Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
21978~0
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
PLAYHOUSE
5 FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to playhouses. More
specifically, the present invention relates to a playhouse that may be
linked to other similar playhouses to form a playhouse village.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Children's playhouses are well known in the art. They
are usually made of corrugated cardboard or other similar material that
15 may be folded along predetermined lines to form the walls and the roof.
Glues, loop and hook fasteners, or the like have been used to hold the
various pieces of paperboard together to form the playhouse.
A drawback of the known playhouse designs is that
20 conventional playhouses are generally small. They are therefore not
specifically designed to be used simultaneously by many children.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide
an improved playhouse.
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Another object of the invention is to provide a playhouse
that may be connected to another similar playhouse.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present
invention, there is provided a playhouse comprising:
at least three walls; one of the three walls including an
opening;
a tunnel to be inserted in the opening and including a
foldable projection to releasably maintain the tunnel in the opening.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present
invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non
restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of
example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the appended drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a playhouse according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top plan view of a first house element
precut to form two sides and a portion of the roof of the playhouse of
Figure 1;
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Figure 3 is a top plan view of a second house element
precut to form two sides and a portion of the roof of the playhouse of
Figure 1; and
Figure 4 is a top plan view of a third house element
precut to form a tunnel.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Figure 1 of the appended drawings illustrates, in
perspective view, a playhouse 10 and an attached tunnel 12, according
to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
As will be further described hereinafter, the playhouse
10 and the tunnel 12 illustrated in Figure 1 are constructed from a first
house element 14 shown in Figure 2, a second house element 16 shown
in Figure 3 and a third house element 18 shown in Figure 4.
Each house element 14, 16 and 18 is advantageously
made of corrugated cardboard or of any other type of material that may
easily be cut to the appropriate shape and that may be folded along
predetermined lines. For example, corrugated plastic simulating
corrugated cardboard could be used to form a playhouse.
As can be seen from the figures, the playhouse 10
includes four peripheral walls 20, 22, 24 and 26, a roof made of two roof
portions 28, 30, and a floor 31.
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The peripheral wall 20 includes a floor portion 21 that
may be folded along a fold line 21' and a plurality of mounting tabs 32.
The roof portion 28 and the peripheral wall 20 are divided by a fold line
34. The roof portion 28 includes a plurality of slots 36 and a plurality of
projections 38 and 40.
The peripheral wall 22 includes a floor portion 23 that
may be folded along a fold line 23', a first door 44 that may be open by
folding it along a fold line 46 to allow children to ingress and to egress the
playhouse 10, a triangular portion 48, an opening 50 and a plurality of
slots 52. The triangular portion 48 includes a plurality of slots 54 and 56.
The peripheral wall 22 and the peripheral wall 20 are divided by a fold line
42.
The peripheral wall 24 includes a floor portion 25 that
may be folded along a fold line 25', a second door 58 that may be open
by folding it along a fold line 60 to allow children to ingress and to egress
the playhouse 10 and a plurality of tabs 62. The roof portion 30 and the
peripheral wall 24 are divided by a fold line 64. The roof portion 30
includes a plurality of mounting tabs 66 and a plurality of projections 68
and 70.
The peripheral wall 26 includes a floor portion 27 that
may be folded along a fold line 27', a window 72 consisting of two panels
74 and 76 that may be open by folding them about fold lines 78 and 80,
respectively, a plurality of mounting slots 82 and a triangular portion 84
including a plurality of slots 86 and 88. The peripheral wall 26 and the
peripheral wall 24 are divided by a fold line 90.
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To assemble the playhouse 10 from the first and second
house elements 14 and 16, a user performs the following steps:
- folding the first element 14 along the fold lines 21',23',
34 and 42;
- folding the second element 16 along the fold lines 25'.
27', 64 and 90;
- insert the mounting tabs 32 of the wall 20 in the
corresponding mounting slots 82 of the wall 26;
- insert the mounting tabs 62 of the wall 24 in the
corresponding mounting slots 52 of the wall 22;
- fold the floor sections 21, 23, 25 and 27 so that these
sections are inside the playhouse 10;
- insert a piece of corrugated cardboard, or an
equivalent, inside the playhouse to form the floor 31;
- insert the mounting tabs 66 of the roof section 30 in the
corresponding mounting slots 36 of the roof section 28;
- insert the projections 38 of the roof section 28 in the
corresponding slots 88 of the triangular portion 84;
- insert the projections 40 of the roof section 28 in the
corresponding slots 54 of the triangular portion 48;
- insert the projections 68 of the roof section 30 in the
corresponding slots 56 of the triangular portion 48; and
- insert the projections 70 of the roof section 30 in the
corresponding slots 86 of the triangular portion 84.
Turning now to Figure 4, the third house element 18 will
be described in details. The third house element 18 is used to form the
tunnel 12 (see Figure 1).
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The third house element 18 includes a floor portion 92,
two wall portion 94 and 96 and a roof portion 98. The wall portion 96
includes a plurality of mounting tabs 100 and the roof portion 98 includes
a plurality of corresponding mounting slots 102.
As can be seen from Figure 4, the floor portion 92 and
the wall portion 96 are divided by a fold line 104, the floor portion 92 and
the wall portion 94 are divided by a fold line 106, and the roof portion 98
and the wall portion 94 are divided by a fold line 108.
The roof portion 98 includes a trap door 110 that may be
open by folding it along a fold line 112 to allow children to get their heads
out of the tunnel 12.
To assemble the tunnel 12 from the third house element
18, the user has to fold the third house element 18 along the fold lines
104, 106 and 108, and to insert the mounting tabs 100 in the
corresponding mounting slots 102.
As can be better seen from Figure 1, the third house
element 18 includes a pair triangular projection assembly 114 (only one
shown in Figure 1) formed in the roof portion 98. The purpose of the
projection assembly 114 is to retain the tunnel in the opening formed by
one of the doors 44 and 58. Indeed, since the size of the mounted tunnel
12 is about the same as the size of the door openings, the upwardly
projecting assembly 114, when formed while the tunnel 12 is inserted in
a door, prevents the tunnel 12 from being detached from the playhouse
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10. Of course, the exceeding portion of the floor portion 92 is inserted
under the floor 31.
The projecting assembly 114 includes first and second
slots 116 and 118, a first projecting portion 120, a second projecting
portion 124, a first mounting portion 128 and a second mounting portion
132.
As can be seen from Figure 4, the first projecting portion
120 and the roof portion 98 are divided by a fold line 122, the second
projecting portion 124 and the first projecting portion 120 are divided by
a fold line 126, the first mounting portion 128 and the second projecting
portion 124 are divided by a fold line 130, and the second mounting
portion 132 and the first mounting portion 128 are divided by a fold line
134.
To assemble the triangular projecting assembly 114, the
material is first folded along fold lines 122, 126, 130 and 134. The
second mounting portion 132 is then inserted in the first mounting slot
116 and is slid therein until the second projecting portion 124 abuts the
roof portion 98. Finally, the second mounting portion is inserted in the
second mounting slot 118 to solidify the assembly 114.
Of course, the triangular projecting assembly 114 could
be similarly mounted so as to project inwardly.
Since a triangular projecting assembly 114 is provided
at both ends of the tunnel 12, it is possible to assemble two similar
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playhouses together. Furthermore, since the playhouse 10 includes two
doors 44 and 58, more than two similar playhouses may be linked
through separate tunnels 12.
As will be easily understood by one of ordinary skill in
the art, the various fold lines may be merely printed on the material
forming the house elements or this material may be pre-folded about
these lines to facilitate the mounting of the playhouse by the user.
The playhouse of the present invention prevents many
advantages. For example:
- the entire playhouse may be mounted without the need
of tools or glues;
- the tunnel may be removably attached to the
playhouse to connect two playhouses together;
- the playhouse may easily be disassembled for storage;
- the playhouse may be used as a learning game;
- the playhouse may be used as a toybox;
- the playhouse may be mounted by children to increase
their coordination and their fine motor skills; and
- the playhouse may be used as a setting for stage play.
The playhouse 10 is illustrated in the appended
drawings as being monochromatic and without any ornamentation. It is
however to be understood that the internal and/or the external surfaces
of the material used to form a playhouse as described herein could be
printed to help the child users to decorate the playhouse. Similarly,
thematic playhouses could be designed to help children learn while they
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play. For example, numbers, letters and geometric shapes could be
printed on the house elements.
As will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, a
5 thematic village may be formed by linking two or more playhouses
together.
Although the present invention has been described
hereinabove by way of preferred embodiments thereof, it can be modified,
10 without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention as
defined in the appended claims.
