Snap-fit construction system

• US 20030082986A1
• Filed: 04/09/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Benjamin I. Wiens
• Original Assignee: Benjamin I. Wiens
• Inventors: McIntosh, Eric G., Wiens, Benjamin I.
• Granted Patent: US 6,648,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/120
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/062 with clip or snap mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/086 with primary projections fitting by friction in complementary spaces between secondary projections, e.g. sidewalls

Abstract

A modular construction system featuring an improved snap-fit connection element that can be incorporated into a wide variety of construction elements. These construction elements may be made in a range of sizes and used in a variety of fields such as, construction, toys, educational, machinery, products, jigs, two and three dimensional art, and signs. Various shapes disclosed are blocks, beams, radial-hubs, struts, rods, wires, panels, plates, rotators, adaptors, and locks. The preferred connection element comprises of a bendable pair of male ribs containing ridges that snap-fit into a pair of grooves of a mating female connection element. The grooves contain projections at roughly their midpoint and locate into mating indentations in the ridges. This connection element is more exotic than typically used, but can be snap-fit together or taken apart easily in a variety of directions while still allowing it to be molded inexpensively.

Claims

1. A snap-fit type construction system comprising of:

(a) various possible sets of construction elements,

(b) said sets of construction elements having a male type one connection element and a female type two connection element,

(c) said type one connection elements having a ridge and an indentation and type two connection elements having a groove and a projection,

(d) said male type one connection elements having a pair of spaced apart ribs extending outward in a longitudinal direction from a side surface of said construction elements, a rib cavity being defined between them, with at least one of those faces of said ribs that face furthest away from said rib cavity being provided with said ridge projecting in a horizontal direction outward from said rib, running in a vertical direction up a considerable distance of the height of the bendable ends of said rib, with said ridges being provided with said indentation falling between the ends of the height of said ridges,

(e) said female type two connection elements having a pair of opposed walls extending inwards in said longitudinal direction from said side of said construction elements, a recess being defined between said opposed walls and an end wall, with said recess having at free edges, an open face facing in said longitudinal direction, and two opposed open faces each facing in said vertical directions, with at least one of the sides of said opposed walls that face towards said recess being provided with said groove running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of said recess from a bottom surface to a top surface, with said groove being provided with said projection falling between the ends of the height of said grooves,

(f) said ribs being resiliently bendable and substantially more bendable than said opposed walls,

(g) said male type one connection element, including said ribs, said ridges, and said indentations, being of such a shape that by snap-effect are able to be received and releasably secured in said recess between said opposed walls by locating in said grooves and said projections of said female type two connection element,

(h) whereby said male type one connection element and said female type two connection element may be used to connect different sizes and shapes of said construction elements together in a variety of orientations and for a variety of purposes.

2. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including a depression located against each of the outermost surfaces of said ribs, running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of the pair of said ribs, of a shape that allows said male type one connection element to be depressed roughly half-ways below said side surface of said construction element.

3. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 2, further including a pair of anti-twist bars which project outward in said longitudinal direction beyond said side surface of said female recess, the shape of said anti-twist bars being such that they substantially fill up said depressions when said male and female connection elements are fully engaged.

4. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 3, wherein said anti-twist bars and said depressions have angled surfaces such that said connection elements fit looser in said horizontal direction at the start of the engagement and tighter when fully engaged.

5. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 3, wherein a certain dimensioning of said ribs and said anti-twist bars allows them to interfit with each other when misengaged without causing undo stress or damage to said male and female connection elements.

6. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, wherein said male and female connection elements have a top radius and a bottom radius of a substantial amount such that said male connection elements can be engaged easily with said female connection elements in both of said vertical directions.

7. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, wherein said ribs contain a ridge outer radius of a substantial amount or a tapered rib with substantial taper such that said male connection elements can be engaged easily with said female connection elements in said longitudinal direction.

8. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, wherein said female connection element has said recess that is divergent in said longitudinal direction away from said endwall and the open end of said recess has a recess radius, both features being of such a dimension that would allow said ribs to gradually bend together during engagement in said longitudinal direction without a substantial force being required.

9. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, wherein one said male connection element and one said female connection element are grouped in said horizontal direction to each other as a pair, on said side surfaces of said construction elements that contain said connection elements.

10. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including said constructional elements being made with a hollow and generally parallelepiped construction.

11. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including a plurality of stud walls on said top surface of said construction elements and further including a plurality of stud contacts in the area of said bottom surface of said constructional elements which are of such a dimension that said top and bottom surfaces of said construction elements can be engaged together as a result of a frictional fit between said stud walls and said stud contacts.

12. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, wherein a ramp angle of said ridges, said grooves, said indentations, and said projections is approximately 45 degrees.

13. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including a lubricant of sufficient quantity and useful type being applied to said connection elements that will substantially reduce the friction and forces required to engage and separate connection elements.

14. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including a wedge spacer construction element of a size and type of material, which, when it is inserted into said rib cavity of said male and female connection elements that are engaged, said wedge spacer will increase the force necessary to separate said male and female connection elements, said wedge spacer construction element being of various heights including heights that can be used for connecting other said construction elements together in said vertical direction.

15. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 1, further including a vertical hole construction element containing a vertical hole through said vertical hole construction element allowing a complimentary connection device such as a snap-pin or a threaded rod to be used to engage two or more said vertical hole construction elements together.

16. A snap-fit type construction system according to claim 1,

(a) further including a depression located against each of the outermost surfaces of said ribs, running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of the pair of said ribs, of a shape that allows said male type one connection element to be depressed roughly half-ways below said side surface of said construction element,

(b) further including a pair of anti-twist bars which project outward in said longitudinal direction beyond said side surface of said female recess, the shape of said anti-twist bars being such that they substantially fill up said depressions when said male and female connection elements are fully engaged,

(c) wherein a certain dimensioning of said ribs and said anti-twist bars allows them to interfit with each other when misengaged without causing undo stress or damage to said male and female connection elements,

(d) wherein said male and female connection elements have a top radius and a bottom radius of a substantial amount such that said male connection elements can be engaged easily with said female connection elements in both of said vertical directions,

(e) wherein said ribs contain a ridge outer radius of a substantial amount or a tapered rib with substantial taper such that said male connection elements can be engaged easily with said female connection elements in said longitudinal direction,

(f) wherein said female connection element has a recess that is divergent in said longitudinal direction away from said endwall and the open end of said recess has a recess radius, both features being of such a dimension that would allow said ribs to gradually bend together during engagement in said longitudinal direction without a substantial force being required,

(g) wherein one said male connection element and one said female connection element are grouped in said horizontal direction to each other as a pair, on said side surfaces of said construction elements that contain said connection elements,

(h) further including said constructional elements being made with a hollow and generally parallelepiped construction,

(i) wherein said anti-twist bars and said depressions have angled surfaces such that said connection elements fit looser in said horizontal direction at the start of the engagement and tighter when fully engaged.

17. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 16, further including a plurality of stud walls on said top surface of said construction elements and further including a plurality of stud contacts in the area of said bottom surface of said constructional elements which are of such a dimension that said top and bottom surfaces of said construction elements can be engaged together as a result of an interference fit between said stud walls and said stud contacts.

18. A snap-fit type construction system comprising of:

(a) various possible sets of construction elements,

(b) said sets of construction elements having a male type one connection element for connecting to a female type two connection element as well as a male type two connection element for connecting to a female type one connection element,

(c) wherein said type one connection elements are the more resiliently bendable and said type two connection element are the less resiliently bendable,

(d) said male connection elements having a rib and said female connection elements having a recess,

(e) said type one connection elements having a ridge and an indentation and said type two connection elements having a groove and a projection,

(f) said male type one connection elements having pairs of said spaced apart ribs extending in a longitudinal direction from a side surface of said construction elements, a rib cavity being defined between them, with at least one of those faces of said ribs that face furthest away from said rib cavity being provided with said ridge projecting in a horizontal direction outward from said rib, running in a vertical direction up a considerable distance of the height of the bendable ends of said rib, with said ridges being provided with said indentation falling between the ends of the height of said ridges,

(g) said female type two connection elements having a pair of opposed walls extending in said longitudinal direction from said side surface of said construction elements, said recess being between said opposed walls and an end wall, with said recess having at free edges, an open face facing in said longitudinal direction, and two opposed open faces each facing in said vertical directions, with at least one of the sides of said opposed walls that face towards said recess being provided with said groove running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of said recess from a bottom surface to a top surface, with said groove being provided with said projection falling between the ends of the height of said grooves,

(h) said male type two connection elements having pairs of said spaced apart ribs extending in said longitudinal direction from said side surface of said construction elements, said rib cavity being defined between them which can be filled in to form a solid single rib if desired, with at least one of the outermost faces of said ribs being provided with said groove running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of said rib from said bottom surface to said top surface, with said groove being provided with said projection falling between the ends of the height of said grooves,

(i) said female type one connection elements having said opposed walls extending in said longitudinal direction from said side of said construction elements, said recess being between said opposed walls and said end wall, with said recess having at free edges, an open face facing in said longitudinal direction, and two opposed open faces each facing in said vertical directions, with at least one of said sides of said opposed walls that face towards said recess being provided with said ridge projecting in said horizontal direction outward from said opposed walls, running in said vertical direction up a considerable distance of the height of the bendable ends of said opposed walls, with said ridges being provided with said indentation falling between the ends of the height of said ridges,

(j) said male connection element being of such a shape that by snap-effect is able to be received and releasably secured in said female connection element,

(k) whereby said male connection element and said female connection element may be used to connect different sizes and shapes of said construction elements together in a variety of orientations and for a variety of purposes.

19. The snap-fit construction system according to claim 18, further including said sets of construction elements containing construction element shapes and connection element features being selected from the group consisting of said construction element shapes including squares, rectangles, triangles, polygons, beams, radial-hubs, struts, rods, wires, panels, adaptors, rotators, letters, numbers, pictures, pry tools, and said connection element features including sunken connection elements, depressions, anti-twist bars, tapered anti-twist bars, divergent recesses, top and bottom radiuses, parallelepiped construction, stud connecters, wedge spacers, vertical holes, snap-pins, various ramp angles, and lubricants.

20. A snap-fit type construction system comprising:

(a) various possible sets of construction elements,

(b) said sets of construction elements having a male type one connection element for connecting to a female type two connection element as well as a male type two connection element for connecting to a female type one connection element,

(c) wherein said type one connection elements are the more resiliently bendable and said type two connection elements are less resiliently bendable,

(d) said male connection elements having a rib and said female connection elements having a recess,

(e) said type one connection elements having a ridge and an indentation and said type two connection elements having a groove and a projection,

(f) said male type one connection elements having a pair of rows of spaced apart ribs extending in a longitudinal direction from said side surface of said construction elements, a rib cavity being defined between them, with at least one of those faces of said ribs that face furthest away from said rib cavity being provided with said ridge projecting outward in a horizontal direction from said rib, running in said vertical direction up a considerable distance of the height of the bendable ends of said rib, with said ridges being provided with said indentation falling between the ends of the height of said ridges,

(g) said female type two connection elements having a pair of rows of opposed walls extending in said longitudinal direction from said side surface of said construction elements, said recess being between said opposed walls and an end wall, with said recess having at free edges, an open face facing in said longitudinal direction, and two opposed open faces each facing in said vertical directions, with at least one of the sides of said opposed walls that face towards said recess being provided with said groove running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of said opposed wall, with said groove being provided with said projection falling between the ends of the height of said grooves,

(h) said male type two connection elements having a pair of rows of said spaced apart ribs extending in said longitudinal direction from said side surface of said construction elements, said rib cavity being defined between them which can be filled in to form a solid single rib if desired, with at least one of the outermost faces of said ribs being provided with said groove running in said vertical direction up along the entire height of said rib, with said groove being provided with said projection falling between the ends of the height of said grooves,

(i) said female type one connection elements having rows of said opposed walls extending in said longitudinal direction from said side of said construction elements, said recess being between said opposed walls and said end wall, with said recess having at free edges, an open face facing in said longitudinal direction, and two opposed open faces each facing in said vertical directions, with at least one of said sides of said opposed walls that face towards said recess being provided with said ridge projecting in said horizontal direction outward from said opposed walls, running in a vertical direction up a considerable distance of the height of the bendable ends of said opposed walls, with said ridges being provided with said indentation falling between the ends of the height of said ridges

(j) said pair of rows of spaced apart ribs and said rows of opposed walls includes those that are staggered in said vertical direction and contain a plurality of gaps between other said ribs or said opposed walls above or below them whereby a panel construction element can be molded in said horizontal direction as opposed to said vertical direction, in a way that said panel construction elements that are tall and thin can be easily molded,

(k) said indentations of said ridges being any form of reduction in said ridge projecting outward in said horizontal direction between the ends of the height of said ridges, including a slot cutting through a part or whole of said ribs,

(l) said male connection element being of such a shape that by snap-effect is able to be received and releasably secured in said female connection element,

(m) whereby said male connection element and said female connection element may be used to connect different sizes and shapes of said construction elements together in a variety of orientations and for a variety of purposes.