US 7162836 B2
A kit for building a structure which includes a plurality of panels (28, 30), each panel having at least one respective peripheral formation (34) and a plurality of fasteners (10); each fastener having at least two clip formations (12, 14), and wherein the clip formations of a fastener are respectively engageable with the peripheral formations of two of the panels which are positioned adjacent each other, to secure the panels together.
1. A kit for building a structure which includes a plurality of panels,
wherein each panel is made from flexible sheet material having at least one respective peripheral formation which is formed by an inflatable section of the sheet material and a plurality of fasteners to secure the panels together,
wherein each panel includes a region of flexible sheet material and an inflatable tubular section of sheet material which extends around the region to form a continuous peripheral formation of the panel,
wherein each fastener includes a body which is made from a resiliently deformable plastics material and which is formed with two arcuate sections which respectively define clip formations, and
wherein the clip formations of a fastener are respectively engageable with the peripheral formations of two of the panels which are positioned adjacent each other, to secure the panels together.
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This invention relates generally to a temporary structure and to a kit for erecting or building a structure of this type. Although it is envisaged that the structure will be used mainly by children for building light-weight shelters, enclosures, or the like it is possible to make use of the principles of the invention in erecting more substantial structures for example to provide a shelter or shield against weather elements such as the sun, rain and wind. The kit can also be used for educational and motivational purposes by providing elements which can be assembled in imaginative, innovative ways to erect mazes and constructions of different shapes and sizes.
The invention provides a kit for building a structure which includes a plurality of panels, each panel having at least one respective peripheral formation and a plurality of fasteners, each fastener having at least two clip formations, and wherein the clip formations of a fastener are respectively engageable with the peripheral formations of two of the panels which are positioned adjacent each other, to secure the panels together.
Each panel may be made from a sheet material which preferably is flexible.
The peripheral formation of a panel may be formed by an inflatable section of the sheet material.
The inflatable section of a panel is preferably tubular and extends continuously along the periphery of the panel around an enclosed region of the sheet material.
The enclosed region, which may be a flat portion of the sheet material, may extend from the inflatable tubular section at any desired position eg. from a central position, substantially tangentially from the tubular section, or from any other desired position.
The clip formations of each respective fastener are preferably resiliently deformable.
In one embodiment, each fastener includes a bridging piece and the clip formations are opposing arcuate sections at respective ends of the bridging piece.
In a different embodiment, each fastener includes two arcuate sections which respectively form the clip formations, and each section is engageable with a respective peripheral formation of a panel.
Each arcuate section may extend along a substantial portion of a circular path through an angle in excess of 180°, and preferably through an angle of the order of 240°.
The arcuate sections may extend from a central region, at which the arcuate sections are connected to each other, which lies on a straight line which passes diametrically through the arcuate sections. Preferably the central region is substantially linear, ie. is not curved.
A mouth through which an inflated tubular section can be inserted into a clip formation may be defined between an end of the central region and an end of a respective arcuate section. The mouth may extend in an angular sense through about 120°.
The invention also extends to a panel for use in the aforementioned kit which includes a region of flexible sheet material and an inflatable tubular section of sheet material which extends around the region to form a continuous peripheral formation of the panel.
The panel may be square, rectangular or triangular in outline, or have any other suitable shape.
The invention also provides a fastener for use in the aforementioned kit which includes a body which is made from a resiliently deformable plastics material and which is formed with two arcuate sections which respectively define the clip formations. The fastener may be constructed in accordance with the aforementioned principles.
The invention is further described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Each arcuate section is substantially C-shaped and has rounded ends 18. Each C-shaped section follows a circular path and extends through an angle 20 of approximately 240°.
The fastener 10 is made, eg. integrally moulded, from a suitable resiliently deformable plastics material such as polypropylene.
The central region 16 is linear, ie. not curved, and lies on a straight line 22 which passes diametrically through the arcuate sections 12 and 14.
A mouth 24 is defined between an end 26 of the central region and an end 18 of a respective arcuate section. The mouth extends in an angular sense through an angle which is slightly less than 120°.
Each panel is made from a flexible plastics sheet material. The panel 28 includes an enclosed region 32 of sheet material which is bounded by an inflatable tubular section 34 which forms a peripheral formation around the panel. The section 34 is formed from the same material as the region 32 and is defined by welding overlapping portions of the sheet material to one another. A valve 36 which is of a kind known in the art is welded to the sheet material of the peripheral formation at a suitable location. The valve 36 could be of a type which can be used for inflating or deflating a tubular section 34, according to requirement. Alternatively two valves (not shown) could be used: one for inflating, and one for deflating, the tubular section when required.
The panel 30 has a construction similar to that of the panel 28 and for this reason is not further described herein.
Important aspects in this regard are the size of the mouth 24 (in an angular sense) and the fact that the central region 16 is relatively short and linear. It has been found that it can be difficult to connect two tubular sections to a fastener 10 if the central region 16 is extended in an arcuate sense along the circular paths which define the sections 12 and 14 respectively. As the kit of the invention is intended to be used, at least, by children the ease of connecting the panels to, and disconnecting the panels from the fastener is an important factor.
As is shown in
A plurality of panels of different shapes and sizes can be interconnected to one another, substantially in the manner described, using a plurality of fasteners 10.
The panels 28 and 30 are two panels in a plurality of panels which are carefully chosen in sizes and shapes, to make up a kit. The panels are designed so that they can be secured to one another, according to requirement, to make up a structure of any practical shape and size. If desired the structure can have walls and a horizontal or inclined roof. The enclosed regions 32 of the various panels can be formed from opaque or transparent plastics materials, according to requirement. Thus a portion of a region 32 of a selected panel could, for example, include a transparent section 44 or a section which can be opened to define a window opening. As is shown in
Although the central region 16 which joins the arcuate sections 12 and 14 together may be rigid it is possible to form this region with a hinge line or a line of weakness using techniques which are known in the art. This enables one arcuate section 12 to be pivoted about the region 16 relatively to the other section 14. For example the region 16 can be formed as a thin pliable coupling component 16A and the remainder of the material of the section 16 is eliminated—see the inset drawing to
It is clear from a consideration of the constructions shown in
A plurality of panels of the kind described are provided, in deflated form, together with a plurality of fasteners 10 to make up a building kit. At the time of usage the user inflates the tubular sections of selected panels. When the tubular peripheral formations are inflated the panels take up their desired shapes and sizes. The panels can then be connected to one another. The panels are readily disassembled and can be deflated for storage or transport purposes.
It is envisaged that the building kit of the invention will be used particularly by children to make structures, shelters and the like. The panels are lightweight and safe to use and the likelihood of a child being injured when using the panels is remote. Obviously the panels do not possess sufficient strength to render them load-bearing.
Another application which falls within the scope of the invention is to make use of a building kit of the kind described to erect a shelter for example as a wind or sun shelter. This type of structure can be used, for example, on the beach in place of a beach umbrella.
The panels can in fact be connected to one another in an arbitrary configuration or shape. A number of panels may be coupled to one another to form a maze or a tunnel-type structure and panels can be positioned adjacent a wall so that a shelter or enclosure is provided by a surface of the wall in combination with the panels.
The use of the kit of the invention is not confined to educational or play devices for children. It is possible, for example, to make use of the kit of the invention to provide an easy to erect display assembly which can carry advertising, signage, logos or the like for example for use at an exhibition or demonstration, whether indoors or outdoors.
The panels and clips can be made to any appropriate size so that structures which are made from the kit can also be of an appropriate size.