BUILDING BLOCK TOY SET

• US 20090215357A1
• Filed: 02/26/2008
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JSN, Inc.
• Original Assignee: JSN, Inc.
• Inventors: Seligman, Scott P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,079,890 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/127
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/042 Mechanical, electrical, optical, pneumatic or hydraulic arrangements; Motors
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/086 with primary projections fitting by friction in complementary spaces between secondary projections, e.g. sidewalls

Abstract

A building block toy set has first and second blocks each having a first connection device at the upper end and a second connection device at the lower end which is releasably mateable with the first connection device on the other block, whereby the first block is connectable on top of the second block in a first configuration and the second block is connectable on top of the first block in a second configuration. Each first connection device has an actuator formation on the first connection device and at least the second block is a smart block having a sensor assembly associated with the second connection device which is activated by the actuator formation when the second block is interconnected with the first block in the second configuration. A processing unit is mounted in the smart block and associated with the sensor assembly to produce a sensory output signal when the sensor assembly is activated.

Claims

1. A building block toy set, comprising:

first and second interconnectable toy blocks each having at least one male connection device at one end and at least one female connection device at an opposite end, whereby the first and second toy blocks can be interconnected by mating the male connection device of either block with the female connection device of the other block;

the first toy block comprising a smart block having a sensor device associated with a first one of the connection devices and a processing unit associated with the sensor device which produces a sensory output signal in response to actuation of the sensor device;

the second toy block having an actuator formation on the second one of the connection devices which is mateable with the first connection device, the actuator formation actuating the sensor device when the second connection device of the second toy block is mated with the first connection device of the smart block.

2. The building block toy set of claim 1, wherein the sensory output signal is selected from the group consisting of audible output signals, visual output signals, and combinations of audible and visual output signals.

3. The building block toy set of claim 1, wherein the smart block has two first connection devices and a respective sensor device is associated with each first connection device, whereby two second toy blocks having second connection devices can be connected simultaneously to the smart block.

4. The building block toy set of claim 3, wherein the processing unit comprises a processing module which distinguishes between actuation of one of the sensor devices when the smart block is connected to one second block in a first configuration and actuation of both sensor devices when the smart block is connected to two second blocks in a second configuration, and an output module linked to the processing module which produces different output signals for the first and second configurations.

5. The building block set of claim 1, wherein the male connection device comprises a post and the female connection device comprises a cavity of predetermined shape and dimensions for mating engagement with the post.

6. The building block set of claim 1, wherein the female connection device has interengageable formations which are selectively connectable with connector devices of a different type of building block.

7. The building block toy set of claim 1, comprising a plurality of smart blocks, at least some of the smart blocks containing different processing units which produce different output signals when connected to one or more second blocks.

8. The building block toy set of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of second blocks which comprise standard blocks containing no electronics, each smart block being selectively connectible to both standard blocks and other smart blocks.

9. The building block toy set of claim 7, wherein the smart blocks include different color blocks, each color block having a processing unit programmed with output signals comprising a plurality of different audible outputs, at least some of the audible outputs including the color of the block, the processing unit producing an audible output selected from said different audible outputs when the first connector device is connected to the second connector device of any other block in the set.

10. The building block toy set of claim 7, wherein the smart blocks include at least one fun block having a processing unit programmed with a plurality of different output signals, the processing unit selecting an output signal from said different output signals when the first connector device is connected to the second connector device of any other block in the set.

11. The building block toy set of claim 10, wherein at least some of the output signals comprise visual output signals, and the fun block has at least one light source controlled by the processing unit to produce a visual output signal.

12. The building block set of claim 8, wherein the standard blocks comprise a plurality of different size standard blocks representing different numbers, the different standard blocks comprising at least a single standard block having a single first connection device and a single second connection device, a double standard block having two first connection devices and two second connection devices, and a triple standard block having three first connection devices and three second connection devices.

13. The building block set of claim 12, wherein each sensor device comprises an array of switches associated with the respective first connection device and connected to the processing unit, the actuator formations on the second connection devices of the single, double, and triple standard blocks being different and actuating different switches of an array when the respective second connection devices are engaged with a first connection device of a smart block.

14. The building block set of claim 13, wherein the processing unit of a first smart block includes a processing module which detects the actuator formations of the second connection devices engaged with the first connection device based on the switches actuated in each array, and which produces an output signal comprising a different sensory output based on the detected combination of actuated switches in each array.

15. The building block set of claim 14, wherein the processing unit of a second smart block includes a processing module which produces an output signal comprising at least one sensory output when one or more switches in the array are actuated by an actuator formation of any other block, the output signal being independent from the detected actuator formation.

16. The building block set of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of different standard blocks representing a plurality of different numbers, each block having a predetermined number of second connection devices equal to the number represented by the block, and having an actuator formation on each second connection device which is different from the actuator formations on the second connection devices of all of the other number blocks.

17. The building block set of claim 16, wherein said first smart block comprises a math block for carrying out a predetermined mathematical function, the math block having at least two first connection devices each associated with a respective array of switches, the processing unit of the math block detecting the combination of switches associated with each first connection device which are actuated by actuator formations on the second connection devices of one or more blocks to which the math block is connected, determining the number associated with a connected block based on the detected switch actuation, carrying out the predetermined mathematical function using the determined numbers, and producing an audible output statement comprising the answer to the mathematical function.

18. The building block set of claim 17, further comprising a plurality of math blocks which perform different mathematical functions.

19. The building block set of claim 18, wherein the math blocks each have at least one symbol on their outer surface indicating the function performed by the respective block.

20. A building block toy set, comprising:

at least one smart block having two identical first connection devices, a first sensor device associated with one of the first connection devices, a second sensor device associated with the other first connection device, a processing unit connected to the sensor devices and having a processing module which detects actuation of the sensor devices, and at least one output module connected to the processing module which produces a sensory output signal when a sensor device is actuated;

at least two standard blocks each having a second connection device which is releasably connectable to either one of the first connection devices of the smart block; and

each second connection device having an actuator formation which actuates the associated sensor device when the second connection device is in releasable mating engagement with one of the first connection devices;

whereby the smart block is connectable to the standard blocks in at least two different possible configurations, comprising a first configuration in which one of the first connection devices of the smart block is connected to a second connection device of one standard block and a second configuration in which the first connection devices of the smart block are connected to the second connection devices of two standard blocks;

the output module producing a sensory output signal in both the first and second configuration.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the sensory output module comprises an audible output module which produces audible output signals.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the audible output module produces a first audible output signal in the first configuration and a second, different output signal in the second configuration.

23. The system of claim 20, further comprising a visual output device connected to said sensory output module to produce visual output signals.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the visual output device comprises an array of light emitting devices and the sensory output module controls the light emitting devices to produce a selected visual output signal from a plurality of different visual output signals.

25. The system of claim 20, comprising a plurality of different smart blocks, each smart block having at least one second connection device and being selectively connectable to both smart blocks and standard blocks, the output module of each smart block producing a sensory output signal on connection of at least one of the first connection devices to a second connection device of another smart block or a standard block.