EP0495945B1 - Kit of articulated pieces for building puppets and rag dolls - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/CH91/00160 Sec. 371 Date Apr. 6, 1992 Sec. 102(e) Date Apr. 6, 1992 PCT Filed Aug. 8, 1991 PCT Pub. No. WO92/02280 PCT Pub. Date Feb. 20, 1992.The articulated assembly consists, on the one hand, of a cross-shaped neck-and shoulder element (1) made of roundwoods (6, 7) which encompasses the neck (2) and shoulder articulations (3, 4) and, on the other hand, of foot articulation elements (31, 32). Each of said articulations (2, 3, 4) at the neck-shoulder element (1) is formed by a closed eyelet (13, 15, 16) and a loop (12, 17, 18) passing through it, which loop is secured by its free end to the one side of the articulation. The hip articulation is formed by a piping hem (27) into which a roundwood (28) has been inserted. The foot articulations consist of a roundwood (31, 32) which exhibits a slot (33, 34) below, in which an eyebolt (35, 36), supported by a transverse nail, dangles, which eyebolt can be screwed into a wooden foot or a wooden shoe (37, 38).

Description

The present invention relates to a joint kit made of various components for crafting puppets or cloth play dolls. On the one hand, puppets are made in a simple decorative design, in that rag dolls are provided with a playing cross and play threads, in order to hang them up primarily as decorative items. These exhibition puppets have no specially designed and technically complex body joints. Their bodies are in themselves identical to those of conventional dolls, for example cloth dolls, which are sewn together from a pattern and then stuffed. Such a decorative puppet is only suitable for playing to a limited extent. The puppets for professional puppet play, on the other hand, are mostly made to order, which are made with great attention to detail and in which each individual joint is technically very complex, so that the properties of these joints come as close as possible to the body's own natural joints. So for the neck joint, the shoulder joints, the elbow and even wrists, and separately manufactured hinges for the hip, knee and foot joints.

From the patent DE 228 275 a solution with little complex joints is known. A manikin or puppet is disclosed, the torso of which is made of plaster or other stone-like or plastic mass, and in which a skeleton made of a single piece of flat sheet metal is embedded. Holes and slots are provided in the sheet metal skeleton for articulating the head, arms and legs, as well as an eyelet for connecting a movement train.

In recent years, the rag doll has enjoyed a real renaissance. Such rag dolls are characterized by a body surface made of tricot, whereby mainly natural materials are used for the whole doll. With the introduction of deep-drawn masks, even hobbyists with little artistic talent can now produce very appealing dolls. There is an increasing desire to produce such puppets as puppets and, in particular, to produce playable fabric puppets with a reasonable effort for hobbyists. The object of the present invention is to provide a joint kit for the manufacture of such marionettes and fabric play dolls, which enables optimal playability with a low technical outlay.

This problem is solved by a joint kit for marionettes and fabric play dolls, which is characterized by the features according to claim 1.

Figur 1 zeigt

eine mit dem erfindungsgemässen Gelenkbausatz hergestellte Marionette mit Holzkopf, Holzhänden und -Füssen in einer Ansicht von vorne;

Figur 2 zeigt

eine tiefgezogene Kunststoff-Maske von schräg hinten mit Einsatzstücken zur Verwendung der Maske als Marionettenkopf;

Figur 3 zeigt

eine mit dem erfindungsgemässen Gelenkbausatz hergestellte Marionette mit gestopftem Maskenkopf und gestopften Extremitäten in einer Ansicht von vorne.

In the drawings, an embodiment of the joint kit is shown and described in detail in the following description and the function of the individual elements.

Figure 1 shows

a puppet made with the joint kit according to the invention with a wooden head, wooden hands and feet in a view from the front;

Figure 2 shows

a thermoformed plastic mask from diagonally behind with inserts for using the mask as a puppet head;

Figure 3 shows

a puppet made with the joint kit according to the invention with a stuffed mask head and stuffed extremities in a view from the front.

FIG. 1 shows a first puppet produced with the joint assembly according to the invention. The central element of the joint assembly is the cruciform neck-shoulder element 1 with the joint for the neck 2 or head and with the two shoulder joints 3, 4. This neck-shoulder element 1 consists of a round wood 6 running along the trunk 5 of the puppet and a thinner round wood 7 passing through this round wood 6 in the shoulder area and forming the shoulder of the puppet. Near the upper edge of the round timber 6, this has a groove 8 around its circumference. Furthermore, two holes 9, 10 are drilled obliquely downwards and outwards from the upper end face 11 of the round timber 6, the holes 9, 10 opening below on the side below the groove 8. The holes 9, 10 in the end face 11 are spaced apart which corresponds to approximately a third of the log diameter. A cord 12 is pulled through these holes 9, 10 such that a loop 12 is formed above the end face 11 of the round timber 6. For this purpose, this cord 12 is knotted at both ends in front of the holes in the groove 8. The length of the loop 12 can be determined by the placement of the knots. The loop 12 is also pulled at the top by an eyebolt 13. If a wooden head 14 is used, this eye bolt 13 can simply be screwed from below into the neck extension of the wooden head 14, whereby the neck joint is completed. The plane in which the ring of the eyebolt 13 must lie after tightening runs in the direction of view of the puppet head 14. The width of the loop 12 is set beforehand so that the head 14 can be rotated by approximately 180 ° degrees, as that also corresponds to nature. With such a loop adjustment, head 14 can also be tilted forward and backward, much like a natural head. The entire headroom of natural people is largely modeled on the joint kit according to the invention. In particular, the head 14 can be rolled like a natural head within a cone shell, and at the same time it can be rotated to the left and right in any position. Nevertheless, the neck joint 2 is surprisingly simple in construction and requires a correspondingly low outlay for production. The neck-shoulder element 1 described is sewn into the trunk 5 when the puppet is being crafted. The groove 8 finally serves to pull in the fabric at the cervical process. The neck joint 2 is covered on the finished puppet by clothing, for example by a suitable collar.
Similar to the neck joint 2, the shoulder joints 3, 4 are constructed by screwing an eyebolt 15, 16 into the outer end faces of the round timber 7, which forms the shoulder. Cords 17, 18 are in turn pulled through these eyebolts 15, 16 and their free ends are sewn to the conventional stuffed arms 19, 20, so that a loop 17, 18 is passed through the eyebolts 15, 16. These shoulder joints 3, 4 thus mimic ball joints. The arms can be twisted, lifted or folded at the front accordingly. The extent of their freedom from rotation is determined by the width of the loops 17, 18. These are advantageously sewn onto the arms 19, 20 in such a way that the arms can rotate at most by one full turn. The eyebolts 15, 16 of the shoulder joints 3, 4 simultaneously serve to fasten the shoulder threads 25, 26 by simply tying them on the eyebolts 15, 16.
The elbow joints are created by sewing the cover tricot fabric there by means of a double seam 21, 22. For the hands, special wooden hands 23 with forearm parts belonging to the joint kit are used. The forearms have a round groove 24 at their elbow-side end. This circular groove 24 on each forearm serves to allow the hand 23 to be attached to the stuffed part of the forearm. This is done by placing the fabric in the groove 24 is pulled in, which at the same time creates a clean transition from the jersey to the wood.
The hip joint is created by means of a welt hem 27, into which a log 28 of the length of the hip width is sewn. By means of a hip joint constructed in this way, the torsion possibility of the upper body 5 in relation to the legs is restricted in a manner similar to that of the natural body. In addition, a joint is defined that is particularly useful for the puppet to bend down or sit down as naturally as possible. The roundwood 28 in the welt hem 27 also enables the buttock thread to be securely fastened by being tied centrally around the roundwood 28 or by screwing an eyebolt from the center into the roundwood 28, to which the buttock thread can then be tied. The knee joints 29, 30 are produced in exactly the same way as the elbow joints by means of two seams. In the case of larger marionettes, it can be advantageous to use a piping hem with round wood inserted for the knee joints as well as for the hip joint. The feet or shoes are made of wood. To ensure that they move as naturally as possible, the joint kit also includes a special ankle joint. This consists of a lower leg part 31, 32, which each consists of a round wood, which has a tapered diameter at the top and whose thicker area near the lower edge has a circumferential groove 39, 40. At the same time, the thicker area has a continuous slot 33, 34 milled in from below and running through the center of the log. In this slot 33, 34 has the ring of an eyebolt 35, 36 inserted, a nail being struck in the radial direction through the slot 33, 34 and through the ring of the eyebolt 35, 36 so that the screw tip in the slot 33, 34 is similar how the clapper of a bell can dangle. The screw 35.36 is then screwed into a wooden foot or wooden shoe 37.38. Then the fabric of the lower leg is pulled over the wooden lower leg and drawn into the groove 39.40, which completes the ankle. Depending on the adjustable distance between the wooden foot or wooden shoe and the wooden lower leg, the foot can tilt more or less up and down. When walking, he automatically executes the natural rolling movement of the foot and, in addition, such wooden feet on the stage floor can even deliberately generate walking or rattling noises.

FIG. 2 shows a special insert for deep-drawn masks when a head for a puppet is to be produced with them. Thermoformed PVC masks are usually used to make rag dolls. The masks are coated with glue and covered with the same tricot material from which the doll is otherwise made. The back of the head is then stuffed with darning cotton. Because a puppet now has to be hung on the head and the head must also be articulated and non-positively connected to the fuselage, this is not possible with a merely stuffed head made of a plastic mask. The invention Articulated kit therefore also includes an insert for plastic masks, by means of which they can be used to make puppet heads. Such a plastic mask 41 is shown obliquely from behind in FIG. The insert consists of a wooden cross bar 42, the length of which corresponds to the greatest inner width of the mask 41. The crossbar 42 is nailed into the mask from the outside by means of nails 43, 44. The nails 43, 44 are thus nailed into the front of the cross bar 42. To attach the head threads 45, 46, small eyebolts 47, 48 can additionally be screwed from the outside into the front sides of the crossbar 42, on the rings of which the head threads 45, 46 can then be tied. For smaller, less heavy puppets, nails instead of eyebolts may suffice. A wooden cylinder 49 is glued into the neck part of the mask so that the head produced by the mask 41 can be attached to the fuselage in a force-locking and articulated manner. When these inserts are mounted in the mask, the back of the head can be stuffed as usual for a rag doll. The finished head can finally be screwed onto the eyebolt on the neck-shoulder element, as has already been described.

FIG. 3 shows a rag doll that can be played as a puppet. Only those elements that differ from the puppet according to FIG. 1 are described separately below. There are the forearms 50, 51 and hands, which are designed like a rag doll in the play doll shown here. In the cover jersey for the forearm 50.51 and the hand can be inserted one insert hand 52, 53 made of flexible sheet metal so that different hand positions can be formed. A piece of lead can be sewn into the palms of the hands so that the rag doll can be played easily. The arms then sag limply when the hand threads were relieved. Inserts similar to those in FIG. 1 are used for the feet. These are round timbers 54.55 with the same outer shape, also with a round groove 56.57 near their lower edge. The round timbers 54, 55, however, have a hole on their underside instead of a slot, into which a lead piece 58, 59 can be inserted. So the greatest weight is in the right place for the game, namely exactly at the ankle. The covering material of the lower leg can be drawn into the groove 56.57. Like a rag doll, the feet are made from sewn, stuffed pieces of fabric. These darned feet are sewn onto the lower legs by pulling their upper fabric edge into the groove 56, 57.

Claims (6)

1. Articulated assembly for puppets and stuffed toy dolls, which consits of a neck-shoulder element (1) and a foot articulation (31,32;54,55), characterized by a neck-shoulder element (1) for the neck (2) and shoulder articulations (3,4), which consists of a roundwood (6) crossed by a thinner roundwood (7) in the manner of a cross, in that a loop (12) is secured to the upper front side (11) of the roundwood (6), on which an eyebolt (13) is suspended as an eyelet, and in that on the front sides of the thinner roundwood (7) eyebolts (15,16) have been screwed in, which eyebolts form eyelets through which loops (17,18) can be drawn, whereby each of the articulations (2,3,4) is formed by a closed eyelet (13,15,16) and a loop (12,17,18) which passes through it, which loop is secured by its free end to the one side of the articulation.
2. Articulated assembly in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that on the side for the neck extension near the edge the roundwood (6) exhibits a round groove (8).
3. Articulated assembly in accordance with one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that two holes have been drilled diagonally down and outward from the upper front side of the roundwood (6), through which holes a string (12) has been drawn to form a closed loop (12) over the roundwood (6).
4. Articulated assembly in accordance with one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the foot articulation elements are formed, respectively, by a roundwood (31,32), through whose center a traversing slot (33,34) has been milled, in which an eyebolt (35,36) is supported by an axis extending transversely through the slot (33,34).
5. Articulated assembly in accordance with one of claims 1 through 3, characterized in that the foot articulation elements are formed by, respectively, a roundwood (54,55), which exhibits a drill on the bottom, into which drill hole a lead weight (58,59) can be inserted.
6. Articulated assembly in accordance with one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the roundwoods (31,32;54,55) forming the foot articulation elements exhibit a round groove (39,40;56,57) near their lower border, so as to draw in the fabric covering.

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