Abstract:
A positioning mechanism for use in conjunction with rod and connector construction toy sets, such as K&#39;NEX, to enable incrementally adjustable positioning of rods relative to associated connectors. The new mechanism includes first and second positioning members. The first, positioning member is, mounted on a rod for angular movement and includes a cylindrical outer surface with multiple detent notches. The second positioning member has a convergent pair of resilient fingers engaged with a spaced pair of the detent notches to releasably retain the first positioning member in any incrementally adjusted position. The second positioning member includes mounting studs engageable with laterally spaced connectors of an assembly, and a separate locating element engageable with at least one of the connectors to fix the second positioning member against rotation. The first and second positioning members are easily incorporated into otherwise standard rod and connector structures to achieve the desired incremental adjustability.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to construction toys, and more particularly to rod and connector type construction toys such as those marketed under the registered trademark “K&#39;NEX”. A fundamental part of the K&#39;NEX construction toy system is the provision of a rod and connector arrangement in which rods may be joined with connectors by a lateral snap-in action by which the components are held in a substantially rigid relation. The K&#39;NEX construction toy system is also designed and constructed to enable interfacing with bricks, such that complicated hybrid structures of bricks, rods and connectors may be assembled. The present invention relates to certain improvements in the K&#39;NEX construction toy system which facilitate the assembly of elements in a manner to accommodate the adjustable positioning thereof. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A typical K&#39;NEX construction toy set is furnished with multiple rods of various lengths, based upon a specific system of graduated lengths as described in, for example, the Glickman U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,331, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. The typical set also includes a variety of generally flat connectors, each provided with a hub and one or a plurality of up to eight rod-receiving sockets disposed at regular angular intervals of 45°. Some connectors are arranged to be joined together at right angles to provide multiple rod-receiving sockets extending in two planes. Because of the basic structure of the connectors, rods joined therewith are for the most part rigidly mounted with respect to other rods. In some cases, the hub of the connector may be supported by a rod for rotational movement, but in such cases the connector may rotate freely about the axis of the rod. While the rotational connector may be fixed in one or more angular orientations in a finished structure, it is not incrementally adjustable. There remains a need for a simple, effective, easily constructed mechanism to enable incremental rotational positioning of assembled rigid components in a K&#39;NEX rod and connector construction set, especially for poseable action figures and the like. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a novel form of positioning mechanism for a rod and connector construction toy set, enabling a rod, joined with a connector, to be incrementally angularly positioned in relation to adjacent rod and connector elements. The mechanism is particularly advantageously suited for, but in no way limited to, the construction of poseable action figures utilizing in some significant part rod and connector structural elements as provided, for example, in a K&#39;NEX construction toy set. The mechanism of the invention comprises a first positioning member which is laterally confined between two standard connectors and rotatably supported upon a rod engaged by and extending transversely between the two standard connectors. The first positioning member includes a rod-gripping socket whereby a rod, engaged in said socket, can be rotationally positioned relative to the two standard connectors. A cylindrical outer surface portion of the first positioning member, coaxial with the transversely disposed rod on which it is mounted, is provided with a series of angularly closely spaced positioning teeth. A second positioning member has coaxial projections from opposite sides thereof which are received in opposed hub openings of the standard connectors. The main body of the second positioning member is closely confined between the standard connectors, and a third projection, extending from one side of the second positioning member, engages an opening in one of the standard connectors, radially spaced from the hub opening, such that the second positioning member is non-rotationally secured relative to that connector. A spaced apart pair of resilient positioning fingers (sometimes referred to herein as detent fingers) extend from the body of the second positioning member and engage the positioning teeth of the first positioning member. The first and second positioning members form a unique assembly with the standard connectors and enable incremental angular positioning of the first positioning member relative to the assembly as a whole. The mechanism is ideally suited for knee or elbow joints, for example, of mechanical action figures constructed at least in part of rod and connector components. It will be understood, in this respect, that reference herein to structures constructed of rod and connector components will also embrace such structures when constructed in hybrid form, using rods, connectors and bricks, as well as other components. 
     Pursuant to the invention, the unique design and configuration of the first and second positioning members enables them to be incorporated in a variety of ways within an assembly of rod and connector components to accommodate incremental positional adjustment of certain of the components relative to the structure as a whole. 
     For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof and to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a simple joint assembly constructed with rod and connector components in accordance with principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view as taken generally on line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 3   
         FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the joint assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view as taken generally on line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3  but omitting a showing of the rods. 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken generally on line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is an orthographic view of the joint assembly of the  FIGS. 1-3 , with the rods omitted from the assembly. 
         FIGS. 7 and 8  are a side elevation and orthographic views, respectively, of a first positioning element forming part of the joint assembly of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a side elevational view of a second positioning element forming part of the joint assembly of the invention. 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  are orthographic views, from opposite ends, of the second positioning element of  FIG. 9   
         FIGS. 12 and 13  are opposite and elevational views of the second positioning element of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIGS. 14 and 15  are top and bottom plan views, respectively, of the second positioning element of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawing, the reference numerals  20 ,  21  designate connector elements of a type typically utilized in K&#39;NEX construction toy sets. The illustrated connectors are 180° connectors, which are provided with five rod-engaging sockets  22  of generally U-shaped configuration adapted, in a manner known with K&#39;NEX construction toy sets, to accommodate lateral snap-in assembly of rods  23 - 25  to form a relatively rigid assembly, in which the rods are disposed in fixed relation to the connectors, along axes defined by the sockets  22 . It will be understood that the use of 180° connectors  20 ,  21  is illustrative only, as connectors may be utilized with a greater or lesser number of rod sockets. 
     Each of the connectors has a cylindrical hub  26  forming a cylindrical opening  26   a  aligned along a hub axis. The axes of the several rod-gripping sockets  22  of a connector lie in a common plane and each intersects the hub axis of that connector at right angles thereto. In a standard K&#39;NEX construction toy set, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,331, the rod-engaging sockets are disposed with their respective socket axes spaced at 45° such that, in assembly of rods and connectors, the rods can be disposed at angles of 45° or multiples of 45°. Each rod socket  22  is comprised of an end wall  22   a , disposed at right angles to the socket axis and arranged to support the end of a rod held in the socket, and spaced apart side walls  22   b ,  22   c  extending outward from the end wall  22   a  and disposed parallel to and equidistant from the socket axis. The side walls  22   b ,  22   c  are arranged to resiliently grip side wall portions of a rod (see  FIG. 2 ) and are formed with longitudinal grooves  22   d  which serve to hold a gripped rod firmly in alignment with the socket axis. Pursuant to teachings of the above mentioned &#39;331 patent, the bottom wall  22   a  of each rod socket  22  in each connector is located a fixed radial distance from the hub axis. This is true for all connectors regardless of the number of rod sockets provided in the connector. 
     Each socket is adapted, in a manner known with K&#39;NEX construction toy sets, to accommodate snap together assembly of rods and connectors to form a relatively rigid assembly. Preferably, each socket is adapted for lateral snap-in assembly of a rod into the socket by aligning a longitudinal axis of a rod parallel to the socket axis of a socket and urging the end of the rod into the socket in a direction perpendicular to the socket axis. The arrangement is such that when assembled the socket axis and the longitudinal axis of the rod are coaxial. Alternatively, transverse snap-in assembly of a rod into a socket can be accomplished by aligning the longitudinal axis of the rod perpendicular to the socket axis and urging an intermediate portion of the rod into the socket in a direction parallel to the socket axis. When the rod and socket are thus assembled, the longitudinal axis of the rod intersects with and is perpendicular to the socket axis, and the rod is non-rotationally gripped by the socket. 
     Also as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,331, rods of the construction toy set are provided in graduated lengths according to a predetermined progression of lengths, such that when rods and connectors are assembled in the form of a right isosceles triangle, rods of one size in the progression can form the two sides of the triangle while a rod of the next larger size in the progression forms the hypotenuse. The rods are provided with annular grooves  27  ( FIG. 2 ) adjacent to their opposite ends which, during lateral snap-in connection of the rod, interlock with transverse ribs  28  in the socket side walls  22   b ,  22   c  to restrain the rods against axial movement out of the sockets in which they are engaged. 
     In the mechanism of the invention, the illustrated pair of connectors  20 ,  21  are joined together in closely spaced apart relation, with the hub axes thereof coaxially aligned, primarily by means of a short rod  29  which is gripped in transversely disposed relation in sockets  22  of each of the connectors  20 ,  21 . As indicated in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 , the rod  29 , which can be a standard K&#39;NEX rod, has an X-shaped cross section over most of its length between cylindrical collar portions  30 ,  31  at its opposite ends. This cross sectional shape forms two pairs of opposed V-shaped grooves  32 ,  33 . One of the pairs of opposed V-shaped grooves of the transverse rod  29  is engaged by opposing transverse ribs  28  in the rod sockets  22  of the connectors  20 ,  21 , such that the rod  29  is tightly gripped by, and non-rotatable relative to, the spaced apart connectors  20 ,  21  and such that a longitudinal axis of the rod  29  is parallel to the hub axis of each connector  20 ,  21 . 
     Pursuant to the invention, a first positioning member  34  (see  FIGS. 7 and 8 ) is supported on an intermediate portion  35  of the rod  29  extending between the two connectors  20 ,  21 . The first positioning member has a cylindrically tubular end portion  36 , which is closely received on the intermediate rod portion  35  such that the first positioning member is rotatable relative to the rod  29  and connectors  20 ,  21  while being closely confined laterally between the two connectors. The first positioning member has a neck portion  37  extending radially from the tubular end portion  36 , and a rod gripping portion  38  is joined with the neck portion  37  in radially spaced relation to the end portion  36 . The rod gripping portion  38  includes a socket  39  of a generally U-shaped configuration corresponding in all relevant respects to the rod gripping sockets  22  of the standard connectors  20 ,  21 . In the illustrated form of the invention, the opposed side walls  40 ,  41  of the rod socket  39  are disposed in planes parallel to the central axis of the tubular end portion  36 , and the length of the neck portion  37  is such that the end wall  42  of the socket  39  is spaced the same radial distance from the axis  43  of the tubular end portion  36  as the end walls  22   a  of the standard connectors are spaced from the hub axis of the connector. 
     As shown particularly in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the tubular end portion  36  of the first positioning member is cylindrically contoured over most of its external surface (e.g., over an arc of about 260° in the illustrated example), from one side of the neck portion  37  to the other. This external surface is provided with a plurality of teeth formed by angularly closely spaced generally V-shaped notches  44 , which are disposed in parallel relation to the axis of the tubular end portion  36  and preferably extend over the full width of the end portion. By way of example and not of limitation, in a first positioning member having a tubular end portion  36  with a 0.25 inch internal diameter and an approximate outside diameter of about 0.288 inch, a series of about 18 V-shaped notches  44  are provided. In the example part, the notches are about 0.028 inch deep and have an included angle of about 86°. 
     Pursuant to the invention, the first positioning member  34  cooperates with a second positioning member  45 , which is engaged with the connectors  20 ,  21 , in fixed relation thereto, in such manner that the first positioning member may be rotationally adjusted about the rod  29  to any of a variety of rotational positions, within the physical limits provided for, and releasably retained in such rotationally adjusted position until intentionally moved therefrom. The second positioning member  45 , details of which are illustrated in  FIGS. 9-15 , comprises a main body portion  46  having spaced apart side walls  47 ,  48 , a top wall  49  and front and back walls  50 ,  51 . It will be understood, of course, that terms such as front, back, side, top, bottom, up, down, etc., as used herein, are used only in an illustrative and non-limiting sense, with reference to the various parts and assemblies in their illustrated orientations. In actual practice the parts and assemblies may be used in a variety of directional orientations. 
     The illustrated second positioning member  45  of  FIGS. 9-15  advantageously is formed by injection molding of an engineering plastic material such as “Celcon” brand acetyl polymer manufactured by Celanese Corporation. In the illustrated and preferred form of the invention, the second positioning member  45  includes a pair of mounting studs  52 ,  53  which extend from opposite sides of the body portion  46 . The mounting studs preferably are of cylindrically tubular form and are aligned on a common axis. The mounting studs are of a diameter (e.g., 0.25 inch) to be closely received within the hubs  26  of the connectors  20 ,  21  as shown for example in  FIGS. 5 and 6  of the drawings. The sidewalls  47 ,  48  of the body portion partially surround and extend outward from the mounting studs  52 ,  53  to form abutment surfaces against which a pair of spaced apart connectors  20 ,  21  can be seated and supported in the desired spaced relation. 
     A panel  54  extends downward at one side of the body portion  46  and an outer surface  55  thereof forms part of the body side wall  48 . The panel  54  advantageously is formed with a recess  56  at a lower edge thereof which is of inverted V-shape. Extending laterally outward from the outer panel surface  55  is an anti-rotation locating element  57  which is of an inverted V-shaped cross section, as shown particularly in  FIG. 12 . The locating element  57  extends parallel to and in spaced relation from the mounting stud  53 . The shape and positioning of the locating element  57  is such that, when the mounting stud  53  is engaged in the hub  26  of a connector (see  FIG. 5 ), the locating element  57  can be received in any one of the keystone-shaped openings  58  or trapezoidal openings  59  of the connectors  20 ,  21 . When so received, the locating element  57  locks the second positioning member  45  against any rotation relative to the connector  20  (and since the connector  20  is secured in fixed relation to the connector  21 , the positioning member  45  is also secured against rotation with respect to the connector  21 ). 
     Pursuant to an aspect of the invention, the second positioning member  45  is provided at the front and back of the body portion  46  with spaced apart and downwardly extending detent or positioning fingers  60 ,  61 . The detent fingers preferably are of a width equal to the width of the body portion  46  and are thus closely confined between the two connectors  20 ,  21  in the illustrated assembly. The positioning fingers  60 ,  61  are symmetrically arranged with respect to a vertical plane  62  bisecting the second positioning member  45 , as shown in, for example,  FIGS. 12 and 13 . Lower portions of the positioning fingers  60 ,  61  advantageously are convergently disposed at an angle to each other of about 53°. At one side edge thereof, the detent fingers are integrally joined with the sides of the downwardly extending panel  54 . In the specifically illustrated form of the invention, the lower extremities  63 ,  64  of the positioning fingers  60 ,  61  are of a somewhat pointed, V-shaped configuration. As seen best in  FIG. 13 , the lowermost surfaces of the extremities  63 ,  64  are disposed at an angle of approximately 60° to the vertical plane  62 , and the pointed lower ends may have an included angle of slightly less than 90°. 
     As is evident particularly in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the length of the positioning fingers  60 ,  61  is such that, when the second positioning member  45  is positioned with its mounting studs  52 ,  53  received in the connector hubs  26 , and the first positioning member  34  is supported by the transverse rod  29  secured in a pair of opposed rod sockets  22  of the connectors  20 ,  21 , the pointed lower ends  63 ,  64  of the positioning fingers are engaged with a spaced pair of the V-shaped detent notches  44  in the outer surface of the first positioning member  34 . In the illustrated arrangement, the notches  44  engaged by the finger ends  63 ,  64  are spaced apart by one intervening notch. In this configuration, the common axis of the mounting studs  52 ,  53  and the axis of the rod  29  define a plane, corresponding to the previously identified plane  62  about which the positioning fingers  60 ,  61  are symmetrically arranged. 
     When the positioning fingers  60 ,  61  are engaged with a pair of detent notches  44  on the first positioning element  34 , the first positioning element is firmly held in a fixed rotational orientation with respect to the other assembled components. However, the first positioning element may be forcibly repositioned by gripping either the rod gripping portion  39 , or a rod engaged therein and applying a sufficient rotating force thereto. The elements of the first and second positioning elements  34 ,  45  have sufficient resilience and elasticity to enable the positioning fingers to be momentarily displaced sufficiently to bring adjacent sets of detent notches  44  into alignment therewith. As soon as the rotating force is released, the first positioning element  34  will be held firmly in the newly adjusted position until the next occasion when intentional repositioning rotational forces are applied. In the illustrated and preferred form of the invention, the tubular end portion  36  of the first positioning member is formed with detent notches over a sufficient angular portion of its surface to accommodate positional adjustment of the first positioning member  34  relative to the second positioning member  45  of at least about 180°. The arrangement enables the first positioning member  45  to be adjusted to and retained in a plurality of incrementally discrete angular orientations relative to the first positioning element  34 . 
     It will be readily appreciated that the configured arrangement of  FIGS. 2 and 4 , for example, can be rearranged by positioning the rod  29  in any of the available rod sockets  22  of the connectors  20 ,  21 , since the rod  29  will, in any of the rod sockets of a connector, be positioned a predetermined distance from the hub axis of the connector such that the functional relationship of the first and second positioning members  34 ,  45  will remain the same. Moreover, with certain modifications, such as by configuring the mounting studs  52 ,  53  with an X cross-sectional shape and modifying the shape of the locating element  57 , the respective positions of the first and second positioning members  34 ,  45  could be made reversible, such that the first positioning member  34  could be rotatably mounted on a rod received in an opposed pair of hubs  26 , while the second positioning member  45  is mounted in a pair of rod sockets. 
     With the mechanism of the invention, the functionality of a rod and connector type construction toy set is greatly enhanced by enabling incremental positional adjustment of the angular orientation of a rod or rods relative to other parts of the structure. This is particularly useful for, but by no means limited to, the construction of robotic figures, where the builder can conveniently incrementally reposition arm and/or leg elements of the figure, with the repositioned elements remaining fixed in their new positions for normal purposes until intentionally moved to a new positions. 
     It should be understood, of course, that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative only, as various modifications may be made therein within the clear teachings of the disclosure as a whole. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.