US20140227935A1

US20140227935A1 - Magnetic block toy

Info

Publication number: US20140227935A1
Application number: US13/907,700
Authority: US
Inventors: Jeong-Seok YOON
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-02-12
Filing date: 2013-05-31
Publication date: 2014-08-14
Also published as: KR101349152B1; WO2014126271A1

Abstract

A magnetic block toy, more specifically, a magnetic block toy which secures mating spots of magnets at the planes of blocks to be combined by extending a travel segment of a magnet to the plane of a block with increased magnetic Gauss level by exposing part of a casing that covers outer surface of the magnet, and provides audible effects during play. For this purpose, the present disclosure incorporates a partially exposed cylindrical magnet with a longitudinal open groove in the casing and a guide pin formed at both right and left sides of the casing. Sound is produced by the inserted guide pin of the casing in a first guide groove and a second guide groove of a plane block or a cube block when it contacts the first guide groove and the second guide groove upon the movement of the magnet.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure describes a magnetic block toy, more specifically, a magnetic block toy which secures a mating point of magnets at planes of blocks to be combined by extending a travel segment of a magnet to the plane of a block with greater magnet Gauss level by exposing part of the casing that covers outer surface of the magnet. The mating of magnets also provides an audible effect during play.

BACKGROUND

A block toy—a sort of a plaything for an infant or a child—can be constructed into a user intended specific form of structure by assembling components comprising multiple units called as a block (or a brick).
In general, a block toy, through constructing a user intended specific structure in multiple combinations of blocks that are unit components of simple form in itself, not only provides a sense of achievement in building something intended and the pleasure in the course of assembling, but also contributes favorable effects of improving recognition ability, developing small and large muscles, and developing physical coordination.
The simplest form of this block toy is comprised to be used for piling blocks of many different solid shapes such as poly-prisms, cylinders, poly-pyramids, cones, and multi-angle panels of wood or other light materials.
However, a structure created with hard effort suffers from the shortcoming of being easily collapsed by a weak impact from outside, since a block toy with block components has no means to lock combined blocks to each other.
Magnetic block toys were designed using a magnet for mating each block by incorporating a magnet into a unit block having a solid form. A brief glance at its configuration reveals that it incorporates a magnet at the middle of the edge mating surfaces of a block and those blocks can be combined to build an intended form.
A block toy using a magnet as above has the advantage of mating blocks easily; however, it has the drawback of lowered combining power and of limited variation in shaping forms due to having a fixed magnet at the edge of the block and being unable to move.
Furthermore, even using a 3000 Gauss magnet commonly used for magnet block toys, only 1800 Gauss acts because the magnet is enclosed in the block. It is not advantageous to lower the combining power between blocks and to increase the cost for bigger magnet to make up the combining power.
Besides, this sort of magnet block toy does not give any sound effect when combining blocks, which may reduce the effectiveness of playing with building blocks.
Korean Public utility model No. 20-008999 (Block-type magnet play toy) and Korean Public patent No. 10-0097088 (Magnet block toy composed of magnet block components.) describe magnetic block toys.

SUMMARY

The blocks of the present disclosure were designed considering the existing problems stated above. The present disclosure aims to provide a magnet block toy that saves cost by reducing the size of a magnet as well as enhances the combining power by increasing magnetic Gauss levels by exposing part of a casing which covers the outer surface of the magnet.
Another purpose of the disclosure is to provide a magnet block toy that allows the direction of mating blocks to be set freely by securing a mating point of a magnet with an extended travel segment of a magnet to the plane of a block when mating planes between blocks.
Another purpose of the disclosure is to provide a magnet block toy that yields an audio play effect by producing a traveling sound of a magnet when the magnet travels.
As a means to achieve the above purposes, the present disclosure incorporates a partially exposed cylindrical magnet in a casing having a longitudinal open groove in the casing with a guide pin formed both at right and left sides of the casing. The guide pin of the casing is inserted into a first guide groove and a second guide groove of a plane block or a cube block. Below are the basic characteristics of the technical configuration. First, sound is produced when the inserted guide pin of the casing is placed in contact with the first guide groove and the second guide groove when the magnet moves.
Second, in a cube block, a travel space is formed at the middle of an edge that mates to a plane of the cube block with both ends extending to the plane area, and the first guide groove and the second guide groove having an “L” shape are made at right and left of the above travel space.
Third, in a plane block, a travel space is formed at the middle of a lateral side with its ends extending to a plane area, and a first guide groove and a second guide groove having a circular shape are formed at right and left sides of the travel space.
Fourth, first spurs are formed at the outer surface of the guide pin fixed at the right and left sides of the casing and second spurs are formed at the inner surface of the first guide groove and the second guide grooves. Additionally, sound is produced by contact between the first spurs and the second spurs.
According to the present disclosure, part of the casing enclosing the outer surface of a magnet is exposed through an open groove. This allows the magnet to make a direct connection without hindrance between magnets and to deliver 3000 Gauss. The increased combining power of a magnet allows the mated blocks (cube block, plane block) to be difficult to separate and saves cost by reducing the size of the magnet.
Furthermore, the direction of mating blocks can be set in any direction by securing the mating point of mating planes between blocks, since a traveling space is formed at the middle of the mating edge with both ends extended to the plane area and the magnet can move to the point on the plane.
Additionally, a user can get an audible effect during play from the sound produced in the magnet movement when the first spurs of the guide pin at both right and left sides of the casing contact to the second spurs of the first guide groove and the second guide groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a magnet of a magnet block toy of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a magnet installed at a plane of a block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged cross-section of a middle section when a magnet is installed at a plane of a block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of a middle section when a magnet installed at a plane of a block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a magnet installed at a cube block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows an enlarged perspective view of a middle section when a magnet is installed at a cube block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an enlarged cross-section of a middle section when a magnet is combined at a cube block of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view when cube blocks are stacked vertically.

REFERENCE NUMERALS


	100: Cube block	100a: Plane block
	200, 200a: Traveling space	300, 300a: First guide groove
	310, 310a: Second guide groove	400, 400a: Second spurs
	500: Casing	510: Guide pin
	520: Open groove	530: First spurs
	600: Magnet

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Below are a more detailed explanation and practical examples of the present disclosure referring to the attached drawings.
Magnet (600) has N/S poles of a basic configuration, and provides action to combine plane block (100 a) or cube block (100). The magnet used in the block of the present embodiment has 3000 Gauss.
One difference of the present embodiment is much more effectiveness in using the magnet block toy, which comprises a block (plane block (100 a) or cube block (100)), magnets (600), travel spaces (220 a) (200), casings (500), first guide grooves (300 a) (300) and second guide grooves (310 a) (310), as shown in FIGS. 1 through 8.
Casing (500) incorporates a partially exposed cylindrical magnet and longitudinal open groove (520) with guide pin (510) at both right and left sides so that its magnet can emit force to the outside. Guide pin (510) in casing (500) is inserted into the first guide groove (300 a),(300) and the second guide groove (310 a) (310) of plane block (100 a) or cube block (100) and produces sound when it moves in the course of contacting the first guide groove and the second guide groove.
As a means of producing sound, first spurs (530) are located on the outer surface of guide pin (510) positioned at both right and left sides of casing (500), and second spurs (400 a),(400) are formed on the inner surface of the first guide groove (300 a),(300) and the second guide groove (300 a),(300), which are configured to make sound when first spurs (530) and second spurs (400 a) (400) contact each other.
A casing incorporating magnet (600) as above is used for plane block (100 a) or cube block (100).
FIGS. 2 through 4 show a magnet installed at a plane block according to the present disclosure.
For travel space (200 a) to be formed at the middle of the lateral side of plane block (100 a), both ends of travel space (200 a) extend to the plane area and the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a) having a circular shape are formed at the right and left sides of the travel space (200 a), and then guide pin (400 a) is formed at an inner surface of the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a), respectively, to produce sound when contacting first spurs (530) at the outer surface of guide pin (510).
At this point, a proper space between guide pin (510) and the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a) is desirable to keep them from adhering tightly. For an instance, tightly combined guide pin (510) of the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a) may restrict its free movement or may not produce sound. Therefore, a bigger inner diameter of the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a) than outer surface diameter of guide pin (510) allows free movement of guide pin (510) and production of sound by contacting the second spurs (400).
Assembling casing (500) so configured to plane block (100 a) positions body of casing (500) in travel space (200 a) and guide pin (510) in the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a), and arranges first spurs (530) of guide pin (500) and second spurs (400 a) of the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a) to face each other.
Connecting plane block (100 a) with another plane block in this arrangement increases the combining force since plane blocks combine with each other by the exposed magnet (600) through an open groove.
After assembly, movement of a block produces sound by triggering contact with first spurs (530) of guide pin (510) and second spurs (400 a) of the first guide groove (300 a) and the second guide groove (310 a), as well as securing combining power due to its traveling in the extended travel space (200 a) to the plane area.
FIGS. 5 through 8 show a magnet installed at a cube block according to this invention.
Travel space (200) positioned at the middle of the edge that forms boundary of each plane in cube block has its ends extended to the plane area allowing magnet (600) to travel to the plane area of cube block (100). This configuration not only increases combining power in mating planes of cube block (100) but also enables changing the mating point of cube block (100) due to magnet (600) being movable to the plane area of cube block not fixed at the edge area.
The first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) are formed at both right and left sides of travel space (200) and then guide pin (510) is inserted into the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) so that casing (300) incorporating magnet (600) is guided along to travel space (200).
Second spurs (400) are arranged continuously on the inner surface of the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) to produce sound upon contacting first spurs (530) of guide pin (510). At this point, a proper space between guide pin (510) and the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) is desirable to keep them from adhering tightly.
For an instance, tightly combined guide pin (510), positioned at the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310), may restrict its free movement or may not produce sound. Therefore, a bigger inner diameter of the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) than outer surface of guide pin (510) allows for free movement of guide pin (510) and production of sound by contacting second spurs (400).
In order to use the present embodiment so configured, first an edge part is selected that mates to each plane in cube block (100) and forms travel space (200) at the middle of the selected edge by extending both ends of travel space (200) to the plane area of cube block (100), and makes the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) with second spurs (400) at the right and left sides of travel space (200).
After incorporating magnet (600) and preparing casing (500) integrated with open groove (520) and guide pin (510), insertion of the above guide pin (510) into the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) positions casing (500) body on travel space (200) of cube block (100) and positions guide pin (510) at the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310) side respectively.
At this stage, mating another cube block on the top of cube block (100) combines cube blocks together by magnetic force through open groove (520). If a user moves a cube block, casing (500) body travels through travel space (200), and sound is produced when first spurs (530) of guide pin (510) contact second spurs (400) of the first guide groove (300) and the second guide groove (310).

Claims

I claim:

1. A magnetic block toy comprising:

a partially exposed cylindrical magnet in a casing having a longitudinal open groove in the casing with a guide pin at both right and left sides of the casing; and

a block having a first guide groove and a second guide groove, the guide pin of the casing being inserted into the first guide groove and the second guide groove of the block and contacting the first guide groove and the second guide groove when the magnet moves, thereby producing sound.

2. The magnetic block toy of claim 1, wherein the block is a cube block and further comprising:

a travel space formed at a middle of edge of mating planes of the block with both ends extending to a plane area, the first guide groove and the second guide groove being formed in “L” shape at right and left sides of the travel space, respectively.

3. The magnetic block toy of claim 1, wherein the block is a plane block and further comprising:

a travel space formed at a middle of the edge of the block with both ends extending to a plane area, the first guide groove and the second guide groove being formed in circular shape at right and left sides of the travel space, respectively.

4. The magnetic block toy of claim 1, further comprising:

first spurs formed both at an outer surface of the guide pin fixed at both right and left sides of the casing, and

second spurs formed at an inner surface of the first guide groove and the second guide groove,

whereby sound is produced by contact between the first spurs and the second spurs.