US2906059A - Doll with sound-actuated moving parts - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1959 c. D. BERGER DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 10, 1954 I N VE NTOR.

Sept. 29, 1959 c. D. BERGER DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 10, 1954 INVENTOR.

Sept. 29, 1959 c. D. BERGER 2,906,059

DOLL WITH SOUND-'ACTUATED MOVING PARTS Filed Feb. 10, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 E0 INVENTOR.

C'ftrzfsifianl). Berger 7 7 14 BY w //5 A TTOR NE YJI p 29, 1959 c. D. BERGER 2,906,059

DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS Filed Feb. 10, 1954 I '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

I/IJ' ATTORNEY)" Sept. 29, 1959 c BERGER 2,906,059

DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS 67/77/8 6 Pas/770,:

l Pal/77 V6 0 W604 771 6 & W W

1 NVE N TOR.

Sept. 29,1959 c. D. BERGER DOLL wrm SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 10, 1954 .SITT/NG POSIT/ON /y wv-ERMEo/n TE POSI TIC 50 PI N E POS/ r/o/v [NI 1; N TOR.

C'firc'sficut D. B 31- Sept. 29, 1959 c. D. BERGER 2,905,059

DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS I Filed Feb. 10, 1954 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 k :r 12:0 zzs\ /y/ 15a 15 4 K 12 1 120 F g 122 18 1242- I Utr$ficu1D.Bcr-ger QMQOSW United States Patent DOLL WITH SOUND-ACTUATED MOVING PARTS Christian D. Berger, New York, N.Y. Application February 10, 1954, Serial No. 409,316 14 Claims. (Cl. 46-245) The present invention relates to a doll having means actuated in response to sound or other vibration which will produce movements of one part. relative to another part thereof.

More particularly still the invention rel-ates to a doll so arranged that it will rise from a supine to a sitting position in response to either sound or touch, thus simulating an awakening from sleep.

The doll of the present invention comprises generally a body portion and legs, the legs being pivotally mounted with respect to the body portion, spring means urging the doll from supine to a sitting position, and electromagnetic means which hold the doll in a supine position until an electric circuit supplying current to the electromagnetic means is broken in response to either sound or touch. The spring means is so manged that the movement of the doll to its sitting position is relatively slow and at a lessening rate of acceleration as the doll nears its upright position, in contrast to catapult spring means wherein motion is rapid and deceleration sudden. The spring means are carefully designed to accomplish this relatively slow motion and less sudden stop in order that the motion of the doll may approximate that of a human rising to a sitting position.

In my prior application Serial No. 325,663, filed December 12, 1952, and abandoned February 11, 1954, a doll of the type mentioned was described. This application is a continuation-in-part of the earlier application and includes modified forms of the invention particularly as respects the mounting of the legs on the doll body and the spring actuating means as well as the mode of attaching the actuating means to the doll body and legs.

It is an object of the invention to produce a doll or like structure which will rise from a supine position in response to sound or touch.

It is another object of the invention to produce such a doll in which the sound-actuating means is of sufiicient sensitivity so that the action described may be produced in response to sounds of moderate intensity without necessitating that the sound-receiving mechanism be exposed or that the doll body be provided with apertures to permit the sound to reach the sound sensitive device.

It is another object of the invention to produce a doll as above described having a realistic motion from the supine to the sitting position, that is, a motion that is smooth and which terminates with a gradual rather than a sudden deceleration.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a doll the legs of which are so designed as to provide stability and prevent toppling over of the doll upon arriving at a sitting position or when placed in that position.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide electromagnetic means for overcoming the spring torque and maintaining the doll in a supine position, the electromagnet and its circuit being such that the restraining force will be relatively great and the drain upon the battery supplying the restraining force low in order to secure long life of the batteries employed.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide means for readily replacing the batteries which do not detrimentally affect the appearance of the doll.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a doll as described having a low weight thereby diminishing the chances of breakage and to provide a :doll of the type described which may be economically manufactured and which is reliable in operation.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a doll embodying my invention, the doll being shown in supine position and resting upon a substantially horizontal surface;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the doll in its sitting position.

Figure 4 is a detailed perspective view of the soundactuated circuit-breaking mechanism and shows schematically the electric circuit controlled by said circuit-breaking mechanism;

Figure 5 is a partial section on line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a partial section on line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 2, partially broken away, showing a modification of my invention;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section taken along line 8-8 in Fig. 9 of a modification of the springactuating and electromagnet-restraining means wherein the magnet is placed in the torso of the doll as is the magnet armature, the weight being supplied to the legs by the dry cells which are located therein. In this embodiment of the invention the legs are independently movable;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the modification of Figure 8 the view being taken on the planes of the line 9-9 of Figure 8;

Figure 10 shows a further modification of the springac-tuating and electromagnetic-restraining means differing from the form of Figures 8 and 9 in that the weight of the magnet is in one of the legs rather than in the torso, thus providing a saving in the total weight of the doll;

Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing the wiring of the electromagnetic-restraining means and the sound or vibration-actuated circuit breaker in series with the batteries and the electromagnetic-restraining means;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the legs of the doll showing particularly a mode of providing access to the hollow leg for the removal and insertion of batteries;

Figures 13 and 14 are respectively fragmentary, longitudinal and transverse cross-sectional views of the magnet armature and its mounting means showing particularly the flexible mounting of the armature so that it can readily adjust its position to that of the magnet pole pieces;

Figure 15 is a series of curves of body weight moments and spring torque in which torque is plotted as a function of the angle of the body measured from the sitting position, for all positions from supine to sitting;

Figure 16 is a simplified fragmentary diagrammatic showing of a doll body and legs illustrating the effect of variation of point of spring attachment on the spring force required to balance the body moments;

Figure 17 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-sectional view of a doll similar to that shown in Figure 2, a torsion spring having been substituted for the tension spring of Figure 2;

Figure 18 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 18-18 of Figure 17, and showing the mode of attaching the torsion spring to the torso and to one leg.

Before discussing the details of the doll structure the theoretica considerations affecting the proper design of the spring-actuating means will be briefly discussed.

In order that the doll be capable of rising from a supine to a sitting position the weight-moment (moment or torque due to the weight) of the moving part of the doll, namely the torso (and attached head, arms and clothes thereon), about the axis of movement must be exceeded substantially by the weight-moment of a stationary part, for the torque of the spring actuating means must be greater than the moment of the moving part of the doll, and must be less than the weight-moment of the stationary part of the doll. This is accomplished primarily by making the legs sufliciently heavy so that they more than balance the spring torque. In some embodiments this may be accomplished by making one leg only of sufficient weight to accomplish the desired result and in other embodiments the two legs may be fastened together to rotate in unison and the weight of the two legs used to balance the moving part. Further, even when the two legs are independently movable the weight of each may contribute to balancing the movement of the moving part by utilizing a separate spring between the torso and each leg.

The spring or springs utilized to provide the torque required to overcome the weight-moment of the moving part may be supplied by extension or compression springs or by torsion springs.

Referring now to Figure 15, curve A is a graph of the moment exerted by the weight of the body about the pivoting axis. Notice that the weight-moment at the sitting position is negative. This is because the center of gravity of the body of the doll is somewhat forward of the vertical plane through the pivot axis when the doll is in a sitting position. It will also be seen that the weight-moment is a maximum in the supine position and that the weight-moment curve is not a linear function of the angle of the body. This non-linear relationship is most important because the way in which the spring torque curve matches the weight-moment curve determines the acceleration and velocity characteristics of the doll body movement.

The difference between the spring torque and the weight-moment at the supine position determines the initial angular acceleration of the doll. To be realistic, this acceleration should be small. But in order that the doll will respond to sound, with suflicient sensitivity, in the manner hereinafter to be described, the accelerating torque must be above a certain minimum. Tests on a large specimen of my invention indicate that for reliable operation the spring torque should exceed the weightmoment by a minimum of about at the supine pc sition and that is a good practical value. Any further increase in spring torque requires that the legs be correspondingly more heavily weighted to resist the spring torque which is undesirable from an overall weight standpoint.

The final angular velocity attained by the doll depends on friction, and the amount of spring-stored energy that is converted into rotational kinetic energy. The amount of energy that can be so converted is equal to the area between the spring-torque and weight-moment curves. To keep the velocity low, this area must be kept low. Because of friction, it is preferable that the spring torque curve exceed the weight-moment curve by a small amount at all points.

The above analysis indicates that the most desirable spring-torque curve is one which exceeds the Weightmoment curve by about 15% at the supine position and by a small amount at all other points so that the total area between the two curves is a minimum. This can more readily be done with tension springs than with torsion springs, for torsion springs have a linear torque vs. angle characteristic, but tension springs, by virtue of their means of coupling between the doll body and legs have a non-linear torque characteristic that can be made to match the non-linear weight-moment curve more 910 3]- epoaoee V a V p Curves B1 and B2 of Figure 15 show that the linear characteristic of torsion springs causes the area between the spring-torque curve and weight-moment curve to be greater than that for the tension-spring, curve C2.

The spring torque characteristic C2 of Figure 15 can be readily achieved with a tension (or compression) spring arrangement in which one end of the spring is hooked to the body as at B in Figure 16 and the other end to the leg at C2. With this arrangement the torque exerted by the spring as the body moves from supine to sitting position is always equal to the spring force times the perpendicular distance X from the pivotal axis A to a line BC2 joining the points of attachment of the opposite ends of the spring. It should be noted that the spring is attached to the leg at a point C2 which is displaced from the line between the pivot A and the spring end B in the sitting position. If the leg end of the spring were not so displaced, but were attached at C1 which is on the line between A and B in the sitting position, the resulting spring torque curve would be curve C1, Figure 15, which would be very unsatisfactory because of the large area between it and the weight-moment curve A. Point C2 is displaced from C1 by an angle on subtended from the pivot point A, Figure 16. Curve C2 which is otherwise similar to C1, Figure 15, is therefore shifted 'to the right on the graph by this same angle oz. Notice that this shift in the curve reduces the area between the spring-torque and weight-moment curves appreciably but changes the initial torque in the supine position only slightly. Thus by the proper selection of the angle a the curves can be brought close together in the desired manner. The shape of the spring torque curve depends on the stiffness of the spring used. A stiff spring will give a torque curve of greater slope at the sitting position than a soft spring. For a given weight-moment curve, therefore, a spring of such stifiness should be used that both curves have approximately the same slope near the sitting position.

The above has considered the situation when tension (or compression) springs are used. Despite the disadvantages previously mentioned, however, satisfactory results can also be obtained from torsion springs acting between the body and leg of the doll. Here again, though, it is best that the torsion spring have such stiffness that the slope of its torque curve be approximately the same as that of the weight-moment curve near the sitting position, as in curve B2, Figure 15. Also the torsion spring should be attached in such manner that it will exert negative torque in the sitting position and zero torque when the doll body has been moved backward by the angle a.

Figures 17 and 18 show a method of attaching a torsion spring between the doll body and leg. The inner end of the torsion spring engages a square boss on the leg and thus is rigidly attached thereto, while the outer end is riveted to a metal bar fastened to the doll body. The boss on the leg is oriented at the proper angle to make the spring exert only a little more torque than the weight-moment of the body, at positions near the sitting position.

Referring now to Figures 1 through 3, there is shown therein a doll having a hollow torso 10 with a conventional head 11 and arms 12 mounted thereon. Torso 10 is pivotally mounted on a pair of hollow legs 13 and 14, leg 13 being preferably conventional in construction while leg 14 is internally modified in accordance with my invention; both legs are, however, similarly attached to the torso 10. The parts described above may be made of conventional materials used in doll and toy manufacture including, without limitation, rigid and semi-rigid plastics.

Most of the details of the mounting of torso 10 on legs 13 and 14 are clearly shown in Figure 1. It will be seen that the axes of torso 10 and legs 13 and 14 are generally parallel and extend in the direction which will be taken as the longitudinal direction. However, the

upper portions 13a and 14a of legs 13 and 14 are turned inwardly in the manner shown in Figure 1, to present aligned lateral axes and means are provided for receiving these upper leg portions 13a and 14a in opposite sides of the lower part of said torso so that they are oscillatable about their axes.

In order .to receive leg portions 130: and 14a torso 10 is provided with a longitudinally tapered end portion 10a. The base of torso 10 is provided with a vertically extending rib 15 which has integral laterally extending bosses 15a. A lateral bore 16 extends through said bosses 15a and a shaft 17 is rotatably mounted in the bore 16. The torso end portion 10a is provided with opposed holes 18 in its sides. The shaft 17 extends centrally through the holes 18. Leg portions 13a and 14a are respectively oscillatable within the holes 18. Each leg portion has an inner end wall 19 having a suitable opening therein through which shaft 17 extends, the shaft being aligned with the common axis of said inturned leg portions. Since the torso is tapered as heretofore described, the lower portions of the end walls 19 are proximate to the lower edges of the respective recess 18 while the upper portion of the walls 19 are positioned substantially inwardly of the wall of the torso end portion 10a. The leg portions 13a and 14a and the holes 18 are shaped to permit the torso 10 to turn freely relative to the leg portions about the axis of shaft 17. Clearance is provided between leg portions 13a, 14a and holes 18 so that little or no rubbing friction between the torso and legs occurs at these points.

Leg portions 13a and 14a are provided at their outer sides with means for receiving the respective ends of shaft 17. As an example and as shown in Figure 1 these receiving means take the form of an inwardly extending boss 26 with a central recess through which the shaft extends. There may be a depression in the outer surface of boss 24) for receiving an enlarged head 17a on the shaft 17. As a result of this or other suitable construction the legs 13 and 14 are suitably held together on the shaft 17 with the torso 10 mounted thereon between said legs and with each part free to rotate relative to the other parts.

In the illustrated embodiment shaft 17 is turnable with respect to torso 10, and preferably is not fixed with respect to the legs 13 and 14. However, this arrangement as well as the socket arrangement and the means for mounting shaft 17 may be modified. Preferably metal reenforcement plates 21 are provided which plates are respectively fixedly mounted in abutting relationship to the inner faces of respective end walls 19 each pair of plates 21 having a suitable hole through which shaft 17 extends, the plates abutting against the transverse end faces of the bosses 15a.

Preferably end plates 21 are secured to wall portions 19 by means of the eyelet construction 22 shown in Figure 1. This provides an opening in the end wall 19 for circuit wires extending between circuit elements located within leg 14 and other circuit elements located within torso 10. The circuit conductors are not shown except diagrammatically in Figure 4.

A lever 23 is provided coupling leg 14 and torso 10, the lever having actuating means located within leg 14 for producing movement of the torso 10 relative to leg 14. In describing lever 23 it is assumed that torso 10 is supine and that the doll is supported on the heels of legs 13 and 14 as well as on the projection 140 of leg 14 and the similar projection of leg 13 (not shown), this giving a four-point support for the leg structure, and with preferably no other part of the doll touching the supporting surface, with the exception of such loose nonrigid parts as hair and clothes.

Lever 23 may be formed from a pair of sheet metal blanks which are cut, bent and positioned to provide a pair of abutting lever arms 23a and 23b extending parallel to the shaft 17. Lever arms 23a and 23b likewise extend a short distance in a longitudinal direction and are provided with suitable registering holes through which shaft 17 extends, the shaft thus serving as the fulcrum for lever 23. The lower end of the lever arms 23a and 23b are bent outwardly and extend toward the rear of the leg 14 as indicated at 23c and 23d. As has been indicated, the portions 23a and 23b of lever 23 are bent and extend parallel to the shaft 17 as indicated at 232 and 23 The abutting faces of portions 23a and 23b, 23c and 23d, and 23s and 23 are suitably secured together. The inner end of portion 23e is bent off and extends downwardly forming a lug 23g which is provided with a suitable opening through which shaft 17 extends. As a result lever 23 has two laterally spaced points of support on shaft 17 thus providing a smooth turning action of torso 10 relative to leg 14.

The inner end of portion 23] of lever 23 is bent forming a longitudinally extending portion 23h which extends through a slot 24 in the top of the leg portion 14a. At its end, portion 23h is again bent extending transversely of the torso and terminating in a connection hook 231' which is fixed by any suitable means to the upper portion of the vertically extending rib 15.

It will be apparent from the above that the lever 23 is fixed to the torso 10 and that the lever and torso are oscillatably mounted on the shaft 17. Therefore a force exerted on the end 23c, 23d of lever 23 will cause the turning of the torso 10 with respect to leg 14. Slot 24 is preferably substantially a straight sided slot Wide enough to clear lever 23, and extending about one quarter of the way around the inner end of leg portion 14a. In the supine position of the doll, shown in Figures 1 and 2, the axes of torso 10 and legs 13 and 14 extend longitudinally. The lever portion 23h is located forwardly of the rear and upper end 24a of the slot 24 and armature 33 abuts against electromagnet end face 30 and serves to maintain the longitudinal axis in substantial parallelism or in other words to maintain the doll in its supine position. The lower or leg end of lever 23 may be turned approximately in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 2 about the axis of shaft 17 to move torso 10 to its erect position as shown in Figure 3. In the erect position the portion 23h of lever 23 strikes the end 24b of slot 24 which thus serves as a stop to prevent further movement of the torso 10 in a clockwise direction about shaft 17.

The actuating means for lever 23 includes electromagnet 25 which is positioned within leg 14. This electromagnet is encased in a metal case comprising an outer cylindrical casing 25b, an inner cylindrical casing 250 and an annular base 25a. The inner cylinder 25c forms the magnet core and the winding 27 is positioned between this cylinder and the outer cylinder 25b being wound upon a bobbin so as to fit in the annular space between cylinders 25b and 250.

Leg 14 is provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced partition walls 26, each of which has a circular opening for reception of the magnet casing 25b. Casing 25b has an enlarged shoulder 25d adjacent its upper end and above the upper partition 26 and is thus located with respect to the partition 26. Each partition 26 is additionally provided with an axially offset hole 26a through which the various electrical conductors extend.

The lower end of electromagnet 25 has mounted thereon a metal end plate 29 which closes the otherwise open lower end of the bore 28. The upper ends of the inner casing or core 250 and of the outer casing 25b serve as contacts for electromagnet 25 and are designated 30 in Figure 2.

A cylindrical plunger 31, which is formed of insulating material, such for example as Bakelite, is slidably disposed within the bore 28 of the inner cylinder or core 250. A spring 32, which may be a coil spring, is located within the bore 28 between plunger 31 and end plate 29 and urges plunger 31 upwardly. An end stud 34 integral with plunger 31 but of smaller cross sectional area projects upwardly from plunger 31. A circular metal armature 33 abuts the upper end of a plunger 31,

34 between link 35 and armature 33 holds armature 33 against plunger 31 and also serves as an electrical con- .nection between the armature 33 and link 35. Arms 35a at the opposite end thereof are pivotally mounted on the ends of a pivot pin 37 which extends through lever portions 23c and 23d adjacent the free ends thereof. Thus armature 33 is electrically as well as mechanically connected to lever 23.

Electromagnet 25 is so constructed that when the doll is placed in its supine position thereby forcing armature 33 against the electromagnet upper end face 30, the electric circuit of winding 27 is completed and armature 33 is attracted to the pole face with sufficient force to overcome that portion of the torque produced by spring 32 which is not balanced by the weight-moment of the moving part of the doll and to maintain lever 23 in the position in which it is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The force of the spring keeps the body and head from resting on the supporting surface while the magnet force restrains the body from going higher. When the circuit of winding 27 is momentarily interrupted spring 32 immediately moves plunger 31 to the Figure 3 position thereby actuating lever 23 and causing torso 19 to move to the sitting position. Leg 14 is sufficiently weighted by the parts mounted therein, including the batteries to be presently described, so that it remains in its horizontal position while torso moves from the Figure l to the Figure 3 position. If desirable, additional weights may be placed in leg 14. Alternatively, leg 13 can be rigidly fixed to leg 14 to provide additional leg weight-moment.

The electric circuit for winding 27 includes a battery 45 which is preferably located within the leg 14. The mounting for the battery 45 comprises a partition 33 located in the leg 14 below the electromagnet 25. A metal plate 39 is mounted on the lower face of plate 33, the plate 39 having an extension 39a which extends upwardly through a suitable opening in plate 38. Also mounted on the lower face of plate 39 is a contact spring 40 which is adapted to make contact with the base of one of the cells 4.2 of the battery 45. A cylindrical casing 41 is fixed to and depends from the partition wall 38 and this casing houses a pair of the usual cylindrical dry cells 42 of the type commonly used in flashlights and supplying 1.5 volts per cell. These cells 42 are arranged in axial alignment within the casing 41. Contact spring 40 forces the central contact member of the lower cell against a metal contact plate 43 located at the bottom of leg 14. Plate 43 is removable from the foot of leg 14 in order that the cells 42 may be replaced. As shown in Figure 12, plate 43 may be laterally slidable and may be faced on its outer side with the material of which the remainder of the doll is made as indicated at 43a. The construction is such that the plate 43 slides in a groove 43b in the foot of the doll. A metal contact spring 44 which serves as a second terminal for battery 45 is attached to the side wall of casing 41 and makes resilient contact with the plate 43. This member 44 terminates at its lower end in a portion having a transverse V-bend therein which bend cooperates with a notch 430 in the plate 43 to hold that plate more securely in position. An oft center opening 38a is made in the partition wall 38 in order that a wire leading from terminal spring 44 maybe connected to the other circuit elements.

As is schematically indicated in Figure 4, one terminal of battery 45 is connected to one end of the winding 27. The other end of winding 27 is connected to the electromagnet end plate 29 and to the electromagnet casing. In the manner described above the circuit is extended from the electromagnetic casing through the armature 33 when the doll is in supine position. From armature 33 the circuit leads to one terminal of a sound controlled circuit completion means located within the torso 10 and from the other terminal of the sound controlled circuit completion means a conductor leads to the opposite terminal of battery 45.

Figures 4 and 5 are detailed views of the circuit completion means showing the positions of the parts when the doll is in its supine position and Figure 6 is a detailed view showing the parts when the doll is in its erect position.

The circuit completion means includes a mounting plate 46 which extends longitudinally of the doll and vertically from top to bottom as seen in Figure 2. Plate 46 is provided with a circular opening 47 therein in which is mounted the frusto-conical diaphragm 43, the diaphragm having its larger rim mounted resiliently on the rim of the opening 47 in plate 46 in a manner similar to the mounting of the conventional home radio receiver loudspeaker. Convex wire contact elements 49 are mounted on the front face of diaphragm 43, these elements extending vertically one on either side of the smaller opening in the diaphragm. The ends of the wires 49 extend through suitable eyelet openings 43a in the diaphragm 48 and are fixed in place in these openings in any suitable manner. Alternatively wires 49 may be spring wires and may be frictionally held in place within the openings 48a. One of the elements 49 is connected to the lever 23 and hence to the magnet armature 33 while the other of the elements 49 is connected to the spring terminal 44 and to one pole of battery 45.

Pendulum means are provided for making releasable electrical contact between the two elements 49, this pendulum means including a plate-like support member 54) which is secured to the top portion of the plate 46. A portion of the member Stl located at the center thereof is punched out to provide a rearwardly extending car 51 which is positioned between and above the contact elements 49. The ear 51 has an opening therein in which is pivotally mounted the pendulum 53.

Pendulum 53 is preferably formed from a single piece of wire and comprises a generally triangular portion consisting of the portions 53c, 53c and 53f. Portion 53d joins a portion 53c which extends through the hole 52 in the ear 51 thus forming a pivot for the pendulum. Joining the portion 530 is a portion 535 which extends downwardly and terminates in a portion 536: which extends horizontally and toward the viewer as seen in Figure 2. In the rest position of pendulum 53 as seen in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, that is, with the doll in the supine position on a substantially horizontal surface, the base 53a of the triangular portion of the pendulum 53 extends substantially horizontally and makes contact with the elements 49 slightly below their center points, the ends of the contact arm 53e extending slightly beyond the contact elements 49.

Thus the circuit of the electromagnet winding is completed and the magnetic attraction of armature 33 holds it against the upper end face 30 of electromagnet 25 despite the urging of spring 32 in the opposite direction. When the pendulum 53 is in this position portion 53b extends substantially vertically and portion 53a extends forwardly of support member 53. Pendulum 53 is rotatable about its axis, that is, about the axis of hole 52 and is also slidable within the hole 52 to a limited extent. Diaphragm 48 may be caused to vibrate either because of sound waves striking it or as a result of vibrations 9 set up in mounting plate 46, such for example as by a blow being struck upon the doll. Sound vibrations received by the diaphragm are transmitted by one or both contact elements 49 to the pendulum 53 thereby setting the pendulum into vibration. Since the period of Vibration of pendulum 53 diifers materially from the period of vibration of the diaphragm 48 the result of vibration of pendulum 53, whether induced by sound waves or by touching the doll, is to momentarily open the circuit at elements 49 thereby releasing the armature 33 and permitting spring 32 to raise the torso It to sitting position.

The resulting positions of the parts are as shown in Figures 3 and 6. As previously explained, armature 33 is now removed from the end face 36 of electromagnet 25 and thus the circuit for winding 27 will not be con1- pleted even though contact arm 532 makes contact simultaneously with the two contact elements 49. This arrangement assures that there will be no current drain when the doll is in a sitting position and thus increases the life of the dry cells 42.

Means are provided for assuring that pendulum 53 will resume its proper position when the doll is returned to the supine position of Figures 1 and 2. Referring to these figures it will be noted that the axis of hole 52 and of portion 53c of pendulum 53 extend substantially longitudinally and horizontally. In the Figure 3 position, however, the axis of these parts extends substantially vertically and pendulum 53 therefore tends to hang vertically. However, support member 50 is provided "with a pair of ears 50:: which extend rearwardly therefrom as seen in Figure 4, these ears being spaced from but in alignment with the sides 53d and 53 of the triangular pendulum. As a result, in the position of Figure 3 one of the ears 50a serves as a stop to limit the movement of pendulum 53. In a like manner the second car 56a limits the movement of pendulum 53' when the doll is inverted. The contact elements 49 serve to limit the rearward movement of pendulum 53 and the lower edge of plate 50 limits the movement of the pendulum in a forward direction.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the mode of operation of the doll is extremely simple. The doll is first placed in a sitting position on a level surface. The torso is then pushed down to the supine position as schematically shown in Figure 2, armature 33 making 'contact with the pole face 30 causing the electrical circuit heretofore described to be completed. The torso 10 is then carefully released in this position in order to prevent vibration of the pendulum 53, and the armature is held against the pole face 30 thus maintaining the torso in its supine position. Upon sound waves striking the diaphragm =48 or a jarring of the doll the pendulum 53 is caused to vibrate and this results in momentary breaking of the circuit at one or both of the contact elements 49, thus deenergizing the magnet coil 27 and releasing the armature 33. Spring 32 then forces the plunger 31 and armature 33 in a direction to rotate torso 10 clockwise as seen in Figures 2 and 3, thus simulating a movement to a sitting position.

As shown in the drawings, a spark arresting condenser 54 and resistor 55 are connected in series across the winding 27.

Referring now to Figure 7 there is shown therein an alternative construction of the magnet and lever system. In this arrangement a lever 60 is mounted on the shaft 17, the upper portion of this lever being similar to lever 23, the leg portion of the lever, however, being modified and having a projection 60a which is adapted to be releasably engaged by a latch means located within the leg 14 to thus prevent the torso 10 from turning relative to leg 14. As is clearly shown in Figure 7, the electromagnet is replaced by an electromagnet 62 which is mounted in a compartment in the center portion of leg 'Il4,-the compartment being defined by the upper and lower end walls 63 and 64. The axis of the electromagnet 62 is substantially parallel to that of the leg 14 and a suitable mounting plate 65 is provided for sup porting the electromagnet from the walls 63 and 64. Magnet 62 has a suitable core which is magnetized by current flowing through the magnet winding, the core having poles 66 which extend upwardly as shown in Figure 7 beyond the ends of the electromagnet and present substantially aligned pole faces.

The battery in Fig. 7 is substantially the same as the battery 45 except that it is shown as consisting of a single dry cell 42 and the casing is correspondingly shortened. Condenser 54 and resistor 55 are, in this instance, housed in a compartment located between the partition wall 64 and the battery compartment partition wall 38. The circuit arrangements and the construction within the torso 10 are substantially the same as in the first embodiment.

The latching means for releasably engaging the lever projection 60a under control of electromagnet 62 includes a second latching lever 67. This lever is a bell crank lever comprising the long arm 68 and the two short arms 69 and 72. At the junction of the three arms lever 67 is pivotally mounted on a laterally extending shaft 70 which is fixed within the leg 14, being located between magnet 62 and shaft 17 and closer to the latter. The arm 69 extends above the shaft 70 and the end thereof is positioned in front of the projection 60a. The long arm 68 extends to the right as seen in Figure 7, i.e., toward the foot of leg 14 and on the right hand portion of this arm is loosely attached an armature 66a adjacent to the magnet poles 66, the partition wall 63 being provided with a slot 71 through which the arm 68 extends.

Armature 66a may be attached to lever arm 68 by inserting the armature over projection 68a of lever arm 68, then bending ears 63b at right angles to projection 68a in opposite directions to hold the armature in place, a spring disk 68c having been previously placed on projection 68a against shoulder 68d. This mode of construction is illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, the showing of those figures being specically of an armature structure for the magnet of Figure 10.

The other short arm 72 of lever 67 terminates in a tooth 73 the latching surface of which extends radially relative to shaft 17, the arrangement being such that the tooth 73 serves to releasably hold the projection 60a in position to prevent rotation of lever 60.

Any suitable spring means 74 is arranged to urge the lever 6'7 in a direction so that tooth 73 clears the projection 66a. However, when torso it] is placed in its supine position relative to leg 14, bell crank 67 is moved into position with the armature 66a on the end thereof abutting the poie faces of core extensions 66. This completes the circuit of the electromagnet winding and the electromagnet then overcomes the tension of spring 74 and maintains the bell crank tooth 73 in the positions shown in Figure 7, preventing the spring 61 from urging the doll to a sitting position.

When the circuit of the electromagnet is momentarily broken as the result of movement of pendulum arm 53e out of contact with at least one of the contact elements 49, spring 74 causes counterclockwise rotation of bell crank lever 67 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 7. Lever 60 is then free to turn in a clockwise direction about shaft 17 and the torso 10 is raised to the sitting position. The edge of slot 71 in the compartment wall 63 may serve as a stop to limit the movement of lever 67 under urge of spring 74 or other suitable stop mechanism may be provided.

When the torso is rotated in a counterclockwise position so that the doll is again supine, lever 69 of course rotates in a counterclockwise direction about shaft 17. The lever arms 69 and 72 are so shaped that the projection 60a of lever 60 clears the end of tooth 73 and strikes the lower side of the lever arm 69. As a result the bell crank lever 67 is turned in a clockwise direction about shaft 70 and tooth 73 moves into the position where it can arrest projection 66a. At the same time the lever arm 63 moves armature 66a into position abutting the magnet poles 66. The bell crank 67 is again held in this position as the result of the completion of the circuit of the winding of electromagnet 62. When the hand is removed from the doll, torso it rises slightly and lever 60 turns in a clockwise direction about the shaft 17 due to the action of spring 61 until projection 60a engages tooth 73 thus causing a locking action between the projection '73 and the projection 60a. This slight movement occurs because the spacing between lever arms 69 and 72 must be slightly greater than the width of projection 69a in order to permit rotation of lever 67. The length of arm 72 is greater than the length of arm 69 in order to make possible the above-described action of the mechanism.

In the device as shown in Figures 1 through 3 and 7, the weight-moment of the leg or stationary part of the doll about the shaft 17 was caused to exceed the weightmoment of the moving part of the doll, primarily by making the single leg 14 heavy enough to balance the torso. However, it will be clear that if the two legs 13 and 14 are fastened together so as to be unable to turn independently, the combined weight of the legs may be used to balance the torso.

This arrangement is, however, subject to the undesirable feature that when the two legs move together the doll loses its natural functional appearance, and it is therefore preferable to maize the two legs independently movable.

This may readily be done by utilizing a separate spring between the torso and each leg. This arrangement permits independent movement of the two legs while using the combined weight of the two legs to balance the movement of the torso.

Also in Figures 1 through 3 and 7 the means for retaining the doll in its supine position has been described as comprising a magnet and magnet armature located within one of the legs. However it is sometimes preferable to utilize an arrangement in which the electromagnet is attached to the body and the magnet armature is attached to a portion of the leg extending within the body, the arrangement being such that by moving the body to the supine position the magnet poles make contact with the armature and are held thereby. Figures 8 and 9, in addition to showing the independently movable legs and separate springs also illustrate a construction in which the magnet and its armature are within the body. A further advantage of this arrangement is that because of greater space available inside the torso it is possible to increase the moment arm of the magnetic force, thus permitting the use of a magnet that consumes less power.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, there is shown therein the lower portion of the torso and the upper portion of the legs of a doll of the same general type as shown in the preceding figures and comprising the torso i and the legs 13 and 14, these legs having respectively the projections 13a and 14a. As in Figures 1 through 3, an upstanding rib 15 is provided having integral therewith the bosses 15a in which the shaft 17 is mounted for pivotal movement. An electromagnet, here designated 89, is fixed to the rib 15, the magnet comprising the two Windings 82 and 33 having a single horseshoe shaped core 84, the magnet windings S2 and '53 being connected electrically in series. Magnet winding 82 lies on one side of the rib 15 and magnet winding 83 on the opposite side. Core 84 passes through a hole 55 in rib 15 adjacent to the outer wall of torso 1t} and is retained thereby. Ears $1, integral with and projecting from rib 15 in a substantially radial plane with respect to shaft 17, retain windings 82 and 83 on the core 34. Ears 31 are perforated to pass core 84 therethrough. Thus the pole faces of the magnet move in a circular arc about the shaft 17 as the torso It} is oscillated.

The legs 13 and 14 are formed in a manner substantially identical to the legs of Figures 1 and 2 and as in those figures legs are provided with turned in portions 13:: and 14a which extend through openings 18 in the side walls of the torso 10. The inturned portions 13a and 14a terminate in disks 86 having a diameter less than the diameter of the remainder of the portions 13a and 14a, thus forming shoulders 87. Fixed to each of the shoulders 87 is an annular ring 88 bearing an ear 90. Extending between each car 90 and a pin 91 attached to torso ltl is a spring 92, these springs thus tending to rotate the respective legs relative to the torso 10. The pins 91 are suitably fixed as by means of the brackets 93 to the inner face of the back portion of the ,dolls torso and the ears 90 are effectively cranks fixed to the individual legs.

A U-shaped member 94 is provided with aligned bores in its two arms, the shaft 17 extending through these bores or apertures so that member 94 is rotatable about the shaft. At the base of the U-shaped member 94 an armature 95 is mounted, the mounting being such that the armature may move within limits with respect to the U-shaped member and may thus align itself against the pole faces of the magnet 80. The construction of these pole faces and of the armature mounting may be substantially that shown and described in connection with Figure 7, the pole faces or the armature being plated with cadmium in the manner hereinafter suggested.

One of the arms of the U-shaped member 94 is attached as by means of punched ears 96 to one of the legs such as 14 and the position of the armature is thus determined by the position of the leg. When the doll is in the full line position of Figure 8 the pole faces of magnet 80 will bear against the armature 95 and since the same series circuit of batteries, magnet windings, magnet armature and sound detecting means which was described in connection with Figures 1 through 3 is utilized, the doll will be held in its supine position.

When the arrangement described is utilized, it is preferable that one of the two dry cells 42 be located in each leg or that two dry cells be located in each leg. With this arrangement the legs 13 and 14 are individually sufficiently weighted to overcome the tension of the individual springs 92, but at the same time the spring tension exerted by the two springs 92 is sufiicient to cause the doll to rise to its sitting position when the circuit is broken by movement of the pendulum member occurring either as a result of reception of sound waves or of physical vibration of the doll itself.

Schematic circuits for use with the device of Figures 8 and 9 are shown in Figure 11. These circuits are essentially the same as the circuit already shown and described and include the feature that the magnet armature and the magnet pole faces become part of the electrical circuit. However, in Figure 11 a full line circuit is shown in which a single battery in one of the legs of the doll is utilized. In this event the other leg would be weighted in any suitable'manner. In dotted lines in Figure 11 there is shown an arrangement in which a battery is placed in each leg, the two batteries bein preferably arranged in parallel, one terminal of each battery being connected to the sound detecting device and the opposite terminal of each battery being connected to the armature.

The device described immediately above is a preferred form of my invention due to the fact that the legs may be independently moved and due in even greater measure to the simplicity of construction and the placing of the magnet at a considerable radial distance from the shaft 17 thus increasing the lever arm and permitting the use of a relatively smaller, less expensive, lower powerconsuming and weaker magnet.

As has been indicated heretofore it may at times be desirable to utilize not only the weight of the battery but also the weight of the magnet in supplying a suflicient 13 weight-moment for the legs. One form of the device for accomplishing this has been described in connection with Figure 7. Another form is disclosed in Figure 10, the latter form being preferable to the Figure 7 form because the weight-moment of both legs is utilized even though each leg is independently movable, the batteries being placed in one leg and the magnet in the other. Because of this the magnet structure may be much smaller than that utilized in Figure 7.

Referring now to Figure 10, there is shown therein a fragment of the lower portion of the torso together with the legs of a doll having the construction discussed above. The shaft 17 is identical to that of Figures 1 and 2 and is again rotatably supported in the bosses 15a of the upstanding rib 15. Pivotally mounted on the shaft 17 is a U-shaped member 100, the arms 101 and 102 of which extend through arcuate slots in the legs 13 and 14 respectively and the center portion 103 of which is fixed in any suitable manner to the torso 10. Beyond the shaft 17 arm 101 terminates in an upward extension 104 between which and the pin 105 fixed in the leg 13 a spring 106 extends. The arm 102 terminates in a downwardly extending portion 107 at the end of which a rod 108 is pivotally attached. Rod 108 is guided for longitudinal movement by means of the guide 110 in leg 14 and this arm terminates in a magnet armature 111 similar to those previously described and having a flexible mounting so that the air gap may be minimized. Armature 111 of course cooperates with a suitable magnet 112 comprising the horseshoe-shaped core 113 and the windings 114 and 115.

Extending between lug 116 on the rod 108 and the shaft 17 is a spring 117 which spring thus urges the rod 108 to the left as seen in Figure and thus tends to rotate the U-shaped member 100 and torso 10 in a clockwise direction. Spring 106 acting upon the lever arm 104 likewise tends to turn the member 100 and the torso in a clockwise direction. The dry cells 42 are mounted in the leg 13 in any suitable manner, the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2 being one such arrangement. It will be clear that with the construction just described when the doll is placed in its supine position the magnet armature 111 is held against the magnet pole pieces and the doll is retained in this position, since the same series arrangement of electrical elements is utilized as has been described in connection with the other figures. When the circuit is broken springs 106 and 117 will cause clock- Wise rotation of the torso 10 to a sitting position and the circuit will then remain broken since as before this circuit leads through the magnet armature.

Although, as has been above stated, the embodiments of the structure which utilize torsion springs have certain disadvantages when compared to compression or tension springs, there are instances where because of space requirements a torsion spring may be preferable. In Figures 17 and 18 there is shown an arrangement wherein a torsion spring is utilized. In these figures the torso 10 is provided with the upstanding vertical rib having the integral bosses 15a in which a shaft 17 is supported in the same manner as described in connection with Figures 1 and 2. Likewise, the legs 13 and 14 are provided with inturned portions 13a and 14a respectively which are freely rotatable in holes in the sides of the lower part of the torso 10. Leg portions 13a and 14a are provided at their inner ends with walls 119, each of which has an inwardly projecting portion 121 which, in the particular instance, is square in cross-section. Fixed to the portion 121 is one end of a spirally wound torsion spring 120, the opposite end of which is attached as by means of a rivet 124 to a bar 122. The bar 122 extends from the end of one torsion spring 120 to the corresponding end of the second torsion spring 120 associated with the other leg of the doll. This bar is fixed by means of a screw 123 to the rib 15. Thus one end of each torsion spring is fixed to one of the doll legs and the opposite increases the cost of manufacture.

end is fixed to the torso. In the particular arrangement shown in Figure 17 the lever 23, identical with the lever shown in Figure 2, is utilized being pivotally mounted on a shaft 17 and in the particular instance shown fixed to the rib 15 by means of the screw 123. As in Figure 2 the lower end of bell crank lever 23 is connected by means of a pair of links '35 to the armature 33 of the magnet 25. It will, however, be understood that in place of utilizing the linkage comprising the bell crank lever 23 and the link 35 a different arrangement of the magnet armature and magnet such, for example, as that shown in Figures 8 and 9, may be substituted requiring only slight modifications of the structure of those figures. A doll supplied with the torsion spring arrangement of Figures l7 and 18 will be operated in substantially the same manner as the dolls previously described and will rise from the supine to a sitting position in response to either sound or touch, since either is sufiicient to break the electrical circuit and release the magnet armature, permitting the doll to rise under action of the springs 120.

In all the devices shown the legs 13 and 14 are formed so that the hip portions have projections 13c and formed therein. These points, together with the heels of the foot portions, will be the only points upon which the doll is supported. Due to the spacing between the legs 13 and 14 this support is much more stable than is the three-point support provided by the lower part of the torso and the two heels which was described in my original application.

Additionally, the fritcional force between the point of support and the supporting surface acts to prevent the legs from being raised which is desirable, whereas when the projections 13c and 140 are not present and friction exists between the torso and the supporting surface, this tends to prevent the torso from moving. Thus by reason of the four-point support a smaller spring force and consequently a smaller leg weight may be utilized.

In order to further reduce the weight the projections 13c and 140 are located at a distance toward the head of the doll from the vertical plane through the pivot such as shaft 17. This results in increasing the effective Weight-moment of the legs for the springs now act about the points of support as a pivot rather than about the pivot shaft 17. The weight of the legs can thus be further reduced and still be effective in balancing the moving portion of the doll.

Since the spring torque must exceed the weight-moment of the moving part of the doll in the supine position as described, the electromagnet must hold the armature with a sufiicient attractive force to overcome the torque difference. Because of the space limitations involved the moment arm on which the mangetic force can be made to act is in all cases relatively small and the attractive force of the magnet must, as a result, be relatively large. The greatest holding force is obtainable if all necessary air gaps of the magnet are placed between the armature and the poles and are parallel to each other. The magnet constructions which accomplish this are those of the shell type such as that shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the bipolar type such as indicated in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10. When either one of these types of magnet structure is utilized the holding force will be greater the smaller the air gap, and for this reason the armature should be parallel with the pole faces and the gap made very small. The necessity for such a small air gap would normally involve mechanically precise alignment of the magnet and its armature which is undesirable since it materially As described hereinabove in connection with Figure 7, this need for precision manufacture has been eliminated by attaching the armature to the member on which it is mounted in a flexible manner so that it can readily align itself directly on the pole faces. To avoid sticking of the armature to the pole faces resulting from residual magnetism, I dispose a thin layer of non-ferrous material on the pole faces or armature preferably by plating the pole faces or armature with cadmium, the plating being approximately of an inch in thickness.

While I have described preferred forms of my invention it will be understood that many other modifications may be made and that various combinations of the mechanisms described may be made other than those specifically considered. I wish therefore to be limited not by the foregoing description which was given solely for the purposes of illustration, but on the contrary to be limited only by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy doll adapted to move from an initial supine position to a sitting position comprising, in combination, a first body portion including a torso, arms and head, a second body portion including legs, means pivotally mounting said legs on the lower part of said torso, means weighting at least one of said legs to provide a weightmoment for said second body portion about said pivotal connection greater than the weight-moment of said first body portion, resilient means urging said first body portion to rotate about said pivotal connection to place said doll in a sitting position, electromagnetic means for holding said torso in the supine position, an electrical circuit including a current source and said electromagnetic means, and vibration actuated means for breaking said circuit and deenergizing said electromagnetic means to permit said doll to assume said sitting position under urging of said resilient means, said legs being formed with rearwardly extending projections at the upper portions thereof, said doll when in either its supine or sitting position resting on said projections and the heels of said legs only whereby only said legs are in frictional contact with the surface on which the doll rests, said torso and arms being entirely frictionally free of said surface.

2. A toy doll adapted to move from an initial supine position to a sitting position comprising, in combination, a first body portion including a torso, arms and head, a second body portion including legs, means pivotally mounting said legs on the lower part of said torso, means weighting at least one of said legs to provide a weightmoment for said second body portion about said pivotal connection greater than the weight-moment of said first body portion, said legs being formed with rearwardly extending projections at the upper portions thereof, said doll when in either its supine or sitting position resting on said projections and the heels of said legs only whereby only said legs are in frictional contact with the surface on which the doll rests, said torso and arms being entirely frictionally free of said surface, resilient means urging said first body portion to rotate about said pivotal connection to place said doll in a sitting position, the moment energy of said resilient means about said pivotal connection being greater than the weight-moment of said torso, the difference between the turning efiort of said resilient means and the weight-moment of said torso being greater at the supine position than at the sitting position whereby said doll moves to said sitting position with a gradually decreasing acceleration, electromagnetic means for holding said torso in the supine position, an electrical circuit including a current source and said electromagnetic means, and vibration actuated means for breaking said circuit and deenergizing said electromagnetic means to permit said doll to assume said sitting position under urging of said resilent means.

3. A doll as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said electromagnetic holding means comprises an electromagnet connected to one body portion and a cooperating electromagnetic armature connected to said other body portion, said armature being adapted to move into electrical contact with the pole pieces of said electromagnet when the doll is manually placed in its supine position to thereby close said electrical circuit and actuate said electromagnet.

" 4. A doll as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said deenergizing means comprises a switch element connected in series in said electrical circuit with said electromagnetic armature and pole pieces, whereby said electrical circuit'is broken by actuation of said vibration actuated means and said circuit is re-established by placing said doll in the supine position to close the circuit through said vibration actuating means and through said magnet armature and pole pieces. i

5. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that batteries are provided for energizing said magnet, said batteries comprising said weighting means for at least one of said legs.

6. A toy doll adapted to move from an initial supine position to a sitting position, comprising, in combination, a first body portion including a torso, arms and head, a second body portion including legs, means pivotally mounting said legs on the lower part of said torso, means weighting at least one of said legs to provide a weightmoment for said second body portion about said pivotal connection, greater than the weight-moment of said first body portion, said legs being formed with rearwardly extendin projections at the upper portions thereof, said doll when in either its supine or sitting position resting on said projections and the heels of said legs only, whereby only said legs are in frictional cotnact with the surface on which the doll rests, said torso and arms being entirely frictionally free of said surface, resilient means urging said first body portion to rotate about said pivotal connection to place said doll in a sitting position, the moment energy of said resilient means about said pivotal connection being greater than the weight-moment of said torso, the difference between the turning effort of said resilient means and the weight-moment of said torso being greater at the supine position than the sitting position whereby said doll moves to said sitting position with a gradually decreasing acceleration, electromagnetic means for holding said torso in the supine position, an electrical circuit including a current source and said electro-magnetic means, and vibration actuated means for breaking said circuit and deenergizing said electromagnetic means to permit said doll to assume said sitting position under urging of said resilient means, said electro-magnetic holding means comprising an electro-magnet connected to one body portion and a cooperating electro-magnetic armature connected to said other body portion, said armature being adapted to move into electrical contact with the pole pieces of said electro-magnet when the doll is manually placed in its supine position to thereby close said electrical circuit and actuate said electro-magnet, said electromagnet being located in one of said legs, said armature being likewise located in said leg adjacent said magnet, and said armature being connected to said torso by means of a bell crank lever rotatably mounted on said pivotal connection, said bell crank being connected to said armature by a linkage.

7. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said electromagnet armature is fixed to at least one leg of said doll and said electromagnet is fixed to the lower part of said torso, said magnet and armature being rotatable about said pivotal connection, said magnet being adjacent to and retained by said armature when said doll is in its supine position.

8. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said resilient means comprises a spring interposed between said electromagnet and said electromagnet armature.

9. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said resilient means comprises a spring connected between said torso and a crank portion fixed to said leg.

10. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said resilient means is interposed between at least one of said legs and a crank portion fixed to said torso.

ll. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said electromagnet and its cooperating armature are located in one of said legs and said armature 'is connected to said torso by means of a bell crank lever rotatably mounted on said pivotal connection, said bell crank being connected to said armature through a mechanical linkage.

12. A doll as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that said legs are independently movable about said pivotal connection, each said leg being weighted, said weights being such that the combined weight-moment of said legs is greater than that of said first body portion comprising head, arms and torso, and further characterized in that said resilient means comprises a pair of springs, each of said springs extending from a point of attachment inside of said torso to a crank arm fixed to one of said legs, the point of attachment of said springs to said crank arms being displaced toward the back of said torso from the plane containing said pivotal axis and point of attachment of said springs to said torso when said doll is in a sitting position.

13. A doll comprising a hollow torso, an opening in each side of said torso adjacent the lower end thereof, a shaft rotatably mounted in said torso and extending laterally into said openings, a pair of legs having upper portions extending laterally therefrom and entering said torso side openings, said leg extensions being rotatably mounted on said shaft, crank means mounted on each said leg extension, spring means extending between said crank means and said torso to urge said torso to an upright position, an electromagnet within and fixed to said torso radially outwardly of said shaft, an armature rotatably mounted on said shaft within said torso at a radius therefrom substantially identical wtih the radius of the mounting of said electromagnet, means connecting at least one of said legs to said armature for rotation therewith about said shaft, a vibration actuated switch within said torso, batteries in said legs, said batteries serving to weight said legs to provide, a weight-moment greater than the spring effort of said springs, and an electrical series circuit within said doll including said batteries, said electromagnet, said armature and said vibration actuated switch,

said series circuit being closed when said doll is in a supine position, momentary actuation of said vibration actuated switch breaking said circuit and releasing said magnet from said armature to permit rotation of said torso about said shaft to a sitting position of said doll, said ro- 18 tation breaking said electrical circuit at said armature and preventing current drain in said circuit while said doll is in sitting position.

14. A doll comprising a hollow torso, a shaft rotatably mounted at the lower portion of said torso, a pair of legs mounted on said shaft, crank means mounted on said shaft for movement with said legs, spring means extending between said crank means and said torso to urge said torso to an upright position, an electromagnet within and fastened to said torso radially outwardly of said shaft, an armature rotatably mounted on said shaft within said torso at a radius therefrom substantially identical with the radius of the mounting of said electromagnet, means connecting at least one of said legs to said armature for rotation therewith, a vibration actuated switch within said torso, a battery in at least one of said legs the total weight of said batteries and said legs being sufficient to provide a weight-moment greater than the spring effort of said springs, an electrical series circuit including said batteries, said electromagnet and said vibration actuated switch, said series circuit being closed when said doll is in a supine position, momentary actuation of said vibration actuated switch breaking said circuit and releasing said magnet from said armature to permit rotation of said torso with respect to said legs so that said doll assumes a sitting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 156,660 Clay Nov. 10, 1874 1,261,300 Saxon Apr. 2, 1918 1,368,414 Stoltz Feb. 15, 1921 1,500,590 Marx July 8, 1924 1,900,353 Marchetti Mar. 7, 1933 1,981,259 Wertz Nov. 20, 1934 2,015,962 Praetorius Oct. 1, 1935 2,085,198 Lindsay June 29, 1937 2,443,834 Noyes June 22, 1948 2,596,491 Kinberg May 13, 1952 2,644,049 Waters June 30, 1953 2,659,998 Cavanaugh Nov. 24, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 184,239 Great Britain July 31, 1922

Images