Interlocking Components forming Arbitrary Solids with Complex Curvatures

Abstract

An improved design of interlocking components is disclosed. The components may be used to form arbitrary solid shells with complex curvatures, including, for example, three dimensional puzzle games.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A toy curved shell structure, comprising,
 a. a plurality of interlocking pieces, wherein a piece has an interior surface and an exterior surface that are separated by a boundary-surface, and   b. a first interlocking piece with a plurality of arms, and   c. a second interlocking piece with an arm; and,   d. the boundary-surface of each arm is located at the midpoint between a centerline of the arm and a centerline of the closest adjacent arm of the second interlocking piece; and   e. the boundary-surface of the arms are parallel to each other for sufficient length to achieve a stable interlocking connection.   
     
     
         2 . The toy shell structure of  claim 1 , wherein,
 a. the first interlocking piece and the second interlocking piece are reciprocally matable by slotted insertion along the axis of their arms.   
     
     
         3 . A toy shell structure of interlocking pieces, comprising,
 a. a plurality of interlocking pieces, wherein a piece has an interior surface and an exterior surface that are separated by a boundary-surface, and   b. a first interlocking piece with a plurality of arms, and   c. a second interlocking piece with an arm; and,   d. the boundary-surface of the arms are parallel to each other for sufficient length such that the force of friction between adjacent pieces is greater than the force of gravity pulling adjunct pieces apart, and   e. the first interlocking piece and the second interlocking piece are reciprocally matable by slotted insertion along the axis of their arms.   
     
     
         4 . A shell structure, comprising,
 a. a plurality of interlocking pieces, wherein a piece has an interior surface and an exterior surface that are separated by a boundary-surface, and   b. a first interlocking piece with a pair of parallel arms, and   c. a second interlocking piece with a pair of parallel arms; and,   d. the boundary-surface of each arm is located at the midpoint between an arm's centerline and the centerline of the closest adjacent arm of the second interlocking piece.   e. the first interlocking piece and the second interlocking piece are reciprocally matable by slotted insertion along the axis of their arms.   
     
     
         5 . A shell structure, comprising,
 a. a plurality of interlocking pieces, wherein a piece has an interior surface and an exterior surface that are separated by a boundary-surface, and   b. a first interlocking piece with one or more arms wherein, the arms have a centerline; and   c. a second interlocking piece with a one or more arms wherein, the arms have a centerline, and the boundary-surface of the arms is perpendicular to the exterior surface; and   d. the boundary-surface of each arm is a curve defined by the local midpoint between the arm's centerline and the centerline of the closest adjacent arm of an adjacent interlockable piece.   
     
     
         6 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the first interlocking piece and the second interlocking piece are reciprocally matable by slotted insertion along the axis of their arms.   
     
     
         7 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. The first interlocking piece has two or more arms,   b. The second interlocking piece has one or more arms,   c. A third interlocking piece has one or more arms, and   d. An arm on the second piece and an arm on the third piece are matable between a first arm and a second arm of the first piece; and   e. the boundary-surface of the arm on the third piece is a curve defined on one side by the local midpoints between a centerline of the arm of the third piece and the centerline of the adjacent arm of the second piece, and defined on the other side by the local midpoints between a centerline of the arm on the third piece and the centerline of an adjacent arm of the first piece.   
     
     
         8 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the first interlocking piece and the second interlocking piece are reciprocally matable by lateral insertion perpendicular to the axis of their arms.   
     
     
         9 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the exterior surface and the interior surface are separated by an offset distance, and   b. the offset distance is constant.   
     
     
         10 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the exterior surface and the interior surface are separated by an offset distance, and   b. the offset distance between the exterior surface and the interior surface is between ¼ inch and ½ inch.   
     
     
         11 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the exterior surface and the interior surface are separated by an offset distance, and   b. the offset distance between the exterior surface and the interior surface is between ⅕ and 1/100 of the structure's width.   
     
     
         12 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the exterior surface and the interior surface are separated by an offset distance, and   b. the offset distance is non-uniform and adjusted to establish a center of gravity above a surface-engaging support component.   
     
     
         13 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the exterior surface and the interior surface are separated by an offset distance, and   b. the offset distance is inversely proportional to the local curvature of the piece.   
     
     
         14 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the minimum thickness of a piece is constrained by a minimum bound necessary to achieve boundary-surface directionality.   
     
     
         15 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. a boundary-surface originates from a location where a piece intersects with at least two other pieces.   
     
     
         16 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the centerlines of adjoining pieces run parallel for at least the distance necessary to establish a surface area and curvature change of an adjoining edge surface to form a lockable inter-connection.   
     
     
         17 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the parallel directionality of the centerlines of two adjacent pieces overlaps for at least 0.4 inches.   
     
     
         18 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the minimum length of parallel directionality between adjacent centerlines is between one-fifth and one-one-hundredth of the length of the shell structure.   
     
     
         19 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. the minimum length of parallel directionality between adjacent centerlines is between one-half and one twentieth of the length of the piece.   
     
     
         20 . The shell structure of  claim 5 , wherein,
 a. each piece that is not an end piece is connectable to at least 3 other pieces.