Molecular modeling system including multiple pi-bond exclusionary features

摘要

A molecular modeling kit provides a system for molecular modeling that represents exclusion between resonance structures in a molecule and permits their rotation, providing an informative tool for describing resonance in a classroom or other learning environment. The kit includes atom modeling components and bond connector components that are connected together to form models of molecules. The atom modeling components or the bond connector components include a mechanical exclusion feature that prevents simultaneous connection of two bond connector components to represent two pi-bonds formed with a single atom in a single plane.

主权项

1. A system for modeling a structure of a molecule, the system comprising:
a plurality of atom-modeling components, wherein the atom-modeling components include bond-connector attachment features arranged in a bond-connector attachment plane of a body of the atom-modeling components and connecting features for forming connections between atom-modeling components in a direction extending out of the bond-connector attachment plane to represent a single atom; and a plurality of bond-connector components for connecting the bond-connector attachment features of the atom-modeling components in various configurations, wherein the bond-connector attachment features are disposed at a first set of directions within the bond-connector attachment plane for a first type of the atom-modeling components used to attach first ones of the bond-connector components providing sigma-bond representations, and wherein the bond-connector attachment features are disposed at a second set of directions within the bond-connector attachment plane for a second type of the atom-modeling components used to attach second ones of the bond-connector components providing pi-bond representations, wherein the first set of directions differ from the second set of directions to provide a mechanical exclusion feature that prevents simultaneous connection of two of the bond-connector components between a first pair of the atom-modeling components connected via the connecting features of the first pair of the atom-modeling components to represent a first atom and a second pair of the atom-modeling components connected via the connecting features of the second pair of the atom-modeling components to represent a second atom, while permitting simultaneous connection of two of the bond-connector components between the first pair of the atom-modeling components and a third pair of the atom-modeling components connected via the connecting features of the third pair of the atom-modeling components to represent a third atom.