Technical Field The present invention relates to a wooden block set for a modular model block toy having a predetermined shape, in which coupling members of a plastic material are coupled with wooden blocks, to thereby reinforce coupling and fixing forces between blocks and easily assemble and disassemble the blocks, and which is harmless to a human body.

Background Art

Among toys, modular block toys enable players to assemble blocks having a respective concavo-convex form by the shape, the size, and the type, in various shapes and forms. The modular block toys are being widely used as playing instruments influencing the brain development of children. In order to design the characteristics and functions of the modular block toys, the manufacturing designs, molding structures, fabrication techniques of the modular block toys are important technology factors, which are being considerably developed by the manufacturers of the modular block toys. Particularly, in order to assemble and disassemble the modular block toys with the action of the proper power, in view of the modular block toys, the coupling structures between the respective blocks are very important.

Therefore, in the case of the conventional modular block toys, most of them are made of plastic materials so that the coupling structures are not only easily formed but also easily assembled and disassembled between blocks, and the shapes of the blocks are easily fabricated. However, since the infants or children may take the blocks in their mouths, the modular block toys of the plastic materials using plasticizer contained PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) materials in which carcinogenic materials are contained, may cause the infants or children to be exposed to considerable risks. In addition, the block toys made of strong poisonous chemicals may aggravate the environmental pollution very unsuitably.

In order to replace the modular block toy of the plastic material, wooden blocks are proposed. The wooden blocks have the good texture, excellent visual effect, esthetics or soft feeling. The wooden blocks do not also create the environmental contamination, and harmless to the human body.

However, in the case of the general wooden blocks, since it is not so easy to contract and relax, that is, bend and extend the wood blocks in view of the material characteristics, they are fabricated to have a predetermined shape constituting a spatial plane without having a coupling structure between the other wooden blocks. Thus, the modular block toy model using the wooden blocks is formed by simply stacking the respective wooden blocks into a predetermined shape. The coupling force or fixing force between the respective blocks becomes weak, to thus cause the completed

modular block toy model to be easily collapsed or deformed.

Moreover, the conventional modular block toys using the wooden blocks cannot be fabricated into more precise modular block toys due to the coupling structures between the above-described wooden blocks. Accordingly, only the simple and plain wooden blocks are commercialized. As a result, the conventional modular block toys using the wooden blocks do not make a big contribution for the interest induction or intelligence development of the infants or the children as well as the sales increase of the manufacturing or selling company.

Disclosure of the Invention

To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wooden block set for a modular model block toy having a predetermined shape, in which coupling members are coupled with wooden blocks, to thereby reinforce coupling and fixing forces between blocks and easily assemble and disassemble the blocks, and which is harmless to a human body, and to thereby enable anyone to fabricate a modular block toy model using wooden blocks .

Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide a wooden block set for a modular model block toy, in which coupling members of a plastic material are coupled with wooden blocks, and including upper and lower coupling structures so that

respective blocks can be fixed and coupled during lamination of the blocks, respectively, to thereby reinforce coupling and fixing forces between blocks.

Moreover, it is still another object of the present invention to provide a wooden block set for a modular model block toy, in which coupling members are coupled with the inner portions of wooden blocks so that the sizes and shapes of the respective blocks are not changed.

Moreover, it is yet another object of the present invention to provide a wooden block set for a modular model block toy, having the good texture, excellent visual effect, esthetics or soft feeling, in which wooden blocks do not also create the environmental contamination, and are harmless to the human body, and can be fabricated into various kinds of shapes and sizes. To accomplish the above object of the present invention, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wooden block set for a modular model block toy having a predetermined shape, in which a block is used for a modular model block toy which is assembled into a predetermined pattern and which is laminated over another block having a predetermined shape, the wooden block set comprising: a block body having at least one throughhole which penetrates between the upper and lower surfaces of the block; at least one insertion member which is inserted into the block body through the throughhole at the upper surface of the block body;

and at least one fixing member which is safely fitted into the body through the throughhole at the lower surface of the block body and then coupled with the insertion member, to thereby fix the blocks.

Preferably, the throughhole of the block body comprises: a safely seating hole forming a stepped projection having a predetermined width on the inner circumference which penetrates downwards, and supports the insertion member; an insertion hole which is formed on the inner circumference extended in the safely seating hole in the vertical direction; and a coupling hole which is formed into the inner circumference in which the diameter of the coupling hole is extended on the bottom side of the insertion hole by a predetermined interval and the fixing member is accommodated inserted from the bottom side the insertion hole .

Preferably, the insertion member comprises: an upper insertion portion which is inserted and fixed to the inner circumference of the fixing member; a protruding portion forming a predetermined flange on the bottom side of the upper insertion portion and is supported by the safely seating hole; and a lower insertion portion which is extended to the bottom side of the protruding portion and inserted and jointed on the inner circumference of the fixing member.

Preferably, the upper insertion portion comprises: a conical leading end which is formed of a predetermined diameter and is formed of a conical shape since the diameter of the upper insertion portion is increased when the upper insertion portion is extended downwards; an insertion cutout groove which is incised and formed by a predetermined width from the conical leading end to the upper surface of the protruding portion and is contracted at the time of being inserted into the inner circumference of the fixing member; and a plurality of fixed protrusions protruded on the outer circumference between the conical leading end and the protruding portion.

Preferably, the lower insertion portion comprises: a coupling protrusion which is protruded having a regular length on the bottom side of the outer circumference which is extended to the bottom side of the protruding portion; and at least one coupling cutout groove which is incised at a predetermined portion on the outer circumference from the protruding portion to the end, and is contracted at the time of being inserted into the inner circumference of the fixing member.

Preferably, the fixing member is penetrated at a predetermined portion radially, and thus comprises a protruding coupling groove with which the coupling protrusion is coupled from the inner side to the outer side.

Preferably, the block comprises the upper and lower surfaces which are formed of flat surfaces, in which at least one of the front and rear and left and right surfaces is formed of at least one of curves surfaces, or inclined surfaces and the cross-section.

Preferably, the block comprises at least one block body which is combined with at least one insertion member and at least one fixing member.

Preferably, the block is made of a wooden material and the insertion member and the fixing member are made of plastic materials .

Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an insertion member for use in the wooden block according to the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention, in which two insertion members are coupled with a block body, and two fixing members are illustrated in dotted lines;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention, in which two insertion members are coupled with a block body, and two fixing members are not illustrated;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are perspective views showing a wooden block according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively, in which a fixing member or fixing members are illustrated or not; FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are perspective views showing a wooden block according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively, in which a fixing member or fixing members are illustrated or not; and

FIG. 6 shows a front view and a side view of a modular block toy using wooden blocks according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Hereinbelow, a wooden block set according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention, and FIG.2 is a perspective view showing an insertion member for use in the wooden block according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a wooden block 1 according to the present invention includes a block body 20 which is made of a wooden material and has at least one throughhole which penetrates the upper and lower surfaces at at least one predetermined portion, and at least one insertion member 10 which is inserted into the throughhole at the upper side of the block body 20, and made of a thermosetting

resin of plastic materials, and at least one fixing member 30 which is accommodated in the lower side of the block body 20 in the block 1 and coupled with the insertion member 10, and made of a thermosetting resin of plastic materials. Here, the insertion member 10 includes an upper insertion portion 11 which is inserted into the fixing member 30 in another block 1 which is stacked over the block 1, and made of the thermosetting resin of plastic materials, a protruding portion 12 which is protruded having a predetermined width at a predetermined portion which is extended downwards from the upper insertion portion 11, and a lower insertion portion 13 which is extended to the bottom side of the protruding portion 12 and inserted and jointed on the upper side of the fixing member 30.

Referring to FIG. 2, the upper insertion portion 11 in the insertion member 10 of the block 1 according to the present invention includes a conical leading end 111, an insertion cutout groove 112, and a plurality of fixed protrusions 113.

The conical leading end 111 is formed of a conical shape so that the insertion member 10 is easily inserted into the inner side of the fixing member 30 included in the other block 1 at the upper side of the block 1,

The insertion cutout groove 112 is incised and formed at a predetermined portion having a predetermined width from the conical leading end 111 to the protruding portion 12 and both sides of the outer circumference of the incised portion are pushed into the

incised portion, at the time of being inserted into the inner side of the fixing member 30, to thus reduce the diameter of the upper insertion portion 11 so that the insertion member 20 can be easily inserted into the throughhole formed in the block body 20. After the insertion member 10 has been inserted into the block body 20, the insertion cutout groove 112 strengthens the coupling force while pressurizing the inner surface of the fixing member 30 with the elastic force of the insertion member 20.

The plurality of fixed protrusions 113 are protruded on the outer circumference between the conical leading end 111 and the protruding portion 12, and closely contacts the inner circumference of the fixing member 30, to thus reinforce of the fixing force and preventing rotation and secession.

Moreover, the lower insertion portion 13 includes a coupling protrusion 131 and at least one coupling cutout groove 132.

The coupling protrusion 131 is extended to the bottom side of the protruding portion 12, is spaced from the outer circumference thereof and is radially protruded, to thus be coupled with a protrusion coupling groove 31 in the fixing member 30. The at least one coupling cutout groove 132 is incised at a predetermined portion from the outer circumference of the lower insertion portion 13 to the end, and is contracted at the time of being inserted into the upper side of the fixing member 30, so that the lower insertion portion 13 can be easily inserted to the fixing member 30. After the lower insertion portionl 3 has been inserted

into the fixing member 30, the coupling cutout groove 132 strengthens the coupling force between the lower insertion portion 13 and the fixing member 30 while pressurizing the outer surface of the fixing member 30 with the elastic force of the insertion member 20.

Moreover, the block body 20 is made of a wooden material, and includes at least one throughhole which penetrates the upper and lower surfaces of the block body 20 and through which the lower insertion portion 13 is inserted. The throughhole includes a safely seating hole 21 which penetrates downwards in a predetermined depth, and in which the protruding portion 12 is safely seated, an insertion hole 22 whose diameter is reduced via a stepped projection in the safely seating hole 21, and a coupling hole 23 whose diameter is enlarged in the insertion hole 22, and which penetrates the lower surface of the block body 20 in which the fixing member 30 is accommodated.

The fixing member 30 is a hollow cylinder having a diameter which can be accommodated in the inner diameter of the coupling hole 23, and includes a plurality of protrusion coupling grooves 31 into and with which the coupling protrusion 131 is inserted and coupled, respectively in the upper of the outer circumference thereof, from the inner side to the outer side thereof.

Here, since the coupling protrusion 131 is inclined so as to advance to the upper side from the outer circumference of the lower insertion portion 13, it is not possible for the fixing member 30

to secede when the coupling protrusion 131 is coupled with the protrusion coupling groove 31 in the fixing member 30, to accordingly prevent the insertion member 10 from seceding from the block body of the fixing member 30. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention, in which two insertion members are coupled with a block body, and two fixing members are illustrated in dotted lines, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a wooden block according to the present invention, in which two insertion members are coupled with a block body, and two fixing members are not illustrated.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, in the case of the block 1 according to the present invention, the block body 20 has at least one throughhole which penetrates the upper and lower surfaces of the block 1. The insertion member 10 is inserted into the throughhole from the upper side of the block body 20, and the fixing member 30 is inserted into the throughhole from the lower side of the block body 20.

Therefore, the lower insertion portion 13 is located in the coupling hole 23 through the safely seating hole 21 and the insertion hole 22, and the protruding portion 12 adheres closely to the seating hole 21 to thereby support the upper insertion portion 11 and the lower insertion portion 13 to the block body 20.

Moreover, the fixing member 30 is inserted into the coupling hole 23 on the bottom side of the block body 20. Here, the lower

insertion portion 13 is converged at its end portion by the coupling cutout groove 132, and is inserted into the inner side of the fixing member 30. In this case, coupling protrusion 131 formed on the outer circumference of the lower insertion portion 13 is inserted into the protrusion coupling groove 31 in the fixing member 30 from the inner side to the outer side. As a result, the fixing member 30 is coupled with the lower insertion portion 13.

Moreover, a plurality of blocks 1 are laminated or connected, to then be completed into a modular block toy. Referring to FIG. 6, when a plurality of blocks 1 are laminated, the upper insertion portion 11 protruded in the upper side of the lower block 1 is inserted into the inner side of the fixing member 30 of the upper block 1 stacked over the lower block 1. Here, the conical leading end 111 whose end is slim and whose diameter enlarged up to a predetermined portion which is extended downwards. Accordingly, the conical leading end 111 can accurately aim at the inner side of the fixing member 30 which is the target to be inserted and can be easily inserted into the fixing member 30. Moreover, if the conical leading end 111 is inserted into the inner side of the fixing member 30, deeper and deeper, the insertion cutout groove 112 is pushed out to the space side which has been cut while both the circumference surfaces in the incised space is pressurized by the inner circumference of the fixing member 30, and thus the space is contracted. Therefore, the upper insertion portion 11 can be inserted into the fixing member 30 even though there is a difference

from a diameter of the fixing member 30 according to the insertion cutout groove 112 is contracted. After the upper insertion portion 11 has been completely inserted into the fixing member 30, the conical leading end 111 is pressurized in the direction of the insertion cutout groove 112 and the pushed outer circumference thereof pressurizes the inner circumference of the fixing member 30 by the elasticity. Moreover, a plurality of fixing protrusions 113 closely contact the inner circumference of the fixing member 30, the fixing member 30 at the upper side and the upper insertion portion 11 at the lower side are mutually fixed to thereby prevent rotation or secession between the insertion member 10 and the fixing member 30.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are perspective views showing a wooden block according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively, in which a fixing member or fixing members are illustrated or not.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a block 1 for use in assembling a modular block toy according to the present invention includes a plurality of insertion members 10 and a plurality of fixing members 30, and a block body 20, according to the horizontal length of the block body. The modular block toy has a predetermined height and size according to the shape thereof. Therefore, in order to assemble the modular block toys of a respectively different shape, the lengths and heights of the toy along the lateral and longitudinal directions thereof should be provided in various forms, according

to a predetermined ratio between the lengths and heights of the toy.

That is, at least one type of the insertion member 10, the fixing member 30, and the block body 20 are provided in variously different lengths . FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are perspective views showing a wooden block according to still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively, in which a fixing member or fixing members are illustrated or not.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the wooden block 1 according to the present invention includes the upper and lower surfaces of a respectively flat surface. As shown in FIG. 5A, the front and rear surfaces and the left and right surfaces can be formed of a curved surface, respectively. As shown in FIG. 5B, the left and right side surfaces are formed of a respectively inclined surface. Accordingly, the lengths of the front surface and the rear surface are different from each other. Thus, since the block 1 having the respectively different length and shape can be provided in the present invention, the modular block toy of the respectively different shape can be provided. FIG. 6 shows a front view and a side view of a modular block toy using wooden blocks according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the wooden block 1 according to the present invention includes the insertion member 10 and the fixing member 30 which are made of a thermosetting resin such as a plastic material. Accordingly, the wooden blocks 1 can be assembled and

disassembled therebetween, to thereby enable players to assemble a modular block toy such as a house. Here, the block 1 forms the wall part of the modular block toy, in which the blocks 1 are connected or laminated according to the length of the block 1 and the number of the insertion member 10 and the fixing member 30.

In this way, a predetermined modular block toy is assembled using the wooden blocks according to the present invention. In this case, only the portions of the block bodies can be viewed externally, with a feeling of the favorable external appearance and excellent esthetics. The blocks are maintained at the firm coupling state by the strong coupling between the insertion member and the fixing member which are made of plastic materials.

As described above, the coupling members such as the insertion members and the fixing members both of which are made of plastic materials are combined with the wooden blocks according to the present invention. Accordingly, the wooden blocks can be assembled and disassembled therebetween using the coupling members such as the insertion members and the fixing members. Accordingly, the modular block toys of various and precise shapes can be fabricated beyond the conventional simple shape. As a result, the present invention has an effect of satisfying various desires of consumers, to thereby provide a considerably large effect of increasing sales.

Moreover, the coupling members such as the insertion members and the fixing members both of which are made of plastic materials

are combined with the wooden blocks according to the present invention, the present invention provides an effect of fabricating wooden blocks of circular and rhombus shapes as well as the square or rectangular blocks. Moreover, according to the present invention, the conical leading end and the insertion cutout groove are formed on the upper insertion portion protruded on the upper surface of the block. Accordingly, the lower block can be simply coupled with the upper block stacked over the lower block. In addition, the fixing protrusion is formed on the outer circumference of the upper insertion portion which is inserted into the upper block, and closely contacts the inner circumference of the upper block, to thereby increase the coupling force between the blocks and prevent rotation or secession between the blocks. Moreover, according to the present invention, the wooden blocks can be coupled and fixed therebetween, to thereby provide a good texture, an excellent visual effect including esthetics, and a harmlessness to the human body. Accordingly, the wooden blocks can be played by the adults as well as the infants and the kids. Thus, the present invention can contribute to the popularization of the modular block toy using the wooden blocks.

As described above, the present invention has been described with respect to particularly preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it is possible for one who has an ordinary skill in the art to make

various modifications and variations, without departing off the spirit of the present invention. Thus, the protective scope of the present invention is not defined within the detailed description thereof but is defined by the claims to be described later and the technical spirit of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides a wooden block set for a modular model block toy having a predetermined shape, in which coupling members of a plastic material are coupled with wooden blocks, to thereby reinforce coupling and fixing forces between blocks and easily assemble and disassemble the blocks, and which is harmless to a human body.