US2888776A

US2888776A - Vertically movable doll

Info

Publication number: US2888776A
Application number: US649042A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sauer Jack
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1957-03-28
Filing date: 1957-03-28
Publication date: 1959-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1976-06-02

Description

June 2, 1959 J SAUER 2,888,776

' VERTICALLY MOVABLE DOLL Filed March 28, 1957 INVENTOR JA CK .SAUER ATTORNEY United States Patent VERTICALLY MOVABLE DOLL Jack Sauer, Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada Application March 28, 1957, Serial No. 649,042

4 Claims. (CI. 46-61) This invention relates to toys, and more particularly has reference to a doll having therein a Yo-Yo, that is, a rotatable inertia member of disc-like, peripherally grooved form about which is wound a suspension string. In a Yo-Yo, the string is manipulable in a manner to permit the member to be rotated for the purpose of causing the same to travel downwardly and upwardly along the string.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a generally improved doll of the character described that will be highly amusing when the Yo-Yo is operated. It is proposed, in this connection, that the doll will be adapted to not only move upward and downwardly along the string seemingly without means of effecting such movement but also, will be designed to move its arms and legs while traveling along the string or cord.

Another object is to so form the doll that concurrently with the arm and leg movements thereof, bells or other sound-producing elements, carried at the extremities of the limbs, will sound for the purpose of adding to the amusement derived from the toy.

Another object is to provide an improved means of constructing the Yo-Yo doll, wherein the Yo-Yo will be enclosed in a rectangular housing of sheet metal or the like. It is proposed that the housing protectively enclose the Yo-Yo, and at the same time be capable of being attached to the walls of the hollow body of the doll in a completely concealed position.

Another object is to provide a toy doll as described in which the Yo-Yo assembly, including not only the rotatable inertia disc but also the housing thereof, will be adapted for mounting in a dolls body that will be of a flexible, resilient material if desired, so that the body will move its head, legs, and arms during the operation of the device.

Still another object is to provide a device of the character stated that will be so formed that any of various novel means for supporting the rotatable member within its associated housing can be used, with the assembly of the member and housing being capable of being eifected with maximum facility.

Another object is to provide a toy of the character stated which will have the Yo-Yo mounted therein in such a manner as to properly balance the body of the doll, while at the same time weighting said body effectively for efficient operation of the device.

Still another object is to assemble the housing and Yo- Yo in a manner to facilitate the disassembly of these components whenever, for example, the cord needs to be replaced, or other repairs or maintenance effected.

Still another object is to provide the support for the Yo-Yo in such a manner that it will space the rotatable member from the several walls of the body of the doll, with the housing at the same time holding said walls of the dolls body in a prescribed, spaced relationship to one another.

Yet another object is to provide a toy of the character 'ice manufacture at a relatively low cost without sacrifice of durability or trouble-free operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughoutand in which: 7

Figure 1 is a perspective veiw of a Yo-Yo doll according to the present invention in which a portion of the body has been broken away to show inner construction details; a Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view substantially on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the same scale as Figure 2, taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is va transverse sectional view through the Yo-Yo housing showing amodified construction; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing another modification. v

Referring to the drawings in detail, designated generally by the reference numeral 10 is a doll according to the present invention, having a hollow body which can be rigidly constituted if desired, or which alternatively can be formed of a flexible material, such as a flexible plastic, soft rubber, etc. The body is preferably, as shown in Figure 1, formed of individual, molded parts including a torso portion 12 which is formed open at its lower end, and which, at its upper end, is integrally molded with a head 14. Connected in communication with the lower end of the torso portion 12 is the lower portion 16 of the body,opening upwardly and joined at 18 with the portion 12. Of course, any of various other types of joints can be employed, and to effect the permanent connection of the components, adhesive or similar means can beemployed. v

In any event, the lower portion 16 is permanently closed at its lower end, having an end wall 20. The end wall 20 has transversely spaced, downwardly opening recesses receiving the closed upper ends of the legs of the doll. The legs of the doll are connected to the lower portion 16 within the sockets provided therefor by means of pins 22, 'so that the legs 24 have a certain freedom of movement, in that they can move laterally as well as forwardly and rearwardly, and can also swivel upon the connecting pins 22. The legs 24 would also be made in a preferred embodiment of a flexible material, so that durmg operation of the toy the feet on the lower ends of the legs will vibrate or shake, adding to the amusement derived from the toy. 7

Arms 26 are received in sockets provided in the opposite sides of the upper portion 12 of the body, and are connected to the body by pins 28. The arms can thus swivel on the pins 28 and can also swing outwardly as Well as forwardly and rearwardly. On the outer extremities of'the arms and legs, sound: producing elements 30, such as bells, can be attached. When the free ends of the limbsof the doll shake or vibrate during use of the toy the bells or other tone producing elements will be caused to sound, thereby to further add to the amusement derived from the toy.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, within the upper portion 12, there is fixedly mounted a rectangular sheet metal housing 32, formed open at its top and bottom, and having front and back walls formed with threaded openings receiving connecting screws34, that pass through smooth walled openings of the front and back walls of the body portion 12 of the doll. In this way, the housing is fixedly mounted within the upper portion 12, in a position wholly concealed from view, and at the same time, the housing serves to maintain the front and back walls of the doll in a predetermined, spaced relationship.

Referring to Figure 3, an axle 36 extends transversely,

horizontally between the side walls of the housing 32,

and its opposite ends have axial, threaded recesses receiving screws 38' that pass through smooth-walled openings formed in the side walls of the housing. In this way, the axle is'fixedly supported within the housing.

A rotatable inertia disc 40 has a deep peripheral groove 42, and it will be understood that said groove can be of any desired depth. Considered from another standpoint, the inertia disc includes transversely spaced, identical but oppositely formed disc elements integrally connected by a hub 43.

A transverse, centrally disposed bore 44 is formed in the disc, and fixedly engaged in the bore is a roller hearing 45 including series of ball elements 46 spaced axially of the axle 36. The free rotation of the disc upon the axle is thus assured.

Looped about the hub 43 is a cord 48, which extends through the open top of the housing upwardly within the head 14, passing loosely through a guide opening 50 formed in the top of the head of the doll.

It will thus be seen that the user can grasp the upper end of the cord 48, the general practice being to provide a loop on the upper end of the cord which receives ones finger. Then, by up and down jerking movements of the hand to which the cord is attached, the cord will be caused to wind and unwind on the inertia disc in alternating relation so that the doll alternatively travels downwardly and then upwardly along the cord, responsive to rotation of the disc in opposite directions during the winding and unwinding operations.

This provides a high degree of amusement to children, since the doll appears to travel up and down the cord without visible means of locomotion. The Yo-Yo disc, of course, would be weighted, to increase the effectiveness of the action, but the material of the dolls body is preferably relatively light, and could, for example, be a comparatively thin and flexible rubber material as previously mentioned herein.

In any instance in which it is necessary to repair the Yo-Yo, one need only detach the portion 16 from the portion 12 to expose the Yo-Yo from below. Then, the screws 34 are removed, and the Yo-Yo housing is pulled downwardly through the open bottom of the body portion 12. The disc and axle can now be removed from the housing, merely by removing screws 38 from the axial recesses provided in the ends of the axle 36.

It will be seen that this facilitates assembly and disassembly of the doll and further facilitates the maintenance and repair of the doll, so that it can he kept in use over a long period of time.

In Figures 4 and there are shown modified means for assembling the inertia disc with the housing. In the form of the invention shown in Figure 4, the housing 32 is identical to that of the first form. However, the inertia disc 40a is rotatably supported through the provision of identical but opposite axle members 36a, coaxially aligned and having threaded inner ends engaged in correspondingly threaded, laterally opening recesses provided in the disc. Integrally formed on the outer ends of the sections 36a are reduced trunnions 38a, rotatably bearing in small openings formed in the side walls of the housing. In all other respects, the construction is identical to that of Figures 1-3.

In Figure 5, another modification is shown in which the housing 326 is identical to that of Figures 1-4, except for the absence of bearing openings in the side walls. Instead, support plates 52 are fixedly mounted against the inner surfaces of the side Walls, through the provision of screws 54 extending through openings provided in the upper parts of the side walls and engaged in registering, threaded openings of the support plate.

The support plates 52 at their lower ends have bearing openings receiving trunnioris 38b provided upon the opposite ends of a one-piece bearing pin or axle 36b that is fixedly engaged in a through center opening of the disc b. In this form, the disc is removed from the housing by first removing the screws 54. This frees the plates 52, together with the axle and disc for removal from the housing. Thereafter, the plates will fall away from the ends of the axle, permitting the desired repair or replacement operations to be carried out.

In all forms of the invention, there is the common, desirable characteristic wherein the toy can be manufactured at a very low cost, by mass production methods, thereby permitting the same to be sold at a price sufficiently low to justify commercial production.

Further, the toy in every form of the invention is so designed as to completely conceal the Yo-Yo assembly, and again, this is a desirable feature of the invention.

Still further, the body is properly balanced relative to the Yo-Yo, in view of the fact that the Yo-Yo is centrally, rotatably supported within a housing which is so designed as to center itself in respect to the body, when it is secured to the body of the doll. This is an important feature of the invention, in view of the fact that this arrangement in turn automatically results in the cord 48 being properly aligned with the opening formed in the upper end of the head 14.

A further feature of importance resides in the fact that the doll, having a flexible body in a preferred embodiment, will move its arms and legs of its own accord, so to speak, while traveling upwardly and downwardly upon the cord. This will in turn cause sounds to be produced by the tinkling of bells provided at the outer ends of the limbs of the doll.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A Yo-Yo doll comprising a dolls flexible body at least a portion of which is hollow; rotatable inertia means in the hollow portion of the body including a rigidly constituted housing preventing collapse of said body, a peripherally grooved inertia disc in the housing, and means carried by the housing on which the disc is rotatably supported; and a suspension cord wound within said groove upon the disc and extending upwardly from the inertia means, said housing being fixedly connected, at opposite walls thereof, to corresponding opposite walls of the dolls body, said body of the doll including a head having a guide opening centrally located with respect to said housing, said cord passing loosely through the guide opening, said dolls body including an upper portion in which said housing is mounted, said upper portion opening downwardly, a lower portion opening upwardly' and connected to the upper portion, thus to expose the housing on separation of said upper and lower portion, and arms and legs connected to said upper and lower portions respectively.

2. A Yo-Yo doll as in claim 1 wherein said means for rotatably supporting the disc comprises an axle extending transversely of the housing, screws carried by opposite walls of the housing and removably engaged in the ends of the axle, and a ball bearing centrally engaged in the disc and receiving the axle.

3. A Yo-Yo doll as in claim 1 wherein said means for rotatably supporting the disc comprises a pair of coaxial axle sections having threaded inner ends engaged in opposite sides of the disc, said sections having reduced trunnions at their outer ends, the housing having bearing openings in which the trunnions are journaled in opposite Walls of the housing.

4. A Yo-Yo doll as in claim 1 wherein said means for rotatably supporting the disc comprises an axle fixedly engaged in the center part of the disc and projecting along opposite sides of the disc, said aXle being formed at opposite ends thereof with reduced trunnions, support plates engaged against opposite walls of the housing, and screws carried by said opposite walls of the housing and engaged with said support plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wurst Sept. 26, 1882 Gund July 13, 1915 Bell Dec. 9, 1930 Buttigieg Feb. 16, 1937 Sladek Mar. 28, 1950 Perker Aug. 5, 1952 Seligson Oct. 28, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Netherlands Dec. 15, 1934