US1456422A - Jointed doll - Google Patents

Description

c. CBANA J0 INTED DOLL May 22, 1923. 1,456,422

Filed May 17. 1920 Patented May 2?., 1923.

` j CHARLES GBAN, OF BUFFALQNEW YFJS..

JOINTEB DOLL. I

Application mea may 17, i920. serial no. estela To aZZ wkomt may concern.'

B e it known that I, CHARLES CBANA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bualo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements' in Joint'ed Dolls, of which the following is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to a jointed doll or toy child in which the head, trunk and limb portions'thereof are all connected together by ball and socket joints; and more particularly relates to a doll in which subantially all the parts are constructed of stamped sheetmetal or other sheet material.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce amachine made doll which requires a minimum of manual labor in its manufacture and which when fractured, be quickly and readily supplied with new part or parts as may be required.

A further object ofthe invention is toprovide a novel and simple means of obtaining frictional resistance in the ball and socket joints, s'o as to prevent a too free movement of the same.

A still further object of the invention is to prevent the dolls eyeballs from becoming detached b reason of a childs oking its finger into t e eye socket of the do l.

Further objects and advantages are more minutely disclosed in the accompanying drawings and following description wherein Fiffure 1 is a front elevation of the complete doll with certain parts in section. Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section thereof, taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal section through the dolls arm, taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Figure 4 isa side elevation of one of the balls of a ball and socket joint. Figure 5 'is a side elevation of one of the dolls upper arm sections, in an unfinished stage of its construction. Figure 6 is a side elevation of one of the forearm sections of the doll.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. i

In its general organization, this improved doll or mechanical' toy child comprises a sheet metal body, trunk or torso 10, the same having connected thereto a sheet metal head 11, andra number of sheet metal limb members which in their appearance and in their mechanical movement are intended to emulate the appearance and action of a human being. The mechanicai operation of the arms of the doll is substantially identical with the operation of the legs, so that a description of the one answers for both. Broadly speaking, however, the dolls arms comprise upper arm members 12, forearm members 13, hands 14 and all of the foregoing are equivalent collectively to the dolls legs which comprise thigh members 15, calf members 16 and feet 17.

The torso 10 of the doll is constructed of two pieces or sections ofstamped or pressed sheet metal Whose edges are indicated by the broken dash line 18, said edges being placed together and then suitably soldered, brazed or weldedto each other, so as to connectV the two pieces suitably together. This construction permits of a light butstrong doll torso in which the finer, human characteristics.

such as wrinkles, small rolls of fat, irregular protuberances etc., can be very closeljcl and accurately imitated by reason of the fact that the stamping of sheet metal permits of very7 accurate shaping of the same between the forming dies.

Formed on the upper outer corners of the torso 10 are two shoulder concavities 2() of substantially semi-spherical form, the con# cavity being made in two parts or concavity sections similar to the construction of the torso sections to each of which one ofl said concavity sections is integrally joined as will be hereinafter more exactly described. EX- tending inwardly from the inner part of the concavity is a stem supporting tube or cylindrical stem support 21 which is adapted to'receive the stem 22 of a shoulder-joint ball 23, the same being retained in place by a transverse cotter or other suitable pin or brad 24. This cotter pin is adapted to be inserted in place or entlrely removed from the doll, as best shown in Fig. 2, through a front access aperture 25 which is formed in the breast of the doll, this operation being facilitated by reason of a rear' access aper` ture 26 which is formed in the rear of the dolls torso in line with the aforesaid front access aperture 25.

Rotatably mounted on said ball 23 is the aforesaid upper arm member 12, which is made up of two sections which,l are soldered or otherwise 'oined along their edges, one of said sections eing shown separate in Fig. 5,

wherein is illustrated one vof these uppei.v

arm sections as the same appears in an intermediate stage of its construction and before being soldered to its companion upper arm section. This upper arm section ycomprises a main semi-cylindrical trough or half sleeve 27 and when said section is first formed there projects integrally from'the" middle of each of its opposite ends or edges a narrow bridging piece 28. To one'of these bridging pieces 1s integrally connected a socket cup section 30 which lies in the position shown in Fig. 5 just after the blank has been stamped; that is, the concave side of the main trough 27 of the upper arm section faces in a direction opposite to the di rection in which the concave side of the socket cup section 30 faces. The same condition obtains with respect to all of the socket cup sections ofthe doll andalso all of the concavity sections, such for instance as the concavity section 20 at the shoulder joint of the doll. After the stamping operation, each of the socket cup sections and concavity sections is folded inwardly into position, for instance, the socket cup section 30, Fig. 5, is folded from the full line position inwa-rdly into the final position, as indicated by the dotted lines. It will now be obvious why the bridging piece 28 is and should be very narrow, as otherwise such a reverse bending of the curved parts could not be accomplished without necessitating a very expensive machine operation. As it is, the socket cup sections and the concavity sections may be easily and manually folded inwardly with out crimping or otherwise preparing the stamped blank for this operation. Furthermore, the parts which are folded inwardly are supported on their outer faces by the inner wall of the trough. 27.

The outer end of the upper arm member 12 is provided with a concavit 200 and with a stem supporting tube 210 th of which are similar in their construction and fabrication to the analogous concavity 20 and tube 21 of the shoulder joint of the doll, the same being constructed, as aforesaid,in the same manner as the" concavity 30 is rconstructed, that is by bending the same inwardly into place after the same has been stamped. This stem supporting tube 210 ot the upper arm member receives the stem 220 of a ball 230 both of which areV identical to the ball and stem of the shoulder joint and are similarly held in place by means of a cotter or other suitable pin 240. As best shown in Fig. 3, the upper arm Amember is provided with access apertures 250 and 260 (similar to the access apertures in the dolls torso), so that the cotter pin 240 may be Laeaaaa pressed into position or entirely removed through these apertures. This permits the partsof the doll to be securely assembled and also permits the replacement of fractured parts which may result after the doll has been in use for some time.

A novel means is employed for obtaining a suiiicient frictional resistance'of the ball and socket joints so as to prevent the movable members of the doll from moving about too easily and freely, as otherwise the same would not stay in position when it isA desired to have the doll assume a certain posture. This is accomplished by providing a longitudinally disposed helical compression spring 33 within the hollow part of the upper arm member 12, the other members of course being supplied with similar springs. The stem 220 of the ball 230 is pointed so as to both act as a seat for and also center the outer end of the helical compression spring 33, the pointed end of the stem entering a short distance into the bore of the spring. The opposite or inner end of this spring, receives, within its bore, a pair of tapered compression lips 34 which are integrally formed on and project outwardly from their respective socketcup sections 30. The spring 33 in bearing longitudinally inwardly against the outeroppositely tapered faces of these compression lips 34 causes the same tobe pressed toward each other. By reason of the leverage obtained, this pressing together of the companion compression lips 34, causes the companion concavity sections. 30, upon which the lips are formed, to be likewise compressed together against the peripheral curved face of the ball 23, thus obtaining a frictional resistance between the said ball and the upper arm member which is mount- 'ed thereon. Thus the arm member will re- The outermost ball 230() of each limb, j

that is, of the wrist and the ankle joint, is preferably somewhat smaller than any of the other balls. Each of the small balls ot the wrist joint is provided with a stem 2200 which is received within the aforementioned sheet met'l hand 14. Said hand is const'ruoted of two sections of pressed sheet metal and each of the sections is provided with a stem supporting tube sectionx 2100 which is formedv in a manner similar to that adopted in the rest of the doll, as for instance, shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The hollow hands 14 are filled with a small quantit of molten lead, cement or similar material 35 for the purpose of preventing any crushing Lacasse 1 of the small and delicate fingers The whole hand is then held in proper place on the stem 2200 of the small ball by Imeans of a brad or other suitable securing pin 36 which passes entirely through the sheet metal ot the hand and also through the leadlorcement lle-r and the stem 22050 of the ball. The feet 17 of the doll are likewise filled with lead 350 but the purpose of the same in this case lis somewhat different from that presented in the case ofthe dolls hands. ln the ease of the feet, there is small danger ot either crushing or`distorting-theshape of the toes, but on the other hand, the weight of the feet is an important elementlnasmuch as these feet 17 have a relatively large Volume, a considerable weight of molten lead may? be poured into them, so that the VYfeet become suiiciently heavy to retain the balance of the doll when it is placed in a standing position on its feet.

The ball 123 connecting the head of the doll to the torso l() is retained frictionaily in a manner somewhat dierent from the means employed in the other doli joints. The dolls head 11 is constructed of sheet metal sections which are provided on their lower parts with the upwardlyextending socket cup sections 180 in a manner similar to that already described. Each cup section 130 has formed thereon an'upstanding com pression `lip 134 which is provided, internisdiat'e 'of its longitudinal edges, with a clamping hole 37. A transversely' disposed...Y

crescent-shaped spring 133 is arranged above the said clamping lips, its opposite, outer curled ends entering inwardiy into the said clamping holes 3'?. Thus this crescentn shaped spring functions to the same ends as do all the other springs 83, namely to resili- 'ently compress the companion socket cup sectlons 130 i'n toward each other.

Arranged against the inner side of the forehead of the dolls head is a slip plate 'l upon whose lower end is pivotally mounted the usual movable eye balls ai; These eye balls are provided with the usuai weighted arm 42 so that when the doi? is erect, the 'eyes will assume the position shown in the drawings and appear to be openfi whereas when the doll is laid on its bachi or put to sleep, the eyes will rotate siiiiieiently so as to appear to be closed lt has been found in practice that the usual doli construction is such that the eyes are quickly put out of commission whenever the 'child owner o? the doll'euriously pokes his fingers against the dolls eye balls to sec what makes them work. In the present invention this de feet in construction is eliminated by providing a resilient connection between the said slip plate 40 and the dolls head, the 'saine ifi-sing effected preferably as follows:

scared rigidly by means oi solder or Otherwise to the inner front part o1' 'tace ci thedolls head, is a pair ot rearwardly eX-' tending tubular guides 44C, one being arranged on each side of the inner forehead. The slip plate e0 is suitably drilled at two points to somewhat loosely receive the tubular ides la, so as to permit the slip plate to s ide longitudinally thereon. Extending clear across the interior of the dolls head. from its front face to 'the back of its head, are farpairot retaining compression springs 45 whose rea-r ends are suitably held 1n position by a pair of studs 6 while their forward ends receive the tubular guides 4a Within their bore and bear with their front facesuagainst the rear face of thesaid slip plate d0. Thus the slip plate is normally held in its proper forward position by reason of the pressure of the two springs 45. But when the curious child pokes its fingers against the eye balls lll, the latter, together with their appurtenances, are free to move rearwardly with the slip plate 40 and. against the .pressure o the said retaining springs e5. Then when the pressure of the ehilds iinger is released, theeye balls and the slip plate returnautomatieally to position. rthe movement of the-slip plate is not a pure sliding action, being partially a rotary movement with the upper edge of the slip plate for a pivot. For this reason the upper corner 'of the sliy plate is provided with the anti-friction ege or curled tang@ 4:7, so as to permit of a free movement of the slip plate. The construction of this slip plate its cri-operating parts vis such that a rearward morera-ent or the slip plate is resisted rictionally to a greater extent than is a corresponding forward movement. Consequently, the resista-nce to displacement is rendered reater and yet the tendency to assume the proper normal position is also rendered greater. This results by reasonv of the when the slip plate is forced rearwardly, its upper curied edge 4T 1s forced upwardly against a surface which is inclined in a direction which impedes the movement; while, on the other hand, when said slip plate is moved forwardly the oonditions are reversed and the inclination ot the face against which ythe flange 47 moves is auch as to aid in such an outward move nient.

The value oi' the vnovel features of this impro-red deli willi new be apparent Being sach as to perret or the use of stamped n sheet in almost its entire construe the dell is light and yet very. strong. @t course. any suitable material other than sheet nietai may be used in constructing the iii'erent parte. instance, Celluloid when a artially ple "e, state, may be cut and for in dies in e same manner as sheet au Y iesired, each body member y lie constructed ot two cast or molded sections connected together at their peripheralv edges. Its feet are easily weighted so that the doll may be made' to stand upright of its own accord, and the hands are prevented from becoming crushed or distorted in shape. lt is almost impossible to derange the usually very delicate eye balls of the doll. A heavy frictional resistance is obtained in the ball and socket joints, both in the limbs and in the neck, in a very simple and efficient manner. The construction of the ball socket cups and the semi-spherical concavities is remarkably ingenious and durable and yet capable of being manufactured in large machine made quantities at low cost. And, furthermore, there exists no tendency of the doll to fall apart by reason ofdanipness or old age, and the all metal construction is such as to permit the use of metal enamel or an agate. lacquer in covering the parts so that the whole is rendered extremely durable.

I claim as my invention:

1. A jointed doll comprising a member provided with a ball, a limbmember, and a socket cup-section extending inwardly into said limb member and provided integrally on its outer edge with a bridging piece which is narrower than said socket cupsection and is integrally connected "to the outer edge of said limb member.

2. A jointed doll comprising a member provided with a ball, a air of limb sections of substantially semicylindrical form, and a substantially semi-spherical socket cup-section extending inwardly from and integrally connected with the outer end of each of said limb sections.

3. A jointed doll comprising a member provided with a ball, a pair of'limb sections of substantially semicylindrical form, and a substantially semi-spherical socketl cupsection provided integrally at its outer c dge with a comparatively narrow bridging piece which is, in turn, integrally connected withv the outer edge of each of said limb sections.

4. A jointed doll comprising a member provided with a ball, a limb member, socket cup-sections arranged within said limb member and arranged to receive said ball, anda spring connected. at o posite ends to said cup sections and resi iently forcing said socket. cup sections in towar each other.

5. A jointed doll comprising a member provided with a ball, a limb member, socket cup sections arranged within said limb member and arranged to receive said ball and provided with compression lips and a spring arranged to bear against said lips and to resiliently force the same toward each other.

6. A jointed doll comprising .a member provided with a ball, a longitudinally disposed limb member, socket cup sections disposed transversely relatively to each other, compression lips connected to said cup sections and extending longitudinally inwardly posed transversely relatively to each other,

compression lips connected `to said cup sections and extending longitudinally inwardly therefrom and having their outer surfaces tapering toward each other, and a longitudinally movable spring arranged to resilientlfy bear against the said outer tapered sur aces of said compression lips.

member provided with an integral socket cup section extending inwardly into the hollow interior of said hollow member, a ball secured to said hollow member concentrically with and in spaced relation with respect to said socket cup section and a limb member swivell mounted on said ball.

`10. jointed doll comprising a member provided with an integral socket cup section.

extending` inwardly into the hollow interior of said hollow member, a stem supporting tube formed integrally with and extending inwardly from the said socket cup section, a ball disposed in spaced relation to said cup 9. A jointed doll comprising a hollow i section and having a cylindrical stem arranged to be received by said stem support,

and a limb member mounted on said ball.

11. A jointed doll comprising a sheet metal hollow member provided with an integral sheet metal. socket cup section and with an access aperture, a stem supporting tube formed integrally with and extending inwardly from the inner part of said socket cup section, a ball having a stem which is arranged to be received within said'stem su porting tube, and a pin passing through said stem tube and the stem of said ball and adapted to be placed in position or removed through the said access aperture.

12. A jointed doll comprising a body member, limb member sections joined to-' gether along their peripheral edges and forming a hollow inner space, stem supporting tube sections of semi-cylindrical form and connected integrally at their outer ends with the outer parts of said limb member sections, and a filling material filling up the hollow inner space formed by the limb inember sections.

13. A jointed doll comprising a body member, limb member sections joined together along their peripheral edges and forming a: hollow inner space, stem support;- Which latter is received between the stem ing tube sections of semi-Cylindrical form supporting tube sections, and a transverse and connected integrally at their outer ends pin paeeing completely through the limb 10 with the outer parts of said limb member member, tube sections. and the stem of said 5 sections, a filling material filling up the hol# ball.

low inner space formed-by the limb member. sections, a ball provided with afstem CHARLES CBANA.

Images