Patent Publication Number: US-2017368467-A1

Title: Toy System

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This specification relates to a toy system including pieces having interlocking shapes. 
     Toy pieces having interlocking pieces can be used to assemble a variety of structures. Both children and adults enjoy using interlocking pieces to quickly and easily make things that satisfy their desire for creativity. However, not all interlocking shapes are suitable for use as pieces in a toy system. For example, if the toy system is intended for use by children, especially young children, the shapes must be designed to comply with safety concerns. 
     SUMMARY 
     A toy system includes at least one piece having a first shape defined by a central body and three sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body, and at least one piece having a second shape defined by a central body and four sets of two protrusions extending outward from the central body. The pieces are respectively defined by at least one flat surface and at least one flat sidewall. The sets of the two protrusions define respective cavities having a width substantially equivalent to the width of one of the protrusions. 
     The protrusions respectively have at least one end that is rounded at a geometry (e.g., a semi-circle) that minimizes any potential harm if the protrusion came into contact with a human body. Further, the pieces can be manufactured of a soft material for safety reasons. 
     The thickness of the pieces can be substantially the same as the width of the cavities. In this way, two pieces can be aligned in a perpendicular fashion and the cavity of one piece can be mated to the central body of the other piece. 
     The pieces can be assembled into a variety of shapes, ranging from simple two-dimensional shapes to complex three-dimensional shapes such as sphere-like shapes and honeycombs. An assembled shape can be augmented with additional pieces in a manner limited only by the number of pieces available at a given time. 
     Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a shape assembled using pieces of a toy system. 
         FIGS. 2-5  show the pieces of the toy system in detail. 
         FIG. 6  shows another shape assembled using pieces of the toy system. 
         FIGS. 7A-7C and 8A-8C  show schematics of the pieces. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a toy system  100  of pieces  102 ,  104  having interlocking shapes. A child  106  or other person can assemble the pieces  102 ,  104  into a variety of configurations. Both simple and complex structures can be assembled using as few as two shapes. The child  106  could build a simple structure using a few pieces, or he/she could build an elaborate structure using many pieces. The complexity of the structure is limited only by the number of pieces available and the child&#39;s imagination. Further, the curvature and material of the pieces is suitable for use by children of young ages. For example, the pieces do not have sharp protrusions or sharp edges that might pose a safety hazard. 
       FIG. 2  shows two pieces  202 ,  204  of the toy system. One piece  202  has a shape similar to the English (e.g., Latin alphabet) letter “Y” and the other piece  204  has a shape similar to the English letter “X.” Each piece has sets of two protrusions each defining a cavity. The first piece  202  has a first shape  220  having three sets  222 ,  224 ,  226  of two protrusions  232 ,  234  each. The two protrusions  232 ,  234  define a cavity  236  between them. Each set  222 ,  224 ,  226  of protrusions is arranged such that the cavity extends outward  252  from the center  254  of a body  206  of the first piece  202 . Further, the sets  222 ,  224 ,  226  define three curves  256 ,  258 ,  260  between them. The three curves  256 ,  258 ,  260  have substantially equivalent geometry. 
     The second piece  204  has a second shape  240  having four sets  242 ,  244 ,  246 ,  248  of two protrusions  252 ,  254  each. The four sets  242 ,  244 ,  246 ,  248  of protrusions are arranged to define narrow curves  272 ,  274  and wide curves  276 ,  278  between them. The first narrow curve  272  is defined by two of the sets  242 ,  244  and the second narrow curve  274  is defined by the other two sets  246 ,  248 . The narrow curves  272 ,  274  have substantially equivalent geometry. The first wide curve  276  is defined by two of the sets  242 ,  246  and the second wide curve  278  is defined by the other two sets  244 ,  248 . The wide curves  276 ,  278  have substantially equivalent geometry. In some implementations, the wide curves  276 ,  278  have substantially equivalent geometry to the curves  256 ,  258 ,  260  of the first shape  220 . In some implementations, the wide curves  276 ,  278  have different geometry than the curves  256 ,  258 ,  260  of the first shape  220 . 
     The protrusions  232 ,  234  have a shape that minimizes safety risk when the pieces  202 ,  204  are used, for example, by young children. In some implementations, the ends  282 ,  284  of the protrusions are curved at a geometry that minimizes any potential harm if a protrusion comes into contact with the human body. For example, the ends  282 ,  284  shown here have a geometry defined by a semicircle, e.g., an arc of approximately one-hundred eighty degrees. If the ends had a geometry defining a portion of a semicircle, e.g., an arc of substantially less than one-hundred eighty degrees, then the ends would have a “pointy” geometry that could pose a safety risk to the human body. 
     Each piece  202 ,  204  respectively has a flat dorsal surface  286 ,  288  and a flat ventral surface (not shown). Each piece  202 ,  204  also respectively has a flat sidewall surface  290 ,  292 . The flat surfaces are unlikely to cause harm if they come into contact with the human body. In some implementations, the pieces  202 ,  204  can be formed of a soft material such as foam. Because the pieces  202 ,  204  have a substantially flat shape, the pieces  202 ,  204  could be formed from flat materials having a uniform thickness such as plywood, pieces of insulation, or other materials having a uniform thickness. In some implementations, the material could be cross-linked polyethylene. In some implementations, the pieces  202 ,  204  can be inflatable. 
       FIG. 3  shows an interlocking configuration  300  of the two pieces  202 ,  204 . In this example, the pieces  202 ,  204  have been assembled by mating one set  302  of protrusions on the first piece  202  with one set  304  of protrusions of the second piece  204 . The sets  302 ,  304  have been mated by aligning the cavity  306  defined by the first set  302  with a protrusion  308  of the second set  304 , which also aligns the cavity  310  defined by the second set  304  with a protrusion  312  of the first set  302 . In this way, the portions  314 ,  316  of the sidewalls  318 ,  320  defined by the cavities  306 ,  310  are in direct contact with each other. In some examples, the portions  314 ,  316  of sidewalls  318 ,  320  (or, in some examples, the entire sidewalls  318 ,  320 ) are formed in a manner that imparts a coefficient of friction upon the portions  314 ,  316 . In this way, the pieces  202 ,  204  will tend to remain in the mated configuration  300  even if relatively small forces  322 ,  324  are applied to either or both of the pieces  202 ,  204 . 
     In this configuration  300 , the flat dorsal surfaces  286 ,  288  of the two pieces  202 ,  204  are substantially parallel to each other. In this way, the configuration  300  represents a planar structure, e.g., one aligned to a single plane. This configuration  300  is of the kind that may be used to build structures that represent two-dimensional shapes, e.g., a substantially circular two-dimensional shape. 
       FIG. 4  shows another interlocking configuration  400  of the two pieces  202 ,  204 . In this example, the pieces  202 ,  204  have been assembled by mating one set  402  of protrusions on the first piece  202  with one set  404  of protrusions of the second piece  204 . The sets  402 ,  404  have been mated by aligning the cavity  406  defined by the first set  402  with the cavity  408  defined by the second set  404 . 
     In this configuration  400 , the flat dorsal surface  286  of the first piece  202  is substantially perpendicular to the flat dorsal surface  288  of the second piece  204 . This configuration  400  is of the kind that may be used to build structures that take full advantage of the three-dimensional possibilities of the toy system  100 . 
     Either of the interlocking configurations  300 ,  400  shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  can be used to mate two pieces of the toy system  100 . A piece of the first shape  220  can be mated to up to three other pieces using any combination of the two configuration  300 ,  400 . A piece of the second shape  240  can be mated to up to four other pieces using any combination of the two configuration  300 ,  400 . For example, a piece of the second shape  240  could be mated to another piece of the first shape  240  using the first configuration  300 , and could be mated to another piece of the second shape  240  using the second configuration  400 , and could be mated to a piece of the first shape  220  using the first configuration  300 , and could be mated to another piece of the first shape  220  using the second configuration  400 . Any combination of pieces and configurations is possible. 
       FIG. 5  shows details of the geometry of the two shapes  220 ,  240  of the pieces  202 ,  204 . The three cavities  512 ,  514 ,  516  defined by the first shape  220  are arranged in a manner that defines an angle  518  of one-hundred twenty degrees. Two cavities  520 ,  522  of the sets of protrusions separated by one of the wide curves  524  defined by the second shape  240  are arranged in a manner that defines an angle  526  of approximately one-hundred nine degrees, and two cavities  520 ,  528  of the sets of protrusions separated by one of the narrow curves  530  defined by the second shape  240  are arranged in a manner that defines an angle  532  of approximately seventy-one degrees. In some implementations, other angles can be used. For example, the smaller angle  532  on the second shape  240  could be seventy-five degrees and the larger angle  526  on the second shape  240  could be one-hundred five degrees. 
     In the particular example shown in  FIG. 5 , each cavity has a width substantially equivalent to the width of any of the protrusions. For example, one of the cavities  512  has a width  534  of two units (for example, two inches or two centimeters). One of the protrusions  536  has a height  538  also of two units. In this example, the height  538  of the protrusions is equivalent to the height  540 ,  542  of the pieces  202 ,  204  because the pieces  202 ,  204  are formed from substantially flat material having substantially uniform height. In this way, any of the cavities  512  can mate with any of the protrusions  536  and can also mate with the body of either of the pieces  202 ,  204  (e.g., in the configuration  400  shown in  FIG. 4 ). 
     The dimensions of the pieces  202 ,  204  can range from very small or very large relative to a human being. For example, the pieces  202 ,  204  could be sized to be only a few centimeters in length and width, or even smaller. As another example, the pieces  202 ,  204  could be sized to be a meter or more in length or width. In some implementations, the pieces  202 ,  204  are sized to be large enough to minimize the health risk to a child, e.g., such that the pieces  202 ,  204  cannot be placed in the mouth and/or swallowed. 
       FIG. 6  shows an example of a structure  600  formed by many pieces having one of the two shapes  220 ,  240  shown in  FIGS. 2-5 . The pieces of this structure  600  are mated using the second configuration  400  shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , a child can assemble a structure  600  easily and with a minimized risk of physical harm due to the shape and composition of the toy pieces. 
       FIGS. 7A-7C and 8A-8C  show schematics of the pieces of the toy system at different dimensions.  FIGS. 7A-7C  show top views  702   a - c  and side views  704   a - c  of the “X-shaped” piece (e.g., the piece  204  shown in  FIG. 2 ).  FIGS. 8A-8C  show top views  802   a - c  and side views  804   a - c  of the “Y-shaped” piece (e.g., the piece  202  shown in  FIG. 2 ). Dimensions are provided in millimeters (in brackets) and in inches. For example, as shown in  FIG. 7A , a dimension  706  of the “X-shaped” piece can be represented as the diameter of a circle  708 , the diameter in  FIG. 7A  being 10.567 inches (268.40 millimeters). In this way, the dimension  706  of the piece (e.g., the diameter of the circle) can be said to be the length of the piece. The “Y-shaped” piece can also have a length defined by the diameter of a circle, e.g., the circle  808  shown in  FIG. 8A . The circles  708 ,  808  shown in  FIGS. 7A and 8A  have substantially the same diameter, e.g., 10.567 inches. 
     The foregoing description is intended to illustrate some embodiments and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the following claims.