US20040198155A1

US20040198155A1 - Doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface

Info

Publication number: US20040198155A1
Application number: US10/354,223
Authority: US
Inventors: Jennifer Cooper
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-01-29
Filing date: 2003-01-29
Publication date: 2004-10-07

Abstract

A doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface. The doll includes a body, a dress, and a petticoat. The body replicates a female body and has a waist and feet that rest on the irregular surface. The dress depends outwardly from the body to engagement with the irregular surface. The petticoat has an uppermost extreme that depends outwardly from the waist of the body to a lowermost extreme that depends to engagement with the irregular surface and allows the doll to stand-alone on the irregular surface. The petticoat is made of a material that is semi-rigid, and as a result thereof, takes a set on the irregular surface by being deforming enough to conform to the irregular surface while being rigid enough to allow the body to stand-alone on the irregular surface.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a doll. More particularly, the present invention relates to a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Numerous innovations for doll related devices have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.

A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,604 to Nishizawa teaches an exchangeable-dressing doll comprising an exchangeable-dressing doll body having some degree of stereoscopic appearance and reality which is soft and smooth to the touch and usable safely as a toy for young children, and exchangeable parts therefor which are freely detachable including clothes, shoes, gloves, wigs and the like. The doll has a freedom to flex at optional parts of the body such as parts corresponding to the articulations of the limb, trunk, neck or the like, and at least the limb can be caused to take any simulated forms fitting to various actions of the body found in the daily life.

A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,833 to Peters teaches a doll dress constructed by providing a strip of net material gathered on a cord and sewn to the inside of the dress circumferentially of the hem thereof. The strip has a width of approximately {fraction (1/3)} length of the skirt portion and is approximately 30 times longer than the circumferential length of the skirt at the hem portion thereof. The strip is gathered on the cord to the circumferential length of the hem portion of the skirt to give a desirable billowy appearance and provide a flexible base for maintaining the doll upright on an uneven or unstable surface.

A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,257 to Furga teaches a method of making dresses for dolls or the like, comprising: superposing to each other two strips of synthetic fabric of a kind capable of being welded; repeatedly performing thereafter, all along the development of said fabric strips, electronic welds or the like in the form of dotted or dashed weld lines in order to obtain joining together of said strips in proximity of the boundaries of the individual doll dresses which are to be obtained so that sewn seams are simulated; causing the so welded garments to be cut all along their boundary line leaving a slight margin outside the weld line to simulate the margin of a sewn seam and, finally, turning each single dress inside out so that the faces of the fabric strips which had initially been made to adhere to each other, are now outwardly directed.

A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,400 to Bass teaches a doll that contains a fabric fastener, such as “Velcro”, on the backside, simulating a backbone. A turntable holds the doll in upright position with arms uplifted. A consecutive series of garment sections, each depicting a separate article of clothing, is spooled onto a rotatable cylinder, spaced from the turntable, with the front end section of the spooled garment containing a complementary fabric fastener connected to the fabric fastener on the doll's backside. By rotating the doll about its vertical axis an article of clothing is dispensed from the cylinder and is wrapped about the doll's torso to dress the doll. The doll's clothing is effectively changed by rotating the doll further to dispense the next article of clothing and wrap the latter in overlying relationship with the first article of clothing about the doll's torso. This action may be continued for as many different articles of wrap around clothing as is contained on the cylinder.

A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,358 to Jantzen teaches a doll that includes a dress having at least a portion thereof formed of a multi-layered embossible fabric having a malleable layer such as metal foil or the like together with one or more soft flexible layers such as cloth fabric bonded together to form a readily formable and crimpable fabric. Am embossing tool used in combination with the doll and the embossible fabric includes a pair of movable jaws hingedly coupled each defining a corresponding embossing raised portion and mating recess on the inwardly facing portions thereof. The embossing tool is applied to the embossible fabric and used to impart a plurality of raised or recess embossed designs upon the fabric. The malleable character of the foil layer together with the softness and flexible of the fabric layer permit the embossed designs to be removed by simple smoothing of the fabric for repeated use. Embodiments are shown in which a pair of fabric layers are secured to each side of a malleable foil layer as well as a single soft layer secured to a malleable foil layer formed either as a fabric material or a sprayed on particulate material.

It is apparent that numerous innovations for doll related devices have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

ACCORDINGLY, AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface that is simple to use.

BRIEFLY STATED, STILL YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface. The doll includes a body, a dress, and a petticoat. The body replicates a female body and has a waist and feet that rest on the irregular surface. The dress depends outwardly from the body to engagement with the irregular surface. The petticoat has an uppermost extreme that depends outwardly from the waist of the body to a lowermost extreme that depends to engagement with the irregular surface and allows the doll to stand-alone on the irregular surface. The petticoat is made of a material that is semi-rigid, and as a result thereof, takes a set on the irregular surface by being deforming enough to conform to the irregular surface while being rigid enough to allow the body to stand-alone on the irregular surface.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The figures of the drawing are briefly described as follows: [0016]
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the present invention standing-along on the irregular surface of a pillow; [0017]
FIG. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic perspective view of the area generally enclosed by the dotted curve identified by [0018] arrow 2 in FIG. 1 of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic cross sectional view taken on line [0019] 3-3 in FIG. 2.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWING

[0020] 1 doll of present invention for standing-alone on irregular surface 12
[0021] 12 irregular surface
[0022] 14 body for replicating female body
[0023] 16 waist of body 14
[0024] 18 feet of body 14 for resting on irregular surface 12
[0025] 2 dress for depending to engagement with irregular surface 12
[0026] 22 petticoat
[0027] 24 uppermost extreme of petticoat 22
[0028] 26 lowermost extreme of petticoat 22 for depending to engagement with irregular surface 12 and allowing body 14 to stand-alone on irregular surface 14

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the figures, in which like numerals indicate like parts, and particularly to FIG. 1, the doll of the present invention is shown generally at [0029] 1 for standing-alone on an irregular surface 12.
The configuration of the doll [0030] 1 can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, and as such, will be discussed with reference thereto.
The doll [0031] 1 comprises a body 14 for replicating a female body, and has a waist 16 and feet 18 for resting on the irregular surface 12.
The doll [0032] 1 further comprises a dress 20 that depends outwardly from the body 14 for depending to engagement with the irregular surface 12.
The doll [0033] 1 further comprises a petticoat 22 that has an uppermost extreme 24 that depends outwardly from the waist 16 of the body 14 to a lowermost extreme 26 for depending to engagement with the irregular surface 12 and allowing the doll 1 to stand-alone on the irregular surface 14.
The [0034] petticoat 22 is made of a material that is semi-rigid, and as a result thereof, takes a set on the irregular surface 14 by being deforming enough to conform to the irregular surface 12 while being rigid enough to allow the body 14 to stand-alone on the irregular surface 14.
Such a material is sold under the tradename STITCH-N-TEAR by sold by FREUDENBERG NONWOVENS, PELLON DIVISION, 344 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE, DURHAM, N.C. 2774. [0035]
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. [0036]
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface, however, it is not limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. [0037]
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. [0038]

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. A doll for standing-alone on an irregular surface, comprising:

a) a body for replicating a female body, and having a waist and feet for resting on the irregular surface;

b) a dress depending outwardly from said body for depending to engagement with the irregular surface; and

c) a petticoat having an uppermost extreme depending outwardly from said waist of said body to a lowermost extreme for depending to engagement with the irregular surface and allowing said doll to stand-alone on the irregular surface.

2. The doll as defined in claim 1, wherein said petticoat is made of a material that is semi-rigid, and as a result thereof, takes a set on the irregular surface by being deforming enough to conform to the irregular surface while being rigid enough to allow the body to stand-alone on the irregular surface.