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EP-4489612-B1 - BUILDING BLOCK

EP4489612B1EP 4489612 B1EP4489612 B1EP 4489612B1EP-4489612-B1

Inventors

  • DECOENE, Claire
  • PEETERS, IVAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230309

Claims (15)

  1. Building block (26), comprising a substantially hollow body with a closed upper face, one or more closed walls (27) projecting downward from said upper face, and an open lower face, wherein the closed upper face comprises a plurality of pins (1, 2, 3, 4) on the top side in a regular grid pattern, and wherein the bottom side of the upper face comprises a plurality of pins (38) in a regular grid pattern, and wherein the walls comprise wall pins (28) on the inwards facing side, said wall pins extending from the bottom side of the upper face along the walls, wherein said wall pins are part of the regular grid pattern defined by the plurality of pins on the bottom side of the upper face, preferably wherein the wall pins are shaped as a section of a pin on the bottom side, said section defined by a plane bisecting the pins parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pins, and more preferably said plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the pins; characterized in that the pins and the wall pins comprise at least one anchoring segment (5) along the longitudinal axis with a radius greater than a radius of an underlying segment (15) of the pins and wall pins respectively, and optionally a greater radius than a radius of an overlying segment (15) of the pins; wherein the pins are flexible, and preferably made up of a flexible material or by reducing the thickness of a rigid material to provide some flexibility, and wherein the anchoring segments of the wall pins are flexible, and preferably made up of a flexible material or by reducing the thickness of a rigid material to provide some flexibility; wherein the pins on the top side, and the pins and the wall pins on the bottom side are configured such that when the top side of the building block is pushed against the open lower face of an other of said building blocks, the pins of the top side of the building block and the pins of the bottom side and the wall pins of the other of said building blocks flex to allow at least one of the anchoring segments of the pins of the top side of the building block to move past the anchoring segments of at least three of the pins of the bottom side and of the wall pins of the other of said building blocks, to place the building block and the other of said building blocks in an attached state.
  2. Building block according to the preceding claim 1, wherein at rest, the pins on the top side are distanced from each other such that the anchoring segments of the pins of the top side at rest have a distance between them which defines a free space between the anchoring segments in the plane parallel to the upper face where a transverse cross-section of the anchoring segments of the pins and wall pins on the bottom side does not fit in, and wherein the underlying segments of the pins of the top side at rest define a space between the underlying segments in the plane parallel to the upper face where a transverse cross-section of the anchoring segments of the pins and the wall pins on the bottom side does fit in, in a way that when the top face of said block and the bottom face of an other of said blocks are pushed together facing each other with the anchoring segments of the pins on the top side of said block past the anchoring segments of the pins on the bottom side and the wall pins of the other of said blocks, the pins and wall pins hold each other clampingly.
  3. Building block according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 2, wherein at least one of the anchoring segments of each of the wall pins and at least one of the anchoring segments of each of the pins on the bottom side of the upper face are distanced from the open lower face over a distance higher than the distance over which the at least one anchoring segments of each of the pins on the top side of the upper face are distanced from said top side.
  4. Building block according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 3, wherein the bottom of the anchoring segment of the pins on the top side of the upper face is distanced from said upper face over a substantially equal distance as the bottom of the anchoring segments of the wall pins and the pins on the bottom side of the upper face are distanced from the open lower face.
  5. Building block according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the pins (3, 4, 38) and wall pins (28) comprises at least two anchoring segments (5), wherein the bottom of the most distal anchoring segment of the pins on the top side of the upper face is distanced from said upper face over a substantially equal distance as the bottom of the most proximal anchoring segments of the wall pins and the pins on the bottom side of the upper face are distanced from the open lower face.
  6. Building block according to the preceding claim 5, wherein the bottom of the most proximal anchoring segment of the pins on the top side of the upper face is distanced from said upper face over a substantially equal distance as the bottom of the most distal anchoring segments of the wall pins and the pins on the bottom side of the upper face are distanced from the open lower face.
  7. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the building block is substantially beam-shaped and comprises four closed walls (27) projecting downward from the upper face, said walls joining in four corner edges, wherein each of said edges is provided with a corner pin comprising at least one anchoring segment (5) being flexible, preferably made up of a flexible material, said corner pin being configured to allow at least one of the anchoring segments of the pins of the top side of the building block to move past the anchoring segments of at least three of the pins of the bottom side and of the wall pins of the other of said building blocks; preferably wherein the corner pins are shaped as a section of a pin on the bottom side, said section defined by a first plane bisecting the pin parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pins and a second plane bisecting the pin parallel to the longitudinal axis and perpendicular to said first plane, and more preferably said first and second planes comprising the longitudinal axis of the pins.
  8. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the pins on the top side of the upper face are positioned in a first orientation relative to the axes of the grid pattern of the pins on the top side, and the pins on the bottom side and the wall pins are positioned in a second orientation relative to the axes of the grid pattern of the second carrier, wherein the first orientation is rotated approximately 45° in relation to the second orientation.
  9. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the pins have a square transverse cross-section along the longitudinal axis thereof.
  10. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the anchoring segments have a radius of at least 10% greater than the radius of the other segments, preferably at least 20%, preferably at least 25%, at least 30% even further preferably.
  11. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the pins have a maximum diameter of 5.0 mm, preferably 4.0 mm, preferably 3.0 mm, with a further preference of 2.75 mm.
  12. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 11, according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pins have a minimum diameter of 1.5 mm, preferably 1.75 mm, preferably 2.0 mm, with even further preferably 2.2 mm.
  13. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the pins on the top side are a first group of pins and the pins on the bottom side and the wall pins, and optionally the corner pins, are a second group of pins, wherein the pins and wall pins have a square transverse cross-section along the longitudinal axis, and wherein the sides of the square transverse cross-section of the first or second group of pins are either parallel to the axes of the grid pattern for said group of pins, and the sides of the square transverse cross-section of respectively the second or first group of pins form an angle of approximately 45° to the axes of the grid pattern for said group of pins.
  14. Building block according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the interaxial distances between neighboring pins of the top side and the interaxial distances between neighboring pins and/or wall pins of the bottom side are substantially equal.
  15. Building block, according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 14, wherein the anchoring elements comprise at least one, preferably 2, 3, 4 or more, barb-shaped elements at the bottom of said anchoring elements, preferably at the corners.

Description

INTRODUCTION The present invention concerns a building block. STATE OF THE ART The so-called hook and loop fasteners are the most well-known quick closures, which intend to connect two components. The generic trademark Velcro (tm) often refers to these hook and loop fasteners because of the brand's prominence. Hook and loop fasteners consist of two components: typically, two linear fabric strips (or, alternatively, round "dots" or squares) that are attached (sewn or otherwise sutured) to the facing surfaces to be attached. The first part is provided with small brackets; the second has smaller loops. When the two are pressed together, the hooks get stuck in the loops, and the two click elements are temporarily fastened or bound. When separated, the strips make a characteristic tearing sound by pulling the two surfaces apart or peeling them off. Mr. George De Mestral invented the original technique of hook and loop fastener. He applied for a patent CH295638A in 1951 with Velcro SA as the applicant. This hook and loop technique has some specific advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that it is quite efficient and is now a well-known technique. It is also washable, which allows to keep it hygienic for a longer time. However, there is also a range of drawbacks to it. It is expensive to make, over time, it loses its effect, and it tends to accumulate hair, dust, and fur in the hooks after a few months of regular use. The loops can become elongated or broken after prolonged use. The hooks are often attached to garments, especially loosely woven items such as sweaters. These clothes can be damaged when one tries to remove the hook and loop fastener, even if the sides are slowly separated. It also absorbs moisture and perspiration when worn on the skin, which means it will smell if not washed. In addition to Velcro's original hook and loop fastener, there are also some variations on the market. The Slidingly Engaging Fastener is designed to address various issues with common hook and loop fasteners. Heavy-duty variants have mushroom-shaped stems on each plane of the clasp, which give an audible click when the two planes fit together. In addition, a strong pressure-sensitive adhesive adheres each part to its substrate. Document US 2011/206872 A1 discloses a building block according to the preamble of claim 1. Other disclosures, such as US6050873 and US5657516 describe concepts of similar building blocks, which however do not fulfill the requirements in terms of easy removal, while ensuring strong retention. SUMMARY The present invention and versions thereof offer a solution to one or more of the disadvantages mentioned earlier. To this end, the present invention relates to building blocks as described in the claims and further below. The present invention relates in a first aspect to a building block, typically used in a set of multiple of said building blocks, comprising a substantially hollow body with a closed upper face, one or more closed walls projecting downward from said upper face, and an open lower face, wherein the closed upper face comprises a plurality of pins on the top side in a regular grid pattern, and wherein the bottom side of the upper face comprises a plurality of pins in a regular grid pattern. The walls comprise wall pins on the inwards facing side, said wall pins extending from the bottom side of the upper face along the walls, wherein said wall pins are part of the regular grid pattern defined by the plurality of pins on the bottom side of the upper face, preferably wherein the wall pins are shaped as a section of a pin on the bottom side, said section defined by a plane bisecting the pins parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pins, and more preferably said plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the pins. The pins and the wall pins comprise at least one anchoring segment along the longitudinal axis with a radius greater than a radius of an underlying segment of the pins and wall pins respectively, and optionally a greater radius than a radius of an overlying segment of the pins. The pins are flexible, for instance made up of a flexible material or by reducing the thickness of a rigid material to provide some flexibility, and the anchoring segments of the wall pins are flexible, for instance made up of a flexible material (or by reducing the thickness of a rigid material to provide some flexibility. The pins on the top side, and the pins and the wall pins on the bottom side are configured such that when the top side of the building block is pushed against the open lower face of an other of said building blocks, the pins of the top side of the building block and the pins of the bottom side and the wall pins of the other of said building blocks flex to allow at least one of the anchoring segments of the pins of the top side of the building block to move past the anchoring segments of at least three of the pins of the bottom side and of the wall pins of the other of said building