TOY FIGURES

PERSONNAGES-JOUETS

English Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A toy figure, adapted to be detachably mounted on a base plate
pertaining to a toy building set and provided with coupling studs, is
provided with a leg assembly comprising a pair of identical leg elements
having substantially plane rear faces (calves). Recesses comprising
pairs of holes are provided in the rear faces of the leg elements,
and the width of these recesses is substantially equal to the width
of the studs of the base plate. The recesses are symmetrical with
respect to the lengthwise extending median plane of the leg elements and,
in the position of the leg elements wherein their rear faces coincide,
the distance between the axes of symmetry of the recesses is equal to
the module m of the building set.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A toy figure, adapted to be detachably mounted on a base plate
pertaining to a building set and having a plurality of coupling studs
uniformly spaced apart in both longitudinal and transverse directions,
so that two pairs of adjacent studs define a square in which the distance
between the axes of adjacent studs is equal to the module m of the building
set, said toy figure comprising a head, a body, a pair of arms, and a leg
assembly comprising a connecting piece adapted to be mounted on the body
and including a pair of sidewardly extending pivots, a pair of identical
leg members mounted on said pivots, said leg members having substantially
flat rear faces (calves) and foot parts having a plane bottom face (sole),
wherein the improvements consist in the provision of recesses in the flat
rear face (calf) of the leg members and in the bottom face (sole) of the
foot parts, each of said recesses having a width substantially equal to the
width of the coupling studs of the base plate and being disposed symmetri-
cally with respect to an axis extending in the lengthwise direction of the
leg member and foot part respectively, the distance between the said axes
of symmetry, in the position of the leg members wherein the planes of their
flat rear faces (calves) coincide, being equal to the module m of the build-
ing set.
2. A toy figure according to claim 1, wherein the recesses in the flat
rear faces (calves) of the leg members comprise a pair of cylindrical bores,
the distance between the axes of said bores being equal to the module m
of the building set.
3. A toy figure according to claims 1 and 2, in which the recess in
the bottom face (sole) of each foot part is a cylindrical bore having
substantially the same diameter as that of the coupling studs of the base
plate.

4. A toy figure according to claim 1, comprising a hollow body member
and a leg assembly provided with coupling means adapted to be detachably
mounted in the cavity of the body member, said leg assembly comprising a
connecting plate having a top face and a bottom face, a pair of connecting
studs extending upwardly from the top face of the connecting plate, a
substantially disc-shaped pivot holder extending downwardly from the middle
of the bottom face of the connecting plate and provided with transversely
extending pivots at either side of the holder, a pair of identical leg
members mounted on the pivots, the width of the pivot holder being such
that the leg members mounted thereon are interspaced, so as to provide
for a distance between the axes of symmetry of the recesses in the leg
members being equal to the module of the building set.

Description

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Th~s invention generally relates to toy figures and,
more particul rly, to a toy figure which is adapted to be
u_e~ as a com?o~.ent in a toy building set composed of build-
in& blocks 2~i other elements provided with coupling means
for ~et~ch2bly intercon-necting adjacent blocks or other com-
ponents.
PRIOR ART
Toy building sets of the kind referred to are well-known
in prior art, and a typical example of such toy building sets
is described in the Canadian Patent No. 629,7~2.
More recently, it has been suggested to supplement the
known building sets with dolls and similar toy figures pro-
vided with movable limbs and coupling means for detachably
co~necting them to ~ker components of the building set.
As an example of prior art relating to assemblable toy
figures reference may be had to USA Patent--No. 3,995,395 and
the various patents cited therein.
The most relevant prior art, however, are the toy figures
manufact~red by the applicants as accessories to their toy
buildlng sets. These dolls are well suited for mounting on
a base plate pertaining to the building set, and the present
invention is concerned with a toy figure of this kind.
SU-~L~ = T:i3 INV~NTION
The main object of the invention is to improve and supple-
ment the coup]ing mea-ns that have so far been used for detach-
ably lnterconnecting the toy figures with the base plates of
the building set.

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According to tlle ;nvention, there is provided a toy figure,
adapted to be detachably mo~mted on a base plate pertaining to a building
set and having a plurality of coupling studs uniformly spaced apart in
both longitudinal and transverse directions, so that two pairs of adjacent
studs define a square in which the distance between the axes of adjacent
studs is equal to the module m of the building set, said toy figure com- -
prising a head, a body, a pair of arms, and a leg assembly comprising a
connecting piece adapted to be mounted on the body and including a pair
of sidewardly extending pivots, a pair of identical leg members mounted
on said pivots, said leg members having substantially flat rear faces
(calves) and foot parts having a plane bottom face ~sole), wherein the
improvements consist in the provision of recesses in the flat rear face
(calf) of the leg members and in the bottom face ~sole) of the foot parts,
each of said recesses having a width substantially equal to the width of
the coupling studs of the base plate and being disposed symmetrically with
respect to an axis extending in the lengthwise direction of the leg member
and foot part respectively, the distance between the said axes of symmetry,
in the position of the leg members wherein the planes of their flat rear
faces (calves) coincide, being equal to the module m of the building set.
An embodiment of a toy figure according to the invention will be
described in the following reference to the drawings, in which
FIGURE 1 is a rear elevation of the figure showing the back and
the rear face of the leg members in an upright position.
FIGURE 2 is a side view showing the same figure in a seated
position.
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a connecting plate for detach-
ably mounting the leg members in the body member of the figure.
FIGURE 4 is a similar perspective view showing the lower face of
the connecting plate.
FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a leg member showing the rear
face and one side face thereof.
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FIGllRE 6 is a similar perspective view showing the front face and
the other side face of the leg member.
~ IGURE 7 is a perspective view showing the leg assembly comprising
a pair of identical leg members mounted on the connecting plate of
FIGURES 3 and 4.
Referring now to Figures 1-7, the toy figure comprises a body
member 10 having a pair of arms 11 pivotally mounted on the body member
around a horizontal axis b-b. The upper portion of the body member 10
is provided with a neck portion 13 and a head 12 mounted thereon and com-
prising a coupling stud 14 for detachable interconnection with elements
pertaining to a toy building set.
The body member 10 comprises a cavity adapted to receive a pair
of coupling studs 23 on the top face of a connecting plate 21, the bottom
face of which is formed with a cylindrical cavity 22 adapted to provide
a concave bearing face for a corresponding convex upper face 20d of a
pair of identical leg members 20 having side faces 20a and 20b and a
substantially flat rear face (calf) 20c. In the middle of the bottom
face 22 of the connecting plate 21 there is provided a substantially disc-
shaped holder 24 having a pair of laterally extending pivots 25 for
pivotally mounting the leg members 20 on the connecting plate 21. A bore
28 is provided in one side face 28a of the upper cylindrical portion of
the leg members co-axially with the cylindrical faces 20d and 22 for
pivotally mounting the leg members 20 of the pivots 25. Projections 26
adjacent the ends of the pivots 25 provide for a snap locking effect when
mounting the leg members on the pivots.
The recesses in the flat rear face (calf) of the leg members
comprise two identical circular bores 27 in each leg member, and the
distance between the centers of these bores is equal to the module m of
the building set, i.e. to the distance between the axes of a pair of -
adjacent coupling studs 30 on a base plate 31 pertaining to the building
set. Moreover, the width of the disc 24 between the leg members 20 is
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such that, in the I)osition shown n Figure 1 where the planes of the
rear faces 20c coincide, the lateral distance between the centers of the
bores 27 is also equal to the module m of the building se~. In this
position, therefore, the four bores 27 define a square, the side of whicn
is equal to the module m, which enable the figure to be mounted in a
seated position on two adjacent pairs of the studs 30 of the base plate
31, as shown in Figure 2.
In order that the figure may also be mounted in an upright
position on the base plate 31, the leg members comprise foot parts 29, the
bottom faces (soles) of which are provided with recesses 32 adapted to be
detachably connected to the studs 30 of the base plate 31.
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