work in combination to join two structural members  12 ,  14  of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  30 , best illustrated in FIG. 5, is a planar strip having two ends forming a first tab  22   a  and a second tab  24   a . FIG. 6 illustrates the connector guide  20   a  which facilitates the engagement of the connector tabs  22   a ,  24   a  with structural members  12  of the modular doll house  10 . As is seen best in FIG. 6, the connector guide  20   a  is trough-shaped and has two substantially flat flaps  23   a ,  23   b  that protect the groove  21  (into which the connector guide  20   a  is placed) from becoming further enlarged or disfigured. Additionally, the flaps  23   a ,  23   b  direct the connector tabs  22 ,  24 ,  26  of any connector into the trough-shaped portion of the connector guide  20   a , thereby creating a secure connection between the connector and the structural member. As illustrated in FIG. 7, each connector guide  20   a  is inserted into one of a plurality of grooves  21  that has been cut into a surface of one of the structural members  12 ,  14  of the modular doll house  10 , wherein the connector guides  20   a  receive and slidably engage the first tab  22   a  and second tab  24   a . Connector  30  and connector guides  20   a  may join any two structural members  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  together to create a portion of the modular doll house  10 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2,  8 ,  9  and  10 , a connector  40  connects two structural members of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  40 , best illustrated in FIG. 8, is a planar strip having a first flat side  40   a  and a second flat side  40   b . A first tab  22   b  extends from the first side  40   a  of the planar strip and a second tab  24   b  also extends from the first side  40   a  of the planar strip and is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the first tab  22   b . As depicted in FIG. 9, the connector  40  slidably engages two wall members  12  by securely fitting each of the tabs  22   b ,  24   b  into corresponding connector guides  20   b  where a single connector guide  20   b  is inserted into the face of each of the structural wall members  12 . When the connector  40  is securely in place and, thus, connecting the two structural members  12 ,.the structural members  12  form one corner of one of the plurality of rooms of the modular doll house  10  as is illustrated in FIG.  10 . 
     FIGS. 2,  11 ,  12  and  13  illustrate a third type of connector  50  joining two structural members  12  of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  50 , best illustrated in FIG. 11, is a planar strip having a first flat side  50   a  and second flat side  50   b . A first tab  22   c  extends from the first side  50   a  of the planar strip and a second tab  24   c  also extends from the first side  50   a  of the planar strip and is disposed substantially parallel to the first tab  22   c . As depicted in FIG. 12, connector  50  slidably engages two wall members  12  by securely fitting each of the tabs  22   c ,  24   c  into corresponding connector guides  20   c , wherein a single connector guide  20   c  is inserted into the face of each of the wall members  12 . Once the connector  50  engages the wall members  12 , the wall members  12  form a secure and durable doll house configuration. 
     Referring to FIGS. 3,  14 ,  15  and  16 , a connector  60  connects two structural members  12  of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  60 , best illustrated in FIG. 14, includes an L-shaped strip having a first arm  60   a  and a second arm  60   b . A first tab  22   d  extends substantially perpendicularly from the first arm  60   a  and is disposed substantially parallel to the second arm  60   b . A second tab  24   d  extends substantially perpendicularly from the second arm  60   b , and is disposed substantially parallel to the first arm  60   a . As depicted in FIG. 15, the connector  60  slidably engages two wall members  12  by securely fitting each of the tabs  22   d ,  24   d  into corresponding connector guides  20   d  where one connector guide  20   d  is inserted into the face of each of the wall members  12 . As is depicted in FIG. 16, the connector  60  may also join a wall member  12  and a roof member  16  by slidably engaging the connector guides  20   d  that have been inserted into the face of the wall member  12  and the roof member  16 , respectively. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2,  17  and  18 , a connector  70  connects two structural members  12  of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  70 , best illustrated in FIG. 17, includes an L-shaped strip having a first arm  70   a  and a second arm  70   b . A first tab  22   e  extends substantially perpendicularly from the first arm  70   a  and is disposed substantially parallel to the second arm  70   b . A second tab  24   e  extends substantially perpendicularly from the second arm  70   b , and is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the first arm  70   a . As depicted in FIG. 18, connector  70  joins two wall members  12  by slidably and securely engaging each of the tabs  22   e ,  24   e  into corresponding connector guides  20   e  where a single connector guide  20   e  is inserted into the face of each of the wall members  12 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 3,  19 ,  20  and  21 , a connector  80  joins two structural members  12  and is designed to assist in the support of a third structural member  14  of the modular doll house  10 . The connector  80 , best illustrated in FIG. 19, includes an L-shaped strip having first arm  80   a  and second arm  80   b , a joint  80   c  at the connection of the first arm  80   a  and second arm  80   b , and a planar strip  80   d . A first tab  22   f  extends substantially perpendicularly from the first arm  80   a  and is disposed substantially parallel to the second arm  80   b  of the L-shaped strip. A second tab  24   f  extends substantially perpendicularly from the second arm  80   b , and is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the first arm  80   a . The planar strip  80   d  extends substantially perpendicularly from the second arm  80   b  and is fixedly attached to the second arm  80   b  between the second tab  24   f  and the joint  80   c  for supporting the third structural member  14 . A third tab  26   f  extends substantially perpendicularly from the planar strip  80   d.    
     As depicted in FIG. 20, the connector  80  joins two wall members  12 ,  12   a  by slidably engaging each of the tabs  22   f ,  24   f  and  26   f  with a corresponding connector guide  20   f  that has been inserted into the face of the structural member being joined. Notably, and best illustrated in FIG. 3, the wall member  12   a  engaged by the second tab  24   f  and the third tab  26   f  of connector  80  has a height h 2  different from the height h 1  of other wall members  12  used to create the modular doll house  10 . Height h 2  is approximately the height h 1  minus a distance d 1 . In one embodiment, the distance d 1  between the joint  80   c  and the planar strip  80   d  is approximately equal to the depth of the floor member  14   f  which rests on top of the planar strip of connector  80 . If distance d 1  is approximately the depth of the floor member  14   f , the top face of a floor member  14   f  will be flush with the top face of the wall member  12  slidably engaged with the first tab  22   f  of connector  80  when floor member  14   f  is placed on top of connector  80 . Alternatively, the distance d 1  between the joint  80   c  and the planar strip  80   d  may be any other desired distance. When the connector  80  is joining the two wall members  12 ,  12   a  as well as assisting in the support of the floor member  14   f , the structural members collectively form a corner of one of the plurality of rooms of the modular doll house  10  having a ceiling as is depicted in FIG.  21 . Floor members and ceiling members may be used interchangeably. 
     The connector  90 , illustrated in FIG. 22, includes the same structural features as connector  80  except that a second tab  24   g  is positioned differently. The second tab  24   g  is disposed substantially parallel to a first arm  90   a . Likewise, the connector  100 , illustrated in FIG. 23, includes the same structural characteristics as connector  80  except that a third tab  26   h  is positioned differently. The third tab  26   h  is disposed substantially parallel to a second arm  100   b . Still further, the connector  110 , illustrated in FIG. 24, includes the same structural characteristics as connector  80  except that a second tab  24   i  and a third tab  26   i  are positioned differently. In this case, the second tab  24   i  is disposed substantially parallel to a first arm  110   a  and the third tab  26   i  is disposed substantially parallel to a second arm  100   b . The connectors  90 ,  100  and  110  are illustrated to show that the connectors may be altered by changing the positioning of the tabs thereon and still operate to connect members together. Of course, the orientation of the grooves may need to be changed in some circumstances. 
     FIG. 25 illustrates still another connector  120 . The connector  120  is an elongated, V-shaped structure having two broad, substantially flat faces  120   a ,  120   b  on the outer surface of the connector  120  and two substantially similar faces  120   c ,  120   d  on the interior of the connector. The interior faces  120   c ,  120   d  include a plurality of tabs  122  that extend from the each face to slidably engage roof members  16  by securely fitting each of the plurality of tabs  122  into a corresponding groove  21  or connector guide  20  that has been inserted into the faces of the roof members  16 . 
     When the tabs  122  of the connector  120  are properly engaged with the structural members of the modular doll house  10 , the connector  120  securely joins the roof members and, thus, forms a roof for the modular doll house  10  having a peak. 
     The modular doll house  10  could be constructed using any other connectors having tabs to slidably engage grooves disposed in the surfaces of the structural members  12 , 14 , 16 ,  18 . 
     Furthermore, the modular doll house  10  can be purchased in a kit including structural members having rigid surfaces and one or more connectors such as those described herein. The structural members of the kit may come as panels that are capable of being cut such that the size of the members may be varied and such that grooves may be formed in the surfaces of the structural members. Alternatively, the structural member may come pre-cut with or without grooves cut therein. 
     Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the forgoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and the details of the structure may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention. The exclusive use of all modifications which are within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.