US 2022/0042299 A1Published application

Pixel block

OwnerJonathan Hendrik Van Eeinventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

The Pixel Block builds a wide range of useful constructions such as tables, chairs, and houses, with the modularity in three-dimensional space to make a universe of objects with a versatility similar to that of a pixel on a computer screen. It has a basic cylindrical shape that is as long as it is wide and deep to occupy a basic cube space. It is a versatile and useful geometric building block comprised of snaps, screws, nobs, magnetic forces, and combinations of these interfaces to assemble into constructions comprised of multiple copies of the Invention. On one end of the cylinder is a protruding screw that is also a hook and a snap, that can fit into itself and into each of five other sides of the cylinder. Once assembled into a shape, the Invention can be locked in place with spheres or with cylinders inside the Invention.

Claims3

Dependent claims

A block system comprising

blocks with a series of compact interfaces that enable them to assemble and disassemble with a wide range of rigidities, strengths, and materials properties that include both rigid and flexible materials;
in which blocks assemble and disassemble in three-dimensional space to build objects and structures with the same versatility that alphabets write words and stories;
where the blocks, to achieve compact efficient dimensions with versatile building properties, have shafts that are for knobs, poles, spheres, hooks and snaps for both rigid and flexible objects;
where the blocks have a basic cylindrical shape that occupy an equilateral cube space because they are as long as they are round so that they can insert and rotate in three-dimensional space in a modular and elegant manner;
where the basic cylindrical shape of the blocks has one protruding side on one end of the cylinder that is comprised of a knob, hook, screw and snap, that can be inserted into itself (it is reversible) and that also inserts into five other cavities in the cylinder such that the one protruding part and five equilateral cube spaces on the cylinder correspond to the six basic sides of an equilateral cube to enable fully modular construction in three dimensions;
where the diameter of the protruding side and of the cavities is one half the diameter of the cylinder itself so that cylinder blocks that are one half the size of each other can also fit into the cavities and enable structures to be built with exponentially larger and smaller pieces in the same structure with an ease of design and ease of manual or robotic control that is not possible otherwise;
where the blocks have a versatile design that makes construction projects more efficient because much larger cylinders can accomplish the tasks of smaller poles while also having cavities that are one-eighth the diameter of the cylinder into which cylinders that are one fourth the diameter of the cylinder can insert their protruding hook, screw, snap and knob;
where the basic cube cylindrical shape can be built in longer pieces that are extended cylinder poles for greater strength and stability;
where the blocks remain functional with one feature, or a subset, of other features so that this feature can interface with pieces that have more limited functionality or so that it can interface with pieces that have lost part of their functionality such that a block could lose its screw, snap and hook functionality but continue to be used as a cylinder only.

6 more elements

A set of shapes comprising

basic mathematically defined cylinders with female and male interfaces assemble in three dimensional cube spaces to be building blocks for artificial intelligence and other computational tools to calculate the optimal configuration to assemble the cubes to maximize construction strength, construction strength, cost-effectiveness of building materials, cost-effectiveness of assembly in a particular environment for constructions serving a particular purpose for communities that includes walls, homes, tables, chairs, sidewalks, floors and similar objects;
that represent modular objects that assemble in three-dimensional cube spaces made of hard objects, soft objects, flexible objects, magnetic objects and virtual objects with mathematically defined strengths, tolerances, variances, endurance and breaking points under mechanical, thermal, chemical and ultraviolet stresses;
that interface with each other in mathematically defined shapes and interfaces that include sticks, nails, knobs, hooks, gears, snaps, screws, latches, magnets, kawai tsugite, bearings and hinges;
where the shapes bear standard mathematical relationships towards each other and, in addition to assembling further to those standard interfaces, are locked and reinforced with poles or sphere shapes with specific standard mathematically defined dimensions to enable virtual and physical constructions;
that break down the reality comprised of structures useful for human habitation, commercial properties, government properties, educational properties, research institution structures and exploratory mission structures, comprising houses, chairs, tables, walkways, bookshelves, desks, drawers, doors, fences, walls, floating pontoons, boats, rafts, sticks, poles, panels, windows and window shutters into pieces of mathematical puzzles that solve for the most efficient or practical way to build communities or parts of communities;
whose optimal solutions can be calculated to enable construction, refurbishment, reconstruction, remodel, changes to and extensions to, those properties by adult humans, children, robots, or a combination thereof to build homes and household items useful for communities in all environments that humans currently live in or are capable of living in or of having useful structures in, like urban or rural areas, in remote isolated areas, in orbits or on intergalactic trajectories, on other planets like Mars;
so that flexible and updatable solutions to the most efficient, or speedy, or sustainable, or cost-effective way to build structures and objects can be calculated, built, updated, changed and edited without the need to get lumber, tools, materials, non-renewable plastics, metals or other matter that fills landfills, or other matter from a hardware store that is ordinarily necessary for building, re-building, refurbishing, remodeling, altering, converting or otherwise changing, maintaining or upgrading those properties, objects, structures or shapes.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/305,448Filed 7 Jul 2021
Priority: 6 Aug 2020
Published: 10 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

E04B 1/34331
Characterised by separable parts: mainly constituted by three-dimensional elements
F16S 5/00
Constructional elements in general: other constructional members not restricted to an application
F16B 21/04
Releasable fastening devices locking by rotation: with bayonet catch
E04B
General building constructions