US3571969A - Doll with manually manipulable universally movable doll eyes - Google Patents

Abstract

A doll head with doll eyes mounted for universal movement in the eye sockets of the doll head, the eyes being provided with means manually manipulable by child for moving the eyes into a variety of different positions in the sockets for imparting amusingly different facial expressions to the doll.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Harvey W. Samo Maplewood, NJ. 825,733

May 19, 1969 Mar. 23, 1971 Margon Corporation Rahway, NJ.

App]. NO. Filed Patented Assignee DOLL WITH MANUALLY MANIPULABLE UNIVERSALLY MOVABLE DOLL EYES 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 46/168 Int. Cl A63h 3/40 Field of Search 46/ 1 68,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,981,333 11/1934 Schavoir 46/168' 2,520,491 8/1950 Bunin 46/168 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-A. J. Heinz Attorney-James and Franklin ABSTRACT: A doll head with doll eyes mounted for universal movement in the eye sockets of the doll head, the eyes being provided with means manually manipulable by child for mov ing the eyes into a variety of different positions in the sockets for imparting amusingly different facial expressions to the doll.

DOLL WITI-I MANUALLY MANIPULABLE UNIVERSALLY MOVABLE DOLL EYES The present invention relates to a doll provided with manually manipulable universally movable doll eyes.

The prime object of my present invention is the provision of a doll head provided with doll eyes mounted for universal movement in eye sockets of the doll head, the doll eye being provided with means manually manipulable at will by the child for moving the doll eyes into different positions in their sockets for imparting different facial expressions to the doll.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing object and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, my invention relates to the doll with manually manipulable universally movable doll eyes as more particularly defined in the appended claims, taken together with the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are face views of the doll of the present invention showing different positions to which the doll eyes may be manually moved to produce difi'er'ent facial expressions;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the doll eye and socket of the invention, this view taken in section in the plane of the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view of FIG. 4 taken in cross section in the plane of the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring now more in detail to the drawings, and having reference first to FIGS. 1 to 3 thereof, which illustrate the generic purpose and uses of the doll eyes of the invention, I show a doll head H provided with individual eyes E, E mounted in eye sockets S, S for universal movement therein, the eyes being manually movable in the sockets, by means described hereinafter, to different positions in the doll head, for imparting to the face of the doll a variety of different expressions or effects.

Thus, in FIG. I, the eyes are shown moved to produce a winking effect; in FIG. 2 they are shown moved to produce a side-glancing effect and in FIG. 3 they are shown moved to produce a cross-eyed appearance. This is made possible by mounting the eyes in the eye sockets for a universal movement therein, so that in the examples portrayed in FIGS. 1 to 3, the axes x, yof at least one, but preferably both, of the eyes may be oriented to their I normal (horizontalwertical) positions (FIG. 1) or angularly displaced to a position to the left of normal (FIG. 2), or so that the axes, x, y of one eye is angularly displaced to a position to the right of normal and the axes of the other eye is angularly displaced to a position to the left of normal (FIG. 3). Since the eyes are each universally movable in their sockets, it will be evident that they may be moved to assume these and other attitudes as well, at the will of the child, such as to impart to the eyes the attitude of sleeping, looking straight ahead, droopiness, wall eyed, etc.

As will further appear from the more detailed description of the structure produced, all this is achieved at a minimum cost, with the use of a single molded shell for each eye that incorporates the means for manipulating the movement of the eyes. The play value for the child thus exceeds thatattainable with transparent material and formed to provide an eyeball portion 14, a pupil portion 16, a serrated iris portion 18, an eyelid portion 20, and a protruding integral eyelash member 22, all suitably colored to impart thedifferent colorations required for these parts. The .eye with its integral lash member is molded from a plastic material, such as cellulose acetate butyrate, to1produce a hard eye shell formed with a rigid lash member. he hard eye shel IS molded to provide a substantially spherical outer wall 24 having a radius of curvature substantially the same as the radius of curvature of the inner surface 10 of the socket, so that when the eye shell is inserted into the socket, its outer wall is in close frictional contact with the inner surface of the socket. The lashmember 22 is made to protrude a sufficient distance from the eyeball to permit its being taken hold of and used as a means for moving the eye in its socket. The eye lash member 22 is arcuately contoured to fit when moved in contact along the correspondingly arcuatc contour of the upper half 12' of the eye opening.

In the manipulation and use'of the doll eye combination of the invention, each eye E may be moved by the child by grasping the rigid lash member and moving each eye in its frictionally held socket to any desired eye position to impart either some normal looking attitude or appearance or some mirth provoking or amusing attitude or appearance. Thus the eyes may be moved to open. sleeping and winking position as indicated in FIG. I of the drawings or may be moved in a sidewise rolled position as indicated in FIG. 2, or to a crosseyed position as indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, or to other desired positions. In moving the eyes into the positions of FIGS. 2 and 3, the arcuate lash 22 is slid into and along the arcuate upper half 12' of the eye opening of the doll. It will be apparent that the head H may be any puppet head such as a doll head, an animal head, etc. I

The advantages of the doll eye combination of the invention for lending a play value to the child will, it is believed, be apparent from the above detailed description. It will be apparent that changes may be made in the structure of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

.I claim: p I

1. A doll head with manually manipulable universally movable doll eyes comprising a doll head provided with eye sockets and individual doll eyes mounted in said sockets, at least one weight operated eyes; and there is offered a greater variation in facial expression in a doll head than is obtainable with known eye structures.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawings, I show the structure of one of the doll eyes E and its mount in a socket S of the doll head. The doll head H is preferably a flexible head, molded form a plastic material such as vinyl compound, the socket S being molded integrally with the head. The socket S is globular in structure being formed with a substantially spherical inner surface 10 and with a frontal elliptical eye opening 12, the upper half 12' of which opening is uniformly curved.

The eye E comprises a preferably one piece shell made of a of the sockets being formed with a substantially spherical inner surface, and at least one of the eyes being fonned with a substantially spherical outer wall and with a rigid lash member, the outer wall of the eye being in close contact with the inner surface of the socket in which it is mounted, and the eye being universally movable in the socket, the rigid lash member defining means for manually moving the eye in its socket at will into different positions for imparting different facial expressions to the doll head.

2. The doll head and doll eyes of claim I in which each of the eye sockets and eyes embodies the structure and relationship as set forth in claim 1, and in which the outer wall of each eye is in close frictional contact with the inner surface of the socket in which it is mounted.

3. The doll head and doll eyes of claim 2 in which the doll head and eye sockets are made of a plastic material molded to form a flexible plastic head, and the doll eyes each comprise a one-piece eye and integral lash member made of a plastic material molded to form a hard plastic piece.

4. The doll head and doll eyes of claim I, in which the eye sockets have eye openings the. upper half of which are uniformly curved, and in which the rigid eye lash members of the eyes are arcuately contoured to fit along the said upper half of the eye openings. 1

Claims (4)

1. A doll head with manually manipulable universally movable doll eyes comprising a doll head provided with eye sockets and individual doll eyes mounted in said sockets, at least one of the sockets being formed with a substantially spherical inner surface, and at least one of the eyes being formed with a substantially spherical outer wall and with a rigid lash member, the outer wall of the eye being in close contact with the inner surface of the socket in which it is mounted, and the eye being universally movable in the socket, the rigid lash member defining means for manually moving the eye in its socket at will into different positions for imparting different facial expressions to the doll head.

2. The doll head and doll eyes of claim 1 in which each of the eye sockets and eyes embodies the structure and relationship as set forth in claim 1, and in which the outer wall of each eye is in close frictional contact with the inner surface of the socket in which it is mounted.

3. The doll head and doll eyes of claim 2 in which the doll heaD and eye sockets are made of a plastic material molded to form a flexible plastic head, and the doll eyes each comprise a one-piece eye and integral lash member made of a plastic material molded to form a hard plastic piece.

4. The doll head and doll eyes of claim 1, in which the eye sockets have eye openings the upper half of which are uniformly curved, and in which the rigid eye lash members of the eyes are arcuately contoured to fit along the said upper half of the eye openings.

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