Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BUILDING BLOCK
Technical Field
This invention pertains to building blocks, and in particular to
building blocks which are structured for connection both vertically, i.e.
between adjacent courses of blocks, and horizontally.
Back_~round
Building blocks designed to be placed side-by-side in courses
and having connectors on their upper and lower sides for attaching blocks
in adjacent courses together, are known in the art. For example, in the toy
building block art, LEGO (trademark) blocks have mating posts and
recesses on their top and bottom sides respectively for attachment of blocks
in vertically adjacent courses, as shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,005,282
1 S Christiansen. Since such blocks do not have any side connecting means,
it is not possible to attach them side-by-side in a single layer, in order to
create a span, for example to construct a horizontal roof or beam. Blocks
having side connecting means are known, but they are adapted only to
attach blocks horizontally that are also connected vertically, and are not
adapted to construct weight-bearing horizontal structures. For example,
International Publication No. WO 93/04749 discloses a building block
having interfitting tongues and grooves on opposed sides of the blocks, but
the blocks cannot be used to build a weight-bearing horizontal structure.
Summarv of Invention
The invention provides a building block having novel side
connecting means for attaching blocks side-by-side in a manner permitting
the construction of weight-bearing spanning structures. The building
blocks of the invention are adapted for use both as toy building blocks and
as full-size construction blocks, for use in, for example, the construction
of garages, sheds, etc. In this application, "building block" accordingly
includes both relatively small blocks for use as toys and relatively large
blocks for use in construction. The blocks according to the invention have
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conventional upper and lower connecting means, such as LEGO-type posts
and recesses, for connecting adjacent courses of blocks together.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the side connecting
means are mating male and female dovetails on opposed walls of the blocks
which extend from the upper end of the block partway down its side. The
dovetails of adjacent blocks interlock so as to attach the blocks together
side-by-side.
Preferably, the blocks also have a pair of mating ribs and
grooves on each side wall which assists in stabilizing the block against
twisting motion as between adjacent horizontally-connected blocks.
Brief Description of Drawings
Figs . 1 and 2 are perspective views of a building block
according to the invention;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a building block of Figs. 1 and
2 from its lower side;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a half length building block;
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the half length block of Fig. 4
from its lower side;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view on the longitudinal mid-line of the
blocks of Figs. l and 4 connected together horizontally;
Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view on the longitudinal mid-line of
three blocks connected together; and
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Fig. 8 is a top plan view showing three blocks connected
together, forming a corner.
Description
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a building block 10 has a generally
parallelepiped configuration, having an upper end 12, lower end 14, and
four vertical side walls, namely two long side walls 16, 18 and two short
side walls 20, 22, which are half the length of the long side walls .
The block 10 has connecting means at its upper and lower
ends for connecting vertically adjacent courses of blocks together which is
essentially the same as that used for LEGO blocks. Upper end 12 has
eight posts 24 which are squat and cylindrical in shape and are sized and
spaced so as to connect in a press fit with recesses in the lower end of the
block. Referring to Fig. 3, three hollow cylindrical projections 26 extend
vertically downward to the plane formed by the lower edge of the side
walls of the block. Web elements 28 extend between the respective
cylindrical projections 26 and between the cylindrical projections 26 and
the inner surfaces 30 of the side walls 16, 18, 20, 22. The cylindrical
projections 26 and the inner surfaces 30 of the side walls together form
receptacles to receive and hold posts 24, in order to hold two vertically
adjacent blocks, or blocks in two vertically adjacent courses of blocks,
together. It will be apparent from Fig. 3 that the block 10 has eight such
recesses, sized to snugly hold posts 24 of a block.
Side wall 22 of block 10 has male dovetail 32, i.e. a dovetail
rib, in the center thereof, extending from top end 12 about halfway down
the side wall 22. Opposed side wall 20 has female dovetail 34, i.e. a
dovetail groove, in the center thereof, extending about halfway down the
side wall 20. The female dovetail 34 is the same height as the male
dovetail 32, and the male and female dovetails are of a mating size and
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configuration such that male dovetail 32 can slide into and fit snugly within
female dovetail 34 of an adjacent block, with lower wall 36 of male
dovetail 32 abutting lower wall 38 of female dovetail 34 when the male and
female dovetails are interconnected and the top ends 12 of the horizontally
connected blocks are at the same level.
A pair of ribs 40 protrude from side wall 22, one on either
side of male dovetail 32, and extend vertically from the top end 12 about
halfway down the side wall 22. Ribs 40 are rectangular in cross-section.
Opposed side wall 20 has a pair of grooves 42 therein, extending about
halfway the side wall 20 and being of the same height as ribs 40. The ribs
40 and grooves 42 are of a mating size, position and configuration such
that ribs 40 can slide into and fit snugly within grooves 42 of an adjacent
block, with lower wall 44 of ribs 40 abutting lower wall 46 of grooves 32
when the ribs 40 and grooves 42 are interconnected, and with the male
dovetail 32 and female dovetail 34 of the adjacent blocks being connected.
Opposed side walls 16 and 18 have a similar arrangement of
male and female dovetails, ribs and grooves, except that since side walls
16, 18 are twice the length of side walls 20, 22, side wall 18 is provided
with two male dovetails and four ribs and side wall 16 is provided with two
female dovetails and four grooves. Specifically, side wall 18 has two male
dovetails 48 thereon, identical in configuration to male dovetail 32, and
two pairs of ribs 50, identical in configuration to ribs 40; and side wall 16
has two female dovetails 52, identical in configuration to female dovetail
34, and two pairs of grooves 54, identical in configuration to grooves 42.
The spacing of each male dovetail 32, 48 and its accompanying pair of ribs
40, 50 respectively, and the spacing of each female dovetail 34, 52 and its
accompanying pair of grooves 42, 54, is identical so that blocks 10 can
interconnect by the attachment of a side wall 20 to a side wall 22, or by a
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side wall 18 to a side wall 16, or one or two blocks 10 can attach by a
short side wall 20 or 22 to a long side wall 18 or 16 respectively.
Since ribs 40, 50 and grooves 42, 52 are rectangular in cross-
section, and are oriented normal to the plane of their respective side walls,
they do not interlock so as to prevent two attached blocks from becoming
separated by a longitudinal pulling force. The function of ribs 40, 50 and
grooves 42, 52 is to resist twisting movement between horizontally
attached blocks . The extent to which such twisting could occur is in part
determined by the size and configuration of male dovetails 32, 48 and
female dovetails 34, 52. Where such male and female dovetails are
relatively small, and the mating ribs and grooves are not present, a twisting
force could cause some relative rotational movement of horizontally
attached blocks. This is prevented by the presence of ribs 40, 50 and
grooves 42, 52. It will be apparent that the relative twisting movement can
also be reduced or prevented by other means, for example by having more
than one dovetail connection between the blocks, or by increasing the
dimensions of the dovetails.
Figs . 4 and 5 illustrate a half length block 56, which is similar
in structure to full length block 10 but is one-half its length. Block 56 is
made to interfit with block 10 and is square in plan view with sides equal
in length to the short sides 20, 22 of block 10. In the following descrip-
tion, elements of block 56 corresponding to like elements of block 10 are
identified by the same numbers marked by a prime. Block 56 has upper
end 12', bottom end 14' and two .pairs of opposed side walls 20', 22'.
There are four posts 24' on the upper end 12' of the block 56, and a single
cylindrical projection 26' on the lower side, which, with the inner surfaces
30' of the side walls, forms four recesses to receive posts 24' of another
block 56, or posts 24 of a block 10. The side connecting means comprises
male dovetails 32' and female dovetails 34', and paired ribs 40' and
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grooves 42', which attach a block 56 to another block 56 or to a full-length
block 10, in the same manner as described above with respect to the
attachment of two full-length blocks 10.
The side-by-side attachment of half length and full-length
blocks is shown in Figs. 6 and 8. Male dovetail 32' and ribs 40' interfit
with female dovetail 34 and grooves 42 respectively of a full length block
10; alternatively, male dovetail 32 and ribs 40 interfit with female dovetail
34' and grooves 42' of a half length block 56.
The side-by-side attachment of blocks is further illustrated in
Fig. 7, which is a vertical cross-sectional view through the longitudinal
mid-line of the blocks. Male dovetail 32 of block 10 is interlocked with
female dovetail 34' of block 56. The lower wall 36 of male dovetail 32
abuts the lower wall 38' of female dovetail 34. This abutment, and the
abutment between the lower walls of ribs 40 and grooves 42' prevents
block 10 from being moved vertically downward relative to block 56. It
is this feature that permits the blocks to be used to build a horizontal
structure that spans a space without intermediate support.
The half length block can be used in a corner location, at the
end of a course of blocks, in either of two orientations to permit a second
course extending at a right angle from the first course to extend in either
of two directions. Referring to Fig. 8, half length block "A" is attached
by female side "B" to male side "G" of block 10, with male side "C" of
block "A" facing downwards (in the view of Fig. 8). A course of blocks
can be built attached to and extending downward from this male side "C".
Alternatively, block "A" can be oriented 90° counterclockwise to
the
orientation shown in Fig. 8, with female side "D" of block "A" attached
to male side "G" of block 10, and a male side of block "A", namely male
side "E", facing upwards, such that a course of blocks can be built
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attached to and extending upward from this side "E" . Thus, a wall can be
built extending at a right angle in either of two directions from the end of
another wall.
Building blocks according to the invention are preferably
made of plastic by means of injection molding. Suitable plastics for the toy
blocks include polypropylene and ABS; for the construction block,
recycled plastic can be used. For use as a toy block, it is contemplated
that a full-length building block 10 is approximately 4" in length, 2" in
width and 7/8" in height; alternatively, for a larger size toy block, the
dimensions are approximately two and one-half times this size. For use as
a full-size construction block, it is contemplated that the full-length block
10 is approximately 20" in length, 10" in width and 51h" in height.
Many alterations and modifications from the preferred
embodiment of the invention described above can be made which are
within the scope of the following claims. For example, the heights of the
male and female dovetails and of the ribs and grooves can be greater or
less than that illustrated; they need not extend approximately halfway down
the sides of the blocks. The male and female connecting means to attach
blocks in vertically adjacent courses can be any of various configurations
and need not be the LEGO-type connectors illustrated herein. The dovetail
and rib and groove connectors can be put on only the end walls 20, 22 of
the blocks, leaving the two side walls smooth, if it is desired to build walls
having smooth surfaces .
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