Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a rail element, which is adapted to be interconnected to a second rail element to form a toy railway and which comprises a con- necting means to render said interconnection possible.

Background Art

Rail elements of the above type are often made of wood and can be used to build toy railways on a floor in the form of closed loops, around which it is possible to run trains with engines and carriages, intended for the purpose. The wheels of the trains then run in, usual¬ ly milled, grooves in the upper surface of the rail ele¬ ments. For connecting means use is made of pins and recesses, which are formed to allow the pins to fit into the recesses. The rail elements can be straight and curved.

Such rail elements are suitable for many preschool children, but children under three often do not manage to build closed loops of such rail elements since this requires some preparation and planning in advance when using straight and curved rail elements which are rigid. It may therefore be difficult for young preschool chil¬ dren to use rail elements of the above-mentioned type.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the invention is therefore to provide a rail element of the above-mentioned type, which makes it easy for young preschool children to play with toy rail- ways.

This object is achieved by a rail element according to claim 1.

The rail element then consists of a ramp element with a base plane, said ramp element having a ramp sur-

face which rises obliquely upwards from the base plane towards the connecting means . Moreover the ramp element has first and second border parts, which are located on opposite sides of the ramp surface and comprise first and second border surfaces, respectively, which rise from the ramp surface and are oriented towards the same, the distance between the first and second border surfaces decreasing towards the connecting means .

Such a rail element renders it easy for a small child to play with toy railways since with such a rail element it is no longer necessary to build closed loops of rail elements to allow easy running of the train on a track. The child can then build open, meandering loops and sometimes run the train on the base, a table or a floor, and sometimes on the track. The ramp shape of the rail element and the guiding border surfaces make it easy to run the train from the base and onto the track without the train being derailed or the engine and carriages being disconnected. The border surfaces can be curved around the normal of the base plane so as to curve in towards the ramp sur¬ face. This has been found to provide a suitable guiding effect which reduces the risk of derailing and disconnec¬ tion. The ramp surface can, next to the connecting means, form bottom surfaces of a first and a second groove. This results in a smooth transition between ramp surface and grooves.

The border surfaces can, next to the connecting means, be divided into upper and lower partial surfaces, the upper partial surfaces being located at a greater distance from the centre line of the rail element than the lower partial surfaces. This results in a suitable guiding effect while at the same time also the engine and carriages, which have their greatest widths above their wheel level, can easily be run through the rail element.

The ramp surface can be curved around an axis per¬ pendicular to the centre line and parallel to the base plane in such a manner that it curves out from the base plane and next to the connecting means is substantially parallel to the base plane. This makes it possible to avoid sharp angles in the travelling direction of a train.

The rail element can be made in one piece from injection-moulded plastic. Alternatively it can be made of wood.

Brief Description of the Figures

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a rail element accord¬ ing to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of a rail element.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section along line B-B in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a rail element according to an embodiment of an invention, which is connected to a conventional rail element.

Fig. β is a top plan view of a male variant of a rail element according to an embodiment of the invention.

Description of a Preferred Embodiment

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a rail element 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The rail element 1 is adapted to be interconnected to a second rail element and therefore has a connecting means in the form of a recess 2 which is adapted to cooperate with a pin on the second rail element. Therefore the rail ele¬ ment shown in Fig. 1 can be said to be a female type.

As shown in Fig. 6, the connecting can means instead consist of a pin 2' and the rail element 1' can then be said to be a male type. The rail element 1' in Fig. 6

can, as to the rest, essentially correspond to the one in Fig. 1.

Referring once more to Fig. 1, the rail element 1 here shown consists of a ramp element, which with a base plane is adapted to lie on a floor or a table where the toy railway is to be built. Therefore the rail element has a ramp surface 3, which rises obliquely from the base plane, towards the connecting means 2. Along a cen¬ tre line 4 on the rail element 1, the distance between the base plane and the ramp surface thus increases sub¬ stantially continuously from a lower edge 5 of the ramp surface 3 to the area around the recess 2.

When the rail element 1 is connected to other rail elements, which are of a conventional type, to form a track, it is therefore possible to run a train with engine and carriages from the base (floor or table), on which the track is laid out, and onto the track, without the carriages coming loose from the engine or from each other. This is the case even if the carriages and the engine are connected to each other only by relatively weak magnets. The train is then run in a direction of travel which coincides with the centre line 4, from the lower edge 5 and onto the track. Of course, it is also possible to run the train in the opposite direction from the track and down onto the base. The rail element may, but need not, be symmetrical with respect to the centre line 4. The centre line intersects the centre of the con¬ necting means 2, perpendicular to the end face where the rail element is adapted to be connected. The ramp surface 3 can at its lower edge 5 reach down all the way to the base plane and thus to the base. However, there may be arranged a terminal edge which is substantially perpendicular to the base plane and pro¬ jects 1-2 mm from the base plane. This may be advanta- geous since the lower edge 5 will then be less sharp. Engine and carriage wheels usually have such diameters that the step at the terminal edge does not cause a prob-

lem. The wheels will unimpededly climb over the step. The rail element 1 may comprise grooves 6, 7 at the upper end of the ramp surface 3 (adjacent to the recess 2) . The bottoms of the grooves 6, 7 may coincide with the ramp surface 3.

For the purpose of additionally facilitating the child's playing with the train, the rail element 1 has a first border part 8 and a second border part 9, which are located on opposite sides of the ramp surface 3, for instance as illustrated symmetrically relative to the centre line 4. The first border part 8 has a first border surface 10. The second border part 9 has a second border surface 11. The first and second border surfaces 10, 11 project from the ramp surface 3 and are oriented inwards to the same. They may, but need not, be perpendicular to the base plane. The distance (perpendicular to the centre line 4) between the first and second border surfaces 10, 11 decreases essentially continuously towards the con¬ necting means 2. This provides a funnel effect, which directs the train to the grooves and helps the playing child to avoid derailing. The width of the lower edge 5 of the ramp surface 3 thus is significantly greater than the width of the grooves 6, 7.

It has been found advantageous to let the border surfaces 10, 11 be curved around an axis vertical to the base plane (normal of the base plane) in such a manner that they curve in towards the ramp surface 3. This pro¬ vides a smooth transition to the guiding of the grooves 6, 7, which means that derailing and disconnection of the train can be prevented. The height of the border surfaces 10, 11 above the ramp surface 3 can, along the entire ramp surface, exceed the depth of the grooves 6, 7. This results in reliable guiding.

The border surfaces 10, 11 can next to the recess 2 be divided into upper 10', 11' and lower 10", 11" partial surfaces. The upper partial surfaces are then positioned

at a greater distance from the centre line 4 than the lower partial surfaces.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Fig. 1. It is evident that the lower partial surfaces 10", 11" form the outer walls of the grooves 6, 7. The bottom surfaces of the grooves 6, 1 form with their lower 10", 11" and upper 10', 11' partial surfaces, respective¬ ly, a stepped shape in cross-section. The greater dis¬ tance of the upper partial surfaces 10', 11' from the centre line 4 makes it possible for engine and carriages, which have their greatest widths above the wheel level, to be run through the rail element.

Fig. 3 is an end view of a rail element, seen in the travelling direction of the train when running from the base and onto the track. As will be seen, the profile of the grooves 6, 7 at the end surface of the connecting means 2 may correspond to that of a conventional rail element. However, it is possible to exclude, at this end, the inner walls of the grooves and thus let the grooves 6, 7 have a common bottom surface. The rail element base plane, which is adapted to lie on the base, is designated b in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section along line B-B in Fig. 3. The section is taken through a groove 6 of the rail element 1. As shown, the ramp surface 3 can be curv¬ ed about an axis which is perpendicular to the centre line 4 in such a manner that the ramp surface curves upwards relative to the base plane. As a result, the ramp surface can adjacent to the connecting means 2 be sub- stantially parallel to the base plane, so that the tran¬ sition to a connected conventional rail element will be smooth and the risk of disconnection will be minimised.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a rail element 1 according to an embodiment of the invention, which is connected to a conventional rail element 12. The rail element 1 can be made in one piece from injection-moulded plastic, for instance ABS plastic. Alternatively the rail

element can be made of wood, for instance beech wood. The shape shown above can then be milled from a massive piece of wood with a flat bottom surface.

The invention is not limited to the shown embodi- ment and may be varied within the scope of the appended claims.