US3837114A

US3837114A - Walking two-legged figure toy with rigid forward extension

Info

Publication number: US3837114A
Application number: US00313171A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Goldfarb; G Strader; J Strader
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-12-07
Filing date: 1972-12-07
Publication date: 1974-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 1991-09-24

Abstract

A two-legged walking figure toy having a pair of resiliently mounted legs. The legs may be weighted and provided with relatively high friction means for engagement with the floor or other surface on which the figure can walk. The figure may be propelled forwardly and caused to walk by means of a forwardly extending rigid extension mounted on the toy figure, providing a point of attachment for a cord or other pull means. The point of attachment is preferably centered from side-to-side, disposed substantially forwardly of the figure, and positioned between the crotch and neck of the figure. By pulling forwardly and upwardly on the pull means, the figure is caused to walk, i.e., alternate legs shift forward to effect walking action, while the figure is maintained upright and prevented from falling over. Thus, there is good stability for the figure without requiring precise positioning or manipulation of the angle and force on the pull means, so that the toy may be played with and caused to walk by even a small child.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Goldfarb et al.

[111 3,837,114 Sept. 24, 1974 WALKING TWO-LEGGED FIGURE TOY WITH RIGID FORWARD EXTENSION Primary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene Assistant ExaminerR0bert F. Cutting Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robert M. Ashen [5 7] ABSTRACT A two-legged walking figure toy having a pair of resiliently mounted'legs. The legs may be weighted and provided with relatively high friction means for engagement with the floor or other surface on which the figure can walk. The figure may be propelled forwardly and caused to walk by means of a forwardly extending rigid extension mounted on the toy figure, providing a point of attachment for a cord or other pull means. The point of attachment is preferably centered from side-to-side, disposed substantially forwardly of the figure, and positioned between the crotch and neck of the figure. By pulling forwardly and upwardly on the pull means, the figure is caused to walk, i.e., alternate legs shift forward to effect walking action, while the figure is maintained upright and prevented from falling over. Thus, there is good stability for the figure without requiring precise positioning or manipulation of the angle and force on the pull means, so that the toy may be played with and caused to walk by even a small child.

16 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures There have been various types of walking toys in the prior art. One type of such toy is four-legged, as exemplified by US. Pat. Nos. 2,663,970; 3,190,035 and 2,626,317. Such a four-legged figure toy, of course, is inherently self-standing and stable and presents no problem of maintaining itself upright while it is caused to move forward and walk. Thus, the construction and arrangement of the pull means for such a four-legged toy, may be virtually at any point of convenient attachment to the body or head of the toy. On the other hand, two-legged walking figure toys of the prior art have involved stifflegged mechanically-linked figures such as exemplified by US. Pat. No. 1,269,056. Mechanicallylinked rigid legs lack a certain life-like quality which resiliently mounted legs provide.

It appears that there has not heretofore been a twolegged walking figure toy with resiliently-mounted legs. This may be because of the inherent instability of a two-legged figure mounted on resiliently movable legs, which instability appeared to make such a toy figure inappropriate for a walking toy doll.

By the construction and arrangement of pull means provided in the present invention, a stable, yet life-like, two-legged walking figure toy is provided. A rigid extension member mounted on the toy figure extends forwardly therefrom to a point of attachment to pull means, such as a flexible cord. The point of attachment is located a substantial distance forwardly of the toy figure, and is located generally centrally thereof measured both from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom. The extension member is a rigid member so that the point of attachment is in a fixed spatial relationship to the point where the extension member is mounted on the toy figure.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevational view ofa two-legged walking doll which comprises a presently preferred embodiment of the 'present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the doll of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of two half sections which may be assembled to form the head, body and legs of the doll;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the half sections, showing them in assembled condition;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an intermediate portion of the extension member for the doll.

The illustrated figure toy shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises generally a torso 12, a pair of depending legs 14, a pair of arms .16, and a head 18. The legs 14 are resiliently mounted on the torso 12 for alternate frontto-back pivotal movement, simulating walking action. A rigid extension member 20 is mounted on the toy figure and extends forwardly therefrom, to provide a fixed attachment point 22 spaced substantially in front of the figure. The attachment point may be disguised as for example by making the member in the form ofa hobby horse or other figure, play object, or vehicle. The point 22 is located generally centrally the toy figure from side-to-side and top-to-bottom. Pull means such as a flexible cord 24 may be connected to the extension member 20 at the attachment point 22. The other end of the cord 24 may be held by a child-user and pulled at an upward forward angle to cause the toy figure to walk forwardly over a supporting surface, such as the floor.

The doll figure may be conveniently constructed of a soft resilient material, such as rubber or plastic foam, which may be molded or cast into the shape shown in FIG. 3. The body comprising torso 12, the legs 14, and the head 18 is thus formed of one continuous piece comprising a pair of

half sections

26a and 26b. The

sections

26a and 26b are connected together by a pair of integrally formed hinge-

sections

28 and 30. One of the half-sections 26a provides the front half of the doll figure while the other half-section 26b provides the rear half of the doll figure. The half-sections may be folded over and secured to each other as by suitable adhesive to form the completed body as shown in FIG. 4. Recesses 32 are formed in the half-sections adjacent the feet for receipt therein of suitable weights such as cylindrical metal bars 34.

The foam body may then be enclosed in a conventional fabric casing, which may also provide facial features. Suitable clothing, shoes and the like, may also be provided. The arms 16 of the figure may also be formed of the foam material, however, in the illustrated FIG. 10 they are comprised of stuffed fabric sections attached to the casing. The stuffed arms 16 are each attached along a generally vertical seam or joint 36 (FIGS. 1 and 2) so that the arms are free to pivot forward and backward incident to the walking action of the doll. This gives a further life-like aspect to the illustrated doll.

The construction of the legs 14 of the doll is particularly important for the type of walking doll herein disclosed. As noted above, as the doll is pulled forwardly by the child, resiliently mounted legs alternately step to a forward position and then maintain frictional contact with a floor or other supporting surface 42 while the other leg moves or walks" to the forward position by virtue of its resilient construction. The cycle continuously repeats itself as the doll walks. Thus, it is important that the legs be resiliently mounted and that there be a sufficient amount of friction between the feet and the supporting surface 42. In this connection, another layer 40 of material having a relatively high coefficient of friction, such as rubber or foam plastic, may be secured to the underside of each foot. The illustrated legs 14 are a resilient flexible foamed material, and as seen best in FIG. 4, at the area of connection between the upper end of each leg 14 and the lower end of the torso 12, the material thickness is reduced to a minimum. This provides, in effect, a transversely extending horizontal pivot or hinge 44 at the upper end of each leg 14.

Extension member 20 of the illustrated toy is in the form of a hobby horse stick comprising an elongated, vertically-disposed, horizontally-extending strip or section formed at its forward end 46 to simulate .the appearance of a horses head. The extension member 20 may be made of a rigid plastic or other suitable material, such as wood or metal. The illustrated extension member 20 is adapted to extend between the legs 14 of the toy figure, being secured to the figure in its crotch region, and extending both forwardly and rearwardly therefrom. A forward portion 48 of the extension member extends forwardly and up therefrom to the head simulating forward end 46. In the preferred form of the toy figure, the attachment point 22 is spaced in front of the figure in the ratio of from about 1 to 2 to about 1 to 4 relative to the figures height. in other words, one particular doll is about 12 inches high and the point of attachment is about 3 inches in front of the doll. Another model of the doll is about 14 inches high and the point of attachment is about 7 inches in front of the doll. A rear portion 50 of the extension member extends rearwardly at a downward angle from the toy figure. An aperture 52 is provided at the head-simulating end 46 for receiving a loop 54 at one end of the cord 24 of the pull means. The other end of the cord 24 is grasped by the child-user. The extension member 20 may be releasibly secured to the toy figure as by means of a strip 58 of Velcro" hook material which is fixed to an upper edge portion 60 of the extension member 20 intermediate its ends (FIG. The Velcro strip releasibly engages the fabric casing ofthe toy figure in the crotch area of the figure between its legs. A band or strip 56 of material may be secured to the toy figure in the crotch area; this material may be Velcro loop material or may be a fabric that is compatible with the Velcro hook material of the extension member to provide a good bond therebetween. Alternate forms of securement of the extension member to the toy figure may also be utilized.

Thus, the illustrated toy figure has the appearance of a child riding a hobby horse, and the extension member is disguised so as to appear merely to be a portion of the toy.

We claim:

1. A stable two-legged walking soft doll comprising:

a three'dimensional, soft body, said body including,

an upright torso, said torso being soft and resilient,

a pair of upright, soft, resilient legs integral with said torso, said torso including a region of reduced cross section comprising hinge means for said legs such that said legs are resiliently swingable in a forward and rearward direction, and

pull means connected to said doll at an attachment point, spaced substantially forwardly of said torso and generally centrally thereof from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom, whereby a child-user may pull said pull means to impart walking movement to said doll and to maintain said doll in an upright position during said walking movement.

2. The walking doll of claim 1 wherein said torso has means defining a neck at its upper end and means defining a crotch at its lower end, said attachment point being located between said neck and said crotch.

3. A walking doll as stated in claim I wherein the distance from said attachment point to the front of said torso is in the ratio of from about 1:2 to about 1:4 relative to the height of said doll.

4. The walking doll'of claim 1 wherein feet are provided adjacent the lower end of said legs, and relatively high friction means are disposed on the underside of said feet for engagement with a supporting surface upon which said doll is disposed.

5. The walking doll of claim 1 wherein said pull means includes an extension member and means for releasably securing said extension member to said doll.

6. The walking doll of claim 5 wherein said extension member is secured to said doll at the lower end of said torso and between said legs.

7. The walking doll of claim 6 wherein said extension member simulates the appearance of a hobby horse.

8. The walking doll of claim 6 wherein said means for releasably securing said extension memberto said doll is Velcro hook material.

9. A walking doll as stated in claim 1 wherein said legs are made from foamed polymeric material and are connected to said torso by integrally formed hinge means having a reduced cross-section.

10. A stable two-legged walking soft doll compising:

a three-dimensional soft, resilient body, said body including,

an upright torso, said torso being composed of soft and resilient material,

a pair of upright soft, resilient legs integral with said torso, said torso including a region of reduced cross section adjacent said legs such that said legs are resiliently swingable in a forward and rearward direction with respect to said torso,

a rigid extension member detachably mounted on said torso and extending forwardly therefrom to a point of attachment spaced substantially forwardly of said torso and generally centrally thereof from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom, and

pull means attached to said extension member at said attachment point and extending forwardly therefrom to be held by said user and pulled to impart walking movement to the doll and to maintain the doll in an upright position during said walking movement.

11. The walking doll of claim 10 wherein said torso has means defining a neck at its upper end and means defining a crotch at its lower end, said point of attachment being located between said neck and said crotch.

12. A walking doll as stated in claim 10 wherein the distance from said attachment point to the front of said torso is in the ratio of from about 1:2 to about 1:4 relative to the height of said doll.

13. The walking doll of claim 10 wherein feet are provided adjacent the lower end of said legs, and relatively high friction means are disposed on the underside of said feet for engagement with a supporting surface upon which said doll is disposed.

14. The walking doll ofclaim 9 wherein said extension member is secured to said doll at the lower end of said torso and between said legs.

15. The walking doll of claim 14 wherein said extension member simulates the appearance of a hobby horse.

16. The walking doll of claim 14 wherein the means for releasably securing the extension member to the doll is Velcro hook material.

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,837,114 Dated September 24, v1974 Inventor(s) Adolph E. Goldfarb, George C. Strader, Judy D. Strader It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Claim 10, Column 4, line 15, change "compising" to comprising "9-.

v In Claim l4 4, line 51, change "Claim 9" to Claim 10 Signed and sealed this 7th day of January ;"-3*75.

(SEAL) Attest: g I

MCCOY Ii. GIBSON JR. C. I-IARSHA-LL DANN Arresting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PC4050 noss) uscoMM-oc 60376-P69 ".5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I! 0-30-3",

Claims

1. A stable two-legged walking soft doll comprising: a three-dimensional, soft body, said body including, an upright torso, said torso being soft and resilient, a pair of upright, soft, resilient legs integral with said torso, said torso including a region of reduced cross section comprising hinge means for said legs such that said legs are resiliently swingable in a forward and rearward direction, and pull means connected to said doll at an attachment point, spaced substantially forwardly of said torso and generally centrally thereof from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom, whereby a child-user may pull said pull means to impart walking movement to said doll and to maintain said doll in an upright position during said walking movement.

3. A walking doll as stated in claim 1 wherein the distance from said attachment point to the front of said torso is in the ratio of from about 1:2 to about 1:4 relative to the height of said doll.

4. The walking doll of claim 1 wherein feet are provided adjacent the lower end of said legs, and relatively high friction means are disposed on the underside of said feet for engagement with a supporting surface upon which said doll is disposed.

8. The walking doll of claim 6 wherein said means for releasably securing said extension member to said doll is Velcro hook material.

10. A stable two-legged walking soft doll compising: a three-dimensional soft, resilient body, said body including, an upright torso, said torso being composed of soft and resilient material, a pair of upright soft, resilient legs integral with said torso, said torso including a region of reduced cross section adjacent said legs such that said legs are resiliently swingable in a forward and rearward direction with respect to said torso, a rigid extension member detachably mounted on said torso and extending forwardly therefrom to a point of attachment spaced substantially forwardly of said torso and generally centrally thereof from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom, and pull means attached to said extension member at said attachment point and extending forwardly therefrom to be held by said user and pulled to impart walking movement to the doll and to maintain the doll in an upright position during said walking movement.

14. The walking doll of claim 9 wherein said extension member is secured to said doll at the lower end of said torso and between said legs.