Patent Abstract:
A building system which uses a plurality of interlocking members which can be used to construct an unlimited number of structures which can be assembled, disassembled and used by children and adults. The building system requires no tools, fasteners or adhesives, yet creates rigid and sturdy structures of all sizes, through interlocking ends and edges.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO CO-PENDING APPLICATION 
     This patent application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 29/034,646 entitled “KNOCK-DOWN PLANTER” filed on Feb. 9, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. Des. 402,229 by the same inventor. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is in the field of building systems, and more particularly, pertains to a plurality of interconnecting members which secure in a rigid and stable manner without the use of fasteners, adhesives, or the like, which are easily assembled and disassembled without the need for tools. Building system members can be made in any number of sizes and scales allowing building systems to create life size playhouses, utility sheds, bins and various other toy and play scale structures. The building systems are designed to be safely and easily used by adults and children alike. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The general purpose of the present invention are building systems which do not require the use of fasteners, adhesives, or tools. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of intermediate members, having upper and lower beveled portions, four notches, a tongue joint, a groove joint, larger inbound shoulders and smaller outbound shoulders. There are also provided upper and lower members which are constructed using the same principles as the intermediate portions with many like features. 
     One significant aspect and feature of the present invention are the various means of interlocking member ends in ways that create rigid and sturdy structures. 
     Another significant aspect and feature of the present invention are the various means of interlocking member edges for added stability. 
     A further significant aspect and feature of the present invention is smaller outbound shoulders than inbound shoulder which prevents damage during assembly and disassembly. 
     An additional significant aspect and feature of the present invention are the unlimited structure configurations using the building systems. 
     Still another significant aspect and feature of the present invention is the ability to use wood, plastic or metal in construction. 
     Yet another significant aspect and feature of the present invention are building systems which requires no tools for assembling. Components are reuseable to create other structures. 
     Having thus described embodiments of the present invention, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a building system which requires no fasteners or adhesives for securation. 
     One object of the present invention is to provide a building system which is easy to assembly by adults and children. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable building system. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a building system which requires no tools for construction. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide building systems which are easy to breakdown, transport, and store. Compact storage for components that can build relatively large and stable structures. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide building systems which create useful structures such as, but not limited to retail displays, playhouses, shipping boxes, and camping cabins. User-friendly, intuitive, as easy as play for a child. 
     Other objects of the present invention and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein: 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an orthographic view of a building system, the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational front view of a full height intermediate member of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates an end elevational view of the full height intermediate member of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of a half height lower member of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an end elevational view of the half height lower member of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of a half height upper member of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 8 illustrates an end elevational view of the half height upper member of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 illustrates an orthographic view of a first modification of a stylized, notched, full height, intermediate member of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 10 illustrates an orthographic view of a second modification of a notched intermediate member of the building system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 11 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of a third modification of two full height intermediate members and a spline for connecting the intermediate members of the building system of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 12 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of a fourth modification of an upper half height member, a lower half height member and a spline for connecting the upper and lower members of the building system of FIG. 1; 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an orthographic view of a building system  10  having lower members  12   a  and  12   b,  intermediate members  16   a,    16   b,    16   c,    16   d,    16   e  and  16   f,  and upper members  18   a  and  18   b,  interlocked together via a combination of tongue and groove edge joints and notch end joints. The tongue and groove joints lock the top and bottom edges together and the notch joints lock the corners together. These joints are further described in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of the building system  10 , where all numerals correspond to those elements previously described. Featured in this illustration is the assembly method of the Building system  10  having two lower half height members  12   a  and  12   b,  a plurality of intermediate full height members  16   a - 16   f,  and two upper half height members  18   a  and  18   b.  FIG. 2 illustrates only six intermediate members  16   a - 16   f,  but an unlimited number of intermediate members may be used to acquire the desired height. FIGS. 3-8 describe the properties of the components of the building system  10 . 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the intermediate full height member  16   a,  and FIG. 4 illustrates an end view of the intermediate full height members  16   a - 16   f.  With additional reference to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, the features of intermediate member  16   a  is now described. Member  16   b,    16   c,    16   d,    16   e,  and  16   f  are identical to member  16   a.  Intermediate member  16   a  has two upper beveled portions  22  and  24  which extend upwardly and inwardly from planar portions  34  and  36  and meet at a tongue joint  30 . Also featured are lower beveled portions  26  and  28  which extend downwardly and inwardly from planar portions  34  and  36  and meet at a groove joint  32 . The combination of the tongue joint  30  and the groove joint  32  combine to create an interlocking means for the upper and lower surfaces of adjacent intermediate members. Notches  38 ,  40 ,  42 , and  44  create inbound shoulders  46 ,  48 ,  50 , and  52 , outbound shoulders  54 ,  56 ,  58  and T-shaped end portions  62  and  64 . The outbound shoulders  54 - 60  are smaller than inbound shoulders  46 ,  48 ,  50 , and  52  to facilitate easy interconnection and prevent the end portions  62  and  64  from damage when connecting and disconnecting the building system  10 , without sacrificing the strength and rigidity of the building system  10 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of lower half height member  12   a,  and FIG. 6 illustrates an end view of the lower half height member  12   a.  With additional reference to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, the features of lower member  12   a  are now described. Lower member  12   b has the same structure as lower member  12   a.  Lower member  12   a  is comprised of two upper beveled portions  66  and  68  which extend upwardly and inwardly from planar portions  70  and  72  and meet at a tongue joint  74 . Tongue joint  74  allows lower half height member  12   a  to interlock with the groove joints  32  of the intermediate members  16   d  and  16   b.  Also featured is a lower planar portion  76  which perpendicularly meets planar portions  70  and  72  as shown in FIG. 6., which creates a flat stable base for the building system  10 . Notches  78  and  80  create inbound shoulders  82  and  84 , outbound shoulders  86  and  88 , and end portions  90  and  92 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of upper half height member  18   a,  and FIG. 8 illustrates an end view of the lower half height member  18   a.  With additional reference to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, the features of upper member  18   a  are now described. Upper half height member  18   b  has the same structure as lower half height member  18   a.  Upper member  18   a  are comprised of two lower beveled portions  94  and  96  which extend downwardly and inwardly from planar portions  98  and  100  and meet at a groove joint  102 . Groove joint  102  allows upper member  18   a  to interlock with the tongue joint  30  of the intermediate members  16   d  and  16   b.  Also featured is the upper planar portion  104  which perpendicularly meets planar portions  98  and  100  as shown in FIG. 8., which creates a flat, smooth top for the building system  10 . Notches  106  and  108  create inbound shoulders  110  and  112 , outbound shoulders  114  and  116 , and end portions  118  and  120 . The notches  106  and  108  in upper member  18   a  perpendicularly engage the notches  38  and  42  of intermediate portions  16   d  and  16   b,  creating a rigid and stable interconnection. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates an orthographic view of a stylized intermediate member  210 , which is a first modification of member  16   a.  The parts of member  210  that correspond to the parts of member  16   a  have the same reference numbers with the prefix  2 . The stylized intermediate member  210  is comprised of two upper beveled portions  222  and  224  which extend upwardly and inwardly from planar portions  234  and  236  and meet at a tongue joint  230 . Also featured are lower beveled portions  226  and  228  which extend downwardly and inwardly from planar portions  234  and  236  and meet at a groove joint  232 . Notches  238 ,  240 ,  242 , and  244  create inbound shoulders  246 ,  248 ,  250 , and  252  outbound shoulders  254 ,  256 ,  258  and  260 , and stylized end portions  262  and  264 . The stylized end portions  262  and  264  are illustrated as rounded, but may be any number of shapes provided the outbound shoulders  254 ,  256 ,  258  and  260  remain the same height. The stylized end portions  262  and  264  serve no functional purpose, but are shaped differently than the intermediate members of the preferred embodiment for aesthetic purposes only. The stylized intermediate member  210  can be substituted for any or all of the intermediate members  16   a - 16   f  in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     FIG. 10 illustrates an orthographic view of a notched intermediate member  310 , which is a second modification of member  16   a.  The parts of member  310  that correspond to the parts of member  16   a  have the same reference numbers with the prefix  3 . Notched intermediate member  310  incorporates two tongue joints  316   a  and  316   b  extending upwardly from planar portions  312  and  314  and two groove joints  318   a  and  318   b  extending downwardly from planar portions  312  and  314 . The tongue joints  316   a  and  316   b  and the groove joints  318   a  and  318   b  function in the same manner as tongue joint  30  and groove joint  32  described in the preferred embodiment. Notched intermediate member  310  incorporates notches  320 ,  322 ,  324 , and  326 , inbound shoulders  328 ,  330 ,  332 , and  334 , outbound shoulders  336 ,  338 ,  340 , and  342  and end portions  344  and  346  which are constructed and function in the same manner as the like parts of the preferred embodiment. With reference to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, there is also provided an upper intermediate notch  348  and a lower intermediate notch  350  which accommodate the notches  38 ,  40 ,  42 , and  44  of intermediate member  16   a  or the like intermediate members  16   b - 16   f,  which are all similarly constructed. By using a plurality of notched intermediate members, similar to notched intermediate member  310 , the upper and lower intermediate notches  348  and  350 , respectively, provide the ability to expand the configuration possibilities of the building system  10 . 
     FIG. 11 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of two intermediate members  410  and  412  and a spline  414  for connecting the two intermediate members  410  and  412 , which is a third modification of member  16   a.  Each of the intermediate members  410  and  412  incorporate upper groove joints  416  and  420 , respectively, and lower groove joints  418  and  422 , respectively, which accommodate splines for interconnection by gravitational engagement. Illustrated is spline  414 , which engages lower groove joint of intermediate member  410  and upper groove joint of intermediate member  412 . The intermediate members  410  and  412  in conjunction with spline  414  act as an alternative to the incorporated tongue and groove joints of intermediate members  16   a - 16   f  illustrated in the preferred embodiment. With exception to the upper groove joints  416  and  420  in intermediate members  410  and  412  and the spline  414  the intermediate members  410  and  412  have the same properties and features as the intermediate members  16   a - 16   f  and function in a similar fashion. The like parts illustrated are not described or numbered for purposes of clarity, but function in the same capacity as those previously described. 
     FIG. 12 illustrates an exploded orthographic view of an upper half height member, a lower half height member and a spline for connecting the upper and lower members, which is a fourth modification of member  16   a.  With reference to FIG. 1, FIG.  2  and FIGS. 5-8, the upper member  510  is constructed similar to lower members  12   a  and  12   b  and lower member  512  is constructed similar to upper members  18   a  and  18   b.  The difference between the lower members  12   a  and  12   b  and the upper members  18   a  and  18   b  and the upper member  510  and the lower member  512  is that the upper member  510  incorporates an upper groove joint  516  and a lower groove joint  518 , and the lower member  512  also incorporates an upper groove joint  520  and a lower groove joint  522  which when used in conjunction with a splines eliminates the tongue joints of the preferred embodiment. The lower groove joint  518  of the upper member  510  and the upper groove joint  520  of the lower member  512  accommodate spline  514 . When interconnected, the upper member  510 , the spline  514  and the lower member  512  function in the same manner as intermediate members  410  and  412  of FIG.  11 . The like parts illustrated are not described or numbered for purposes of clarity, but function in the same capacity as those previously described. 
     Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the apparent scope hereof.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4