US20100203798A1

US20100203798A1 - Constructional building set comprising building elements for blind person, and such building elements

Info

Publication number: US20100203798A1
Application number: US12/367,510
Authority: US
Inventors: Ajmal M. M. Beg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-02-07
Filing date: 2009-02-07
Publication date: 2010-08-12

Abstract

A building element for a building constructional set comprising top face, a plurality of side walls extending downwardly from the top face, a plurality of coupling studs which are arranged on the top face in a two-dimensional periodical pattern, a plurality of cavities arranged in a two-dimensional periodical pattern between the side walls to receive the coupling studs in frictional engagement and at least one color indicator which is in form of spatially distributed raised points of the same shape and is part of the building element for the purpose of indicating the color of at least one surface area of the building element. Different spatially distribution of raised points of the same shape indicates different colors. The color indicator may also represents the type/strength of shade of the color of at least one surface area of the building element. The color indicator may be positioned on more than one side walls of the said building element allowing the perception of the color when color indicator on other walls is not visible. The building element may also include boundaries to indicate the color of a specific area on the surface of the building element. A color map on the external surface of the building elements, may provide color information for surface areas of the building elements which do not have enough space to accommodate a color indicator.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a constructional building set comprising building elements for blind or partially person and such building elements.

BACKGROUND

Constructional building sets comprising of building elements with complementary coupling means are popular among persons belonging to different mental/physical age groups. MegaBlocks®, Lego® and Duplo® are examples of popular brands of constructional building sets. Such constructional building sets contain building elements of different colors. A blind person is unable to perceive colors of building elements contained in such constructional building sets. There is a need of constructional building with building elements whose colors could be easily perceived by blind persons. Blind/partially sighted persons use Braille System for reading books and thus are well trained to collect information by feeling spatially distributed raised points of the same shape with touch of fingers, where different distribution of spatially raised points indicate different letter. Building elements with color information encoded in form of spatially distributed raised points can help blind persons easily perceive the color of the building elements. Building elements whose colors can be easily perceived by blind person, can help blind person achieve the same level of enjoyment as a person who has normal vision and is capable of enjoying world of the colors fully.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 3 is top plan view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 4 is bottom plan view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 5 is side view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 6 is side view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 7 is top plan view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 8 is side and top plan view of a building element according to prior art;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of building element according to prior art when such building element is frictionally engaged with a base plate which is larger than the outer boundaries of its top plan view;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a building element with large coupling studs according to prior art;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a building element with large coupling studs according to prior art;

FIG. 12 is top plan view of a building element with large coupling studs according to prior art;

FIG. 13 is bottom plan view of a building element with large coupling studs according to prior art;

FIG. 14 is side view of a building element with large coupling studs according to prior art;

FIG. 15 is perspective view of multiple building elements according to prior art in frictional engagement;

FIG. 16 is perspective view of multiple building elements with large coupling studs and according to prior art in frictional engagement;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of building element according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of building element according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is bottom plan view of building element according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is top plan view of building element according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of building element with large coupling studs according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of building element with large coupling studs according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is bottom plan view of building element with large coupling studs according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is top plan view of building element with large coupling studs according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a building element for a constructional building set having top face, a plurality of side walls extending downwardly from the top face, coupling studs which are arranged on the top face in a two-dimensional periodical pattern, cavities arranged in a two-dimensional periodical pattern between the side walls to receive the coupling studs in frictional engagement and at least one color indicator which is in form of spatially distributed raised points of the same shape and is part of the building element for the purpose of indicating the color of at least one surface area of the building element. According to another aspect of the invention, color indicator also represents the type/strength of shade of the color of at least one surface area of the building element. According to another aspect of the invention same color indicator is positioned on more than one side walls of the said building element allowing the perception of the color when color indicator on other walls is not visible. According to another aspect of the invention, the building element has boundaries to indicate the color of a specific area on the surface of building element.
As an example of prior art, a building element 11 contained in constructional building sets from Lego® is illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are perspective views from different angles for the building element 11. FIG. 3 is top plan view of the building element 11. FIG. 4 is bottom plan view of the building element 11. FIG. 5 is side view of the building element 11. The building element 11 comprises a top face 12, a plurality of side walls 14 extending downwardly from the top face 12, a plurality of coupling studs 13 which are arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face 12 and a plurality of cavities 23 arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern between the side walls 14 to receive the coupling studs 13 from other building elements in frictional engagement. A cavity 23 is realized by circular tube 21 and guide ribs 22. As illustrated in FIG. 3, d 19 is the minimum distance between centers of two adjacent coupling studs 13 when such two adjacent coupling studs 13 are positioned on the same two-dimensional plane. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 4, d 19 is also the minimum distance between the centers of adjacent cavities 23 which frictionally engage coupling studs 13 when positioned on the same two-dimensional plane. A squared area with each side of size d 19 and having its center at the center of a coupling stud 13 is referred in this description of the present invention as Standard Cell Area 24. Shaded square area 24 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 represents one Standard Cell Area for the building element 11.
Squared box shaped building element 11 illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 does not have subareas for top face 12 and subareas within the space extending between side walls 14. Building element contained in a construction building set can also have subareas for top face 12 and and also for space extending between side walls 14. FIG. 6 illustrates side view of an exemplary embodiment of building element 61 according to prior art. FIG. 7 is the top plan view of this building element 61. The building element 61 comprises a top face 62, plurality of side walls 64 extending downwardly from the top face 62, a plurality of coupling studs 63 arranged in two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face 62, and a plurality of cavities 65 arranged in two-dimensional periodic pattern to accommodate coupling studs 63 13 from other building elements. The top face 62 has three subareas 66 67 68. Two subareas 66 68 have four coupling studs each arranged in two-dimensional pattern. Third subarea 67 is without any coupling stud. All subareas 66 67 68 have different heights h1 6100, h2 6101 and h3 6102 respectively. The space between side walls 64 extending downwardly also has three subareas 6103 6104 6105 each of which are at height h4 6106, h5 6107 and h6 6108 respectively. Only two subareas 6103 6105 have cavities 65. Building element where top face 62 and/or the space between side walls 64 extending downwardly is divided into subareas such as illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are within the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates top plan view 85 and side view 86 of a building element 80. The building element 80 comprises a top face 81, a plurality of side walls 83 extending downwardly from the top face 81, a plurality of coupling studs 82 which are arranged on the top face 81 and a plurality of cavities 84 positioned side walls 83 to receive the coupling stud 82 from other building elements in frictional engagement. FIG. 9 illustrates a top plan view of base plate 92 which is a union of two-dimensionally arranged standard cell areas 93. Building element 80 is frictionally engaged with base plate 92 in such a manner that the outer boundary of top plan view 89 of building element 80 is within the outer boundary of top plan view of base plate 92. Any Standard Cell Areas of base plate 92 which overlaps fully or partially with area that is bounded by outer boundary of top plan view 89 of the building element 80 is illustrated with shaded area 95 in FIG. 9. The union of shaded areas 99 in FIG. 9 is referred as Standard Dimension in this disclosure of the present invention. Building elements 11 61 80 according to prior art do not have color indicator on their external surface. Such color indicator can help blind person perceive the color of a building element easily. In case, color indicator is positioned on the external surface of any such building element 11 61 80, the top plan view of outer boundaries of such color indicator needs to remain within the Standard Dimension of the building element to allow this building element frictionally engage with other building elements in large number of manners.
An example of building element 101 contained in constructional building sets from MegaBlock® is illustrated in FIG. 10 to FIG. 14. FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are perspective views of the building element 101 from different angles. FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the building element 101. FIG. 13 is a bottom plan view of the building element 101. FIG. 14 is a side view of the building element 101. The building element 101 comprises a top face 102, a plurality of side walls 104 extending downwardly from the top face 102, a plurality of coupling studs 103 which are arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face 102 and a plurality of cavities 113 arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern between the side walls 104 to receive the coupling studs 103 from other building elements in frictional engagement. A cavity 113 is realized by guide ribs 112. Building element 101 has also inner wall 111 on which some of the guide ribs 112 forming cavities 113 are positioned. As illustrated in FIG. 12, d 105 is the minimum distance between centers of any two adjacent coupling studs 103 which are positioned on the same two-dimensional space. As illustrated in FIG. 13, d 105 is also the minimum distance between the centers of two adjacent cavities 113 which are positioned on the same two-dimensional space. Shaded area 106 in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 illustrates one Standard Cell Area for building element 101. In case of building element 101, Standard Dimension is same as the top face 102 of the building element 101. Such building element 101 according to prior art do not have color indicator on its external surface. In case, color indicator is positioned on the external surface of the building element 101, the top plan view of outer boundaries of such color indicator needs to remain within the Standard Dimension of the building element 101 to allow this building element 101 frictionally engage with other building elements in large number of manners.
FIG. 15 is perspective view of building elements 151 152 153 154 155 in frictional engagement. Each of building elements 151 152 153 154 155 have features of the building element 11 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Building element 155 has multiple cavities 23 and is able to frictionally engage with coupling studs 13 form multiple building elements 151 152 153 154. Multiple cavities 23 and feature of multiple coupling studs 13 of building elements 11 allow the flexibility of frictionally engaging with other building elements in large number of arrangements. Building elements 151 152 153 154 can be placed side by side, as the Standard Dimension of building element 11 is the same as the top plan view of the top face 12. These three features of building element 11 allow the flexibility of arranging building elements 11 in large number of manners. FIG. 16 is perspective view of building elements 161 162 163, each of which having features of building element 101 as illustrated in FIG. 10. Building element 163 has multiple cavities 113 and is able to frictionally engage with coupling studs 103 form multiple building elements 161 162. Multiple cavities 113, multiple coupling studs 103 and the feature of Standard Dimension of building element 101 being same as the top plan view of the top face 102, allow a building element frictionally engage with other building elements 101 in a large number of arrangements.
FIG. 17 to FIG. 20 illustrate building element 170 according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are perspective views from different angles for the building element 170. FIG. 19 is bottom plan view of the building element 170. FIG. 20 is top plan view of the building element 170. The building element 170 comprises a top face 171, a plurality of side walls 173 extending downwardly from the top face 171, a plurality of coupling studs 172 which are arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face 171 and a plurality of cavities arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern between the side walls 173 to receive the coupling studs 172 from other building elements in frictional engagement. Cavities of building element 184 are realized by guide ribs 182 and inner walls 181. Space between the side walls 173 also contains a support wall 183. The building element 170 has brown color side walls with a picture of a flower which has red petals 1712 and green leaves 1713. Color indicator 174 indicates the brown color of the building element 170. The building element 170 has a boundary 1710 in the form of a three-dimensional line. Boundary 1710 indicates the exact/approximate dimensions of the area whose color is represented by color indicator 174. A reference point 175 indicates the position of the color indicator 174. In this exemplary embodiment, broken line of the boundary 1710 indicates the position of the color indicator 174. The dimensions of red petals 1712 and green leaves 1713 are too small to accommodate the information of the color, in the form of a color indicator. Including color indicator in the surface area of red petals 1712 and green leaves 1713, may also spoil the outlook of the red petals 1712 and green leaves 1713. Building element 170 contains a color map 1714 to include the color information for petals 1712 and leaves 1713. The position of the color map 1714 is indicated by a reference point which is a large size square 1711 in the case of building element 170. In color map 1714, red petals 1712 are represented by a petal shaped symbol 176 and the red color is represented by spatially distributed squared shape three-dimensional structures 177. Similarly, green leaves 1713 are represented by leaves shaped symbol 178 and the green color is represented by spatially distributed squared shape three-dimensional structures 179. The top plan view of outer boundaries of building element 171 is within Standard Dimension of the element, which allows building element 170 frictionally engage with other building elements in a number of ways.
FIG. 21 to FIG. 24 illustrates building element 210 with large coupling studs according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are perspective views from different angles for the building element 210. FIG. 23 is bottom plan view of the building element 170. FIG. 24 is top plan view of the building element 210. Building element 210 comprises a top face 211, a plurality of side walls 213 extending downwardly from the top face 211, a plurality of coupling studs 212 which are arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face 211 and a plurality of cavities arranged in a two-dimensional periodic pattern between the side walls 213 to receive the coupling studs 212 from other building elements in frictional engagement. Cavities of building element 234 are realized by guide ribs 222. Space between the side walls 213 also contains a support wall 223. The building element 210 has brown color side walls with a picture of a flower which has red petals 2112 and green leaves 2113. Color indicator 214 indicates the brown color of the building element 210. Building element 210 has a boundary 2110 in the form of a three-dimensional line. Boundary 2110 indicates the exact/approximate dimensions of the area whose color is represented by color indicator 214. A reference point 215 indicates the position of the color indicator 214. In this exemplary embodiment, broken line of the boundary 2110 indicates the position of the color indicator 214. The dimensions of red petals 2112 and green leaves 2113 are too small to accommodate the information of the color, in the form of a color indicator. Including color indicator in the surface area of red petals 2112 and green leaves 2113, may also spoil the outlook of the red petals 2112 and green leaves 2113. Building element 210 contains a color map 2114 to include the color information for petals 2112 and leaves 2113. The position of the color map 2114 is indicated by a reference point which is a large size square 2111 in the case of building element 210. In color map 2114, red petals 2112 are represented by a petal shaped symbol 216 and the red color is represented by spatially distributed squared shape three-dimensional structures 217. Similarly, green leaves 2113 are represented by leaves shaped symbol 218 and the green color is represented by spatially distributed squared shape three-dimensional structures 219. The top plan view of outer boundaries of building element 210 is within Standard Dimension of the element, which allows building element 210 frictionally engage with other building elements in a number of ways.
The building set according to the present invention also includes a literature which includes the information of symbols and colors represented by the color of the building element. This literature can be used to learn about the color indicators. This literature can also include information about how different subareas of the building elements are represented in the color map 1714 2114.
It is to be understood that while the detailed description describes the present invention, the foregoing description is for illustrative purpose and does not limit the scope of the present invention which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Other embodiments, arrangements and equivalents will be evident to those skilled in the art. Such other embodiments, arrangements and equivalents are within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A building element for a constructional building set comprising:

a. a top face.

b. a plurality of side walls extending downwardly from the top face.

c. a plurality of coupling studs which are arranged in a two-dimensional periodical pattern on the top face

d. a plurality of cavities arranged in a two-dimensional periodical pattern between the side walls to receive the coupling studs in frictional engagement

e. at least one color indictor which is positioned on the external surface of the said building element and indicates the color of at least one surface area of the building element

2. A building element according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer boundaries of the top plan view of the said building element are within the standard dimension of the building element; wherein standard dimension of the said element is defined as outer boundaries of an area which is union of standard cell areas for all those coupling studs which are arranged in two-dimensional periodic pattern on the top face of a base plate and overlap fully or partially with area that is bounded by the outer boundary of top view of the said building element when the said building element is frictionally engaged with the said base plate and said base plate has a size larger than outer boundaries of top view of the said building element; also wherein a standard cell area of said coupling stud/cavity is a squared area with each side of size d where d is the minimum distance between centers of adjacent said coupling studs/cavities existing in the same two-dimensional plane.

3. A building element according to claim 1, wherein same color indicator is positioned on more than one side walls of the said building element.

4. A building element according to claim 1, wherein the color indicator is at least one Braille character.

5. A building element according to claim 1, wherein the color indicator represents a binary string.

6. A building element according to claim 1, wherein color indicator also represent the type or strength of a color.

7. A building element according to claim 1, wherein said multiple color indicators ae combined to represent a new color.

8. A building element according to claim 1, wherein top face area of the said building element is comprised of multiple subareas.

9. A building element according to claim 1, wherein the said cavities to accommodate said coupling studs are positioned in different subareas.

10. A building element according to claim 1, wherein said building element has boundaries to indicate the area that is represented by the said color indicator.

11. A building element according to claim 1, wherein it has a color map which includes the indictor of at least one subarea and its color information.

13. A building element according to claim 8, wherein a reference point is positioned on the external surface of the said building element and to facilitate locating position of the color indicator.

14. A construction building set containing at least one building element according to claim 1.

15. A construction building set according to claim 13, wherein said construction building set contains a literature which includes the information about different distribution of spatially raised points and what they represent.