GB2264068A - Sound producing device for a toy doll - Google Patents

Abstract

A sound producing device 14, has an air passageway 1 a sound producing element, an air restricting device 5 and an opening and closing mechanism 5a, 6. The sound producing element communicates with the air passageway 1 for producing sounds via air flowing through the air passageway 1. The air flow restricting device 5 moves between first and second positions, partially restricting air flow through the air passageway 1 when in the first position to thereby alter the sound produced by the sound producing element. The opening and closing mechanism 5a, 6 moves the air flow restricting device 5 between the first and second positions. Air flow is created by compression and expansion of a sealed air bag 2 or a sprung piston cylinder assembly, fig. 6. <IMAGE>

Description

DESCRIPTION SOUND PRODUCING DEVICE The present invention relates to a sound producing device built in, for example, a toy doll A sound producing device has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. Sho 63-19106 which has an airtight bag, an elastic foamed member sealed in the bag, and a pipe with its inlet inserted in an air gap section in the bag. This sound producing device is designed to draw the air in the bag into the pipe to produce a sound when the bag is pushed by hand.

Since, in the above-described sound producing device, only a pipe is adopted as a sound producing element, merely a monotonous sound is produced and therefore the device, if used in a toy such as a doll, cannot produce a real voice-like sound. That is, although sound pitch and loudness produced from the pipe can be changed to some extent, it is impossible to change a monotonous sound to a compound one. For example, a "mah" sound can be changed to an "ah" sound, but it is impossible to change the "mah" sound to a voice-like sound such as a "mama" sound.

The present invention has been accomplished to solve the abovedescribed problem and has as its object the provision of a sound producing device for producing a sound having a fixed meaning, such as a baby's first words.

To accomplish the objective mentioned above, the sound producing device of the present invention is provided an air passageway, a sound producing element, an air restricting device and an opening and closing mechanism. The sound producing element is in communication with the air passageway for producing sounds via air flowing through the air passageway.

The air flow restricting device is movable between first and second positions, the first position being in communication with the air passageway so that the air flow restricting device partially restricts air flow through the air passageway when in the first position to thereby alter the sound produced by the sound producing element. The opening and closing mechanism moves the air flow restricting device between the first and second positions.

Operating the opening and closing mechanism to open and close the air passageway in accordance with the flow of the air can alternately continuously produce a strong sound when the air passageway is open and a weak, occlusive sound when the air passageway is closed. Therefore, the pipe designed to produce, for example, only the "ah" sound, can now make a "n. ahn. ah" sound, which is a combination of a weak sound "n" and a strong sound "ah." That is, the pipe of the present invention can make a complex sound "mama" or "manman" when the air passageway is opened and closed by the cap, i.e., air flow restricting device.

The sound producing device may have an airtight, recoverable air bag which is connected to one end of the air passageway, and compression members for holding the air bag expansible and compressible to pass the air through the air passageway. The air bag can reliably be swollen and compressed by gripping the compression members with one's hand and allowing recovery of the air bag to its original swollen state when the compression members are released. During these compression and recovering strokes, the air flows in and out through the air passageway of the pipe, and a sound is produced during the intake of air.

Furthermore, the use of a cam in the cap opening and closing member can produce an intermediate sound in addition to the strong and weak sounds.

By adjusting the cam curve, the above-mentioned "mama" sound can be improved go a much more realistic "mama" sound.

Further advantages and features of the present invention will be appreciated from the following description when taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the outside appearance of a sound producing device according to the present invention; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the sound producing device; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a pipe, and air bag and related parts; Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the pipe in a mounted state; Figure 5 is a view of the general appearance of a doll with the sound producing device of the present invention assembled therein; and Figure 6 is a perspective view showing a modification of the pipe, the air bag and related parts.

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of the sound producing device, and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view. As shown in these drawings, the sound producing device 14 of the present invention consists of a pipe 1 as a sound producing element (see Figures 3 and 4), an air bag 2 for supplying air into the pipe 1, a resonance box 3 extending into an air inlet 21 of the pipe 1, compression levers (compression members) 4 for holding and compressing the air bag 2, an opening-closing cap 5 for opening and closing the air inlet of the pipe 1, and a plate cam (opening-closing means) 6 for opening and closing the opening-closing cap 5 in connection with the swelling and compressing operation of the compression levers 4.

The pipe 1, as shown in Figure 4, is of such a construction that a pipe body 23 is inserted in a pipe portion 22 which forms an air passageway, and the air is forced to flow from the air inlet 21 of the pipe portion 22 toward an air outlet of the pipe body 23, thereby vibrating a reed (not illustrated) of the pipe body 23 to produce a sound. The pipe 1 is put in the air bag 2 with its air outlet end 24 (see Figure 3) inserted in the air bag 2 and with its air inlet end 21 exposed outside. That is, the pipe 1 is designed to produce a sound when the air bag 2 is compressed to let the air go out of the air bag 2 and then released to allow air to flow thereinto through the air inlet 21 of the pipe 1. With the swelling of air bag 2, the pipe 1 produces a sound.

As shown in Figure 3, the air bag 2 is comprised of a cylindrical elastic foamed member 25, an airtight closed bag 26 for holding the elastic foamed member 25, and a tying string 27 for tying the mouth of the closed bag 26 for the purpose of keeping the pipe portion 22 of the pipe 1 in communication with closed bag 26. In the elastic foamed member 25 is formed a through hole 25a extending in an axial direction at a central section, and in this through hole 25a is inserted the body 23 side of the pipe 1. The through hole 25a defines a void section with which the air outlet 24 of the pipe 1 is directly connected. Through the void section, air is drawn from the pipe into the closed bag 26. The closed bag 26 is made of a synthetic resin such as a vinyl chloride resin or a polyethylene resin, or other airproof film. Therefore, when the closed bag 26 and the elastic foamed member 25 are compressed from above by hand, the air in the closed bag 26 is forced out through the interior of pipe 1. Also, when the hand is released, the air is drawn into the closed bag 26 through the pipe 1 by the recovering force of the elastic foamed member 25 (a sound is produced at this time). Thus, the closed bag 26 is allowed to recover its original form.

The sound thus produced, that is, the tone of the pipe 1, is determined by the material and rigidity of the reed (not shown) of the pipe body 23 which constitutes the pipe 1, and by the shape, material and length of the pipe portion 22. Accordingly, to produce a desired tone, each of these tone determining elements is adjusted in accordance with the object in which the sound producing device is used, i.e., in a doll, a toy animal, etc.

The pipe 1 and the air bag 2 thus assembled in one body are secured to the resonance box 3 with the compression levers 4 connected thereto (see Figure 2). The resonance box 3 is a split type including a box body 7 and a cover 8. At the rear of the box body 7 are installed the compression levers 4.

The pipe 1 is fixed on the rear wall of the box body 7, while the air bag 2 is held in between the compression levers 4. The compression levers 4 include a fixed lever 9 and a movable lever 10. The fixed lever 9 is fixedly attached at the rear of the box body 7 and the movable lever 10 is rotatably connected with a pin 11 vertically installed at the rear of the box body 7. When the compression levers 4 are gripped, the movable lever 10 rotates to compress the air bag 2 against fixed lever 9, and subsequently, when the movable lever 10 is released, the air bag 2 swells by the action of the resilient elastic foamed member 25 to sound the pipe 1. The sound produced by the pipe 1 enters the resonance box 3 and then exits at a sound producing port 12 of the resonance box 3.

At the front of the resonance box 3 is placed the opening-closing cap 5, which is rotatably supported on the resonance box 3, so that the sound producing port 12 of the resonance box 3 can be opened and closed by the opening-closing cap 5. This opening-closing operation is performed by plate cam 6 turning with the movable lever 10. The opening-closing cap 5 and the sound producing port 12 are at the front of the resonance box 3 but may be installed on the side face.

The plate cam 6 is rotatably pivoted on the upper part of pin 11 mounted with the movable lever 10, and is engaged with a cutout section lOb formed in the hollow shaft 1 0a of the movable lever 10 so as to be turned about the pin 11 with the movement of the movable lever 10. At the forward end of the plate cam 6 are formed desired cam lobes 6a, which are engaged with a driven projection 5a of the opening-closing cap 5. On the other hand, projectingly formed on the upper surface of the plate cam 6 and the upper surface of the opening-closing cap 5 are hooks 6b and 5b, respectively, across which a spring 13 is installed. The opening-closing cap 5 is pulled by the spring 13 in a direction in which the sound producing port 12 is closed, i.e., covering sound producing port 12.With the rotation of the plate cam 6, the cam lobes 6a contact the driven projection 5a of the opening-closing cap 5, opening and closing the opening-closing cap 5. Therefore, the sound coming out of the sound producing port 12 of the resonance box 3 is a strong sound, close to an original sound of the pipe 1, when the opening-closing cap 5 is in the open position, and a weak, occlusive sound when the cap 5 is in the closed position.

In the half-open state, the pipe 1 produces an intermediate sound between the weak and strong sounds. In the present invention, the pipe 1 is adjusted to first produce the "ah" sound and then, the distance between the opening-closing cap 5 and the sound producing port 12 is adjusted by the plate cam 6 until the "mama" sound is produced. That is, the occlusive "n" sound produced when the opening-closing cap 5 is in the closed state is combined with the "ah" sound produced when the opening-closing cap 5 is open, thus making the "n.

ah-n. ah" sound which sounds like "mama." In the present invention, the opening-closing cap 5 rotates to open and close the sound producing port 12 in interlock with the movement of the compression lever 4, namely, with the compression upon squeezing and recovery upon release of the air bag 2, and therefore it is possible to change the sound of the pipe 1 so that a complex sound is produced. For example, a voice-like sound "mama" can be produced by using the pipe 1 which produces the "ah" sound.

Figure 5 shows a baby doll 15 with the sound producing device 14 of the above constitution installed therein. The sound producing device 14 is set in the abdomen 16 of the baby doll 15 with the opening-closing cap 5 side directed upward toward the head area of the doll and the compression lever 4 directed longitudinally. The doll 15 is designed to say "mama" or "papa" when the abdomen 16 of the doll 15 is pressed by hand and then released.

Figure 6 shows a modified of the air bag 2 and the related parts, including the pipe 1, of the present embodiment. In the modification, the air bag 2 has a cylindrical bottomed large-diameter case 31, a small-diameter case 32 which fits in case 31, and a coil spring 33 inserted between and fitting within cases 31 and 32. The large-diameter case 31 plus the small-diameter case 32 in an engaged state form an air chamber. The inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter case 31 and the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter case 32 are slidably engaged to be airtight. The air chamber formed of cases 31 and 32 is expanded by means of the coil spring 33 and contracted when cases 31 and 32 are compressed against the force of the coil spring 33. On the end section of the small-diameter case 32 is installed the pipe 1, which communicates with the air chamber.Therefore, with the expansion and contraction of the cases 31 and 32, the air flows in opposite directions inside the pipe 1, thus producing a sound.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, to produce a more complex sound, there may be installed two resonance boxes to shift the opening-closing cap opening and closing timings with response to the resonance boxes. The size of the resonance boxes may also be changed.

Furthermore, the sound producing device may be mounted in toy vehicles, such as a toy ambulance, a toy fire engine and a toy patrol car. Moreover, the sound producing element has been described as a pipe fitted with a single reed which produces a sound when the movable compression lever 10 opens (when the air enters), but a pipe having two reeds which produces a sound both when movable lever 10 opens and closes, may be adopted.

According to the present invention, as described above, a cap is used to open and close the air passageway of a sound producing pipe and therefore it is possible to produce a complex sound, even a simple voice-like sound, despite a monotonous sound which may be produced by the pipe.

In this case, a recoverable air bag is used to move the air for sounding the pipe. Compressing the air bag with the compression members and allowing the air bag to recover its original swollen state can easily produced a sound.

Furthermore, since the cap is opened and closed by the cam working in interlock with the compression members, subtly different sounds, or a complex voice-like sound, can be produced by adjusting the cam curve.

Claims (12)

Claims

1. A sound producing device, comprising: an air passageway; a sound producing element in communication with the air passageway for producing sounds via air flowing through the air passageway; an air flow restricting device movable between first and second positions, the first position being in communication with the air passageway so that the air restricting device partially restricts air flow through the air passageway when in the first position to thereby alter the sound produced by the sound producing element; and opening and closing means for moving the air flow restricting device between the first and second positions.

2. A sound producing device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a generally air tight bag in sealed connection with an end of the air passageway; and volume changing means for decreasing the interior volume of the bag to force air out of the bag and into the air passageway when an external force is applied and for increasing the interior volume of the bag to draw air into the bag from the air passageway when the external force is removed.

3. A sound producing device as claimed in claim 2, in which the volume changing means has a pair of compression members, one of the compression members being movable with respect to the air passageway and sound producing element, the opening and closing means comprising; a cam connected to the movable compression member to rotate with the motion of the movable compression member; and a projection connected to the air flow restricting device and engaged with the cam so that when the movable compression member moves to thereby rotate the cam, the air flow restricting device moves between the first and second positions.

4. A sound producing device as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which the volume changing means comprises: a compressible porous member positioned within the bag, and being generally the same shape and volume as the shape and volume of the bag when not compressed; a pair of resilient compression members positioned on opposing sides of the bag so that when the external force is applied to the compression members, the interior volume of the bag is decreased and when the external force is removed, the interior volume of the bag is increased.

5. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the sound producing element is a reed supported to produce sound when air flows in a first direction in the air passageway, but not when air flows in a second direction opposite the first direction.

6. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 in which the sound producing element is a reed supported to produce sound only when air is entering the bag.

7. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the sound producing element is a double reed, a first of the reeds supported to produce sound when air is flowing in a first direction in the air passageway, a second of the reeds supported to produce sound when air is flowing a second direction opposite the first direction.

8. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a first container having opposed open and closed ends; a second container having opposed open and closed ends, the second container having a shape which corresponds to the shape of the first container so that the second container can fit at least partially within the first container with the respective closed ends opposite one another, an air tight seal being formed between the first and second containers; connection means for connecting one of the first and second containers to the air passageway and for creating air flow within the air passageway when the containers are moved relative to each other; and biasing means for biasing the first and second containers away from one another so that when an inward force is applied to the closed ends of the first and second containers, the containers move towards one another to thereby create air flow out of the one container with the connection means, and when the external force is released, the containers move away from one another to thereby create air flow into the one container with the connection means.

9. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the sound producing device is part of a toy doll.

10. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which in the second position, the air flow restricting device does not restrict the flow of air through the passageway or restricts the flow of air to a much lesser amount than in the first position.

11. A sound producing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the air flow restricting device may be moved to any position intermediate said first and second positions.

12. A sound producing device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, 5 or 6 of the accompanying drawings.