Brick maker systems and methods

Abstract

A toy brick maker and associated methods makes a compound brick having a body shaped as a rectangular prism with a first texture on a bottom surface of the compound brick and a second texture on a top surface of the compound brick. The brick maker includes a base portion, a cutter portion, and a plunder portion. The base portion has a flat surface for flattening a malleable compound into a slab of uniform thickness and has a first imprint surface for imprinting the first texture. The cutter portion is configured for cutting a quantity of compound from the slab and to form sides of the compound brick. The plunger portion has a second imprint surface to compress the quantity of compound within the cutter portion against the first imprint surface to form the sides, first texture, and second texture of the compound brick.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A toy brick maker for making a compound brick having a body shaped as a rectangular prism with a first texture on a bottom surface of the compound brick and a second texture on a top surface of the compound brick, the toy brick maker comprising:
 a base portion configured with a flat surface for flattening a malleable compound into a slab of uniform thickness and configured with a first imprint surface for imprinting the first texture;   a cutter portion configured for cutting a quantity of compound from the slab and for forming sides of the compound brick; and   a plunger portion configured with a second imprint surface to compress the quantity of compound within the cutter portion and against the first imprint surface to form the sides, first texture, and second texture of the compound brick.   
     
     
         2 . The toy brick maker of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two legs configured on the base portion to position the flat surface parallel to an external flat surface supporting the malleable compound, the legs supporting the flat surface above the external flat surface at a height corresponding to the uniform thickness. 
     
     
         3 . The toy brick maker of  claim 1 , the base portion having a rim around the first imprint surface for receiving a cutting end of the cutter portion. 
     
     
         4 . A toy brick maker system for making a compound brick having a body shaped as a rectangular prism with protrusions on a first surface and recesses on a second surface opposite the first surface, the protrusions and the recesses being sized and shaped to mate with those of similar bricks, the brick maker system comprising:
 a cutter formed as a rectangular tube with a handle end and a cutting end, the cutting end having a rectangular internal section with a shape and size equal to the shape and size of the first surface of the compound brick, a distance between the handle end and the cutting end being greater than a distance between the first surface and the second surface of the compound brick;   a base, separate from the cutter, formed with a plate having at least two legs extending from a first flat surface of the plate, a height of each of the at least two legs from the first flat surface being equal to a distance between the first surface and the second surface of the compound brick, and a perimeter formed on a second flat surface of the plate, opposite the first flat surface, and having (a) a shape and size to receive the cutting end of the cutter and (b) a plurality of protrusions, corresponding to the recesses on the second surface of the compound brick, formed on the second flat surface within the perimeter; and   a plunger, separate from the base and the cutter, formed with a handle end and an operational end with a surface facing away from the handle end, the surface having a shape and size equal to the shape and size of the first surface and having a plurality of recesses shaped and sized to match the protrusions.   
     
     
         5 . The brick maker system of  claim 4 , the height of the at least two legs and the rectangular internal section defining a volume equal to the volume of the compound used to make the brick. 
     
     
         6 . The brick maker system of  claim 4 , the base being usable to form a compound layer having a thickness equal to the distance between the first surface and the second surface of the compound brick. 
     
     
         7 . The brick maker system of  claim 6 , the cutter being operable to cut, from the compound layer, a compound plug having a volume equal to a volume of compound in the compound brick. 
     
     
         8 . The brick maker system of  claim 7 , the plunger, the cutter, and the base being collectively operable to form the compound brick from the compound plug. 
     
     
         9 . The brick maker system of  claim 7 , the internal surface of the cutting end of the cutter being configured to prevent the compound plug from falling out when the cutter is lifted. 
     
     
         10 . A method for using a brick maker that has a base, a cutter and a plunger to make a brick from a compound, comprising:
 using the base to form a quantity of the compound into a compound layer of uniform thickness;   using the cutter to cut a compound shape from the compound layer, the compound shape remaining within the cutter;   positioning the cutter and the compound shape remaining therein into a top recess of the base;   inserting the plunger into a top orifice of the cutter while the cutter is positioned in the top recess of the base;   applying a force to the plunger in the direction of the base to form the compound brick, the force imprinting an upper surface shape of the top recess into a bottom surface of the compound shape and imprinting a lower surface shape of the plunger onto an upper surface of the compound shape;   separating the base from the compound brick, the cutter and the plunger; and   pressing the plunger further into the cutter to eject the compound brick from the cutter.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , the step of using the base comprising forcing the base, positioned parallel to a flat surface, down onto the quantity of compound positioned on the flat surface until the legs of the base touch the flat surface. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , the compound being a deformable, semi-rigid, non-compressible matter that retains its shape at room temperature. 
     
     
         13 . A toy brick maker for improving use of a malleable compound as a toy that can be molded and shaped by a child, the toy brick maker allowing the child to easily form consistently shaped and sized bricks from the malleable compound that can be used to build a project easier that using the malleable compound that is not formed as universally shaped and sized bricks. 
     
     
         14 . The toy brick maker of  claim 13 , comprising a base for forming the malleable compound into a layer of predefined thickness. 
     
     
         15 . The toy brick maker of  claim 14 , comprising a cutter for cutting a consistent quantity of malleable compound from the layer. 
     
     
         16 . The toy brick maker of  claim 14 , comprising a plunger with an imprinted end that cooperates with the cutter and the base to form the brick from the consistent quantity of malleable compound. 
     
     
         17 . The toy brick maker of  claim 13 , the project being further malleable after being constructed from the bricks.