Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a connector element for a space structure as well as a kit of parts to produce such a structure ideally suited to a construction toy of the type comprising a plurality of hub-like connector elements and a plurality of structural elements, struts, adapted to be removably engaged with the connector elements. The connector elements include first, second or more subparts having zero, one or more strut-receiving sockets emanating from each of the subparts, the subparts being rotatable with respect to one another along one or multiple common axis axes.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION DATA 
       [0001]    The present invention relies upon and relates back to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/594,280, filed on Feb. 2, 2012. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed toward providing further improved structural elements useful in construction of space structures such as toy systems of the type that employs struts and connector hubs. The present invention proposes the use of hubs having subparts which are capable of being articulated with respect to one another allowing struts emanating therefrom to do so with enhanced degrees of freedom allowing the construction of multiple and new spatial constructs heretofore unavailable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    There are a wide variety of kits for hub and strut construction toy sets, the majority of which are designed such that receptor slots on the hubs are fixed allowing only discreet angular placement of the various struts emanating therefrom. 
         [0004]    The present invention is ideally suited to enhance the construction toy art, and in particular construction toy systems made the subject of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,061,219, 5,137,486, and 7,588,476, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. A construction toy system as disclosed in the above-referenced patents is marketed under the trademark K&#39;NEX®. 
         [0005]    In this regard, reference is made to  FIG. 1  which relates to FIG. 1 of the &#39;486 patent illustrating the hub-like connector element of the K&#39;NEX® system. Shown are two planar connector sub elements  10  connected at a fixed right angle to each other. Each sub element exhibits an array of 7 gripping arm based strut receiving socket or slots radially disposed at fixed angularly spaced locations about the perimeter of their respective sub element. In this fashion, struts may be attached to the composite hub whereby all struts radiate at fixed equal angles in each of only two planes, whereby the longitudinal axes of each attached strut intersect at a common location in the core of the composite hub. 
         [0006]    Reference is next made to  FIG. 2  which relates to FIG. 3 of the &#39;476 patent. Shown are two planar connector sub elements  10  connected via a two part hinge  33  to each other. Each sub element exhibits an array of 4 radially disposed gripping arm based strut connectors at fixed angularly spaced locations about the half arc perimeter of their respective sub element. In this fashion, struts may be attached to the composite hub whereby all struts radiate at equal angles in each of only half two planes, where the half planes rotate relative to each other about the hinge axis to approximately +/−90 degrees. That is, the angle between the two hinged connector planes do not appreciably form an acute angle, a requirement of for example, the edge of a equilateral tetrahedron. 
         [0007]    To delineate the specific limitations of these inventions, 1) current art does not provide for the arbitrary angular positioning of strut receiving sockets about the perimeter of a planar sub elements in either hinged or non-hinged embodiments, 2) current art does not provide that hinged intersecting planar connector sub elements may revolve or bend about their common hinge relative to each other by more than +/−90 degrees, and 3) current art of hinged multi-planar connectors are limited in that the sub-elements provide that the array of attached struts fan out over no more than a 180 degree area (half plane). 
         [0008]    In addition to the K&#39;NEX® toy construction kits, there is an array of prior art for rod and hub construction toy sets which are generally designed such that receptor slots on the hubs are fixedly placed allowing only discreet angular placement of the axes of various struts attached to a given hub in relation to each other. This limitation generally dictates that a set of struts and hubs that allows the end user to construct octagonal based structures cannot be used to construct pentagonal or hexagonal based structures and vice versa. 
         [0009]    There is a handful of construction sets that exhibit one or two degrees of angular freedom when the struts are attached to their respective hubs. In general, the prior art is restricted to the production of space structures with component parts exhibiting, at most, only two degrees of angular freedom. 
         [0010]    In addition to the K&#39;NEX® structure described above, there are several other configurations in which hubs are constructed either as spheres or multi-sided polygons. Such structures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,975. Constructs disclosed by the &#39;975 patent enable struts to emanate from slots or receptors radially in an equatorial plane and can include the ability to enable struts to emanate normal to that plane if desired. 
         [0011]    A product competitive to the K&#39;NEX® toy construction kit is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,131 and sold under the trademark ZOME®. This product is characterized by the use of a plethora of strut receptors, some 63 in number, to increase flexibility in employing this toy by greatly increasing the number of angles that a strut can emanate from any one hub. Nevertheless, hubs, once configured, support slots in a preconfigured orientation and even with 63 such slots at any one hub, one is not able to construct a simple equilateral tetrahedron employing the ZOME® toy until “bent” struts were introduced. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 1,092,217 teaches the bending of strut sockets within lines of fixed longitude above or below the primary plane of the hub disk. The hub, being constructed of sheet metal, would fail in response to repeated bending resulting in ultimate breakage. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,809 describes a toy system in which a “ping pong ball” like hub provides a substrate for the attachment of struts using suction cups for adhesion, the limitations of which should be obvious. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,391 utilizes struts with “mushroom head” like configurations interconnected by semi-resilient plastic-filled spherical hubs. The semi-resilient hub material acts to grip the head of each strut enabling the strut to be held within the hub at arbitrary angles. This configuration is limited by the number of defined entry slots found within the hub and, as such, there is a discreet number of angles where the central axis lines of the struts intersect with one another at the center of the hub. When axes of the struts are not normal to the surface of the hub, the central axes of the struts do not intersect each other at a common (hub internal) vertex as they should, nor do they terminate at the center of the hub. Thus, polyhedral constructs requiring internal angles not allowed by the said affixed slot locations do not exhibit true single point vertices. 
         [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,421 teaches the use of individual hubs as a collection of two-leaf hinges bolted to one another with struts extending from the hinge pins of the hubs. Additional struts may be added to enhance the versatility of this kit by disconnecting hinged struts from their hubs and bolting new struts onto the hub configuration. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,832 teaches a kit of parts composed of fixed hubs and bent struts as well as inflexible struts with multi-hinged hubs. One using this kit is forced to employ a large number of distinguishable hub pieces and, in doing so, is unable to create a system having three degrees of angular freedom for struts radiating from their slots. 
         [0017]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,900 describes a system having a spherical hub with longitudinally extending slots in which the slots radiate at arbitrary angles above and below the equatorial plane of the hub. It is noted, however, that the struts radiate only from fixed angular displacements as viewed from above or below the hub. 
         [0018]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,846,216 provides the basis for the MAGNETIX® and similar toy systems. A user is able to attach struts to hubs through the use of magnets. While large or complex structures may be created with these magnetic based systems, the resulting structures are generally fragile. 
         [0019]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,667,479, 2,303,294, 3,077,282, 3,243,838 and 5,172,534 teach, in one form or another, the use of hinge pins or pintles to hinge subparts for rotation about a primary hinge axis. For example, the &#39;294 patent allows lateral entrance of the hinge pin into the surrounding hinge knuckle via a gap cut in the side of a second hinge leaf&#39;s knuckle. The opening of this gap is slightly narrower than the diameter of the hinge pin, requiring deformation of the knuckles during assembly. In this fashion, the hinge element of the second body is releasable held by the hinge element of the first. The &#39;480 patent discloses a similar narrow-throated radial axis noting that repeated insertion and removal of the hinge pin into its gripping member is required. The &#39;282 patent teaches a pintle captive to a first hinge member and held by a second member along the hinge axis at the end of the pintle. As to the &#39;282 patent, the pintle is a sphere captive to one member held in place by two axially located concave knuckles captive to the second member. The &#39;838 patent describes the use of a small cylinder as its pintle with concave ends held on each end by convex members, such as spheres. Finally, the &#39;534 patent employs hinge knuckles as disks with convex portions that effectively grip the disk-shaped pintle, the pintle having a concave structure on each axial end. In each instance, the hinges of the prior art are created by deforming the hinge material while the members snap together. 
         [0020]    It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a connector element and particularly one for use for creating a space structure, such as a toy system of the prior art which can be articulated along one or more orthogonal axes allowing struts to emanate therefrom allowing the construction of a multitude of new spatial constructs generally heretofore unavailable. 
         [0021]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector element for a space structure, such as the type shown in the &#39;219 patent having the ability to enable strut elements to radiate in a number of diverse and selectable angles to one another thus enhancing the geometric shapes and configurations achievable by the prior art. 
         [0022]    These and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0023]    The present invention is directed to a connector element for a space structure as well as a kit of parts to produce such a structure ideally suited to a construction toy of the type comprising a plurality of hub-like connector elements and a plurality of structural elements, struts, adapted to be removably engaged with the connector elements. The connector elements are comprised of first, second or more subparts having zero, one or more strut-receiving sockets emanating from each of the subparts, the subparts being rotatable with respect to one another along one or multiple common axis axes. 
         [0024]    The present invention provides for the arbitrary angular positioning of strut receiving sockets about the perimeter of the planar sub elements in either hinged or non-hinged solutions; provides that hinged intersecting planar connector sub elements may revolve or bend about their common hinge relative to each other by more than +/−150 degrees enabling the construction of space structures previously unobtainable from an articulated construction toy hub; provides that hinged multi-planar connectors are not limited in that at least two sub-elements making up a multi-planar hub provide that the array of attached struts fan out over a 360 degree. 
         [0025]    Additionally, in all aspects of this invention, multi-planar connection hubs are not limited to providing strut arrays in only two planes; particular embodiments of this invention provide that connected struts may lie on up to five differing planes intersecting along a single common hinge axis. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hub-like connector element constructed according to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,486 representing prior art to which the present invention is an improvement. 
           [0027]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a hub-like connector element constructed according to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,476 representing prior art to which the present invention is an improvement. 
           [0028]      FIG. 3  is perspective view related to the of art of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/849,643 to which the inventive matter presented here is a progression of. 
           [0029]      FIG. 4A  is a plan view of a fixed plane-angle semi-toroidal hub element with attached strut receiving slots with strut in proximity. 
           [0030]      FIGS. 4B through 4D  are of a fixed plane-angle toroidal hub in plan, front and cross-sectional views, respectively. 
           [0031]      FIGS. 4E through 4G  are of a strut receiving slot sequentially in plan, front and cross-sectional views, respectively. 
           [0032]      FIG. 4H  is a front view of a fixed plane-angle toroidal hub element with attached strut receiving slot. 
           [0033]      FIGS. 5A through 5D  are views of the steps to assemble a composite fixed plane-angle hub. 
           [0034]      FIGS. 5E and 5F  are plan and right side views, respectively, of an assembled toroidal fixed plane-angle hub. 
           [0035]      FIG. 6A  is a front view of a fixed plane-angle toroidal hub element 
           [0036]      FIG. 6B  is a front view of a fixed plane-angle fixed hub element placed orthogonal to that hub in  6 A. 
           [0037]      FIG. 6C  is a front view of a composite fixed plane-angle hub comprised of one toroidal hub element and one fixed position hub element. 
           [0038]      FIGS. 6D and 6E  are plan views of alternate fixed plane-angle toroidal hub embodiments. 
           [0039]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are plan and sectional front views, respectively, of the primary hinged hub element with fixed slot placement. 
           [0040]      FIGS. 7C and 7D  are plan and front views, respectively, of the secondary hinged hub element. 
           [0041]      FIGS. 7E and 7F  are sectional and front views, respectively, of the composite hinged hub. 
           [0042]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  are plan and sectional front views, respectively, of the primary hinged hub element with toroidal slot placement. 
           [0043]      FIG. 8C  is a plan view of a hinged hub element with toroidal slot placement with slider slot attached. 
           [0044]      FIGS. 8D and 8E  are plan and sectional front views, respectively, of the primary hinged hub element with toroidal slot placement and fixed primary slot. 
           [0045]      FIGS. 8F and 8G  are plan views of alternate embodiments of the hinged hub. 
           [0046]      FIGS. 9A through 9F  are plan views of alternate embodiments of the secondary slot. 
           [0047]      FIGS. 10A through 10D  are views of the hinged scissor hub shown in plan view, two sectional front views, and side view, respectively. 
           [0048]      FIG. 10E  is a front view showing a composite scissor hub positioned at an acute angle. 
           [0049]      FIGS. 11A through 11E  demonstrate the assembly steps and respective material clearances of first and secondary scissor elements being assembled into a composite scissor hub. 
           [0050]      FIG. 12A  is a half scissor hub in plan view. 
           [0051]      FIGS. 12B through 12E  demonstrate the assembly of a first scissor hub element and a half scissor hub element being assemble to form a composite scissor hub 
           [0052]      FIGS. 13A through 13C  are various embodiments of assembled scissor hubs. 
           [0053]      FIG. 13D  is an assembled scissor hub with the addition of two secondary slots at random angle. 
           [0054]      FIGS. 14A and 14B  are plan and sectional front views, respectively, of a toroidal scissor hub element with corresponding slider slot element adjacent to it. 
           [0055]      FIG. 14C  is a plan view of a toroidal scissor hub element two attached slider slot elements. 
           [0056]      FIGS. 14D and 14E  are plan and sectional front views, respectively, of a toroidal scissor hub element with and fixed primary slot. 
           [0057]      FIG. 14F  is a plan view of a secondary connector element. 
           [0058]      FIG. 14G  is a front view of a composite toroidal scissor hub with slider slots and secondary slots attached. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0059]    Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments in the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration description only and are not intended as definitions of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularity in the claims. 
         [0060]    There has been broadly outlined the more important features of the invention in the summary above in order that the detailed description which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0061]    Certain terminology and derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similarly, words such as “inward” and “outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. The plane of the hub refers to the plane the generally disc-like geometry of a connecting sub element or element of this invention resides in as it may be when lying on a sheet or table. Mid-plane refers to a geometric plane mid-way between upper and lower planar surfaces of an otherwise ‘flat’ element comprising some thickness. Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa, unless otherwise noted. 
         [0062]    The invention relates to a class of construction toys principally made up of sets of rods (struts) and connectors (hubs). More specifically, this invention relates to the assemblage of the elements, resulting in the formation of space structures for entertainment and education. These space structures may take the form of simple to complex polyhedra, as well as any of a wide range of spatial structures (buildings, vehicles, atomic lattice structures, civil engineering models, etc.). 
         [0063]    Generally provided as a kit, the invention consists of hubs and struts. The struts are generally fastened to each other through the use of connecting elements, generally referred to as hubs. In the context of polyhedral or space structures, the struts comprise the edges of said structures, and the connectors or hubs make up the vertices of the structures. In kit form, other elements may be provided, such as planar surfaces, mechanical elements, and so forth. 
         [0064]    As embodied, generally rigid or semi-rigid struts have a profile generally similar to that of elongated cylinders, where the axial length of the cylinder is proportionally longer than that of the cross section or diameter of the cylinder. Defined is the longitudinal axis of the strut as extending along its axial length. The cross section of the strut is not specifically circular, but generally has a perimeter contained within a circular or oval envelope-with the understanding that this may include cross-sections having square, rectangular, or other polygonal shape, for example, an “x” shaped cross section. 
         [0065]    The present inventive hubs generally have some number of regions which receive the struts and are mated to them. In the specific case and embodiment of the invention detailed below, that portion of the hub attaching the strut to it is often referred to as a slot or socket, but more generally, could be any of a range of attaching mechanisms. However, it is the intent of this invention that the attaching mechanism not be limited to a specific mechanical design, but could be of a range of designs, some of which have been previously disclosed in prior patents, such as for Tinkertoy®, first described by U.S. Pat. No. 1,113,371 utilizing a compression/friction grip or for K&#39;NEX® first described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,219 utilizing a pair of strut gripping arms for releasable strut capture. 
         [0066]    Regarding the hubs, while it is the case that many of the angularly fixed hub and strut space structure building sets disclosed in prior art can build a myriad array of space structures, those designs are generally limited to space structures with discrete, fixed angular strut orientations such as 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° to each other. 
         [0067]    Allowing for variation in strut design and the design of the strut to hub mating configurations, the essence of this invention is that of allowing continuous ranges of positioning and relative angular orientations of the struts attached to a given hub employed to define a wide range of polyhedral or other space constructs. This invention provides for multiple orthogonal rotational axes within the construct of the hub elements, whereby the strut receiving slots of the hub can rotate about those axes. 
         [0068]    The hub mechanism of this invention allows that the use of identical hub elements in differing configurations to place strut elements at differing angular orientations (to each other) in a given structure, or to re-employ these elements in an altogether different polyhedral space structure at differing angular orientations at some later time. 
         [0069]    Examples of differing angles that may be selected by a user constructing desire polyhedral structures oftentimes cannot be selected using existing art. For example, in constructing Platonic and Archimedean solids, often of importance is the dihedral angle (the angle between two adjacent surfaces of the solid). These angles include 70.53° for the tetrahedron, 116.57° for the dodecahedron, and 138.19° between the hexagonal surfaces of the truncated icosahedrons, this latter solid often known as a buckyball after Buckminster Fuller, the angles of which define the soccer ball, as well as that of C 60 , the carbon molecule fullerene. The dodecahedron consists of pentagons, with struts meeting at 108°, not simple multiples of 30° or 45°. The inner angles of the rhombic faces of the rhombic dodecahedron are 70.53° and 109.47°, with a dihedral angle of 120°. The dihedral angles between the hexagonal surfaces comprising carbon nanotubes designated in form by (n,m) are 150°, 152.3°, 158.8° for m=0, n=12, 13 and 17, respectively. For other values of m and n, the required dihedral angles are different. 
         [0070]    Fortunately, for the casual user, knowledge of these values is generally not required. Users playing with, for example, magnetic hub and strut toys, arrange struts at no pre-set angular orientations, and do not know the inner angular values when they construct, for instance, an octahedron; the relative angular placement of the struts in an octahedron are forced by set geometric constraints. By providing this flexibility in angular strut relationships while simultaneously providing a structurally robust system of connectors, it should be clear the advantages the invention disclosed here provide over prior inventions of similar art. 
         [0071]    Turning to  FIG. 3 , shown is the subject matter of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/849,643 to which the inventive matter presented here is a progression of. In detail, shown is a composite hinge-hub  50  comprised of half-planar connector elements  51   a  and  51   b , where each is releasbly attached to each other via symmetric hinge elements. Attached to composite hinge-hub  50  is an array of struts represented by strut  52 . 
         [0072]    Now turning to  FIG. 4A , a plan view, shown is a first connector element  100 , one of two connector elements that comprise a multi-planar composite connector element, that when combined in a quantity greater than one with a plurality of struts, make up a hub and strut based construction toy set. 
         [0073]    Continuing to refer to  FIG. 4A , first connector element  100  is made up of connector element  101  and slider slots  102   a  and  102   b . Less or more slider slots  102  may be attached to connector element  101 . Connector element  101  includes semi-toroidal ring  103  where the central axis of the toroid is perpendicular to the connector element, collinear with orthogonal axis  104  extending vertical off the printed view. 
         [0074]    To advantage, slider slots are releasably attached to the first connector element at the semi-toroidal hub  103  ( FIG. 4A ) via the use of open knuckles  105 , where  105  is shown in  FIG. 4F . For substantial advantage, the slider slots are variably positionable across any angular range  106 , about the available circumference of the semi-toroidal ring. 
         [0075]    When attached to connector element  101 , slider slots  102  accommodate struts  107  such that the longitudinal axes of the struts  108  intersect orthogonal axis  104  of the connector element at a common point, regardless of angular positioning of the slider slots. This is shown by example in  FIG. 4A , where slider slot  102   b  is open to accept strut  107 , such that the longitudinal axis  108   a  of that strut intersects the orthogonal axis  104  of the connector element  101  at the same location along the orthogonal axis that longitudinal axis  108   b  of an additional strut  107 , were it connected. In this preferred embodiment, all struts attached to the connector element  101 , lie in the same plane. 
         [0076]      FIGS. 4B ,  4 C, and  4 D provide a plan view, front view, and cross-sectional views respectively of the connector element  101 , where the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4D  is taken at  110  in  FIG. 4B . Similarly,  FIGS. 4E ,  4 F, and  4 G provide a plan view, front view, and cross-sectional views respectively of the slider slot  102 , where the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4G  is taken at  111  in  FIG. 4C . 
         [0077]    To provide an advantage in the building of hub and strut structures, open knuckle  105  of the slider slot  102 ,  FIG. 4F , is designed to provide a snug fit on the semi-toroidal ring  103 , shown in  FIGS. 4B ,  4 C, and  4 D, ensuring a smooth but resistive translation about the ring when the slider slot  102  is re-positioned on the semi-toroidal ring  103 . This is accomplished by designing the interior dimension  113 ,  FIG. 4G  of the hinge knuckle  112  to be marginally smaller than the exterior dimension  114  of the semi-toroidal ring  103  shown in  FIG. 4D . 
         [0078]    While slider slot  102  is designed to be repeatedly removable from connector element  101   FIG. 4A , to ensure that slider slot  102  does not ‘fall off’, but remains attached to the connector element  101  unless a user wishes to remove such, the opening  115  to the knuckle interior  113  is dimensioned marginally smaller than that of the knuckle interior. Selection of suitable materials insures that repeated minor deformations in the knuckle  105  in the attachment and removal process does not otherwise reduce the lifetime use of the invention. 
         [0079]    While the invention envisions alternate approaches to maintaining a connection between slider slots  102  and struts  107 ,  FIG. 4A , such as but not limited to friction fittings, the preferred embodiment utilizes a releasable snap fit. This is enabled through the use of a circumferential flange  116  on strut  107  held against removal from the slider socket cavity  117  by inclusion of a corresponding snap  118  on slider slot  103 , which may be seen in  FIGS. 4E ,  4 F and  4 G. 
         [0080]    For further appreciation of the construction,  FIG. 4H  provides a front view of single slider slot  102  attached to connector element  101 . 
         [0081]    To facilitate the construction of a multi-planar composite connector element  125  ( FIG. 5E ) connector element  101  includes an elongated open sided recess  126 , shown in  FIG. 4B , where this recess extends from orthogonal axis  104  of connector element  101 , breaking semi-toroidal ring  103 , to the exterior of the connector element. Recess  126  demonstrates width  127  ( FIG. 4B ) essentially equal to thickness  128  ( FIG. 4C ) of the connector element. 
         [0082]    Turning now to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , shown are plan views of first connector element  100   a  and second connector element  100   b , situated at right angles to each other, in such a fashion that their respective open sided recesses  126  are open towards the other.  FIGS. 5C and 5D  show these same two connector elements from a front view, where  FIG. 5C  shows the front view of first connector element  100   a  shown in plan view in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5D  shows the front view of first connector element  100   b  shown in plan view in  FIG. 5B . 
         [0083]      FIG. 5E  shows the plan view of a multi-planar composite connector element  125  comprised of first and second connector elements,  100   a  and  100   b , respectively, and  FIG. 5F  shows the same composite connector element  125  from a side view. Note that in the composite connector, there is no hindrance of angular placement of the slider slots  102 . Note in particular advantage clearance  130  ( FIG. 5E ) providing that slider slot  102   f  reside at any angular position about the semi-toroidal ring  103  where its positioning is not impeded by the proximity of the mated first connector element  100   a.    
         [0084]    Of additional advantage are design deformations  131  ( FIG. 4B ) of a first connector element that physically snap beyond the edge border  132  of a second connector element, when first and second connector elements are united to form a multi-planar composite connector  125  ( FIG. 5E ). Through temporary material deformations, this creates an interlocked pair of connectors that may be separated via the use of light user applied force. 
         [0085]    While in the depiction of  FIG. 5  the first and second connector elements shown are of essentially similar design, it should be appreciated that the scope of this invention is not limited to this. Following are but two examples of alternate constructions. 
         [0086]      FIG. 6A  shows slider slot based first connector element  100 , while  FIG. 6B  shows fixed angle second connector element  140  in the same plan view adjacent to the first connector element, where the fixed angle connector may be that made by one or other suppliers of prior art.  FIG. 6C  shows a multi-planar connector element comprised of slider based first connector element  100  and fixed slot connector element  140 . 
         [0087]    Appreciate the indentations  133  in  FIGS. 4B and 4D  designed to provide compatibility to prior art yielding a releasable snap fit multi part connector. 
         [0088]    Alternate preferred embodiments of the slider slot based connector elements that may be substituted for connector elements  101  include connector element  141  ( FIG. 6D ) which includes for advantage cut  142  in material providing reduced strain in material deformation during the connector mating process. A yet further alternate embodiment is that of  143  ( FIG. 6E ) with a reduced angular dimensioned semi-toroidal ring. 
         [0089]    An examination of  FIGS. 7A through 7F  will show an increased advantage though the replacement of the fixed angle connection between first and second connector elements  100  presented in  FIGS. 4  A-H to that of a connection where connector subparts residing in multiple planes which may rotate relative to each other along a common axis. The principal embodiment of this is in a composite multi-planar hinged connector employing a primary connector and one or more secondary connector elements attached to each other by use of a hinge mechanism. The first embodiment of this is shown in  FIGS. 7A through 7F  is that utilizing a fixed strut receiving socket (slot) positioning on the primary connector element, followed later with the inclusion of a second embodiment utilizing an angularly variably positionable slider slot. 
         [0090]      FIG. 7A  shows a plan view of generally planar primary connector element  200  comprised most notably of an array of angularly positioned strut receiving elements  201  and cylindrical hinge pintle  202 .  FIG. 7B  is a cross-sectional view of the primary connector element taken at cross section  203 .  FIG. 7E  shows this same cross-sectional view of primary connector element  200  with secondary element  210  attached at an acute angle made possible by the use of beveling. 
         [0091]    Defined here is primary axis  204 , shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , where this axis lies in the defined mid-plane of the primary connector element  200 . To assist in further understanding of the invention, orthogonal axis  205  is defined perpendicular to both primary axis  204  and the plane of the primary connector element  200 . 
         [0092]    Strut receiving socket or slot  201  is representative of a multiplicity of slots for attaching struts to primary connector  200  and other connector element embodiments. Slots  201  are distributed at pre-determined angles about orthogonal axis  205  in the plane of primary connector element  200 , and are placed so that they have outwardly facing socket cavity  206  providing for the attachment of struts in a radial manner about the connector element, such that the longitudinal axes of connected struts intersect at a common point on orthogonal axis  205 , mid-plane to the connector. In this preferred embodiment, all struts attached to primary connector element  200  lie in the same plane. 
         [0093]    Focusing now on the design of the rotational advantages, cylindrical hinge pintle  202  is collinear with primary axis  204 . Hinge pintle  202  is supported by closed hinge knuckles  207  shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B . Closed hinge knuckle  206  exhibits radial dimension  208  ( FIG. 7B ) proportionally greater than its width  209  ( FIG. 7A ), thereby advantageously providing torsional stability to secondary connector elements attached adjacently thereto. 
         [0094]    One of several preferred embodiments of a secondary connector element  210  is shown in  FIGS. 7C and 7D , though it must be understood that the invention includes, but is not limited to, a range of differing secondary connector elements  275  to  279 , as shown in  FIGS. 9A through 9F . The fundamental attributes of secondary connector element  210  are the open hinge knuckles  211 , utilized to attach the secondary connector element to the primary connector element  200  and strut receiving socket or slot  212  utilized to attach struts to it. 
         [0095]    Open hinge knuckle  211  of secondary connector  210  exhibits radial dimension  213 , shown in  FIG. 7D , proportionally greater than its width  208  as seen in  FIG. 7B , thereby advantageously providing torsional stability to secondary connector elements attached adjacently. 
         [0096]    By providing increased torsional stability through the use of larger radial area of closed hinge knuckles  207  and open hinge knuckles  211 , adjacently supporting one another, the hinge knuckles may be designed thinner than they otherwise could be. Doing so then allows an increase in the number of secondary connectors that may be attached along the pintle of the primary axis. This is shown in  FIG. 7F , where four secondary elements are attached simultaneously, at arbitrary angles, to a single primary connector element. 
         [0097]    It should be appreciated that the invention is such that while a multiplicity of struts attached via secondary connectors lie in differing planes, each plane described by the strut and the primary axis of the multi-planar connector, the longitudinal axes of the attached struts all intersect at a single point, common to the intersection of primary axis  204  and orthogonal axis  205 . 
         [0098]    For further advantage, the invention provides that open hinge knuckle  211  is designed to provide a snug fit on hinge pintle  202  ensuring the secondary connector element  210  a smooth but resistive rotation about the primary axis  204  when slider slot  102  ( FIG. 4E ) is re-positioned relative to the plane of the primary connector. This fit is accomplished by designing interior dimension  214  ( FIG. 7D ) of hinge knuckle  211  to be marginally smaller than the diameter  215  ( FIG. 7B ) of hinge pintle  202 . 
         [0099]    While secondary connector  210  is designed to be repeatedly attached and removed from primary connector element  200 , to ensure that secondary connector  210  does not ‘fall off’ but remains attached to connector element  200  unless a user wishes to remove such, opening  216  is dimensioned marginally smaller than that of knuckle interior  214 . Selection of suitable materials insures that repeated minor temporary deformations in the hinge knuckle  211  in the attachment and removal process does not otherwise reduce the lifetime use of the invention. 
         [0100]    Note that in this preferred embodiment, strut receiving sockets  201  ( FIG. 7A) and 212  ( FIG. 7C ) are generally identical to the strut receiving sockets of the slider slots  102  ( FIG. 4G ), inclusive of snap mechanisms  230  and  231  shown in  FIGS. 7C and 7A  respectively designed for releasably retaining attached struts. 
         [0101]    To significant advantage is the beveling of planar surfaces of the connector elements to increase the rotational range of primary and secondary connector elements  200  and  210 , respectively, relative to the other. Details of this can be seen in  FIGS. 7A ,  7 B,  7 D, and  7 E. Specific is beveling (e.g., increasing reduction) of the planar thickness  220  of the primary connector element shown in  FIGS. 7B and 216  of secondary connector element shown in  FIG. 7D  in those areas closer to the primary axis  204 . In this preferred embodiment of primary connector element  200 , this is done at hinge arms  221  and on the general body at multiple locations shown representatively at  222 , as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B . 
         [0102]    To advantage, similar beveling of planar material of secondary connector  210  is found on the hinge arms  223  and those areas of the body closer to the primary axis, represented by  224 , shown in  FIGS. 7C and 7D .  FIG. 7E  clearly demonstrates the inventive advantage of the beveling of the primary and secondary connector elements by graphically illustrating the acute inner angle about the primary axis  204  that these two elements may be set to each other. 
         [0103]      FIGS. 8A through 8G  explore alternate primary hub embodiments. All of the features and advantages shown in  FIGS. 7A through 7F  and in discussion about those figures directly apply to those elements shown in  FIG. 8A through 8G . 
         [0104]    In turning to  FIG. 8A , primary slider connector  250 , similar in functionality to that of primary connector element  200  shown in  FIG. 7A , but replacing fixed slots  201  with inclusion of 360 degree semi-toroidal ring  251  with axis collinear to defined orthogonal axis  252 . Semi-toroidal ring  251  provides variable placement of one or more slider slots  102  anywhere along its available perimeter allowing struts attached to it to radiate at user determined angles about orthogonal axis  252 . The invention is such that the longitudinal axes of struts (e.g. strut  107 ,  FIG. 4 ) attached thereto will intersect at the intersecting point of orthogonal axis  252  and mid-plane defined primary axis  253 . Hinge pintle  254 , collinear to primary axis  253  accepts but is not limited to secondary slot  210  ( FIGS. 7C and 7D ). 
         [0105]    A cross-sectional view taken at  255  is shown in  FIG. 8B  to provide better appreciation of the invention.  FIG. 8C  shows primary slider connector  250  with a single slider slot  102  attached to it. Angular dimension line  256  indicates the angular range of the slider slot  102  on  250 . 
         [0106]    Also of advantage is primary connector  260 , shown in  FIG. 8D , where in addition to semi-toroidal ring  261  allowing moveable placement of the slider slot  102  along the connector&#39;s perimeter, the primary connector also includes fixed primary strut receiving slot  262 . Hinge pintle  263  accepts but is not limited to secondary slot  102  as describe for  FIGS. 7C and 7D . Both fixed primary strut receiving slot  262  and hinge pintle  263  are collinear to defined mid-plane primary axis  264 . A cross-sectional view taken at  265  in  FIG. 8D  is presented in  FIG. 8E  to provide better appreciation of this embodiment of the invention. 
         [0107]      FIGS. 8F and 8G  present two additional embodiments  270  and  271  of the primary connector element for the composite multi-planar hinged connector. To advantage, these maintain the feature set discussed above regarding attachment and angular rotation of secondary connector elements. 
         [0108]      FIGS. 9A through 9F  illustrate elements  275  through  279 , providing examples of the range of possible secondary connector element embodiments. In detail, secondary connector  275  ( FIG. 9A ) provides attachment of a strut at a 60 degree angle relative to a primary axis of a given multi-planar hub. Secondary connector  275  is designed to attach to available space on a hinge pintle on furthest for the orthogonal axis. Secondary connector  276  ( FIG. 9B ) provides attachment of a strut at a 60 degree angle relative to a primary axis, whereby secondary connector  276  attaches to a section of hinge pintle adjacent to the orthogonal axis. 
         [0109]    Secondary connector  277  ( FIG. 9C ) accommodates two physical connector slots on a single set of open hinge knuckles for attachment to a connector element. Similarly, secondary connector  278  ( FIG. 9D ) accommodates two physical connector slots but on two pair of open hinge knuckles for attachment to a connector element. This configuration provides increased structural strength that may be necessary in some space structures. 
         [0110]      FIGS. 9E and 9F  show views of slider secondary connector  279 , where slider connector  279  includes a portion of semi-toroidal ring allowing user determined placement of slider slot  102 . 
         [0111]    It should be understood that this invention foresees an additional range of secondary elements that may be connected to the primary hub beyond these shown. Further, the various hinge pintles of primary connectors e.g. hinge pintle  202  ( FIG. 7A ), may accept other non-connector elements as well. 
         [0112]    As a further enhancement to the present invention,  FIGS. 10A through 10E  describe one of two interlocking connector elements comprising the scissor hub, a multi-planar strut connector whereby struts lying on each of two planes radiate in a 360 degree fashion, where the planes may be set at arbitrary angles to each other. Additionally, multiple secondary connector elements may be attached to the scissor hub. 
         [0113]      FIG. 10A  provides a plan view of the generally planar first scissor hub sub element  300 , where it should be readily appreciated that each sub-element contains many of the same features present in the connector elements discussed previously. These elements include defined primary axis  301  mid-plane to the scissor hub sub element  300 , hinge pintle  302  to accept open hinge knuckle based components, e.g. secondary slots  210  as shown in  FIG. 7C  and open hinge knuckles  310  of second scissor hub sub elements, a defined orthogonal axis  303  perpendicular to the primary axis and the plane of element  300 , in addition to fixed strut receiving sockets or slots  304  arranged radially about the orthogonal axis  303 , which to advantage include strut retention clip  305 . These elements may be viewed in the side view,  FIG. 10D . 
         [0114]    The scissor hub element also includes beveling on hinge knuckles  306  and those areas of the connector body represented by  307  closer to primary axis  301 , both features to advantage provide attached second and secondary connector elements to form acute angles adjacent to this first sub element. These features can be more readily appreciated in  FIG. 10C , a cross sectional view taken at  308  in  FIG. 10A . 
         [0115]    Of key advantage is the use of open hinge knuckles  310  shown in  FIG. 10A , better appreciated in  FIG. 10C , a cross-sectional view taken at  311  in  FIG. 10A . Also note core opening  312  which is effectively equivalent to elongated open sided recess  126   a  in  FIG. 5A  allowing similar sub elements to interlock. To further provide advantage, portions of closed hinge knuckle arms  313  are further reduced in dimension, best shown in  FIG. 10C . The width of the remaining material of hinge knuckle arm  314  is designed such that it is dimensionally less than gap opening  315  adjacent to the open hinge knuckles  310 . 
         [0116]    Details of open hinge knuckle  310  are shown in  FIG. 10C , where angled hinge knuckle opening  316  is visible. Overall, open knuckle  316  is designed utilizing methodology as detailed in prior open knuckles of this invention, e.g. open hinge knuckle  211  in  FIG. 11D , to advantage, providing a resistive rotational fit to hinge pintles it may be attached, as well as releasable attachment thereof. 
         [0117]    The sum of these inventive devices is such that two identical scissor hub sub elements  300 , set at 180 degrees of each other and applied at roughly right angles, offset from each other, so that their respective core openings  312  ‘face’ each other, may be brought together and releasably interlocked completing the scissor hub, a multi-planar strut connector. A front view of a completed scissor hub  320 , with the planar sub elements resting at an acute angle to each other is shown in  FIG. 10E . 
         [0118]      FIGS. 11A through 11E  demonstrate the mating of a first and second scissor hub sub elements  300   a  and  300   b  being assembled to comprise composite scissor hub  320 . In detail,  FIG. 11A  shows first sub element  300   a , adjacent to second sub element  300   b , where the second sub element is aligned orthogonal to and reversed from the first. 
         [0119]      FIG. 11B  demonstrates two sub units together, but not yet interlocked.  FIG. 11C  illustrates these same two elements, but in cross section taken at  325  in  11 B.  FIG. 11D  shows them in their final interlocked position, comprising completed scissor hub  320 .  FIG. 11E  shows the same completed hub, but in cross section taken at  326  in  FIG. 11D . 
         [0120]      FIGS. 12A through 12E  show the assembly of a partial scissor hub. Of advantage is the use of half hub  330  of design similar to scissor hub sub element  300 , but of only partial circumferential build, as shown in  FIG. 12A .  FIG. 12B  shows this same element,  330 , positioned orthogonal to scissor hub sub element  300  adjacent to it in  FIG. 12C .  FIGS. 12D and 12E  provide two views of completed partial scissor hub  335 , where partial scissor hubs  335  is comprised of scissor hub sub element  300  and half hub  330 . In another embodiment, two half hubs  330  may be assembled to form a classic hinge hub, where due to beveling as described here, each half can revolve some 280 plus degrees, significantly more than the +/−90 angular range provided by other prior art. 
         [0121]    Demonstrating the functionality of the scissor hub, several basic constructions are shown in  FIG. 13A through 13D .  FIG. 13A  shows basic scissor hub configuration  320 , similar to that shown in  11 E, but from an edge view as opposed to a cross-sectional view. 
         [0122]      FIG. 13B  illustrates scissor hub  320 , but with its respective sub elements fully revolved about the other.  FIG. 13C  provides a view of partial scissor hub  330  shown in  FIG. 12E , but rotated to an acute minimum angle.  FIG. 13D  demonstrates the scissor hub  320  to full advantage with the inclusion of additional secondary hubs  210   a  and  210   b.    
         [0123]    Of significant advantage is the slider variation of the scissor hub, shown in  FIG. 14A through 14G . All of the features and advantages presented in  FIG. 10A through 13D  and in discussion about those figures directly apply to those elements shown in  FIG. 14A through 14G . 
         [0124]    In turning to  FIG. 14A , slider scissor hub sub element  350 , similar in functionality to that of scissor hub sub element  300  shown in  FIG. 10A , but replacing fixed slots  304  with the addition of semi-toroidal ring  351  with axis collinear to defined orthogonal axis  352 . Semi-toroidal ring  351  provides variable placement of slider slot  102  anywhere along its available perimeter allowing struts attached to it to radiate at user determined angles about orthogonal axis  352 . The invention is such that the longitudinal axes of struts (e.g. strut  107 ,  FIG. 4 ) attached thereto will intersect at the intersecting point of orthogonal axis  352  and mid-plane defined primary axis  253 . Hinge pintle  354 , collinear to primary axis  353  accepts but is not limited to secondary slot  210  ( FIGS. 7C and 7D ). 
         [0125]    Hinge pintle  354  also releasbly accepts but is not limited to open hinge knuckles of second scissor hub sub elements such as  310 ,  355 , and  365  ( FIGS. 10A ,  14 A. and  14 D, respectively). The invention is such that the longitudinal axes of struts (e.g. strut  107  shown in  FIG. 4 ) attached thereto will intersect at the intersecting point of orthogonal axis  252  and primary axis  254 . 
         [0126]    A cross-sectional view taken at  355  is shown in  FIG. 14B  to provide better appreciation of the invention.  FIG. 14C  shows primary slider connector  350  with slider slots  102   a  and  102   b  attached to it. 
         [0127]    Also of advantage is slider scissor hub sub element  360 , shown in  FIG. 14D , but additionally includes fixed primary strut receiving slot  361 . In common with slider scissor hub element  350  ( FIG. 14A ) are semi-toroidal ring  362  allowing placement of the slider slot  102  along the connector&#39;s perimeter, hinge pintle  363 , open hinge knuckles  364 , and additional elements, all functionally equivalent to their named counterparts in the slider scissor hub sub element  350 . Both fixed primary strut receiving slot  361  and hinge pintle  363  are collinear to defined mid-plane primary axis  365 . 
         [0128]    A cross-sectional view of  FIG. 14D  taken at  366  is shown in  FIG. 14E .  FIG. 14G  shows a composite slider based scissor hub consisting of slider scissor hubs  350  and  360 , slider slots  102   a - d , and secondary slot  210 . 
         [0129]    The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best of mode practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations as described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed as suitable, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. 
         [0130]    Therefore, the above description and illustration should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.