US3757460A

US3757460A - Doll having collapsible torso portion with fluent material therein

Info

Publication number: US3757460A
Application number: US00214075A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Morrison
Original assignee: Glass Marvin and Associates
Current assignee: Glass Marvin and Associates
Priority date: 1971-12-30
Filing date: 1971-12-30
Publication date: 1973-09-11
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-11
Also published as: FR2167113A5; JPS4877936A; GB1387200A; CA965238A; AU5000472A; IT974342B; DE2262216A1

Abstract

A doll which is intended to simulate the motions of going to sleep characterized by a two-part torso, one part of which is made of a yieldable material. The doll also has a head with eyelid structure which is movable to close the doll eyes. Fluent material, preferably in the form of sand, is provided in the interior of the doll and may be fed from the lower portion of the doll to the upper portion of the doll, following which the material will be metered slowly back to the lower portion of the doll during which the doll body will appear to slowly collapse and the eyelid structure will close, simulating the function of going to sleep.

Description

willie States Patent 1 1 Morrison 1 Sept. 11, 1973 l l DOLL HAVING COLLAPSIBLE TORSO PORTION WITH FLUENT MATERIAL THEREIN [75] Inventor: Howard J. Morrison, Highland Park,

[21] Appl. No.: 214,075

Henry 46/87 Yaggy 46/42 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 484,592 10/1929 Germany 46/87 Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay Att0rney.lames F. Coffee et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A doll which is intended to simulate the motions of going to sleep characterized by a two-part torso, one part of which is made of a yieldable material. The doll also has a head with eyelid structure which is movable to close the doll eyes. Fluent material, preferably in the form of sand, is provided in the interior of the doll and may be fed from the lower portion of the doll to the upper portion of the doll, following which the material will be metered slowly back to the lower portion of the doll during which the doll body will appear to slowly collapse and the eyelid structure will close, simulating the function of going to sleep.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEI] SEP] 1 I975 SHEET 1 or 2 ATTORNEYS PAIENTEU 1 75 SHEET 2 [IF 2 mob INVENTOE QOP NO" DOLL HAVING COLLAPSIBLE TORSO PORTION WITH FLUENT MATERIAL THEREIN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION lv Field of the Invention This invention relates to movable figure toys, and more particularly, to a doll which simulates the movements of going to sleep.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art In the movable figure toy art, there are many forms of dolls which perform different simulated human functions. Dolls which simulate walking or crying or talking or the like provide increased fascination for children. Specifically, the art includes the disclosure of dolls wherein the function of closing the eyelids is simulated through the aid of a fluent material, as disclosed in the Fuerst Pat. No. 2,633,663 and Ellman Pat. No. 2,883,794. However, these patents merely show structure which tends to close the eyelid and not completely simulate the act of falling asleep. Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide an improved movable figure doll wherein the doll body, as well as the doll eyes, simulate the motion of going to sleep.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed, in brief, to the provision of an improved movable figure toy which simulates the motions of falling asleep.

The best mode currently contemplated for carrying out the invention, includes the provision of a doll having a generally rigid lower torso, with a hollow interior, and a yieldable upper torso with a hollow interior, with the upper and lower torso being in communication by way of a two-way valve arrangement. The valve arrangement is such that when the doll is turned upside down a large valve opening is created between the lower and upper torso, whereas when the doll is turned right side up, there is a small opening between the two chambers. Fluent material, preferably in the form of sand, is provided in the interior of the doll body.

The doll further includes a head having movable eyelid structure which is biased to an open position, but having depending weight means in communication with the upper torso, such that when the upper torso is evacuated, the weight means pull the eyelids to a closed position.

In use, as the doll is placed upright, after being turned upside down to feed fluent material for the upper torso, fluent material will slowly evacuate from the upper torso causing the eyelids to close and the upper torso to collapse until the doll tips over and simulates the motion of falling asleep.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the doll being turned upside down to feed fluent material from the lower torso to the upper torso;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the doll being placed upright so that fluent material may slowly feed from the upper torso to the lower torso;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the doll starting to fall over towards a sleeping position;

FIG. 4 is a view showing the doll in a sleeping position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view through the doll torso and head with the components upside down showing the action of feeding fluent material from the lower torso to the upper torso;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but with the doll shown rightside up and with fluent material beginning to reversely feed from the upper torso back to the lower torso;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing the initiation of collapse of the upper portion of the doll torso as fluent material continues to feed to the lower torso;

FIG. 8 is a section view taken generally along the line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a section view taken generally along the line 99 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the eyelid assembly utilized with the doll of this invention.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail a specific embodiment therefor, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The doll 10 of this invention includes head 12 having simulated facial features, including a mouth 14, nose 16, eyes 18, eyelids 20, cars 22 and hair 24. As described later in detail, the eyelids 20 are intended to be movable with respect to the eyes 18, between an open and closed position. Head 12 is secured to a torso 26 illustrated in FIGS. 5 through 7, the structure of which will be explained later in detail. In the preferred embodiment, it is intended that the head and torso structure would be held inside an outer garment 28 which contains

arms

30 and 32 and

legs

34 and 36, both of which would be stuffed with a suitable material to give rigidity thereto so that in the specific arrangement shown,

arms

30 and 32 and

legs

34 and 36 could be articulated to the torso 26 in a manner well known in the art.

Torso 26 includes a lower torso portion 38 which is preferably made of a substantially rigid material, defining a hollow chamber 40 in the interior thereof for receiving fluent material, such as sand 41. Lower torso 38 is provided with annular ribs 42 about the upper end thereof and further includes a depending circumsurrounding side wall 44 terminating in a substantially flat bottom 46. However, one portion of the bottom 46 is tapered upwardly at 48 to assist in initiating a interior of lower torso 38 includes a valve member support web 50 for supporting the movable valve member 52. Valve web 50 includes arms 50a, 50b and 50c, which terminate in a center ring 54, having an opening 56 therein, of a size and shape to slidably receive the cylindrical body portion 58 of valve member 52. The lower end of valve member 52 has a washer or pin 60 thereon for preventing movement of the valve member 52 towards the head, through the web 50. The other end, or upper end, of the valve member is generally conical shaped, as shown at 62, and a center passage 64 extends through the body of the valve member 52 in a generally upright direction. The conical portion 62 of the valve member 52 rests in an enlarged opening 66 in the top wall of the lower torso 38. In addition, the top wall 68 is provided with a pair of

small openings

70a and 70b, spaced from the enlarged opening 66. The enlarged opening 66, and the relatively movable mounting of the valve member 52 with respect to the openings 66, defines a means for feeding a large quantity of fluent material out of the lower torso in a relatively short period of time. The relatively reduced passage 64 through the valve body 58 and the

small openings

70a and 70b in the top wall 68 define a means for return feeding of a small amount of fluent material into the torso 38 over a limited period of time. The medial portion of the bottom 46 is preferably provided with an air vent opening 72 having a flap cover 74 thereover, preferably made of a porous material which permits the passage of air therethrough but prevents the egress of fluent material 41.

The doll further includes an upper torso portion 76 which generally comprises a substantially cylindrical body of collapsible material 78, preferably in the form of a vinyl or the like. Body 78 defines an interior upper torso chamber 80, which is in communication with the lower torso chamber 40 through the

aforementioned valve passages

64 or 66. The top of the collapsible cylinder 78 is retained within an upper cover 82 which ineludes a depending annular skirt 84 having an. inwardly returned shoulder 86, terminating in an upright sleeve 88 having a top wall 90 thereacross. The sleeve 88 protrudes inwardly into the head 12 of the doll. The top wall 90 has a center opening 92 therein and a web 94 is spaced below the top wall 92 and has an opening 96 therethrough. The remaining lower portion of the sleeve 88 defines an expansion chamber 98 for the extensible portion 100 of the collapsible upper torso 76.

The interior of the cover 82 has an annular groove 102 for receiving an expansion ring 104 having fingers 106 which are connected with a valve device or flow plate 108 which closely underlies the top of collapsible cylinder 78 and, particularly, the sleeve portion 88. As shown in FIG. 8, the flow plate 108 has a plurality of small openings 110 circumferentially arranged around its center which has a larger center opening 112, with radiating slots 114 which provides a means for feeding fluent material to and from either side of the flow plate The exterior of the sleeve 88 has an outwardly projecting annular flange 116 snugly received in a groove 118 at the bottom of the heat structure 12, to provide a means for rotatably mounting the head with respect to the remainder of the body by hand manipulation.

An eye assembly support bracket 120 is secured in the interior of the head 12 and is generally U-shaped, having a central web 120a and rearwardly extending arms lb and 120e, which terminate in offset extensions 120b' and 1200'. The central web 120a of eye support bracket 120 includes rearwardly facing

sockets

122a and 122b and

openings

124a and 124b. Eyes 18 are held in the

sockets

122a and 122b and the lids 20 are connected thereto, with both the lids and eyes being movable relative to the sockets.

An eye actuating plate 126 extends rearwardly from the bracket 120 and is generally C-shaped in configuration, having a base 126a and forwardly extending arms i26b and 1260 which are connected to the rear of the eyes 18 through the rear of sockets 122a and l22b. The eye support bracket 120 further includes a biasing means 128, here shown in the form of a rubber band, wrapped around the extensions 120!) and 1206 which normally biases the actuating plate upwardly, 126,

when the eyes 18 appear open, that is, viewable through the openings 124a and 12422.

The plate 126 includes a rearward extension 130 which supports a link means, here shown in the form of a chain 132. The chain 132 is connected at its opposite ends to a pair of weights 134 which generally dangle in the area of the sleeve 88. When the extension 100 of the upper torso 76 is filled with fluent material, as shown in FIG. 5, the chain 132 will be slack and the weights 134 will be held well up in the expansion chamber 98. As the fluent material is evacuated, the extension 100 will no longer support the weights 134, and, as progressively shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the chain will become taut and tend to pull the actuating plate 126 against the biasing force of the rubber band 128, causing the eyes 18 to be pulled downwardly and the lids 20 to close the openings 124a and 12417.

In operation, doll 10 is first turned upside down, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, so that the fluent material 41 may move rapidly from the interior chamber 40 of lower torso 38 to the collapsible interior chamber of upper torso 76. Specifically, the material moves through the web 50 and enlarged opening 66 in the top panel 68 of the lower torso as the valve member 52 moves downwardly or towards the doll head 12. Extension of the upper chamber 80 will also be filled, occupying the expansion space 98 in sleeve 88, and hold ing weights 94 upwardly, so that no tension is exerted upon the chain 132 and the eyes will be normally hiased to their open position.

After the interior chamber 80 of the collapsible top 78 is filled, the doll can then be placed right side up, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 and 7. The fluent material 41 will then slowly begin draining out of the extension 100 through the openings and 112 and also out of the interior chamber 80 of the collapsible upper torso 78. However, the discharge of the material from the extension 100 will be a faster rate than from the interior chamber 80, in that there are a greater number of openings 110 than the

small openings

64 and 70a and 70b between the upper and lower torso. As the extension 100 collapses, the weights 134 will pull on the chain 132, causing the eyes to slowly close. This will occur at aboutthe time that some of the fluent material has left the interior of the upper chamber and drained into the lower chamber so that the upper torso appears to begin to sag. it is to be noted that the

openings

70a and 70 b are over the area of the tapered portion 48 of the bottom 46 of the lower torso 38. As the material continues to flow out of the upper torso, the doll body will continue to sag, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 7, and then slowly begin to tilt towards the tapered portion 48. This movement will continue to occur until substan tially all the fluent material 41 is returned to the lower torso, during which, final movement of the doll to a collapsed position on its side, as shown in MG. 4, will occur.

Thus, it can be seen that the doll of this invention is capable of a simulation of the act of falling asleep. The action of the closing of the eyelids and the collapsing of the doll is accomplished without the need for any motors and related sources of power such as batteries or springs or the like. Thus, the doll is both reliable in operation over an extended period of time, as well as relatively economical to produce, thereby enhancing its desirability.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as some modifications may be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. An animated doll comprising:

means defining a torso having a head supported thereon and including upper and lower torso portions, at least said upper torso portion being unevenly collapsible relative to the lower torso portion to cause the doll to tilt;

means for supporting said doll with its torso in an erect position;

means defining an upper chamber within said upper torso portion;

means defining a lower chamber within said lower torso portion;

said means for supporting the doll including fluent material in said doll receivable in said upper chamber, said fluent material being sufficient in quantity to support the collapsible torso portion when occupying said chamber; and

passage means between the two chambers for allowing the fluent material to pass therebetween under the influence of gravity when said doll torso is in erect position with said fluent material in said upper chamber, the removal of at least part of the fluent material from the upper chamber resulting in withdrawal of at least part of the support of said upper chamber and consequent at least partial collapse of said upper torso portion whereby a tilting or reclining motion is imparted to the doll.

2. The doll of claim 1 wherein said head includes eye means movable between open and closed positions, said doll including means to open and close said eye means in response to at least part of said fluent material passing from the upper chamber to the lower chamber.

3. The doll of claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said doll includes a bottom wall of said lower chamber, said bottom wall including a substantially horizontal flat, normally ground-engaging base portion on which the doll is supported when the fluent material is substantially in the upper chamber and an upwardly canted portion joining the base portion, with at least a portion of said passage means being closer to the center of said canted portion than to the center of said base portion so that when the fluent material falls into the lower chamber a greater proportion thereof will at least initially rest on the canted portion as opposed to the base portion whereby the bottom wall will rock and impart the tilting motion to the doll.

4. The doll of claim 1 wherein said fluent material is granulated.

5. An animated doll comprising:

means defining a torso having a head supported thereon and including upper and lower torso portions, at least said upper portion being unevenly collapsible relative to the lower torso portion to cause the doll to tilt;

means defining an upper chamber within said upper torso portion; means defining a lower chamber within said lower torso portion, said lower chamber having a bottom wall including a substantially horizontal flat, normally ground-engaging base portion on which the doll may be supported in erect position and an upwardly canted portion joining the base portion;

means including a quantity of granular material receivable in the upper chamber for supporting said upper torso portion from collapsing; and

passage means between the two chambers for allowing the granular material to pass therebetween under the influence of gravity, at least a portion of said passage means being disposed closer to the center of the canted portion of the bottom wall than to the center of the base portion of the bottom wall so that the shifting of the granular material from the upper chamber into the lower chamber will simultaneously result in the rocking of the bottom wall from the base portion to the canted portion and the collapse of the upper chamber whereby a tilting or reclining motion is imparted to the doll.

6. The doll of claim 5 wherein said head includes eye means movable between open and closed positions, said doll including means to open and close said eye means in response to at least part of said granular material passing from the upper chamber to the lower chamber.

Claims

1. An animated doll comprising: means defining a torso having a head supported thereon and including upper and lower torso portions, at least said upper torso portion being unevenly collapsible relative to the lower torso portion to cause the doll to tilt; means for supporting said doll with its torso in an erect position; means defining an upper chamber within said upper torso portion; means defining a lower chamber within said lower torso portion; said means for supporting the doll including fluent material in said doll receivable in said upper chamber, said fluent material being sufficient in quantity to support the collapsible torso portion when occupying said chamber; and passage means between the two chambers for allowing the fluent material to pass therebetween under the influence of gravity when said doll torso is in erect position with said fluent material in said upper chamber, the removal of at least part of the fluent material from the upper chamber resulting in withdrawal of at least part of the support of said upper chamber and consequent at least partial collapse of said upper torso portion whereby a tilting or reclining motion is imparted to the doll.

4. The doll of claim 1 wherein said fluent material is granulated.

5. An animated doll comprising: means defining a torso having a head supported thereon and including upper and lower torso portions, at least said upper portion being unevenly collapsible relative to the lower torso portion to cause the doll to tilt; means defining an upper chamber within said upper torso portion; means defining a lower chamber within said lower torso portion, said lower chamber having a bottom wall including a substantially horizontal flat, normally ground-engaging base portion on which the doll may be supported in erect position and an upwardly canted portion joining the base portion; means including a quantity of granular material receivable in the upper chamber for supporting said upper torso portion from collapsing; and passage means between the two chambers for allowing the granular material to pass therebetween under the influence of gravity, at least a portion of said passage means being disposed closer to the center of the canted portion of the bottom wall than to the center of the base portion of the bottom wall so that the shifting of the granular material from the upper chamber into the lower chamber will simultaneously result in the rocking of the bottom wall from the base portion to the canted portion and the collapse of the upper chamber whereby a tilting or reclining motion is imparted to the doll.