US2520491A

US2520491A - Puppet for stop-motion technique

Info

Publication number: US2520491A
Application number: US571185A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bunin Louis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1945-01-03
Filing date: 1945-01-03
Publication date: 1950-08-29
Anticipated expiration: 1967-08-29

Description

u 9,1950 L..BUNlN 2,520,491

PUPPET FOR STOP-MOTION TECHNIQUE Filed Jan. 3, 1945 INVENTOR [0am uzzm BY ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF ICE PUPPETFORJSTOP-MOTIGN 'TEGHNHQUEF Louis:Bunin, Los Angeles, Califl,

Application iianuary 3, 1945;SeriahNoJ'7-ig185 This invention relates to puppets used in the production of animated moving pictures by so.- called,stop-motiontechnique. In the production of such: animated pictures it has been found advantageous to use puppets to effect the; desired seriesof increments of motion, instead of making use of successive (drawings, for the reason that the successive framesaof the picture can "be filmed from puppets in changed position in less, time and with less labor than is required for the .pro duction of successive drawings. Also puppet sets give a better three-dimensional effect, than do drawings.

It is 'anobject of the invention to provide a puppet having an eye structure which may be manually adjusted to any position within the range of natural eye movement without the necessity of special mechanism within the puppet head.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a puppet having an. eyeball and an eyelid. which are capable of independent adjustment to any desirable position relative to each other and to the surrounding parts of the head.

It is a further object of the invention to improve the mode of attachment of eyelashes to the eyelid to obtain durability and natural appearance.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a distortable puppet head having improved eye sockets adapted to cooperate with movable eyeballs and eyelids.

Other objects and details of the, invention will appear in the following description wherein I have disclosed the best form in which I have contemplated applying my invention.

In the drawings;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a clay pattern for the production of the mold used in the casting of a distortable, hollow puppet head pursuant to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the mold, showing manner of attaching a core for the eyeball socket;

Fi 3 is a view of the puppet head in profile section, a portion of the line of section being oflfsetto pass through one of the eye sockets;

Fig. 4' is a fragmentary perspective view showing; the eyeball and eyelid assembled the socket, certain parts being indicated in dotted lin s :1

Fig. 5 is; an elevational View of a, ball from which the eyeball is made;

Fig; 6 is a front elevation of the eyeball. Eigs. 7 and 8: are side elevations, partially in 5 Claims. (CL, 46-.168

2 section, illustrating the relation to each other of the 1 eyeball and. the eyelid;

Fig. 9 is asectional view of apparatus which maybe used to,- shape eyelid parts; and

Fig. 1-0 is a perspective view of a slightly modified form of eyelid wherein the lashes are attached :solely by means of solder or other adhesive.

In the puppet, head in which my invention .is embodied a molded rubber envelope 5 is made in any desired shape and with any desired features, which envelope has such stretching characteristics as may be suitable to the particular purposeior whichthehead .is intended, as has been described insmy Batent- 2,237,751 granted April 1941.. The head disclosed is a human head; but the same principles areapplicable to other than humanior example, animals, birds, bugs, or .fanciful characters. In the production of the head, I make the envelope 5 of rubber or like material in substantially the manner described inmy patentbefore mentioned, using an image or pattern l, of clay or other material. In forming the clay pattern .I, I place, in the position of the eyes-balls; 240i a size corresponding to the eyeballs. I, of. the, finished. head, shaping. the pattern thereabout, as shown in Fig. 1. The balls .2. may be made of any suitable material, including wood, .metal, and synthetic materials.

From the image or pattern 1,, I, then form a split plaster of paris mold .3.; and when the mold has been .formed from the pattern the mold has two internal spherically concave .areas .3 therein corresppnding to. the surface of the eyes in thepattern, To. these concave areas 3, I cement two plaster of paris balls 4,. .of the same size as balls 2. .Balls 4 constitute cores for the eye sockets. 6., in the head 5 .tobe. cast in the mold,

Tor cast a distortableand flexible puppet head irom themold the, mold is inverted from the position shown inFig. 2 and is. then filled with latex. .Ehe latex is allowed to stand until a sufficient quantity thereof has congealed upon the inner surtaceof the mold to constitute the ruhberskin ot head 5, having the desired thickness. 'l he uncongealedlatex remaining-after the shin has-formed is then poured out of the mold;

and after the skin, it of selfevu-loanizing; charis thus provided with integral spherical eye sockets '5 adapted to receive the eyeballs that are to be inserted therein.

While for most purposes I prefer to use a split mold as shown in Fig. 2, I may, in lieu thereof, use a one-piece mold prepared in any suitable way known to the art. Since the rubber skin is collapsible, it lends itself to stripping from a onepiece mold; and to loosen the skin from the mold, jets of compressed air may be projected between the skin and the mold.

By the term rubber I do not limit myself to natural rubber, but refer to all artificial or synthetic rubbers as well as substitutes therefor.

Each socket 6 is of such size as to exert elastic tension on the inserted assembly of eyeball and lid. Thus, the socket exerts a slight constrictive grip upon the eyeball and eyelid, and both the eyeball and eyelid are thereby frictionally restrained to maintain any position into which they may be manually adjusted.

The eyeball l, is a sphere colored or painted to resemble a natural eyeball, with a pupil 8 and an iris 9. Through the pupil a radial hole I!) is drilled extending partially, but not entirely through the sphere. This hole constitutes a socket into which an eye-adjusting tool such as a pin H may be inserted to enable turning the eyeball to various positions in the socket, such as indicated in Fig. 8. Since the hole l does not extend entirely through the eyeball, the inserted end of the pin or other instrument cannot come into contact with the lid or socket wall and thus interfere with the free movement of the eyehave proven well adapted to the wear and tear of puppet use in stop motion technique wherein hundreds, and even thousands, of changes in eyelid position may be required of a single puppet employed in the enactment of asingl drama.

Each eyelid is composed of two hemispherical shells, l4 and I5, between which are held the ends of the lash-constituting.filaments !3.

The layers l4, E of the lid may be secured together in any way as by cementing. The eyelash filaments 13 are first disposed in spaced relation along what will constitute the exposed forward edge thereof and are cemented down in this arrangement. The second shell 15 is then cemented onto the lashes l3 and the first shell l4, thus forming a two-ply lid with eyelashes which appear to grow out from its very edge. The filaments for the lashes may consist of metal, fiber, plastic, natural hair, textile fringe, or other material suitable for the particular purposes and effects contemplated.

Where eyelids of great durability are desired, the shells l4, 15 maybe constructed of drawn copper or brass and the lashes l3 may be formed of fine Phosphor-bronze wire terminally secured between the shells by sweat soldering in the manner depicted in Fig. 8. Such nested metallic shells M, !5 may be readily simultaneously drawn from fiat stock by placing the sheet metal blanks l8, l9 therefor upon a block N5 of lead and forcing a hardened steel ball I! into the blanks and block, as indicated by Fig. 9. The ball I! may be so forced by means of hammer blows or by means of a press. After the drawin operation, the substantially hemispherical shells l4, !5 are cut out from the blanks l8, l9 and are trimmed and polished to remove rough spots and sharp edges 4 which might tend to abrade the eyeball 1 or eyesocket 6.

A simpler eyelid structure may be produced through the use of a single shell H4 to the extreme edge portion of which lashes H3 are secured in a row of suitable extent by solder or cement. This shell H4, like those l4, 15 for the two-ply lid may, if desired, be formed by procedure other than drawingfor example by molding, casting or spinning methods.

To install the eyes and lids in the eye sockets 6 of the rubber head, the lid l2 or H2 is first placed upon the eyeball l as indicated in Figs. '7 and 8. This assembly is then forced into the eyesocket '5 by stretching its opening. Installed, the eyeball and lid takes on the lifelike appearance shown in Fig. 4.

To adjust the position of each eyeball I, a pin ll may be temporarily inserted into the drilled pupil hole In thereof, which pin may then be employed as a lever by which the eye may be readily turned to any selected position. To move the eyelid to any desired degree of closure, independent of the pupil position, the lashes 13 may be grasped by the fingers of the operator and used as a handle. It will be understood, thus, that independent adjustments of the eyeball and eyelid are possible in an infinite variability enabling the simulation of all natural eye eifects indicative of human and animal emotions.

The rubber of socket 6 takes a relatively strong frictional hold on both the eyeball 1 and the lid 12 or H2. On the other hand, the friction between the eyebfl and the eyelid can be limited to a relatively small value, these parts being made of metal or like material. Thus, the eyeball and the eyelid can each be independently adjusted, without the adjusted eyeball position being disturbed by adjustive movement of the eyelid, and vice versa.

Having thus fully described my invention in compliance with the patent statutes, what I claim is:

1. A puppet head having an elastically expansible spherical eye socket provided with an eye opening in the puppet face, an eye-simulating ball member rotatably disposed within said spherical socket, snugly frictionally engaged by the elastic wall thereof and having the pupilsimulating portion of its surface exposed'through said opening, and an eyelid member comprising a thin shell of spherical curvature complementarily interposed between said ball member and said socket, having greater surface area than said opening and lesser surface are than the spherical wall of said socket and having a higher coeflicient of friction with said socket wall than with said ball member so as to enable independent selective adjustment of said shell and said ball member with respect to said socket.

2. A puppet head having an elastically expansible spherical eye socket provided with an eye opening in the puppet face, an eye-simulating ball member rotatably disposed within said spherical socket, snugly frictionally engaged by the elasticwall thereof and having the pupilsimulating portion of its surface exposed through said opening, an eyelid member comprising a thin shell of spherical curvature complementarily interposed between said ball member and said socket, having greater surface area than said opening and lesser surface area than the spherical wall of said socket and having a higher coefficient of friction with said socket wall than with said ball member so as to enable independent selective adjustment of said shell and said ball member with respect to said socket, said ball member being provided with a bore substantially coincident with a radius through the pupilsimulating portion of the surface thereof exposed by said opening for reception of a lever to effect rotative adjustment of said ball member relative to said eye socket, and eye-lash simulating means on the forward edge of said shell, extending through said opening and having sufiicient extent and attachment thereto to enable use as a lid-adjusting instrumentality.

3. A puppet head having an elastically expansible spherical eye socket provided with an eye opening in the puppet face, an eye-simulating ba1l member rotatably disposed within said spherical socket, snugly frictionally engaged by the elastic wall thereof and having the pupilsimulating portion of its surface exposed through said opening, an eyelid member comprising a thin laminated shell of spherical curvature complementarily interposed between said ball memher and said socket, having greater surface area than said opening and lesser surface area than the spherical wall of said socket and having a higher coeflicient of friction with said socket wall than with said ball member so as to enable independent selective adjustment of said shell and said ball member with respect to said socket, and means for effecting said independent selective adjustment of said eyelid comprising eyelashsimulating means terminall interposed between and secured to lamina of said shell and extending through said socket opening in the puppet face.

4. In a, puppet head, a spherical puppet eyeball having an eyelid comprising a part of a hollow sphere conforming to said eyeball and movable relative thereto, said eyeball and eyelid being mounted in a spherical socket and movable independently therein, both the eyeball and the eyelid being frictionally held in said socket against inadvertent movement.

5. A puppet head having a socket for a spherical eyeball, a movable spherical eyeball frictionally held against inadvertent movement in said socket, an eyelid comprising a portion of a hollow sphere conforming to said eyeball and to said socket and independently movable relative to said eyeball and to said socket, and means for manually moving both said eyeball and said eyelid relative to said socket.

LOUIS BUNIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,294,592 Zaiden Feb. 18, 1919 1,352,047 Boje, Jr. Sept. 7, 1920 1,432,205 Petrow Oct. 17, 1922 1,433,901 Marcus Oct. 31, 1922 1,790,743 Christensen Feb. 3, 1931 1,807,091 Pollack May 26, 1931 1,981,333 Schavoir Nov. 20, 1934 2,039,928 Popovich May 5, 1936 2,161,281 Carter June 6, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 30,237 Denmark Sept. 11, 1922 32,937 Germany Sept. 8, 1885