US3650065A

US3650065A - Doll capable of playing a game with a child

Info

Publication number: US3650065A
Application number: US44065A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank T Johmann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-06-08
Filing date: 1970-06-08
Publication date: 1972-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-21

Abstract

This invention relates to a doll driven by a motor, preferably battery operated, which may move its hands through a number of different positions. The doll may include a sound-reproducing unit and may also move her mouth so as to appear to talk. The doll may also move her head or eyes. Dolls of the invention can be made in varying degrees of complexity to include all or part of any of the preceding activities. Dolls of the invention can be made which can actively participate with a child in playing games such as ''''Patty-cake,'''' ''''Simon says,'''' or other similar games involving movement of arms and hands.

Description

United States Patent Johmann 51 Mar. 21, 1972 [54] DOLL CAPABLE OF PLAYING A GAME WITH A CHILD Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay Assistant Examiner-D. 1.. Weinhold ABSTRACT This invention relates to a doll driven by a motor, preferably battery operated, which may move its hands through a number of different positions. The doll may include a sound-reproducing unit and may also move her mouth so as to appear to talk. The doll may also move her head or eyes. Dolls of the invention can be made in varying degrees of complexity to include all or part of any of the preceding activities. Dolls of the invention can be made which can actively participate with a child in playing games such as Patty-cake," Simon says," or other similar games involving movement of arms and hands.

8 Claims, 21 Drawing Figures PATENTEUMARZI I972 3 650,065

SHEET 3 0F 8 Q INVENTOR PATENTEUHARZ] I972 SHEET [1F 8 INVEN TOR QMMTW PATENTEDMARZ] 1972 3,650,065

sum 6 or 8 INVENTOR PATENTEUMARZI I972 3,650,065

SHEET 7 BF 8 FIG. l8

.INVENTOR PATENTEnmzl I972 3,650,065

SPFET 8 OF 8 FIG. [9

are

I20" FIG.2|

. INVENTOR iMQ DOLL CAPABLE OF PLAYING A GAME WITH A CHILD SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides dolls which may automatically move their hands through various positions and which may take an active part in common children's games such as Patty-Cake, Simon Says, or 'similar games. Patty Cake, or Pat-A-Cake, is a well-known game played by young children whereby the participants, who are facing one another, generally move their hands through a sequence of movements, usually involving clapping their own hands together, clapping their hands against the hands of the other participant, etc. Usually one party leads (here'the dollcan'be the leader) and the child follows, trying to duplicate the leader's movements. Simon Says" is a similar type of game where the leader (e.g., the doll) goes through various movements which the child duplicates. There are a number of variations of these games and there appears to be no set rules for their playing. The present invention provides dolls which can move its hands through a series of positions applicable to playing games of the aforesaid types, which the child can then duplicate in the manner of playing Patty Cake, or Simon Says," etc., whereupon the doll serves as an active playmate playing these games with the child.

The dolls of the invention are preferably operated by a battery-operated electric motor, and are set into motion by the child operating a switch, e.g., a conventional off-on switch, a conventional sound-operated electrical switch, etc. During the cycle of operations which follows, the dolls hand, or hands, are moved through the desired motions. In its more elaborate form, a sound recording may play, and the dolls mouth may move to give the impression of the doll speaking or singing words appropriate to the dolls movements. The dolls head and eyes may also move to give a more lifelike appearance.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the drawings and the following description which includes a preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away and in section, showing the dolls right side as she sits in playing position to play Patty Cake.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken along the line 2-2 of F IG. 1, further illustrating the off-on switch.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front view of the upper part of the doll of FIG. 1, in which the movement of the hands to a clapping position is shown by dotted lines.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top view of the right forearm, partly broken away and in section.

FIG. 5 is a back view, partly broken away in section, of the doll illustrating the internal mechanism of the doll.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional back view of the gear train shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional side view illustrating the cam-operated electrical switch.

FIG. 8 is a schematic electrical wiring diagram of the doll.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the head and eye construction, and wherein turning movement of the head to the right is indicated by dotted lines representing the dolls face.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary side view, partly broken away and in section, illustrating the cam mechanism used for turning the dolls head and further illustrating the system for moving the eyes and mouth.

FIG. 1] is a fragmentary, schematic-like side view of the lever and cam arrangement for moving the mouth and eyes.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tubular pivot connection between the torso and head showing the separation of the actuating cords, or strings, used to operate the eye and mouth mechanisms.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the end of an arm of the actuating lever of FIG. 11 prior to fastening an actuating cord.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating an alternative construction of the eyes for side-to-side movement about a vertical axis.

FIG. 15 is a side schematic-like view which illustrates in detail the gear, or cam, system used to move the arms and head of the doll.

FIG. 16 is a rear view, partly broken away and in section, of a modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 15 wherein the dolls arms are pivoted at the shoulders for back-and-forth sideways movement.

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary top view illustrating the left shoulder joint of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a side view illustrating the arm actuating cam system of the embodiment of FIGS. 16 and 17.

FIG. 19 is a rear sectional view of another modification of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 15.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary side view illustrating the cam system of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a simple schematic illustrating the wiring for the doll of FIGS. 19 and 20.

Reference is now made to the drawings in detail. FIG. 1 shows the right-hand side of a mechanical doll (the normal clothing is removed for clarity) having a head 10, and a torso 12 made up of the molded plastic split halves l4 and 16 which are fixed together, as by cementing, along line 18, sitting on a floor 20 with her legs 22 extending outwardly. Hand 24 is formed at the outer end of hollow forearm 26. Looking at FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, forearm 26 is fixed on the upper end of lever 28. The lower portion of lever 28, and the adjacent spur gear 30 are both fixed on shaft 32. Shaft 32 is rotatably supported by the elbow swivel member 34. Member 34 is rotatably mounted on shaft 36 between the annular flange 38 integral with shaft 36, and the crown gear 40, said gear 40 being fixed to the upper end of shaft 36. Shaft 36, in turn, is rotatably supported in the thickened wall section 42 of upper arm 44, with the integral annular flange 46 of said shaft 36 acting to maintain shaft 36 in position. Upper arm 44 defines the lips 48 which bear against and seat the upper annular rim of member 34. The endless bead chain 50 passes over sprocket wheel 52 at one end while its other end loops around sprocket portion 54 defined on the outer circumference of member 34 between the annular guide flanges 56. Rod 58, having one end loosely looped around headed pin 60 defined by wheel 62, has its other end passing loosely through arm 64 fixed to shaft 36 and retained by head 66. In order to faciliate assembly, upper arm 42 is preferably molded of rubber of plastic in split halves which are cemented together along line 68, as indicated in FIG. 4.

The left hand, left forearm and left upper arm are similarly formed and mounted and elements thereof are indicated by similar numbers.

Returning to FIG. 1, batteries 70, connected in series, are mounted in a conventional style of battery holder 72 molded integrally with the rear torso half section 16. A removable cover plate 74 fits in a complementary opening in the dolls back and is frictionally held in place. Cover plate 74 has an outwardly projecting tab 76 to serve as a handle for its removal to allow the change of batteries 70. Electrical leads 78 and 80 extend from the battery holder 72 in a conventional manner. The batteries 70 operate electrical motor 82, having leads 84 and 86 (see FIG. 5), mounted in a conventional manner on a channel-shaped frame 88, the bottom of said frame being attached by screws to plastic bosses 90 integral with and extending inwardly from front torso section 14. A simple off-on first switch indicated generally at S, (FIGS. 1 and 2), includes the operating lever 92 projecting through slot 94 formed in the dolls back, and pivotally mounted on pin 96 fixed in the small tab or wall 98 molded integrally with torso rear half 16. Rivets 100, fix

electrical leads

102 and 104 to wall 98. The metal strip 106, fixed to the plastic nonconducting lever 92, always engages either one or both of rivets to frictionally hold lever 92 in place until it is manually moved to a different setting. Strip 106 simultaneously contacts both rivets 100 to close the circuit to turn on motor 82 when lever 92 is in a central position. Pivoting lever 92 until it contacts an end of slot 94 will break the circuit by disengaging strip 106 from contact with one of said rivets 100 to turn off said motor 82. A second switch, S which is a conventional sound-actuated switch, e.g., actuated by a loud noise or by a voice, may be provided at any convenient location in the doll and is shown fixed to the inner side of the back (see FIGS. 1 and 3). A series of perforations 108 in the dolls back can be provided to aid in allowing sound to reach sound-actuated switch S Switch S is connected to the rest of the circuit through leads 1 and 112.

Looking at FIGS. 5 and 6, the gear system includes the small spur gear 114 fixed on the rotatable shaft 116 of the motor 82, which meshingly engages and turns gear 118 which is loosely mounted on shaft 120. Gear 118, in turn, drives gear 122 which is loosely mounted on shaft 124. Gear 122 drives gear 126 fixed to shaft 120.

Gears

118, 122 and 126 represent a gear train which reduces the high speed of the motor gear 114 to the slow, strong rotation of gear 126 and shaft 120 fixed to said gear 126.

Shafts

120 and 124 are carried by shaft-supporting

walls

128 and 130 which are each molded integral with an extend inwardly from torso front half section 14. Similar, but opposing, shaft-supporting walls are integral with and extend inwardly from torso back half section 16 as illustrated by walls 130 and 130' of FIG. 7. These shaft-supporting walls are formed with appropriate recesses for loose reception of

shafts

120 and 124 so when the two

torso halves

14 and 16 are cemented together along line 18 as previously described, said similar shaft-supporting walls abut thereby enclosing and supporting

shafts

120 and 124, while allowing said shafts to rotate.

Returning to FIG. 5, cam or

gear wheels

132 and 134 are integral with gear 126 (note FIG. 6) and accordingly are also fixed to shaft 120. Cam wheel 136 is also fixed to the shaft 120. Left arm actuating cam wheel 134 operates left arm cam follower 138 fixed on the hollow shaft or sleeve 140 while the right arm actuating cam wheel 136 operates right arm cam follower 142 fixed on the hollow shaft or sleeve 144. Each of the two relatively strong cam return tension spring 146 has one end formed in a loop lying in a complementary recess in the thickened wall portion 148, which loop is disposed around a boss 150 integral with a projecting upwardly from front torso half 14 (see FIG. 7) into a complementaryrecess in rear torso half 16. The other end of said springs 146 are looped through apertures proximate the ends of

cam followers

138 and 144. A third relatively strong shaft-return, tension spring 147 is similarly held between torso halves l4 and 16 and lever 148 fixed to shaft 124. Wheels 52 are fixed on

sleeves

140 and 144. Fixed to shaft 124, at its ends, are wheels 62 which keep the

sleeves

140 and 144 from sliding off shaft 124 on which said sleeves are loosely supported. Sleeve 144 has annular flange 150

adjacent walls

130 and 130 at one end, while its other end is adjacent wheel 62. Sleeve 140 has one end adjacent wheel 62, while its other end can abut the cam follower 152 fixed to shaft 124. In this way,

sleeves

140 and 144 are rotatable relative to shaft 124, yet are held from transversely shifting relative to said shaft 124. At the same time, annular washers 154 fixed to shaft 124 and disposed on either side of the wall 128 maintain shaft 124 from shifting transversely. Similarly, washers 156 and 158 fixed on shaft 120 maintain said shaft from slipping transversely.

Electrical cam switch 5:, includes the cam 160 whose integral collar 162 is fixed on shaft 120 and is conjointly rotatable therewith. Cam 160 has an annular rim 164 (see FIG. 7), a portion of which is raised at 166. The resilient metal cam follower 168, fixed proximate one end to wall 130 by rivets 170, has a flexible free end which is springlike and moves either into electrical-conducting contact with the metal terminal strip 172, also fixed by rivets 170 to wall 130, or away from said contact as it presses against and follows the surface of cam annular rim 164. Electrical lead 174 extends from movable terminal or cam follower 168, while electrical lead 176 extends from fixed terminal 172.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 10, fixed on shaft 120 is the head moving cam 176 engaging the cam follower lever 178 which is loosely pivoted on shaft 124. A coil compression spring 180 (see FIG. 10), seated in tubular member 182 molded integrally with front torso halve l4, bears against the underside of lever 178 thus maintaining lever 178 in contact with cam 176. The inner end of the tubular member 182 is slotted to thereby form ears 184, disposed on each side of lever 178, which acts as guides to maintain said lever 178 in alignment. Proximate the upper end of lever 178 is formed a slot 186 through which loosely projects cylindrical am 188 extending outwardly from tubular pivot member 190. The upper end of member 1Q0 is fixed within the rigid plastic disk 192 which is inserted into and fixed within the slightly flexible hollow head 10. The annular flange 194, integral with pivot member 190, bears against the underside of the neck portion 196, while washer 198 acts as a spacer between neck portion 196 and disk 192, thereby permitting head 10 to easily rotate with pivot member 190.

Returning to FIG. 5, lever 200 is fixed on shaft 124. Lever 200 is connected to mouth-actuating string 202 and eye-actuating strings 204, all of which strings extend through tubular pivot member upwardly into head 10.

FIG. 12, which is an enlarged cross-sectional view of tubular pivot member 190, shows how it can be formed with an axially extending divider 206 to thereby aid in preventing tanglin g of

strings

202 and 204. Referring again to FIGS. 5 and 10, the upper end of mouth-actuating string 202 is attached to lever 208 which is pivotally supported on pin 210 carried by the uprights 212 molded integrally with the neck disk 192. Coil compression spring 214, seated around boss 216 integral with neck disk 192, bears against the under side of lever 208 and urges said lever 208 to a normal position wherein the movable lower lip portion 218, fixed to the outer end of lever 208, appears in a mouth-closed position as illustrated in FIG. 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 9, and 10, the eye-actuating strings 204 have their upper ends attached to eyelets 220 of eyeballs 222. Eyeballs 222 have pins 224 extending horizontally into apertures in tubular shells 226 whereby said eyeballs are pivotally mounted. Relatively weak coil tension springs 228, having one end attached to eyelets of tubular bases 230 and their other end attached to eyelets 232, maintain said eyes 222 normally opened as shown in the drawings. However, it will be apparent that pulling strings 204 downward will cause eyeballs 222 to pivot around their pins 224 against the pressure of their springs 228, to thereby bring the upper portions 234 of said eyeballs into the childs view. Since portions 234 are painted to resemble eyelids, the doll thus appears to the child to have closed her eyes. Release of tension on strings 204 will enable the eyeballs 222 to return to their normal open position, as shown in the drawings, under the action of their springs 228. While the eyes of FIGS. 9 and 10 move up and down so as to blink, the eyes can be readily mounted for a sideways movement. This mounting for sideways movement is illustrated by the showing of a left eyeball in FIG. 14, where eyeball 222' is pivotally mounted on tubular shell 226 by means of pins 224' for a sideways movement against the action of spring 228 as string 204 is pulled and released.

FIG. 11 illustrates the manner in which strings 202 and 204 are pulled and released to move the lip 218 and eyes 222. Specifically, strings 202 and 204 are attached to the

lever arms

236 and 238 respectively, of lever 200. Then, as the gear or cam wheel 132 rotates, each of its pairs of circumferentially spaced cam teeth 240 will come into contact with gear 152, which is fixed on shaft 124 and serves as a cam follower, to thereby partly rotate said gear 152 and the shaft 124 against the bias of the relatively strong, helical tension spring 147 (see FIG. 5). This will rotate lever 208, and its

integral arms

236 and 238, in a counterclockwise direction, when looking at FIG. 11, whereby tension on string 202 is lessened and tension on string 204 is increased. As tension on string 202 is lessened, the inner portion of lip lever 208 moves upwardly under the bias of spring 214, thereby pivoting lever lip 208 downwardly whereupon the doll appears to open her mouth. At the same time, string 204 is pulled downwardly which causes eyes 222 to pivot about pins 224 to cause the doll to close her eyes 222 in the manner previously described. Now as cam wheel 132 rotates further, the pair of teeth 240 engaging gear 152 pass out of engagement with teeth of gear 152, whereupon shaft 124 is pulled back to its original position by contraction of spring 147. As this happens, lever 208 also returns to its original position, whereupon string 204 is pulled upwardly by eyeball springs 228, which also returns eyeballs 222 to their original eye-opened position. Also, string 202 is pulled down to return the lower lip 218 to its mouth-closed position.

FIG. 13 shows how a lever arm made of deformable metal such as arm 236 can be initially formed with a slot 242 and aperture 244 to aid in the affixing 'of a string such as 202. Thus, string 202 is passed through slot 242 into aperture 244 and then the end of said arm 216 is crimped to close up said slot 242 and fix the end of string 202 within said aperture 244. This technique can be used throughout the invention where it is necessary to fix strings to other elements.

The sound-reproducing unit is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5. Here, the tone arm 246, carrying the phonograph needle 248 proximate one end, is pivotally mounted on headed pin 250 fixed in tone arm support member 252. Said support member 252 is formed with integral pin portion 254 fixed in the bore of tubular boss 256 molded integral with and extending inwardly from torso front half 14. Intermediate the ends of the tone arm 246 is formed the integral arcuate arm 258 which contacts the cylindrical contact member 260 which is in sliding contact with the apex portion of speaker cone 262 which defines the inwardly turned tubular portion 264. Coil compression spring 266, seated on cylindrical boss 268 formed integral with torso half 14, bears against the annular flange of said member 260 thereby urging member 260 and correspondingly tone arm 246 inwardly so as to urge needle 248 into contact with phonograph record 270. The aforesaid speaker cone 262 is made of a thin, fairly rigid plastic or paper material and is formed with annular flange 272 cemented to the front torso half 14, which in turn, is formed with a series of perforations 274 in front of said cone 262 to aid the passage of sound from cone 262. The phonograph record 270, having a single continuous groove, is fixed on disk 276, rotatable mounted on shaft 278 defined by cylindrical boss 280 integral with and extending inwardly from front torso halve 12. Said disk 276 and record 270 fixed thereto, are thus rotatable on shaft 278 while held between snap ring 282 fixed to shaft 278, and shoulder 286. Record 270 is rotated by endless pulley cord 288 which frictionally fits in an annular groove defined in disk 276. Pulley cord 288 passes between the fixed guides 290 molded integrally with front torso halve 14, onto pulley 292 fixed on motor shaft 116. The tone arm return, includes a flexible cord 294, e.g., a string, having one end fixed to tone arm 246 and the other end fixed to tone arm return lever 296 fixed on shaft 298 which is journaled within suitable apertures formed by abutment of

walls

130 and 130 proximate one end and the

torso members

14 and 16 at the other end. Shaft 298 is formed with integral annular flanges 300 which straddle abutting walls 130130' to prevent said shaft 298- from shifting longitudinally. A weak spring 302, has one end seated within a trans-- verse aperture in lever arm 296, its middle portion loosely coiled about shaft 298, and its other end seated in a suitable complementary groove between abutting torso halves 14 and 16.

The operation of the doll will now be described. Considering the schematic wiring diagram of FIG. 8, the cycle is started by the child closing the main off-on switch 8 Then, the child talking or singing close to the doll will close the voice or sound-actuated switch 8,. Current will then flow from batteries 70 through

leads

78 and 84, motor 82, leads 86 and 102, through main switch 5,, through

leads

104 and 110 to voice switch S then through

leads

112 and 84 back to batteries 70 to thereby complete the circuit. As motor 82 turns in response to said current flow, it rotates the gear train 1 l4, 1 18, 122 and 126 which reduces the high speed of the motor 82 to a relatively slow, but strong, rotationof gear 126, e.g., gear 126 will now rotate one revolution in say about 10 to 60 seconds, preferably about 20 to 40 seconds, e.g., about the length of time one would normally spend in going through the series of Patty Cake motions which will be later described. As gear 126 rotates, shaft 120 to which it is fixed also rotates, which in turn rotates cam 160 of the cam switch S As cam 160 rotates, flexible contact strip 168 moves off the raised portion 166 of said cam into contact with terminal strip 172 so that current can now flow from batteries 70 through the

circuit

78, 84, 82, 86, 102,

S

104, 174, 168, 172, 176 and 84 back to batteries 70. At this point, the operation of motor 82 is no longer dependent on the sound switch S As gear 126 slowly rotates, it also begins to operate the arm actuating cam system.

Consider the cam operation of the arms which will be further understood by reference to FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and particularly FIG. 15. As shaft 120 rotates, it in turn rotates theleft and right arm actuating

cam gear wheels

134 and 136 respectively. Right-hand cam wheel 136 (FIG. 15) has a plurality of teeth sets 304, a set being two or more adjacent gear teeth. Specifically two sets consist of four teeth each, and the third set consists of two teeth. These sets during rotation, come into engagement with teeth 306 of cam follower gear 142 and rotate gear 142 against the pressure of coil tension spring 146. As cam gear 136 further rotates and follower gear 142 is released from its engagement with gear 136, said follower gear 142 returns to its original position under bias of spring 146. It is thus seen that a series of two back and forth, or oscillating partial rotations of about each and one of about 45, is given to sleeve 144 about its longitudinal axis since sleeve 144 is fixed to cam follower gear 142 during each complete revolution of gear 136. In a similar manner, the left-hand cam follower 138 is moved back and forth by action of cam wheel 134 which in turn periodically oscillates sleeve 140. Also, in a similar manner, shaft 124 is oscillated by action of cam gear 132 on the follower gear 152 fixed to said shaft. Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 3. The doll, at the start of the cycle, is holding her right and left arms and hands in position 0. Now, the aforedescribed back-and-forth oscillation of cam follower 152 is transmitted through shaft 124, wheel 62, rod 58, arm 64, shaft 36, crown gear 40, spur gear 30, which correspondingly rotates shaft 32 back and forth so that the forearm 26 and hand 24 oscillates (see FIG. 1) from position a to b and back to a for a total of four times during each cycle, i.e., the same total as the number of sets of teeth 240 (FIG. 15) on cam wheel 132. While arm 26 is moving back and forth between positions a and b, wheel 52 is stationary due to spring 146 holding sleeve 144 against rotation. As a result, bead chain 50 is also stationary and holds elbow swivel member 34 stationary.

As shaft rotates, it will also rotate cam gears 134 and 136 (FIG. 15). Considering now cam gear 136. When the set of four teeth 304 partially rotate the follower 142 and its fixed hollow shaft 144 as previously described, this partial rotation is transmitted through hollow shaft or sleeve 144 to sprocket wheel 52, and then through bead chain 50 to thereby rotate or swivel the swivel member 34 through about 90. As member 34 rotates 90, it carries with it the shaft 32 on which is fixed arm 28 and spur gear 30. However, spur gear 30 is meshingly engaged with crown gear 40 which is held stationary since shaft 36 is held stationary by rod 58, as is wheel 62, due to the action of spring 146 holding shaft 144. Thus, as shaft 32 is rotated 90, spur gear 30, fixed to said shaft 32, moves along gear 40 which is held stationary. The result is that stationary gear 40 causes spur gear 30 to rotate about the axis of shaft 32. As gear 30 rotates, it in turn rotates its shaft 32, which pivots arm 26 downwardly about 40 from the vertical. The total result is shown in FIG. 3, wherein arm 26 moves from position a to the dotted line position 0. Thus, arm 26 is swiveled 90 by the movement of bead chain 50 and at the same time is pivoted downwardly about 40 by movement of spur gear 30 along crown gear 40. As the set of four teeth 304 pass from meshing engagement with the teeth of cam follower 142, said follower 142 and sleeve 144 are returned to their bead chain 50, to thereby rotate member 34 ninety degrees back to its original position, it will be apparent that arm 26 will also return to its vertical position a.

When the set of two teeth 304 of gear 136 (FIG. 15) engage follower gear 306, it will rotate gear 142 about 45 degrees against the tension of spring 146 before releasing said follower gear 142, which, of course, is then returned to its original position by spring 146. Now this 45 rotation is transmitted to elbow swivel member 34, which in turn is swiveled about 45 thereby swiveling arm 26 about 45 and causing said arm to pivot downwardly about 20 from the vertical to position d of FIG. 4.

While actuation and movement of the dolls right arm has been described, it will be apparent that the left arm is similarly actuated and moved by cam gears 134 and 134.

Considering now the head, eyes, and mouth movements as illustrated by FIGS. and 9 through 14, slow rotation of gear 132, in turn periodically rotates the integral cam gear or wheel 152. As the pairs of teeth 240 (FIG. 11) of wheel 132 come into contact with cam fillower or gear 152 fixed on shaft 124, said shaft partly rotates against the bias of coil tension spring 147, (FIG. 5), following which cam follower 152 moves back to its original position under the action of said spring 147 as each set or pair of said teeth 240 pass out of contact with said cam follower. The resulting oscillatory motion of shaft 124 oscillates its fixed lever 200 which, in turn, alternately pulls and releases cord 204 while releasing and then pulling cord 202. As previously described, this reciprocating movement of cord 204 causes eyes 222 to blink, or to move side to side if the eyes are mounted as in FIG. 14, while reciprocating movement of cord 202 causes the mouth-actuating lever 208 to seesaw about its pivot 210 thereby moving lower lip 218, whereupon the doll appears to speak. Preferably, the movement of the dolls lip 218 is synchronized with the sound coming from the record 270, e.g., the doll appears to move her mouth only when spoken sound comes from said record.

During the cycle, rotation of the head-turning cam 176 fixed on shaft 120 causes the head to turn to the left as the follower portion 306 (FIG. 10) of lever 178 is raised against the bias of spring 180 by the tooth 308 of said cam 176. During further rotation of cam wheel 176, follower portion 306 will drop into the cam recess area 310 under urging of spring 180 whereupon head 10 will turn to the right as indicated by the dotted lines representing the face of the doll in FIG. 9.

To further aid in their understanding, the various movements of the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 15 during a cycle of operation are summarized in a table. To aid in their understanding,

cams

134, 132, 176 and 136 can be considered as divided into segments of 45 each, i.e., into eighths, so as to give a total sequence of eight steps during each complete rotation of their common shaft 120. Thus, as seen by the construction of these cams in FIG. 15, and particularly referring to FIGS. 1, 3, and 9, the doll acts as summarized in Table l which follows:

and returns to a, while head 10 turns to the left from the position looking straight ahead. 4. Repeats step 1, while head 10 now turnsltgthe right as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 9 andme n returns to looking straight ahead.

5. Moves both hands from position a to c and retumsto a, while head looks straight ahead. m 6. Moves left hand from a to d, then back to n. 8. Repeats step I. G F

the dolls movements.

While the above eight steps are takingplace, the record 270 is playing its recorded message, whereupon the doll appears to be saying, or singing, phrases coordinated with and appropriate to her aforesaid hand and head movements. For example, the record could play as follows in Table II, during said eight steps. Table II also correlates the action of the doll, during these eight steps as if the doll was playing Pat-A-Cake" with a child sitting opposite the doll, which child is duplicating TABLE II STEP SAYING ACTION OF DOLL l. Pat a cake, Claps child's hands 2. pat a cake, Claps child's hands 3. baker's Claps own hands together 4. man. Claps child's hands 5. Bake me a Claps own hands together 6. cake as fast Claps left hand against left hand of child 7. as you Claps right hand against right hand of child 8. 1 can.

Claps own hands together As cam 160 of cam switch S finishes a complete rotation at the end of the eight steps listed above, then its raised portion 166 (FIG. 8) will lift springlike movable terminal strip 168 from contact with stationary terminal 172 to turn off the motor 82 unless the sound-actuating switch S 110 is activated at this point, e.g., by the child talking or singing to the doll. If switch S is activated, cam 160 will continue to rotate, as motor 82 continues to run, so as to again cause contact between terminals 168 and 172 (see FIG. 8) and thereby recycle and repeat the entire cycle of the eight steps outlined above. As long as the child keeps singing, or talking to the doll, the doll will keep recycling. Once the child stops talking, the doll will then completely stop at the end of a cycle. In this manner, the doll makes an automatic response to the child and appears more lifelike. Of course, when the child wants to stop playing Pat-A-Cake with the doll, she can turn off switch S During the course of the cycle of the aforesaid Steps 1 to 8, record player tone arm 246 will move inwardly toward the center of the record 270 to the dotted line position of FIG. 5 thereby taking the slack out of the flexible cord or string 294 attached to the end of said arm 246. Shortly prior to cam switch S breaking contact between its

terminals

168 and 172, tone arm 246 will be automatically reset by moving it from the dotted line position of FIG. 5 back to its solid line starting position for another replay. Thus, boss 312 fixed on cam wheel 136 will contact pivotally mounted lever 296 to move said lever against the bias of spring 302, from its normal solid line position to the dotted line position of FIG. 1. Lever 296, in turn, pulls on string 294 which causes tone arm 246 to pivot on pin 250 so that the needle end of tone arm 246 pivots downwardly away from record 270. Tonearm 270 is formed with an elongated aperture 251 around pin 250 to permit this downward movement. As tone arm 246 pivots downwardly, it

does so against cylindrical contact member 260 which also moves downwardly into speaker cone 262 against the pressure of spring 266. Thus, pulling string 294 as described, moves needle 248 from contact with record 270 and at the same time swings tone am 246 about its pivot pin 250 until it contacts the fixed stop 314 projecting upwardly from support member 252. At this point, tone arm 246 and its needle 248 will be in the dotted line position of FIG. 1. As boss 312 passes out of contact with lever 296, said lever 296 returns to its solid line original position under the bias of spring 302, thereby allowing line 294 to slacken and remove the tension from the end of tone am 246. The tone arm 246 will then be moved upwardly under the pressure of spring 266 until needle 248 again is in contact with record 270 whereupon tone arm 246 and needle 248 are again in their solid line and the sound-reproducing system is ready to start a new cycle.

FIGS. 16 to 18 represent a modification of the embodiment of the doll of FIGS. 1 to 15, wherein a more simple arrangement is provided with the lip and eye moving mechanism being eliminated along with the sound reproducing means. l-Iere, dolls arms 318 are pivotally mounted at the shoulders and are operated by a single cam 134. Arms 318, including the upper arm, forearm, and hand are each molded in one piece, and are fixed to shafts 320, which shafts are pivotally mounted on the outwardly extending torso shoulder sections 322, the ends of each shaft 320 being formed into heads 324 which retain them in place after the arms 318 and shafts 320 are assembled with the dolls torso 12. Fixed on shafts 320 are the crown gears 326 which engage the spur gears 328 fixed onto shaft 124'. A series of partial back-and-forth rotations, or oscillations, are imparted to shaft 124 by cam wheel 134 engaging and disengaging from contact with cam follower 138 fixed on shaft 124, while spring 146, returns said follower 138 and shaft 124 to their normal positions after disengagement from cam 134. In this way, arms 318 and hands 318 are moved back-and-forth between their normal position a, position b, and position Position a is shown in full lines, and positions b and c are shown by dotted lines. Arms 318 move between said positions as the oscillations of shaft 124' are transmitted through

gears

328 and 326 to shafts 320 upon which are fixed said arms 318. A slot 329 in each arm 318 allows the arm to swing to position 0 without striking shaft 124'. Since there is only one cam 134 actuating both of the doll's arms 318, then both arms go through the same motion simultaneously. Movement from position a to b represents a motion wherein the doll claps hands with the child, while movement from position a' to 0' represents a motion where the doll claps her own hands. Thus, as seen from the teeth arrangement on cam gear 134' in FIG. 18, the doll will go through the sequence of steps shown in the following Table III.

TABLE III STEP ACTION OF DOLL pegg u-uuu- The embodiment of FIGS. 19 to 21 is another variation that is similar to that described in FIGS. 16 to 18 except that the doll is formed with two cam wheels 134" and 136", both fixed on shaft 120", operating cam followers 138" and 142", while said cam followers are independently mounted on hollow shafts or sleeves 140" and 144" which can be rotated about shaft 124". Shaft 124" merely acts as a support for said sleeves 140" and 144". Sleeve 140" is maintained on shaft 124" by abutment against gear 122" at one end and a ring 330 fixed on the outer left hand end of shaft 124". Sleeve 144 is maintained on shaft 124 by its flange 150" at one end and a ring 332 fixed on the right hand end of shaft 124". Spur gears 328" fixed on the outer ends of sleeves 140" and 144" are rotated or oscillated independently by cams 134" and 136" contacting the cam followers 138" and 142". As spur gears 328" oscillate, they in turn actuate the crown gears 326 fixed on shafts 320 which, in turn, are also fixed to the arms 318 of the doll. Details of the two cam wheels are shown in FIG. 20. Here it will be apparent that as the two driving

cams

134 and 136" slowly rotate to alternatively bring into contact with their cam followers, the various raised portions of said cams, that the contacting cam follower is rotating varying amounts which, in turn, rotates spur gear 328" varying amounts, which, in turn rotates crown gears 326 to swing the dolls arms back and forth between positions corresponding to a, b and c of FIGS. 16 and 17. The following Table IV summarizes the actions of each arm as the doll moves through a complete cycle of eight steps.

TABLE IV STEP ACTION OF DOLL Lay-l wn...-

n' while left hand remains in position a. 8. Repeats step I As seen by FIG. 21, the doll can have a single switch S so that the embodiment of FIGS. 19 to 21 will simply keep repeating the cycle until the switch S is turned off.

While cycles involving specific movements of arms, head, etc., in specific sequences have been illustrated with specific programming means, e.g., the various cam systems shown which time or program the sequence in which the various actions take place, it will be apparent that a wide range of movements, sequences, etc., are possible, e.g., by modifying the cams. Also, while a single motor has been used to operate the various mechanisms of the doll, in some cases it may be an advantage to have two or more motors operating different mechanisms. Thus, as seen by the preceding description and drawings, a number of variations of the doll can be made with or without sound, mouth or eye movement, with either one cam wheel wherein both arms follow the same movement, or with a two-cam wheel construction wherein the two arms are individually moved, etc. The doll can be made to begin the action upon a loud noise such as the child starting to sing by means of a sound-actuated electrical switch, or alternatively the doll may have only a simple off-on switch whereupon the cycle will continually repeat itself until the off-on switch is finally turned off. While the dolls have been illustrated as playing the game Patty Cake, it will be clear that they can be made to go through other similar motions or to play other games. For example, instead of playing Patty Cake," the doll can easily play the game Simon Says" for example by simply having the record play comments such as the following: Simon says clap my hands. Simon says left hand forward. Simon says move your head left.," etc., while the doll moves her hands or head through the appropriate steps previously described. If a record is used, one advantage of the illustrated tone arm return operated by cam wheel 136 with boss 312 which act as a cam, in that the tone arm is always reset to the same spot for a replay at the end of every cycle. Thus, if the record should get out of synchronization with the movements of the doll during the cycle, i.e., the doll is saying one thing while doing another, synchronization is restored at the end of the cycle when the tone arm is reset for a new cycle and the various cams are also in position for a new cycle. While electric motors are preferred, windup spring type motors may be used where the doll has only a simple off-on switch, or no switch at all where one just winds up the motor and lets it start by releasing the windup key.

Iclaim:

1. A doll comprising a torso, a pair of arms carried by said torso terminating in hands which are movable relative to said torso between a first position simulating said hands clapping together and a second position wherein said hands are extended for clapping against a childs hand in the manner of Patty Cake, motor means, and actuating means for moving said hands back and forth between said positions in a predetermined sequence including cam means driven by said motor, cam follower means mounted in said doll and in engagement with said cam means whereby said cam follower means oscillates back and forth by said engagement, and connecting means linking hands and said cam follower means whereby oscillations of said cam follower means move said hands back and forth'between said first and second positions.

2. A doll according to claim 1, wherein each of said arms is integral with its hand and said arms are pivotablly mounted at the shoulders of said doll for movement back and forth between said positions.

3. A doll according to claim 1,'wherein each of said arms includes an upper arm carried by said torso, and a forearm, and a swivel joint attaching said forearm to said upper arm at the elbow for arcuate motion of said forearm substantially in the plane of the longitudinal axis of said upper arm and for arcuate motion of said forearm substantially in a plane transverse of the longitudinal axis of said upper arm.

4. A doll according to claim 1, wherein said cam means includes two separate cams, and said cam follower means include two separate and independent cam followers each of which engages one of said cams whereby said hands are independently movable of each other between said positions and each of said hands is respectively linked to one of said cam followers.

5. A doll according to claim 1, wherein said cam means is a single cam and said cam follower means is a single cam follower and both of said hands are linked to said cam follower whereby both of said hands move simultaneously together back and forth between said positions.

6. A doll according to claim 1, wherein said cam follower means is pivotally mounted on said doll for said oscillation back and forth, and wherein said doll includes spring means urging said cam follower means into engagement with said cam means. v

7. A doll according to claim 3, wherein said swivel joint includes a swivel element pivotally mounted on said upper arm for swiveling, wherein said upper arm is pivotally mounted on said swivel element, wherein said cam means include a first cam and a second cam, wherein said connecting means includes a first connecting means linking said first cam and said swivel element for swiveling said swivel element, and a second connecting means linking said second cam and said upper arm for effecting pivoting movement of said upper arm on said swivel.

8. A doll according to claim 1, wherein said actuating means includes a first shaft supported within said torso, a pair of sleeves rotatably mounted on and supported on said first shaft, a cam follower fixed to each of said sleeves, resilient means disposed between said cam followers and said torso resisting rotation of said sleeves relative to said first shaft, a pair of cams disposed on a second shaft rotatably supported by said torso and being driven by said motor means, each of said cams being engageable with one of said cam followers whereby said cam followers and sleeves fixed thereto are rotated against the bias of said resilient means, said cams subsequently disengaging from said cam followers whereby said cam followers and sleeves fixed thereto are returned to their original position under the bias of said resilient means whereby said sleeves are oscillated, and connecting means linking said sleeves to said arms whereby oscillations of said sleeves are transmitted to said arms.

F t I k

Claims

1. A doll comprising a torso, a pair of arms carried by said torso terminating in hands which are movable relative to said torso between a first position simulating said hands clapping together and a second position wherein said hands are extended for clapping against a child''s hand in the manner of Patty Cake, motor means, and actuating means for moving said hands back and forth between said positions in a predetermined sequence including cam means driven by said motor, cam follower means mounted in said doll and in engagement with said cam means whereby said cam follower means oscillates back and forth by said engagement, and connecting means linking hands and said cam follower means whereby oscillations of said cam follower means move said hands back and forth between said first and second positions.

3. A doll according to claim 1, wherein each of said arms includes an upper arm carried by said torso, and a forearm, and a swivel joint attaching said forearm to said upper arm at the elbow for arcuate motion of said forearm substantially in the plane of the longitudinal axis of said upper arm and for arcuate motion of said forearm substantially in a plane transverse of the longitudinal axis of said upper arm.

6. A doll according to claim 1, wherein said cam follower means is pivotally mounted on said doll for said oscillation back and forth, and wherein said doll includes spring means urging said cam follower means into engagement with said cam means.