US2213676A - Doll and individual rolling eye therefor - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 3, 1940. s, cps 2,213,676

DOLL AND INDIVIDUAL ROLLING EYE THEREFOR Filed Sept. 14, 1939 INVENTOR SAMUEL MARCUS Q BY ,1. M I" M ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 3, 1940 UNETED STATES DOLL AND INDIVIDUAL ROLLING EYE THEREFOR Samuel Marcus, Jersey City, N. 5., assignor to Margon Corporation, Bayonne, N. .l'., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 14, 1939, Serial No. 294,843

15 Claims.

This invention relates to dolls with movable eyes, and more particularly to an individual rolling eye for use in a flexible doll head.

The primary object of my invention is to generally improve movable doll eyes, particularly rolling eyes, and more especially such eyes intended for use in rubber or flexible doll heads.

In my co-pending application Serial Number 215,777, filed June 25, 1938, I disclose a method for mounting individual eyes in a flexible doll head. The eye there disclosed is a sleeping eye, that is, an eye intended solely for up and down movement. One important object of the present invention is to provide a doll eye which may be mounted in a rubber head in much the same manner as is disclosed in my co-pending application, but .which eye is pivoted for sideward as well as vertical oscillation, thereby making it possible to equip even a rubber head with rolling eyes. Other objects are to provide a rolling eye mechanism which is simple in construction, light in weight, dependable in operation, and made of a minimum number of comparatively inexpensive sheet metal parts.

such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the doll head and eye ele ments, and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by a drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a section taken in elevation through a doll head in the plane of one of the eye members;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section across the head, and shows the eye mechanism looking from the rear;

Fig. 3 is a section taken in elevation through the doll eye assembly;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the doll eye assembly;

Fig. 5 is a similar view, but with the eye turned to sideward position;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the eye assembly when the eye is turned to closed or sleeping position;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the eye member itself, removed from the outer shell;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the eye member; and

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line 99 of Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the doll head l2 may be made of a yieldable material, preferably vulcanized rubber, which is either left soft or only partially hardened, so that it remains somewhat flexible and yieldable to the touch. These heads have proved to be popular because they better simulate the soft feel of natural flesh, but have caused great difficulty when attempting to pro- To the accomplishment of the foregoing andv vide the same with movable eyes. The head l2 has inwardly or rearwardly projecting walls Ml molded integrally therewith, and these walls define eye housings or sockets It. In the present case the sockets are approximately cylindrical or frustroconical, and are disposed immediately in back of the eye openings. The sockets are preferably tapered or frustroconical, thereby facilitating withdrawal of the molded head from the mold in which it is formed, and also facilitating insertion of the eye assembly. The taper need not be initially as great as shown, for the socket may be expanded somewhat by the eye assembly itself.

In Fig. 2 it will be seen that in the present case the sockets l8 are formed in a substantial solid bridge it of rubber material extending across the front wall of the head. This is not essential, and the walls M surrounding the sockets may be merely cylindrical, but the arrangement of Fig. 2 has the advantage of stiffening the head against excessive deformation in the immediate region of the eyes.

The nature of the eye assembly will be evident on referring to Figs. 3 through 9 of the drawing. The assembly comprises a sheet metal outer shell 20 which is open at the rear, and which is cut away at the front to form an eye opening .22 which conforms generally to the eye openings in the doll head. The opening 22 may be, however, and preferably is made slightly larger than the opening in the doll head, in order not to unnecessarily expose the edges of the metal outer shell 26. Of course, the opening 22 is not made much larger than the eye opening, for one purpose of the outer shell is to provide a rigid, pro-- tective housing around the eye member 2 5, with a certain amount of clearance therebetween to insure free oscillation of the eye member. The opening 22 therefore must not be made so large as to permit the rubber eye opening to engage I and rub frictionally against the eye member 2a, because this would interfere with the desired free oscillation of the eye member.

The eye member 2% is approximately hemispherical in configuration, and in the present case, is shown in simplest form, but it will be understood that the eye member may, if desired, be elaborated to include a lens, or an eyelash, or both. The eye member is oscillatably mounted on a cross shaft 26 which extends horizontally across the eye member, the ends of shaft 26 being received in holes 28 (Fig. 7) in the side walls of the eye member. The eye member turns freely on shaft 26, and the latter is upset at 3@ (Figs. 4 and 5) to prevent axial movement of the shaft relative to the eye, for that would permit the eye to escape from the shaft. The keys or thrust bearings 38 are most simply formed by striking or pinching the metal of the shaft to extrude a part of the metal outwardly. The extension of shaft 26 beyond the thrust bearings 3i) is preferably made comparatively slight, so that the shaft can be forced in position in the eye by taking advantage of the yieldability of the eye, it being sprung over the ends of the shaft.

The eye member 24 is preferably drawn to shape from sheet metal. The eye is provided with a weight arm 32 which extends rearwardly from the eye and then downwardly to a weight 3%. The weight arm is preferably formed of sheet metal, and is most simply made integrally with the eye member, as is clearly shown in the drawing. The weight 34 may be made in varied ways, and in the present case consists of a strip or bar of a comparatively soft weighty metal such as lead, this metal being bent to U-shape around the end of the weight arm, and being indented at 36 to help anchor the same on the weight arm. The latter may, if desired, be provided with a hole 38 (Fig. 3) which receives the indented metal, thereby locking the parts securely together.

Shaft 26 is carried by an upright member or bearing ii]. The upper and lower ends of bearing 49 form pins or trunnions which are pivotally received in pockets 32, the latter being struck outwardly at the top and bottom of outer shell 20. This affords lateral or side to side oscillation of the eye member. The axis of the vertical bearing is preferably located in the same plane as and intersects the axis of the horizontal shaft 26. These axes preferably intersect at the center of curvature of the spherical surface of eye member 2%, so that the spacing of the eye member from the eye opening does not vary during oscillation of the eye member in any direction.

The upright bearing til is preferably stamped out of sheet metal, and is given a configuration like that shown in Fig. 3, this somewhat simulat ing an E or sigma. The center .part M is enlarged to receive the shaft 26. The shaft is held frictionally or tightly gripped between the jaws of center portion M. A closed hole may be provided in portion 44 to receive the shaft 28, but it is better to use an openhole, as shown, because then the hole may be made somewhat smaller in diameter than the shaft, thereby insuring a continued tight grip between the parts after the shaft is pressed into position.

The upright bearing 58 is liberally cut away at the top and bottom, as is indicated at 46, thereby providing clearance for vertical oscillation of eye member 24. In Fig. 3 the eye is shown in open position, and the upper edge. of the eye is received in the upper recess it. In Fig. 6 the 'eye is shown in closed position, and the lower edge of the eye is received in the lower recess 6'5.

The weight arm 32' and the lowermost part of eye member 2 5 are slotted as is indicated at (Figs. 3 and 9) to receive the upright bearing til. The slot Q8 is made long enough to afford vertical oscillation of the eye member between the positions shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 6. In Fig. 3 the bearing it! occupies the rear end of slot l8, while in Fig. 6 it occupies the forward end of slot 48.

To put together the parts of the eye assembly, the shaft 26 is first pressed into bearing ii), following which the ends of shaft ZB-are upset at so. 7 The shaft and bearing combination is then assembled with the eye member 2%, the lower end of bearing ill being passed through slot 18, and the ends of shaft 26 being sprung into the holes at the sides of the eye member. The partial w assembly is then inserted in outer shell 20, the

ends of bearing 40 being sprung into the pockets 42 at the top and bottom of the outer shell. The weight 34 may be added to weight arm 32 at any convenient time, either before or after assembling the other parts.

The eye assembly is now ready for insertion in the doll head. For this purpose, it is forced into the housing l6, and is then held in place by driving a pair of pins 50 through the rubber housing immediately behind the rear edge of the outer shell 26. Pins 58 may be ordinary nails or brads. The pins are preferably applied by using the mechanism described in my co-pending application Serial Number 215,777, previously referred to. In the present case, however, the nails 50 are preferably spaced apart somewhat further than was indicated in my co-pending application, in order to provide adequate clearance for side to side or rolling movement of the Weight arm 32 with the eye.

It will be understood that the weight at produces both'the vertical and horizontal oscillation of the eye. When the head is in a vertical position, the downward movement of the Weight moves the eye to open position. When the head is turned to a horizontal position, the weight maintains its downward position, and the eye therefore changes to closed position. The movement of the eye so far described, takes place about the shaft 26. If the head is leaned to one side or the other, or is rocked from side to side, the weight causes a sideward movement of the eye, this movement taking place about the vertical bearing pockets :32. The maximum opening and closing movement of the eye may be limited by the length of slot 48, or the recesses 46, and the maximum sideward oscillation of the eye may be limited by the spacing of the nails kit.

It is bjelieved that the doll head and doll eye construction of my invention, as well as the many advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The eyes are individually complete and are therefore independent of one another, and require no interconnecting mechanism therebetween. is not hindered in the event of deformation of the head causing a displacement of one eye opening relative to the other. The individual eyes are protected by the outer shells against deformation of the eye openings. The outer shells serve also to receive the upright bearing. The entire eye structure is simple, light, and made of a minimum number of inexpensive sheet metal parts which may be manufactured and assembled with a minimum of labor. The eye is readily and inexpensively yet securedly held in position by the attaching nails.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I clairn:

1. A single rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending from said eye member, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping move ment of the eye, an upright bear ng carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afiord side to side or rolling movement of the eye, the afore- Their operation iii) said weight arm being longitudinally slotted or cut away to receive the upright bearing.

2. A single rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising an outer shell cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member Within said outer shell, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front be tween the cross shaft and the top and bottom of the bearing to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof.

3. A single rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising a generally hemispherical outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member Within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, the aforesaid weight arm being so shaped as to clear the upright bearing.

4. A single rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising a generally hemispherical outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm,

a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front between the cross shaft and the upper and lower ends of the bearing to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof, and the aforesaid weight arm being so shaped as to clear the upright bearing.

5. A single rolling doll eye assembly for use i in a rubber head, said assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm formed integrally with said eye member and extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front between the crcss shaft and the upper and lower ends of the bearing to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof, and the aforesaid weight arm being longitudinally slotted or cut away to receive the upright bearing.

6. In combination, a doll head having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye opening, defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to the eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly from said eye member, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, and the aforesaid weight arm being longitudinally slotted or cut away to receive the upright bearing.

7. In combination, a doll head having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining a sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising an outer shell cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front between the cross shaft and the upper and lower ends of the bearing to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof.

8. In combination, a (101] head made of rubber and having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising a generally hemispherical outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, the aforesaid weight arm clearing the up right bearing.

9. In combination, a doll head made of rubber and having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed Walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising a generally hemispherical outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the 'eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front between the cross shaft and the upper and lower ends of the bearing to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof, and the aforesaid weight arm being so shaped as to clear the upright bearing.

10. In combination, a doll head made of rubber and having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, an eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising a generally. hemispherical outer shell openv at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye open ing, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm formed integrally with said eye member, and extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, and a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, and pins driven through said sockets immediately behind the outer shells to hold the eye assemblies in the head, said pins being so located as not to interfere with the desired movement of the weight arms.

11. In combination, a doll head made of rubber and having eye openings, aid head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to the eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm formed integrally with said eye member and extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally I across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof, and the aforesaid weight arm be ing longitudinally slotted or cut away to receive the upright bearing.

12. In combination, a doll head having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings,

arolling eye assembly inserted in each socket,-

said eye assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending rearwardly from said eye member, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, the aforesaid weight arm clearing the upright bearing, and pins driven through said sockets immediately behind the outer shells to hold the eye assemblies in the head, said pins being so located as not to interfere with the desired movement of the weight arms.

13. In combination, a doll head made of rubber and having eye openings, said head being molded with inwardly directed walls at the eye openings defining sockets projecting rearwardly from the eye openings, a rolling eye assembly inserted in each socket, said eye assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm formed integrally with said eye member and extending rearwardly and downwardly from said eye member, a weight at the end of said Weight arm, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing being cut away at the front to receive the eye member during up and down oscillation thereof, and the aforesaid weight arm being longitudinally slotted or cut away to receive the upright bearing, and pins driven through said sockets immediately behind the outer shells to hold the eye assemblies in the head, said pins being so located as not to interfere with the desired movement of the weight arms. I

14. A single rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising an outer shell open at the rear and cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, an eye member within said outer shell, a weight arm extending from said eye member, a cross shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, an upright bearing carrying the cross shaft, the upper and lower ends of said upright bearing being pivotally received at the top and bottom of the outer shell to afford side to side or rolling movement of the eye, the aforesaid weight arm being so shaped as to clear the upright bearing.

15. A rolling doll eye assembly, said assembly comprising an outer shell cut away at the front to conform to an eye opening, said outer shell being open at the rear and expanding in diameter from the front toward the rear, an eye member within said outer shell, said eye member being approximately hemispherical and open at the rear, a cros shaft extending horizontally across the eye for up and down or sleeping movement of the eye, the ends of said cross shaft terminating within the outer shell, an upright bearing struck out of sheet metal and carrying the cross shaft, said upright bearing having forwardly extending arms at the top and bottom adapted to fit between the eye member and the outer shell, vertical pins at the forward ends of said arms received in bearings in the outer shell, said arms being curved to conform to the spherical shape of the eye member and to help avoid interference with the outer shell during side to side oscillation or rolling movement of the eye, said upright bearing further including a forwardly extending part at the middle with an open-sided hole frictionally receiving the aforesaid cross shaft with a force fit.

SAMUEL MARCUS

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