Abstract:
A pendant adapter for interlocking building toy. Its unique shape can be easily assembled with the building toy&#39;s interlocking structure and requires no alteration to the toy. It enables user to connect the toy to a chain, a thread or other accessories, effectively transforming the toy into an apparel or ornamental item. Additionally, a foldable configuration may allow the adaptor to be adjustably fitted with an array of toy parts which vary in sizes and shapes.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of provisional application 62/126,459, of the same title, with the same specification and by the same inventors, filed Feb. 28, 2015. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Interlocking building toy is a highly customisable toy of which different parts can be swapped and assembled via an interlocking system to create a huge number of combinations. With the popularity of such toys and their wide range of representations, there is an increasing demand for a way to create custom-made apparel items based on these toys. 
         [0003]    There have been previous attempts at responding to this demand, with less-than-ideal results. Referring to  FIG. 1A and 1B , a typical prior solution is illustrated. A screw eye  1  is installed into the toy  2  by forcibly drilling a hole  3  in it. Then the toy  2  can be connected with a diversity of accessories (such as a chain  4 ). Thus, a pendant is created. In another exemplary prior art shown in  FIG. 2 , adhesive  5  is applied to the toy  2 &#39;s surface, binding a loop  6  on top of it which creates a similar result. 
         [0004]    These methods are commonly used, yet both result in irreversible damages to the toy which is not favored by most toy collectors. The toy&#39;s integrity is compromised as both screwing and gluing effects cannot be completely undone. Also, these methods require professional techniques, which can only be practiced by skilled craftsmen. 
         [0005]    This invention is an improved solution which overcomes the problems mentioned above. It is intended to be compatible with existing building toy pieces, so hereby incorporates certain popular building toy designs (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,005,282 and D253,711) as reference. These toy designs are shown in dashed lines for illustrative purpose only and forms no part of the claimed invention. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    This invention is an interchangeable adaptor to convert interlocking building toy into pendant with minimal effort. By utilising the interlocking structure of the building toy, portion of the adaptor can serve as a fastener to be assembled with the standardized parts of the toy, firmly securing the adapter and the toy together with no physical alteration required. It can be assembled and removed easily, so a single adaptor can be used on different toy pieces repeatedly. 
         [0007]    There is a hole on the adaptor which can be connected with other accessories, transforming the toy into different forms of adornments, such as necklace, brooch, earring, keychain, phone charm, hanging ornament, etc. 
         [0008]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, the adaptor is preferably equipped with a foldable mechanism, which allows the adaptor to be adjustably fitted with a wider range of toy parts. Also, user may repeatedly convert the adaptor from a flat state to the required form, adding additional portability. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1A-1B  illustrate a screw eye installed into a building toy piece according to a first prior art. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates a loop glued on top of a building toy piece according to a second prior art. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3A-3B  are perspective views of one embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention, showing how it fits between two building toy pieces. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the adaptor of  FIG. 3A-3B , further illustrates how it fits with the building toy&#39;s stud system. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the adaptor and toy pieces of  FIG. 3A-3B  assembled and transformed into a pendant. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6A  shows the pendant of  FIG. 5  serving as a necklace. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6B  shows the pendant of  FIG. 5  serving as a brooch. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6C  shows the pendant of  FIG. 5  serving as a earring. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6D  shows the pendant of  FIG. 5  serving as a keychain. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6E  shows the pendant of  FIG. 5  serving as a phone charm. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7A-7C  illustrate the adaptor of  FIG. 3A-3B  assembled with different toy pieces. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8A  is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention, which is assembled with the toy pieces in a different direction. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8B  is a side view of  FIG. 8A . 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the adaptor and toy pieces of  FIG. 8A-8B  assembled and transformed into a pendant. 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the adaptor of  FIG. 8A-8B  assembling with a building toy figure. 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the adaptor and toy figure of  FIG. 10  assembled and becomes a pendant. 
           [0025]      FIG. 12A-12B  are perspective views of another alternative embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention which comprises foldable sections, illustrating one folding mechanism. 
           [0026]      FIG. 13A-13B  are side views of the adaptor of  FIG. 12A-12B  assembled with a toy figure, showing another folding mechanism. 
           [0027]      FIG. 14A-14C  illustrate how the folding mechanism of  FIG. 13A-13B  adjustably fits with different toy figure parts. 
           [0028]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention, which is assembled between the head and torso of the toy figure. 
           [0029]      FIG. 16A-16B  are perspective views of another alternative embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention, which is assembled with the hands of the toy figure. 
           [0030]      FIG. 17A  is a perspective view of another alternative embodiment of the adaptor according to the invention. 
           [0031]      FIG. 17B  is a side view of the adaptor of  FIG. 17A  assembled with a toy figure by pegging into the sockets under the figure&#39;s feet. 
       
    
    
       [0032]    All illustrations are not intended to drawn to scale, and do not define the precise proportions of the invention and its elements. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0033]    Herein various embodiments of the present invention will be described. Some features are very similar in many of the different embodiments. To avoid redundancy, detailed description of similar features may not be repeated in some circumstances. However, it should be understood that a formerly described feature can also be applied to other relevant embodiments. 
         [0034]    According to one embodiment as illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the adaptor  7  is a piece of thin material, comprising a hole  8  at the upper section which can be connected with a variety of accessories, and a lower section  9  that serves as a fastener to be assembled with the building toys. Typically, the building toys are interlocked together by small, cylindrical studs  10  on top of a toy block  11  which peg into the back of another block  12 . The shape of the fastener  9  is tailor-made to be compatible with such stud system. It precisely fits into the vacancy between the studs  10  and hooks up with them as shown in the front view of  FIG. 4 . Therefore, when the two building toy blocks  11  and  12  are interlocked together, the fastener  9  can be clamped in-between. 
         [0035]      FIG. 5  illustrates the adaptor assembled with the building toys blocks. The fastener  9  is preferably to be as thin as possible to be firmly clamped by the two toy blocks  11  and  12  without loosening them, as a result fixing the adaptor and the building toy together securely. By attaching a jump ring  13  to the hole  8  at the protruding upper end of the adaptor, the building toys has become a loose-hanging piece of pendant. 
         [0036]    This pendant may serves a variety of functions, including but not limited to the examples shown in  FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, 6D and 6E  in which the jump ring  13  is connected to a chain  4 , a pin  14 , an earring hook  15 , a keyring  16 , and a phone strap  17  respectively, thus transforming the building toy into a necklace, a brooch, an earring, a keychain and a phone charm respectively. It should be noted that the above examples are just a few common usages of the present invention, and should not be seen as an exhaustive list of all possible applications. Also, the jump ring  13  is an additional component which is not essential in some cases. Any accessories that can be directly attached to the hole  8  should be applicable to the adaptor. Depending on the circumstances, actual usages of this invention can be varied. 
         [0037]    This invention offers tremendous flexibility, as the aforementioned assembly causes no physical damage and alteration to the toy, thus the transformation is non-permanent and reversible. The adapter can be removed from the toy easily, by simply taking the interlocked toy blocks apart. Therefore, as illustrated in  FIG. 7A-7C , it is possible to reassemble the adaptor repeatedly on different toy blocks  18 - 26 . Although only a few examples are shown, these illustrations suggest that despite the variations in size and shape, as long as the toy blocks comprise a standardized interlocking stud system, they should be able to fit with the adaptor effortlessly. As a result, it allows endless possibilities of customization. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention. The fastener  27  is protruded from the main body  28  and perpendicular to it. So when the fastener  27  is assembled with the building toy blocks  29  and  30 , they will be in a standing position of which the studs are pointing upward rather than forward. The example of  FIG. 9  illustrates how this configuration can create an alternatively looking pendant. 
         [0039]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , the aforementioned configuration is also compatible with a building toy  FIG. 31 , whose body parts are also interchangeable via an interlocking system consistent with the building toy blocks. The figure mainly comprises an upper body  32  and a lower body  33 . The studs  34  on top of the lower body, though taller, share the same perimeter as a standard block&#39;s studs. Therefore, the fastener  27  can be hooked up to the studs  34  without difficulty. When the two body parts  32  and  33  are assembled, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the adaptor and the figure are securely fixed together. 
         [0040]    While this invention can be made of any rigid materials, in one embodiment, it is most effectively produced from a strong but bendable material, with segments that are weakened or scored to serve as fold lines  35 ,  36  and  37 , as shown in  FIGS. 12A and 12B . Firstly, this configuration allows the repeated bending of fold line  35 , which convert the fastener  38  into a perpendicular position ( FIG. 12A ) and back to a flat state ( FIG. 12B ) when it is not in use. As a result, the adaptor can be easily placed inside any slim compartment, such as pocket, wallet or card holder. Since the fastener  38  is foldable without a fixed angle, the toy may have a tendency to lean forward. So there are two supporting tabs  39  at lower end of the adaptor shoving the toy to an upright position, which also contributes solidity and stability. 
         [0041]    Furthermore, with extra fold lines  36  and  37  acting as adjustable hinges, the main body has become a flap  40  with adjustable forms. As further illustrated in the side views of  FIG. 13A and 13B , bending fold lines  36  and  37  results in different angles of the flap  40 . For example, without adjusting the flap  40  as shown in  FIG. 13A , the adaptor should press close to the  FIG. 31 , leaving very little space between them; while folding the flap  40  into a 90-degree angle as shown in  FIG. 13B  results in a large gap between the two units. Adjusting the flap  40  in various angles gives results between these two extremes, providing relatively more or less space between the two units. 
         [0042]    This foldable mechanism is preferable for the adaptor to be adjustably fitted with a diversity of toy figure parts which come in a huge variation of sizes and shapes. For example,  FIG. 14A  shows a piece of long wig  41  which extends to the back of the figure&#39;s body. To allow the adaptor to fit with the long wig  41 , user may slightly adjust the flap  40 &#39;s angle to expand a little gap between the two units which gives room for the long wig  41 . Two more examples are shown in  FIGS. 14B and 14C , in which an armour  42  and a backpack  43  occupy even larger space behind the figure. By further adjusting the flap  40  into different optimal angles respectively, the adaptor can accommodate these two parts as well. 
         [0043]    Although only three examples are shown above, the aforementioned explanation suggests that the adjustable flap  40  can be compatible with a wide variety of toy figure parts. Also, while the drawings show only two sets of fold lines  36  and  37 , the actual number used in practice can be varied. 
         [0044]    Further alternative embodiments of the invention are illustrated in  FIGS. 15 to 17B . Because a building toy figure comprises various interlocking sections in different body parts, this invention could also be practiced with varying configurations. For example, in  FIG. 15 , a circular fastener  44  is attached on a single stud  45  on top of the figure&#39;s torso  46  and clamped by the head  47 .  FIG. 16A and 16B  show another alternative exemplary embodiment, of which the adaptor comprises two cylindrical fasteners  48  which can be firmly clenched by the C-shaped hands  49  of the toy figure. In  FIGS. 17A and 17B , yet another exemplary embodiment illustrates two L-shaped fasteners  50  are pegged into the sockets  51  under the figure&#39;s feet  52 . 
         [0045]    This invention is thus an innovative adaptor which effortlessly converts interlocking building toys into pendants for a diversity of functions. The described embodiments are presented for the purpose of explanation, and not intended to limit this invention or any of its components to any preferred embodiments. For instance, although only certain toy designs are used as illustrative examples of this invention, it should be understood that the same concept can also be applied to other toy designs with similar interlocking mechanisms. Any potential alternatives, modifications and variations as can be included within the spirit and scope of the foregoing descriptions should be covered by this invention.