US3690030A

US3690030A - Flexible waisted doll utilizing elastomeric coupling member

Info

Publication number: US3690030A
Application number: US95219A
Authority: US
Inventors: Armando J Garcia; Gregory M Gunther; Juanito O Villanueva
Original assignee: Mattel Inc
Current assignee: Mattel Inc
Priority date: 1970-12-04
Filing date: 1970-12-04
Publication date: 1972-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 1989-09-12
Also published as: FR2117016A5; DE2118377A1

Abstract

A doll which can pivot at the waist to perform a shaking dance movement, including an elongated rubber coupling member that connects the upper and lower torso portions of the doll. The lower torso portion has a convexly rounded top while the upper torso portion partially encompasses the top of the lower torso. The coupling member is constructed to hold the torso portions a small distance apart to prevent interference as they pivot on one another, and it has a narrowest diameter within the lower torso portion and near the center of curvature of the convexly rounded part thereof to allow pivoting thereabout.

Description

United States Patent Garcia et al. 1 Sept. 12, 1972 [54] FLEXIBLE WAISTED DOLL UTILIZING 2,007,784 7/1935 Wittmann ..46/ 173 ELASTOMERIC COUPLING MEMBER 3,277,602 10/1966 Speers et al ..46/164 X [72] Inventors: Armando J. Garcia, Sylmar; Grego- FOREIGN TS OR APPLICATIONS ry M. Gunther, Palos Verdes Estates; Juanito 0 villanueva I Australla I Lawndale, all f Cafifi 937,936 1/1956 Germany ..46/ 173 [73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif. Primary Barry Shay 22 l 4, 1970 Att0rney-Seymour A. Scholnick A doll which can pivot at the waist to perform a shakil ..46/16A1 mg dance movement, including an velongated rubber n I I i n I I I I l u s l u I u [58] Field of 'ig'fgj 2 6 torso portions of the doll. The lower torso portion has a convexly rounded top while the upper torso portion partially encompasses the top of the lower torso. The [56] References Cited coupling member is constructed to hold the torso por- UNITED STATES PATENTS tions a small distance apart to preyent interference as they plvot on one another, and it has a narrowest 2,760,303 8/1956 Del Mas ..46/162 X diameter within the lower torso portion and near the center of curvature of the convexly rounded part e er b 2,271,711 2/1942 Pallett ..46/173 mo 0 0w mg em 1,605,615 11/1926 Rothstein "46/ 173 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures P'ATENTEDSEH 02 I 3.690.030

. INVENTORS Hemmuoo J. 602cm Gees oev M 6 uM n45? FLEXIBLE WAISTED DOLL UTILIZING ELASTOMERIC COUPLING MEMBER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to dolls.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

Dolls that are life-like representations of children or young adults have proven to be highly entertaining toys for girls. Among the most popular of such dolls have been those which represent young fashion models that can perform life-like movements or which can be realistically posed. One type of movement that can add considerable entertainment value is a movement that enables the doll to simulate dancing of the type which is popular with teen-agers. These movements can be simulated by constructing a doll so it can pivot at the waist. However, such a doll must retain its realistic fashion appearance, should be capable of maintaining itself upright instead of flopping over in an uncontrolled manner when played with, and should be capable of manufacture at low cost.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a doll which can perform movements simulating popular teen-age dances, in an entertaining and realistic manner.

Another object is to provide a doll of realistic appearance and low cost which can resiliently pivot about its waist. Y

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a doll is provided which can swing back and forth at the waist in a manner simulating popular dance movements, the doll having an attractive life-like appearance duringits swinging motion, and tending to retain a firm upright position when not being purposely oscillated. The doll includes upper and lower body parts that are connected by a resilient coupling member of elastomericmaterial. The lower body part has a convex upper end that'is encompassedby a concave lower end of the upper body part, to conceal the waist joint of the doll as it swings. The coupling member has a narrow diameter portion extending within the convex lower body part to encourage pivoting about the center of curvature of the adjacent body surfaces. The coupling member is of a length that maintains the body parts slightly spaced from each other to prevent interference for moderate angles of swinging.

The lower end of the coupling member has a square region which is engaged with a'square recess in the lower body part to prevent relative rotation. The upper end of the coupling member has a corrugated portion which engages stops on the upper body part to resist rotation. However, the corrugations allow rotation of the upper body part and retention at any one of several rotational positions, to pose the doll at any one of several twisted orientations.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional front elevation view of a doll constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the doll of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the coupling member of the doll of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates a doll with a lower body assembly 10 and with an upper body assembly 12 that can pivot about the waist region 14 to positions such as that indicated at 12A. The lower body assembly 10 includes a torso portion formed by a pair of

lower housing parts

16 and 18, while the upper torso portion is formed by a pair of

upper housing parts

20 and 22. The lower housing parts are held together by pins 24 of the forward housing part 18 that are received in holes 26 of the rearward housing part 16, while the upper

torso housing parts

20 and 22 are similarly held together by pins 24 received in holes 26. The lower and upper body assemblies 10, 12 are connected together by a coupling member 28.

The coupling member 28, which is constructed of an elastomeric or other resilient material, has lower and upper end portions that are held in the lower and

upper body assemblies

10, 12. A groove 30 in the lower end portion of the coupling member receives flanges 32 of the

lower housing parts

16, 18, while another groove 34 in the upper portion of the coupling member receives flanges 36 of the

upper housing parts

20, 22. Inorder to encourage pivoting of the upper and lower body parts at the waist region 14, the coupling member is provided with a narrow diameter portion 38 that extends near the waist of the doll. It may be noted that an elongated upper portion 40 of the coupling member has a cruciformcross-section to resist bending therealong, so that any bending occurs near the waist.

In order to'promote a natural appearance even during bending, the lower body assembly 10 is provided with a convex upper end portion 42, while the lower end 44 of the upper body assembly 12 is formed to closely engage the convex lower portion 42. If the upper body assembly 12 can be made to pivot about a point 46 near the center of curvature of the'convex portion 42, then the visible gap 48 between the upper and lower body portions can be maintained .at a minimum during pivoting. In order to encourage pivoting near the point 46, the narrow diameter portion 38 extends partially within the convex region 42 and therefore near the point 46. Actually, the illustrated doll is constructed so that the point at which the upper body assembly pivots is at a location 50 spaced slightly from the point 4.6, this spacing between the

points

46 and 50 provided as a result of limited space in the lower torso area. However, the fact that the actual pivot point 50 is within the convex lower body portion and therefore close to the center of curvature thereof at 46, results in only a small change in the gap 48 during pivoting. This 'change generally is not-noticeable .to a

child. The length of the coupling member 28 is chosen so that a definite gap at 48 is provided to prevent interference of the upper and lower body parts during a considerable pivoting of the upper body assembly, such as up to about from a central quiescent position. The

diameter of a hole 51 in the convexly rounded lower torso portion 42, is made large enough to permit bending of the-coupling member during such pivoting.

It is desirable that the upper body assembly 12 remain facing in a forward or some other desired position rather than being freely rotatable about a vertical axis. To prevent free rotation about an axis 53 extending along the length of the figure, the lower end portion of the coupling member is provided with a square region 52. As best shown in FIG. 4, the square region 52 is engaged by corresponding straight flanges 54 of the rearward housing part 16. In order to prevent free rotation of the upper body assembly 12, the upper end of the coupling member is provided with a corrugated posing portion 56. As shown in FIG. 3, the corrugated portion 56 is engaged by tubular parts 58 that form two of the holes 26 that receive'pins. The corrugations on the portion 56 which provide radially projecting parts, prevent free rotation yet allow pivoting and retention at any one of eight rotational positions. A child can pose the upper body assembly 12 to a new rotational position about a vertical axis by forcing the doll to pivot to the new position. A circular flange 57 of the coupling member, which contacts the front and back of

housing parts

20, 22, helps to maintain the position of the coupling member.

The use of a single elastomeric coupling member 28 simplifies construction of the doll while permitting the desired amount of flexibility. The hardness of the elastomeric material is chosen, in relation to the diameter and length of the narrow portion 38 thereof, to permit swinging motion of the doll at its waist when it is purposely shaken, while allowing the doll to resist excessive bending merely by its weight. In other words, the doll is designed to remain substantially upright when not disturbed. The design of the coupling member 28 enables it to be quickly installed during the assembly of the doll, as by installing it in the

rear housing parts

16 and 20 and then snapping the

front housing parts

18 and 22 in place.

Thus, the invention provides a toy figure or doll using a minimum of easily formed parts that can be readily assembled. The doll has a realistic appearance and allows pivoting at the waist in a manner that preserves the realistic appearance during pivoting, while maintaining the doll in an upright position when it is not purposely shaken. Pivoting can occur from side to side or frontwards and backwards, and it enables the doll to simulate popular dancing movements that involve pivoting at the waist. The upper doll portion can be posed at several positions besides a straight-ahead orientation, and it firmly maintains any of such positions until purposely rotated to a new one, although the doll will oscillate about a vertical axis.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy figure comprising:

an upper body assembly including an upper torso portion having an open lower end;

an elongated coupling member constructed of elastomeric resilient material and having opposite ends respectively secured to said upper and lower torso portions, said coupling member being sufficiently stiff to normally support said upper torso portion in a substantially upright position while allowing it to pivot laterally at least several degrees when said figure is shaken;

the upper end of said lower torso portion being shaped to be received in the open lower end of said torso portion; and

said coupling member holding adjacent portions of said torso portions in spaced relation and having a smallest diameter portion extending at least partially within a region of said lower torso portion which is surrounded by the lower end of said upper torso portion.

2. The toy figure described in claim 1 wherein:

said coupling member has an axis extending in a direction along its length, and has a posing portion extending about said axis with a plurality of radi-' ally projecting parts; and

one of said torso portions being rotatably secured to said coupling member for rotation about said axis and having means for engaging said projecting parts of said posing portion to releasably resist relative rotation thereof while allowing such rotation when a large rotating torque is applied.

3. The toy figure described in claim 2 wherein:

said coupling member includes a circular flange adjacent to said posing portion and of a larger radius than the radius of any of said parts of said posing portion. 7

4. A toy figure which can pivot laterally at its waist comprising:

a pair of upper torso housing members fitted together to form an upper torso region above the waist region of the figure;

a pair of lower torso housing members fitted together to form a lower torso region below the waist region of the figure; and

an elongated coupling member of elastomeric material with upper and lower end portions in said upper and lower torso regions and with an intermediate portion between said end portions, each of said end portions having a groove therein;

each of said pairs of torso housing members having interior portions fitting into a corresponding one of said grooves of said coupling member to retain it; and

said intermediate portion of said coupling member being narrower than portions on either side thereof and holding said upper and lower regions in spaced relation, to induce pivoting of said upper torso region with respect to said lower region about said middle portion of said coupling member.

5. The toy figure described in claim 4 wherein:

each of said end portions of said coupling member has a non-circular part; and

each of said torso regions has means for engaging one of said non-circular parts, to resist rotation relative thereto.

6. The toy described in claim 4 wherein:

6 the upper end of said lower torso region is convexly said coupling member has a length sufficient to rounded substantially about a predetermined slightly separate said upper and lower torso recenter of curvature, and the l r d f id gions, and said intermediate portion of said upper torso region i Open and extends substancoupling member extends along a location near 5 the center of curvature of said lower torso region.

tially over and about said upper end of said lower torso region; and

Claims

1. A toy figure comprising: an upper body assembly including an upper torso portion having an open lower end; an elongated coupling member constructed of elastomeric resilient material and having opposite ends respectively secured to said upper and lower torso portions, said coupling member being sufficiently stiff to normally support said upper torso portion in a substantially upright position while allowing it to pivot laterally at least several degrees when said figure is shaken; the upper end of said lower torso portion being shaped to be received in the open lower end of said torso portion; and said coupling member holding adjacent portions of said torso portions in spaced relation and having a smallest diameter portion extending at least partially within a region of said lower torso portion which is surrounded by the lower end of said upper torso portion.

2. The toy figure described in claim 1 wheRein: said coupling member has an axis extending in a direction along its length, and has a posing portion extending about said axis with a plurality of radially projecting parts; and one of said torso portions being rotatably secured to said coupling member for rotation about said axis and having means for engaging said projecting parts of said posing portion to releasably resist relative rotation thereof while allowing such rotation when a large rotating torque is applied.

3. The toy figure described in claim 2 wherein: said coupling member includes a circular flange adjacent to said posing portion and of a larger radius than the radius of any of said parts of said posing portion.

4. A toy figure which can pivot laterally at its waist comprising: a pair of upper torso housing members fitted together to form an upper torso region above the waist region of the figure; a pair of lower torso housing members fitted together to form a lower torso region below the waist region of the figure; and an elongated coupling member of elastomeric material with upper and lower end portions in said upper and lower torso regions and with an intermediate portion between said end portions, each of said end portions having a groove therein; each of said pairs of torso housing members having interior portions fitting into a corresponding one of said grooves of said coupling member to retain it; and said intermediate portion of said coupling member being narrower than portions on either side thereof and holding said upper and lower regions in spaced relation, to induce pivoting of said upper torso region with respect to said lower region about said middle portion of said coupling member.

5. The toy figure described in claim 4 wherein: each of said end portions of said coupling member has a non-circular part; and each of said torso regions has means for engaging one of said non-circular parts, to resist rotation relative thereto.

6. The toy described in claim 4 wherein: the upper end of said lower torso region is convexly rounded substantially about a predetermined center of curvature, and the lower end of said upper torso region is open and extends substantially over and about said upper end of said lower torso region; and said coupling member has a length sufficient to slightly separate said upper and lower torso regions, and said intermediate portion of said coupling member extends along a location near the center of curvature of said lower torso region.